On 2nd April, India repeated history by winning the World Cup after 28 long years. Under the leadership of MS Dhoni, India defeated Sri Lanka handsomely.
MS Dhoni remained unbeaten on 91 as India successfully chased down 275 against Sri Lanka at the Wankhede stadium to lift the World Cup in 2011 after a gap of 28 years.
Sachin Tendulkar holds an array of individual records in the World Cup. He scored 2278 runs in the world cup 2011 with 6 centuries and 15 fifties in five different ICC Cricket World Cups (1992, 1996, 2003, 2007, 2011)
The Wankhede Stadium wicket for Saturday's World Cup final will be a slow turner, like most wickets in the subcontinent during this time of the year, says curator Sudhir Naik.
Naik, a former India player, who toured England with the India team in 1974, however, insists the pitch will still be full of runs and the team batting first should have the advantage. Naik feels a score of 270-280 would be very much on the cards in the day-nighter.
66-year-old former opener who played three Tests, making his debut at Edgbaston, and two ODIs.
Naik, an M.Sc in organic chemistry, said the authorities have already decided to use a chemical spray to reduce the impact of dew on the game.
Excessive dew late in the evening can swing the balance towards teams batting second in day-night matches. The dew will freshen up the pitch and the bowlers will find it difficult to grip the ball that gets damp on a moist outfield.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) had used the chemical spray to reduce the impact of dew at Brabourne Stadium here during the 2006 Champions Trophy match between Pakistan and New Zealand. The chemical APSA-80, commonly used in agriculture, was also sprayed on the outfield at Mohali in the past.
India will be playing at the refurbished 33,000-capacity Wankhede stadium for the first time, Sri Lanka beat New Zealand by 112 runs in a league match at the ground on March 18.
Sri Lanka called-up Veteran seamer Chaminda Vaas and off-spinner Suraj Randiv as World Cup final cover for injured duo Angelo Mathews and Muttiah Muralitharan.
Chaminda Vaas, 37 and Randiv, 26, were due to fly out to Mumbai later Thursday ahead of Saturday's title match against India.
Muralitharan, who turns 39 next month, has played through the six-week tournament despite being afflicted by hamstring and groin injuries, a side strain and a troublesome knee.
All-rounder Mathews, 23, picked up a right-side strain while fielding during their semi-final win against New Zealand.
Sri Lanka, 1996 winners and runners-up to Australia in 2007, want to win the cup for legendary spinner Muralitharan who retires on Saturday after a world record haul of 800 Test and 534 one-day wickets.
Vaas, who was part of the 1996 winning team, retired from Tests in July with 322 Test and 400 one-day wickets. He last played an international when India toured Sri Lanka in August 2008, taking the wicket of Yuvraj Singh for a duck.
Randiv, who made his one-day debut against India in 2009, has taken 22 ODI wickets. He last played when Sri Lanka toured Australia for a one-day series last year.
Sri Lanka have prevailed in recent one-dayers against India, winning six of the 10 matches played last year in Dhaka, Harare, Bulawayo and Dambulla. But India have won five of seven matches against the Islanders on home soil over the last five years.
Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi said the performance of his side's younger players had been among the positives of a World Cup campaign that ended with a 29-run semi-final loss to India. And he said he hoped Wednesday's match, watched by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani, would be the catalyst for more games on Indian soil.
Pakistan have been unable to play matches at home since an armed attack on Sri Lanka's team bus in Lahore in 2009.
Now Afridi wants to see the restoration of normal cricket ties with India as part of his country's sporting rehabilitation.
And also Afridi pronounced himself "proud" of his team's performance in the World Cup and hoped that their reception on arrival in Pakistan would reflect the side's achievement in getting to the last four at a time when expectations were significantly lower.
Pakistan lost by 29 runs to India in Mohali in the Semi final match, in which they were generally off their game with bat, ball and, most damagingly, in the field. They were in with a chance at various stages, including when they began the chase, only to let it slip each time.
Afridi said the batting, their weaker suit, had been problematic again. There were several starts but no stand greater than the opening one of 44.
Pakistan cricket has been under a cloud since last year's 'spot-fixing' scandal in England which led to bans for new-ball duo Mohammad Aamer and Mohammad Asif as well as former Test captain Salman Butt.
To add to the instability, Afridi wasn't appointed captain until two weeks before the tournament began but an unheralded Pakistan side beat Sri Lanka, Australia and West Indies en route to the semi-final.
Afridi had said before the tournament he wanted his team in the last four and despite the loss, seemed in generally upbeat mood. "I am proud of my team and the boys have done a great job in this World Cup. A few of the youngsters are very promising and we played as a unit. Winning and losing is something different but we really played really good cricket and no one was expecting us to play cricket like this. As captain I'm very happy."
The run was Pakistan's best in a World Cup since 1999, when they were runners-up to Australia. In 2003 and 2007 they were eliminated before the knock-out stages, disastrous results which led to intense anger and criticism on their return. It is unlikely Afridi's side will receive a similar reception though already the early signs of reaction from Pakistan seemed to focus on Misbah-ul-Haq's slow batting in the chase as the cause of defeat.
India now face Sri Lanka, beaten by Pakistan in the group phase, in Saturday's final in Mumbai and Afridi could not pick a winner.
"Both teams are playing very good cricket, both teams are well balanced."
India scored 260 runs for the loss of 9 wickets in their second semi final encounter against Pakistan at Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali, India.
It was predicted to be a batting track though, it turned out to be anything but. Every batsmen apart from Sehwag struggled for timing on this surface and it was a case of two men - Tendulkar at the top with 85 runs, anchoring the innings, enjoying some lives in between and towards the end, Raina prevented Pakistan from closing in by holding forte, while Pakistan facer Wahab Riaz figures 5-46.
Earlier, India won the toss and choose to bat first!
India win the toss and choose to bat in an enticing encounter in the second Semi-final game against Pakistan in Mohali.
India have left out R Ashwin and brought in Ashish Nehra. While Pakistan are playing an unchanged team, which means we might have seen the last of Shoaib Akhtar.
India Squad for match against Pakistan
V Sehwag, SR Tendulkar, G Gambhir, V Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni (Captain & Wicket Keeper, SK Raina, Harbhajan Singh, Z Khan, MM Patel, and A Nehra.
Pakistan Squad for match against India
Mohammad Hafeez, Kamran Akmal (Wicket Keeper), Asad Shafiq, Younis Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq, Umar Akmal, Shahid Afridi (Captain), Abdul Razzaq, Wahab Riaz, Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal.
Umpires
IJ Gould (England) and SJA Taufel (Australia)
TV umpire
BF Bowden (New Zealand)
Match referee
RS Madugalle (Sri Lanka)
Reserve umpire
RJ Tucker (Australia)
Highlights:
It will be the third one-dayer between India and Pakistan in nearly three years as the cricketing ties between the two snapped following the 2008 attacks on India's financial hub Mumbai.
Five out of seven day-night games here in the last five years won by the team batting first, but one of the exceptions was in an India-Pakistan match, when Pakistan chased down India's 321 with a ball to spare in 2007.
In the last 11 ODIs between the two teams, since 2007, only three have been won by the team winning the toss. Eight times, the team losing the toss has won the match.
Excitement and pressure will go hand in hand when Mahendra Singh Dhoni's Indians clash with Shahid Afridi's Pakistanis in Wednesday's high- voltage World Cup semi-final in Mohali. Take a look at some of highlights betwwen India Vs Pakistan cricket.
The first ever test match between India and Pakistan was played at Delhi from 16th of October, 1952 to 19th of October, 1952. And if you didn't notice, it was a four day test, although India required just three days to crush Pakistan by an innings and 70 runs.
India won that 5-match series 2-1 and then, the following 10 tests were draws. The first ever series win for Pakistan against India came after 26 years, in 1978-79 series. They won that 3 test series 2-0. And since then, they have won 3 test series against India, so far, equal to India, in a total of 13 series so far. Which means 7 has been undecided. However, Pakistan have won 11 test matches against India, while India has managed on 8 wins, out of 53 tests between the arch-rivals.
There has never been a dull moment ever since the two countries played their first World Cup match in 1992 at Sydney. The World Cup matches between India and Pakistan have provided plenty of thrills.
Top Pakistani batsman Javed Miandad was a photographers' delight in 1992 when he jumped up and down, apparently in imitation of Indian wicket-keeper Kiran More who had been repeatedly appealing.The 43-run defeat at Sydney did not affect Pakistan's chances as they rallied from the brink to win the World Cup under
Imran Khan's inspirational leadership.
But the next defeat in the 1996 World Cup did.Pakistan's 39-run defeat came in the quarter-final at Bangalore where many believed they had lost half the battle before the first ball had been bowled.Their captain and quality paceman, Wasim Akram, withdrew from the game due to an injury - a decision the fans found hard to swallow. He was later widely criticised for pulling out of a big match. Pakistan lost the remaining half of the battle when well-set opener Aamer Sohail lost his cool and wicket after being involved in a verbal duel with Indian seamer Venkatesh Prasad. Chasing a 288-run target, Pakistan were 113-1 before Sohail was bowled for 55 to become one of Prasad's three victims. It was all over when veteran Miandad was run out for 38 in what turned to be his last World Cup appearance.
The third World Cup clash came at Old Trafford in England in 1999. It was again Prasad who troubled Pakistan, claiming five wickets to help India win by 47 runs in a Super Sixes fixture.
The 2003 World Cup match at Centurion in South Africa was dubbed as a duel between superstars Sachin Tendulkar of India and Pakistani paceman Shoaib Akhtar. Tendulkar won the fascinating battle, smashing a robust 98 before becoming the paceman's lone victim of the innings. Akhtar conceded 72 in 10 overs in his team's six-wicket defeat.
Tendulkar is now just one ton short of completing 100 international centuries while Akhtar is retiring after the
World Cup.
Now, that both India and Pakistan are gearing up for what is being touted as ‘the final before the final’, here’s what should keep the Indian think-tank busy.
Ricky Ponting quit as Australia's Test and ODI captain on 29th March, 2011, just days after the champions were knocked out of the World Cup, but said he remained available for selection.
The 36-year-old, who led Australia in more than 300 Test and ODI matches, insisted he was "not tapped on the shoulder" to give up the captaincy, and endorsed deputy Michael Clarke as his successor.
Ricky Thomas Ponting captained Australia in 77 Test matches for 48 wins - the most of any Test skipper - 16 losses and 13 draws. In his 228 one-day matches in charge, he returned 164 wins and 50 losses.
Australia captain Ricky Ponting said he would be continuing as an international cricketer despite the champions' exit from the World Cup with five-wicket defeat by the co-hosts India in the quarter-finals.
Ponting made 104 - his first international hundred in 13 months - in Australia's total of 260 for six.
But it wasn't enough, as India finished on 261 for five with an unbeaten 57 from Yuvraj Singh seeing his team to victory with 14 balls to spare.
However, despite having now presided over the end of Australia's 12-year run as World Cup champions and an Ashes defeat, Ponting still said talk of the end of an era was misplaced.
The 36-year-old Ponting, who has also been under intense pressure for his controversial behaviour at the World Cup, on Wednesday denied reports he planned to retire from the international scene at the end of World Cup and finish his career at an English county.
Ponting, who has been captain for nine years, was under pressure even before the World Cup, having earned the dubious distinction of becoming the only Australian skipper of the modern era to fail to win the Ashes three times.
He did himself few favours in India, taking a reprimand from the International Cricket Council after smashing a dressing-room TV in a fit of fury after being run out during Australia's win over Zimbabwe.
He was also criticised for angrily throwing the ball to the ground after colliding with teammate Steven Smith during their victory againsy Canada, and for failing to walk in Saturday's defeat by Pakistan.
There was a fresh flashpoint on Thursday when, with India's Gautam Gambhir - who eventually made 50 - on nought, Ponting said he was unsure about a catch which, when referred, was shown by replays to have bounced well in front of him.
The retirement rumour came a day after a report in the Sydney Morning Herald, in which an unnamed Cricket Australia official was quoted as saying that Ponting faced a challenge at board level to retain the captaincy.
Ponting said if he was asked to step aside as leader to make way for Michael Clarke, it would not be an issue.
The Indian and Pakistani cricket teams have been long-time arch rivals and their rivalry is considered one of the most intense sports rivalries in the world.
Find here some of the intresting records between India and Pakistan cricket...
Highest innings score
India – 356/9, India beat Pakistan by 58 runs at ACA-VDCA Stadium, Visakhapatnam on April 5, 2005
Pakistan – 344/8, India beat Pakistan by 5 runs at National Stadium, Karachi on March 13, 2004
Lowest innings score
India – 79, Pakistan beat India by 8 Wickets at Jinnah Stadium, Sialkot on October 13, 1978
Pakistan – 87, India beat Pakistan by 38 Runs at Sharjah Cricket Association Stadium, Sharjah on March 22, 1985
Highest total chased
Pakistan – 322, Pakistan beat India by 4 wickets at Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali – Chandigarh on November 8, 2007
India – 316, India beat Pakistan by 3 Wickets at Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka on Jan 18, 1998
Most career runs
Inzamam-ul-Haq (Pakistan) 2403 runs
Sachin Tendulkar (India) - 2389 runs
Highest individual score
Pakistan - Saeed Anwar 194
India - MS Dhoni 148
Highest Partnerships
India - 231 between Sachin Tendulkar & Singh Sidhu at Sharjah
Pakistan - 230 between Saeed Anwar & Ijaz Ahmed at Dhaka
Best bowling figures
India - 5/16 runs by Sourav Ganguly in 1997 at Toronto
Pakistan - 7/37 runs by Aaqib Javed in Sharjah
Biggest Victory margins
Pakistan - 150 run victory at Delhi in 2005
India - 140 run victory at Dhaka in 2008
Smallest totals & victory margins
Pakistan - 4 runs at Sharjah in 1993
India - 4 runs at Quetta in 1978
Most Extras
India conceded 41 extras at a Mohali game on 8 November 2007.
Windies coach Ottis Gibson was severely critical of his senior players and said that they should learn a thing or two about shouldering responsibility from master batsman Sachin Tendulkar.
"A lot of people need to look at somebody like Tendulkar who is a sort of senior statesman in the Indian team but he seems to be the hungriest guy of the lot," Gibson told reporters after his team's 10-wicket defeat against Pakistan.
"Therefore he gets runs almost every time he goes out to bat. India still rely on him. We need to rely on our senior players the way India rely on him."
Making no bones about the inconsistency of his team that saw them surrender meekly in Quarter Finals at Mirpur, Gibson hinted that some of the senior players may face the axe.
"We are very very disappointed with our performance," the coach said. "It's a fact that our senior players have not performed. When the going got tough, we did not stand up to it," Gibson told the reporters. "It comes down to individuals taking responsibility and having belief in themselves. Ultimately, it comes down to performance, that's what matters in sport. Our best batsmen have not performed consistently well enough for us to move forward," he fumed.
Windies players Chris Gayle scored 170 runs, Shivnarine Chanderpaul made 114, Ramnaresh Sarwan just 115 and big-hitter Kieron Pollard scored 180 in the tournament.
Gibson warned tough stand may be taken ahead of a home Test and one-day series against Pakistan starting next month.
The West Indies were reduced to 71-8 before a 40-run stand between Kemar Roach and Chanderpaul helped them surpass their lowest World Cup total of 93 against Kenya in Pune in 1996 World Cup edition.
The ICC has confirmed the Event Technical Committee of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 has approved Adil Rashid as a replacement player for Michael Yardy in the England squad for the tournament.
The confirmation was conveyed to the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) on behalf of the committee on Thursday. Yardy was withdrawn from the England squad suffering from depression and has consequently returned to home.
Any injury or illness-based replacement requires a written submission to the event technical committee along with a diagnosis from a medical practitioner as to the extent of the injury or illness. Once replaced, a player may not return to the squad save as an approved subsequent replacement for another injured or ill player.
Yardy becomes the fifth player to be replaced in England's squad, although Eoin Morgan subsequently returned as a replacement for the injured Kevin Pietersen.
The 23-year-old Adil Rashid, a legbreak spinner with Yorkshire, has represented England in five ODIs claiming three wickets while he has also represented England in five Twenty20 Internationals.
Adil Rashid, who has 241 first-class wickets to his name and has recently been touring the Caribbean with England Lions. He is scheduled to arrive in Colombo on Saturday.
Sachin Tendulkar completes 18,000 One Day International runs, when he gets out to a length ball and pushes it to sweeper for a single of Australian face bowler Bret Lee.
Sachin Tendulkar, who has scored over 14000 runs in test matches, still is the key player for Indian cricket team and Indian skipper Dhoni will be expecting another masterful performance from his in the big quarter final of ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 against Australia today as the match is also called a ‘Mini Final’ of the current World Cup.
Yet another feather in the cap of the master! Terrific!
This is a decent performance by both sides so far. Australia won toss and choose bat first.
Ricky Thomas Ponting scores his 5th World Cup century while his last World Cup century came against India in 2003 final. This is Ponting's 30th ODI century and 6th against India.
A masterclass from Ricky Ponting, his 30th one-day hundred, allowed Australia to recover from a wobbly 150 for 4 to post 260/6 as they scored 75/2 in the last 10 overs, of which, 41/1 came in the last 5 overs.
The top performers of the innings are Ponting for his century and Yuvraj Singh India's best bowler for his figures of 2/44.
Australia win the toss and choose to bat in an enticing encounter in the 2nd Quarter Finals against India in Sardar Patel Gujarat Stadium, Motera, India.
India dropped Yusuf Pathan and retained Suresh Raina. Australia brought in David Hussey, the middle-order batsman who bowls off breaks, for Steven Smith. There was some pre-game talk about playing John Hastings but Australia chose to retain the services of offspinner Jason Krejza.
For his part, Dhoni, playing his 100th game as captain, said the team was mentally ready for this knockout game.
Australia sqaud for 2nd QF against India
Brad Haddin (wk), Shane Watson, Ricky Ponting (capt), Michael Clarke, Cameron White, Michael Hussey, David Hussey, Jason Krejza, Brett Lee, Mitchell Johnson, and Shaun Tait.
India squad for 2nd QF against Australia
Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni (capt & wk), Suresh Raina, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, R Ashwin, and Munaf Patel.
Indian master batsman Sachin Tendulkar and Australian captain Ricky Ponting took two opposite sides as the walking debate raged in the ongoing cricket World Cup in the sub-continent.
Sachin Tendulkar walked back to the pavillion despite the umpire signalling not out during India's league match against the West Indies here while Ponting stayed his ground till he was ruled out after a successful review by Pakistan in another match.
Tendulkar was hoping to score his 100th international hundred but his innings ended when he was dismissed for just two. He faced only four balls, clipping fast bowler Ravi Rampaul to wicket-keeper Devon Thomas and he walked without waiting for the umpire's decision.
Ponting had made 19 when he edged off-spinner Mohammad Hafeez to Kamran Akmal at the R Premadasa stadium in Colombo on Saturday. When on-field umpire Marias Erasmus gave the Australian captain not out, the decision was reviewed and overturned. Ponting admitted he knew he had edged the ball but said he had always waited for the umpire's decision all through his career. "There were no doubts about the nick, I knew I hit it, but as always I wait for the umpire to give me out. That's the way I've always played the game," he said.
West Indies captain Darren Sammy hailed Tendulkar as "a true gentleman" for walking despite Australian umpire Steve Davis ruling him not out. "It shows the measure of the man (Tendulkar). He is a true gentleman. After 17,000 runs, he could walk. That was brilliant on the part of Sachin," Sammy said after his side lost their last Group B match by 80 runs.
Australia's 34-match unbeaten run in World Cups which ended with a four-wicket defeat by Pakistan on Saturday.
Pakistan were the last team to overcome Australia at a World Cup and it was they who brought Ricky Ponting's 34-match unbeaten run to an end with a four-wicket victory in Colombo to secure top spot in Group A.
Australia were desperate not to relinquish a proud record dating back to May 23, 1999 in Cricket World Cup-1999.
Australia's defeat ends a 34-match World Cup streak without a loss. During this period, which started on May 27, 1999, they won 32 matches, while one was tied and one was a no-result.
Hamish Bennett, the New Zealand fast bowler, has been ruled out of the World Cup with an injury to his ankle and Achilles tendon. Seamer Daryl Tuffey, who had been called up as a standby for an injured Kyle Mills, will take Bennett's place in the 15.
Bennett injured himself during New Zealand's previous game against Sri Lanka in Mumbai after bowling just 4.1 overs, and limped off the field. He played four games this tournament, picking up 6 wickets including a four-for in his team's opening game against Kenya.
New Zealand have been plagued by injuries in this World Cup with Mills suffering from a quad strain after bowling a couple of overs against Canada, and captain Daniel Vettori hurting his knee while attempting a catch in the game against Pakistan. Both missed the clash against Sri Lanka in Mumbai, where New Zealand were comprehensively beaten.
Tuffey, who had arrived in India on Friday, had been playing for Auckland in the Plunket Shield, New Zealand's domestic first-class competition. He's played 94 ODIs, claiming 110 wickets at 32.12.
South Africa have already qualified for the quarterfinals with 8 points in 5 matches.
Where India with 7 point from 5matches; England with 7 points from 6 mathches; West Indies and Bangladesh stands 6 points with 5 matches each.
Ireland and Netherlands are already out of tournament.
It's very intresting who will qualify for the Quarter finals among India, England, West Indies and Bangladesh? Let us see possible outcomes in the Group B
1st Scenario - South Africa beat Bangladesh (Most likely)
India and England will be through to the QFs.
If WI beat India, they will qualify.
If WI lose to India, they will need a better NRR than Bangladesh to qualify.
If WI tie with India, they will qualify.
2ndScenario - Bangladesh beat South Africa (Not very likely)
Bangladesh will qualify for quarterfinals
WI will have to beat India to reach the QFs
If WI tie with India, they will be tied on seven points with England. Then, the net run-rate will come into play
If India win or tie, they will reach the QFs
If India lose, they will tie with England at 7 points. They can still qualify if they have a better NRR than England.
3rdScenario - South Africa and Bangladesh match tied or washed out (Least likely)
Bangladesh will be tied on seven points with India and England.
If India win or tie against WI, they will qualify for the QFs.
If WI beat India, they will qualify. Then, England, India and Bangladesh will all be tied on seven points. NRR comes into play.
If WI tie, Bangladesh, England and WI will all be on seven points. NRR comes into play.
Asoka de Silva, whose decision-making has come in for intense criticism during the World Cup, will not officiate in a couple of key group games that he was originally marked for. Asoka de Silva is the only umpire among the 18 deployed whose success percentage in reviewed decisions is less than 50%.
He was supposed to have been one of the on-field umpires for Thursday's crucial match between England and West Indies, and he was also the third umpire for the India-West Indies game. Instead, according to ICC's revised schedule, he will be the fourth umpire in the Ireland-Netherlands match on Friday, and will be an on-field umpire in the Zimbabwe-Kenya game on Sunday. Both those games are inconsequential, with all four teams already out of the World Cup.
Asoka de Silva's place in Thursday's match between England and West Indies will be taken by Bruce Oxenford - originally listed as the fourth umpire in that game - while Simon Taufel will be the third umpire. For the India-West Indies match, Taufel and Steve Davies will be the on-field umpires, with Oxenford the third umpire.
de Silva has had a poor World Cup so far, with several of his decisions being overturned by the Decision Review System: of the seven times his decisions have been challenged, only three times has his original call stood. One of those three instances was the lbw decision against Ireland's Gary Wilson in the match against West Indies. Wilson challenged the call, and replays clearly showed the ball had struck his pad outside the line of off when he was attempting a shot, but de Silva refused to change his decision, a move that was strongly criticised by Ireland captain William Porterfield. Had that decision been changed, as it should have been, de Silva's score in reviewed decisions would have been two correct calls out of seven.
The changes in the umpiring schedule
England v West Indies
Originally - Asoka de Silva and Steve Davis, Shahvir Tarapore (third), Bruce Oxenford (fourth)
Revised - Bruce Oxenford and Steve Davis, Simon Taufel (third), Shahvir Tarapore (fourth)
Ireland v Netherlands
Originally - Simon Taufel and Ian Gould, Kumar Dharmasena (third), Billy Doctrove (fourth)
Revised - Billy Doctrove and Ian Gould, Kumar Dharmasena (third), Asoka de Silva (fourth)
Australia v Pakistan
Originally - Tony Hill and Marais Erasmus, Nigel Llong (third), Tyron Wijewardena (fourth)
Revised - Tony Hill and Marais Erasmus, Tyron Wijewardena (third), Billy Bowden (fourth)
Zimbabwe v Kenya
Originally - Billy Doctrove and Kumar Dharmasena, Ian Gould (third), Simon Taufel (fourth)
Revised - Asoka de Silva and Kumar Dharmasena, Ian Gould (third), Billy Doctrove (fourth)
India v West Indies
Originally - Steve Davis and Bruce Oxenford, Asoka de Silva (third), Shahvir Tarapore (fourth)
Revised - Steve Davis and Simon Taufel, Bruce Oxenford (third), Shahvir Tarapore (fourth)
Former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram has called on the Pakistani openers to seek inspiration and learn from the exploits of Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar.
Wasim, who is in Sri Lanka commentating on the World Cup matches, also expressed his frustration over Pakistan's performance against Zimbabwe on Monday.
The former fast bowler called on openers, Muhammad Hafeez and Ahmed Shahzad to learn the art of batting and building an innings from Tendulkar.
The two openers have failed to provide a single decent start to the Pakistan team in five matches of the World Cup and Wasim felt both needed to rethink their approach to batting.
Wasim said the Pakistani openers need to learn from Tendulkar that even in one-day cricket one needs to build an innings. He pointed out that Tendulkar was still going strong as he stuck to the basics well and didn't try anything extraordinary.
John Davison, the Canada allrounder who in 2003 World Cup edition broke the record for the fastest World Cup century, has announced his retirement.
Davison, 40, was born in Canada but has lived nearly all his life in Australia, and he will finish his career with Wednesday's match against the Australians, the first time he has had the chance to play against his home country.
Davison spent the first half of his career as an offspinner for Victoria and South Australia, but never quite lived up to his potential and finished his career with 83 wickets for the states at an average of 55.56. However, when he discovered that he was eligible to play for Canada, having been born in British Columbia, it put a new spin on his career.
He was thrust into the national side for the 2003 World Cup and found a new lease of life as an aggressive opening batsman. His finest moment was unquestionably his 67-ball century against West Indies at Centurion during the World Cup 2003 tournament, which was at the time the quickest World Cup hundred but has since been surpassed by both Matthew Hayden and Kevin O'Brien.
John Davison has played 31 one-day internationals for Canada, including 19 as captain, and he has scored 785 runs at 27.06 and 35 wickets at 29.65.
South Africa's leading batsman AB de Villiers has undergone a scan on his left thigh after picking up an injury during their World Cup win over India.
De Villiers was rested for the match against Ireland on Tues day.
The 27-year-old has been in sensational form, hitting back-to-back centuries against West Indies and the Netherlands, but additional wicketkeeping workload has been taking a toll on his back. However, he handed over the wicketkeeping duties to Morne van Wyk in South Africa's last two matches, against England and India, to help his ailing back recover.
The right-handed player has been the most successful batsman for South Africa in the showpiece event and is currently placed third with 318 runs in the list of highest scorers. He has notched up two hundreds and a half-century from four matches.
De Villiers needed a runner during his 52-run knock against India on Saturday during South Africa's thrilling 3 wicket win.
England's all-rounder, Paul Collingwood has scotched speculation on his one-day future after coming in to bat at number eight during the World Cup defeat to Bangladesh.
Paul Collingwood was member of England's famous World Twenty20 triumph last year, has had an unimpressive run in the tournament so far, managing just 61 runs and one wicket from four league matches. He missed the win over South Africa through injury.
Collingwood shrugged off England's topsy-turvy form at the World Cup where they need to beat the West Indies on Thursday to keep up their hopes of a last-eight place.
Collingwood has garnered 5,092 runs and 111 wickets from 197 one-day internationals so far.
Earlier, Paul Collingwood quit Tests during the Sydney Test against Australia in January this year to allow himself to focus on one-day internationals and Twenty20 cricket.
Sachin Tendulkar raced to his record sixth World Cup hundred off 92 balls as India continued to dominate South Africa in their World Cup Group B match on Saturday.
This is the little master's first century at Nagpur and second century of the tournament after hitting 120 against England in the thrilling tied match in Bangalore.
Tendulkar scored 111 runs during his 101-ball stay at the crease in India's group-B match against the Proteas. His dazzling knock ended when JP Duminy caught him at point off Morne Morkel.
Today's knock was Tendulkar's 48th ODI hundred and is now just one shot of creating a century of international centuries as he also has scored 51 Test hundreds.
Tendulkar also completed 2000 ODI runs against South Africa and incidentally, the legendary batsman had scored the record-breaking 200 against the Proteas in Gwalior in February last year.
South Africa is now fourth team in the world to have conceded 2000 or more runs to Tendulkar. Australia (3005), Pakistan (2389) and Sri Lanka (2965) are the other teams, that have conceded 2000 or more runs to Tendulkar.
Tendulkar, playing his sixth World Cup, also holds the records for most runs and most half-centuries in the flagship event of the ICC.
He has accumulated 2120 runs in 41 matches and has scored 13 fifties so far, followed by Ponting with 1577 runs in 42 matches.
Ganguly is the only other Indian to score 1000 or more runs in World Cup. The former captain made 1006 runs in 21 matches and stands 11th in the list of highest run scorers in World Cup.
India win the toss and choose to bat in an enticing encounter in a Group B game against South Africa in Nagpur.
India has won 3 matches and tied one with 7 points and +0.992 run rate. South Africa has won 2 games and lost one with 4 points and +1.754. Irrespective of India has likely made place in 2011 Cricket World Cup Quarterfinals; If India wins, place will be confirmed. India has lost one day series to South Africa in pre-world cup encounter in South Africa; India would surely look for revenge. Both teams have done good so far and will prove their domination in day/night game.
Both teams made just one change: India replaced Piyush Chawla with Munaf Patel as they went in with a three-pronged seam attack. South Africa rested Imran Tahir, recovering from an injury, and brought in Johan Botha.
India Squad for match against South Africa
Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni, Yusuf Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, and Munaf Patel.
South Africa Squad for match against India
Graeme Smith, Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers, Jacques Kallis, JP Duminy, Faf du Plessis, Morne van Wyk, Johan Botha, Robin Peterson, Dale Steyn, and Morne Morkel
Net Run Rate (NRR) has become the preferred method of breaking ties in multi-team One Day International tournaments. A team’s run rate refers to the rate at which it has scored its runs
Before going to calculate you need to understand Run Rate.
Definition of Run Rate
A team’s run rate refers to the rate at which it has scored its runs.
Let us suppose, if India scores 287 runs in its allotted 50 overs in a match against Pakistan, now India’s run rate is = 287 divided by 50 = 5.74 runs per over.
Note: The number of wickets is inconsequential in all Run Rate and Net Run Rate Calculations.
Definition of Net Run Rate
A team’s Net Run Rate is the difference of its Run Rate and that of the opposing team. Continuing with the same example as above, suppose Pakistan scores 274 runs in its reply to India’s 287.
India’s NRR = India’s Run Rate – Pakistan’s Run Rate
India’s run rate = 287/50 = 5.74
Pakistan’s run rate = 274/50 = 5.48
Now India’s Net Run Rate is 5.74-5.48 = +0.26
Pakistan’s Net Run Rate is 5.48-5.74 = -0.26
Note: Even if a team gets bowled out in 48 overs or anything less than its allotted number of overs, its Run Rate will still be calculated assuming it had played 50 overs.
However, when a team chases and wins the match, then the winning team’s Run Rate is calculated based on the exact number of overs it had played.
For instance, if Pakistan had won the match by scoring 288 runs in 48.3 overs, then this is how the calculation would proceed:
India’s run rate = 287/50 = 5.74
Pakistan’s Run Rate = 288/48.3 = 5.93
India’s Net Run Rate is 5.74 - 5.93 = -0.19
Pakistan’s Net Run Rate is 5.93 - 5.74 = +0.19
Note: This is a common mistake which people tend to back when calculating Net Run Rate in cricket. In the above example, to calculate Pakistan’s Net Run Rate I divided 288 by 48.5 and not by 48.3. Why? An over in cricket consists of 6 balls so 3 balls mean half an over or 0.5 over.
Things get complicated over multiple matches and tournaments such as World Cup or IPL. So what we will first try to do is define the required calculation. Once you understand this fundamentally, then it is only about calculating.
A team’s Run Rate in a tournament = Total runs scored by the Team divided by the Total number of overs played by the team
A team’s Net Run Rate in a tournament = (Total runs scored by the team divided by the total number of overs played by the team) – (Same calculation for its opposing teams)
Caution: If a team has played 14 matches, its Net Run Rate will not necessarily be equal to the sum total of the Net Run Rates of its individual matches. So don’t be tempted to do that, and strictly use the formula given above.
Let’s close this discussion with a final example of an ODI tri series tournament scenario:
Match-1: India Vs Australia
India: 300/7, Australia: 280/8
Match-2: Austarlia Vs South Africa
Australia: 232 all out (17.3 overs), South Africa: 233/3 in 16 overs
Match-3: India Vs South Africa (rain curtailed match, allotted overs 45 each)
India: 250/4, South Africa 240 all out
Then to calculate India’s Net Run Rate follow these steps:
Total number of runs scored by India = 300+250 = 550
Total number of over played by India = 50+45 = 95
Overall Run Rate of India = 550/95 = 5.79 runs per over
Total number of runs scored by India’s opposition teams = 280 + 240 = 520 runs
Total number of overs played by opposition teams = 50 + 45 = 95 overs
Run Rate of India’s opposing teams = 520/95 = 5.47
Now, India’s Net Run Rate = 5.79 – 5.47 = + 0.32 runs per over
Injuries continued to haunt the West Indies in the ongoing World Cup with explosive batsman Chris Gayle becoming the latest casualty after he missed their crucial group B match against Ireland with an abdominal strain.
Gayle, 31, has struggled with the injury ever since the team landed in Mohali on Sunday but he is likely to be fit in time for the game against England on March 17.
Gayle had also been ill (sore throat) at the start of the game against Bangladesh in Dhaka but showed little signs of discomfort in making 37 off 36 balls as his team completed a nine-wicket victory over the tournament co-hosts.
The West Indies are already a depleted side in the tournament, having lost three key players - Adrian Barath, wicket—keeper Carlton Baugh and inspirational vice—captain Dwayne Bravo - to injuries.
Despite missing some of their first-choice players, the West Indies beat the Netherlands and Bangladesh after a seven-wicket defeat to South Africa.
West Indies, currently placed third in Group B, will play their last league game against India on March 20 in Chennai.
From the onset, injuries have taken a toll in the game’s show piece event with as many as 14 players being already replaced in the tournament, the last being English batsman Kevin Pietersen.