The two sides will be once again facing each other in a couple of hours at the opening match to be played at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium. Both sides would look to play their best. Bangladesh would look to entertain the local crowd with a win and India would look to take revenge for their defeat in the 2007 world cup. The Indian fans do not have sweet memories of their last encounter. When the two sides met at Port-of-Spain and Dravid chose to bat first, no one would have expected that a team that had some of the world’s best batsmen would collapse like a pack of cards. Bangladesh, who has always been a tough opponent for the men in blue, played some fearless cricket as they had nothing to lose. Indian batsmen appeared to be more reckless than being ruthless in their approach. Before the fans could settle inside the stadium, Sehwag, Uthappa, Tendulkar and Dravid were back to pavilion contributing 2, 9, 7 and 14 respectively at the score of 72 runs. It was followed by a partnership of 85 runs between Yuvraj Singh and Ganguly who tried to reconstruct the derailed Indian track. But after Yuvraj fell at the score of 157, the next four wickets fell within four runs. Thanks to the 32 runs partnership for the last wicket between Zaheer Khan and Munaf Patel that India helped India to reach a score of 191 runs. Mortaza ended his spell picking 4/38. The alarm bells had already rung. There was still some hope that Indian seam bowlers would try and make a match out of it. But Tamim Iqbal began Bangladesh innings in a way that it was hard to believe that he was playing his 5th ODI. In spite of facing a blow earlier in his innings off a short ball from Zaheer, Tamim Iqbal was still high on confidence. It has been four years since the match was played, yet it is difficult to forget the shot he played charging down the wicket to Zaheer Khan pulling him over midwicket for a six. Such was his dominance that when he fell as the second Bangladesh wicket at the score of 69, he alone had scored 51 runs at a brisk pace. It was a half century that Indian cricket fans would remember for long, though for wrong reasons. It has been four years. There have been several changes in both the teams. India is now led by Dhoni who has led India to several major wins under his captaincy both in India and abroad. Bangladesh is led by Shakib Al Hasan, who has proved to be a prolific all-rounder in recent times. Bangladesh has a lot of depth in their batting line up but once again when you look on papers, Indians are once again the favourites. Both the sides have met for 22 times, of which India has won 20 matches. There will be a lot of support for Bangladesh at their home ground at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium and India would be very well aware of it. In case if India entertain any chances of beginning their world cup campaign with a win, they will have to score nothing less than 300 runs if they bat first. India won’t repeat the mistake of being under the impression of taking the match lightly and for sure the opening encounter of cricket’s biggest festival could guarantee massive entertainment for all! Author: Suyash srivastava (Delhi) … [Read more...]
Why Sreesanth deserves a world cup ticket?
To the delight of many, Sreesanth has finally replaced Praveen Kumar in the 15-man World Cup squad. It's not that Praveen Kumar is not a good enough player, but Sreesanth is someone who adds that extra spark towards his side. There are few people in the country who can embarrass Shahrukh Khan, especially when he is the host of a function. Sreesanth is one of those rare ones, who can boast of doing so. He did so when he was invited by Shahrukh to dance on stage, at an award function few years ago. The challenge was SRK would follow his moves and give up if he is unable to. Sree, who is a trained dancer, came up with moves which Shahrukh could not match up. He thus gave up the challenge. Such is the confidence of the bowler. Sree has been fined at numerous occasions for indiscipline on and off the field. Among all those incidents, he is mostly remembered for crying inconsolably after being slapped by his 'like an elder brother' Harbhajan Singh after an IPL match. In spite of all the penalties he has faced, he certainly deserved a place in the 15 man squad for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011. The man has delivered whenever he has been given a chance to play for the country. In India's recent tour to South Africa, he had shown some of best bowling spells we have ever seen from him. One of such fiery spells was witnessed on 29th Dec'10. Fourth day of the second test match played between India and South Africa. It was a day when he bowled one of the best spells of swing bowling ever! He began his spell by bowling Ashwell Prince of a ball which is a dream for every fast bowler! It was soon followed by a ‘snorter’ bowled to Kaliis, which has become the most viewed delivery on the internet in recent times. It was followed by another out swinger to get rid of Boucher! His aggression has led to suspension and fine on several occasions, but not to forget it’s something that has got breakthroughs for India most of the times. Shaking of the hip, break dance might seem to be objectionable gestures, but so is sledging. When the Aussies are licensed to do so, why can't Sree? Is it because he is a player of the sub-continent, which has bowlers who are fined even if they stare at the batsman every now and then? After the slapstick incident with Harbhajan Singh, he has to an extent mellowed down. He is a much simpler player, only if you don't provoke him. If you do, you can be another victim like Andre Nel. Playing in the world cup is an opportunity that comes with a lot of responsibility and I am sure if he is a part of the playing 11, he would just focus on taking wickets without reacting to them. Now that he has replaced Praveen Kumar, I believe the cricket fans will see several of those snorters being bowled by him, in front of the electrifying home atmosphere. Rohit Sharma's exclusion was something that is justified keeping in mind his inability to capitalize on several opportunities. But the presence of Sree will be helpful in tit for tat situations, where one has to be aggressive for a better result. The man needs no one to boost his morale. Just like Kamran Akmal, he has the habit of talking to himself. As long as the ball is in his hands, the action doesn’t stop! The grin on his face after completing half his run up, aims for nothing more than dismantling the furniture behind the batsman. Cricket writer: Suyash srivastava (New Delhi) … [Read more...]
History
ICC Cricket World Cup history: YearWorld Cup HostsWinnerRunners-Up 2015 Australia & New Zealand 2011 India, Sri Lanka & Bangladesh 2007 West Indies Australia Sri Lanka 2003 South Africa Australia India 1999 England Australia Pakistan 1996 India, Sri Lanka & Pakistan Sri Lanka Australia 1992 Australia Pakistan England 1987 India Australia England 1983 England India West Indies 1979 England West Indies England 1975 England West Indies Australia Highlights of Cricket World Cup history: 1. Australia is the best performer and won 4 times in last 6 Cricket world cups. 2. England never won ICC one day cricket world cup despite reaching finals in 3 world cups. … [Read more...]
Stadiums
2011 Cricket World Cup stadiums/venues: Click here to buy tickets for 2011 Cricket World Cup matches. CityStadiumCricket World Cup Matches Bangladesh: Dhaka Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket stadium 2 Quarterfinals and 4 Group matches including opening game of 2011 World cup Chittagong Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury stadium 2 Group stage matches Sri Lanka: Colombo R. Premadasa International stadium One Semi-final, one quarterfinal and 5 Group stage matches Kandy Pallekele International Cricket Stadium3 Group stage games Hambantota Suriyawewa International Cricket Stadium 2 Group stage games India: Mumbai Wankhede Stadium World Cup final & 2 Group stage matches Mohali PCA Stadium One semi-final & 2 Group stage games Chennai M.A. Chidambaram Stadium 4 Group stage world cup matches including India Vs West Indies game Bengaluru M. Chinnaswamy Stadium 4 Group stage world cup matches including India Vs Ireland game Ahmedabad Sardar Patel Stadium One Quarter final & 2 Group stage matches KolkataEden Gardens 4 Group stage world cup matches including India Vs England game NagpurVCA Stadium 4 Group stage matches New Delhi Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium 4 Group stage world cup matches … [Read more...]
ICC Annual Award Nominations
ICC Cricket Awards: The ICC's prestigious sixth annual awards appear to have run into a controversy with several high-profile figures from South Africa criticizing the final selection process for not including even a single South African player. The ICC Awards ceremony is now in its sixth year and this year it will be held in Johannesburg to coincide with the ICC Champions Trophy. Previous ceremonies were held in London (2004), Sydney (2005), Mumbai (2006), Johannesburg (2007) and Dubai (2008). Majola, the South Africa’s national cricket board chief executive questioned the credibility of the awards and said it appeared to him that the only way to get on the shortlist was to play the Ashes. One can raise various questions on the selection. How Graham Onions featured in the Emerging player of the year list? Before being short listed, he has played hardly 5 or 10 tests and do not have nothing great like Parnell or Duminy in him. Same applies for Ryder. They had done nothing outside their home conditions. It seems that the countries which do not play cricket in the latter part of the year will be totally forgotten. Selection Criteria: An ICC spokesperson said that the awards nomination "is a completely independent process in which the ICC has no says whatsoever". The long list of nominations for the individual awards was prepared by a five-member ICC panel headed by Clive Lloyd, the ICC's cricket committee chairman, and including Anil Kumble, Mudassar Nazar, Bob Taylor and Stephen Fleming. This list was then sent to the ICC's independent panel of 25 members (including two South Africans) for selection of four players for each category. Nomination is based on the period between August 13, 2008 and August 24 2009, the ICC Awards 2009 take into account performances by players and officials in that period for the game. That period includes such high-profile events as the ICC World Twenty20 in England, the ICC Women's World Cup in Australia and the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier in South Africa, as well as several bilateral Test and ODI series. While the shortlist was announced, the category winners will be known only on awards night. The votes have already been collated by Ernst and Young, who acted as independent auditors. Highlights of ICC Awards: Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and opener Gautam Gambhir got twin nominations, while Yuvraj Singh and Virender Sehwag were shortlisted for the ODI Player of the Year. Gambhir, Dhoni, Mitchell Johnson and Andrew Strauss have been short-listed for the Sir Garfield Sobers trophy for Cricketer of the Year. In addition, Gambhir, Johnson and Strauss were also short-listed for the Test Player of the Year alongside Sri Lanka's Thilan Samaraweera. Dhoni is also in contention to retain the ODI Player of the Year award he won last year as he is short-listed in that category with team-mates Yuvraj and Sehwag as well as West Indies' Shivnarine Chanderpaul. This year's awards include eight individual prizes and also feature the selection of the Test and ODI Teams of the Year and the award to the side that has adhered most to the Spirit of Cricket. The nominees for the Women's Cricketer of the Year are last year's winner England captain Charlotte Edwards along with team-mate Claire Taylor and Australia's Shelley Nitschke. The Emerging Player of the Year nominees short-list features two Australians, Ben Hilfenhaus and Peter Siddle, as well as Jesse Ryder of New Zealand and England's Graham Onions. The Umpire of the Year award was voted on by the captains and the match referees based on the umpires' performance statistics. ICC Awards 2009 - short lists of nominees: 1. Cricketer of the Year: • Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Ind) • Gautam Gambhir (Ind) • Mitchell Johnson (Aus) • Andrew Strauss (Eng) 2. Test Player of the Year: • Gautam Gambhir (Ind) • Mitchell Johnson (Aus) • Thilan Samaraweera (SL) • Andrew Strauss (Eng) 3. ODI Player of the Year: • Shivnarine Chanderpaul (WI) • Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Ind) • Virender Sehwag (Ind) • Yuvraj Singh (Ind) 4. Emerging Player: • Ben Hilfenhaus (Aus) • Graham Onions (Eng) • Jesse Ryder (NZ) • Peter Siddle (Aus) 5. Associate and Affiliate Player of the Year: • Rizwan Cheema (Can) • Ryan ten Doeschate (Ned) • William Porterfield (Ire) • Edgar Schiferli (Ned) 6. Twenty20 International Performance of the Year: • Shahid Afridi (Pak) for 51 runs and taking 2-16 against South Africa • Tillakaratne Dilshan (SL) for scoring 96* against West Indies • Chris Gayle (WI) for scoring 88 against Australia • Umar Gul (Pak) for taking 5-6 against New Zealand7. Women's Cricketer of the Year: • Charlotte Edwards (Eng)• Shelley Nitschke (Aus) • Claire Taylor (Eng) 8. Umpire of the Year: • Aleem Dar• Tony Hill • Asad Rauf • Simon Taufel 9. Spirit of Cricket: • Australia• England • New Zealand • Sri Lanka Author: Mona Gupta, New Delhi. … [Read more...]
Fallen stars from sub-continent in 2007 cricket world cup
2007 cricket world cup changed the fortunes of many super stars along with their teams. Some of these stars faced the wrath from fans in their countries. Cricket Gods from India and Pakistan became the most hated persons in their countries. TV channels stopped airing commercials of these stars. That is the power of failure. 1. Sachin Tendulkar: This is the first failure of Indian God in a world cup tournament. He is the highest scorer in 1996 and 2003 editions. For the first time, he faced charges on his attitude from an Indian coach. He became a pawn in the hands of seniors’ mafia. BCCI issued show-cause notice to this fallen star. If he will play in his natural style, we will again see the “Sharjah” Sachin. It’s all in the mind. 2. Injamam-Ul-Haq: He repeated his worst performance in 2007 world cup as in 2003 edition. After his superb performance in 1992 debut world cup, he failed to replicate his performance. These are inerasable black spots in the wonderful career of this Pakistan legend. 3. Sourav Ganguly: His low strike rate in the initial power play overs is another reason for India’s debacle in this world cup. He is never a team man and a selfish cricketer who always form a coterie of his favourites. As per media, he is the force behind the seniors’ mafia and leaked dressing room news to his favourite Kolkata journalists. His attitude is always a big problem.4. Younis Khan:It is the most unexpected failure in 2007 world cup. He went to the event on the back of stunning performances. He failed even against weak teams. No excuses please.5. Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh: They played spoil sport with their attitude along with their play. Selectors should not even consider them for at least 2 years. Along with Harbhajan and Ganguly, they are trying to form a coterie in the team. Sack them and save cricket.Dravid’s biggest mistake is his belief in Virender Sehwag. Inclusion of Sehwag and Ganguly changed the batting line up and team spirit. Indian selectors decided to send a youth team under the captaincy of Rahul Dravid. Youth should grab these opportunities and replace those ageing stars. … [Read more...]
World Cup Review: Sensational group stages
2007 world cricket world cup group stage matches created tremors in the cricket fraternity. Early exit of Pakistan and India, murder of Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer, superb performance from Ireland and Bangladesh are the major highlights in this world cup. 1. Death of Bob Woolmer: Suspicious death of Pakistan coach was overshadowed the wonderful performances from cricket stars. ICC failed to nullify the bookie’s control in fixing cricket matches. This resulted in the death of trend setting and passionate coach like Bob Woolmer. 2. Ireland and Bangladesh wins: Though over shadowed by match fixing allegations, fighting spirit of these two teams entertained cricket fans all over the world. Ireland performance is a revelation in this world cup. Bangladesh sent shock waves by defeating India in a pure professional manner. 3. India and Pakistan team disasters: Pathetic performance from the best sub continental teams. Disastrous batting performance from batting Gods like Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Younis Khan, Md. Yousuf and Injamam-Ul-Haq. 4. Marketing failure: This world cup lost 60% of viewers market in the first round itself. With the exit of India and Pakistan, this world cup lost its sheen. 50% of group 8 matches will be one sided. 5. Organising failure: Most of the stadiums are empty during world cup matches. Organising committee failed to create cup fever among West Indies youth. Whoever murdered Bob Woolmer, it is the first time a coach was murdered during world cup. 6. Australian performance: Australian cricketers’ performance is the only shining grace in this world cup. Fastest world cup century by Mathew Hayden and fireworks by Adam Gilchrist, Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke added entertainment to this otherwise disastrous cup. 7. 6 sixers in an over by Gibbs and fine fielding by Bermuda cricketers, energetic performances from Irish cricketers, Shane Bond’s fast bowling are other highlights in the group stages of the 2007 cricket world cup. 8. Match fixing allegations: Match fixing allegation resurfaced again in this world cup. There are wide spread rumours on the fixing of the Ireland-Pakistan match. ICC should punish the culprits with severe punishments. As an Indian cricket ardent fan, 2007 world cup is a disastrous failure. Switch off your TV and enjoy life. Good times will come. … [Read more...]
Black day in Indian cricket history
India was demolished by inspired Bangladesh in the group B match of 2007 cricket world cup at Port of Spain. March, 17, 2007 will be remembered as black day in Indian cricket. On a day of major upsets, India was outplayed by Bangladesh while Pakistan was defeated by Ireland. India’s famous paper tigers displayed worst batting performance while Bangladesh cricketers performed clinical exhibition of finest cricket. Why India was demolished by Bangladesh: 1. Fine performance from Bangladesh cricket team. 2. Lack of fighting spirit in Indian cricketers. 3. Increased confidence in Bangladesh cricketers after their win against New Zealand in the warm up match. 4. Poor shot selection by Indian batsmen. 5. Selection of Virender Sehwag ahead of Dinesh Karthik. Rahul Dravid should be blamed for his obsession with Virender Sehwag. In spite of repeated failures, Dravid prefers Sehwag ahead of fighting cricketer like Dinesh Karthik. Dinesh Karthik saved India in crisis situations in the past. 6. Young cricketers of Bangladesh shamed their experienced counterparts with their superb play. Mushfiqur, the 18-year-old wicketkeeper, shamed his opposite 30 year old 10,000 run scorers. Bangladesh cricketers are no more minnows in international cricket. They proved the critics wrong by their finest play on the greatest stage of world cricket. Bangla! Keep it up. Indian paper tigers should concentrate more on their cricket instead of endorsements. Will Indian team also return from West Indies like Pakistan? Wait and watch. … [Read more...]
Preview: India-Bangladesh cricket world cup match
World Cup favourite India will play with cricket mad country Bangladesh in the first round of 2007 Cricket world cup. India is one of the hot favourite to win this edition of world cup. Bangladesh created sensation by defeating New Zealand in the warm up match. India should not underestimate this Bangladesh team. They defeated Pakistan in the 1999 world cup. If Indian cricketers can able to play to their strengths, it is a cake walk for them. On present form, this match is no contest. Indian cricket team: Pros: 1. Strongest batting lineup in the world. 2. Mix of youth and experience. 3. Useful slow ball bowlers. 4. Exceptional watch winners. 5. Wonderful performance in the warm up matches. Cons: 1. Inconsistent batting performance. 2. Too much expectations back home. 3. Too many experiments in the team. Bangladesh Team: It is too much to expect any sensation in this match. India can easily win this match. … [Read more...]
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