Sports

London, June 10: Pakistan wicket-keeper Kamran Akmal, who was named the man-of-the-match after his team’s 82-run victory over the Dutch, said he was relieved after the Greenshirts managed to qualify for the Super Eights in the ongoing World T20 Championship here.

Akmal, who struck a 30-ball 41 and then set a new T20 International record with four stumpings at the Lord’s yesterday, attributed his match-winning performance in Pakistan’s do-or-die game against the Netherlands to ”hard work”.

Nottingham, June 10: India’s cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Tuesday refused to take any questions from the media on his deputy Virender Sehwag’s fitness.

Sehwag has been ruled out of the World Twenty20 due to an apparent shoulder injury and will return home.

On the eve of the match against Ireland, Dhoni was asked about Sehwag’s fitness and he said: “Whatever is related to fitness, you will get it from the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India).”

London, June 10: South Africa rode on some excellent bowling to clinch a one-run win over New Zealand in a thrilling Group D clash of the ICC World
Merwe Twenty20 at Lord’s.

With both teams having already qualified for the Super Eight stage, this was about keeping the momentum going and South Africa earned the bragging rights as they restricted New Zealand to 127 for five.

But things didn’t go as planned for Graeme Smith’s men as they managed just 128 for seven after they were put into bat by New Zealand stand-in skipper Brendon McCullum.

Shahid Afridi carried Pakistan into the Super Eights at the expense of a spirited but outclassed Dutch side at Lord’s, as he ripped his top-spinning legbreaks through a succession of bamboozled defences to deliver his team a thumping 82-run victory with the superb figures of 4 for 11 from four overs. For the Netherlands, the end came with unseemly haste as they lost their last nine wickets for 52 in 10.2 overs, but they still left the tournament with their heads held high after last week’s unforgettable floodlit triumph over England.

London, June 09: Shahid Afridi took 4 wickets as Pakistan bundled out Netherlands for 93 runs to qualify for the Super 8 stage of the Twenty20 World Cup.

Pakistan set their opponents 175-5 in their innings after captain Younis Khan won the toss and elected to bat first.

The Netherlands were only required to score 151 runs in their innings due to Pakistan needing to win by at least 25 runs having started the day bottom of the group after losing to England in their opening match.

Shahid Afridi starred with the ball for Pakistan, finishing his four overs with figures of 4-11.

New Delhi, June 09: India’s opening batsman Virender Sehwag has been ruled out of the ongoing ICC Twenty20 World Cup in England due to a shoulder injury.

Sehwag was advised to undergo a surgery for his shoulder injury, sources said.

The hard-hitting batsman, earlier, had to skip the opening match against Bangladesh including all the practice matches.

New Delhi, June 09: Sri Lanka dump Australia from T20 Worlds Skipper Kumar Sangakkara and Tillakaratne Dilshan hit robust half-centuries as Sri Lanka sent Australia packing from the World Twenty20 with a six-wicket win.

Australia, asked to bat by Sangakkara in his first match as captain, managed only 159-9 in good batting conditions as mystery spinner Ajantha Mendis and fast bowler Lasith Malinga claimed three wickets each.

Opener Dilshan then plundered 53 off 32 balls and left-handed Sangakkara made an unbeaten 55 to fire Sri Lanka home with six deliveries to spare.

Mumbai, June 09: Virender Sehwag isn’t fully fit yet, but it’ll be interesting to see how and where Mahendra Singh Dhoni accommodates the dashing batsman when he is available for selection. Dhoni will have a pleasant headache when Sehwag is declared match fit.

Rohit Sharma has blossomed in his new role as an opener making runs in all three games, including the two warm-up matches. Gautam Gambhir has found the sweet spot on his bat again. Sehwag should reclaim his opening spot and Sharma should bat down the order. But who will Dhoni leave out?

Nottingham, June 09: Three star cricketers, including vice captain Virender Sehwag, were conspicuous by their absence from the nets as Team India’s cold
war with the media continued for the fourth day.

No national cricketer came forward to speak to the huge press contingent at the Lady Bay Ground, after absence of Sehwag from the nets only added grist to the rumour mills.

Apart from Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh and Rohit Sharma could not be spotted at the nets.

Karachi, June 09: Pakistan captain Younis Khan finds himself in trouble for his comment that Twenty20 is played just for fun and it would not be a
Younis Khan disaster even if his team fails to make the Super Eights stage of the ongoing World Cup in England.

After the team’s loss to England on Sunday night, Younis went on to say that failing to reaching Super Eights would not be a disaster.

“It would be sad if we don’t make it but I have never attached too much importance to Twenty20 cricket, as it is fun cricket,” Younis said.

Nothingham, June 09: Sangakkara and Dilshan hit a fifty each as Sri Lanka thrashed Australia by 6 wickets to end their T20 World Cup campaign at Trent Bridge.

Having lost to West Indies on Saturday, Australia are eliminated, while Sri Lanka booked a place in the Super 8 phase of the competition.

Tillakaratne Dilshan struck a brilliant 53 before he was bowled by Michael Clarke and Kumar Sangakkara then took over, making an unbeaten 55.

Hyderabad, June 08: Tennis hottie Sania Mirza’s betrothal to childhood friend Sohrab Mirza is making headlines all over. Here’s some info about the lucky guy.

Sohrab is 23, a year older than Sania, and is a commerce graduate from St Mary’s college in Hyderabad, an institution that Sania also attended. Reportedly, he is set to pursue an MBA degree in Britain.

Islamabad, June 08: Pakistan captain Younus Khan was left struggling to explain his side’s lacklustre display after their comprehensive 48-run loss to England in the ICC World Twenty20.

Sloppy fielding by the 2007 finlaists helped England to a competitive 185 for five at the Oval on Sunday, featuring 58 from Kevin Pietersen, while the Pakistan reply never got going.

Three wickets in the powerplay left Pakistan well behind the run-rate and Younus, who finished unbeaten on 46, could only watch from the other end as a succession of batsmen came and went.

London, June 08: England booked their place in the second round Super Eights of the ICC World Twenty20 with a 48-run win over Pakistan at the Oval on Sunday.

The hosts, 48 hours after their shock four-wicket loss to the Netherlands, bounced back to record a win which, because their net run-rate was now superior to that of the Dutch, ensured their progress in the tournament.

Blogs: We don’t need you Aussies | Dhoni’s Men in Blue are not in pink of health

London, June 07: Yuvraj Singh dazzled with the bat before Pragyan Ojha spun a web around Bangladesh as India thumped the minnows by 25 runs to begin their title defence with a bang in the Twenty20 World Cup at Trent Bridge on Saturday.

Ojha’s four-wicket haul in his maiden Twenty20 International broke Bangladesh’s back as the minnows finished at 155 for eight, a total they owe to Junaid Siddique (41) and Naeem Islam (28).

London, June 07: Yuvraj Singh dazzled with the bat before Pragyan Ojha spun a web around Bangladesh as India thumped the minnows by 25 runs to begin their title defence with a bang in the Twenty20 World Cup on Saturday.

Ojha’s four-wicket haul in his maiden Twenty20 International broke Bangladesh’s back as the minnows finished at 155 for eight, a total they owe to Junaid Siddique (41) and Naeem Islam (28).

Earlier, Gautam Gambhir (50) and Rohit Sharma (36) gave India a rollicking start but it was Yuvraj’s violent 18-ball 41 that propelled them to 180 for five in the Group A opener.

London, June 06: The Netherlands enjoyed their greatest day in international cricket as they stunningly beat hosts England by four wickets in the opening match of the ICC World Twenty20 at Lord’s on Friday.

Two off the last ball, which saw bowler Stuart Broad miss with a shy off the stumps, saw the Dutch home to a total of 163 for six in reply to England’s 162 for five.

England who had been 102 for one were made to pay for their failure to build on a superb opening stand by some enterprising Dutch batting led by a fine 49 from Tom de Grooth.

London, June 05: The team management clams up and the players have fingers on their lips. But reports about simmering tensions between Indian captain MS Dhoni and vice-captain Virender Sehwag are fast threatening to undermine India’s defence of the ICC World Twenty20, which begins on Friday.

Blog: Why Dhoni’s Men in Blue are not in pink of health

Rumour mills are abuzz that the two had an ugly faceoff during a team meeting, though it could not be independently confirmed if it was over the status of Sehwag’s shoulder injury.

Melbourne, June 05: Cricket Australia (CA) revealed controversial all-rounder Andrew Symonds had gone missing from the team hotel, prompting the management to throw him out of the Twenty20 World Cup squad for breach of discipline.

Blog: Why Dhoni’s Men in Blue are not in pink of health

Soon after the all-rounder was ordered home two days before the team’s opener against the West Indies following “alcohol-related incidents”, CA general manger of public affairs Peter Young provided partial detail about what exactly happened.

London, June 04: Rohit Sharma tore apart Pakistan’s bowling attack with a 80-run blitzkrieg as India bulldozed their arch-rivals by nine wickets with three overs to spare in their final warm-up match of the ICC World Twenty20 on Wednesday night.

Chasing 159, Rohit and Gautam Gambhir (52 not out) raised 140 runs in just 16 overs for the opening stand to slam the door on Pakistan and India cruised to 159 for one in 17 overs to complete a facile win.

London,May 29: Tired limbs, jaded minds and a tricky draw have toughened India’s path as Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s men defend their World Twenty20 title in England next month.

The June 5-21 tournament is the latest event for Team India in a non-stop roadshow that began with a full tour of New Zealand in February-April before a five-week sojourn in South Africa for the Indian Premier League.

Dhoni’s team returned home for just three days after the IPL before setting off again for England to defend the title they won in the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa in 2007.

Hyderabad, May 28: Deccan Chargers, the winners of the second edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in South Africa, arrived here Wednesday night to a rousing welcome from fans.

The fans were, however, disappointed a bit as only three players – Tirumalsetti Suman, Harmeet Singh and Shoaib Ahmed – arrived at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport.

The crowd was hoping to catch a glimpse of captain Adam Gilchrist, Andrew Symonds, Herschelle Gibbs, R.P. Singh and Rohit Sharma, who played key roles in the team’s victory.

Karachi, May 27: Former Test player Sanjay Manjrekar put his money on defending champions India but pace great Wasim Akram reckons Pakistan, mostly bereft of international cricket, would be hungry for success in next month`s ICC World Twenty20 in England.

Manjrekar had no doubt that Mahendra Singh Dhoni would lead the most formidable squad to try and defend the title they won in 2007 even though he was candid enough to admit it doesn’t necessarily mean they would win the title again.

Johannesburg, May 25: Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds led the Deccan Chargers to a six-run victory over the Bangalore Royal Challengers in the Indian Premier League Twenty20 final at the Wanderers.

Symonds, who has not been included in the Australia team to defend the Ashes in England this year, boosted the Chargers’ innings with 33 from 21 balls.

South Africa one-day opener Herschelle Gibbs batted through the innings to score 53 not out in the Chargers’ 143 for six.

Durban, May 24: After 36 days of scintillating action and 58 dazzling encounters, the penultimate stage of the Indian Premier League (IPL) could not have been more exciting as the two bottom-placed teams of the inaugural edition Deccan Chargers and Bangalore Royal Challengers made it to Sunday’s title clash.

Bangalore Royal Challengers and Deccan Chargers have risen like a phoenix from the ashes of the inaugural season, where they respectively finished seventh and eighth in the tournament, and have been a revelation in South Africa.