Fixtures of T20 World Cup 2022 have been Announced

 

Fixtures of T20 World Cup 2022 have been announced. India placed alongside Pakistan, South Africa, Bangladesh & two qualifiers in Group 2 of Super 12 stage. India will square off against Pakistan in their first match of the tournament on October 23 at the MCG

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Pakistan triumph as cricket comes home through Zimbabwe

Look at the crowd in Gaddafi Stadium 60 thousands plus people watching this match Pak vs zim.
 The occasion of international cricket's return to Pakistan was made merrier by the opening pair of Mukhtar Ahmed and Ahmed Shehzad as they tore into and broke down Zimbabwe's challenging 172 for 6, to ensure the side, playing at home after six years, won by five wickets.
Their 142-run stand equalled the opening partnership between Salman Butt and Kamran Akmal against Bangladesh in the 2010 World T20 but the one at the Gaddafi Stadium will be counted as more special. The March 2009 attack on the Sri Lanka team bus, outside this very cricket stadium, had taken international cricket away from them.
The full house was fully entertained by the newcomer Mukhtar, who made 83 off 45 balls. His dozen boundaries were hit off a bowling attack which lacked a leader and a strong attacker but Mukhtar did what he had to do. He was severe on everything straight and on his legs, nine of his 12 fours coming through fine-leg, midwicket and long-on. He reached 50 off 34 balls and left the more recognised Shehzad far behind.
Shehzad didn't miss out though, getting to his fifty in the 12th over. He struck some brutal hits down the ground but was generous enough to let Mukhtar do all the hitting. The pair fell in consecutive overs - Shehzad gave a catch to point, while Mukhtar hit straight to long-on - but the crowd was fully entertained for one hour by the pair.
After the Mukhtar-Shehzad partnership, Pakistan lost three more wickets before captain Shahid Afridi struck a straight boundary to complete the win with three balls to spare.
The start of the evening, too, will remain memorable. The crowd started to enter the stadium more than two hours before the first ball and it was a full house when Shahid Afridi and Elton Chigumbura strode out to the toss, held seven minutes earlier as the Pakistan president Mamnoon Hussain met with both squads. Afridi gave one last pep talk before the hosts raced to the turf.
The first ball was a fuller length delivery from Anwar Ali that crashed into Hamilton Masakadza's pad. The pace bowler didn't appeal, but an appeal wouldn't have been out of place given the drama of the occasion. Masakadza then got to work with a string of boundaries but he failed to keep the crowd's noise down. A gap of six years for an international game kept them animated even as they fanned themselves with the four and six placards.
Masakadza got seven fours and a six in his 27-ball 43, cutting, lap-sweeping and forcing fours through point, midwicket, fine-leg and mid-off. His only six was a high pull off Bilawal Bhatti over square-leg in the third over. Vusi Sibanda was nondescript at the other end with 13 off 15 balls.
Their 58-run stand ended in the seventh over when Sibanda top-edged Mohammad Sami for 13 and next ball, Pakistan's comeback man - playing his first international match since July 2012 - got Masakadza to inside-edge on to the stumps. The noise was at a maximum but despite that, and the regular wickets, their fielding errors slightly blotted the occasion. A few outfielders dived over the ball, Sarfraz missed two stumpings, including that of Chigumbura when he was on eight, and Riaz dropping a skier off his own bowling.
Charles Coventry, another comeback story of the day, was given caught-behind though TV replays showed the ball appeared to hit his bicep on the way to the wicketkeeper. Chigumbura, meanwhile, kept the pace set by Masakadza with timely boundaries. Zimbabwe's tally of 58 in the last five overs was mostly his doing.
Chigumbura's late onslaught began with a top-edged four off Bhatti before fours were squeezed past point and inside-edged. He added blasts over point, midwicket and extra cover off Riaz's third over before flicking Sami's full-toss to reach his second T20 fifty, making 54 off 35 balls.
Sikandar Raza struck a high six over midwicket before falling in the 17th over but he helped Chigumbura add 42 for the fifth wicket in just 4.2 overs.
Malik was the most economical bowler with 1 for 12 from three overs while Sami took 3 for 36. Riaz finished with two wickets but he was too wayward for a bowler leading the attack.
Zimbabwe's bowlers too were poor for most of the Pakistan innings, though Cremer looked happy with his two wickets while Williams and Brian Vitori took one wicket apiece.
For the fans and the team, it was a joyous occasion, a chance to cherish a match played in their home. International cricket in Pakistan came to a halt in Lahore and it is here that Zimbabwe's tour got underway, with a win for the home team

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Today BIg Match: Lahore Lions vs Chennie Super kings

                                                              

Chennai Super Kings vs Lahore Lions

07:30pm Pst...8:00pm IST (6:30pm GST, 2:30pm GMT), Thursday 25th September 2014

M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru

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Pakistan Squad vs Australia

 

Pakistan ODI squad: Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), Ahmed Shehzad, Mohammad Hafeez, Umar Akmal , Fawad Alam, Umar Amin, Asad Shafiq, Sohaib Maqsood, Sarfraz Ahmed, Shahid Afridi, Raza Hasan, Mohammad Irfan, Anwar Ali, Wahab Riaz, Junaid khan

T20 squad: Shahid Afridi (capt), Ahmed Shahzad, Mohammad Hafeez, Umar Akmal, Umar Amin, Sohaib Maqsood, Awais Zia, Saad Naseem, Raza Hasan, Mohammad Irfan, Wahab Riaz, Bilwalal Bhatti, Anwar Ali, Sohail Tanvir

A squad for four-day game Shan Masood, Ahmed Shehzad, Babar Azam, Asad Shafiq (capt), Harris Sohail, Israr Ullah, Adnan Akmal, Raza Hasan, Karamat Ali, Imran Khan, Atta Ullah, Rahat Ali, Ehsan Adil, Mohammad Talha

A squad for one-dayers against UAE Sohaib Maqsood (capt), Sami Aslam, Sharjeel Khan, Nasir Jamshed, Harris Sohail, Babar Azam, Ehsan Adil, Imran Khan, Zafar Gohar, Bismillah Khan (wk), Karamat Ali, Bilawal Bhatti, Adil Amin, Usman Khan, Atta Ullah

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Shahid Afridi named captain of the T20 Squad

  

Shahid Afridi has today been announced as captain of the Pakistan T20 squad till the ICC World T20 in 2016. The slot was lying vacant following Muhammad Hafeez’s resignation after the ICC World T20 held in Bangladesh earlier this year. 
The decision to retain Misbah-ul-Haq as captain of Test and One Day squad till next year's ICC World Cup was also reaffirmed.
Commenting on these developments Chairman PCB Mr. Shaharyar Khan said, “In line with my policy of taking decisions democratically I consulted Cricket Committee and my Board members before announcing these decisions. I wish both Afridi and Misbah very good luck in their upcoming assignments.”
Pakistan will start their tour against Australia next month with a T20 scheduled on 5^th October 2014 at Dubai Cricket Stadium, UAE.
The T20, ODI and Test teams for the series against Australia shall be announced in due course.

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Champions League Twenty20, 2014 Fixtures

Sep 17, 2014 (20 Ovs)

14:30 GMT | 20:00 IST

T20 Match 1, Group A, Kolkata Knight Riders vs Chennai Super Kings at Hyderabad

Sep 18, 2014 (20 Ovs)

14:30 GMT | 20:00 IST

T20 Match 2, Group B, Kings XI Punjab vs Hobart Hurricanes at Mohali

 

Sep 19, 2014 (20 Ovs)

14:30 GMT | 20:00 IST

T20 Match 3, Group B, Cape Cobras vs Northern Knights at Raipur

Sep 20, 2014 (20 Ovs)

10:30 GMT | 16:00 IST

T20 Match 4, Group A, Dolphins vs Perth at Mohali

Sep 20, 2014 (20 Ovs)

14:30 GMT | 20:00 IST

T20 Match 5, Group B, Barbados Tridents vs Kings XI Punjab at Mohali

Sep 21, 2014 (20 Ovs)

10:30 GMT | 16:00 IST

T20 Match 6, Group B, Cape Cobras vs Hobart Hurricanes at Hyderabad

Sep 21, 2014 (20 Ovs)

14:30 GMT | 20:00 IST

T20 Match 7, Group A, Kolkata Knight Riders vs Lahore Lions at Hyderabad

Sep 22, 2014 (20 Ovs)

14:30 GMT | 20:00 IST

T20 Match 8, Group A, Dolphins vs Chennai Super Kings at Bengaluru

Sep 23, 2014 (20 Ovs)

14:30 GMT | 20:00 IST

T20 Match 9, Group B, Hobart Hurricanes vs Northern Knights at Raipur

Sep 24, 2014 (20 Ovs)

14:30 GMT | 20:00 IST

T20 Match 10, Group A, Kolkata Knight Riders vs Perth at Hyderabad

Sep 25, 2014 (20 Ovs)

14:30 GMT | 20:00 IST

T20 Match 11, Group A, Chennai Super Kings vs Lahore Lions at Bengaluru

Sep 26, 2014 (20 Ovs)

10:30 GMT | 16:00 IST

T20 Match 12, Group B, Barbados Tridents vs Cape Cobras at Mohali

Sep 26, 2014 (20 Ovs)

14:30 GMT | 20:00 IST

T20 Match 13, Group B, Kings XI Punjab vs Northern Knights at Mohali

Sep 27, 2014 (20 Ovs)

10:30 GMT | 16:00 IST

T20 Match 14, Group A, Dolphins vs Lahore Lions at Bengaluru

Sep 27, 2014 (20 Ovs)

14:30 GMT | 20:00 IST

T20 Match 15, Group A, Perth vs Chennai Super Kings at Bengaluru

Sep 28, 2014 (20 Ovs)

10:30 GMT | 16:00 IST

T20 Match 16, Group B, Barbados Tridents vs Hobart Hurricanes at Mohali

Sep 28, 2014 (20 Ovs)

14:30 GMT | 20:00 IST

T20 Match 17, Group B, Kings XI Punjab vs Cape Cobras at Mohali

Sep 29, 2014 (20 Ovs)

14:30 GMT | 20:00 IST

T20 Match 18, Group A, Kolkata Knight Riders vs Dolphins at Hyderabad

Sep 30, 2014 (20 Ovs)

10:30 GMT | 16:00 IST

T20 Match 19, Group A, Perth vs Lahore Lions at Bengaluru

Sep 30, 2014 (20 Ovs)

14:30 GMT | 20:00 IST

T20 Match 20, Group B, Barbados Tridents vs Northern Knights at Bengaluru

Oct 2, 2014 (20 Ovs)

10:30 GMT | 16:00 IST

Semi Final 1, TBC vs TBC at Hyderabad

Oct 2, 2014 (20 Ovs)

14:30 GMT | 20:00 IST

Semi Final 2, TBC vs TBC at Hyderabad

Oct 4, 2014 (20 Ovs)

14:30 GMT | 20:00 IST

Final, TBC vs TBC at Bengaluru

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West indies vs Bangladesh

Two teams who aren't at the top of their game come together in Tuesday's clash. Bangladesh, the hosts, have had a forgettable 2014 so far, with lacklustre showings in the home series against Sri Lanka and the Asia Cup which were capped by a defeat to Hong Kong in the first phase of the World T20. West Indies, the defending champions, have lost seven of their previous ten T20s, including their opening game in the World T20, where they went down meekly to India.

After the lukewarm start in the loss against India, talk about West Indies' ability to take singles again got plenty of airtime ahead of the Bangladesh game. Whether it is through singles and twos or through big hits, West Indies need a victory over Bangladesh, as their remaining games in a tough group are against Australia, who are rated among the tournament favourites, and a formidable Pakistan outfit. Defeat to Bangladesh won't eliminate West Indies, but it is likely to mean that their chances of making the semi-finals are not in their hands, leaving them needing to win their remaining matches besides hoping other results go their way.

Bangladesh, despite their defeat to Hong Kong, have achieved their first goal: of reaching the Super 10s and thus avoiding the ignominy of having to watch a party in their backyard from the sidelines. They are positioning themselves as spoilers in a group of heavyweights, and can be tricky opponents, especially at home if the track suits their array of spinners.

Form guide

(last five matches, most recent first)

 Bangladesh: LWWLL
West Indies: LLWWW

In the spotlight

As someone who strikes at around 130 in T20s, Dwayne Smith will want to make amends for his torturous 29-ball 11 against India that robbed West Indies of any momentum at the start of the innings. With Chris Gayle expected to stick to his method of biding his time early on, Smith is entrusted with the task of providing the opening fireworks. Bangladesh's new-ball bowlers have a challenge on their hands.

Chris Gayle had recently jokingly remarked that he had made Sohag Gazi famous by hitting him for six off the first ball of a Test. That was when West Indies last toured Bangladesh in 2012, but even on that tour Gayle didn't exactly dominate - Gazi dismissed him three times in Tests and ODIs. The rivalry is set to resume on Tuesday, when Gazi is expected to be picked as a replacement for Farhad Reza

Teams news

West Indies coach Ottis Gibson has said they have to still take a decision on their quick bowling line-up: whether to bring in either the experienced Ravi Rampaul or the pacy Sheldon Cottrell in place of Krishmar Santokie. He wanted to take a close look at the conditions in Mirpur before taking a call.

West Indies (probable): 1 Chris Gayle, 2 Dwayne Smith, 3 Marlon Samuels, 4 Lendl Simmons, 5 Dwayne Bravo, 6 Darren Sammy (capt), 7 Andre Russell, 8 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 9 Sunil Narine, 10 Ravi Rampaul/Krishmar Santokie, 11 Samuel Badree 

Bangladesh are expected to make several changes to the side that went down to Hong Kong. With Rubel Hossain injured, Ziaur Rahman is likely to get a game while offspinner Sohag Gazi is set to replace the expensive Farhad Reza. They could also bring in Shamsur Rahman for Sabbir Rahman.

Bangladesh (probable): 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Anamul Haque, 3 Shamsur Rahman, 4 Shakib Al Hasan, 5 Mushfiqur Rahim (capt & wk), 6 Nasir Hossain, 7 Mahmudullah, 8 Ziaur Rahman, 9 Sohag Gazi, 10 Abdur Razzak, 11 Al-Amin Hossain

Stats and trivia

• West Indies are the only top-eight team that Bangladesh have beaten in Twenty20s.
• Andre Russell's economy-rate of 9.60 is the second worst among all those who have bowled more than 30 overs in T20Is. Only New Zealand's Doug Bracewell (9.61) has a worse economy rate.
• With 42 wickets, Shakib Al Hasan is the joint highest wicket-taker, along with Abdur Razzak, in T20Is for Bangladesh. He is also 12 runs short of surpassing Tamim Iqbal as the highest run-getter in T20Is for Bangladesh

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Yuvraj Singh's search for form

Yuvraj Singh is making his third comeback since recovering from cancer, but with the breakneck and pressure-filled T20 being the only format he has to make a case for a permanent place, he has looked woefully short of confidence

As Suresh Raina hit the winning run off Marlon Samuels, the Indian dug-out hugged and high-fived their successive win in the World T20.There was celebratory joy, but there was also a hint of relief, for India had taken a simple chase to the final over. As MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli clasped hands,Yuvraj Singh walked out. He had just taken off his gear but still wore a part disenchanted, part blank look; his eyes distant, and in sharp contrast to the jubilation around him.Yuvraj had walked in with 23 needed off 32, consumed 19 of those for his 10 runs and had fallen dabbing a turner straight to slip. One ball later Raina ended the match.
Against Pakistan, he missed a full delivery and was bowled second ball. In both matches, he put down what could have been costly misses - Chris Gayle and Mohammad Hafeez - but India created and converted more chances soon after. His solitary over in the tournament so far went for 13.

Cricket is a game that lends itself easily to analysis, and unfortunately, to over-analysis as well. India are only two games into their campaign in a format where often, any analysis can be over-analysis. It is readily possible to argue in Yuvraj's favour: Anyone can miss a full and straight one early in his innings, especially in the T20 format which requires heavy hitting.

Yuvraj might only have wanted some time in the middle, knowing that India had plenty of deliveries left to put West Indies away, and aware that such an opportunity rarely comes in T20s. Already, many other players have spilled high catches in Mirpur, and there could be a larger reason for it. The height and positioning of the floodlights is being talked about as a possible factor. And for all his deeds with the ball in the past, Yuvraj is and has always been a part-time bowler, and it was only one over anyway.

It is the sum of all these instances, though, that invites concern. This is already Yuvraj's third comeback (of sorts) since recovering from cancer. The first time he was rushed into the 2012 World T20 having played very little competitive cricket and seemed lacking in match fitness. The second comeback also started in the shortest format, with a much leaner Yuvraj carving a match-winning, unbeaten 77 off 35 against Australia in Rajkot in October last year, before struggling in the one-dayers. The third comeback is not strict in definition, for India didn't played any T20s between the Rajkot one and the World T20.

In both the previous phases, Yuvraj has lost his place in one format each. He hasn't played a Test since December 2012, and an ODI since December 2013, missing the tour of New Zealand and the Asia Cup.

	The confidence does not seem to be there. It shows in the way he has looked forlorn on the boundary after those drops instead of showing some anger or disappointment.

At the moment, T20 is the only format he has to make his case and it can be misleading for watchers to take cues from. It can also be ruthless on the player, with everything happening so fast, leaving little time to gather your thoughts. Even more so, considering it is a world event.

With bat, ball, on the field, even in the nets, Yuvraj has just not looked comfortable. The confidence does not seem to be there. It shows in the way he has looked forlorn on the boundary after those drops instead of showing some anger or disappointment. He knows, and the world knows, there is so much riding for him on this World T20. Maybe it is the pressure of that knowledge, that this is all he has left for now, at the international stage at least, that is shackling him down.

As any captain would, MS Dhoni backed his senior player after the West Indies match. "Yuvraj is the best player in T20s. Right now he is not in that good a rhythm you can say. It is a bit tough, he has been dropped from ODIs and is coming back in T20s, there is a bit of pressure on the individual. You can say it is a short format and you can go in and express yourself, but when an individual comes into the team, there is some pressure on him.

"It takes one-two matches but we are only hoping if he gets a good flow, a good game, we all know the kind of match-winner he is and he can really turn the game around on his own," Dhoni said. "I am glad he got a bit of time because it will only settle his nerves. We all know how dangerous he can be once he gets going, he will give many more victories. If Yuvi comes back, if he bats really well, he is a good asset to have a No 4."

India can arguably afford to give Yuvraj one more match in the tournament. It should ideally help that their next one is against Bangladesh and not Australia. They will be relieved if Yuvraj comes good in that. If not, they will be in a quandary against Australia. They look good to make the semi-final, and would not want to go in with a short-on-confidence Yuvraj or a short-on-match-practice Ajinkya Rahane.

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Sri Lanka consign Netherlands to record low

Perhaps no team in world cricket puts weaker sides away so emphatically as Sri Lanka. Since becoming full-fledged graduates from the easy-beats category in the mid-90s, they have spared no thought to their former peers, and on Monday they added two more world records to the small pile they have accumulated against easy-beats over the past 20 years. Netherlands' 39 all out is the lowest ever Twenty20 score. Sri Lanka chased the target in a record five overs.

Their domination of Netherlands was, strangely, almost as casual as it was unyielding. Nuwan Kulasekara's opening over was full of the kind of swing away from left-handers he generates almost every time he has early use of the white ball. Yet, this time, it would set in motion the most dramatic collapse the format has seen, as Stephan Myburgh outside-edged him to third man. Next over, Angelo Mathews delivered two unremarkable half-trackers back-to-back, and found himself on-a-hat-trick, as Michael Swart and Wesley Barresi fell attempting to attack. The floodlight malfunction that caused a nine-minute break in play seemed a greater obstacle to a Sri Lanka victory than their opponents did, with the bat. The number of runs did not exceed the number of wickets until the 20th ball of the innings.

Mathews would trap Peter Borren in front with an indipper in his next over - bringing about one of four ducks in Netherlands' innings - and that was all before Dinesh Chandimal sent his heavy cavalry in. Lasith Malinga struck the base of the middle stump twice, both times with the slower yorker. Ajantha Mendis had an expensive first over, but the Netherlands lower order played exactly like batsmen who have never faced his brand of mystery spin before. The googly accounted for two of his three wickets. Netherlands were all out in the 11th over.

Sri Lanka were given a harder time with the bat, as Kusal Perera was rapped painfully on the thumb by Timm van der Gugten before he fell for 14, but the chase was always going to be a formality. Tillakaratne Dilshan would have hoped to bat himself into form against a weaker attack but he only faced 11 balls. Sri Lanka will take the two points and the massive boost in net run rate, but even they may be disappointed at how quickly it all ended.

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South Africa back in the competition...

So this is how South Africa want their T20 line-up to work. Start slowly, build calmly and then have a full go at the end, like they did today against New Zealand.

That is the reason they insist on keeping Hashim Amla, who is too often labeled 'not a T20 player,' at the top of the order, and why they do not want to promote AB de Villiers into it. They see Amla as having the right measure of conservatism and class to kick things off and de Villiers, along with David Miler and Albie Morkel, as having the creativity to close things off.

When it works, even when not exactly according to plan, it results in totals like today which South Africa will back themselves to defend. Despite the squeaky-bum ending, the score would have left most teams comfortable and was a nod to what South Africa are aiming for with the combinations they have in operation now.

South Africa have divided the innings up into segments, starting with the powerplay. Faf Du Plessis said in Chittagong they've decided "45 seems to be the par score so I wanted to get close to that and not more than two wickets down." South Africa were 42 for 3 in the first six overs, a little short and an extra man down but they were there and thereabouts, especially because the man they want to survive the opening exchanges, Amla, was still there.

"Hashim's role is to bat with someone. If someone else on the other side keeps scoring boundaries, Hashim can be the structure and the solidness through the batting line-up," du Plessis explained. "If we look at our top five, it's made up of guys who, apart from Hashim, naturally play aggressively so he fits into that game plan. It's his role to manoeuvre the rest of the innings."

Amla is not required to go at a strike rate of much more than 100, which is where he hovered throughout his innings today. He is not required to take risks either which is what has earned him so much criticism from those feel he is not fit for this format. It's worth remembering Amla occupied the top spot on the ODI batting rankings not long ago and du Plessis is confident Amla can change tack if he needs to. "If there is a day where those guys don't score runs then Hashim knows that he has to play a little bit quicker."

Today was not that day because JP Duminy was on the other end, timing the ball and finding the boundary. All Amla had to do was "stay with JP for a period of time to make sure that our hitters at the back didn't come in when there were too many balls left." In other words, Amla has to keep things going for as long as possible in the second-third of the innings because only after that, should the rest be needed.

South Africa do not subscribe to the theory that the most destructive hitters need to face the most balls. They don't want de Villiers, Miller and Morkel batting when the majority of overs are still to be bowled. Perhaps that is because, as Miller and Morkel showed, they are only up for a quick boom-boom before the bust. Perhaps they only do that because they don't have any time to settle but the chicken-egg debate is not one South Africa are aiming to solve.

They've decided what comes first and it's not the men they have labeled finishers. "We need to make sure we have Miller and Morkel coming in towards the end of the innings not when they have to still worry about rotating the strike but where they can just play their natural game," du Plessis said.

The big-hitters don't always come off but they have the best chance to if Amla and then Duminy allow them the freedom to, as they did today "JP controlled the innings beautifully. He took risks when it was needed and made sure the strike was rotated," du Plessis said. "As a blueprint of a T20 innings, that's one of the better ones you will see."

It was textbook because Duminy was circumspect to start and upped his tempo later without getting carried away. "In a perfect world, you always want that freedom to express yourself but with freedom comes a little bit of responsibility," Duminy said. "We are finding the right mix. If we can perfect that, we stand a good chance of producing results in these kinds of tournaments."

Duminy has found the balance and it resulted in two top-scores for the team in two matches. More importantly for him, it gave South Africa's bowlers something to work with, which is what the batsmen are there for, after all. "I'm glad that it gave us a chance to defend because at one stage we didn't think we'd get to 170," Duminy said. "I'm pretty happy with the innings but if Dale and the rest of the bowlers didn't produce something it wouldn't have meant anything." That it did will give South Africa confidence what they are doing with their batting line-up could work

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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

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Zimbabwe finish in last-ball

 

On Monday, Zimbabwe wanted to bat second in Sylhet. On Wednesday, they did.

On Monday, Zimbabwe's captain Brendan Taylor asked his batsmen to put more value on their wickets. On Wednesday, they did.

On Monday, Zimbabwe's match against Ireland went down to the last ball and they lost. On Wednesday, the margins were just as close but the result was different.

Zimbabwe kept themselves in contention for the main draw of the World T20, despite making hard work of chasing 141 on a surface which, on Monday, Taylor had assessed as a 180-run pitch. They needed much less and were solid at the start, but almost left themselves with too much to do at the end.

Having watched their own bowlers pluck the Netherlands top-order in the Powerplay, and concede 37 runs in the next six overs, Zimbabwe approached their chase conservatively at first. Hamilton Masakadza and Sikandar Raza left as many deliveries as they hit upfront before Raza was hurried into skying one to deep midwicket.

The early setback did not rattle Zimbabwe. At the same stage in Netherlands' innings, after 4.3 overs, Zimbabwe had already taken four wickets. Prosper Utseya had two of those, removing Stephan Myburgh for a first-ball duck and having Peter Borren caught at mid-off.

The Cooper brothers held Netherlands' innings together, and Zimbabwe had Masakadza and Taylor. Tom and Ben Cooper put on 52 for the fifth wicket for Netherlands, with Tom, the senior partner, adding 29 of those runs. Masakadza and Taylor put on 62 and took Zimbabwe closer to the target.

The Zimbabwe pair showed patience, focusing as much as on singles, and trying to turn them into twos, as they did on clearing the boundary. They each managed the latter only once, off Tom Cooper in the 10th over, which left Zimbabwe with 75 to get off the second half of their innings.

Three boundary-less overs followed and the required run rate crept up but Masakadza and Taylor were resolute in not rushing. Then Masakadza decided one of them had to. He charged Pieter Seelaar for the second time in the over and missed to find the ball hitting the middle stump.

When Netherlands lost their fifth wicket, with 6.1 overs left in the innings, Mudassar Bukhari went in to bat. He shared a stand of 53 with Cooper and assumed the role of the finisher. Zimbabwe lost Masakadza with 6.3 overs left in their chase and decided not to hold their big-hitter back. Elton Chigumbura was promoted to No. 4 but was out two balls after he arrived. He slapped Seelaar straight to cover to leave Netherlands with the advantage and Taylor out in the middle on his own.

The next two overs yielded only ones and twos as Peter Borren's slower ball and Timm van der Gugten's full delivery proved miserly. Zimbabwe needed 40 runs off the last 24 balls but they would have known it was not impossible as Netherlands had scored 37 in the same period.

Ball one of the 17th over. Logan van Beek overpitched and Taylor hit over mid-on for four. Ball two: Van Beek was too short and Taylor got four more. Off the last ball of the over, Van Beek went short again and Sean Williams found the gap between mid-wicket and square leg, making the equation a manageable 25 off 18.

The next six balls from Ahsan Malik offered no width at all. Taylor and Williams carved out 10 runs anyway to bring it down to 15 off the 12.

Van der Gugten was back to bowl the penultimate over. Taylor tried to lift him over the covers, but Borren stuck out his hand to pull off a tough chance. Zimbabwe would have to score 14 off 11 without Taylor. Van der Gugten aimed at the toes for the rest of that over but Williams and Vusi Sibanda kept him out and took the runs on offer to bring it down to seven off the last six.

Malik started the final over with a yorker. Then he conceded two. Williams swung wildly at the next ball but the inside edge beat Wesley Baressi to go for four. One needed off three. Zimbabwe appeared to have turned into the South African class of 1999 when Williams missed the next ball and followed that up with a mindless run that found him well short of his ground.

With the fielders up to save the single, Malik missed the yorker and Sibanda lofted the ball over long-on, sending it into the stands. Borren covered his eyes so he did not have to look, Taylor opened his

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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.

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Sammy seals series for West Indies

 

West Indies outmuscled England to win the T20 series 2-0 with one to play courtesy of a five-wicket win with seven balls to spare at Kensington Oval. England worked hard to hang in the game, especially with the ball, but West Indies struck 11 sixes to England's six and ultimately their extra power proved impossible to contain.

The big beast, Chris Gayle, who only a few days ago had been wondering about the state of his glutes, commandeered West Indies' innings with five gluteus maximuses, three of them flying onto the roof of the stands and out of the ground. James Tredwell risked a cricked neck as he watched three sail skywards, but still only conceded 27: the West Indies, did not bother themselves with too many singles.

But Ravi Bopara, at his most sagacious with the ball, turned in a commendable spell, 10 runs conceded from four overs of devil's confetti to equal England's most economical full spell in T20. He had Gayle outwitted, chopping on for 36 from 30 balls. West Indies, having patted Bopara back with no sense of urgency, had seven wickets intact and 37 to get from four overs, but the immensity of the task suddenly dawned on them when Tim Bresnan dismissed Marlon Samuels and Andre Russell to leg-side catches in successive balls.

The final fusillade came from Darren Sammy, an unbeaten 30 from only nine balls with the rope cleared three times: so much for a tricky target of 31 from the last three overs. "Good momentum… we're looking good," said Sammy. Nobody could question that. He mullered some attempted yorkers from Jade Dernbach and Bresnan over the ropes and he will go to Bangladesh as a captain content about his own game.

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Cricket world Twenty 20 warm up matches

 
ICC T20I Wc 2014

Warm UP Matches:

Wed Mar 12
15:30 local | 09:30 GMT | 15:00 IST | 14:30 PKT
Bangladesh vs United Arab Emirates
Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium, Fatullah

Wed Mar 12
15:30 local | 09:30 GMT | 15:00 IST | 14:30 PKT
Afghanistan vs Netherlands
Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, Chittagong

Wed Mar 12
19:30 local | 13:30 GMT | 19:00 IST | 18:30 PKT
Ireland vs Nepal
Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium, Fatullah

Wed Mar 12
19:30 local | 13:30 GMT | 19:00 IST | 18:30 PKT
Hong Kong vs Zimbabwe
Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, Chittagong

Fri Mar 14
09:30 local | 03:30 GMT | 9:00 IST | 8:30 PKT
Afghanistan vs Zimbabwe
MA Aziz Stadium, Chittagong

Fri Mar 14
13:30 local | 07:30 GMT | 13:00 IST | 12:30 PKT
Hong Kong vs Netherland
Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, Chittagong

Fri Mar 14
15:30 local | 09:30 GMT | 15:00 IST | 14:30 PKT
Nepal vs United Arab Emirates
Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium, Fatullah

Fri Mar 14
19:30 local | 13:30 GMT | 19:00 IST | 18:30 PKT
Bangladesh vs Ireland
Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium, Fatullah

 Mon Mar 17
15:30 local | 09:30 GMT | 15:00 IST | 14:30 PKT
New Zealand vs Pakistan
Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur

Mon Mar 17
19:30 local | 13:30 GMT | 19:00 IST | 18:30 PKT
India vs Sri Lanka
Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur

Tue Mar 18
15:30 local | 09:30 GMT | 15:00 IST | 14:30 PKT
England vs West Indies
Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium, Fatullah

Tue Mar 18
19:30 local | 13:30 GMT | 19:00 IST | 18:30 PKT
Bangladesh A vs South Africa
Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium, Fatullah

Wed Mar 19
15:30 local | 09:30 GMT | 15:00 IST | 14:30 PKT
Australia vs New Zealand
Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium, Fatullah

Wed Mar 19
15:30 local | 09:30 GMT | 15:00 IST | 14:30 PKT
Sri Lanka vs West Indies
Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur

Wed Mar 19
19:30 local | 13:30 GMT | 19:00 IST | 18:30 PKT
South Africa vs Pakistan
Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium, Fatullah

Wed Mar 19
19:30 local | 13:30 GMT | 19:00 IST | 18:30 PKT
England vs India
Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpu

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International stars vie for main stage CLT20 2013

The first match of the qualifying round is significant for both teams because Faisalabad Wolves are making their Champions League debut, and Otago Volts, after failing to qualify for any of the previous editions since the inaugural tournament in 2009, get another crack. After some uncertainty as to whether Faisalabad would feature in the tournament, the first qualifier will go ahead as planned.

Faisalabad possess a number of key players who could help propel their campaign into the group stage. They are led by Misbah-ul-Haq, who has enjoyed a consistent run of good form in limited-overs cricket over the past eighteen months. They also have one of the most dangerous spinners in the game in Saeed Ajmal, whose personal performance will help determine how far Faisalabad progress in the tournament. Ehsan Adil and Asad Ali's limited international experience will hold them in good stead as they round off a decent bowling attack.

Otago come in as one of the tournament's surprise packages. Led by Derek de Boorder, the squad consists of a number of former and current international players. Brendon McCullum, whose T20 exploits are well known, is a key figure. With Ian Butler, Neil Wagner and Nathan McCullum as well, Otago have an attack that can compete against some of the more illustrious sides in the tournament. They will, however, be without their Netherlands allrounder, Ryan ten Doeschate, who is still tied up with commitments for Essex, at least for the first game.

Players to watch

Brendon McCullum will forever be associated with Twenty20 cricket. He smashed an unbeaten 158 in the inaugural match of the IPL in 2008, and an audacious 116* against a fiery Australian attack that included some scoops off the 150kph Shaun Tait. On his day, McCullum can take apart any international attack. The bowling partnership between Nick Beard and Jacob Duffy will also play a vital role as they tied for first on the wicket-takers' list at the HRV Cup - 15 each. How they fare on flatter Indian pitches will be an indicator of Otago's chances.

Asif Ali finished as the third leading run-scorer in the Faysal Bank Super Eight T20 Cup. He scored 152 runs in five innings at an average of 50.66 and strike rate of 129.91. In the tournament final, he was involved in a match-turning partnership with Misbah after Sialkot Stallions had reduced Faisalabad to 79 for 3 in the 13th over. The pair put on 79 in 46 balls, which proved the difference as Faisalabad won by 36 runs. Ali ended up getting his highest score of the tournament in that match, an unbeaten 70 off 49 balls.

Stats and Trivia

• Faisalabad's Ehsan Adil finished on top of the wicket-takers list in the Faysal Bank Super Eight T20 Cup this year with 12 scalps in five matches
• Otago Volts had won nine games on the trot in the HRV cup this season en route to qualifying for the Champions League

Quotes

''All the teams have got players with X-factor. Our first concern is about the Wolves and Misbah-ul-Haq and one or two other internationals in their team."
Vaughn Johnson, the Otago Volts coach

"This is a positive sign. I think it will be the first step towards reviving Indo-Pak cricket, which is so cruelly suspended."
Faisalabad Wolves manager, Haroon Rasheed, sees the granting of visas as a welcome breakthrough in relations

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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

 

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