ICC World Cup 2011 updates: Day 3

On the Day 3 of the ICC World Cup 2011, Australia and Zimbabwe played their first World Cup 2011 match facing each other at Sardar Patel Gujarat Stadium, Motera, India. Australia won the toss and elected to bat first.

Right from the start, Australians felt pressure and were struggling to score runs. But they did not loose a wicket till the end of 19th over. Brad Haddin departed at the last delivery of the 19th over scoring only 29 runs of 66 deliveries. Australian opener Shane Watson and Michael Clarke helped the team to put up some runs and increased the run rate to just over the 5 runs per over. Shane Watson scored 79 runs of 92 balls and Michael Clarke 58 runs from 55 deliveries. This helped Australia to end up scoring a good total of 262 runs with the loss of 6 wickets in 50 overs. Graeme Cremer was very economical bowler for Zimbabwe as his economy rate was 4.1 runs per over and he also picked up a wicket.

Zimbabwe needed 263 runs to win the match against Australia. Zimbabwe gave a good flying start and managed to score at the required run rate until the fall of their 1st wicket that was in 5.4 over. After the first fall, Zimbabweans started to loose wickets at regular intervals and their run rate dropped eventually. When 7th wicket fell, Graeme Cremer came in to bat and partnered Prosper Utseya. They both played well where Aussies were struggling to break the partnership and were really pissed off. After a long struggle, at 40th over, Aussies managed to break the partnership and removed remaining wickets. Zimbabwe ended up scoring a total of 171 runs for the loss of 10 wickets in 46.2 overs.

Australia won the match by 91 runs. Man of the match went to Shane Watson for hitting 79 runs, took 2 catches and bowled well with an economy rate of 2.33 runs per over.

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ICC World Cup 2011 updates: Day 2 match 2

The second match of the day was played between Srilanka and Canada at Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium, Hambantota, Srilanka. Srilanka won the toss and elected to bat first.

Srilankans gave a pretty good start with the openers Upul Tharanga and Tillakaratne Dilshan. Both put up a partnership of 63 runs in 11.5 overs. After the first break, Srilankans came back even stronger with Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayewardena who scored 92 runs and 100 runs respectively. This helped Srilankans to put up a very good total against the Canadians. Srilanka managed to score a total of 332 runs with the loss of 7 wickets. Jimmy Hansra was the only bowler to manage to give a run rate of less than 6 runs per over. He bowled 9 overs with an average of 5.22 runs per over.

Canada needed 333 runs to win the match which was supposed to be an almost impossible target for them as they were facing one of the strongest team. Right from the start of the second innings, Srilankas picked up wickets which kept pressure on the Canadians. They could not resist the Srilankans bowling attack and kept on loosing wickets regularly. By 36.5 overs, Canada managed to score a total score of 122 runs and lost all its 10 wickets.


Srilanka won the match by 210 runs. Man of the match went to Mahela Jayewardena for his quick century.

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ICC World Cup 2011 updates: Day 2 match 1

On the day 2 of the ICC World Cup 2011, 2 matches were played.

First match was between New Zealand and Kenya which was played at MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai. Toss went into the favor of Kenya and they elected to bat first. They gave a very slow start, with an run rate of around 2 runs per over. Even this slowness did not stop NZ from picking up wickets. First wicket was fell in the last delivery of the 7th over. Kenyans started to loose wickets regularly but could not score enough. They some how managed to put up a total of only 69 runs before loosing all the 10 wickets. By 23.5 overs, Kenya lost all 10 wickets and ended up scoring 69 runs. Hamish Bennett picked up 4 wickets, Tim Southee and Jacob Oram picked 3 wickets each.

The total was just an cake-walk the kiwis. By 8 overs, Kiwis chased the total successfully. They scored 72 runs with no loss. Martin Guptill scored unbeaten 39 runs and Brendon McCullum scored a unbeaten 26 runs. New Zealand won the match by 10 wickets.

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ICC World Cup 2011 updates: Day 1

On Saturday, first match of the ICC World Cup 2011 was played. It was between the hosts India and Bangladesh at Mirpur. Bangladesh won the toss and they let the Indians to bat first. At start i was afraid that India might loose the match as the pitch is well known for its second innings. Virender Sehwag stayed long and played well. He scored a magnificent 175 runs in 140 deliveries and got out. On the other hand Virat Kohli played gave a good standing and he scored his debut World Cup century in the first match itself. This partnership helped India to put up a huge total of 370 runs with the loss of 4 wickets.

In response, Bangladesh gave a flying start that brought them back to the winning track. This partnership was shattered when Munaf Patel bowled Imrul Kayes. After this, the asking rate started to increase and the pressure kept on building up. By 50 overs, Bangladesh managed to score 283 runs with the loss of 9 wickets.

India won the match by 89 runs. Man of match was Virender Sehwag for his brilliant batting innings. Next India will take on England at Chinnaswamy stadium, Bangalore on 27th of Feb. Bangladesh will be playing against Ireland on 25th of February at Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur.

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ICC World Cup 2011 Opening ceremony

Today ICC World Cup 2011 opening ceremony was held at Dhaka, Bangladesh. All the 14 team skippers were in present in this ceremony. The stadium was filled with excitement with full colors and music. The main performers were Sonu Nigam, Runa Laila and the Canadian rocker Bryan Adams who rocked the stadium.

There would have been plenty of taught that had come in the minds of all the skippers. As of now, they should be having their own gaming strategies and plans prepared for this World Cup. Each players dream would be to lift the ICC World Cup along with their team members and return to their homes with glory.

In total 49 matches will be played in a span 6 weeks. The decider match i.e, the finals between the 2 glorious team performing in this World Cup will be played on 2nd April in Mumbai. One shall stand victorious while others shall fall. 

Warm-up match between India and Australia

Today, India and Australia are playing their warm-up match facing against each other. This warm-up match will be played in Chinnaswamy stadium, Bangalore. In parallel to the match, another interesting event happening in Bangalore is Aero show at Yelahanka air base. I think that many people don't want to miss both the events. As soon as they leave the aero show, they will head straight towards the stadium or to their respective houses.

ICC World Cup 2011 will be starting from February 19th onwards. It will be hosted in India, Bangladesh and Srilanka. Fourteen teams around the globe are participating in the Cricket's biggest event.

India and Australia started their warm-up match at 9:00AM IST. India won the toss and elect to bat first. India lost Gautam Gambhir when the total was just 12. Virender Sehwag played some beautiful knocks and scored 54 runs in 56 deliveries. This included 8 fours and 1 six. After the fall of Sehwag, India started to loose wickets quickly. By 29.5 overs, India lost 8 wickets and scored only 138 runs in total. Australians bowlers are looking dominant and Brett Lee is the most economical bowler so far. His economy rate is just 3.33 runs per over and has taken 3 wickets in 9 overs. As of now, India has scored 150 runs for the loss of 8 wickets. Yusuf Pathan and Ravichandran Ashwin are batting.

1st test match: Australia vs Pakistan

Pakistan and Australia are playing their first test match at Lord's, London. Pakistan won the toss & elected to field first.

As usual Shane Watson did not make it big as the stumps came out in the Mohammad Aamer's delivery. There was 2 good partnership between Ricky Ponting and Simon Katich, Simon Katich and Michael Clarke of 43 runs and 120 runs respectively. After the fall of these 3 wickets, Australians start to loose wickets in regular successions. Michael Hussey played a lone battle till the end. After 70 overs, Australia had scored 229 runs and lost 9 wickets. Play was stopped due to bad light. In the last session of the day, Australia lost 6 wickets and scored only 58 runs in total. Michael Hussey was not out scoring 39 runs and Doug Bollinger at 0. Umar Gul was very economical with the economy rate of just 1.71 runs per over and took a wicket as well. Mohammad Aamer and Mohammad Asif took 3 wickets each respectively.

Bangladesh won against England by 5 runs

Yesterday, Bangladesh played ODI match against England at County Ground, Nevil Road, Bristol, England. England won the toss and put Bangladesh to bat first.

Tamim Iqbal did not play well as he got out in the first delivery of the sixth over by giving a straight catch to Craig Kieswetter. He returned scoring only 18 runs from 23 deliveries. After the fall of their first wicket, Bangladesh made two good partnership which help the team to go in the positive track. Non-strike opener Imrul Kayes stayed till 43.2 over scoring 76 runs from 111 deliveries. After 50 overs, Bangladesh scored 236 runs in total and lost 7 wickets. Ajmal Shahzad took 3 wickets for England.

England started their chase of 237 runs with the openers Andrew Strauss and Craig Kieswetter. They both opened the innings well and played till England put up a total of 49 runs. At 7.5 over, England lost its first wicket. After this fall, England kept on loosing wickets in regular intervals. Jonathan Trott played one down and he was playing till the fall of England's last wicket. England needed 6 runs from 4 deliveries and has one wicket in hand. But Jonathan Trott got out by giving a clear catch to Jahurul Islam. Hence England lost all its 10 wickets and fell before Bangladesh.


Bangladesh won the match by 5 wickets. Man of the match was chosen as Mashrafe Mortaza.

South African tour of West Indies

South Africa had toured West Indies earlier where they had played 3 test matches, 5 ODI matches and 2 Twenty20 matches. South Africa came back with glory as they won all the 3 series. They won the test series by 2-0, ODI series by 5-0 and Twenty20 series by 2-0.

On the third day of the last test match, South African fast bowler Dale Steyn had spit against the direction of the West Indian spin bowler Sulieman Benn when West Indies had dismissed an South African batsman. Dale steyn was fined his entire match fee under the code of conduct by the ICC. Later, South African manager Mohammed Moosajee said to the press that Steyn has apologized for the incident caused. They have filed a conduct charge on Sulieman Benn and it is in judicial process.

On the fourth day of the last test match, West Indian fast bowler Kemar Roach had done a unpleasant altercation in which even he was fined 50% of his match fee.

Some Cricket coverages for today

Currently West Indies and South Africa are playing their 3rd test match at Kensington Oval, Bridgetown - Barbados. West Indies have won the toss & have elected to bat first. As of now, 57 overs has been bowled from South Africans. West Indies have scored 159 runs loosing 5 wickets. Currently Dwayne Bravo & Denesh Ramdin are playing & have put up a partnership of 54 runs. Paul Harris is the most economical bowler till now, his economy rate is just 1.64 runs per over from his 14 overs. Even Jacques is bowling well with the economy rate of 1.62 runs per over. Johan Botha has picked 3 important wicket. West Indies has lost all its top order batsmen.

Yuvaraj Singh & Rahul Dravid are back into the Indian team where they will be playing against the Srilankans which will be played next month. They both were been dropped in the last few series due to injuries which took place during the Bangladesh visit.

England's star batsman Paul Collingwood is very much happy & impressed the way his team is performing against the Australian team. He wants the team to continue its winning spree further. After this series England will be facing the Ashes.

Former Wicket Keeper & captain of the Pakistan team, Moin Khan, has praised MS Dhoni for his beautiful captaincy. Recently India had won the Asia Cup after 15 years.

India clinch the Asia Cup for the 5th time

Yesterday, India bagged the Asia Cup for the 5th time in the history. India played Srilanka in the finals at Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium, Rangiri. India won the toss & elected to bat first.

Gautam Gambhir & Dinesh Karthik opened the innings for India. Gautam Gambhir did not stay for longer period as he got run out in the very first delivery of the 7th over. After the fall of first wicket, all the top order batsmen did their job well & contributed very good runs which helped India to put up a good total on board. India by 50 completing the 50 overs, it had put up a total of 268 runs loosing 6 wickets. Top scorer for India was Dinesh Karthik who scored 66 runs from 84 deliveries which included 9 fours. Muttiah Muralidharan was the most economical bowler from Srilankan side. His economical rate was just 3.4 runs per over & did not pick any wickets.

Now, Srilankans wanted 269 runs in total to clinch the Asia Cup. Upul Tharanga & Tillakaratne Dilshan opened the innings for Srilanka. Dilshan returned to pavilion in the very 5th delivery of the 1st over itself. Srilankans started to loose wickets in very regular intervals. Things went very worse, when they lost Jayawardena, Mathews & Sangakkara when Srilanka had scored just 50 odd runs. Kandamby & Kapugedara was the last hope for Srilanka as they both have the tendency to bat till the end. In-fact they both played well but did not put up a strong partnership. By 44.4 overs, Srilanka lost all its 10 wickets scoring 187 runs. India thereby won the match by 81 runs. India won the Asia cup for the 5th time.Praveen Kumar & Harbhajan Singh were the most economical bowlers for India.

Asia Cup: 2nd ODI

2nd match of the Asia cup was played today between India & Bangladesh at Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium, Rangiri. Bangladesh won the toss & elected to bat first.

Bangladesh openers gave a magnificent start where they scored 35 runs from just 17 deliveries. After the fall of the first wicket, they started to play moderately & were on good track. Wickets were falling at regular interval. At the 34th over, Bangladesh lost its 7th wicket when the score was 167 runs on board. After this, Virender Sehwag took remaining 3 wickets without giving any run to Bangladesh thereby by restricting them to just 167 runs. This was the best bowling figure for Virender Sehwag who gave just 6 runs & took 4 wickets by bowling 17 deliveries. Now, chasing 167 runs in 50 overs is a cake-walk for India.

Virender Sehwag was not magnificent in batting today as he departed scoring just 11 runs. Even Virat Kohli & Rohit Sharma did not play well as they both got out in consecutive deliveries of Shakib Al Hasan. Skipper MS Dhoni & Gautam Gambhir put up partnership of 78 runs which helped India to reach their target very easily. Gautam Gambhir could not survive till the end as he got out scoring 82 runs. MS Dhoni finished the match by hitting 2 consecutive boundaries in a grand style. By 30.4 overs, India chased the target successfully scoring 168 runs & had lost 4 wickets. India won the match by 6 wickets with 20.2 overs remaining. Man of the match was Gautam Gambhir.

Asia Cup: Ist ODI

In the Inaugural match of the Asia Cup, Srilanka played Pakistan at Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium, Rangiri. Srilanka won the toss & elected to bat first.

Upul Tharanga & Tillakaratne Dilshan opened the innings for Srilankan side. Both did not stay long as they got out scoring 11 & 18 runs respectively. Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene & Angelo Mathews help Srilanka to put up a decent total. Angelo Mathews stayed till the end of 50 overs & was unbeaten scoring 55 runs. Srilanka scored 242 runs from 50 overs loosing 9 wickets. Abdul Razzaq was very impressive on bowling side as his economy rate was just 3.37 runs per over & took a wicket. Shoiab Akthar's come back is very good as he also looked impressive with ball, his economy rate was just 4.1 runs per over & took 3 crucial wickets for his team.

Chasing the score of 242 runs set by the Srilankans, Pakistan opened its batting innings with the openers Shahzaib Hasan & Salman Butt. Pakistanis lost 2 quick wickets where they could not resist Lashith Malinga's attack. Shahid Afridi played a magnificent innings who scored 109 runs from just 76 deliveries which included 8 fours & 7 sixes. Akmal Brothers both could not stand for longer time as they both got run out. After the fall of Shahid Afridi all the pressure fell on Abdul Razzaq, but even he could not succeed as the co-strikers all got out. By the end of 47th over, Pakistan lost all its 10 wickets scoring 226 runs. Srilanka won the match by 16 runs. Man of the match was Shahid Afridi.