T20: Aus v. Pak: Australia tumble as Umar Gul pick 4 Wkts!

Pakistan fast bowler Umar Gul picked 4 wickets in his 4 over spell which put Australia completely on the back foot. He gave away just 8 runs and played a vital role in restricting Australia to 108.

Though Watson and Haddin started well by adding 42 in 4 overs, Umar Gul played the spoil sport for the Aussies.

Pakistan was never under pressure in reaching the target. This is their first T20 in this year and will boost their confidence ahead of the T20 World Cup to be played in England.

ICC T20 World Cup Schedule

Scoreboard:

Match: 1st T20
Date: Thursday May 7, 2009
Teams: Australia v. Pakistan
Captains: Brad Haddin and Younis Khan
Toss: Pakistan, decided to field
Venue: Dubai Sports City Cricket Stadium, Dubai
Result: Pakistan won by 7 wickets with 22 balls remaining
Series Result: Pakistan won the only T20 match
Man of the Match: Umar Gul and Shahid Afridi off Pakistan

Australia Innings:

Batsman	How Out	Runs	Balls	4s	6s
Watson	lbw b Umar Gul	33	14	6	0
Haddin	c Gul b S Malik	24	27	2	0
Hopes	lbw b Afridi	6	9	0	0
Symonds	lbw b Afridi	0	1	0	0
D Hussey	b Afridi	4	11	0	0
Ferguson	st K Akmal b S Malik	8	9	0	0
North	b Umar Gul	20	21	1	0
Hauritz	c S Malik b Umar Gul	2	7	0	0
B Lee	b Umar Gul	0	3	0	0
N Bracken	Not Out	3	11	0	0
Hilfenhaus	c Afridi b S Ajmal	2	8	0	0
Extras	(lb 3, w 1, nb 2)	6	-	-	-
Total	all out in 19.5 overs	108	-	-	-

Fall of Wickets: 1-42 (Shane Watson, 4.1 ov.), 2-61 (James Hopes, 7.1 ov.), 3-61 (Andrew Symonds, 7.2 ov.), 4-69 (David Hussey, 9.3 ov.), 5-73 (Brad Haddin, 10.3 ov.), 6-85 (Callum Ferguson, 12.4 ov.), 7-94 (Nathan Hauritz, 14.3 ov.), 8-94 (Brett Lee, 14.6 ov.), 9-105 (Marcus North, 18.1 ov.), 10-108 (Ben Hilfenhaus, 19.5 ov.)

Bowler	O	M	R	W
S Akhtar	2	0	18	0
S Tanvir	3	0	32	0
Umar Gul	4	0	8	4
S Ajmal	3.5	0	19	1
S Afridi	4	1	14	3
S Malik	3	0	14	2

Pakistan Innings:

Batsman	How Out	Runs	Balls	4s	6s
Butt	c Harris b RP Singh	16	12	3	0
Shehzad	b RP Singh	4	12	1	0
K Akmal	c D Smith b T Suman	59	42	5	3
Misbah-ul-Haq	c Gilchrist b R Sharma	24	32	1	0
S Malik	c Harris b T Suman	0	1	0	0
Extras	(w 5, nb 1)	6	-	-	-
Total	for 3 wkts in 16.2 overs	109	-	-	-

Fall of Wickets: 1-17 (Ahmed Shehzad, 2.5 ov.), 2-23 (Salman Butt, 3.6 ov.), 3-108 (Misbah Ul-Haq, 16.1 ov.)

Bowler	O	M	R	W
B Lee	4	0	22	1
N Bracken	3	0	24	0
Hilfenhaus	4	0	20	1
N Hauritz	3.2	0	20	1
Hopes	2	0	23	0

5th ODI: Aus v. Pak: Akmal's Century Overrides Watson's Hundred!

Watson and Akmal scored unbeaten 116 for Australia and Pakistan respectively with the latter's hundred helped Pakistan to take a consolation win in the series.

Deciding to bat first, Australia made 250, thanks to unbeaten 116 from Watson. He is wonderful form which I am sure missed by Rajasthan Royals in the IPL.

His 116 came in 146 balls with 6 fours and 2 sixes. Ferguson made a 41 in 42 balls.

Pakistan chased 251 in 47 overs with the loss of 3 wickets. This is the highest score made in the entire series.

Kamran Akmal scored unbeaten 116 off 115 balls with 13 fours. Though Pakistan were struggling at 56 for 3 in 16 overs, Akmal and Misbah took the responsibility on their shoulders. They played a wonderful innings to see Pakistan on the winning note as they added 198 runs for the 4th wicket.

Scoreboard:

Match: 5th ODI
Date: Sunday May 3, 2009
Teams: Australia v. Pakistan
Captains: Michael Clarke and Younis Khan
Toss: Australia, decided to bat
Venue: Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Result: Pakistan won by 6 wkts with 18 balls remaining
Series Result: Australia won the series 3-2
Man of the Match: Kamaran Akmal off Pakistan
Man of the Series: Michael Clarke off Australia

Australia Innings:

Batsman	How Out	Runs	Balls	4s	6s
Watson	Not Out	116	146	6	2
Haddin	c K Akmal b S Akhtar	36	31	7	0
North	lbw b S Akhtar	5	15	0	0
M Clarke	Not Out	26	43	1	0
Symonds	Not Out	15	24	1	0
Ferguson	Not Out	41	42	4	0
Extras	(lb 3, w 7, nb 1)	11	-	-	-
Total	for 4 wkts in 50 overs	250	-	-	-

Fall of wickets: 1-58 (Haddin, 8.5 ov), 2-83 (North, 14.6 ov), 3-140 (Clarke, 29.1 ov), 4-166 (Symonds, 36.3 ov)

Bowler	O	M	R	W
S Akhtar	7	1	43	1
Umar Gul	8	0	44	1
Y Arafat	5	0	38	0
S Ajmal	10	0	40	1
S Afridi	10	0	36	0
S Malik	10	0	46	1

Pakistan Innings:

Batsman	How Out	Runs	Balls	4s	6s
A Shehzad	lbw b Hauritz	19	52	1	0
S Butt	Run Out (Laughlin)	0	0	0	0
Younis Khan	c Hilfenaus b Hauritz	27	37	3	0
K Akmal	Not Out	116	115	13	0
Misbah-ul-Haq	Not Out	76	81	10	0
Extras	(b 4, lb 2, w 7, nb 3)	16	-	-	-
Total	for 3 wkts in 47 overs	254	-	-	-

Fall of wickets: 1-2 (Salman Butt, 0.2 ov), 2-46 (Younis Khan, 13.2 ov), 3-56 (Ahmed Shehzad, 15.6 ov)

Bowler	O	M	R	W
Bollinger	8	0	40	0
Hilfenhaus	8	1	43	0
Laughlin	7	0	48	0
Hauritz	10	0	44	2
M Clarke	4	1	27	0
Hopes	8	0	32	0
A Symonds	2	0	14	0

4th ODI: Aus v. Pak: Clarke's Century gives Aussie Series Win!

Chasing 198 in 50 overs, Watson and Micheal Clarke took Aussie to the series win. Clarke played captain's innings and lead by example. He also picked the crucial wicket of Misbah-ul-Haq breaking the 68-run partnership for the third wicket.

Australia struggling at 3 for 2, Watson and Michael Clarke played sensibly and took Australia beyond the winning target. Shoaib Akhtar picked both the wickets and put pressure on Aussies, but it was well handled by Watson and Clarke as they added 197 for the 3rd wicket.

Earlier, for Pakistan, Ahmed Shehzad top scored with 43 and Afridi scored 40. Bollinger, who opened the attack for Australia picked 5 wickets and was awarded man of the match. He picked Butt in the first over, caught behind. Bracken bowled Younis Khan for 7. That put pressure on Pakistanis and kept the run rate under control.

Scoreboard:

Match: 4th ODI
Date: Friday May 1, 2009
Teams: Australia v. Pakistan
Captains: Michael Clarke and Younis Khan
Toss: Pakistan, decided to bat
Venue: Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Result: Australia won by 8 wkts with 3 balls remaining
Series Result: Australia lead by 3-1
Man of the Match: Bollinger off Australia

Pakistan Innings:

Batsman	How Out	Runs	Balls	4s	6s
S Butt	c Haddin b Bollinger	2	3	0	0
A Shehzad	c Ferguson b Hauritz	43	81	2	0
Younis Khan	b Bracken	7	7	1	0
Misbah-ul-Haq	lbw b M Clarke	34	75	1	0
S Malik	lbw b Bollinger	27	33	1	0
S Afridi	c North b Bollinger	40	40	4	0
K Akmal	b S Clark	1	5	0	0
Yasir Arafat	Not Out	23	32	2	1
S Tanvir	c Hauritz b Bracken	9	13	1	0
S Akhtar	c M Clarke b Bollinger	2	2	0	0
Saeed Ajmal	b Bollinger	0	1	0	0
Extras	(b 3, lb 4, w 1, nb 1)	9	-	-	-
Total	all out in 48.4 overs	197	-	-	-

Fall of wickets: 1-2 (Salman Butt, 0.3 ov), 2-12 (Younis Khan, 3.1 ov), 3-80 (Misbah-ul-Haq, 24.4 ov), 4-116 (Ahmed Shehzad, 31.5 ov), 5-140 (Shoaib Malik, 35.2 ov), 6-145 (Kamran Akmal, 36.4 ov), 7-174 (Shahid Afridi, 44.1 ov), 8-190 (Sohail Tanvir, 47.5 ov), 9-196 (Shoaib Akhtar, 48.2 ov), 10-197 (Saeed Ajmal, 48.4 ov)

Bowler	O	M	R	W
Bollinger	7.4	0	35	5
N Bracken	10	1	31	2
S Clark	10	1	39	1
Hopes	3	0	5	0
N Hauritz	10	0	34	1
North	3	0	16	0
M Clarke	4	0	21	1
A Symonds	1	0	9	0

Australia Innings:

Batsman	How Out	Runs	Balls	4s	6s
Watson	Not Out	85	140	7	1
Haddin	c K Akmal b S Akhtar	0	1	0	0
North	lbw b S Akhtar	1	4	0	0
M Clarke	Not Out	100	122	14	0
Extras	(lb 6, w 7, nb 1)	14	-	-	-
Total	for 2 wkts in 44.2 overs	200	-	-	-

Fall of wickets: 1-1 (Haddin, 0.2 ov), 2-3 (North, 2.2 ov)

Bowler	O	M	R	W
S Akhtar	7	0	42	2
S Tanvir	7	1	41	0
Y Arafat	8	1	30	0
S Afridi	7	0	31	0
S Ajmal	10	1	20	0
S Malik	5.2	0	30	0

3rd ODI: Aus v. Pak: Clarke give Australia 2-1 lead!

The Australian skipper Michael Clarke has given Australia 2-1 lead with his paitent 66-run knock. He also picked 3 crucial Pakistani wickets.

Scoreboard:

Match: 3rd ODI
Date: Monday April 27, 2009
Teams: Australia v. Pakistan
Captains: Michael Clarke and Younis Khan
Toss: Australia, decided to bat
Venue: Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Result: Australia won by 27 runs
Series Result: Australia lead by 2-1
Man of the Match: Michael Clarke off Australia

Australia Innings:

Batsman	How Out	Runs	Balls	4s	6s
Hopes	Run Out (Y Khan)	15	22	2	0
Haddin	b Shoaib Malik	26	55	4	0
Watson	b Umar Gul	0	2	0	0
M Clarke	c & b Afridi	66	93	8	0
Symonds	lbw b Afridi	7	18	1	0
Ferguson	c S Tanvir b Umar Gul	41	68	4	0
D Hussey	c Y Arafat b Umar Gul	10	21	0	0
Hauritz	Not Out	18	17	0	1
N Bracken	Not Out	3	6	0	0
Extras	(b 3, lb 3, w 4, nb 2)	12	-	-	-
Total	for 7 wkts in 50 overs	198	-	-	-

Fall of Wickets: 1-28 (Hopes, 5.4 ov), 2-28 (Watson, 6.2 ov), 3-74 (Haddin, 19.1 ov), 4-91 (Symonds, 24.6 ov), 5-145 (Clarke, 38.6 ov), 6-168 (Ferguson, 44.4 ov), 7-188 (Hussey, 48.3 ov)

Bowler	O	M	R	W
Umar Gul	8	0	38	3
S Tanvir	6	1	28	0
Y Arafat	7	1	31	0
S Afridi	10	2	31	2
S Malik	10	2	22	1
S Ajmal	9	0	42	0

Pakistan Innings:

Batsman	How Out	Runs	Balls	4s	6s
S Butt	c M Clarke b Hauritz	48	77	7	0
A Shehzad	b M Clarke	40	61	5	0
Younis Khan	c Symonds b Hauritz	0	1	0	0
Misbah-ul-Haq	c Hauritz b M Clarke	9	13	0	1
S Malik	Run Out (Haddin)	30	56	2	0
S Afridi	c D Hussey b M Clarke	6	8	0	0
K Akmal	c Hopes b Bracken	8	22	0	0
Yasir Arafat	b Symonds	3	17	0	0
S Tanvir	c D Hussey b Hilfenhaus	11	24	1	0
Umar Gul	b S Clark	0	1	0	0
Saeed Ajmal	Not Out	0	3	0	0
Extras	(b 4, lb 3, w 9)	16	-	-	-
Total	all out in 47.1 overs	171	-	-	-

Fall of Wickets: 1-95 (Salman Butt, 22.1 ov), 2-95 (Younis Khan, 22.2 ov), 3-107 (Misbah-ul-Haq, 25.1 ov), 4-107 (Ahmed Shehzad, 25.2 ov), 5-123 (Shahid Afridi, 29.1 ov), 6-141 (Kamran Akmal, 35.5 ov), 7-148 (Yasir Arafat, 40.3 ov), 8-170 (Sohail Tanvir, 46.2 ov), 9-170 (Shoaib Malik, 46.3 ov), 10-171 (Umar Gul, 47.1 ov)

Bowler	O	M	R	W
N Bracken	10	1	37	1
Hilfenhaus	6	0	20	1
S Clark	3.1	0	15	1
N Hauritz	10	3	25	2
Hopes	2	0	11	0
A Symonds	10	1	41	1
M Clarke	6	2	15	3

India to host 29 WC matches in 2011!

With the rights for hosting the world cup matches stripped off from Pakistan, more number of matches have been allocated to India.

India will host 29 matches while 6 matches in Sri Lanka. The hub of the world cup will be shifted to Mumbai from Lahore.

The opening ceremony will be held in Bangladesh while semi-finals will be held in India and Sri Lanka.

The final will be held in India.

BCCI lifts ban on ICL Players, with T&C!

Like advertisements, the BCCI as said that it has lifted ban on ICL players but it has put a * on it to indicate "Conditions apply!"

It said, the players have to come out of ICL and severe all ties with them; They have to play the domestic cricket for one year; After playing for one year, they will be eligible for international matches;

"We have decided to grant amnesty to the ICL players and welcome them to return to the BCCI fold... The players will not be given any international assignment for one year after they quit the ICL as a punishment. But they can play in the domestic competitions. They have been given the amnesty time till May 31," Manohar told reporters after BCCI's Working Committee meeting.

The ICC had also refused to entertain ICL application earlier this month. The ICL decided not to stage its 2009 edition after Mumbai terror attacks, citing security reasons.

I think the reason behind it could be the APL (American Primere League). With both APL and ICL, there will be chances that some of the players who are not getting chance in IPL may go to one of these. If this is not true, then there has to be a secret understanding between ICL and IPL! The cat will be out of the bag in few days!