2nd ODI: Aus v. Pak: Symonds leads Australian Victory to equal series1-1!

Andrew Symonds back in the squad for this Australian tour to UAE to play against Pakistan, picked two wickets and scored useful 58 in which he built 90 run parternship with skipper Clarke.

Pakistan batting first after winning the toss, played average cricket under the Friday crowd. Salman Butt scored 57 and Shahid Afridi scored 41. Hauritz picked 3 wickets for Australia.

Chasing 208, Hadding got out for 8 but Hopes and Watson added 76 for the 2nd wicket. Skipper Clarke played his role with an unbeaten 39.

Match # 2
Date: Friday April 24, 2009
Teams: Australia v. Pakistan
Captains: Michael Clarke and Younis Khan
Toss: Pakistan, elected to bat
Venue: Dubai Sports City Cricket Stadium
Result: Australia won by 6 wickets with 29 balls remaining
Series Result: 5 match series level at 1-1
Man of the Match: A Symonds off Australia

Pakistan Innings:

Batsman	How Out	Runs	Balls	4s	6s
S Butt	c Symonds b Hauritz	57	112	6	0
A Shehzad	Run Out (Laughlin/Haddin)	4	7	1	0
Younis Khan	c Haddin b Laughlin	28	34	5	0
S Malik	c Haddin b Hauritz	7	12	1	0
Misbah	c Hussey b Hauritz	12	22	1	0
S Afridi	c Haddin b Hopes	41	40	5	1
Kamran Akmal	c Hussey b Hopes	19	22	2	0
Umar Gul	c Hauritz b Symonds	10	13	1	0
S Akhtar	c M Clarke b Symonds	25	14	4	1
Iftikhar Anjum	Not Out	1	1	0	0
Saeed Ajmal	Run Out (M Clarke/Bracken)	0	2	0	0
Extras	(lb 2, nb 1)	3	-	-	-
Total	all out in 46.2 overs	207	-	-	-

Fall of Wickets: 1-5 (Ahmed Shehzad, 2.5 ov), 2-58 (Younis Khan, 16.1 ov), 3-71 (Shoaib Malik, 19.5 ov), 4-103 (Misbah-ul-Haq, 27.3 ov), 5-122 (Salman Butt, 33.3 ov), 6-161 (Kamran Akmal, 40.1 ov), 7-176 (Shahid Afridi, 42.3 ov), 8-206 (Umar Gul, 45.4 ov), 9-206 (Shoaib Akhtar, 45.5 ov), 10-207 (Saeed Ajmal, 46.2 ov)

Bowler	O	M	R	W
Bracken	8.2	1	24	0
Bollingers	10	1	26	0
Hopes	7	0	45	2
Hauritz	10	1	41	3
Laughlin	9	0	57	1
Symonds	2	0	12	2

Australia Innings:

Batsman	How Out	Runs	Balls	4s	6s
Haddin	c Ryder b Kallis	8	13	1	0
Hopes	Run Out	48	64	3	1
Watson	c Pankaj b Kumble	30	52	2	0
M Clarke	Not Out	39	72	3	0
A Symonds	Not Out	58	62	4	1
Ferguson	Not Out	10	11	1	0
Extras	(lb 4, w 8, nb 3)	15	-	-	-
Total	for 4 wkts in 45.1 overs	208	-	-	-

Fall of Wickets: 1-16 (Haddin, 3.5 ov), 2-93 (Watson, 20.6 ov), 3-93 (Hopes, 21.2 ov), 4-183 (Symonds, 39.6 ov)

Bowler	O	M	R	W
S Akhtar	7	1	32	0
Umar Gul	10	0	51	1
I Anjum	9	0	32	0
S Afridi	10	0	38	2
S Ajmal	7	0	37	1
S Malik	2.1	0	14	0

Sachin Celebrated 36th Birthday in SA!

Sachin celebrated his 36th birthday on April 24, 2009 in South Africa. He is staying in SA playing the second edition of the IPL.

He celebrated the birthday along with other cricketers in Mumbai Indians and other Indian crickerters.

Asked about his dream, he said jokingly, "You only dream when you are asleep." But then he added, "I want to win the World Cup for India."

The captain of the Mumbai Indians got a surprise from his team when he found that they had organized a surprise birthday party.

Speaking to reporters, the always humble Sachin said, "It is the good wishes and blessings that count a lot. My family is joining me tomorrow, so am really looking forward to it."

He further added, "I feel like 16. I think it's the good wishes and blessings that count. It's not about breaking records. It's about winning matches. It's a terrific feeling to win and that's what matters."

Australia Tour of Pakistan - Analysis and Scoreboard!

Click on the below links to read interesting anslysis, articles, and scoreboards of the Austrlian tour to Pakistan, played in neutral venue.

Schedule

Marsh Injured, North Gets a Chance!

1st ODI Result!

2nd ODI Result!

1st ODI: Aus v. Pak: Afridi demolishes Australia! Bowls Career Best 6 for 38!

In the first ODI, the inexperienced Austrlian side was completed defeated by the spin and turn of Afridi. He picked his career best figures of 6 for 38 in his 10 overs beating his previous record of 5 for 11 against Kenya.

He mixed his deliveries with leg spin and googlies which the Australians did not read at all.

Match # 1
Date: Wednesday April 22, 2009
Teams: Australia v. Pakistan
Captains: Michael Clarke and Younis Khan
Toss: Australia, elected to bat
Venue: Dubai Sports City Cricket Stadium
Result: Pakistan won by 4 wickets with 35 balls remaining
Series Result: Pakistan leading 5 match series 1-0
Man of the Match: Shaid Afridi off Pakistan

Australia Innings:

Batsman	How Out	Runs	Balls	4s	6s
Marsh	Run Out (Butt/N Jamshed)	16	27	1	0
Haddin	c Younis b Afridi	40	52	3	1
Watson	b Afridi	40	47	2	1
M Clarke	c K Akmal b S Ajmal	4	4	0	0
Symonds	c K Akmal b Afridi	2	5	0	0
Ferguson	c Misbah b Afridi	2	13	0	0
Hopes	Not Out	48	46	5	1
Hauritz	b S Ajmal	1	3	0	0
Bracken	b Afridi	1	9	0	0
S Clark	b Afridi	2	10	0	0
Hilfenhaus	b Umar Gul	4	17	0	0
Extras	(lb 1, w 7)	8	-	-	-
Total	all out in 38.5 overs	168	-	-	-

Fall of Wickets: 1-41 (Marsh, 8.6 ov), 2-95 (Haddin, 18.4 ov), 3-100 (Clarke, 19.6 ov), 4-107 (Symonds, 22.1 ov), 5-108 (Watson, 22.6 ov), 6-109 (Ferguson, 24.4 ov), 7-110 (Hauritz, 25.2 ov), 8-118 (Bracken, 28.4 ov), 9-122 (Clark, 30.5 ov), 10-168 (Hilfenhaus, 38.5 ov)

Bowler	O	M	R	W
Umar Gul	9.5	0	48	1
S Akhtar	6	0	35	0
I Anjum	2	0	18	0
Afridi	10	0	38	6
S Ajmal	10	1	19	2
S Malik	1	0	9	0

Pakistan Innings: (Target: 169 runs in 50 overs)

Batsman	How Out	Runs	Balls	4s	6s
S Butt	lbw b Hilfenhaus	5	10	1	0
K Akmal	c Haddin b S Clark	48	62	9	0
Younis Khan	c Bracken b Hopes	11	31	2	0
S Malik	c Haddin b Hopes	24	53	1	0
Misbah	Not Out	30	68	4	0
S Afridi	c Bracken b Hilfenhaus	24	16	5	0
N Jamshed	b Symonds	9	14	1	0
Umar Gul	Not Out	8	13	1	0
Extras	(lb 5, w 1, nb 6)	12	-	-	-
Total	for 6 wickets in 44.1 overs	171	-	-	-

Fall of Wickets: 1-5 (Salman Butt, 1.4 ov), 2-33 (Younis Khan, 10.2 ov), 3-81 (Kamran Akmal, 20.6 ov), 4-99 (Shoaib Malik, 29.3 ov), 5-138 (Shahid Afridi, 34.4 ov), 6-152 (Nasir Jamshed, 39.4 ov)

Bowler	O	M	R	W
Bracken	9.1	2	25	0
Hilfenhaus	10	3	42	2
Hopes	8	1	22	2
S Clark	8	1	32	1
Hauritz	6	0	27	0
Symonds	3	0	18	1

Marcus North Replaces Injured Shaun Marsh!

Shaun Marsh after injuring his left hamstring during the first ODI against Pakistain in UAE. He was running for a single and in the process of saving his wicket, he pulled his left hamstring while diving at the crease.

"Shaun has undergone scans this morning in Dubai which have shown a recurrence of the left hamstring injury he suffered during the Australian summer. The injury means Shaun is unavailable for selection in any of the remaining games in the United Arab Emirates and therefore a decision has been made to send him home immediately in order to begin his recovery."

North is currently in England as Hampshire's overseas player but will leave the current Championship match against Warwickshire and head to Dubai. This is a good opportunity Marcus North after his hundred in debut Test against South Africa.

Australia v. Pakistain in UAE - Schedule

Australia cancelled the tour to Pakistan citing security concerns. Both the teams agreed to play in the neutral venue and UAE was ready to host the game.

Australia scheduled to play 5 ODIs and a T20 in the UAE in April and May 2009. Ricky Ponting has been rested while Micheal Clark given the top position of leading the team.

Schedule:

1st ODI: Wed Apr 22: 11:00 GMT, 16:30 IST: Pakistan v. Australia in Dubai Sports City Cricket Stadium

2nd ODI: Fri Apr 22: 11:00 GMT, 16:30 IST: Pakistan v. Australia in Dubai Sports City Cricket Stadium

3rd ODI: Mon Apr 27: 11:00 GMT, 16:30 IST: Pakistan v. Australia in Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi

4th ODI: Fri May 1: 11:00 GMT, 16:30 IST: Pakistan v. Australia in Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi

5th ODI: Sun May 3: 11:00 GMT, 16:30 IST: Pakistan v. Australia in Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi

4th ODI: SA v. Aus: South Africa win Series, beat Australia by 61 Runs!

In the fourth ODI on April 13, 2009 at St. George's Park, Port Elizabeth, South Africa beat Australia by 61 runs and gained an unbeatable lead of 3-1 in the five match series. This also pushed Australia to the third position in the ICC ODI Ranking, the lowest by Australian team in the last five years.

Score: (Toss won by Australia)

South Africa 317 for 6 in 50 overs (Smith 20, Gibbs 110, Kallis 17, DeVilliers 84, A Morkel 4, Boucher 29 not out, Duminy 40, Extras--13 (lb 7, w 6), Bracken 1 for 64, Johnson 2 for 59, Hopes 1 for 57, Harwood 2 for 57, Hauritz 0 for 51, M Clarke 0 for 22) beat Australia 256 all out in 45.5 overs (Haddin 78, M Clarke 50, Ponting 53, Ferguson 3, M Hussey 2, D Hussey 20, Hopes 31, Johnson 5, Hauritz 3, Bracken 0 not out, Harwood 0, Extras--11 (lb 4, w 7), Steyn 4 for 44, Parnell 1 for 64, Kallis 0 for 25, A Morkel 1 for 25, Botha 1 for 48, Merwe 3 for 46)

Player of the Match: Gibbs of SA
Match Result: SA won by 61 runs
Series Result: SA lead 5 match series 3-1