Sri Lanka vs Afghanistan Asia Cup 2022

Sri Lanka vs Afghanistan Asia Cup 2022

Sri Lanka Playing xi

Pathum Nissanka, Danushka Gunathilaka, Charith Asalanka, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Kusal Mendis (wk), Dasun Shanaka (c), Wanindu Hasaranga, Chamika Karunaratne, Nuwan Thushara, Maheesh Theekshana, Praveen Jayawickrama

Afghanistan Playing xi

Hazratullah Zazai, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Afsar Zazai, Usman Ghani, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammed Nabi, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Naveen ul-Haq, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fareed Ahmad  

Read More

Smith, Badree send Bangladesh crashing

West Indies had batted poorly against India in a seven-wicket defeat on Sunday. Their batsmen didn't look entirely convincing against Bangladesh either, but they scored 171, thanks to Dwayne Smith's 43-ball 72 and some amateurish work in the field.

The target proved well beyond the reach of the hosts, who were bowled out for 98. Dew, which had been a big factor in Mushfiqur Rahim sending West Indies in at the toss, barely played a role as Samuel Badree, Sunil Narine and Krishmar Santokie - a left-arm seamer by definition but a quickish left-arm spinner in reality - had no difficulty in gripping the ball in achieving figures of 12-0-49-8 between them.

Badree and Santokie sent back three of Bangladesh's most dangerous batsmen within first four overs. Tamim Iqbal went first, driving Badree uppishly to a diving Dwayne Bravo at mid-off. Bravo would later throw an even harsher light on the gulf between the two fielding sides by hurling himself to his right at point to grab a low one-handed catch and dismiss Mushfiqur.

Before that, though, Santokie struck twice in two balls with his slower offcutters. First, he spun it past the groping outside edge of the right-handed Anamul Haque for Denesh Ramdin to effect a brilliant stumping, then spun his next ball through the gate of the left-handed Shakib Al Hasan. Bangladesh were 16 for 3 in 3.2 overs and the match, as a contest, was over.

Smart Stats Bangladesh's 73-run defeat was their second worst by margin of runs in T20Is. They had lost to Pakistan by 103 in a one-off T20I in Karachi in 2008. Dwayne Smith's 72 is his highest T20 international score, beating the 70 he scored against England at Trent Bridge in 2012. Chris Gayle's run-a-ball 48 was his slowest T20I inningsin which he has scored 30 or more runs. It was slower than his 33-ball 34 against India in the previous match. Lendl Simmons was stumped for a duck off a wide ball - the first one he faced - from Shakib Al Hasan. He is thethird batsman in T20 internationals to be stumped for a 'diamond' duck. The other two were also from West Indies - Kieron Pollard and Narsingh Deonarine. Al-Amin Hossain's figures of 3 for 21 were the best in T20 internationals and the best by a Bangladesh fast bowler in World T20s. He has taken eight wickets at 14.12 in five T20Is and has an economy of 6.27. Samuel Badree's figures of 4 for 15 are his best in T20 internationals and also West Indies' best in the World T20.

Mominul Haque and Mushfiqur fought on for the next six overs, but the required rate was always running away from Bangladesh. Once the two were dismissed, Badree - who finished with four wickets - and the rest of West Indies' attack had no trouble running through the rest. In the end, the margin of victory reflected Bangladesh's inadequacies rather than anything spectacular from West Indies.

Having been sent in, West Indies, for most part, had struggled to put Bangladesh's bowlers away on a slow pitch. Smith, who had scratched his way to 11 off 29 balls against India, was in much better touch though, and provided West Indies impetus that they never lost despite their two best batsmen - Gayle and Marlon Samuels - facing 70 balls between them for 66.

Smith profited from some poor bowling, particularly from Sohag Gazi. Smith greeted the offspinner by sweeping him for two fours off his first two balls, both of which were directed towards leg stump, a dodgy idea with fine leg in the circle.

In the 10th over, Smith struck him for four successive fours. He manufactured the first - a reverse-sweep off a decent ball, but the next three came from ordinary deliveries that would have disappeared in any format of the game. The last of these, a flat-batted sweep, took Smith to 50. The landmark had come up in 34 balls.

Despite this, West Indies' run rate, at the end of the 10th over, was still under eight an over. At the other end, Gayle was playing a bizarre innings. It wasn't a surprise that he was slow off the blocks - he usually is before picking up the rate later. That simply didn't happen today. Part of this had to do with Gayle struggling to time the ball on a slow pitch, and part of it had to do with intent - unless the ball was in his hitting zone, he simply didn't go after it. He was slow between the wickets too, and appeared in some discomfort, suggesting he might not have been fully fit.

After Smith's dismissal in the 12th over, Mushfiqur brought on Shakib Al Hasan for the first time, and the left-arm spinner struck first ball getting Lendl Simmons stumped down the leg side as he went off on a strange wander out of the crease.

In came Samuels, who added 53 in 37 balls with Gayle even though neither batsman looked particularly threatening, as Bangladesh's fielding disintegrated despite two blinders from Tamim. Gayle went from 26 from 38 - at that point the second-slowest score of 25 or more in the history of international T20 - to 30 from 39 - the 14th slowest - courtesy Anamul's slippery fingers at long-on. In the next over, the 17th, Mushfiqur let successive deliveries from Shakib scoot between his legs for four byes. In the last two overs, Bangladesh also dropped three catches - Mahmudullah's two missed chances at long-off adding eight runs to Darren Sammy's score.

Al-Amin Hossain bowled a tight last over, picking up three wickets, but would have wished the spell had been part of a better team performance.

Read More

Pakistan take high-voltage game vs Australia

If ever proof was needed that Pakistan are world cricket's most mercurial side, take this match as exhibit A. Bilawal Bhatti's first over cost 30 runs, Pakistan dropped two catches in three balls, they conceded an 18-ball half-century to Glenn Maxwell and in their own innings stumbled to 25 for 2 in their fifth over. Oh, and they won. Comfortably, in the end. So relaxed was Mohammad Hafeez by the end that he trusted Bhatti with the final over, with Australia needing 23. They managed six.

This really was a split personality of a game. The fielding from both sides was poor, as was some of the bowling. But the striking from Umar Akmal and Maxwell was breathtaking, and a couple of wonderful overs from two of Pakistan's spinners, Zulfiqar Babar and Saeed Ajmal, meant more than Bhatti's dirty 30-run over. Perhaps the most important feature of the match was the lopsided nature of Australia's scorecard; nobody but Maxwell and Aaron Finch reached double figures.

And yet while they were at the crease together, Australia rocketed into favouritism. Chasing 192, they had come together at 8 for 2 at the end of the first over, after Babar's quicker ball rattled David Warner's stumps and his turner caught the edge of Shane Watson's bat on the way through to Kamran Akmal. But from there, Maxwell and Finch lifted Australia to 126 for 2 in the 12th over, a position from which they could have and should have won.

Had Maxwell stayed there they would have. As he struck six after six with conventional strokeplay, it was hard to work out why he had tried to reverse-sweep Hafeez from the first ball of his innings. Nerves, perhaps. But when he stood still and played the ball on its merits, he was almost impossible to stop. He clubbed Hafeez over midwicket and square leg for two sixes in an over and struck another as Shahid Afridi leaked 15 in his first over.

Afridi seemed Scrooge-like compared to Bhatti, who was thumped for two consecutive sixes that brought Maxwell his half-century, the equal fastest in a T20 international by an Australia player. The record was set by David Warner, who struck an 18-ball fifty against West Indies in 2009-10 at the SCG, where the Arizona Diamondbacks and the LA Dodgers are playing Major League Baseball this week. Some of Maxwell's strikes belonged there.

He was put down on 70 by Ajmal in the deep - two balls earlier Kamran had failed to glove Finch's edge behind off Ajmal's doosra - but on 74 Maxwell fell when he picked out deep midwicket off the bowling of Afridi. And magically, the runs dried up. The rest of the Australians struggled to force the pace against Pakistan's spin; George Bailey was bowled by Afridi for 4 off nine balls and after Brad Hodge was well caught in the deep by Ajmal off Umar Gul, Ajmal got rid of the other main danger, Finch.

Australia needed 31 off the final three overs when Ajmal was given his last over, and it was a brilliant one. Finch, settled but still a little scratchy, was bowled by an Ajmal straight ball for 65 off 54 balls, and the over brought one run and one wicket. And, more or less, one Pakistan victory. Because 30 off two overs was too much for Australia's lower order; Gul and Bhatti picked up wickets and there was a run out, and Australia were bowled out from the last ball for 175.

It meant that Umar Akmal's batting had not been in vain. That Pakistan reached 191 for 5 was a remarkable effort given that they were struggling at 25 for 2 in the fifth over. But the Akmal brothers combined to give Bailey a headache for the next three quarters of an hour.

They scored at 11.29 during their 96-run partnership and although Kamran has an excellent record against Australia it was Umar who really did the damage this time. Powerful through and over midwicket, especially during an 18-run over from part-time spinner Finch, who was twice dispatched dismissively over deep midwicket, Umar was also able to rocket the ball down the ground straight back past the bowler Nathan Coulter-Nile.

Kamran struck four fours during his run-a-ball 31 but the partnership ended when he tried to lift a cut over deep point off Coulter-Nile but was well taken by Warner running around on the boundary. Coulter-Nile picked up a second wicket when he yorked Sohaib Maqsood for 5, but Umar remained at the crease and seemed destined to become the first Pakistan batsman to reach a century in a Twenty20 international.

That was not to be. In the final over of the innings, on 94 from 53 balls, he tried to clear the long-on boundary off Mitchell Starc and was caught in the deep by Maxwell. A quick unbeaten 20 from Afridi helped Pakistan to 191 for 5, but the Australians were left wondering what could have been had they been a little less sloppy in the field.

Umar had been dropped on 22 when he lifted Coulter-Nile to deep square leg and Brad Hogg put down a catch that was coming to him at pace, but should have been taken comfortably. Afridi was also put down by Hodge at point and Kamran was grassed by Doug Bollinger at short fine leg, although the umpire called a no-ball against the bowler Shane Watson in any case.

Bollinger's first international for two and a half years had started more promisingly - he struck in the second over of the match when Ahmed Shehzad top-edged a pull and was caught by Bollinger himself. When Hafeez played on off Watson in the fifth over, Australia could dream of a small chase. In their dreams

Read More

UAE to host 20 IPL games in first phase

 

The first phase of the IPL will have 20 matches in Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and Dubai from April 16-30, the organisers have announced. The opening match of IPL 2014 will be played at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on April 16 between Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders.

It is understood the tournament launch will take place on April 15 in Abu Dhabi. According to the schedule released by the IPL, five of the 15 days of the first phase will be double-headers that will be played over the weekends. The first match will start at 2.30pm local time (1030 GMT, 1600 IST) and the evening game at 6.30pm (1430 GMT, 2000 IST).

The schedule was chalked out to allow each of the eight franchises to play at least once in all three cities, and also feature in at least one of the double-header weekends. Abu Dhabi and Dubai will host seven matches each while six games will be played in Sharjah.

The IPL was moved to an alternative venue after its schedule coincided with the Indian elections, slated to be held between April 17 and May 12, giving rise to security issues. While the primary objective of the IPL was to host the most number of matches in India, the Indian home ministry made it clear it would not be possible to provide the required security for the tournament during the elections.

However, a BCCI statement said that state administrations had responded to an initiative by the federal government and indicated their willingness to hold matches. This, the BCCI said, led it to believe that the IPL could be staged in India from the first week of May.

There were concerns about Sharjah as a venue, given its associations with match-fixing in the past, but assurances from the UAE government and cricket officials in the country were adequate for the BCCI to believe that the tournament could be conducted in a corruption-free manner.

Read More

FIFA world cup 2014 Brazil schedule

Read More

ICC T20 World Cup 2014 Schedule Fixtures

Read More

Champions League T20 (CLT20) 2013 Schedule

Sep 17, 2013	15:30	Otago Volts vs FW , 1st Qualifier T20	Hyderabad
Sep 17, 2013	19:30	SRH vs TBC , 2nd Qualifier T20	Hyderabad
Sep 18, 2013	15:30	Otago Volts vs TBC , 3rd Qualifier T20	Hyderabad
Sep 18, 2013	19:30	FW vs SRH , 4th Qualifier T20	Mohali
Sep 20, 2013	15:30	FW vs TBC , 5th Qualifier T20	Mohali
Sep 20, 2013	19:30	Otago Volts vs SRH , 6th Qualifier T20	Mohali
Sep 21, 2013	19:30	RR vs Mumbai Indians , 1st T20	Jaipur
Sep 22, 2013	15:30	Brisbane Heat vs TT , 2nd T20	Ranchi
Sep 22, 2013	19:30	CSK vs Titans , 3rd T20	Ranchi
Sep 23, 2013	15:30	Highveld Lions vs Perth Scorchers , 4th T20	Ahmedabad
Sep 23, 2013	19:30	Mumbai Indians vs TBC , 5th T20	Ahmedabad
Sep 24, 2013	15:30	Titans vs Brisbane Heat , 6th T20	Mohali
Sep 24, 2013	19:30	TT vs TBC , 7th T20	Mohali
Sep 25, 2013	15:30	Perth Scorchers vs TBC , 8th T20	Jaipur
Sep 25, 2013	19:30	RR vs Highveld Lions , 9th T20	Jaipur
Sep 26, 2013	19:30	CSK vs TBC , 10th T20	Ranchi
Sep 27, 2013	19:30	Mumbai Indians vs Highveld Lions , 11th T20	Ahmedabad
Sep 27, 2013	19:30	Mumbai Indians vs Highveld Lions , 11th T20	Ahmedabad
Sep 28, 2013	15:30	Titans vs TBC , 12th T20	Ranchi
Sep 28, 2013	19:30	CSK vs Brisbane Heat , 13th T20	Ranchi
Sep 29, 2013	15:30	Highveld Lions vs TBC , 14th T20	Jaipur
Sep 29, 2013	19:30	RR vs Perth Scorchers , 15th T20	Jaipur
Sep 30, 2013	15:30	Titans vs TT , 16th T20	Ahmedabad
Sep 30, 2013	19:30	Brisbane Heat vs TBC , 17th T20	Ahmedabad
Oct 1, 2013	19:30	RR vs TBC , 18th T20	Jaipur
Oct 2, 2013	15:30	Perth Scorchers vs Mumbai Indians , 19th T20	Delhi
Oct 2, 2013	19:30	CSK vs TT , 20th T20	Delhi
Oct 4, 2013	19:30	TBC vs TBC , 1st Semi Final T20	Jaipur
Oct 6, 2013	19:30	TBC vs TBC , 2nd Semi Final T20	Delhi
Oct 6, 2013	19:30	TBC vs TBC , Final T20	Delhi

 

Read More

International XI arrives Pakistan for Twenty20

 

A team led by former Sri Lankan captain Sanath Jayasuriya and managed by former West Indian batsman Alvin Kallicharan has arrived in Karachi on Thursday afternoon. The international XI team will play two exhibition Twenty20 matches against a Pakistan Stars XI at National Stadium in Karachi this weekend, ending a near four-year drought of international cricket in the country.

Several other players including batsman Ricardo Powell, fast bowlers Jermaine Lawson and Adam Sanford from West Indies, and Andre Nel and Nantie Hayward from South Africa landed earlier in the morning. South Africa allrounder Justin Kemp has withdrawn due to his domestic cricket commitments while two Afghanistan players - Shapoor Zadran and Mohammad Shahzad - will reach Karachi tomorrow from Kabul.

Read More

World XI to play two Twenty20s in Pakistan

 

In a bid to revive international cricket in Pakistan, a World XI will play two exhibition Twenty20 matches against a Pakistan Star XI, the Sindh sports minister Dr Mohammad Ali Shah has announced.

The 'World XI' team is comprised of former and active professional players from Sri Lanka, West Indies, South Africa and Afghanistan. The two matches will be played on October 20 and 21 at the National Stadium Karachi with former Sri Lanka captain Sanath Jayasuriya slated to lead the World XI against a Shahid Afridi-led Pakistan XI.

"World XI team will be arriving in Karachi on October 18 to play a series of two twenty20 matches," Shah said. "There are some notable player touring and this is a big breakthrough.

"I have been working from last one year to make this event possible. We have finalised all the arrangements to hold these matches in a befitting manner under tight security. Both matches will be played under floodlights. The event will give a soft image of Pakistan around the world and would encourage the teams to visit Pakistan."

Read More

Wright's 99 helps England start impressively

The World Twenty20 continued to conform to expectation - disappointingly so, some will say - as England began the defence of their title with a 116-run hammering of Afghanistan. Luke Wright could not quite follow Brendon McCullum's hundred earlier in the day, but produced a blistering 99 off 55 balls after the holders overcame a slightly tricky start in highly convincing fashion.

Wright became the second England batsman to be stranded one short of a Twenty20 hundred following Alex Hales' innings against West Indies earlier this year. Wright only returned to the line-up at the tail-end of the English season and had not really been earmarked for the No. 3 role until Ravi Bopara's rapid loss of form but, having made a brace of useful 30s in the warm-ups, provided further evidence of his development over the last year. He powered past his previous best of 71 against Netherlands, at Lord's, during the 2009 World Twenty20. England, famously, lost that match but there was never a risk of a repeat.

Unsurprisingly, Afghanistan came out swinging with predictable results. Mohammad Shahzad picked out mid-off, Shafiqullah skied to cover and the captain Nawroz Mangal was brilliantly held by Stuart Broad off his own bowling. Much has rightly been written and said about the fairytale of Afghanistan's rise, but this was a harsh of reality check as they slid to 26 for 8. However, they avoided the heaviest defeat in T20 which is Kenya's 172-run defeat against Sri Lanka in 2007 and Gulbodin Naib, with a gutsy display, ensured they passed Kenya's lowest T20 total of 67.

England, though, did exactly what they needed to. Wright was chiefly responsible for some fierce acceleration as they scored 124 off the second 10 overs of their innings after a slow start against some lively new-ball bowling. He started the final over on 95 and needed three off the last ball to make England's first T20 hundred but could only club a brace through midwicket.

He received solid support from Hales and Eoin Morgan while Jos Buttler and Jonny Bairstow contributed rapid cameos. There were some costly overs during the innings, most notably 32 off the penultimate from Izatullah Dawlatzai which included two no-balls - the same figure that Wayne Parnell went for at Edgbaston earlier in the month putting it joint second in T20 records. It was also another poor fielding display from Afghanistan - Wright was dropped on 75 - as basic skills let them down as they did against India

It had not been easy start for England as Shapoor Zadran, who troubled India's top order, produced a superb opening over. Craig Kieswetter appeared confused by the two-paced nature of the pitch and played out five dot balls before dragging into his stumps to complete a rare wicket maiden. Hales slashed his first delivery just over slip in a far from assured beginning and after four overs the score was 15 for 1.

Then the game started to change. Having gauged the nature of the pitch, Hales and Wright located the boundary as Shapoor's third over cost 23 although four of those were byes when the wicketkeeper was beaten by the bounce. The final ball of the over was launched into the stands by Wright as England began to take control with the last two overs of the Powerplay bringing 37.

Hales was unfortunate to be dismissed when Wright's straight drive was deflected into the non-striker's stumps by Karim Sadiq. At 84 for 2 after 12 overs the innings hadn't escaped Afghanistan, but Wright dented Samiullah Shenwari's figures with a six over long-on and followed that by fetching another delivery through midwicket.

Mohammad Nabi, the offspinner, bowled his first two overs for 10 but finished with 0 for 46. Morgan flicked him over deep midwicket - his one convincing shot - and Wright went four, six, four off three consecutive deliveries. There was more of that to come with Buttler continuing where he left off against South Africa and Bairstow drilling his first ball into the stands.

Despite having a vast total on the board it was important England did not slack in the field. The quick bowlers made an early impression, zipping the ball through from back of a length with Kieswetter taking a number of deliveries above his head. There was very little for the batsmen to drive although Steven Finn pushed a few deliveries down the leg side.

Broad decided to use his bowlers by the gameplan so Jade Dernbach was given one up front before the captain brought himself on. After a difficult home season of catching and fielding they began well in that department, with Buttler producing a sharp dive and throw from midwicket to run out Sadiq then, next ball, Bairstow held a stunning catch running in from fine leg against a top edged hook from Asghar Stanikzai.

Graeme Swann started with two maidens then was taken for 16 by Naib who often declined singles and showed why by picking off two sweet sixes against Dernbach to mean there would be no record low for Afghanistan and to help himself to the highest score by a No. 8 in T20 internationals. Nobody should read too much into the result, but it was a good statement by the defending champions.

Read More