Anyways the rain is interrupting the match.
Sri Lanka Vs Pakistan
Anyways the rain is interrupting the match.
KKR The New Winners of DLF IPL 5
Kolkata Knight Riders chased the score of 190 against the
champions Chennai Super Kings at Chidambaram Stadium.KKR growled at their
trophy as the exciting last over
Finished with the boundaries of Manoj Tiwary and Shakib Al Hasan. The loss of
Gautam Gambhir in the opening over, Bisla kick-started Kolkata's run-chase by
hitting Albie Morkel for four boundaries and kept the pace going through to his
highest IPL score of 87. Kallis was reserved during his half-century, brought
up off 39 balls, and his 136-run stand with Bisla helped end Chennai's superb
run in the 2012. Chennai didn't give up and took the match into the final over,
but Manoj Tiwary finished the deal with two leg-side hits with two balls
remaining. Kolkata's chase of 191 started poorly, with Gambhir bowled in the
opening over by Ben Hilfenhaus. Bisla took four boundaries off the fourth over
bowled by Morkel, each hit fiercely through the offside, and Kolkata had 36 on
the board. R Ashwin was then driven for consecutive sixes, down the ground and
over mid-on, and the chase was on. With the 50 up in the sixth over, Bisla
accelerated further in the next by driving Dwayne Bravo for six over mid-off.
MS Dhoni tried the left-arm spin of Shadab Jakati after the time-out, but Kallis
greeted him with a four. Bisla reached his half-century in 27 balls in the same
over, and in Bravo's second he collected his fourth six.
By the halfway , KKR were 100 for 1, meaning they need 91
from 60 balls, and Bisla's intensity and strike-rate did not give up. In
Jakati's second over, he hit two more fours, then collected a sixth six .Kallis'
contribution was crucial too, for his 69 off 49 balls eased the pressure on
Bisla. The tension was hi as Yusuf Pathan got a leading edge off Ashwin, at
which point KKR needed 27 off 17. Kallis then hampered up. With 20 to defend
off 12 balls, Hilfenhaus sent down two full tosses. Needed nine from six balls,
Shakib and Tiwary exchanged singles .Tiwary finished it with the boundaries.
Its been a difficult chase. Having been given first use of
the batting deck, Hussey and Murali Vijay launched an 87-run stand in 10.2
overs. That start provided the thrust for Raina to come out blazing, and he
collected his first fifty of the season .After two tidy overs that cost 12,
Chennai took 48 off the next four. Brett Lee was taken for two boundaries in
the third over, Shakib was hit for six first ball, and Lee's third over went
for 19 as each opener struck a six. Ultimately,Kolkata Knight Riders the
victorious team of DLF IPL 5 .
DLF IPL
Chennai Super Kings beat Mumbai Indians by 38 runs and is
playing against Delhi Daredevils tonight at Chidambaram Stadium at Chennai..
They are two-time IPL winners and know a thing or two about performing in the
playoffs. Don't expect them to offer Delhi much. Chennai's victory over Mumbai
will have given them lot of confidence.
a semi-final essentially needs the key battles in this
contest are Sehwag , Ben Hilfenhaus; Suresh Raina ,Morne Morkel; and Dhoni
Delhi's bowlers.Hilfenhaus has been a superb addition to Chennai's squad – he
has 11 wickets from seven matches – and his argue with Sehwag could be engaging.Raina
has produced match-winning turns in past IPL playoffs and considering he was
bowled first ball. In that regard, Morkel,the leading wicket taker this season will
need to test him. After his robust 20-ball 51 in the Eliminator, Dhoni has
roared to life after a series of subdued innings. Like Raina , Dhoni against
Mumbai Indians does not bode well for Delhi, whose bowling at the late overs
has been suspect, especially from Irfan Pathan and Varun Aaron.
Will Chennai crush Delhi and make their third consecutive
IPL final? Can Delhi come back from a crushing loss and reach their maiden
final? The answers lie ahead in what could be a fascinating and somewhat
historic. One game each into the IPL 5 playoffs, Chennai Super Kings and Delhi
Daredevils have played contrasting games with contrasting results. Taking place
into the playoffs through the back door,
Chennai brought their A game to the Eliminator where, inspired by MS Dhoni,
they crushed Mumbai Indians. Delhi, having topped the league stage, stormed
into the playoffs and promptly played one of their worst games of the season
against Kolkata Knight Riders. Given one more shot to make the finals .Delhi's
strategy of keeping Ross Taylor back to No. 6 behind Venugopal Rao and PawanNegi in the first Qualifier was befuddling, and whether they persist with the New
Zealand batsman remains to be seen. If they look past Taylor, the man to come
in could be Roelof van der Merwe who also offers variety with his left-arm
spin. But more importantly, Delhi need more from David Warner, Virender Sehwag
and Mahela Jayawardene.
DLF IPL 5
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Play Off : KKR Vs DD
Here is the first qualifier of IPL 5 at Pune’s Sahara
Stadium between Delhi Daredevils and Kolkata Knight Riders .
Delhi finished the group stage on top with 11 wins, while
Kolkata came in a close second with 10 wins. Both teams are going into the
match high on confidence; Delhi more so, because of the return to form of their
batsman Ross Taylor. The New Zealand captain has scored a worthless 162 runs in
10 matches, but come apart to life with a 26-ball 55 against Royal ChallengersBangalore last week to inspire confidence in himself and the team. Taylor's extended
failure with the bat had Delhi's captain Virender Sehwag worried but he would
be a relieved man now, knowing that one of the most dangerous batsmen in Twenty20
cricket could be back to his best.
Delhi's batting this season has been awesome. Delhi's
bowling matches their batting.
Kolkata boasts of a dreadful bowling unit too, but the
batting has been a concern. However, Kolkata's bowling makes up for the few
weaknesses in the batting department.. In Kolkata's last two matches against
Pune Warriors India and Mumbai Indians, the three combined superbly to defend
modest totals of 136 and 140 respectively.
Kolkata's fast bowlers may not have been as effective
as their spinners but they cannot be discounted. Clearly, there is not much to
choose between the two teams and the outcome of the match will be heavily
influenced by the nature of the hit in Pune. However, a loss won't be the end
of the road for either team as they will get to play another qualifier on May
25 against the losers of the tie between Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai on May 23.
CHENNAI INTO PLAYOFFS
Deccan Chargers victory over Royal Challengers Bangalore by nine runs set them out of Playoffs,meanwhile proving rescuers to the Chennai Super Kings .Bangalore’s strength throughout this tournament was its batting ,but it failed them when it mattered the most. Instead it was an forceful beat from JP Duminy that decided the match as he helped his side set a modest target of 133, which the bowlers, inspired by an unplayable Dale Steyn, managed to defend. In fact, Steyn, Amit Mishra and Ashish Reddy picked up important wickets at crucial moments, and Bangalore eventually managed only 123 for 9.
Chris Gayle hammered Manpreet Gony for 24 runs in the second over. But Steyn provided the first turning point soon after, bowling a bouncer to Gayle that evidently flustered him.Steyn then dismissed Tillakaratne Dilshan lbw in his next over, and when Saurabh Tiwary retired hurt in the sixth with a hamstring injury, Bangalore knew they had a game on their hands.
Tiwary had to return in the 10th over though, after AmitMishra struck twice to put the home side on top. Duminy played his part by taking a leaping catch at cover to send back AB de Villiers , before Mayank Agarwal was bowled two balls later. At the halfway mark Bangalore were 57 for 4 Virat Kohli and Tiwary put on a brisk 46-run partnership to put their team back on track, and when Reddy conceded a four and a six in the 16th over, it looked as if Bangalore had turned a corner. However, Kohli was out at the end of that over, furious with himself as he was caught at long-on for 42. It proved to be a costly error as Steyn returned to bowl the 17th over, conceding just one run and picking up Zaheer Khan, to end with Man-of-the-Match figures of 3 for 8. And when Tiwary crumbled under the pressure of the asking rate to fall to Veer Pratap Singh in the 19th over, the game was as good as over. Bangalore’s bowlers could not get the 14 runs they needed off the final over, Reddy finishing with 3 for 25, and Deccan took the eighth spot to leave Pune Warriors at the bottom of the table.
It got worse for the hosts after Vinay Kumar had Akshath Reddy caught behind in the fourth over, before Cameron White read PrasanthParameswaran’s short-length delivery wrong and attempted a pull that only resulted in a simple catch for Agarwal .With the Bangalore bowlers keeping things tight and Deccan struggling on a pitch where the ball did not come on to the bat easily, runs were hard to come by and the score was a paltry 23 for 2 at the end of the Powerplay overs.
That became 53 for 4 at the end of 12 overs after skipper Kumar Sangakkara, attempting to up the run-rate, gave the charge to his fellow Sri Lankan Muttiah Muralitharan and was caught at long-off for 15.
However, Duminy remained steady at the other end, and with Parthiv Patel giving him company in a 71-run partnership, launched an attack on the otherwise disciplined Bangalore bowlers, to take his side to 132 for 7. His 53-ball 74 included 4 fours and 5 sixes, including three big ones off Muralitharan in an 18th over that cost 20 runs.
DLF IPL : RR Vs PWI
Off-spinner AjitChandila recorded the first hat-trick of the Indian Premier League season as Rajasthan Royals defeated Pune Warriors India by 45 runs on Sunday. Half centuries by Ajinkya Rahane and Shane Watson impelled the Royals to 170 for 4 before Chandila's hat-trick sparkled off the Pune top order of his first seven deliveries, the opposition to 125 for 9 by limiting them.
Bowling with the new ball, Chandila took the wickets of Jesse Ryder, Sourav Ganguly and Robin Uthappa before finishing with of 4 for 13. it was the eighth straight loss for Pune, who are second from the bottom with eight points. While the victory kept Rajasthan in the hunt for a playoffs place with 14 points from seven victories.
RCB WIN OVER RAJASTHAN
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Royal Challengers Bangalore win over Rajasthan Royals with a four wicket drag by
Left arm spinner KP Appanna and half- centuries from Tilakaratne Dilshan and
AB de Villiers. But Bangalore, who were 62 for 2 at the end of 10 overs, have to mostly thank de Villiers and Dilshan to put up an intimidating 189 for 3 on the board. However, nothing can be taken away from Appanna who was bowling to tournament’s in-form batting line-up that included Ajinkya Rahane and OwaisShah. Rajasthan’s run-chase kicked off on a bright note, with Rahane and Rahul Dravid putting up a 56-run stand. But Rahane failed to clear the boundary.
While Dravid continued to find the boundary, Owais Shah and Shreevats Goswami became the next victims of Appanna’s craftiness to turn a good start into a unsteady one at 87 for 3 in the 12th over. And when Appanna had Dravid caught for 58, Rajasthan were left to fight a lost battle, with the required run-rate high past 13.
Brad Hodge , the hosts’ last hope but he too submit to the pressure of chasing a big total. Other than Appanna, Harshal Patel and Zaheer Khan were the wicket-takers for Bangalore.
But the day belonged to the 122-run shared by de Villiers and Dilshan after Virat Kohli came in to open with Dilshan. Gayle who didn’t open because of sickeness came in at No. 4 after Kohli’s bad patch was extended by Pankaj Singh he made just 16. Mayank Aggarwal hung around for a while but was netted by Brad Hogg in attempts to break the shackles. And when a less than 100 percent Gayle was caught in front by Hogg for 10, the scoreboard showed Bangalore in a bother and Rajasthan in control at 67 for 3.
However, that’s when Rajasthan started losing their grip over the RCB innings. It didn’t take long for Dilshan and de Villiers to bring out their unusual strokeplay and the counter-attack mainly of Siddharth Trivedi .
While de Villiers hit three fours and five sixes in his blazing knock, Dilshan was not to be left behind, stroking 10 fours and one six.
Celtics fire Heat
Paul Pierce scored 27 points, Kevin Garnett added 24 points and nine rebounds, and the Celtics made their first eight shots of the fourth quarter to hold off the Heat 115-107.
Rajon Rondo posted double-digit assists for the 18th straight game, extending the NBA's longest such streak in 20 years with an 18-point, 15-assist effort. Brandon Bass added 12 points and 10 rebounds, while Avery Bradley scored 11 for the Celtics, who shot a season-high 61 percent and survived two possessions where Miami could have tied the score in the final quarter. LeBron James finished with 36 points, seven rebounds and seven assists for Miami, which got 20 from Dwyane Wade and 18 from Mario Chalmers. Chris Bosh finished with 13 on 5-for-13 shooting for Miami, which has gone 5-5 in its last 10 games.
Miami had two shots to tie early in the fourth after being down by as many as 18 earlier, before Garnett made jump shots on four straight possessions, the average length of those makes being 19 feet.
A 10-0 run early in the first quarter gave Boston a quick lead - and that wasn't even the Celtics' best run of the opening period. Boston scored the last 11 of the first, the run actually becoming 13-0 when Garnett scored to open the second quarter, and Boston's lead was 35-22.
Everything the Celtics wanted, they got. Boston shot 61 percent in the first quarter, 62 percent in the second. Rivers used eight players, all of them making multiple shots by halftime. Of them, the only one who failed to make at least half his shots was Bass, who more than made up for that with six first-half rebounds.
Here's how well the Celtics were shooting: Miami went into the break shooting 51 percent from the field, 60 percent from 3-point range and 78 percent from the foul line - and Boston was at least 10 percentage points better in every department.
Down by 18 in the first half, Miami cut the deficit to 65-57 at halftime. James closed it with a 3, punching the air as the shot dropped.
Even with that, every moment of the second half was an mounting combat
And the Celtics weren't being caught.
Miami got within five twice in the third, with Rondo answering both times to make it a three-possession game again. The Celtics held the Heat to 36 percent shooting in the quarter, keeping the eight-point lead entering the fourth at 89-81.
The Heat had two chances to tie early in the fourth, after starting the period on a 7-0 run. The first of those slipped away when Bosh failed to finish off a three-point play opportunity by missing from the line. The next came when Udonis Haslem missed from the left baseline with 9:17 left, and Boston's answer that time was absolute.
Allen made a catch-and-shoot 3 for a 94-89 lead, and then Garnett just took over.
DLF IPL
Delhi DareDevils beat Kolkata Knight Ridersin the IPL by eight wickets .As the overs
Were curtailed due to rain on Thursday.The match was reduced to 12 - Overs .
Chasing 98 to win, Sehwag and Aaron Finch raced to a 49-run start, laying a solid foundation for Pathan and Glenn Maxwell to score the remaining runs after the openers left in quick succession. Pathan hit three sixes and two fours in his match-winning knock.
After electing to bowl first, Delhi bowlers Morne Morkel , Umesh Yadav and Roelof van der Merwe didn't disappoint their skipper as the visitors restricted the hosts to 97 for 9. Allrounder Laxmi Ratan Shukla was the top-scorer for Kolkata.
Earlier, Morkel rocked Kolkata's top order with back-to-back wickets. He first bowled Jacques Kallis and Manoj Tiwary in successive deliveries and then followed it up with the wicket of Kolkata's skipper Gautam Gambhir, who played a short ball by the tall South African pacer onto his stumps. And the home side was in a real spot of bother when Yusuf Pathan was caught behind off Yadav.
But young Bengal batsman Debabrata Das took the attack to the opposition with two lusty sixes, though his innings was cut short when he got run out after a terrible mix-up with Rajat Bhatia. A Shukla cameo late in the innings took Kolkata to a decent total; however, it was not enough in the end.
In reply, Delhi raced to 48 for no loss in six overs, with Finch and Sehwag swatting the ball hard. But the wickets of Finch, who was clean-bowled by Kallis, and Sehwag, who was caught brilliantly at the long-on fence by Iqbal Abdulla off Bhatia, in quick succession put the match in balance until Pathan's blitz blew away the opposition.
Grizzlies top Warriors Got 3rd straight win
Grizzlies defeated the Golden State Warriors 98 -94 last night.
O.J. Mayo had 19 points to lead Memphis scorers, DanteCunningham scored 13 points, hitting all six of his shots for Memphis, which played with little drive for most of the game but acieved a third straight win.
Marc Gasol added 12, Rudy Gay finished with 11 points, in spite of going 3 of 13 from the field, and Gilbert Arenas scored 10 points, hitting all four of his shots.
David Lee scored 22 points and had 13 bounce backs to lead the Warriors, who lost their sixth straight. Nate Robinson scored 18, and BrandonRush added 13 on 4 of 7 from the field.
The Grizzlies won the game by outscoring Golden State 28-15 in the final period, shooting 70.5 For the first three quarters, the Warriors appeared to be the ones in line for the playoffs, instead of hoping for good draft position.
The game started pretty ugly. The Warriors missed nine of their first 10 shots, and both teams ended the first quarter hitting 9 of 24 from the field.
The offense picked up in the second as Lee was effective for the Warriors, while Memphis was relying on balanced scoring.
Lee's basket with 2.4 seconds left in the half gave him 14 points and tied the game at 50 at the break.
Conley, who hit 5 of 7 shots including 2 of 3 outside, had 12 for Memphis. The Warriors complete the lead to nine in the middle stages of the third as the Grizzlies continued to look exhausted Mayo hit back-to-back 3-pointers to pull Memphis close, but Robinson answered with consecutive long-range jumpers to provide the Warriors a buffer.
That helped Golden State carry a 79-70 lead into the final quarter, and a 3-pointer by Rush on the Warriors' early possession of the fourth gave them the first double-digit lead of the game.
India Thrashed Pakistan
India's vice captain ViratKohli smashed a career-best 183 to power India virtually into the finals of the Asia Cup as he led the chase of a enormous 330-run target to beat archrivals Pakistan by six wickets on Sunday.
Sachin Tendulkar and Rohit Sharma were the other chief contributors of this must-win game that took India to second place in the points table, behind Pakistan
For Pakistan, their opening pair of Mohammad Hafeez and Nasir Jamshed hit stroke-filled centuries in a 224-run stand that propelled Pakistan to the huge total. However, India pulled things back in the last 10 overs to instil hopes of victory.
India's run-chase began with a stumble when opener Gautam Gambhir was dismissed lbw by Mohammad Hafeez off the second ball of the innings. However, a 133-run partnership between Tendulkar and Kohli nullified the early advantage Pakistan had got.
Tendulkar was ejected by off-spinner Saeed Ajmal, but incoming batsman Rohit proved to be the ideal foil for Kohli, who has been in the form of his life. During this knock, Kohli became the second-quickest to 3500 ODI runs, only behind West Indian legend Vivian Richards. His 148-ball 183 included 22 fours and one six.
Rohit was a bit slow to get off the blocks, but once in, he made it count by rotating the strike and hitting a boundary every now and then. Kohli and Rohit both fell in the space of 13 runs after a 172-run partnership, which by then had put India in cruise mode with the score already past 300.
Raina and Kohli then performed the last rites to complete a facile win.
Jamshed's 112 came off just 104 balls, including 10 fours and one six.
Pakistan lost their other opener, Hafeez, four balls later, which lifted the Indian spirits. Hafeez's 105 runs came off 113 balls, studded with 9 fours and one six. Akmal and Younis Khan then stitched together a 48-run partnership but Pakistan lost Akmal for 28 at the score of 273 in the 43rd over. He was dismissed by Praveen Kumar.
Afridi tried to get his eye in but his 15-ball stay was ended by Irfan Pathan. He contributed just 9 but was involved in a 40-run stand with Younis, during which Pakistan crossed the 300-run mark.
Pakistan, who scored 73 runs and lost four wickets in the last 10 overs, lost the momentum in the end but Younis's 34-ball 52 ensured Pakistan reach 329 for 6 in the end. Praveen sent him back off a one-handed stunner by Raina in the covers. Captain Misbah-ul-Haq remained not out on four, while allrounder Hammad Azam scored 4.
Ashok Dinda finished with figures of 2 for 47 in 8 overs, while Praveen was the most expensive of the lot at 2 for 77. Irfan was hammered for 69 runs in his 10 overs and returned with a lonely wicket.
Asia Cup
Of Asia Cup, Irfan Pathan led the Indian attack with a four wicket pull.India put forward the score
Of 304 before Sri Lanka.Losing 4 wickets for 31 runs in the batting powerplay proved decisive
In the end as they reached 196 for 3 in 35 overs.Ashwin and Vinay took two wickets each and decreased
Lankans to 227 for 7 in 40 overs.Pathan returned in the last over to complete his 4 for 32 with the last
Sri Lankan wicket of Seekkuge Prasanna.
Earlier, India's twin centurions Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir put up a 205-run stand for the second wicket to set India up for a big total. On the way to his century, Kohli became the fastest man to reach 10 ODI centuries, reaching the landmark in his 83rd match.
MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina then stricken the Lankan attack for 78 runs in the final 7.1 overs to cross the 300-run mark with a six from Raina off the last ball of the 50th over.
SachinTendulkar fell early after Sri Lanka put India in to bat. Thereafter, it was a Kohli-Gambhir show as they stole the fame by bringing up the 10th ODI centuries of their respective careers.
The Sri Lankan bowlers had no answers for Kohli who scored his second consecutive century in Mirpur after punishing the Bangladeshis in the World Cup opener last year. He and Gambhir fell soon after reaching the landmark but Dhoni and Raina ensured boundaries came thick and fast in the last seven overs to take India's total to 304 for 3.
The Lankans lost Tillakaratne Dilshan early in their chase but Jayawardene played a captain's knock of 78 in just 59 balls, which included 10 fours and two sixes. After Dilshan was sent back by Pathan, Jayawardene joined hands with KumarSangakkara for a 93-run second-wicket partnership in a 14-over period . The Sri Lankans joyously moved to 124 for 1 in just the 19th over when Jayawardene's downfall. At 152 for 3, Sangakkara found an supporter in Lahiru Thirimanne and the duo started bringing the chase back on track by exploiting the Indian spinners. However, Ashwin sent Sangakkara and Thirimanne back in the first over of the powerplay, while Vinay took care of Nuwan Kulasekara and Chamara Kapugedara in the fourth. Maharoof tried to be a bit adventurous; however, it proved to be vain in the end.
ASIA CUP
Pakistan pulled off a 21 run victory over a vigorous Bangladesh in the exhilarating opening
Match of Asia Cup on Sunday. Pakistan Team set forth the score of 263 before Bangladesh .
Hoewever,the hosts lacked the batting power in the end and got all out for 241 in 48.1 over only.
On the other hand the hosts gave a good account of themselves and also proved that they cannot
Be taken lightly in the tournament.Shakib and Nasir were going great arms together as the team.
Umar Gul broke the partnership by bowling Nasir in the 44th over.Shakib was the last man out
Umar Gul broke the partnership by bowling Nasir in the 44th over.Shakib was the last man out
Pakistan scored 262 for eight after Mohammed Hafeez top-scored with a patient 89 and shared a 135-run stand with fellow opener Nasir Jamshed. Apart from Hafeez and Jamshed's brilliant batting it was Gul's strokeful unbeaten 39 towards the end that lifted Pakistan to a respectable total.
ShahdatHossain and Shakib Al Hasan shared five wickets between them to help Bangladesh restrict Pakistani players, who were scoring briskly till the 30 overs.
Pakistan rode on spin trio of Hafeez ,Saeed Ajmal and Shahid Afridi's brilliant bowling to open their campaign with a win.
Bangladesh's chase was guided by opener Tamim Iqbal's crafty 64 but the hosts could not make the best use of his innings. Iqbal along with opener Nazimuddin and Jahurul Islam shared two 45-run stands each for the first and second wickets.
Hafeez struck twice in two balls in the 29th over as he bowled Iqbal in the third ball and trapped Mahmudullah in the next to reduce Bangaldesh to 135 for five.
Shakib then joined hands with Nasir to take the fight to Pakistan. They made good use of third powerplay to set the tone for a close finish.
Earlier, Hafeez and Jamshed had laid the foundation by putting on 135 runs for the first wicket in just 28 overs but Shahdat Hossain (3/53) and Shakib Al Hasan (2/41) struck at crucial moments to help the hosts fight back into the match.
But Gul, somewhat, spoilt Bangladesh's plans with a brisk 39 off 25 balls.
Hoping that the pitch at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium would offer some assistance to his seamers early on, Bangladesh skipper Mushfiqur Rahim elected to field after the coin landed in his favour.
Jamshed was the more aggressive of the two as he found the fence five times, besides hitting a six. Hafeez was content to rotate the strike while hitting the occasional boundaries.
Bangladesh then made a spirited fightback and the breakthrough they needed, came in the form of Jamshed's wicket in the 28th over, when Mushfiqur ran the batsman out after receiving a throw from Shakib. Living up to the tag of being an unpredictable side, Pakistan suffered a collapse and, from 160 for two in the 33rd over, they were struggling at 198 for seven.
Pakistan Vs England
Former players rallied round Pakistan captain Misbah-ul Haq on Wednesday despite his side's miserable showing in the 4-0 one-day series battering by England
The sudden slump in form prompted former captain Imran Khan to bemoan a lack of depth in Pakistan
But the legendary allrounder backed captain Misbah-ul Haq to continue as skipper in the short form of the game, having already led a remarkable revival of the Test side.
Khan rejected the suggestion the side would be better served by separate captains for the three forms of the game.
Former spinner Iqbal Qasim also backed Misbah, urging critics to give him time to turn around the side's one-day fortunes.
Qasim said Pakistan
Sri Lanka Vs India
India’s run chase began very poorly as Captain Virender Sehwag played disappointingly but Things still looked bright for India as Sachin Tendulkar and Gautam Gambhir were striking the ball beautifully. But the Nuwan Kulasekara with his lovely swing and closure bowling made the two batsmen out to leave
It was a huge disappointment for Sachin Tendulkar as he looked good for his 22 (from 33 balls with 3 fours) before he dragged from Kulasekara onto his stumps.. Gambhir got out walking down the track and guiding an away swinger low into the hands of Thisara Perera at wide .
It was matter of formalities for the Sri Lankans after removing Kohli. However, Irfan Pathan was having other ideas and was pretty confident of pulling a victory all on his own. Unfortunately for Pathan, he lost three vital partners in Jadeja, Parthiv and Ashwin which reduced the score to 232 for 8 in 43 overs.
Kulasekara made things easy for the Lankans when he had Ravindra Jadeja dragging a wide.In the 43rd over, Lasith Malinga came up with a death blow when R Ashwin was forced to edge his late cut off a slower one to the keeper.
Thisara Perera finished the match with statistics of 4 for 37 in 7.1 overs.
Pakistan beat us fair and square
Abu Dhabi England coach Andy Flower said on Sunday that Pakistan's series-clinching Test win would be a huge boost to the country, but called on his team to show their mettle on subsequent matches in the subcontinent.
Pakistan thumped England by 72 runs in the second Test here on Saturday, taking an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series. They won the first Test by ten wickets in Dubai.
The third and final Test begins in Dubai from February 3.
Under Flower England had been unbeaten in their last nine Test series, which saw them rise to number one in rankings last year.
But after being set a tricky 145-run target to win on Saturday, England were dismissed for a paltry 72 runs as Pakistan's spin bowlers came to the fore.
Pakistan beat us fair and square
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Abu Dhabi England coach Andy Flower said on Sunday that Pakistan's series-clinching Test win would be a huge boost to the country, but called on his team to show their mettle on subsequent matches in the subcontinent.
Pakistan thumped England by 72 runs in the second Test here on Saturday, taking an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series. They won the first Test by ten wickets in Dubai.
The third and final Test begins in Dubai from February 3.
Under Flower England had been unbeaten in their last nine Test series, which saw them rise to number one in rankings last year.
But after being set a tricky 145-run target to win on Saturday, England were dismissed for a paltry 72 runs as Pakistan's spin bowlers came to the fore.
Australia Vs India, 4th test
The Indian bowlers were going through the actions, and it wasn't helped by the defensive strategy by captain Virender Sehwag.
Earlier in the second session, Australia India
. With good batting conditions expected, it was no surprise to see Clarke bat first, but the cunning of R Ashwin saw the hosts go to lunch on 98 for 3.
Ashwin was introduced as early as the fourth over by stand-in captain Sehwag and the offspinner did not disappoint. Two maiden overs quickly unsettled David Warner, who was trapped lbw by Zaheer Khan soon after. Ashwin then outfoxed an out-of-form Shaun Marsh, bowling him through the gate with the one that goes straight on, before luring Ed Cowan into a fateful drive shortly before lunch. Cowan had been the mainstay throughout the first session, quietly accumulating on his way to 30 before he was well caught by VVS Laxman at short extra cover.
The hosts are dying for a series whitewash, having taken a 3-0 lead in the series so far.
Centuries from Ricky Ponting and Australian skipper MichaelClarke nailed India
Former Australian captain Ponting scored his 41st Test century after completing 13,000 Test runs, becoming just the third batsmen after Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid to reach the landmark. Ponting has now scored a century in all three of the Test he has played against India in Adelaide
England VS Pakistan
Mohsin came in as a breath of fresh air, for both the players and for the team management, who had seen enough of foreign coaches. Mohsin, together with the captain Misbah-ul-Haq who has an equally calm behavior, applied sensible approach. They decided to take it one series at a time, beginning with the home contest against Sri Lanka
The faith shown by Mohsin and Ijaz Ahmed, the batting coach, on youngsters like Azhar Ali, Asad Shafiq and Umar and Adnan Akmal paid off when they confirmed the three-Test series 1-0 and the ODIs by a 4-1 margin. Next, Pakistan cleaned up Bangladesh
Keeping the players motivated is a tough task for a coach who knows his replacement is around the corner. And Mohsin, who represented Pakistan England out for 192 in the first innings, and then Pakistan England
Pakistan Vs England Test series
Gul's aggressive bowling for 3-20 was helped by some dreadful shot selection from opener Alastair Cook and Kevin Pietersen, who departed while attempting shocking pull shots.
Before Gul's burst, Akmal had added precious 50 runs in an hour and a quarter after Pakistan
Akmal hit eight boundaries in his career-best 61 that included two reverse swept fours off Graeme Swann, who finished with 4-107.
Fast bowler Umar Gul sliced through England with three cheap wickets for Pakistan
After Adnan Akmal's gutsy half-century stretched Pakistan 's first-innings lead to 146, England
Pakistan VS England
Ajmal won five decisions after England won the toss and elected to bat first at Dubai International Cricket Stadium, with Matt Prior's determined knock of 70 .Pakistan openers Mohammad Hafeez and Taufeeq Umar saw off 15 overs in the last hour of the day without too many problems in facing England
Captain Andrew Strauss , Ian Bell and KevinPietersen departed within five of Ajmal's deliveries before lunch as England
After polishing off the top order before lunch, Ajmal trapped Eoin Morgan and StuartBroad lbw as both failed in their attempts to sweep the last year's top wicket-taker in Test cricket.
Morgan escaped a stumping chance off Ajmal just before the break. Ajmal continued to confuse the England batsman, and when he trapped last man James Anderson lbw he concealed his previous best of 6-42 against West Indies last year.
Prior added 57 precious runs for the eighth wicket with Swann before leftarm spinner Abdur Rehman broke the stand and closed England
Earlier, Strauss and Alastair Cook watchfully played out new ball bowlers Umar Gul and Aizaz Cheema before Pakistan
Hafeez responded in his very first over when Cook tried to cut the offspinner's third delivery and was caught behind by Adnan Akmal.
Akmal took another brilliant acrobatic catch down the leg side off fast bowler Aizaz Cheema's short delivery, which claimed a thick edge of Jonathan Trott's bat.
But it was the introduction of Ajmal midway into the first session that hurried the England
Strauss hastily tried to pull Ajmal's fifth delivery only to knock back his off stump, then Bell
Pietersen also struggled through 29 deliveries before Ajmal won the lbw decision thanks to the Decision Review System after onfield Australian umpire Ben Oxenford had originally turned down a loud appeal.
Panesar had impressed in a warmup match but England
Heat lost in OT to Warriors
Golden State out scored the Heat 24-12 in the fourth quarter. The Heat shot 11.8 percent in the quarter with Wade and Udonis Haslem scoring the only field goals of the period. But Haslem’s biggest contribution to the outcome game wasn’t his immerse that gave the Heat a 93-85 lead. Wade, who led the Heat with 34 points, flow awayed in the fourth and shot 1 of 8 from the field. Still, he led the Heat with six points in the period, which was five more points than James offered. James finished with 26 points on 10 of 19 shooting.
The Warriors (3-6) might have a losing record but they’ve already defeated Boston , New York Golden State
Reserve Nate Robinson, the shortest player on the court at 5-9, led the Warriors with 24 points. He was 14 of 14 from the free-throw line and made several important shots during the Warriors’ fourth quarter comeback, including a pair of three-pointers.
The Heat had 22 turnovers, missed 14 free throws and blew a 17-point lead in the third quarter by shooting 2 of 17 from the field in the final period. Golden State
But the Warriors caught fire in the overtime. Dorell Wright, the former Heat first-round pick, Golden State scored 15 points in the five-minute overtime period. Wright was perfect from the field in overtime, shooting 3 of 3 from the field and 2 of 2 from three-point range.
