Sri Lanka-New Zealand T20 abandoned due to Rain

The one-off Twenty20 international between Sri Lanka and New Zealand has been abandoned due to rain.
Sri Lanka, chasing a rain-revised target of 72 runs off 14 overs, were six for no loss after two overs when play was called off in Pallekele on Tuesday.
New Zealand earlier struggled to score 7-74 after being put in to bat, with Tim Southee top-scoring with an unbeaten 21, including four boundaries in an over off seamer Shaminda Eranga.
Seamers Thisara Perera and Nuwan Kulasekara and 19-year-old spinner Akila Dananjaya each bagged two wickets for Sri Lanka.
The teams will now play five one-day internationals, starting in Pallekele on Thursday.

Major rivalries - India v Pakistan at ICC events

It may have been a neutral venue but huge swathes of supporters from both teams packed in the Manchester venue for a memorable day's play. Sachin Tendulkar (45) and Rahul Dravid (61) gave India a good platform before Mohammad Azharuddin (59) issued a final flourish in their 227 for six. Javagal Srinath picked up two early wickets in the reply and then Venkatesh Prasad helped himself to the man-of-the-match award with five for 27 as Pakistan were bundled out for 180.

India v Pakistan, ICC Cricket World Cup, 1 March 2003, Centurion

Pakistan opener Saeed Anwar's 101 was the highlight of his team's 273 for seven - a total that seemed likely to test India at the midway stage. That was not to account for Sachin Tendulkar, whose 75-ball 98 took India to within 100 of the target with more than 22 overs to go. Rahul Dravid (44 not out) and Yuvraj Singh (50 not out) took advantage of the platform to see their side home by six wickets.

India v Pakistan, ICC Champions Trophy, 19 September 2004, Edgbaston

Standing out from India's otherwise impregnable record over its great rival in ICC tournaments are two ICC Champions Trophy victories for Pakistan, including this Pool C match in Birmingham. Pakistan did the hard work by dismissing India for just 200 - Naved-ul-Hasan and Shoaib Akhtar claimed four wickets each - but then nearly messed it up in the reply. Inzamam-ul-Haq (41) and Yousuf Youhana - now Mohammad Yousuf - got their team to 102 for three before India started to chip away at the batting card. Yousuf (81 not out) held his nerve to guide Pakistan home with four balls and three wickets in hand.

India v Pakistan, ICC World Twenty20, 24 September 2007, Johannesburg

There could not have been a better way to mark the inaugural ICC World Twenty20 final as India and Pakistan fought out a classic encounter at the Wanderers Stadium. Gautam Gambhir (75 off 54 balls) was the mainstay of the India innings before Rohit Sharma (30 not out off 16 balls) took his side up to 157 for five. Pakistan's chase was faltering at 77 for six but then Misbah-ul-Haq (43) steered his side to the brink of victory. Then, with four balls remaining he was dismissed to give India a five-run victory.

India v Pakistan, ICC Cricket World Cup, 30 March 2011, Mohali

A match of fluctuating fortunes was eventually decided in favour of the hosts by 29 runs to give them a place in the ICC Cricket World Cup final. Sachin Tendulkar was once again to the fore against India's fierce rivals, riding his luck on the way to top-scoring with 85. No other batsman reached 50 as Pakistan kept the total down to manageable proportions at 260 for nine. Wahab Riaz was the pick of the bowlers with five for 46. With the reply on 103 for two, Yuvraj Singh then made a double breakthrough that swung the match towards India. Misbah-ul-Haq's 56 provided little more than damage limitation before he was the last man out.

Nida Dar takes Pakistan into final-ACC Women's T20 Asia Cup.

Nida Dar's all-round performance helped Pakistan beat Bangladesh by six wickets in the semi-final and thereby enter the final of the ACC Women's T20 Asia Cup.

Pakistan will play India in the final on Wednesday. India got through to the final after its semi-final against Sri Lanka was washed out without a ball being bowled.

India got through on the basis of having topped its group.

In the second semi-final, Bangladesh batted first and posted 82 for seven in its 20 overs. Farzana Haque (28) top-scored for Bangladesh.

Nida (2-13) and Bismah Maroof (2-9) were Pakistan's wicket-takers.

In its reply, Pakistan chased down the target with six wickets to spare. Pakistan ended at 83 for four in 17.4 overs.

Bismah Maroof ended at an unbeaten 27 and Nida made 25.

Nida was voted the player of the match.

GREATEST ODI TEAM OF ALL TIME-According to ICC

To mark the 40th anniversary of One-Day International (ODI) cricket, the ICC's official website had called on supporters from across the globe to select their choice of the greatest ODI team of all-time.

Supporters had a chance to select the dream team from a shortlist of 48 players in different categories. The fans had between 22 December 2010 and 2 January 2011 to to make their selections on ICC's official website or via Facebook or Twitter.

In total, fans from 97 countries cast almost 600,000 votes on www.icc-cricket.com between 22 December and 2 January to make their views known as to who have been the best ODI players of the past 40 years in the key categories of opening batsmen, middle-order batsmen, wicketkeeper, spin bowlers and fast bowlers.

Three players from Australia and India, two from the West Indies and one each from South Africa, Sri Lanka and Pakistan have made the final dream XI with another Aussie named as 12th man.

The All-Time ODI Dream Team (as voted for by visitors to www.icc-cricket.com) is:

Opening batsmen: Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag (both Ind)

Middle order: Brian Lara, Viv Richards (both WI) and Ricky Ponting (Aus)

All-rounder: Kapil Dev (Ind)

Wicketkeeper: Adam Gilchrist (Aus)

Spinner: Muttiah Muralidaran (SL)

Fast bowlers: Wasim Akram (Pak), Glenn McGrath (Aus) and Allan Donald (SA)

12th man: Michael Bevan (Aus, the player who received the most number of votes without being enough to make the would-be starting XI).

GREATEST TEST TEAM OF ALL TIME-According to ICC

Cricket lovers from across the world cast more than a quarter of million votes in June/July 2011 to choose their Greatest Test team of all time.Fans voted on the ICC's official website, www.icc-cricket.com, using a short list provided by the game's governing body, to pick their leading eleven, as part of the activities to commemorate the 2000th Test Match.

Four Australians, four Indians, two West Indians and one Pakistani have been named in the Dream XI. The final selection is as follows:

Virender Sehwag
Sunil Gavaskar
Donald Bradman
Sachin Tendulkar
Brian Lara
Kapil Dev
Adam Gilchrist (wk)
Shane Warne
Wasim Akram
Curtly Ambrose
Glenn McGrath

Mithali leads from the front-ACC Women's T20 Asia Cup 2012

India and Bangladesh registered wins on Sunday in the ACC Women's T20 Asia Cup to go top of their respective groups with an unbeaten run.

India beat Pakistan by eight wickets and Bangladesh registered a remarkable five-run win over Sri Lanka.

But all four teams made it to the semi-finals to be played on Tuesday, 30 October.

India will play Sri Lanka in the first semi-final and Pakistan takes on Bangladesh in the second semi-final.

The last round of Group matches will be played on Monday.

Bangladesh batted first and was bowled out for just 62 in 18 overs. Rumana Ahmed top-scored with an unbeaten 25. For Sri Lanka, Inoka Ranaweera (3-9) and Sandamali Dolawatte (3-0), were the wicket-takers.

In its reply, Sri Lanka was bowled out for 57 with two balls to spare.

Jahanara Alam (3-15) and Bangladesh captain Salma Khatun (4-6) were the wicket-takers for Bangladesh.

Salma Khatun was voted the player of the match for her spell.

In the other match, Pakistan was bowled out for 93 in 19.3 overs. Marina Iqbal (22) and Nain Abidi (21) were the top-scorers.

Archana Das (2-12) and Reema Malhotra (2-13) were the key wicket-takers for India.

India chased down the target in 18.3 overs for the loss of two wickets to end at 94.

Skipper Mithali Raj led from the front as she made an unbeaten 36 off 38 balls.

Mithali was voted the player of the match.

Sri Lanka starts season as number-one ranked T20I side

Sri Lanka and New Zealand will launch what will be an interesting couple of months of Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) when the two sides go head to head in a one-off match at Pallekele on Tuesday 30 October.

As many as seven T20Is, featuring most of the top ranked sides, are confirmed to be played across the globe before the turn of the year, and, if Sri Lanka loses in Pallekele, then there can be a change at the top of the table on at least two occasions.

Sri Lanka, the ICC World Twenty20 2012 finalist, will start off as the number-one ranked side on the Reliance ICC T20I Championship table while New Zealand, which lost two ICC World Twenty20 2012 Super Eight stage matches in Super Overs, will begin in eighth position.

While a win will ensure that Sri Lanka will end the year as the number-one ranked T20I side, a defeat for Sri Lanka will give ICC World Twenty20 champion West Indies a sniff of the number-one position on the Reliance ICC Championship table for the first time since the launch of the current rankings system in October 2011.

In the scenario of Sri Lanka losing to New Zealand, Angelo Mathews' side will drop six ratings points and will join Darren Sammy's side on 121 ratings points, which means that if the West Indies beats Bangladesh on 10 December in Dhaka, then the men from the Caribbean will add the number-one ranking to their ICC World T20 title.

This may, however, turn out to be a brief stay on top of the ladder as India will leapfrog the West Indies if it defeats England in the T20Is in Pune and Mumbai on 20 and 22 December.

If India beats England 2-0, then Mahendra Singh Dhoni's side will earn seven ratings points to move to 127 ratings points and will move five points clear of the West Indies. A one-all result will mean both India and England will retain pre-series ratings points and ratings, and will also allow the West Indies to extend its stay at the top of the table.

Sydney Sixers maul Lions by 10 wickets to lift Champions League T20 2012

Sydney Sixers produced an all-round clinical display to clinch the Champions League Twenty20 title with a dominating 10-wicket victory over Highveld Lions in a lop-sided summit clash.

 

The Sixers first rode on a brilliant bowling display by spinner Nathan McCullum (3/24) and pacer Josh Hazlewood (3/22) to dismiss Highveld Lions for a modest 121 in their stipulated 20 overs after winning the toss and electing to field.

 

The Australian side then returned to overhaul the target with 7.3 overs to spare, thanks to some powerful hitting by opener Michael Lumb and Brad Haddin, who notched up an unbeaten 124 run partnership.

 

Chasing 122 to win, Lumb annihilated the Lions with eight fours and five sixes in his 42-ball 82-run unbeaten innings, while his opening partner Haddin blasted four boundaries and a six in his 33-ball unfinished 38 here.

 

The opening duo were in marauding form as they toyed with the Lions bowlers, taking them to the cleaners every now and then. They were particularly harsh on Chris Morris and Aaron Phangiso as the bowlers bleded 54 in four over combined.

 

Lumb finally finished off the chase in style when he blasted Pretorius for a six over deep wicket in the first ball, pulled the next over fine leg and then sent the third delivery across the boundary line as well to trigger celebration for the Sixers.

 

Earlier, McCullum and Hazlewood claimed three wickets each to help Sydney Sixers dismiss Highveld Lions for a modest 121 in the finals.

 

Sydney Sixers broke the back bone of the Lions as they reduced them to 9-4 in just 3.3 overs after winning the toss and electing to field.

 

Jean Symes top-scored with a 46-ball 51 to help Lions put up a total or else things could have been more embarrasing for the home team at the New Wanderers Stadiums here.

 

Symes added 23 runs with Sohail Tanvir for the fifth wicket to start the recovery but the Pakistani player lost his wicket in the seventh over as the Lions lost half their side with just 32 on board.

 

Symes then forged a 41-run partnership with Thami Tsolekile for the sixth wicket and another 38 with Dwaine Pretorius for the seventh wicket to help Lions cross the 100-mark. Symes had eight fours in his 46-ball innings.

 

For Sydney Sixers, Steve O'Keefe and Mitchell Starc were the other wicket takers with one wicket each here.

 

Put into bat, opener Gulam Bodi started off with a six of McCullum but he was send packing in the next delivery by the spinner to deal the first blow in the opening over.

 

First down Quinton de Kock was then sent back to the pavilions by pacer Hazlewood, courtesy a stunning catch by O'Keefe. Three balls later, Hazlewood reduced Lions to 8-3 after picking new man McKenzie in the last ball of the over.

 

Stranded all this while, Petersen was the next to go when he outside edged a O'Keefe delivery to Neil McCullum at the first slip.

 

Symes then tried to resurrect the innings with a couple of boundaries in the fifth over of Starc, while Tanvir also clipped one over square-leg. However, his stay didn't last long as the Pakistani player was trapped in front of wicket by McCullum.

 

Undeterred, Symes continued his job and picked up successive fours in the 10th over off Pat Cummins. New man Tsolekile also got into the act and blasted a couple of sixes to ease the pressure.

 

But McCullum broke the partnership dismissing Tsolekile when he had him caught at short midwicket.

 

Symes and Pretorius then joined hands and tried to accelerate. Symes picked up a couple of fours off Cummins, while Pretorius clobbered Hazlewood and Starc for a couple of sixes, before becoming a victim of Starc. (PTI)

 

Brief Scores: HIghveld Lions 121 all-out in 20 overs (Jean Symes 51, Dwaine Pretorius 21; Josh Hazlewood 3 for 22, Nathan McCullum 3 for 24) lost to Sydney Sixers 124 for no loss in 12.3 overs (Michael Lumb 82*, Brad Haddin 37*) by 10 wickets.

 

Man of the Match: Michael Lumb

 

Golden Bat (for highest run-scorer in CLT20 2012): Michael Lumb

 

Golden Wicket (for highest wicket-taker in CLT20 2012): Mitchell Starc

 

Man of the Series: Mitchell Starc

Brad Haddin attributes Sydney Sixers' victory to 'outstanding' preparation for final

 Sydney Sixers on Sunday night mauled the Lions by 10 wickets to clinch the Champions League title and skipper Brad Haddin attributed the victory to their "outstanding" preparation for the final.

"The preparation for this game was outstanding. We have been building for the win for two weeks. We were nervous before the semi-finals but we played very good cricket as a team today," Haddin after his team overhauled the 122-run victory target with 7.3 overs to spare.

"We have been consistent throughout the tournament. T20 is about going for the gut feeling. We decided to start with a spinner just moments before the action. Everyone expected us to start with the fast bowlers but we decided to change it a bit, take the pace off the ball. It was about execution and they have been outstanding.

"The positive we can take is the whole team contributed at various stages. We showed the world over the month that we are a world class team," he added.

Highveld Lions skipper Alviro Petersen was left disappointed with the result but said he was proud of the boys for putting up the effort and reaching the finals.

"We started poorly. I don't think a lot of people gave us a chance to reach the final. You can't put your finger on why we lost. Disappointing we couldn't put on a show. Really happy with the way the guys have performed as a unit," Petersen said.

Put into bat, the Lions were 9 for 4 in 3.3 overs but Jean Symes (51) somewhat resurrected the innings to help them post 121 all out in their stipulated 20 overs.

Michael Lumb, who was adjudged the Man of the Match for scoring an unbeaten 82 off 42 balls, said: "Dirk and Sohail bowled well early on. Ball came on quite nicely on to the bat.

so was cautious at start. I am happy, hit the ball pretty good. The boys have been first class whole tournament, got to take my hat off to the rest of the guys."

Mitchell Starc, who was awarded the Man of the Series, said: "The extra bounce and pace was good. Our spinners showed class today. We have such a good attack. Josh deserved a lot more wickets than he got. We performed outstandingly well. My first experience in SA has been a great one."

-(cricketcountry.com)

CLT20-Final