Wednesday 26 June 2013
Monday 24 June 2013
Reports : Champions Trophy Final | India clinched a thrilling Victory beating England
BIRMINGHAM : Finally after the rain-play, India has successfully beaten England and Rain in a day.India's unbeaten run in the 2013 Champions Trophy finished in a exhilarating five-run win over hosts England in a rain-affected final that was reduced to 20 overs per side following some delays.
Important Runs
Asked to bat, India were posted a challenging score 129/7, a total reached from a unsafe 66/5 through Virat Kohli’s crucial 43 runs and Ravindra Jadeja’s little cameo 33 runs. Thes vital runs helped India to back in the game and fight. Taking the responsibility on his shoulder Virat Kohli’s key innings restored India to even keel. He creamed boundaries in Bopara’s last over and smashed Bresnan through midwicket.
Crumbling England
England then made a hash of it at the start. Stranded on 46/4, they were helped along by a 64-run stand between Eoin Morgan (33) and Ravi Bopara (30), a partnership that brought them to within 22 runs of victory.
Turning Track
But on a pitch that was taking turn and assisted by fielders who kept their heads in crisis, MS Dhoni's side restricted the hosts to 124/8, unable to gather the 15 they needed off R. Ashwin's last over of the match.
Twist in the tale
Dhoni's faith with Ishant sharma cost another Morgan-inflicted maximum, the equation standing on 22 needed off 18. The next two deliveries swung the match again as Morgan and Bopara, in their hurry to win it, fell on successive balls.
Special Achievements
The victory completes Dhoni's rich haul as captain, adding another feather in a cap that includes a World Cup and a Twenty20 World Cup, and the No.1 rankings in Tests and ODIs. Dhoni's Rockstar Jadeja, aside from his pivotal cameo, took two wickets and finished the tournament's top wicket-taker with 12 scalps in five games and won the Golden Ball award and Shikhar Dhawan won the Golden Bat award for scoring maximum runs in the tourney.
♦ WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS, WE PLAYED LIKE CHAMPION.
♦ WE ARE PROUD TO BE INDIAN..Chakde!
Sunday 23 June 2013
Match Review : Final Clash | India Vs England | Champions Trophy 2013
Edgbaston : The dream final, worth $2 million to the winners, will be a mouth-watering clash between the two best teams in the eight-nation tournament.
India, winners of the World Cup at home in 2011, proved worthy of their number one ranking by cruising to the final with four straight wins -- the last three by emphatic eight-wicket margins.India's squad contains just three players -- Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina and Dhoni himself -- who played in the World Cup final two years ago, but the captain insisted his team was not under pressure for the big game.
The Indian captain said the first 10 overs of the innings, whether bowling or batting, could determine how the final shaped up.Dhoni expected Virat and company to continue their good form against an England attack led by versatile seamer James Anderson.
It's Final Time,
The Champions of Champions To be crowned tonight...
All the Best India!
Friday 21 June 2013
Match Reports : India Blows Srilanka Away, Enters in the Final | Champions Trophy 2013
CARDIFF : India passed their first test of genuine English conditions on an overcast Thursday evening as they seamed out Sri Lanka by eight wickets to enter their third Champions Trophy final.
After restricting Lanka to 181/8 through a combination of astute swing and spin, India romped home with 15 overs to spare as Shikhar Dhawan continued his impressive run with 68 and Virat Kohli hastened the inevitable with a blistering unbeaten 58.
Dhawan was reprieved by captain Angelo Mathews at slip when he had scored 18 - a costly miss - and he went on to smash his second half-century of the tournament, to go with the two centuries he plundered in the first couple of matches.
Kohli then reeled in victory in a great hurry, peppering his fifty with disdainful boundaries against Sri Lanka's trump card Lasith Malinga and a towering six off leggie Jeevan Mendis, the last 50 runs of the chase coming in just five overs.
India will face hosts England in Sunday’s final – arguably the two best sides over the last fortnight meeting for the title – with an unblemished record of four wins in as many matches.
Sri Lanka’s paltry total was an outcome of an overall good bowling show in conditions fostering movement in the air. Man of the match Ishant Sharma and off-spinner R. Ashwin picked up three wickets each, while Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja exercised marked control and economy.
Crucial toss
A wet outfield delayed the start by some thirty minutes with India assured of making the final in case of a wash-out, on account of having topped their league group. As it happened, they took the honorable path into the title clash.
Movement away from the left-hander spelled early doom after Dhoni elected to field. And such was seam's dominance that the captain himself forsook the big gloves to have a bowl, as Dinesh Karthik did duty behind the stumps.
Ishant revels
Bhuvneshwar drew first blood by snaring Kusal Perera (4) on the outside edge. Ishant then aimed one across Lahiru Thirimane (7) for Raina's second catch at second slip. The lanky fast bowler followed it up anther slanter to Kumar Sangakkara (17), who looked utterly displeased at being lured into what became Raina's third catch.
Sri Lanka's 41/3 after 18 was rendered worse as it came after Tillakaratne Dilshan's fifth-over retirement. Mahela Jayawardene (38) and Angelo Mathews (51) made a slow progress to normalcy, the captain coloring play with a straight six off Ishant's good length ball.
Dhoni bowls
The introduction of Jadeja and - would you believe it! - Dhoni's leg cutters eased the pressure somewhat. Dhoni appeared to have struck second ball as he trapped Jayawardene on the backfoot.
But the indignant Sri Lankan was acquitted on the review, which revealed a thick inside edge on to the pad. Mathews too survived after a successful review when replays indicated that Jadeja's delivery would have sizzled over the stumps.
No sooner did Sri Lanka opt for the Batting Powerplay that the 78-run union was severed. Jadeja castled Jayawardene early into the restricted phase as just 12 came from the crucial five overs.
Ashwin excels
R. Ashwin was now in his groove, a prolonged pause heralding each delivery, and in conjunction with the newly-mustachioed left-arm spinner Jadeja, allowed no space for stroke play.
Mathews reached fifty and almost on cue perished to the carrom ball with about four overs remaining, Sri Lanka on 158 and going at barely over three per over.
Dilshan hobbled out after Ashwin bowled Nuwan Kulasekara around his legs and saw the Chennai off-spinner add a third when he had Jeevan Mendis stumped, himself remaining unbeaten on 18.
Perfect chase
India suffered the first jolt when Rohit, until then the epitome of caution, charged Mathews and was bowled for 33 in the 17th over, ending the 77-run opening partnership between him and Dhawan.
The openers had lived dangerously. Rohit edged Kulasekara to the third man fence and survived a huge ‘lbw’ appeal, thanks to an inside edge. Dhawan was all over Malinga before before upper-cutting him magnificently for six.
As India reached exactly 40 after the mandatory Powerplay,Dhawan was finally out when he failed to read Mendis' googly, with India needing 41 to win in 18 overs. Kohli, whose mastery of Malinga was apparent yet again, switched gears and guided India to victory with 90 balls to spare.
[Courtesy : YahooCricket]
Thursday 20 June 2013
Match Review | India Vs Srilanka | Semifinal | Champions Trophy 2013
Cardiff, June 20 : What a difference three weeks can make! India arrived here three weeks ago with the odds seemingly stacked against them. The spot-fixing crisis was turning into a whirlpool that looked like it would dissolve the entire Indian cricket establishment.
The English pitches and cold, damp conditions didn't seem particularly favourable. The combination looked unsettled and the absence of experienced names on the team sheet had many secretly wondering if the Champions Trophy campaign would follow along the trajectory of the horror 2011 tour when India lost the Tests, ODIs and T20Is. Not only did they lose, they didn't register a single win all summer.
Familiar foe
So now, exactly three weeks after they arrived on British shores they seem to be riding a high and beautiful wave. Will they ride it all the way out to sea? Or will they be thrown back into troubled waters? A familiar foe, from across the Palk Strait, awaits.
India and Sri Lanka are well-acquainted rivals. They faced each other for the 2011 ODI World Cup crown. Over the last five years, they've faced off a staggering 44 times. The old saying goes that familiarity breeds contempt. But in India's case it could also give birth to confidence. MS Dhoni may not quite see it that way, even if the stats tell a different tale.
"Well, I think it works the same for both the sides. If we say we find it easier, then it would be the same for Sri Lanka. It's just that, yes, we play quite often; either we go to Sri Lanka or they come to India, and we have the Asia Cup, also, where the teams keep on playing against each other. I think it gives a basic idea of what the strengths and weaknesses of each and every individual is as far as the bowlers or the batsmen are concerned. I think it helps both the sides to prepare themselves really well, and you can cut off those extra 15 minutes of time that you spend in a team meeting and keep it very small," said Dhoni.
Numbers game
The numbers, though, favour India. They've won 7 of their last 10 matches against the Islanders. Lasith Malinga's overall ODI average is 26.12. Against India that rockets up to 40.88. He's taken just 34 wickets in 28 matches. Against everyone else he's taken 190 wickets in 114 matches. The fact that India's batsmen get more chances of playing against him due to the IPL only makes them play arguably the most dangerous bowler at Sri Lanka's disposal better than most.
"I think it has to do with the fact that we play amongst each other a lot, so we see a lot of Malinga, we understand him better. I think it's all these small, small things that have really made that kind of an impact, and most of the batsmen, they have faced him, but still, he's one of the most difficult bowlers to score off freely, especially in the shorter format," opined Dhoni.
Topper Virat Kohli
If Sri Lanka's best bowler seems to have an off time against India, the case is the exact opposite for India's best batsman. Virat Kohli's ODI numbers are quite extraordinary on their own - an average of 49.15 after 101 ODIs. Against Sri Lanka they're even more impressive, with his average rising to 55.54 in 30 matches. He's got five of his 13 ODI tons against the Lankans.
[ Via : Hindustan Times ]
Wednesday 19 June 2013
Virat Kohli Overtakes Captain MS Dhoni
Virat Kohli might be far off from replacing MS Dhoni as India's captain, but the Delhi youngster has outshone his skipper on Television in terms of advertisements.
According to a report in "The Times of India" newspaper on Friday, Kohli has beaten Dhoni in his presence in ads on TV in the first three months of 2013.
Media tracking agency TAM said it is for the first time that Kohli has overtaken Dhoni in terms of visibility on TV during the first three months of this year. Dhoni earns Rs 100 crore annually and is the top ranked sports brand ambassador charging Rs 8-10 crore for each brand annually, the report said.
Kohli's value has increased from Rs 3 crore per brand last year to Rs 6 crore. The Delhi batsman currently endorses 13 brands.
Cinthol Deo and Nestle Munch are the latest products that Kohli endorses. He also has had deals with Pepsi, Toyota Liva, Titan Fastrack watches, Celkon mobile phones, TVS motorbikes, Fair and Lovely and others.
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