Cricket is not Cricket without Shahid Afridi

India 338 (Tendulkar 120, Bresnan 5-48) tied with England 338 for 8 (Strauss 158, Bell 69, Zaheer 3-64) On an evening that simply beggared belief, England tied with India in an incredible finale in Bangalore. Andrew Strauss was England's inspiration, producing an extraordinary 158 from 145 balls, the highest score by an English batsman in World Cup history, as England threatened the unthinkable, and set off in full pursuit of India's seemingly unobtainable total of 338 - a score that had been made possible by a brilliant 120 from Sachin Tendulkar. Such was the clarity of Strauss's strokeplay and the passivity of India's attack, at 280 for 2 in the 43rd over, England were cruising towards an extraordinary triumph. However a late intervention, sparked by a reverse-swinging Zaheer Khan, left them clawing for breath as a silenced Chinnaswamy stadium rediscovered its roar, and when the requirement shot up beyond two runs a ball, there seemed no way back into the contest. Ho...

The build-up and hype ahead of this match has been huge and we are still barely into the second week of the World Cup. This was always going to be one of the marquee clashes of the tournament, and even though it has been moved away from Eden Gardens to the slightly less daunting Chinnaswamy Stadium, that hasn't dulled the anticipation. You only need to see the unfortunate pictures from outside the ground during the week, as locals rushed for tickets, to know how desperate they are to watch their team. However, there are two sides taking part and England are insisting they can use the expectation being piled on to the hosts in their favour. From a purely cricket view, the stadium switch won't have disappointed Andrew Strauss's team because, both on and off the field in Bangalore, conditions will be slightly less hostile than could have been the case in Kolkata. Yet England's record against India in their own backyard makes for grim reading. They have won one of their las...

Pakistan's captain Shahid Afridi (R) applauds while leading his team out of the pitch after beating Sri Lanka by 11 runs in their ICC Cricket World Cup match during the Group A match in the World Cup Cricket tournament between Sri Lanka and Pakistan at The R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on February 26, 2011. COLOMBO: Just a week ago, few would have slated Pakistan among the World Cup favourites – but that was a week ago. Since then, they have obliterated Kenya by 205 runs and then on Saturday, really showed off their title credentials by beating co-hosts Sri Lanka by 11 runs. That margin of victory looks slim but Pakistan were in control for most of the Sri Lankan innings and only a couple of late slogs and generously wayward bowling took the co-hosts so relatively close. In their captain Shahid Afridi, enjoying a new lease of life in this tournament at the age of 30, Pakistan boast one of the most dangerously in-form men of the World Cup. He has yet to take off with the bat beca...

COLOMBO: Pakistan coach Waqar Younis played down the threat from Muttiah Muralitharan ahead of their crucial World Cup clash with Sri Lanka on Saturday, saying their batsmen had coped with him in the past. A capacity 35,000-crowd is expected to fill the Premadasa stadium in Colombo for the Group A match – the first big test for both teams after Sri Lanka easily rolled over Canada and Pakistan crushed Kenya. “In the past if Muralitharan had plans for us, we have played really well against him in this country. “I don’t think we should worry about him, he is not 28 anymore,” said Waqar of the 38-year-old off-spinner, who has 521 wickets in 342 one-day internationals – a world record. “It is not going to be easy for him any more. We are prepared not only for him but the entire team because we know it’s an important match for us and we need to keep the momentum going.” Waqar admitted Sri Lanka would be tough to beat in home conditions. “Sri Lanka on their home ground are very good, very di...

Anyone out there who still thinks Pakistan are not dangerous contenders for the World Cup? With tremendous poise and skill in the middle overs, Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis Khan propelled Pakistan, who were on a tricky 105 for 2 in the 21st over, to a strong 277, before Shahid Afridi and Shoaib Akthar produced bits of magic to derail the chase. Chamara Silva threatened to pull off a thrilling heist with a flurry of boundaries, and Nuwan Kulasekara made one heroic last-ditch effort to reduce the equation to 18 runs from the final over. Umar Gul, however, held his nerve to steer Pakistan home and end a mesmeric exhibition of high-quality cricket in Colombo Pakistan's innings had everything: rapid start, brain fade, tranquil middle overs, fabulous end-over bowling from Muttiah Muralitharan, who gave only five runs from two batting Powerplay overs, and finally a Misbah blitz, with 32 runs flowing from the final three overs, which eventually made the difference. The chase too nearly had it...

The World Cup came alive with a mesmeric exhibition of high-quality cricket from Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq propelled Pakistan, who were on a tricky 105 for 2 in the 21st over, with superb poise and skill in the middle overs, before Muttiah Muralitharan pulled them back in the end to leave the game fascinatingly poised. This innings had everything: rapid start, brain fade, tranquil middle overs and finally fabulous end-over bowling. Shahid Afridi said at the toss that he would be happy with 280 and Kumar Sangakkara said he would be happy to chase that total. Pakistan's innings stood out for its handling of the middle overs. Serenity blew across the ground after the fall of Kamran Akmal. Mohammad Hafeez had run himself out after a moment of madness and Kamran, who inexplicably withdrew into his shell after that mix-up, soon combusted, going for an ugly slog against Pakistan's bogeyman Rangana Herath to leave Pakistan in a tricky spot. It wasn't qui...

Salman Butt and Mohammad Amir have filed appeals against their bans from the game with the Court of Arbitration of Sport (CAS) in Lausanne, Switzerland. Butt and Amir, along with Mohammad Asif, were found guilty of orchestrating three pre-planned, deliberate no-balls during the Lord's Test against England last August. The trio, who were provisionally suspended by the ICC in September, were given sanctions ranging from 5 to 10 years by an independent tribunal headed by Michael Beloff QC after a full hearing in Doha, Qatar in early January, with the verdicts being handed down on February 5. "Today my legal team served a statement of appeal upon The Court of Arbitration of Sport (CAS) to appeal against the Tribunal's findings in relation to the Lords Test and the sanctions imposed at the recent Hearing in Doha. Full Grounds for the Appeal will be lodged in due course," a statement from Butt's lawyer, Yasin Patel, said. As captain at the time, Butt received the stiffe...

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s Lasith Malinga is improving from a back strain and fit to face Pakistan in the World Cup on Saturday but whether he will play or be rested for later matches is a different matter, team bosses said. The 1996 world champions left out strike bowler Malinga for their opening World Cup Group A match against unfancied Canada on Sunday, citing a sore back. “He is 100 per cent fit to be selected,” Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara told reporters in Colombo. “There are not any injury worries. Lasith is improving but we don’t want to rush him.” When asked, team manager Anura Tennekoon said a decision was yet to be taken. “The management and the selectors have to decide whether to play Lasith in the earlier games,” Tennekoon told Reuters. Malinga was one of the leading performers in the last World Cup, taking four wickets in four balls in a match against South Africa. Sri Lanka lost in the final to Australia. Sangakkara said his team wants to win their first match against P...

Bangladesh's bowlers held their nerve to atone for the failures of their batsman, as the pluck of the Irish proved insufficient to overcome the most fervent atmosphere of the World Cup so far. In a gripping, low-scoring encounter at Mirpur, Bangladesh flirted with disaster as they squandered a flying start from Tamim Iqbal to crash to 205 all out, and when Ireland reached 93 for 3 at the halfway mark of their reply, they were well on course for a hugely deserved victory. However, six wickets for the Bangladeshi spin quartet set the stage for a flying finish from Shafiul Islam, who claimed 4 for 21 in eight hostile and reverse-swinging overs, to seal a wildly acclaimed victory by 27 runs with five overs to spare. The result was tough on the Irish who, like the Netherlands earlier in the week, gave the match their all and deserved a Test-playing scalp as their reward. But the belief and unity of the Bangladeshis had to be seen to be believed, as they dusted themselves down after a ch...

NEW DELHI: West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo will undergo a scan on Friday after falling and hurting his left knee while bowling in his team’s World Cup opener against South Africa. Bravo, 27, who scored a quickfire 40 in the West Indies total of 222, fell clutching his left knee on his follow-through after bowling just 2.1 overs and was helped from the field. Kieron Pollard completed the over. “He will take no further part in tonight’s game,” said West Indies spokesman Philip Spooner. “He will probably sleep uncomfortably tonight but tomorrow we will take him for a scan.” Spooner said it was too soon to judge how serious the injury was.

DHAKA: Local and international bookies are under tight scrutiny after intelligence tip-offs revealed that they were trying to contact players and officials of sides in the Cricket World Cup, police said on Wednesday. “Movement of local suspected bookmakers, who also operate as agents of international bookies, are being monitored and often obstructed so that they cannot have access to players and officials,” a senior police officer told Reuters, requesting not to be identified. Match-fixing initiated by bookies has plagued the sport over the years. In a latest action, the International Cricket Council (ICC) this year banned Pakistan fast bowlers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir and batsman Salman Butt for five years for fixing parts of a match (spot fixing) against England. The trio deny any wrongdoing. Gambling and bookmaking are banned in Bangladesh but many gangs are involved operating under different sports and community clubs. The State Minister for Home Affairs, Shamsul Haque Tuku,...

COLOMBO: In-form batsman Misbah-ul-Haq told Pakistan not to fear Sri Lanka’s world record wicket taker Muttiah Muralitharan when the two sides clash in the World Cup on Saturday. “We should keep it simple, play tough cricket and not be overawed by their home advantage or their bowlers. We have played Muralitharan well in the past,”said Misbah, of the off-spinner who has 521 wickets in 342 one-dayers. Both Sri Lanka – Cup co-hosts with India and Bangladesh – and Pakistan got off to flying starts by winning their opening matches at Hambantota by over 200-run margins and look set for a Colombo thriller, already a sell-out. “It’s a vital match for both sides,” said Misbah, who singled out Lasith Malinga as well as Muralitharan as a key bowler for Sri Lanka. “No doubt, both are world class bowlers, they have been doing it for so long. But we’ve played them quite a lot, and players understand their strengths and the plan is to keep it simple,” said Misbah. “In our part of the world we play s...

Sri Lanka want to win the World Cup as a farewell trophy for legendary spinner and world record holder Muttiah Muralitharan who will retire from international cricket after the tournament. The spinner, who holds the records for Test (800) and one-day wickets (521), is playing his fourth and final World Cup. He retired from Tests in July last year. "He is a special person, a legend," teammate Chamara Kapugedera said of the wily 38-year-old on Thursday. "Everyone in the team wants to give him (Murali) a good send off. We want to win the cup for Murali. It will be a great tribute," added Kapugedera, during team practice at Colombo's renovated R. Premadasa Stadium. Sri Lanka, the 1996 World Cup winners and 2007 runners-up, are also keen to lift the trophy for the legions of home fans who treat the sport like a religion. "The Sri Lankan crowd have been very supportive of us, even in bad times. So we are working hard to bring the Cup home again for our supporters...

The two Bravos played well, Devon Smith haung around for a while but the West Indies batting hasn't done their job. Imran Tahir, whose had a great debut, talks to Ian Bishop: "I'm over the moon, I'm really grateful to God, and everyone who has supported me. I have been bowling in Powerplays before, Graeme had a lot of confidence in me, I bowled well in the second spell, some days you have a bad day, some day a good on, today was a good day." He says pace is the key when bowling in the Powerplays, even for spinners. About the warnings for running on the pitch, "I'm not comfortable bowling away from the stumps, I'm working on it. West Indies RR 4.67 Batting PP 9/2 (2.3) RR 3.60 Last 5 ovs 11/4 RR 2.20

It's almost as if there is malicious glee that follows Australia's so-called decline. Ashes lost? Yay! Ponting accidentally breaks a TV set? What irresponsible behaviour! Australia are struggling against spinners? Wonderful! In some ways, it's human nature to gloat at Goliath's fall. At the centre of the storm is Ponting, trying hard to regain his batting form, trying to hide the Ashes blot in his CV with another World-Cup triumph. In Australia's previous victorious campaigns, Ponting has led from the front with the bat but this time a question mark hovers around that possibility. Australia's campaign in this edition of the World Cup could well revolve around Ponting's form at No. 3. He got couple of hard-earned fifties in the warm-up games and looked to be slowly progressing towards recovering his touch. The bowling is led by another ageing campaigner, Brett Lee, who is scripting a remarkable comeback. Much has been written about Australia's attack whic...

Kenya again appeared totally out of their depth and posed no challenge to Pakistan at Hambantota, Collins Obuya's death-or-glory 47 being the only highlight for them as Shahid Afridi helped himself to 5 for 16 in a massive 205-run win, Pakistan's biggest win in World Cups and the eighth largest overall. Four of Pakistan's batsmen cashed in to raise half-centuries and set up a total of 317 for 7 after a brief wobble against the new ball and Kenya made little effort to mount a serious challenge in their pursuit, rather looking to a lay a solid platform in the hope of batting out their full quota of overs. That ultimately proved a futile effort, too, although their innings did at least last until the 34th over - longer than their entire match against New Zealand three days ago. Kenya's slide began in earnest when Afridi brought himself on and, in his third over, tempted Steve Tikolo down the pitch only for the ball to rush straight on to rattle the stumps. Kenya were 73 fo...

Ryan ten Doeschate produced a scintillating 119 from 110 balls, and followed up with the brilliant bowling figures of 2 for 47 in ten overs, to give England one of the biggest frights of their international lives. However, his very best efforts were not quite enough to propel the Netherlands to an incredible victory in their World Cup opener at Nagpur. Faced with a massive target of 293, and humiliation on an even greater scale than they suffered at Lord's two years ago, England responded with a determined batting performance under the floodlights, and thanks to composed half-centuries from Andrew Strauss and Jonathan Trott, they eventually reached safety with six wickets and eight balls to spare. However, the final margin of victory did no justice to the journey they were forced to undertake. Had England stumbled, it would surely have gone down as the greatest upset in World Cup history. The final overs were fraught with possibility, as England battled with a run-rate that barely ...