Sports

London, June 16: The International Cricket Council (ICC) said on Monday it is yet to decide on the venues of the 2011 World Cup matches that were scheduled to be played in Pakistan, indicating these could be played outside the subcontinent.

ICC had dropped Pakistan as a co-host of the World Cup, to be held in the subcontinent, because of volatile security situation there, following which the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) initiated legal action against cricket’s governing body.

Nottingham, June 16: South Africa captain Graeme Smith offered his support to under-fire India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Monday after the defending champions crashed out of the World Twenty20.

India`s three-run defeat to England at Lord`s on Sunday sparked an avalanche of criticism aimed at Dhoni with his tactical thinking coming under fire from the country`s demanding fans.

Taunton, June 16: India booked a semi-final berth in the women’s Twenty20 World Cup after humbling Sri Lanka by five wickets in a rain-marred pool B
match, on Monday.

Poonam Raut hit a patient 30 off 41 balls, while Mithali Raj cracked an unbeaten 22-ball 32 to help India romp home after restricting the Lankans to a paltry 94 for six in a rain-reduced 18 overs per side match at County Ground here.

Chasing 95 to win, openers Poonam and Anjum Chopra (11) made a watchful start scoring 27 in the first seven overs before the latter was sent packing by Udeshika Prabodani.

London, June 16 (IANS) Composed unbeaten knocks from Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shivnarine Chanderpaul took West Indies to the semi-final of the World Twenty20 and shut the door on hosts England with a five-wicket win, via the Duckworth Lewis method, in a rain affected game at The Oval here Monday.
England, despite getting a good start, lost their way once again in the second half of the innings but still managed to post 161 for six in 20 overs after Ravi Bopara hit 55 off 47 balls and Kevin Pietersen scored a fluent 31 (19).

New Delhi, June 16: The Indian players might have heaved a collective sigh of relief when they crashed out of the T20 World Cup on Sunday night: they can finally go home now and actually crash without worrying about a bat or ball for some time.

You could, of course, see the fatigue in Gambhir’s sluggish limbs, in Dhoni’s glazed eyes and Harbhajan’s half-hearted smiles; you could sense the resignation in the team’s body-language too: it was neither anywhere near its peak form, nor burning with intensity or raging for victory.

London, June 15: Scoreboard of the World Twenty20 Group F Super Eights match between Pakistan and Ireland at The Kennington Oval here Monday.

Pakistan:

Kamran Akmal b Johnston 57 (51)

Shahzaib Hasan c McCallan b Cusack 23 (19)

Shahid Afridi c Mooney b McCallan 24 (13)

Younis Khan b West 10 (8)

Misbah-ul-Haq c Niall b McCallan 20 (14)

Abdul Razzaq not out 15 (9)

Shoaib Malik not out 4 (7)

Extras: (lb 3, w 2, nb 1) 6

Total: (for five wickets in 20 overs) 159

London, June 15: Inspiring performances from Kamran Akmal and Saeed Ajmal carried Pakistan into the semifinals of the World Twenty20 after they defeated Ireland by 39 runs in a Group F Super Eights match at The Oval here Monday.

Opening batsman and wicketkeeper Akmal hit a flamboyant 57 as Pakistan made 159 for five in 20 overs after skipper Younis Khan won the toss and elected to bat.

London, June 15: Pakistan beat Ireland by 39 runs at the Oval to increase their chances of reaching the semi-finals.

Ireland’s target of 160 always seemed out-of-reach for the Irish against an ever-improving bowling attack, with Saeed Ajmal (4-19) and Umar Gul (2-19) to the fore on this occasion.

Niall O’Brien (7) top-edged an attempted pull straight back to Mohammad Aamer, who took a steepling catch off his own bowling.

Ireland reached 37-1 at the end of their Powerplay, with just three boundaries, as they struggled to make the most of the period before spin entered the equation.

Bangalore, June 15 : In professional sport the toughest miles are rarely recorded. Never applauded. Over a period of time, they become personal milestones, the place where the will scored over a whim.

On Saturday, Sania Mirza lost both her semi-final matches in the AEGON Classic in Birmingham. In the singles, the 22-year-old went down to the 13th seed Magdalena Rybarikova in a tough three-setter. A few hours later, Sania and Chia-Jung Chuang of Taipei took the exit in the doubles competition too.

London, June 15: Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara said Twenty20 cricket was now a bowlers’ game after his side were given a major scare by Ireland.

The only non-Test team left in the World Twenty20, Ireland held Sangakkara’s side to 144 for nine at Lord’s on Sunday before tight bowling from the likes of Ajantha Mendis and Lasith Malinga restricted the minnows to 135 for seven.

Mumbai, June 15: Noted Bollywood actor Aamir Khan, who essayed the role of villager and cricketer in Oscar nominated classic film ‘Lagaan’, expressed disappointment on Team India’s heart-breaking early ouster from the T20 World Cup at Lords.

Aamir aka Mr Perfectionist dubbed the defeat as ‘disappointing’ after England won yesterday match by three runs and knocked out last year’s champion India from ICC World Twenty20. The actor was surprised on the decision of sending Ravindra Jadeja ahead of Yuvraj Singh in Super 8 match against England.

New Delhi, June 15: Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the India captain, bore the brunt of fan and media anger back home after the defending champions were unceremoniously dumped out of the World Twenty20 on Sunday.

Security was increased around Dhoni’s home in the eastern city of Ranchi on Monday after scores of fans burnt his effigy, shouted slogans and accused the captain of underestimating England in a must-win situation.

Ranchi, June 15: Angry over Team India’s defeat in the ICC World Twenty, the cricket fans in Ranchi, the home town of Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni burnt his effigy to protest India’s exit from the T20 World Cup.

The defending champions are out of the title race following successive defeats in matches against the West Indies and England. Around 50 cricket fans, mostly youth, gathered near Siddo Kanhu park and shouted slogans against Dhoni and burnt his effigy.

London, June 15: India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni apologised to the thousands of disappointed fans who watched their side exit the Twenty20 World Cup at Lord’s on Sunday and promised to make amends in the West Indies next year.

The defending champions were eliminated after they lost by three runs to England in their Super Eight clash on Sunday. They also lost to West Indies on Friday.

“We are sorry for what happened but we can say we gave our best,” Dhoni told a news conference. “I think we have the guys who can handle the pressure, it was a day when nothing really worked for us.”

London, June 15: Manchester United may be receiving a world-record fee of 80 million pounds (94 million euros, 130 million dollars) for the sale of Cristiano Ronaldo, but the amount is dwarfed by the club’s huge debt.

“It’s no wonder they’re getting this sort of money” from Real Madrid for arguably the world’s best player, said Philip Long, football industry specialist at British accountancy firm PKF, recalling that United’s parent company spent almost 69 million pounds on interest repayments in 2007/08.

London, June 15: Defending champions India bowed out of the World Twenty20 after losing to hosts England by three runs in a key Super Eights match at a
England packed Lord’s on Sunday.

India restricted England to 153-7 after electing to field in good batting conditions, but then fumbled their reply to be stopped at 150-5 despite scoring 56 runs in the last five overs.

Blogs: Not really do or die today | Keep the faith in Dhoni

London, June 14: Pakistan’s cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan has expressed fear that the ongoing military operation against the Taliban in Swat could backfire and fuel extremism and terror attacks in the country.

‘Pakistan is on a suicidal course,’ said Khan, the chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek Insaf (PTI) party was quoted by Online news agency Sunday.

He criticised the Pakistani government for luanching an all-out war against the Taliban in the northwest on the advice of the United States.

London, June 14: Umar Gul bulldozed New Zealand with a sensational five-wicket haul as Pakistan defeated New Zealand by six-wicket to keep their semifinals hopes alive in the World Twenty20 here on Saturday.

Gul’s incredible fast bowling spell resulted in Kiwi’s complete demolition as they were all out for a paltry 99 in 18.3 overs after deciding to bat in this Super Eight match.

Gul, introduced as late as in the 13th over, wreaked havoc in his three-over spell and emerged as the first bowler to claim five wickets in T20 Internationals.

New Delhi, June 23: Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni believed his batters and fielders were found wanting against West Indies in a Super Eight match against West Indies here on Friday. However, he didn’t give the credit where it was due the West Indian fast bowlers who wreaked havoc in Indian innings.

London, June 13: Defending champions India will need to improve all aspects of their game following their upset loss to West Indies on Friday if they are to get past the second round of the Twenty20 World Cup.

India meet England at Lord`s on Sunday evening in their second Super Eight match before playing a confident South Africa side at Trent Bridge in Nottingham on Tuesday.

London, June 13: Let down by their much-vaunted top order, defending champions India flunked their first Super Eight test and sunk to a seven-wicket defeat against the West Indies in the Twenty20 World Cup on Friday.

Dwayne Bravo scalped four Indian wickets with the ball and then returned to hit an unbeaten 36-ball 66, studded with three sixes, to seal the match.

Earlier, Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s decision to bat first boomeranged as the Indian top order crumbled and it required Yuvraj Singh’s (67) 43-ball blitzkrieg and Yusuf Pathan’s (31) cameo to reach a competitive 153 for seven.

Poutchek at the Aegon Classic on Tuesday, shrugging off a persistent wrist injury that had threatened to end her career.

The 22-year-old from India hit the ball well and moved superbly. She made a rampaging start, breaking serve immediately and then winning a third game that went to eight deuces and which lasted more than a quarter of an hour.
“After what I have been through I am thankful to God that I am back,” she said, referring to the multiple problems with the wrist which required surgery and prolonged rehab.

London, June 12: Pakistan captain Younis Khan is looking forward to welcome back Abdul Razzaq into the fold after the all-rounder’s late call up into the World Twenty20 squad in England.

Razzaq has been given his chance after Yasir Arafat was ruled out of the remainder of the tournament with a hamstring injury.

His return also marks his re-integration into the Pakistan side following an amnesty for former players in the Indian Cricket League – the rival Twenty20 event to the officially sanctioned Indian Premier League.

London, June 12: Sri Lanka kept their composure to beat Pakistan by 19 runs in their opening Super Eights match in the World Twenty20 at Lord’s on Friday.

Defending a total of 150 for seven, Sri Lanka remained unbeaten at the tournament as they held Pakistan to a total of 131 for nine. Fast bowler Lasith Malinga took three wickets for 18 runs.

Blogs: The Dhoni Debate – II | Game, Shame and Name

Trent Bridge, June 11: Zaheer Khan wreaked havoc while Rohit Sharma continued his purple patch as a ruthless India decimated Ireland by eight wickets in a rain-marred Group A tie of the Twenty20 World Cup on Wednesday.

Scorecard | In Pics | Points Table | Schedule | Women T20 WC ’09

Zaheer Khan (4/19) led the rout as India restricted a hapless Ireland to a mere 112 for eight in 18 overs and then went on to overwhelm the target in 15.3 overs with Rohit (52 not out) and Gautam Gambhir (37) making merry against the toothless Irish attack.