Asia Cup, FINAL: Jayasuriya and Mendis Help Sri Lanka win Final!

Sri Lanka havae won the Asia Cup for the for the first time outside Sri Lanka. Though Sri Lanka was losing wickets at regular intervals, it did not stop Jayasuriya from playing his regular shots. His less than a ball century helped Sri Lanka to put a winning total on the board. Struggling at 66 for 4, Jayasuriya and Dilshan (56) added 131 for the 4th wicket in 141 balls. Jayasuriya scored 125 off 114 balls with 9 fours and 5 sixes. He punished all the fast bowlers--RP Singh, Ishanth Sharma, and Pathan. All of them were hammered by Jayasuriya.

Indian batting meekly surrendered to the bowling of Sri Lankans especially Mendis. Later in the press conference, Dhoni admitted that no batsman was able to read Mendis. Having chased 309 in their last encounter, the target of 274 seemed easy in this kind of wicket.

The start was good with 36 in the first 5 overs. Gambhir got out for 6 in the 5th over. Sehwag was the culprit for the fall of the Indian innings. He was playing Mendis for the first time and bowling his first over.

He stepped out for the first two balls and was not successful. He should have waited and played sensibly. He came out for the third time and got stumped way out of the crease and that is stupid cricket. Well,one can argue that if he hits for runs we appreciate, but still I would say that is an early stage for hitting and it is a final. Everyone has a role to play, especially understaning their responsibilities. He was the first wicket of Mendis and gave all the confidence to him.

Yuvaraj Singh, still in the party mood, did not read the straight faster one and went for back foot. It was too late and the ball hit the stumps. Raina trying to pull a short ball was also bowled. Dhoni stayed and played a fighting innings but was not useful as the wickets were falling at the other end. Mendis picked 6 wickets giving away 13 runs in his 8 overs and was declared both man of the match and series.

Tournament: Asia Cup
Match: 13
Final
Venue: National Stadium, Karachi
Date: July 6, 2008
Teams: India and Sri Lanka
Captains: MS Dhoni and DPMD Jayawardene
Toss: India won the toss and decided to field
Result: Sri Lanka won the Asia Cup by 100 runs
Man of the Match: BAW Mendis off Sri Lanka
Man of the Series: BAW Mendis off Sri Lanka
Score:

Sri Lanka 273 all out in 49.5 overs (ST Jayasuriya 125, KC Sangakkara 4, DPMD Jayawardene 11, CK Kapugedera 5, LPC Silva 0, TM Dilshan 56, WPUJC Vaas 19, KMDN Kulasekara 29 not out, T Thushara 5, BAW Mendis 8, M Muralitharan 2, Extras--9 (lb 8, w 1), RP Singh 9-1-67-3, I Sharma 10-1-52-3, IK Pathan 9.5-0-67-2, PP Ojha 10-1-38-0, V Sehwag 8-0-30-1, RG Sharma 3-0-11-0) beat India 173 all out in 39.3 overs (G Gambhir 6, V Sehwag 60, SK Raina 16, Yuvraj Singh 0, MS Dhoni 49, RG Sharma 3, RV Uthappa 20, IK Pathan 2, RP Singh 0, PP Ojha 6 not out, I Sharma 8, Extras--3 (b 2, w 1), WPUJC Vaas 9-0-55-2, KMDN Kulasekara 6.3-0-26-1, T Thushara 8-0-51-0, BAW Mendis 8-1-13-6, M Muralitharan 8-0-26-1)

Click here to read Bangladesh v. UAE match result!

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Click here to read Bangladesh v. Sri Lanka match result!

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Click here to read India v. Pakistan match result!

Click here to read Sri Lanka v. UAE match result!

Click here to read Super Four: Bangladesh v. India match result!

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Click here to read Super Four: Bangladesh v. Sri Lanka match result!

Click here to read Super Four: Pakistan v. India match result!

Click here to read Super Four: India v. Sri Lanka match result!

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Asia Cup, Super Four, Match 4: Younis Khan's ton beat India!

Though India scored 308, Younis Khan's 123 not out gave Pakistan a ray of hope to enter the final and helped them to stay in the competition. Skipper Misbah-ul-Haq scored 70 and put a 144-run unbeaten partnership for the 3rd wicket.


For India, Dhoni top scored with 76 while Rohit scored an useful 58.

India have to beat Sri Lanka in their next match or the match should end in a tie or wash out. Else, Pakistan would enter the final. So, it will be a do or die for India on July 3rd.


Tournament: Asia Cup
Match: 10
Super Four: 4
Venue: National Stadium, Karachi
Date: July 2, 2008
Teams: India and Pakistan
Captains: MS Dhoni and Misbah-ul-Haq
Toss: India won the toss and decided to bat
Result: Pakistan won by 8 wickets with 27 balls remaining
Points: Pakistan 2; India 0
Man of the Match: Younis Khan off Pakistan
Score:

India 308 for 7 in 50 overs (G Gambhir 35, V Sehwag 49, SK Raina 1, Yuvraj Singh 37, MS Dhoni 76, RG Sharma 58, YK Pathan 0, IK Pathan 38 not out, P Kumar 1 not out, Extras--13 (b 1, lb 4, w 8), Sohail Tanvir 10-0-87-1, Abdur Rauf 10-0-66-2, Iftikhar Anjum 10-1-51-3, Shahid Afridi 10-0-52-0, Saeed Ajmal 10-0-47-1) lost to Pakistan 309 for 2 in 45.3 overs (Salman Butt 36, Nasir Jamshed 53 (retired hurt), Younis Khan 123 not out, Mohammad Yousuf 21, Misbah-ul-Haq 70 not out, Extras--6 (lb 1, w 2, nb 3), P Kumar 8.3-1-61-0, IK Pathan 10-0-68-0, I Sharma 10-1-63-0, YK Pathan 4-0-29-0, PP Chawla 8-0-53-1, V Sehwag 5-0-34-0)

Click here to read Bangladesh v. UAE match result!

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Click here to read India v. Hong Kong match result!

Click here to read India v. Pakistan match result!

Click here to read Sri Lanka v. UAE match result!

Click here to read Super Four: Bangladesh v. India match result!

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Click here to read Super Four: Bangladesh v. Sri Lanka match result!

Match 4 of Tri-Series: Pakistan Wins Kitply Trophy! Stuns India!

Pakistan have beaten India in the final of the Kitply tri-series tournament!

Click here to read the 1st match details: Pakistan v. Bangladesh

Click here to read the 2nd match details: India v. Pakistan

Click here to read the 3rd match details: India v. Bangladesh

Match Details:

Trophy: Kitply Cup - Tri-Series in Bangladesh
Match #: 4 (Final)
Venue: Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur
Date: June 14, 2008
Teams: India and Pakistan
Captains: Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Shoaib Malik
Toss: Pakistan won the toss and decided to bat
Result: Pakistan won by 25 runs
Man of the Match: Younis Khan of Pakistan
Man of the Series: Salman Butt of Pakistan

Score:

Pakistan 315 for 3 in 50 overs (Salman Butt 129 retired hurt, Kamran Akmal 15, Younis Khan 108, Misbah-ul-Haq 33, Shahid Afridi 10 not out, Shoaib Malik 11 not out, Extras--9 (b 2, lb 4, w 2, nb 1), P Kumar 10-1-37-0, I Sharma 10-0-57-1, IK Pathan 10-0-59-2, PP Chawla 10-0-85-0, V Sehwag 3-0-26-0, YK Pathan 2-0-11-0, Yuvaraj Singh 4-0-23-0, SK Raina 1-0-11-0) beat India 290 all out in 48.2 overs (G Gambhir 40, V Sehwag 2, RG Sharma 24, YK Pathan 25, Yuvaraj Singh 56, SK Raina 24, MS Dhoni 64, IK Pathan 28, P Kumar 5, PP Chawla 2, I Sharma 0 not out, Extras--20 (lb 7, w 11, nb 2), Umar Gul 9-0-57-4, Sohail Tanvir 10-1-60-1, Iftikhar Anjum 10-0-58-2, Shahid Afridi 9.2-0-56-2, Shoaib Malik 4-0-28-0, Fawad Alam 6-0-24-1)

Click here to read the 1st match details: Pakistan v. Bangladesh

Click here to read the 2nd match details: India v. Pakistan

Click here to read the 3rd match details: India v. Bangladesh

Match 2 of Tri-Series: India Crush Pakistan! Huge Defeat!

India stopped the winning streak of Pakistan! India famous for stopping these kinds of records, once again proved that they are on top.

Deciding to bat first, India posted a mamooth total of 330. It looked like they were continuing their form from the IPL's T20.

Gambhir and Sehwag added 155 for the first wicket, though Sehwag survived a close caught behind, which the TV replay showed Kamran Akmal picked the ball from the ground.

Sehwag scored 89 off 76 balls with 13 fours and a six. He won both the man of the match and the award for fastest fifty scoring in 42 balls.

Gambhir scored run-a-ball of 62 runs with 6 fours. Yuvaraj Singh who bagged the award for scoring maximum sixes, scored 55 off 54 balls with 3 fours and 3 sixes.

Yousuf Pathan and Rohit were not able to score much on the slow wicket. Dhoni scored a quick 24 with 5 fours and Raina fired two good sixes. Wahab Riaz was the costly bowler conceding 86 in his 10 overs picking 2 wickets. The bowling attack was not that decent as Pakistan gave away 38 runs in extras including 20 wides and 9 no balls.

Click here to read the 1st match details: Pakistan v. Bangladesh

Chasing 331, from the beginning, Pakistan was on the back foot. Praveen Kumar rattled the top order and picked all the first 4 wickets. He picked his first two wickets in the successive balls to send Salman Butt, caught brilliantly at short cover by Rohit. He dived to his left to take an one-handed stunning catch! Next ball, Younis Khan trying to steer it to third man, took outside edge and was caught behind.

Yousuf was judged leg before off Praveen and Kamran Akmal was caught at mid on by Yousuf Pathan.

Shoaib Malik, the skipper was in the field alone fighting the Indian bowling attack. He scored 53 off 67 balls with 3 fours and a six. Shahid Afridi, who did not see much success in IPL, should have played a sensible innings. He threw his wicket by stepping out of Piyush Chawla, who bowled well to get him stumped. He then took a godo return catch to send Tanvir back to pavilion.

Praveen Kumar and Piyush Chawla picked 4 wickets each while Ishanth Sharma and Yuvaraj Singh picked 1 each.

Match Details:

Trophy: Kitply Cup - Tri-Series in Bangladesh
Match #: 2
Venue: Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur
Date: June 10, 2008
Teams: India and Pakistan
Captains: Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Shoaib Malik
Toss: India won the toss and decided to bat
Result: India won by 140 runs
Man of the Match: Virendra Sehwag of India
Score:

India 330 for 8 in 50 overs (G Gambhir 62, V Sehwag 89, Yuvaraj Singh 57, YK Pathan 3, RG Sharma 9, MS Dhoni 24, SK Raina 26, IK Pathan 18, P Kumar 6 not out, PP Chawla 0 not out, Extras--38 (b 5, lb 4, w 20, nb 9), Umar Gul 10-0-61-3, Sohail Tanvir 9.4-0-57-1, Wahab Riaz 9.2-0-86-2, Iftikhar Anjum 10-0-63-0, Shahid Afridi 10-0-52-2, Younis Khan 1-0-2-0) beat Pakistan 190 all out in 35.4 overs (Salman Butt 9, Kamran Akmal 38, Younis Khan 0, Mohammad Yousuf 11, Misbah-ul-Haq 24, Shoaib Malik 53, Shahid Afridi 23, Sohail Tanvir 6, Umar Gul 7, Iftikhar Anjum 16 not out, Wahab Riaz 0, Extras--3 (lb 3), P Kumar 9-1-53-4, I Sharma 6-0-28-1, IK Pathan 6-0-38-0, PP Chawla 8.4-0-40-4, Yuvaraj Singh 4-0-17-1, YK Pathan 2-0-11-0)

Click here to read the 1st match details: Pakistan v. Bangladesh

Indian Team Announced for Tri-Series and Asia Cup!

The Indian Team for the tour to Bangladesh to play the Tri-Series with Pakistan and the home team Bangladesh and also for the Asia Cup was announced today.

With Sachin Tendulkar annoucing himself not available due to groin injury, Ganguly and Dravid did not make a come back. They are still not part of the one day squad.

Yousuf Pathan and left arm spinner Ojha have been included and it is going to be a very good opportunity for them. The performance of these young players in the IPL should have given the confidence to the selectors.

The team:

Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt & wk), Yuvraj Singh, Robin Uthappa, Gauam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Yusuf Pathan, Irfan Pathan, Sreesanth, Ishant Sharma, Praveen Kumar, RP Singh, Piyush Chawla, Pragyan Ojha

Final 2: India Wins the CBS Cup! Aussies Stunned!

India wins the Commonwealth Bank Series for the first time! Australia has lost it for the 2nd consecutive time and they will not get a chance again because this is the last triangular series in Australia!

Chasing 259 runs at 5.18 runs per over, Australia had the equal chance of winning this game and moving to Adelaide. The Brisbane wicket was good and it the score was not that tough to reach especially for the world champions!

The chase did not start well. Gilchrist was caught behind in the 3rd ball of the first over. Once again Praveen Kumar provided the good start for the Indians. The poor shot selection of Ricky Ponting continued here as well. He tried to play his best short--the pull, but he didn't pick it at the right time and gave an easy catch to Yuvaraj at mid-on. He was out for 1 with the score board reading 8.

Clarke and Hayden were timing the ball well and picking ones' and twos'. The poor shot selection of Aussies continued when Clarke tried to pull Praveen Kumar, which didn't rise as he expected, but knocked the top of the off stump. He was out for 17 and the score was 32.

Once again Hayden and Symonds Company were under pressure to score runs without losing the wicket. Hayden, the in-form batsman was timing the ball well and hit lofted shots, stepped out of the crease and hit over mid-wicket for few fours. Symonds hit a huge six of Piyush Chawla and a four of Harbhajan. They were maintaining the score just under 5 runs per over picking singles and converting them to two's at times. Hayden scored another half-century and proved that he is a danger batsman who can turn the match towards Australia anytime.

When everyone was thinking that the match was going away from India, poor calling from Symonds, good fielding by Yuvaraj, nice collection of ball by Harbhajan ran out Hayden. Symonds defended the ball by playing forward and started for a single. When he realized Yuvaraj was approaching the ball faster than anticipated, Hayden was already half way through the pitch and couldn't back on time to save his wicket. Yuvaraj proved that he is one of the best fielder's in the world, picked the ball, saw that Hayden was half-way, threw the ball one bounce at the bowler's end where Harbhajan collected it neatly and completed the rest of the job. The big break-through came in the form of Hayden's run out. He was out for 55 off 68 balls with 7 fours. In the same over, Symonds was trapped leg before and Harbhajan dismissed him one more time and proved that he is on top.

The two blows put India back into the game. From 121 for 3, Aussies slipped to 123 for 5. But, Hussey and Hope built the innings for Australia with a crucial 76 run partnership for the 6th wicket. Hussey's running between the wickets was very good and Hopes also matched him well. They were hitting the ball well and when Hussey edged Sreesanth, the decision was referred to third umpire to ensure that the catch was cleanly taken by Dhoni. The decision was in favor of India and the score was 199 for 6 in 42 overs. Hopes was timing the ball and taking the match away from Indians. He swept Piyush Chawla and pulled Pathan.

The last 30 balls required 36 runs with 4 wickets in hand. The 46th over added 9 runs to Australia's total and the last 24 balls required 31. The next 24 balls requiring 31, Praveen Kumar started the over. The fourth ball of the over got a wicket in the form of Lee. He missed to read the slower ball when he tried to hit the ball across the line and was bowled for 7. Johnson joined Hopes and tried to take Australia to Adelaide. Johnson's nick of Harbhajan to a four of third man reduced some tension. With 21 runs requiring 12 balls, Sreesanth had Johnson nick the ball to Dhoni. With 8 balls and 20 runs, Hopes hit a flat six which added more tension to the Indian camp. With one more ball in Sreesanth's over, it was tension all over the ground and viewers. Sreesanth's full toss fetched one run to Hopes.

Dhoni had only two choices--Pathan or Piyush and he picked Pathan to bowl the last over. Australia needed 13 runs and India either requires 2 wickets or bowl the six balls by giving less than 12 runs. Pathan was picked to bowl the over and the first ball went for a single to third man which brought Bracken to strike. The 2nd ball got a wicket when Bracken tried to hit over long on, but the slower ball had him hit to mid on where Piyush Chawla held his nerve and took a shaky running catch. Australia lost the 9th wicket, but was sort of okay because it brought Hopes on strike. With 4 balls, 12 runs, Hopes sent the ball to long-off and the quick running brought 2 runs and also Hopes back on strike. Last 3 balls needed 10 runs, but this time, the full toss, Hopes hit the ball straight to the fielder in mid-on at the edge of the circle and the celebrations started! India won the cup for the first time! Pathan bowled the last over very well and took his 2 wickets.

Earlier, the Indian innings started once again with a good partnership of 94 runs for the first wicket. Sachin's innings was remarkable as he was driving and hitting Lee over point for four. Uthappa timed the ball well and was cautious of running as well. Sachin's groin injury was playing in the minds of the batsman. The drive in the air of Stuart Clark and then straight pull in the same over showed his control over the game. He reached his 50 in 70 balls. Soon, India lost Uthappa when he tried to hit the ball over long on but the edge went in the air to mid-off. He was out for 30 of 49 balls leaving India at 94 in the 21st over.

Gambhir was looking good and was maintaining the run rate along with Tendulkar. His over ambitious shot of hitting Michael Clarke for a six over mid on went straight to the fielder. He was out for 15 off 16 balls leaving India at 121 for 2 in 25.2 overs.

Yuvaraj started with a huge six of Michael Clarke played few good shots. His run a ball innings had 2 fours and 2 sixes. His six over the longest boundary in mid-wicket off Symonds was his best shot. But, in the same over, the short ball provoked him to hit similar shot which went straight to the fielder near the boundary line. He was out for 38 when India was going well at 175 in 35 overs. Tendulkar once again showed his disappointment over Yuvaraj's irresponsible shot.

Tendulkar when tried to place the ball to long-on and take a single, scooped the slower ball in the air, but beautiful diving catch by skipper Ponting sent him to the pavilion, 9 short of his 43rd ODI century. His wonderful 91 came from 121 balls with 7 fours. India playing well at 205 for 4 in 39.2 overs, it was a good chance for India to go beyond 280 runs on the board. But quick wickets of Sachin and Rohit Sharma put the brake in the Indian innings. Rohit was caught by Symonds--a straight forward catch at extra cover off Michael Clarke--his 3rd wicket.

It was left to Dhoni and Pathan to score some runs. Pathan scored 12 in 20 balls, with runs are not easily adding, Dhoni also got out when he tried to hit over long-on but only found the fielder. Harbhajan was LBW to Lee for 3. India was struggling at 240 for 7 in 48 overs--35 in 52 balls, Praveen Kumar was facing Lee. You could say that 3 fours of Lee's over turned the match and helped India to go past 250. Lee's short ball hit Praveen's arm guard and went for 4 in third-man, then he hit him over point, giving himself room for another 4. The single brought Harbhajan to strike, but he was trapped in front of the wicket. Piyush edged the next ball to third man boundary. The 49th over added 13 to the total and the last over was bowled by Bracken. He bowled well with a wicket and gave only 5 runs. India finished their innings with 258 for 9. Michael Clark and Bracken were the pick of the bowlers with 3 wickets each and Symonds was costly, ending with 1 for 27 in 3 overs.

Man of the Match was rightly given to Praveen Kumar for providing early break-throughs', taking key wickets. Thanks to Sachin for his important 91, Yuvaraj for his brilliant fielding that ran out Hayden.

Final Score:
India 258 for 9 in 50 overs (Uthappa 30, Sachin 91, Yuvaraj 38, Dhoni 36, Bracken 3 for 31, Michael Clarke 3 for 52) beat Australia 249 in 49.4 overs (Hayden 55, Symonds 42, Hussey 44, Hopes 63, Praveen Kumar 4 for 46, Sreesanth 2 for 43, Pathan 2 for 54)

Man of the Match: Praveen Kumar (India)
Man of the Series: Bracken (Australia)