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England-West Indies lock horns to clinch World T20 for second time

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england-west-indies

Kolkata: This may not be the final sports buffs would have expected, but both the West Indies and England know they are on the doorstep of history to become the first team to win the World Twenty20 twice as they lock horns in the summit clash here on Sunday.

Very few would have given these two sides a chance when the tourney began, considering the subcontinental conditions. And also, neither of them were in champion form.

England were still recovering from their debacle in the 50-over World Cup last year while West Indies players had problems aplenty with their country’s cricket board, that led to some stars opting out.

The last time these two sides met was in the first match of Group 1 on March 16. Chasing a tough total of 182, Chris Gayle made it look ridiculously easy. The burly Jamaican remained unbeaten on 100 and took West Indies home with six wickets and 11 balls to spare.

However, England bounced back in some style by winning against South Africa in the next contest. With the help of Joe Root and other power hitters they chased down a target of 229.

The ‘Three Lions’ had a bit of a scare against minnows Afghanistan, but nevertheless they scraped past the finishing pole and then quite easily skipped past the Sri Lankan threat.

In the semis, it was opener Jason Roy who played an outstanding knock (44-ball, 78) chasing 153 to oust New Zealand from the competition.

On their way to the final, West Indies beat Sri Lanka by seven wickets and then went past South Africa by three wickets. But then they fell against Afghanistan.

However, the team showed great character to rally back from the disappointment and produced an all-round team effort against India in the semi-finals at the Wankhede on Thursday.

The Eden Gardens, however, will be a different strip altogether. The wickets here are known to have purchase for the bowlers and at this time of the year it turns too.

West Indies have come armed with all-rounders and spinners who are perfect for such conditions. And in the finals they are likely to go with the same outfit as they did against India.

However, if there is grass on the surface, pacer Jerome Taylor might get a look in.

The batting has been explosive to say the least. Lendl Simmons, who came into the side against India, has struck form and with players like Andrew Russell and Johnson Charles, the 2012 champions are a powerful batting unit.

Fighting fire with fire, England have their very own batting arsenal. Top order willowers Jason Roy and Alex Hales have been great, followed by consistency from the likes of Joe Root and Jos Buttler. It is also the time for their captain Eoin Morgan to come good.

“We’ve just got to do our business like we want to do — a style of cricket that is positive. Plan to do that on Sunday as well. We know how strong West Indies are as a side. We have to play well to beat them, make sure we look at our own game,” Root told reporters here ahead of the clash.

England have a young and inexperienced bowling line-up which will be put to the test here but then again they have been crafty about the trade and have yielded favourable results.

Head to head statistics show England have lost nine of their 13 T20 encounters against the West Indies. The Eden Gardens is also the stage where England had lost to Australia in the final of the 50-over World Cup in 1987 after their skipper Mike Gatting needlessly went for a famous reverse sweep that finished in the hands of the wicket-keeper.

Similarly, West Indies perished to Pakistan by five wickets from a favourable posiition in the invitational Nehru Cup final two years later.

Both sides, would be hoping to avoid any more reverse at the iconic venue.

Cricket lovers have to wait till Sunday night to see whether Morgan’s men create history in front of a packed stadium, or whether the West Indies cricketers end up dancing to their calypso.

Squads:

West Indies: Chris Gayle, Lendl Simmons, Johnson Charles, Marlon Samuels, Dwayne Bravo, Denesh Ramdin (wicketkeeper), Andre Russell, Darren Sammy (captain), Carlos Brathwaite, Samuel Badree, Sulieman Benn, Evin Lewis, Jason Holder, Ashley Nurse, Jerome Taylor.

England: Jason Roy, Alex Hales, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan (captain), Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler (wicketkeeper), Moeen Ali, Chris Jordan, David Willey, Adil Rashid, Liam Plunkett.

(IANS)

West Indies stun India to enter World T20 final

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west-indies

Mumbai: West Indies defeated India by seven wickets in the second semi-final at the Wankhede Stadium here on Thursday to enter the final of the World Twenty20 cricket tournament.

Batting first, India posted a competitive total of 192/2 in 20 overs, thanks to Virat Kohli’s 89.

In reply, star batsmen Lendl Simmons and Johnson Charles struck quickfire half-centuries as Windies chased down the score, posting 196/3 in 19.4 overs.

(IANS)

West Indies opt to bowl against India in World T20 semis. India 161/2 in 18 overs

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west-indies-india

Mumbai: West Indies skipper Darren Sammy won the toss and decided to bowl against India in the second semi-final of the World Twenty20 cricket tournament at the Wankhede Stadium here on Thursday.

India made two changes to their side. Batsmen Ajinkya Rahane and Manish Pandey came in for Shikhar Dhawan and Yuvraj Singh, who has been ruled out of the tournament due to injury.

Batsmen Chris Gayle and Lendl Simmons return for Evin Lewis and injured Andre Fletcher, who had a hamstring problem against Afghanistan.

The teams:

India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Manish Pandey, Suresh Raina, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, Ashish Nehra, Hardik Pandya.

West Indies: Darren Sammy (captain), Chris Gayle, Johnson Charles, Marlon Samuels, Lendl Simmons, Dwayne Bravo, Denesh Ramdin, Andre Russell, Carlos Brathwaite, Sulieman Benn, Samuel Badree.

(IANS)

Manish Pandey replaces injured Yuvraj in WT20 squad

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yuvraj

New Delhi: Right-hand batsman Manish Pandey will replace injured Yuvraj Singh in India’s squad for the remainder of the World T20 cricket tournament, the International Cricket Council (ICC) confirmed on Tuesday.

It said its Event Technical Committee had approved the replacement, a statement said.

Yuvraj twisted his ankle while batting in India’s group match against Australia in Mohali and cannot take further part in the tournament. Yuvraj scored 21 runs off 18 balls to help India win by six wickets.

The 26-year-old Pandey played two T20 Internationals against Zimbabwe in Harare last year. He has also played four One-Days.

India will take on the West Indies in the second semi-final at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Thursday.

(IANS)

India beat Australia in thriller to enter World T20 semis

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Virat Kohli

Mohali: Virat Kohli led the way with a sublime half-century as India defeated Australia by six wickets at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium here on Sunday to enter the World Twenty20 semi-finals.

The in-form Delhi lad remained unbeaten on 82 runs off 51 balls as the Indians survived a few early setbacks to overhaul a difficult target of 161 with five deliveries to spare.

Sunday’s match, the last in Group 2, was a virtual quarter-final as the winners qualified the semi-finals. India finished their group engagements with three wins in four matches. Australia will go home with two wins and an equal number of defeats.

New Zealand had earlier qualified for the semi-finals from Group 2, while England and West Indies have gone through to the last-four stage from Group 1.

Shane Watson put in a superb all-round effort for Australia, finishing with figures of 2/23 in his four overs. Nathan Coulter-Nile (1/33) and James Faulkner (1/35) bagged a wicket each.

The Indians were off to a shaky start with openers Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma going back to the dugout without too many runs on the board. Watson snared Suresh Raina with a well-directed short-pitched delivery in the eighth over to leave the hosts in trouble at 49/3.

Kohli and Yuvraj Singh tried to script an Indian comeback, adding 45 runs between them in 38 balls. Yuvraj picked up a niggle in his left leg while attempting to glance a Coulter-Nile delivery to fine leg.

The experienced left-hander was clearly in some discomfort as he was hobbling while running between the wickets. But he battled bravely to post 21 runs off 18 balls with one boundary and a powerfully six off Adam Zampa.

But just as it seemed that Kohli and Yuvraj could take India to a safe position, the latter was undone by an excellent piece of fielding from Watson when he mistimed a slower one from Faulkner.

Yuvraj’s dismissal seemed to prod Kohli into action as he unleashed the big shots. The 27-year-old right-hander hit the hapless Faulkner for two boundaries and a six off successive balls in the 18th over to bring the target within India’s reach.

He then smashed four consecutive boundaries off Coulter-Nile in the next over to virtually wrap up the issue. With four runs needed in the final over, India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni dispatched Faulkner’s low full toss to the long-on fence to complete a thrilling win for India.

Earlier, Australia posted a competitive total of 160/6 in their 20 overs.

Opener Aaron Finch was the highest scorer for Australia with 43 runs off 34 deliveries, hitting three boundaries and a couple sixes during his innings. Glenn Maxwell contributed 31 off 28 balls.

For India, all-rounder Hardik Pandya (2/36) copped some initial punishment before bagging a couple of crucial wickets while Yuvraj Singh (1/19), Ashish Nehra (1/20), Ravichandran Ashwin (1/31) and Jasprit Bumrah (1/32) also bagged a wicket each.

The Indians did not help their cause by conceeding as many as 14 extras.

Electing to bat first, Australia were off to an explosive start with openers Usman Khawaja and Aaron Finch producing a 54-run partnership in just 26 balls. Bumrah copped a lot of punishment in his first over with Khawaja hitting him for four boundaries.

But Nehra gave India the breakthrough when Khawaja went after an outgoing delivery only to see the ball nick the top edge on the way to Dhoni behind the stumps.

The dangerous David Warner perished when he came down the track to Ashwin. The left-hander could not connect as the ball spun away from him and Dhoni pulled off an easy stumping.

Australia captain Steven Smith lasted for just six balls before Yuvraj had him caught behind with his very first ball. That saw the Australian run rate fall slightly with Finch and Maxwell struggled on a pitch which was offering a fair bit of turn.

Finch was deprived of what would have been a well-deserved half-century when he perished while trying to prop up the run rate. He tried to pull a slightly short-pitched delivery from Pandya into the stands, but did not connect properly as the ball looped up for a fairly simple catch to Shikhar Dhawan at deep midwicket.

Maxwell was looking set for a big score. But he virtually gifted away his wicket to Bumrah when he went for a cross-batted heave only to be out-foxed by a slower delivery.

Peter Nevill and Watson hit a couple of fours and a six off Pandya in the last over to give Australia a strong finish.

(IANS)

West Indies beat South Africa to enter World T20 semis

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West Indies South Africa

Nagpur: The West Indies produced an all-round performance to outclass South Africa by three wickets in a Group 1 clash at the Vidarbha Cricket Association (VCA) stadium here on Friday to enter the semi-finals of the World Twenty20 cricket tournament.

Batting first, South Africa were never in control of the game as they lost wickets at regular intervals to post a meagre total of 122/8 in 20 overs.

In reply, riding on Marlon Samuels’ impressive 44, the West Indies batted sensibly as they chased down the target posting 123/7 in 19.4 overs.

Chasing a tricky target of 123, the West Indies lost hard-hitting opener Chris Gayle (4) in the very first over, thanks to pacer Kagiso Rabada who cleaned him up after the latter was hit for a boundary by the left-handed batsman.

After the loss of the first wicket, Johnson Charles (32) and Andre Fletcher (11) used their experience to good effect to hold on for a couple of overs but the sixth over saw some outstanding fielding followed by an electrifying throw by Rilee Rossouw ended Fletcher’s stay on the crease.

Despite the wicket of Fletcher, Charles played positively alongside incoming batsman Marlon Samuels to take team past 50-run mark.

But South Africa struck twice in quick succession dismissing Charles and Dwayne Bravo (8) to stay alive in the game.

But Samuels used his experience to good effect to take team close to victory line before getting himself out.

Next up, Carlos Brathwaite (10 not out) and Dinesh Ramdin (1 not out) remained unbeaten to take West Indies to triumph.

Imran Tahir (2-13) was the pick of the Proteas’ bowlers.

Earlier put into bat, South Africa got off to a disastrous start losing opener Hashim Amla (1), Faf Du Plessis (9) and Rossouw (0) to have team wobbling at 20/3 in three overs.

From there on, opener Quinton de Kock (47) and AB de Villiers (10) held on to help team go past the powerplay with 39/3 on board.

But next up, the Proteas received their biggest blow when de Villiers, trying to flick through midwicket, was cleaned up by a slower ball from Bravo in the eighth over.

The batting side failed to learn from the earlier mistakes on a wicket which looked tough for batting as part-time off-spinner Gayle, who had dismissed Rossouw, struck yet again in the ninth over to shatter David Miller’s stumps and have South Africa in a spot of bother at 47/5.

Incoming batsman David Wiese (28) and De Kock took their time in the middle without trying anything silly to help team go past 90-run mark in 15 overs.

But as De Kock was chipping in with ones and twos to get close to his second T20I fifty, Russell came in to get rid of the left-handed batsman to have the former three runs short off half-century.

With wickets falling at regular intervals, life became difficult for the Proteas batsmen to post a respectable total as tail-enders Chris Morris (16 not out) and Aaron Phangiso (4) helped team reach 122/8.

Chris Gayle (2-17), Dwayne Bravo (2-20) and Andre Russell (2-28) were the pick of the bowlers for the West Indies.

Brief scores: South Africa 122/8 in 20 overs (Quinton de Kock 47; Chris Gayle 2-17, Dwayne Bravo 2-20, Andre Russell 2-28) vs West Indies 123/7 in 19.4 overs (Marlon Samuels 44; Imran Tahir 2-13)

(IANS)

Australia win by 21 runs to throw Pakistan out of WT20

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Pak-Australia

Mohali: Australia beat Pakistan by 21 runs in a World Twenty20 Super 10 stage match in Mohali on Friday to stay on course for the semi-finals and eliminate their opponents from the tournament.

Australia captain Steven Smith hit an unbeaten 63 off 43 balls to steer his side to 193-4, before James Faulkner took five wickets, including two off consecutive deliveries in the final over, to help his team seal the win.

For Pakistan, Khalid Latif made 46 off 41 balls while Shoaib Malik remained unbeaten on a 20-ball 40. Umar Akmal 32 and Sharjeel Khan 30 also contributed to the team total. Skipper Shahid Afridi however could only manage to score 14 off 7 balls in most likely his last cricket match for Pakistan.

Earlier, Australian skipper Steven Smith played a captain’s innings on Friday, contributing an unbeaten half-century to set Pakistan a formidable 194-run target in the crucial World Twenty20 Super 10 stage match.

Smith, who won the toss and opted to bat on a green-tinged pitch at Mohali, struck an unbeaten 61 off 43 balls after Australia lost three wickets in quick succession.

Fit-again paceman Wahab Riaz did the initial damage, bowling in-form Usman Khawaja for 21 and castling David Warner on nine.

Aaron Finch, brought in at the top of the order for his first game of the tournament, went next, bowled by left-arm spinner Imad Wasim for 15 to leave Australia struggling on 57-3.Smith, however, steadied the ship aided first by Glenn Maxwell (30 off 24 deliveries) and then by the big-hitting Shane Watson.

Watson struck four fours and three sixes to race to an unbeaten 44 off 21 deliveries as Australia took 66 runs off the last five overs.

Imad Wasim picked up 2 wickets for 31 runs, while paceman Wahab Riaz, who replaced Mohammad Irfan for the game, took 2 for 35.

Australia, bidding for a first World Twenty20 title, made two changes to the team that beat Bangladesh in their last match, bringing in the big-hitting Aaron Finch in place of Mitchell Marsh and Josh Hazlewood for John Hastings.

Australia were fourth in Group Two behind New Zealand, who are already through to the semi-finals, with Pakistan and India.

Pakistan, who lost to India and New Zealand but also beat Bangladesh, needed a victory to keep their hopes of making it to the semi-finals alive.

Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi made one change to the team that lost to New Zealand with paceman Mohammad Irfan, who conceded 46 runs in his allotted four overs, being replaced by Wahab Riaz.

(Geo)

World T20: Dhoni’s last ball sprint helps India beat Bangladesh by one run

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indian-cricket-team

Bengaluru: India beat Bangladesh by one run in the group stage Super 10 World Twenty20 match at Chinnaswamy Stadium here in a humdinger of a contest on Wednesday.

Replying to India’s 146/7 in 20 overs, Bangladesh managed to hit 145/9 in the same number of overs.

The final over of the match witnessed some heart stopping moments where India, facing a defeat, snatched a victory with the help of two superb catches by Shikhar Dhawan and Ravindra Jadeja on Hardik Pandya’s deliveries and Captain Dhoni’s last ball sprint to run out Mustafizur Rahman with the batsmen centimetres away from the crease.

Requiring 11 runs of six balls in the last over, Bangladesh hit a single, two fours and lost three wickets to finally lose by a run.

Chasing a target of 146 runs, Tamim Iqbal top scored with 35 runs of 32 balls hitting five fours for Bangladesh. Sabbir Rahman (26), Shakib Al Hasan (22), Mahmudullah (18), Soumya Sarkar (21) and Mushfiqur Rahim (11) also chipped in with the bat.

India’s Ravichandran Ashwin produced a splendid bowling of 2/20 in four overs with an economy rate of just five runs. He was adjudged the player of the match.

Almost emulating Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja also produced a bowling performance of 2/22 in four overs.

Winning the toss, Bangladesh captain Masrafe Bin Mortaza put India to bat first. Interestingly, all toss winning captains at Bengaluru have chosen to field first.

India started off slowly with only two fours in the first three overs. Many times the ball went straight into fielders hands and India India were 27/0 in the first five overs.

Both the openers, Rohit Sharma and Shikar Dhawan hit a six each to satiate the spectators’ hunger for big hits even as they roared “We want six”.

Suresh Raina top scored for India with 30 runs in 23 balls, including two sixes and a four.

Virat Kohli (24), Dhawan (23), Sharma (18), Hardik Pandya (15), M.S. Dhoni (13) and Ravindra Jadeja contributed their bit to build a decent total for India.

Though Al-Amin Hossain and Mustafizur Rahman took two wickets each, both proved expensive for Bangladesh by letting 37 and 34 runs each in their quota of four overs.

Bowling only one over, Mahmudullah claimed a wicket allowing just four runs.

With the latest victory, India climbed to the second spot in Group two with four points and a net run rate of -0.546 while Bangladesh continued to stay at the bottom with zero points.

Brief Scores: India 146/7 in 20 overs (Suresh Raina 30, Virat Kohli 24; Al-Amin Hossain 2/37, Mustafizur Rahman 2/34) beat Bangladesh 145/9 in 20 overs (Tamim Iqbal 35, Sabbir Rahman 26; Ravichandran Ashwin 2/20, Ravindra Jadeja 2/22).

(IANS)

New Zealand beat Pakistan to enter World T20 semis

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New Zealand Pakistan

Mohali: New Zealand beat Pakistan by 22 runs here on Tuesday to qualify for the semi-finals of the World Twenty20 cricket tournament.

Electing to bat first, New Zealand rode on Martin Guptill’s 48-ball 80 to post 180 for five wickets before restricting Pakistan to 158 for five in their 20 overs.

The win saw New Zealand move to the top of the Group B table with three wins from as many matches while Pakistan’s chances of advancing further dimmed after two straight losses.

Left-hander Sharjeel Khan (47) gave Pakistan a strong start in their reply to reach 76/1 in seven overs.

Kiwi skipper Kane Williamson introduced Ish Sodhi to produce the match’s defining phase.

The leg-spinner removed the dangerous looking Shahid Afridi and conceded only 25 runs from his four overs. He also created enough pressure for Mitchell Santner to pick up two wickets and strangle Pakistan to a 22-run defeat.

Pakistan needed 52 in 24 balls with six wickets in hand. But Umar Akmal and Shoaib Malik could hardly find the gaps, as Pakistan failed to hit a boundary in its last 31 balls and finished on 158 for five.

With its third consecutive win, New Zealand became the first team to qualify for the semi-finals.

Earlier, Martin Guptill led the way with some power-packed batting as New Zealand posted a challenging total of 180/5 in their World Twenty20 Group 2 match against Pakistan at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium here on Tuesday.

Guptill smashed 80 runs off 48 balls with 10 boundaries and three sixes. Ross Taylor, who remained on 36 off 23 deliveries and Corey Anderson (21) played useful knocks in the later stages of the innings.

Pacer Mohammad Sami (2/23) was the best performer among the Pakistan bowlers, although he did take some punishment from Guptill in his first spell. Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi (2/40) also bagged a couple of wickets.

This is New Zealand’s third match of the tournament. The Kiwis have made themselves near certain candidates for advancing to the semi-finals by winning both their previous matches, against hosts India and Australia. Another victory on Tuesday will see them through to the last-four stage as the top team in the group.

Electing to bat on winning the toss, New Zealand were off to a superb start with openers Guptill and Kane Williamson going great guns.

Guptill was the more aggressive of the two, handing out some rough treatment to the Pakistan bowlers while Williamson gave him steady support from the other end as the duo put together an opening partnership of 62 runs by the eighth over.

Irfan struck the first blow for Pakistan when he outfoxed Williamson with a slower one. The Kiwi right-hander mistimed his attempted drive as Shahid Afridi pulled off an easy catch at cover.

Incoming batsman Colin Munro did not last long as Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi struck in his very first over after coming on to bowl. Attempting a switch hit of a delivery which was pitched on the middle stump, the left-handed Munro hit the ball straight to Sharjeel Khan at sweeper cover.

But that did not affect the New Zealand run rate too much as Guptill and Corey Anderson continued to score at a brisk pace. The duo added 52 runs between them before Guptill tapped the ball onto his stumps while trying to dab an incoming delivery from Sami to third man.

Anderson also went back to the pavilion in the very next over as he mistimed a googly from Afridi. But Taylor ensured that the Kiwis finished their innings on a strong note.

Brief scores:

New Zealand 180/5 in 20 overs (Martin Guptill 80, Ross Taylor 36 n.o.; Mohammad Sami 2-23, Shahid Afridi 2-40); Pakistan (Sharjeel Khan 47, Ahmed Shehzad 30, Mitchell Santner 2/29, Adam Milne 2/26)

(IANS)

World T20: Australia beats Bangladesh by 3 wickets

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Australia-Bangladesh

Bengaluru: Australia beat Bangladesh in the third match of the World Twenty20’s Super 10 stage on Monday at the Chinnaswami Stadium, chasing down a 157 run target with three wickets and nine balls to spare.

Opening the chase for Australia, Usman Khwaja played a phenomenal innings of 58 runs off 45 balls with seven fours and a sixer.

Though Australia only lost its first wicket until the eight over, wickets started falling regularly after the 11th over.

Glenn Maxwell however chipped in with 26 runs in 15 balls with two four and two sixes, while other batsmens who helped the team sail through safely included Shane Watson (21), David Warner (17) and Steve Smith (14).

Shakib Al Hassan emerged the most successful bowler for Bangladesh claiming 3/27 in four overs while Mustafizur Rahman clocked 2/30.

Winning the toss, Australian captain Steve Smith chose to field but failed to contain Bangladesh to a low total.

Mahmudullah top scored with a quickfire 49 runs off 29 balls smashing seven fours and a six.

Autralia’s Adam Zampa claimed three wickets in four overs conceding 23 runs and was declared the player of the match for his bowling effort.

With two points, Australia reached the third position in Group 2 while Bangladesh touched the bottom with the loss.

Brief Scores:

Australia 157/7 in 18.3 overs (Usman Khwaja 58, Glenn Maxwell 26; Shakib Al Hasan 3/27, Mustafizur Rahman 2/30) beat Bangladesh 156/5 in 20 overs (Mahmudullah 49, Shakib Al Hasan 33; Adam Zampa 3/23, Shane Watson 2/31).

(IANS)

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