WorldCupTwenty20.com

IPL Twenty20 - Indian Premier League

2008-04-05T00:25:00.002+05:30

Blog Review: IPL2008.com

It's a great blog for IPL. Complete team news, reviews, all IPL related videos etc.
They are promising to showcase Live Commentary and Video Highlights of all IPL matches.

I am supporting the Bangalore Royal Challengers though I feel the Deccan Chargers might win.

Subscribe to free IPL Sms alerts, sms Join Cricket to 567673434

India vs Pakistan - LIVE SCORES and LIVE COMMENTARY

2007-11-05T03:55:00.000+05:30

If you cannot see the Live Commentary below - Please CLICK HERE

Sri Lanka vs England (1st ODI) - Live Score and Live Commentary

2007-10-01T16:40:00.000+05:30

1st ODI - Sri Lanka vs England:

Pakistan vs South Africa (Test Match) - Live Scores and Commentary

2007-10-01T16:33:00.000+05:30

Pakistan vs South Africa
1st Test Match:

India vs Australia - Live Score and Commentary

2007-09-29T14:25:00.000+05:30

We'll be moving to a new domain name now that the World Cup Twenty20 is over. Currently we are busy with the design and other stuff but it's soon to be your destination for every cricket match!

Hope you enjoyed the Live Coverage of the 1st ODI between India and Australia at Bangalore.

Watch out for more!

Video Highlights of the Australian Innings:

The Demise of Football and Hockey?

2007-09-29T01:02:00.000+05:30

What does this picture signify? What does it mean to you?

To me it symbolises the death of other sport like Hockey and Football. This blog / site of mine got featured in Economic Times the other day.

I managed to get a lot of traffic over the course of this tournament and managed to make a decent amount of money too. But...

But I didn't start off this blog to promote the World Cup. Those of you who have followed this blog for the entire tournament might re-call the first post in which I have actually thrashed the game of Cricket. It was more of a taunt to the Indian cricket team.

But seriously now! Our football team won an international tournament sometime back - The Nehru Cup. Our hockey team won the Asia Cup - a feat our cricket team has not been able to achieve for over a decade. One didn't of course witness mass euphoria and hysteria after these triumphs. The State Governments didn't announce any cash rewards for these sporting ambassadors.

But a game in which we were thrashed a humiliated a couple of months ago. A World Cup which was over for India before the actual tournament even started...
A World Cup which shattered many a heart. A World Cup which resulted in many a burnt poster...
All was forgotten! All was forgiven! Cos' cricket is our religion and now Dhoni seems to be our God!

Where does this leave other sport? Hockey? Many can't even name a single hockey player of this decade except for Dhanraj Pillay! The same holds true for Football and Bhaichung Bhutia. Why aren't these games also supported? Why doesn't the youth from metros as well as small cities aspire to be the next Ronaldinho or Thierry Henry?

Vishwanathan Ananad is yet again to be crowned as the World Champion! But do you see millions of children in this country aspiring to become the next him? Do you see the next Tennis Grand Slam champions being born out of this country?

With a country of such massive population - something is definitely wrong! Is it jus Cricket which is holding our nation together? Do Hindus and Muslims of our country need to be instigated by a comment from Shoaib Malik to really express their Unity in Diversity?

Why can't the Government pledge better performance in each and ever field of sport? Why stick to a game which is played by just half a dozen countries? Are we scared?

Why did the Maharashtra Govt. have to announce Rs 10 Lakhs in cash award for Ajit Agarkar and Rohit Sharma? Are they trying to impress the cricket fan? Buy the cricket fans vote? Rs 20 Lakhs of tax-payers money being given to guys who've already been given a crore each!

Would love to hear all your views and opinions. Feel free to leave a comment.

Vijay Rath - Homecoming of the Champions INDIA

2007-09-26T13:55:00.001+05:30

Unbelievable scenes in Mumbai currently.

The victorious Indian Cricket Team landed at 8:30 in Mumbai and they are still on their way to Wankhede Stadium where they are going to be felicitated.

The 30 Km journey from the Airport to the stadium has taken 5 hours+ already. The entire team is aboard an Open-Aired Double Decker BEST Bus. Dancing and screaming away!

We'll have more pictures and videos up soon! In the mean while switch on any Indian News Channel!

Cheer the CHAMPIONS! Cheers to India!

WorldTwenty20 Championship – SPECIAL MOMENTS (Group Stage)

2007-09-26T11:39:00.000+05:30

Here are some special moments worth re-living from the Group Stage of the recently concluded Twenty20 World Cup.

Chris Gayle:

Chris Gayle got the tournament off to a rollicking start. He smashed the South African bowlers all over the park and went on the hit the first hundred in this format of the game in a mere 50 deliveries. Stunning innings studded with 10 sixes!

He got out at a crucial juncture and was the difference between the South Africans chasing 206 and 225+. His exit cost the Windies dear as they not only went on to lose the match but also lost momentum and crashed out of the tournament after defeat to the Bangladeshis.

Enjoy Chris Gayle’s innings here. Short video – 1 min 9 seconds. Definitely worth a watch:

Zimbabwe beat Australia:

World Champions Australia started off their Twenty20 Campaign in the worst possible way – a defeat to underdogs Zimbabwe and their progress to the Super 8’s was under serious doubt. The Australians were coming from a lengthy 4 month break and seriously looked rusty.

Gilchrist and Ponting didn’t seem to be convinced by the whole Twenty20 format and it was only towards the latter stages of the tournament that Gilchrist said that the more he witnessed Twenty20 cricket, the more he was enjoying it. More as a spectator than as a player!

The Australians went on to qualify for the Super 8 stage after beating England in the other Group encounter.

Re-live the Zimbabwean victory in the following video (1 min 49 seconds):

Bangladesh knock out the West Indies:

Just months after thrashing India and knocking them out of the One Day International World Cup in the Caribbean, the Bangladeshis pulled off yet another upset by knocking the wind out of a pretty strong West Indies squad.

They made the target of 165 seem like a cake walk. The deadly duo of Mohammad Ashraful and Aftab Ahmed smashed the West Indian bowlers and mixed it up with some stunningly audacious. Ashraful recorded what was then the fastest fifty in Twenty20 internationals, off a mere 20 balls. Aftab Ahmed added a brilliant unbeaten 62.

Enjoy some of their hitting in the video below:

Bangladesh thus progressed to the Super 8s, but they couldn’t pull off any major upset there.

Hope you enjoyed these moments! What was your favourite moment from the Group Stages? Wish to re-live any particular moment? Just let us know by leaving a comment here. We'll have more from the Super 8's soon.

Source of all images: CricInfo (Getty Images)

India vs Pakistan – The Perfect Final at the Wanderers

2007-09-25T15:32:00.000+05:30

If you are looking for Live Scores, Live Commentary or Video Highlights of the current India Pakistan series - Please CLICK HERE

‘And India are the World Twenty20 Champions’ I typed in my text editor. 54 runs were required of 24 balls with only 3 wickets remaining. Pathan had just cleaned up Arafat and things looked to be headed India’s way.

Or were they?
Misbah-ul-Haq had other things on his mind. Ravi Shastri kept repeating – ‘His brain is running like a computer!’

3 sixes in the next over of Harbhajan Singh and suddenly the target was pretty achievable.

2 more sixes by Sohail Tanveer of Sreesanth’s next over and I edited the line to – ‘India once again manages to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory’.

And then Sreesanth got Tanveer out in the next ball and once RP Singh got the wicket of Umar Gul it was 17 required of 7 balls. Once again I edited the text ‘India pull through in a pulsating fin…’, before I could complete the sentence Mohammad Asif had edged the last ball of the 19th over to the boundary.

13 of the last over. No one wanted Harbhajan to bowl the last over and Dhoni didn’t either. He tossed the ball once again to Joginder. Things were different this time around – There’s a huge difference between 22 of the last over and 13. Soon it was 12 of the last over – Joginder continued with his wide length. The next ball was similar wide of the off-stump and he was lucky to squeeze in a dot ball.

Oh my God! Another wide ball and this time a full-toss…Misbah thrashed it straight back over the bowlers head. The nation of a billion prayed that the long-off fielder would pull off a miraculous catch…but Alas! This wasn’t a Hindi movie.

6 runs required of 4 balls. India had lost. Misbah-ul-Haq had cemented his place in the team and had proved all his critics wrong who’d said he wasn’t worth Mohammad Yousuf’s place in the squad.

I’m sure this was running in his head. He’d thought the match had been won. He wanted to finish it off in style. A shot which Indians would first remember Zimbabwean Douglas Marrilier using to great effect against us.

Similar ball, wide outside the off-stump – Misbah-ul-Haq got too cheeky. A moment of madness. Uthappa had managed to win us a game in England with this audacious shot and Misbah tried to do the same. Once again a billion prayed that there was a fielder who’d be there to pouch the catch with glee and there sure was…

Sreesanth was there and the match was won – India was crowned as the first ever World Twenty20 Champions.

All I could say was – What a Game! Damn! What a Game!

Catch the Video Highlights of the game HERE.

INDIA - World Twenty20 CHAMPIONS: Some Special Moments (Videos)

2007-09-25T11:16:00.000+05:30

Here are some special moments of the Twenty20 World Cup. I'm sure you'll enjoy them!

Hayden b. Sreesanth (India vs Australia) - This proved to be the turning point of the game. Sreesanth gave lesser runs in the match against Australia than he did in his first over against Pakistan!

Harbhajan Dancing! - 20 required of 1 ball!

Indian bowling against South Africa - Our bowlers were simply awesome!

Yuvraj Singh: Six Sixes vs England!

INDIA - World Twenty20 CHAMPIONS (Photos)

2007-09-25T09:15:00.000+05:30

Well did it really happen? Did we actually win?
The Indian cricket fan has so gotten used to losing that winning hasn't sunk in yet. After a night of crazy partying we at WorldCupTwenty20.com are going to continue the celebrations all day.

Photographs, Videos, Statistics, Match Reviews etc etc...
Join us for all!

And yes! We are the CHAMPIONS!
Those born after the 1983 triumph can now re-call this day and narrate the story to their little ones. September 24, 2007 - The day we became Champions!

Enjoy these photos (Courtesy: Cricinfo) :

India vs Pakistan (FINAL) - VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS

2007-09-24T19:11:00.000+05:30

If you are looking for Live Scores, Live Commentary or Video Highlights of the current India Pakistan series - Please CLICK HERE

INDIA are the WORLD TWENTY20 Champions!

A game worthy of the final. India won but it was the excitement of Twenty20 Cricket which really won!

Enjoy the highlights:

Part 1 (Indian Innings):

Part 2 (Indian Innings):

Part 3 (Pakistani Innings):

Part 4 (Pakistani Innings):

FINAL OVER of the MATCH (It all came down to this):

Enjoy the moment! We are the CHAMPIONS!

Got a High Speed Connection? Here are longer version highlights...

Part 1 (9 mins 43 seconds):

Part 2 (9 mins 36 seconds):

INDIA are the WORLD TWENTY20 CHAMPIONS (Twenty20 Final)

2007-09-24T18:56:00.000+05:30

India are the World Twenty20 Champions!!!

What a game! What a game!

Damn!

What a game!

It's time to party! Match detail will be posted soon.

Highlights have already been posted!

Cheers,

Ekalavya Bhattacharya

(Admin, WorldCupTwenty20.com)

India vs Pakistan - LIVE SCORE and LIVE COMMENTARY

2007-09-24T17:05:00.000+05:30

If you are looking for Live Scores, Live Commentary or Video Highlights of the current India Pakistan series - Please CLICK HERE

Hope you enjoyed the LIVE Coverage of the Game here at WorldCupTwenty20.com.

The highlights of the game have been posted!

An amazing game which could have been won by either team. At the end it was the young Indian team lead superbly by MS Dhoni which came up trumps.

Complete scorecard will be posted here soon.

WorldTwenty20 Finals - CHAK DE INDIA!

2007-09-24T15:30:00.000+05:30

We’ve already covered the journey to the Semi-Finals for India.
See it HERE.

Things just got better after the amazing win against Australia.

We’ll put together a rocking package of videos and photographs along with lots of statistics after India wins the Finals today!

Latest news is that BCCI President Sharad Pawar as well as Mega Super Star Shahrukh Khan are going to be at Johannesburg to support India.

Here’s a video of India’s journey to the Finals:

Enjoy and Chak De India! Live Commentary and Scorecard would be up here soon.

Reminder –

INDIA vs PAKISTAN

Time: 1200 Hrs (GMT), 1730 Hrs (IST)

Venue: Wanderers, Johannesburg

More info about the Final can be found here.

India vs Pakistan – Down the Years (All World Cup Clashes - Videos)

2007-09-24T11:16:00.000+05:30

If you are looking for Live Scores, Live Commentary or Video Highlights of the current India Pakistan series - Please CLICK HERE

Here’s a statistic which every Pakistani cricket fan would want to change. Pakistan has never defeated India in any World Cup clash…

Let’s take a look down the years:

World Cup, 1992, Sydney
India won by 43 runs

This was the first World Cup encounter between India and Pakistan. The conditions were ideal for the Pakistani bowlers – lots of swing and seam movement. Indians overcame a pretty slow start and managed to put 216 on the board for the loss of 7 wickets. Highlight of the innings would be a fifty by Sachin Tendulkar. Pakistan started off well but once Tendulkar got the wicket of Aamer Sohail, the Pakistanis collapsed.

Pakistan had the last laugh by winning the World Cup!

(Couldn’t find a video of this match)

World Cup Quarter-Final, 1996, Bangalore
India won by 39 runs

This match is close to all the Indian fans. Venkatesh Prasad knocking off Sohail’s stumps after a verbal joust between the two is something no one will ever forget. Ajay Jadeja’s blazing innings of 45 from 25 balls that night would be perfect for even a Twenty20 clash. This match was also Miandad’s last international game.

India went on to lose in the Semi-Finals at Eden Gardens to Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka beat the Aussies in the Finals at Lahore.

World Cup, 4th Super Sixes Match, 1999, Manchester
India won by 47 runs

The Kargil battle was on. Fears were raised to a great levels and security was incredibly intense. Against that backdrop, fans of both sides came together in tumult to cheer their heroes on. There was much flag-waving, whistle-blowing and drum-beating, creating a passionate atmosphere. India managed to put only 227 on the board.

But it was Venkatesh Prasad (Who I think got his first Man of the Match award in the match?) who came to the party. He finished with 5 for 27 and his victims include: Salim Malik, Saeed Anwar, Moin Khan, Inzamam-ul-Haq and Wasim Akram.

Pakistan went on to qualify for the Finals where they lost to Australia.

World Cup 2003, Centurion
India won by six wickets

Saeed Anwar has always had a soft corner for the Indian attack! He guided Pakistan to a pretty commanding total of 273. But it was Tendulkar who tore into the Pakistanis – a brilliant 98 dismantled the bowling attack. A 102-run partnership with Mohammad Kaif helped India to a 6 wicker victory with over 4 overs to spare.

India went on to qualify for the Finals where they were beaten by Australia.

ICC World Twenty20, 2007, Group D, Durban
Match tied, India won on bowl-out

Need I say more about this match?

Here’s the bowl-out.

Video Highlights of the match can be found HERE.

ICC World Twenty20, 2007, FINALS, Johannesburg
India beat Pakistan by 5 runs

What a match! And India triumph once again. Pakistan will have to wait for the next World Cup to stand a chance of beating the Indians. A game which was definitely worth of being the final match of a great tournament.

CLICK HERE to view highlights of this match.

This post by me has been inspired from an article on CricInfo.

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Journey to the final: PAKSITAN

2007-09-24T11:07:00.000+05:30

No one expected Pakistan’s journey to the final to be this smooth. They’ve not really lost a game yet – the game against India will show up as a Tie for the records and only the brackets would indicate that India would the Bowl-Out.

Pakistan have looked shaky in almost each and every game except for the Semi-Finals against New Zealand. Perhaps they are peaking at the right time?

So who are the players who have been responsible for Pakistan’s progress to the final?

Shoaib Malik: Malik started off his career as an off-spinner and many touted him to be the next Saqlain Mushtaq. But he had to face many chucking allegations and soon transformed into an exceptional middle-order batsman. It all started at Sharjah where he was promoted up the batting order (Pinch Hitter in those days) and rather than slamming the ball around the park, he stroked his way to a century. He repeated the act in a game which followed and soon Malik commanded his place in the squad just for this batting. His elevation to the role of Captain seems to have done good for his confidence and he had lead the squad from the front – he’s the second highest run-getter of the competition and most of the runs have come when the team has been in crisis.

Misbah-ul-Haq: 33 year old Misbah-ul-Haq was the one responsible for keeping Mohd Yousuf out of the squad. Many raised their eye brows at this decision but he has let his bat do the talking and proved to be the backbone of Pakistan’s batting in this Twenty20 World Cup.

Shahid Afridi: Though we’ve not seen sixes flowing from Afridi’s bat it’s been his bowling which sees him currently top the Player of the Tournament charts. With 12 wickets he’s the highest wicket taker of this World Cup. Afridi’s bowling slow, giving the ball some loop and mixing it up with his faster ones.

Fast Bowlers – Umar Gul, Mohd Asif, Sohail Tanveer:
Umar Gul (10 wickets) and Mohammad Asif (9 wickets) have been persistent and have stuck to the right line through the tournament. The unorthodox Sohail Tanveer (5 wickets) has surprised the batsmen with his nippy pace. Together the trio have ensured that no opposition gets off to a good start.

Semi-Final: Pakistan defeated New Zealand by 6 wickets

Chasing a target of 144, the openers Mohd. Hafeez and Imran Nazir got Paksitan off to a blistering start and added 60 runs by the 7th over. The credit of the victory should mainly go to the Pakistani bowlers. They did an exceptional job of limiting the Kiwis to a score of 143 in the allotted 20 overs. Umar Gul was the star taking 3 wickets for 15 runs in his 4 overs.

Video Highlights - Match Details - Scorecard

Super 8 (Group F) – Pakistan defeat Bangladesh by 4 wickets

Pakistan won this match in pretty unconvincing fashion, but they did manage to top their Super 8 group with this victory. The batting failed once again and the top-order could prove to be their weakest link against India or perhaps it’s about time they came good?

Video Highlights - Match Details - Scorecard

Super 8 (Group F) – Pakistan defeat Australia by 6 wickets

Pakistan bowled exceptionally well to restrict Australia to just 164 in their 20 overs. At one stage it looked like the Australian could easily breach the 200 mark. The batting of Pakistan disappointed once again and it was only a brilliant 119-run partnership between Shoaib Malik and Misbah-ul-Haq which saw the Pakistanis home.

Video Highlights - Match Details - Scorecard

Super 8 (Group F) – Pakistan defeat Sri Lanka by 33 runs

The Lankans were undefeated at this stage and looked like strong favourites to go all the way and win the tournament. The Pakistanis had something else in their minds.

Put in to bat at one stage Pakistan were reduced to 33-3 and only a brilliant 101-run fourth wicket partnership between Shoaib Malik and Younis Khan ensured that Pakistan reached a pretty commanding total of 189.

Video Highlights - Match Details - Scorecard

Group D - India vs Pakistan – Match Tied (India wins bowl out 3-0)

A real topsy-turvy match. Pakistan were in the box seat and then let India get away towards the end of the innings and put up some runs on the board. Pakistan began strongly but then seemingly threw the game away after a mid-innings collapse. When the game was almost over they made a stunning comeback and looked to have won the game when they needed only 1 run off the last 2 balls. As fate would have it, the match ended in a Tie and we all got to witness a Bowl-Out. India won the bowl-out pretty comfortably 3-0.

Video Highlights - Match Details - Scorecard

Group D - Pakistan defeat Scotland by 51 runs.

The way this match started no one would have thought Pakistan would progress this far into the tournament. Both the openers fell early and the run-rate barely crossed the 6 per over mark in the first 8 overs. Patchy performance by them but it was enough to ensure a comfortable victory at the end.

Video Highlights - Match Details - Scorecard

Here's a video for the Pakistani Fans to enjoy:

Will be adding other match details soon.

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Twenty20 World Cup FINAL – India vs Pakistan

2007-09-23T15:43:00.000+05:30

On September 20th before the India vs South Africa match I had enquired…

“Too early to flirt with the thoughts of an India vs Pakistan final?”

Why were India and Pakistan in the same group for this World Cup?
2 cricket crazy nations! The ICC couldn’t afford to see both of them getting knocked out in the first group stage of a World Cup again. That would again mean huge losses from income via ticketing and television ads etc. Pairing them together would guarantee that at least one team progressed.

Well call it destiny, but the moment the Group D match between India and Pakistan finished as a tie and India won the bowl-out…
…one did get a feeling as if this wasn’t over yet.

On Monday, 24th September, 2007 – India and Pakistan will face each other once more and this time for the title of ICC Twenty20 World Champions!

Venue: Wanderers, Johannesburg

Teams: India and Pakistan

Time: 5:30 PM (IST) 12:00 PM (GMT)

Live Commentary and Live Scores would be available here and we’ll also try to be the first ones to get you the Highlights of the game.

It’s a dream final. Marketers are going to be happy. Media is already over-joyed. TRP ratings of News Channels in India are going to sky-rocket. Newspapers are going to get record sales and are already busy sealing multi-million deals for Ad-slots on the Sport Section of the 25th September issue.

Pepsi is getting ready to start yet another blue billion campaign. Adidas would start selling the TShirts soon and I’m sure Nike would have another ad campaign up their sleeves too. Reebok would benefit the most having Yuvraj and Dhoni as their brand ambassadors. Razors, Health Shake, Hair Cream, Bikes, Engine Lubricants, Biscuits, Petroleum products…get ready to face a deluge of ads in the upcoming weeks.

But at the end of the day – Cricket is our religion and the best performing cricketer happens to be our ephemeral God!

Chak De India! Let’s hope for a victory….

Video Highlights - India vs Australia (Twenty20 World Cup Semi-Finals)

2007-09-23T01:12:00.000+05:30

(You might have landed here looking for Video Highlights of the INDIA vs PAKISTAN Final? Well CLICK HERE in that case)

India beat Australia in a thrilling encounter at Kingsmead, Durban. Chasing an imposing target of 189, the Aussies were almost home before Indians fought back extremely well in the final few overs. Indians won by 15 runs.

Sit Back and Enjoy the Video Highlights:

Part 1 (Indian Batting):

Part 2 (Indian Batting):

Part 3 (Australian Batting):

Part 4 (Australian Batting):

Longer versions of highlights:
Part 1 (India Batting) : 9 mins 55 sec - WATCH
Part 2 (Australia Batting): 8 mins 22 sec - WATCH

India beat Australia. Enter the Finals of the ICC Twenty20 World Cup

2007-09-22T21:27:00.000+05:30

'How much do you think the Aussies will make?' asked my Dad after Yuvraj and Dhoni helped India post 188.

'I reckon they'll get close - around 175 perhaps' was my reply.

With 4 overs to go and 40 odd runs to get - I'd pretty much lost all hope. But this was a new Indian squad. One which knows how to win!India beat Australia by 15 runs in the second Semi-Final at Kingsmead, Durban. They will now take on Pakistan in the finals.

Things didn’t get off to the best of starts. Indians were at 48-2 after 9 overs and the pitch was supposedly as good as the one used for the India-England match. In walked Yuvraj Singh and slammed Brett Lee for the first of his sixes. Uthappa soon joined in and the fireworks began. The duo added 84 in 39 balls! Uthappa smashed 3 sixes too before he was run out by some brilliant work by Andrew Symonds.

In walked captain MS Dhoni and the flow of runs continued. Yuvraj finally fell to Michael Clarke after going for one six too many. But it was an awesome innings - 70 runs of balls! Can’t get much better than that.

Australians started off cautiously but ensured they didn’t lose too many wickets. Gilchrist had his middle stump knocked off by a fiery Sreesanth who was actually in sterling bowling rhythm! His jestering was in rhythm as always, tending to go over the top most of the times.

Symonds and Hayden almost took the game away from the Indians. Definitely two of the biggest hitters in International Crickets, the duo plundered 18 runs of Joginder Sharma’s first over and then proceeded to slam 20 runs of Sehwag’s one and only over.

The game took a crucial turn when Dhoni brought back Sreesanth to bowl the 15th over of the innings and it paid off instantly as Hayden had his off-stump uprooted. The match was still within Australia’s grasp – 40 odd required in 4 overs. Dhoni took some calculated risks. He decided to bowl out his strike bowlers Pathan, Harbhajan and RP Singh. Pathan got Symonds out but was still smacked for a six by Hussey which leveled out the over. The next over was a do-or-die situation – perhaps the most important of the match. A good over for either team could seal the match for them and Harbhajan was up to the task. A brilliant over which included the wicket of Michael Clark.

RP Singh was bowling the 19th over and had to ensure that Aussies didn’t have it easy against Joginder Sharma in the last over. RP Singh conceded just 5 and the risk seemed to have paid off. Australia now needed 22 of the last over.

Possible but not probable – a Sidhuism which was apt for the moment.

Joginder kept his cool or rather the Aussies lost theirs. Soon it was all over and the boys in blue in were celebrating their third consecutive victory at Durban. England – the most experienced Twenty20 squad, South Africa – the undefeated hosts and the World Champions – Australia. Impressive haul!

Video Highlights have been posted.

Stay tuned for lots more statistics, videos, pictures etc leading up the India – Pakistan Final at Jo’burg tomorrow.

Video Highlights - Pakistan vs New Zealand (Semi-Final)

2007-09-22T20:31:00.000+05:30

Pakistan cruised to a 6 wicket victory against New Zealand in the first Semi-Finals of the ICC Twenty20 World Cup at Capetown.

Here are some short video highlights of the match:

New Zealand Innings (Part 1):

New Zealand Innings (Part 2):

Pakistan Innings (Part 1):

Pakistan Innings (Part 2):

Longer versions of highlights:
Part 1 (New Zealand Batting) : 9 mins 03 sec - WATCH
Part 2 (Pakistan Batting): 9 mins 19 sec - WATCH

Pakistan beat New Zealand (ICC World Twenty20 - Semi Finals)

2007-09-22T19:44:00.001+05:30

Pakistan beat New Zealand by 6 wickets in the first ICC Twenty20 World Cup Semi-Final at Cape Town and will now face arch-rivals India in the finals.

Some of you might re-call that I backed this Pakistani team to perform well and reach the finals. They dropped big names – Razzaq and Mohd. Yousuf. Abdul Razzaq had been a star performer for Pakistan for the last 8 years and is definitely one of the biggest hitters of the cricket ball apart from being a good bowler. Mohd. Yousuf is undoubtedly the best Pakistani batsman this decade.

Even Shoaib Akhtar missed the bus to South Africa after he was thrown out of the team for disciplinary reasons.

But the young Pakistani team has responded well and apart from a narrow loss in the Group stage to India via a bowl-out they’ve done very well, beating World Champions Australia on their way to the Semi-Finals.

Chasing a target of 144, the openers Mohd. Hafeez and Imran Nazir got Paksitan off to a blistering start and added 60 runs by the 7th over. They were helped by the Kiwi fielders who had a rather miserable day on the field. Even though Younis Khan and Shahid Afridi failed to fire, captain Shoaib Malik and Misbah-Ul-Haq guided the Paksitanis to a comfortable victory with an over to spare.

The credit of the victory should go to the Pakistani bowlers who did an exceptional job of limiting the Kiwis to a score of 143 in the allotted 20 overs. Umar Gul was the star taking 3 wickets for 15 runs in his 4 overs. The ever dependable middle order of New Zealand failed to fire as Oram, McMillan and Styris all fell cheaply.

Thus the Black Caps ended yet another major tournament on a disappointing note and like South Africa they too would love to get the label of ‘big game chokers’ off themselves sooner rather than later.

India’s journey to the Semi-Finals of the Twenty20 World Cup

2007-09-22T09:25:00.000+05:30

India have pleasantly surprised me by their performance in the Tweny20 World Cup. A squad lacking the big names has gelled together and put up some sterling performances – beating 2 of the most experiences Twenty20 Squads in the World.

India had played just one Twenty20 international before this tournament. It was against South Africa over a year back. We’d almost faltered chasing 127 and it was Dinesh Karthik who guided us to a nail-biting narrow win.

India didn’t have the best of starts to this World Cup either. The match against the minnows – Scotland – was washed out and we had to split points with them. We were then bundled out for around 140 against the Pakistanis and almost lost the game before winning unconvincingly via the Bowl Out.

Re-Live the India vs Pakistan group match – Click Here to watch the Highlights.

Well we managed to enter the Super 8s and began pretty well against the Kiwis. But a pathetic bowling display in the final few overs let the Black Caps off the hook and they reached an imposing total of 190. Well any total can be chased down in this version of the game and based on that – the deadly Delhi Duo of Gambhir and Sehwag gave India a rollicking start. They put on around 70 in barely 6 overs! But what ensued was something the Indian fans have gotten simply too used to. We once again managed to lose a game which was almost won.

Watch the highlights of the India vs New Zealand game HERE.

South Africa’s victory against the Black Caps meant that India had to win their remaining 2 matches and that too we had to win them convincingly. In the mean while Dravid resigned from ODI and Test captaincy and the timing couldn’t have been worse. But this seemed to gel the team. Sehwag had to prove to the selectors that he deserved to be in the squad. Gambhir and Uthappa wanted to prove that they were good enough replacements for Sehwag, Ganguly or Tendulkar. The bowlers – Pathan and Harbhajan too had a lot to prove as they were making their comebacks. Yuvraj Singh – many assumed would have been the next captain and he too wanted to send the selection committee a strong message.

These all proved to be an amalgamation of catalysts which ensured we managed to beat England and stayed alive in the tournament. Sehwag and Gambhir blasted 50s and Yuvraj blasted into the record books. The bowlers disappointed but they did enough to pick up the win.

Watch the Six Sixes of Yuvraj Singh HERE.

Watch India vs England Match Highlights - CLICK HERE.

The host nation South Africa were next. They had not lost a single game in the tournament and pretty much looked like the favourites to not only win the game but also the tournament. After a pretty pathetic start – India looked to be going home. But that was not to be. This is a new squad, a squad infused with youth and passion – New comer Rohit Sharma played an important innings in his first game for the country and he too sent out a message not only to the selectors but also to the others like Mohd Kaif and Suresh Raina who are eyeing a return to the middle order. Dhoni played a captain’s knock and this meant that we had at least a decent total on the board.

The bowlers finally came to the party and they did it in style. Not only did we win the game and top the group but we also knocked out South Africa from the tournament.

Watch the Video Highlights of India vs South Africa - CLICK HERE.

Next up – the Aussies! A country which has managed to beat us over and over again. But they are without their influential skipper Ricky Ponting – someone who relishes the Indian bowling attack. Can we manage a win? Most of you think we can. The poll on this site puts Indians as over-whelming favourites! But will they be able to live up to the expectations of the billion cricket fans back home?

Chak De India!

ICC World Cup Twenty20 – SEMI-FINALS

2007-09-21T01:36:00.000+05:30

Semi-Final 1:

New Zealand vs Pakistan

Date: September 22

Time: 4:30 PM (IST), 11:00 AM (GMT)

Venue: Newlands, Cape Town

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Semi-Final 2:

India vs Australia

Date: September 22

Time: 9:30 PM (IST), 4:00 PM (GMT)

Venue: Kingsmead, Durban

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Video Highlights - India vs South Africa (Twenty20 World Cup)

2007-09-21T01:14:00.000+05:30

(You might have landed here looking for Video Highlights of the INDIA vs PAKISTAN Final? Well CLICK HERE in that case)

India beat South Africa in a crunch tie at Kingsmead, Durban.

Enjoy the Highlights!

Indian Innings:

South African Innings:

Part 1:

Part 2:

India beat South Africa. Top Group E

2007-09-21T00:43:00.000+05:30

India beat South Africa in a crucial Group E Super Eight encounter in Kingsmead, Durban. They did it in style by not only winning the match and topping the group but also knocked out South Africa from the tournament.

India didn’t get off to the best of starts and received their first set-back before the match even started. The star performer against England – Yuvraj Singh – was absent from the starting line-up because of an elbow injury.

Indians slumped to 33-3 in the 5th over and soon it was 61-4 after 10 overs. This is when Mumbai youngster Rohit Sharma and the new Indian ODI Captain Dhoni got together and staged a fight-back with some sensible batting. The duo added 85 with Rohit Sharma slamming a six of the last ball to reach his 50. Dhoni stroked 45 very valuable runs.

South Africa were off to a disastrous start. Needing 154 to win the match, 141 to lose and still top the group and 126 to qualify for the Semi-Finals – the host nation simply fell apart and could manage only 116.

Half the line-up was back with the score on 31. This included some sharp swing bowling from RP Singh and some inspiring fielding performances by the young Indian squad. Dinesh Karthik’s catch of Graeme Smith and Rohit Sharma’s brilliant run-out of Kemp were definitely the highlights.

Boucher and Morkel staged a small fight-back but it all fell apart after Sreesanth bowled Boucher off an inside edge.

The hosts who had not lost a single game in this tournament were stunned and their run of meek performances in crucial matches of big tournaments continues. This was the same ground in which they were ousted off the 2003 World Cup.

Video Highlights have been posted.

Indians now stay on at Durban and take on Australia in the Semi-Finals on 22nd September.

Video Highlights - Pakistan beat Bangladesh. Top Group F

2007-09-20T22:58:00.000+05:30

Pakistan crawled to a four-wicket win over Bangladesh in their final Super Eights fixture at Newlands in Cape Town on Thursday to top Group F en route to the semi-finals of the ICC World Twenty20.

Shoaib Malik won the toss and put Bangladesh in to bat. The Bangladeshis began well but kept losing wickets at regular wickets and collapsed to 140 all out before the end of 20 overs. 19-year old Junaid Siddique was the only one who shone for the Bangladeshis. Playing his first game of the tournament Siddique struck an impressive 71.

Pakistan were provided a rollicking start from opener Shahid Afridi, who was promoted to open the batting for the first time in the tournament. He bludgeoned 39 from just 15 balls. The Pakistani batsman failed to impress once again and at one stage were reduced to 119 for 6.
Victory insured that Pakistan top Group F and Australia were the second team to qualify from this group for the Semi-Finals.

Enjoy the Video Highlights:

Part 1:

Part 2:

Part 3:

The Pakistanis now take on New Zealand at Newlands, Capetown on 22nd September. A win against the Kiwis might set up a possible mouth-watering India vs Pakistan final clash.

Australia beat Sri Lanka (Video Highlights)

2007-09-20T15:00:00.000+05:30

In a crucial Group F Super Eight encounter at the Newlands in Cape Town, the Aussies gunned down the Lankans for a paltry 101 and then chased it down in a mere 10 overs without losing a single wicket.

Australia won the toss and elected to bowl first and it has definitely turned out to be the right decision. Stuart Clark took 4 wickets while Brett Lee and Bracken wiped out the top-order with 2 wickets each. Only 1 six was hit in the entire Sri Lankan innings.

The strong Lankan batting line-up crumbled and apart from Sangakarra (22 runs), none of the other Top 6 batsmen could even reach double figures.

Australia had no trouble in overhauling the target of 102 runs. They reached the target with nearly 10 overs to spare as Hayden and Gilchrist smashed the ball around to all parts of Newlands.

Hayden remained unbeaten on 58 off 38 balls. His innings was studded with seven boundaries and two sixes. Stand-in skipper Gilchrist scored 31 off 24 balls (4 fours).

Enjoy the Video Highlights:

Part 1:

Part 2:

The mighty Aussies now take on the red-hot Indians in the Semi-Finals. Indians would definitely love to avenge the World Cup 2003 Final defeat.

Today’s Matches: India vs South Africa, Australia vs Sri Lanka, Bangladesh vs Pakistan

2007-09-20T12:11:00.000+05:30

It’s the final day of the Super Eights and there’s still a lot to play for.

First off there’s Australia vs Sri Lanka in a Group F clash. It’s pretty much a Quarter-Final as the winner will proceed to the Semi Finals. Lankans would love to avenge the defeat they suffered here in the 2003 World Cup Semis and also the recent defeat in the 2007 World Cup Finals.

Aussies would be without their skipper Ricky Ponting whose suffered from an Hamstring injury.

Take the poll

My prediction would be Sri Lanka beating the Aussies and proceeding to the Semis where they might face India or New Zealand or perhaps South Africa?

That’s how close things are in Group E.

Current Net Run Rate standings:

South Africa: 4 Points (2 Wins)
NRR: 0.77

New Zealand: 4 Points (2 Wins, 1 Loss)
NRR: 0.05

India: 2 Points (1 Win, 1 Loss)
NRR: 0.20

Well as you can see, the Indian NRR is higher than New Zealand. A victory today against South Africa and we are definitely through to the Semi Finals.

New Zealand can just wait and watch. If India beat South Africa narrowly then the Kiwis would be going home. If India beat South Africa comprehensively then the Kiwis still stand a chance. Indians can even top the group in such a scenario!

But to cut the long story short – India need to win. That’s the bottom-line.

Take the poll

Too early to flirt with the thoughts of an India vs Pakistan final?

In another game – Pakistan takes on Bangladesh. A win would guarantee that the Pakistanis top the Group. Bangladesh are already out of the cup but they sure wouldn’t mind a consolatory victory like the one they achieved against Pakistan in the 1999 World Cup.

Video Highlights - India vs England (Group E - Super 8)

2007-09-20T08:07:00.000+05:30

India beat England by 18 runs last night in a Group E Super Eight fixture at Kingsmead, Durban.
Batting first the openers put up a brilliant opening partnership of 136 runs. Yuvraj Singh sizzled in the end and put up a scintillating display of power hitting. England did pretty well to reach a total of 200 while chasing.

Enjoy the Match Highlights:

Part 1:

Part 2:

Part 3:

India beat England (Super 8: Group E)

2007-09-20T00:59:00.000+05:30

India beat England by 18 runs in a crucial Group E Super Eight encounter at Kingsmead, Durban.

Yuvraj Singh smashed six sixes in an over for the first time in Twenty20 cricket as India piled on 218 in their 20 overs. Batting first, India were provided a very strong start by the deadly Delhi duo of Gautam Gambhir (58 runs in 41 balls) and Virender Sehwag (68 in 52 balls). Together they put on 136 runs in less than 15 overs.

This set the platform for Yuvraj Singh to blast away – though Andrew Flintoff did add the fuel to the pyrothenics. Yuvraj and Flintoff got into a verbal joust just before the fateful Stuart Broad over.

The ball was dispatched to all parts of the ground with sheer disdain and imperious ease. 36 came of the over as the half dozen sixes eclipsed the pain of Dmitri Mascarenhas massacre at the Oval a couple of weeks back.

England batted for pride and they did extremely well to reach 200. The only difference between the teams was the 19th over of the Indian innings!

India’s bowling lacked bite as newcomer Joginder Sharma went for 57 runs of his 4 overs. They really need to sort out their bowling worries ahead of today’s clash against South Africa.

Highlights have been posted.

India are above New Zealand on Net Run Rate and a victory tonight against the host nation South Africa would seal India’s place in the Semi-Finals.

India vs England - Yuvraj Hits 6 sixes in an over (Video)

2007-09-19T22:56:00.000+05:30

[UPDATE: New video added]

India have put 218 on the board and even though the openers gave India an amazing start it was Yuvraj who stole the thunder!

Six sixes in an over of Broad and it has pretty much immortalized him in Twenty20 history. His fifty came off just 12 balls!

Sit back in awe and just enjoy the strokes:

Cheers!

South Africa beat New Zealand (Super 8: Group E)

2007-09-19T20:28:00.000+05:30

South Africa have beaten New Zealand by 6 wickets in a Group E Super Eights fixture. Justin Kemp smashed New Zealand to their first defeat of the ICC Twenty20 World Championship at Kingsmead, Durban.

Kemp’s knock of 89 (not out) off 56 balls contained 6 huge sixes and snatched the match from the Kiwis. The 48 run partnership between Pollock and Kemp came off just 23 balls and it was enough to ensure that qualification for the Semis is going to go down the wire.

Earlier, the South African bowlers did well to restrict the Kiwis to a score of 153-8 especially after the openers had provided a solid start. Morne Morkel was the pick of the bowlers and snagged 4 wickets while conceding just 17 runs in his 4 overs.

The middle order faltered and it was left to Craig McMillan to continue his fine form in the tournament and add some respectability to the Kiwi scorecard. He played a brisk knock of 48 in 24 balls.

South Africa didn’t get off to the best of starts and lost 3 early wickets before Kemp stepped in and took the game away.

South Africa face India today in a crucial match for the Indians.

Today’s Matches: South Africa vs New Zealand, India vs England

2007-09-19T11:32:00.000+05:30

Crunch time in the Super 8!

First off, New Zealand takes on South Africa in a Group E fixture. The Kiwis are virtually guaranteed of a slot in the Semi-Finals.

Unless of course – India thrash England and also beat South Africa and South Africa totally humble the Kiwis. Then it will come down to Net Run Rate, as all the 3 teams could be tied on 2 victories.

South African would be commanding massive support and the crowd would definitely be behind them. After heart-break in the 2003 World Cup at South Africa, many see this tournament as redemption time.

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Indians would want Kiwis to continue their good-form and beat the South Africans.

Well it’s almost Do-or-Die for India today against England at Kingsmead, Durban. Millions and millions of Indians would be sacrificing some sleep and stay awake and see the match tonight – and I seriously hope they are not left disappointed.

&amp;amp;lt;a href="http://polls.blogflux.com/poll-16941.html"&amp;amp;gt;Take the poll&amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;br /&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;br /&amp;amp;gt;

Oh by the way – we can lose today and still hope of qualifying for the Semi-Finals!
How? We narrowly lose to England today and then crush South Africa tomorrow and also hope that New Zealand comprehensively beat South Africa today. Then again it will come down to Net Run Rate – with India, England and South Africa all tied on 1 victory.

Pretty complicated eh?

If South Africa win today and England upset India – then it’s Ok Tata Bye Bye for MS Dhoni and his boys.

Video Highlights – Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh (Twenty20 World Cup – Super 8)

2007-09-19T11:20:00.000+05:30

Bangladesh

blew up their best chance to cause yet another upset after they faltered miserably chasing a modest Lankan score of 147.

The Bangladeshis bowled remarkably well to restrict a very strong Sri Lankan batting line-up to less than the 150 mark. Despite chasing an achievable total, Bangladesh were bundled out for a mere 83 runs. They don’t look like a shade of the squad which comprehensively beat the West Indies.

Here are the Video Highlights of the Match:

Part 1:

Part 2:

Bangladesh are now out of the ICC World Twenty20 Championships and this leaves Sri Lanka and Australia to fight it out amongst themselves for the remaining semi-final slot from Group F.

Video Highlights - Pakistan vs Australia (Twenty20 World Cup - Super 8)

2007-09-19T10:56:00.000+05:30

Pakistan stunned World Champions Australia in a Group F Super Eights encounter yesterday by 6 wickets.

Here are the Video Highlights of the match:

Part 1:

Part 2:

Pakistan beat Australia (Twenty20 World Cup Super 8 - Group F)

2007-09-19T10:35:00.000+05:30

Pakistan beat Australia (Just as predicted!) by 6 wickets in a Group F Super Eights encounter at the Wanderers in Johannesburg on Tuesday.

Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik once again played a captains knock and struck his second consecutive half-century of the Super Eights. He along with Misbah-ul-Haq (66 not out and Man of the Match) took the game away from the Australians by putting up a brilliant 119-run stand.

Earlier in the day Pakistan bowled exceptionally well to restrict Australia to just 164 in their 20 overs. The last 4 overs yielded just around 30 runs and this proved to be the crucial factor of the match. Sohail Tanvir (3-31) impressed all with his left-handed nippy fast bowling.

Australia began the defense of their modest total pretty well and at one stage had reduced the Pakistanis to 46-4 before the duo of Malik and Misbah guided them to victory.

Having already beaten Sri Lanka in the Super Eights, Pakistan are now assured of a spot in the semi-finals. The Australia vs Sri Lanka game is going to decide the second team to qualify for the Semi-Finals from this group.

Video Highlights of the match will be posted soon.

Video Highlights - England vs New Zealand (Twenty20 World Cup - Super 8)

2007-09-19T10:29:00.000+05:30

New Zealand beat England by 5 runs yesterday in a Group E Super 8 fixture.

Here are the Video Highlights of the Match:

Part 1:

Part 2:

New Zealand beat England (Twenty20 World Cup - Super 8)

2007-09-18T17:08:00.000+05:30

New Zealand squeezed out a second consecutive close victory in the Super 8 stage of the Twenty20 World Cup. At one stage it looked like the English were on their way to a comfortable victory pretty much like the New Zealand vs India game. The England openers provided a solid start by putting 62 runs in the board in just 8 overs.

But once the openers fell, England started losing wickets at regular intervals. Kiwi skipper Daniel Vettori again gave only 20 runs in his 4 overs and snagged 2 wickets. Pace bowler Shane Bond had identical figures too. Together they choked the England middle order and were able to seal a 5 run victory.

Earlier, the New Zealand top order flattered to deceive once again and it only some superb batting by Scott Styris and Craig McMillan that propelled their score to 164.

Styris was particularly hard on Dimitri Mascarenhas and hit him for three consecutive sixes in the 10th over. McMillan joined in soon and reached his half-century of only 27 balls – an effort which also won him the Man of the Match.

New Zealand won their first match of the Super Eight stage against India while England lost to South Africa.

Video Highlights of the match will be posted soon.

Tomorrow’s fixtures (19th September):

South Africa vs New Zealand
England vs India

Today’s Matches – Australia vs Pakistan, New Zealand vs England, Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka

2007-09-18T09:05:00.000+05:30

A couple of really mouth-watering clashes are scheduled for today.

First-off, New Zealand takes on England in a Group E fixture. Victory for the Kiwis today should definitely ensure their progress to the next round while a win for England will throw the group wide open.

So a question to the Indians – Whom would you want to win?

If New Zealand wins – Indians have to win both their remaining matches and also hope that South Africa loses to New Zealand or things would have to be decided via the Run Rate.

If England wins – the group would be thrown wide open, but Indians would still have to win both their remaining matches and again hope for a better Run Rate.

Take the poll

The next match sees World Champions Australia take on a resurgent Pakistani squad. This ones going to be a real close match and I actually expect the Pakistanis to upset the Aussies.

What do you think?

Take the poll

Does one bat first or bowl first after winning the toss? In the Group stages the chasing team almost always won but it seems to be a completely different ball-game in the Super 8s. New Zealand, South Africa and Pakistan have all won batting first.

Bangladesh take on Sri Lanka in the final match of the day. The Lankans would be hoping to register a huge win to boost their Run Rate.

Video Highlights - Pakistan vs Sri Lanka (Twenty20 World Cup - Super 8)

2007-09-18T07:34:00.000+05:30

Pakistan have beaten Sri Lanka by 33 runs in the second Group F match of the Super 8s stage of the ICC Twenty20 World Cup.

Watch the highlights here:

Part 1:

Part 2:

Pakistan beat Sri Lanka (Super 8: Group F)

2007-09-18T00:32:00.001+05:30

Pakistan have beaten Sri Lanka by 33 runs in the second Group F match of the Super 8s stage of the ICC Twenty20 World Cup.

Put in to bat at one stage Pakistan were reduced to 33-3 and only a brilliant 101-run fourth wicket partnership between Shoaib Malik and Younis Khan ensured that Pakistan reached a pretty commanding total of 189.

Both Malik and Khan hit half-centuries and Younis Khan’s innings even won him the Man of the Match award. The Pakistanis were particularly severe on Sanath Jayasuriya and plundered 64 runs from his 4 overs.

It was a total similar to what India had to chase against New Zealand and Sri Lanka were hoping for a good start from their openers, but that was not to be. Mohd Asif removed Upal Tharanga with his second delivery. Things could have been better 2 balls later, but Sohail Tanvir dropped a sitter and let off Jayasuriya. Tanvir quickly made amends by castling Jayasuriya with a sharp Yorker and Lankans were reduced to 5-2.

Jayawardena, Chamara Silva and Dilshan put up some resistance but in the end the Lankans fell well short of the 190 mark.

Defeat means that Lankans have to definitely beat Australia now and hope the Bangladeshis can pull off an upset against the Pakis.

Video Highlights of this match can be seen here.

Sri Lanka vs Pakistan - Twenty20 World Cup (Super 8)

2007-09-17T16:26:00.000+05:30

After a nerve-wrecking loss to India via the Bowl-Out in the first round of the Twenty20 World Championships, Pakistan now take on the in-form Sri Lanka at Johannesburg today. Sri Lanka have easily looked like the best team in the entire Twenty20 campaign so far.

The Sri Lankan batting lead by veteran Sanath Jayasuriya is in pretty good form. Jayasuriya would be re-living his World Cup 1996 days and is striking the ball as cleanly if not better! Lankan captain Jayawardena is also in fine touch and add to that the devastating power of Jehan Mubarak and sublime touches of Kumara Sangakarra. A pretty darn strong line-up.

The Pakistan batting has looked off colour so far in the Twenty20 World Cup. They didn’t exactly thrash the Scots and couldn’t chase a mediocre score of 141 against the Indians.

The winner of this match in most probability would be the team joining Australia in qualifying for the Semi Finals from this group.

Be sure to log on to WorldCupTwenty20.com for Live Commentary during the match and in the mean time do participate in the poll:

&amp;amp;lt;a href="http://polls.blogflux.com/poll-16879.html"&amp;amp;gt;Take the poll&amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;br /&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;br /&amp;amp;gt;

Video Highlights - South Africa vs England (Twenty20 World Cup - Super 8)

2007-09-17T05:42:00.000+05:30

South Africa beat England by 19 runs in their Group E Super 8 encounter.

Watch the highlights here
(The video is pretty long, I'd recommend watching Part 3):

Part 1:

Part 2:

Part 3:

Video Highlights - Australia vs Bangladesh (Twenty20 World Cup - Super 8)

2007-09-17T05:39:00.000+05:30

Australia easily beat Bangladesh by 9 wickets in their Group F Super 8 encounter.

Here are the highlights:

South Africa Beat England (Super 8: Group E)

2007-09-17T00:55:00.000+05:30

South Africa have beaten England by 19 runs in the second Group E match of the Super 8s stage of the ICC Twenty20 World Cup.

England began well and put in a great performance to restrict South Africa to only 154-8 at the end of 20 overs. Things could have been even better but for Albie Morkel’s cameo at the end of the South African innings. Morkel smashed 43 of just 20 balls to add some amount of respectability to the score.

Morkel went on to concede just 20 runs off his 4 overs and even took a wicket and it was a performance which won him the Man of the Match award.

The England chase was off to a disastrous start with the first over being a wicket-maiden by Pollock. They never really looked comfortable and the asking run-rate kept rising and forced the batsmen to make mistakes. In the end England fell 19 runs short.

South Africa play New Zealand next, but England will play the Kiwis first - on Tuesday.

Click Here to view the complete Super 8s fixture list.

Video Highlights would be uploaded soon.

The Scorecard of this match can be found HERE.

Video - Brett Lee's Hat-trick against Bangladesh

2007-09-16T23:56:00.001+05:30

Brett Lee became the became the first player to claim a hat-trick in a Twenty20 match.

Victims:

Shakib Al Hasan c. Gilchrist b. Lee
Score: 108-4 (16.3 overs)

Mashrafe Mortaza b. Lee
Score: 108-5 (16.4 overs)

Alok Kapali lbw b. Lee
Score 108-6 (16.5 overs)

Have a look at the video:

Australia beat Bangladesh (Twenty20 World Cup - Super 8)

2007-09-16T23:37:00.000+05:30

Australia easily demolished Bangladesh in their Twenty20 World Cup Group F Super Eights match today at the Newlands in Capetown. They reached the target of 124 runs in just 13.5 over with 9 wickets in hand.

Bangladesh’s score of 123 was well below par and was hardly a challenge for the strong Australian batting line-up. Openers Hayden and Gilchrist flayed the ball all over the park and shared an opening stand of 104 in just around 11 overs.

However, the main credit of the win should be credited to Man of the Match Brett Lee who became the first player to claim a hat-trick in a Twenty20 match.

Sri Lanka and Pakistan are the other teams in this Group and they will square off against each other tomorrow at Wanderers.

Scorecard of the match can be seen HERE.

Video Highlights and Brett Lee’s hat-trick videos would be added soon.

Video Highlights - India vs New Zealand (Super 8 - Twenty20 World Cup)

2007-09-16T17:55:00.000+05:30

New Zealand beat India by 10 Runs in the first game of the Super 8s in the ICC Twenty20 World Cup. Both teams are part of Group E which also includes South Africa and England.

Batting first New Zealand made 190 Runs (All Out) in their 20 overs. Indians chased well but fell short by 10 runs in the end.

Here are the Video Highlights:

Part 1:

Part 2:

Part 3:

New Zealand Beat India

2007-09-16T16:37:00.000+05:30

New Zealand have beaten India by 10 Runs in the first game of the Super 8s in the ICC Twenty20 World Cup.

Put into bat New Zealand were off to a steady start but lost their way in the middle of the innings and were reduced from 69-1 to 91-5. But some spirited batting and extreme hard hitting from Jacob Oram and Craig McMillan ensured New Zealand put up a commanding total on the board.

The two plundered 73 runs in 32 balls and were severe on Yuvraj, Agarkar and Sreesanth. 4 Wickets in the last over which included 3 Run-Outs ensured that the Kiwis didn't cross the 200 mark.

Indians were off to a flier courtesy Sehwag and Gambhir and it really sucked seeing them lose from a good position. They miss someone like a Dravid or Kaif in the middle of the line-up. After putting up nearly 80 runs in the first 6 overs, the Indians succumbed to pressure.

The star for the Kiwis was their Captain Fantastic Daniel Vettori who finished with bowling figures of 4-for-20 off 4 overs. His scalps included those of Gambhir, Uthappa, Karthik and Pathan. This effort also won him the Man of the Match award.

Defeat leaves India with no option but to win their remaining clashes against South Africa and England.

Video highlights will be posted soon.

Scorecard of the match can be found HERE.

WWW.WORLDCUPTWENTY20.COM

2007-09-16T15:46:00.000+05:30

Welcome to www.worldcuptwenty20.com!

Here’s what we have to offer you:

VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS:

Watch the highlights of each and every match played here on our site.

Click Here to view the complete archive of Video Highlights of all Group Stage Matches.

LIVE SCOREBOARD:

On the Right Hand Side of this site you would notice not 1 but 2 LIVE Scorecards.

The first one even displays LIVE Ball-by-Ball Commentary:

The second one is a little more comprehensive scorecard:

Complete List of FIXTURES:

Super 8 Fixtures

Group Stage Fixtures

If you are fond of statistics – HERE is a collection of all the Scorecards from the Group Stage matches.

SEARCH:

Looking for something which you can’t find? Feel free to use the SEARCH feature on the RHS.

ARCHIVE:

Want to read about a particular match? Or want to go through all the posts?

Each post of WorldCupTwenty20 is Archived on the RHS on a Day-to-Day basis:

Each Post would also be accompanied with some Related Content and Contextual Links alongside them powered by Google.

Enjoy the ICC Twenty20 World Cup only at WorldCupTwenty20.com

- Admin@WorldCupTwenty20.com

ICC Twenty20 World Cup – Video Highlights (All Matches from the Group Stage)

2007-09-16T10:32:00.000+05:30

In case you missed any game and want to view the highlights or want to see the scorecard of a particular match - You can find both here:

1st Match, Group A - South Africa v West Indies
Scorecard
Video Highlights

2nd Match, Group C - Kenya v New Zealand
Scorecard
Video Highlights

3rd Match, Group D - Pakistan v Scotland
Scorecard
Video Highlights

4th Match, Group B - Australia v Zimbabwe
Scorecard
Video Highlights

5th Match, Group A - Bangladesh v West Indies
Scorecard
Video Highlights

6th Match, Group B - England v Zimbabwe
Scorecard
Video Highlights

7th Match, Group D - India v Scotland
Washed Out

8th Match, Group C - Kenya v Sri Lanka
Scorecard
Video Highlights

9th Match, Group B - Australia v England
Scorecard
Video Highlights

10th Match, Group D - India v Pakistan
Scorecard
Video Highlights

11th Match, Group C - New Zealand v Sri Lanka
Scorecard
Video Highlights

12th Match, Group A - South Africa v Bangladesh
Scorecard
Video Highlights

Video Highlights - South Africa vs Bangladesh

2007-09-16T09:05:00.000+05:30

South Africa cruised to a seven-wicket win in the final Group A fixture against Bangladesh at Newlands in Cape Town on Saturday.

South Africa bowled out Bangladesh for 144 after skipper Graeme Smith won the toss and put Bangladesh in to bat, and then had a relatively comfortable chase winning with seven balls to spare.

The highlight of the Bangladesh innings was Aftab Ahmed’s 36 from just 14 balls. The last 7 overs didn’t fetch them much runs and they were bowled out for 144 in 19.3 overs.

The South African run chase started on a solid not with openers Duminy and Smith sharing a 65-run partnership.

Here are the Video Highlights of the match:

South Africa will now take on England today while Bangladesh face Australia.

Video Highlights - Sri Lanka vs New Zealand

2007-09-16T05:56:00.000+05:30

ODI World Cup finalists Sri Lanka looked in smashing form as they beat New Zealand by seven wickets at the Wanderers in Johannesburg on Saturday.

Sanath Jayasuriya continued to defy his age of 38 as he flayed the Kiwi bowlers en route to yet another half century in this tournament (61 from 44 balls) which also again managed to earn him the Man of the Match.

New Zealand put 164 on the board for the loss of 7 wickets in the 20 overs after skipper Daniel Vettori won the toss and decided to have a bat.

As proved in most of the earlier games - Chasing seemed to be much easier. Sri Lanka started of well with the openers putting up 82 in less than 8 overs. Despite losing Tharanga and Sangakkara, the Lankans didn’t look in any trouble. Jayawardena and Jayasuriya added 50 runs for the third wicket and took them to the threshold of victory.

Here are the Video Highlights of the match:

Part 1:

Part 2:

Part 3:

Twenty20 World Cup - Super 8 FIXTURES

2007-09-15T14:42:00.000+05:30

Apologies for a slight mix-up with the fixtures. They have been corrected now.

The Whole Funda:

Teams are not ranked D1/D2 based on their position in the Group qualifying stage. This is actually a seeding based on their ICC ODI Rank. Another very important fact is that all sides start the Super Eight stage of the tournament with zero points. No points are carried forward from the initial group stage.

Seedings:

Group A:
A1 - South Africa
A2 - Bangladesh

Group B:
B1 - Australia
B2 - England

Group C:
C1 - New Zealand
C2 - Sri Lanka

Group D:
D1 - Pakistan
D2 - India

The teams have been divided into 2 Groups:

Group E
South Africa
England
New Zealand
India

Group F
Bangladesh
Australia
Sri Lanka
Pakistan

September 2007
Date
16	New Zealand	v	India	Wanderers Stadium	10:00
16	Australia	v	Bangladesh	Newlands	14:00
16	South Africa	v	England	Newlands	18:00
17	Pakistan	v	Sri Lanka	Wanderers Stadium	18:00
18	New Zealand	v	England	Kingsmead	10:00
18	Australia	v	Pakistan	Wanderers Stadium	14:00
18	Bangladesh	v	Sri Lanka	Wanderers Stadium	18:00
19	South Africa	v	New Zealand	Kingsmead	14:00
19	England	v	India	Kingsmead	18:00
20	Australia	v	Sri Lanka	Newlands	10:00
20	Bangladesh	v	Pakistan	Newlands	14:00
20	South Africa	v	India	Kingsmead	18:00
22	E2	v	F1	Newlands (SF 1)	13:00
22	E1	v	F2	Kingsmead (SF 2)	18:00
24	Final	v	Final	Wanderers Stadium (Final)	14:00

* Timings are Local South Africa. Check local listings for broadcast timings in your country.

Video Highlights – India THRASH Pakistan

2007-09-15T11:27:00.000+05:30

If you are looking for Live Scores, Live Commentary or Video Highlights of the current India Pakistan series - Please CLICK HERE

Couldn’t help using that headline! Well we didn’t really thrash them. India pretty much sucked and the team must consider itself real lucky to be topping the group. At one stage they were looking at an early flight back home, then it seemed that we might qualify for the next round without even winning a single match…

As usual we almost managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Arafat and Misbah Ul Haq did incredibly well in the final 3 overs and with just 1 run required from the last 2 balls, they chose the wrong time to lose concentration.

India started off pathetically with Mohd Asif claiming 4 quick wickets. Dhoni and Uthappa added some amount of respectability to the score. Pakistan began well and then lost their way and then regained it again and then managed to lose it again – a typically filmy India vs Pakistan game finally ended up as a tie.

Thus we all got the opportunity to see the first Twenty20 Bowl Out (Cousin of Penalty Shoot-out). It was incredibly comical and it was nice to see the players enjoying themselves. Sehwag, Harbhajan and Uthappa all hit the stumps for India while Arafat, Gul and Afridi all missed for the Pakistanis and thereby sealing victory for the Indians.

Here are the Video Highlights of the match:

Part 1:

Part 2:

Part 3:

Part 4 (Bowl Out):

Video Highlights - Australia vs England

2007-09-15T10:49:00.000+05:30

Things regained normality as Australia cruised past England to ensure they top the Group B table. After losing their first match to Zimbabwe, the Aussies had to win this one and win it with a better net run rate than Zimbabwe.

England won the toss and elected to bat and were bundled out for a mere 135 runs. Australia cruised home with 8 wickets and 31 balls to spare thanks to a solid start by the openers. Gilchrist made 45 while Hayden remained not out on 67.

Here are the Video Highlights:

Video Highlights – Sri Lanka crush Kenya

2007-09-15T10:30:00.000+05:30

Brutal carnage was witnessed at the Wanderers Stadium as Sri Lanka simply annihilated Kenya by a mammoth 172 runs!

Batting first Sri Lanka put up 260 on the board, which can pass off as a decent 50 over score! The innings included a vintage 44-ball-88 by Sanath Jayasuriya. Skipper Mahela Jayawardena added a fine half-century and Jehan Mubarak smashed an unbeaten 46 of just 13 deliveries to end the innings on a very very high note.

Chasing 261 runs of their allotted 20 overs, Kenya never looked even threatening to pose any challenge to the Lankan's mammoth total. Kenya could just manage 88 runs in their 19.3 overs.

It was a record victory and perhaps revenge to some extent for the defeat Kenya had inflicted on Sri Lanka during the 2003 World Cup.

Here are the highlights of the match:

India vs Scotland – WASHED OUT!

2007-09-14T11:41:00.000+05:30

India's opening match against Scotland was washed out and this forced them to share points with a team whom they were expected to beat easily. But one never knows the Indian Cricket Team! The rain perhaps saved us from yet another humiliating defeat against a minnow.

Well this leaves India with the option of either beating

Pakistan

or losing by a narrow margin. That means a margin narrower than Scotland’s 51 run defeat. Well since the Indian cricket team loves grabbing a defeat from the jaws of victory, we should be assured of at least a narrow defeat!

Well jokes aside – the India vs Pakistan match is definitely the most awaited one of the tournament. A lot of money is on stake…bookies, betting, advertising!

A decent amount of pride is on stake too and we should not forget that both these teams had taken an early flight back from the Caribbean earlier this year courtesy of Ireland and Bangladesh.

Here’s how the Group D table currently stands:

Video Highlights - England beat Zimbabwe by 50 Runs

2007-09-14T10:45:00.000+05:30

Zimbabwe couldn't pull off another victory and they lost to England by 50 runs in a Group B encounter.

Batting first England scored 188/9 with Kevin Pietersen smashing 79 runs of 37 balls, which also won him the Man of the Match award.

Zimbabawe started pretty well with openers Sibanda and Taylor scoring 74 for the first wicket but they lost the way after both were dismissed trying to keep up with steep required Run Rate.

The African team ended up at 138/7 in their quota of 20 overs.

Here are the Highlights of the match:

This leaves things pretty interestingly poised in this Group.

Australia need a victory against England and this would result in a 3 way tie with the Net Run Rate playing the deciding role.

Video Highlights - Bangladesh vs West Indies

2007-09-14T10:37:00.000+05:30

Bangladesh beat West Indies by 6 wickets yesterday and also ensured that the Windies are the first team to fly back home!

Here are the Video Highlights of the match:

Part 1:

Part 2:

Bangladesh beat West Indies

2007-09-13T18:30:00.000+05:30

The young Bangladeshi team lead superbly by Mohammad Ashraful sent the West Indies crashing out of the Twenty20 World Cup.

It was the same Windies squad which started the tourney with a big bang against the South Africans! They became the first team to exit the tournament. With this Bangladesh assured their entry into the Super 8 and pulled off an upset similar to the one against India during the ODI World Cup at the Caribbean.

Set 165 runs to win, Bangladesh reached the target losing just four wickets with two overs to spare. They started off pretty slow with just 12 runs in the first 3 overs…but once Aftab Ahmed and skipper Mohammad Ashraful got together, things got explosive!

Ashraful went on to score the fastest half-century in a Twenty20 match which also eventually won him the Man of the Match award.

Well lets hope India registers a win against Scotland and qualifies for the Super 8’s where they can once again lose to the Bangladeshis! Or perhaps take revenge?!

Will try to post Video Highlights soon.

Video Highlights - Pakistan vs Scotland

2007-09-13T13:57:00.000+05:30

Pakistan put up a patchy performance against Scotland yesterday. Put in to bat, Pakistan lost wickets at regular intervals and they d Younis Khan to thank for a brisk 41 (29 balls) and Afridi too - who ended with a whirlwind knock of 22 in 7 deliveries.

Scotland were never in the chase and any hopes which they harboured were put to end by Afridi, who bagged two wickets in his first over and then followed it up with two more.

Catch the highlights of the match here:

Part 1:

Part 2:

India is the other team in Group D and they square off against Scotland today.

Video Highlights - Australia vs Zimbabwe

2007-09-13T13:21:00.000+05:30

Australia were stunned by a young spirited Zimbabwe squad last night. This marked Australia's first defeat in a World Cup Cricket match...in a pretty long time!

Playing their first match after winning the ODI World Cup, the Australian team definitely looked rusty. Their batsmen got out playing some senseless shots and it seemed that they were taking victory for granted.

The player who really shone was Zimbabwe Wicket-Keeper and opening batsmen Brendan Taylor. After a decent performance behind the stumps he guided them to victory with a solid 60 from 45 balls. It was a pretty thrilling end with 12 required of the last over.

Catch the highlights here:

Part 1:

Part 2:

Well with this victory the two qualifying slots from Group B are up for grabs. England is the other team in this group and they face Zimbabwe later today.

The best thing about this victory was that this going to get some viewers interested in following the tournament. Australia winning the Cup isn't a foregone conclusion anymore.

Video Highlights - Kenya vs New Zealand

2007-09-13T13:19:00.000+05:30

Here are highlights from the Kenya vs New Zealand match. New Zealand won the match by 9 wickets.

India Inc going bonkers over the Twenty20 World Cup

2007-09-13T13:17:00.000+05:30

They don’t care about the absence of Tendulkar, Ganguly and Dravid. The Twenty20 Game is almost perfect for advertisers. A short game – yet it offers advertising opportunities after every over! Unlike 50 over games where viewers often avoid seeing the whole game – a Twenty20 viewer is more likely to sit through the whole game.

ESPN-Star Sports are definitely cashing in! 10 second AD spots during India matches are going for Rs 2.5-3.5 Lakhs! Spots on the India-Pakistan encounter are being sold at Rs 3-3.5 Lakh per 10 seconds! What’s even more pathetic is that companies are actually coughing up this much dough. Ford, Maruti, Airtel, Reliance-ADAG, IndianOil, IBM, Intel, Cadbury etc are all lining up to burn their cash.

Wouldn’t mind some on sponsoring this site for the next fortnight! But seriously now…other sport in the country could definitely use some of these funds.

The inventory of the Twenty20 format is limited to 55-60 spots per match. So at a price of Rs 2 Lakh per spot that’s around Rs 1.2 Crore per game! Add to that ESPN-Star subscription prices….
INSANE!

Twenty20 Worldcup Result: New Zealand beat Kenya

2007-09-12T17:09:00.000+05:30

New Zealand crushed Kenya by Nine wickets in their opening game of the Twenty20 World Cup at Kingsmead.

It was a pretty boring game. The pace duo of Shane Bond and Mark Gillespie tore through the Kenyan line-up and reduced them to three wickets without a run on the board. It was 1/4 soon! Reminded me of my gully cricket days.

The African side could not recover from such a remarkable start and some how managed to put up 73. Which by the way is a World Record for the lowest Twenty20 score in an International game.

New Zealand wrapped up the game in 7.4 overs. Will try and put some video highlights up soon.

The other team in this group (Group C) is Sri Lanka.

Today’s Matches: Australia, New Zealand and Pakistan begin their campaigns

2007-09-12T15:14:00.000+05:30

Kenya vs New Zealand:

Should be an easy win for New Zealand. I would pick the Kiwis as the dark-horses of this tournament and expect them to at least reach the Semis.

Squads:

Kenya:
SO Tikolo (Captain), RL Bhudia, JK Kamande, T Mishra, A Obanda, CO Obuya, DO Obuya, N Odhiambo, TM Odoyo, PJ Ongondo, LN Onyango, E Otieno, MA Ouma (WK), AO Suji, HA Varaiya

New Zealand:
DL Vettori (Captain), SE Bond, PG Fulton, MR Gillespie, GJ Hopkins (WK), BB McCullum, NL McCullum, CD McMillan, CS Martin, JDP Oram, JS Patel, BE Scott, SB Styris, RL Taylor, L Vincent

Pakistan vs Scotland:

Pakistan are without their influential captain Inzamam Ul-Haq, their most prolific batsmen Mohd Yousuf and their swashbuckling all-rounder Abdur Razzaq. Even Shoaib Akhtar was dropped from the squad after a fight during practice with Mohd. Asif.

But they have a decent enough squad to win this match with ease. The match against India on 14th is a must watch. No matter how much you hate cricket – it is a must watch!

Squads:

Pakistan:
Shoaib Malik (Captain), Abdur Rehman, Fawad Alam, Iftikhar Anjum, Imran Nazir, Kamran Akmal (WK), Misbah-ul-Haq, Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Hafeez, Salman Butt, Shahid Afridi, Sohail Tanvir, Umar Gul, Yasir Arafat, Younis Khan

Scotland:
RR Watson (Captain), JAR Blain, DR Brown, GD Drummond, GM Hamilton, RM Haq, RT Lyons, NFI McCallum, GI Maiden, JD Nel, NS Poonia, MQ Sheikh, CJO Smith (WK), DF Watts, CM Wright

Australia vs Zimbabwe:

Australia is to cricket what Roger Federer is to tennis. Champions undoubtedly, but culprits for making it boring and one-sided. The crowd loves to see a Nadal beating Federer occasionally. Well Australia begin this tournament as favourites too and should be able to crush Zimbabwe easily.

Squads:

Australia:
RT Ponting (Captain), AC Gilchrist, NW Bracken, SR Clark, MJ Clarke, BJ Haddin (WK), ML Hayden, BW Hilfenhaus, BJ Hodge, GB Hogg, MEK Hussey, MG Johnson, B Lee, A Symonds, SR Watson

Zimbabwe:
P Utseya (Captain), GB Brent, CJ Chibhabha, E Chigumbura, KM Dabengwa, T Maruma, J Marumisa, H Masakadza, S Matsikenyeri, CB Mpofu, T Mupariwa, V Sibanda, T Taibu (WK), BRM Taylor, SC Williams

Video Highlights - South Africa vs West Indies

2007-09-12T08:34:00.000+05:30

Here are some highlights from the South Africa vs West Indies game...

Part 1:

Part 2:

Part 3:

Part 4:

ICC Twenty20 World Cup Fixtures

2007-09-12T08:01:00.000+05:30

Well I'm sure you still want to see the World Cup - Even after all I've had to say about the game...

So here's the list of fixtures:

September 2007
Date	Home		Away	Venue	Start
11	South Africa	v	West Indies	Wanderers Stadium	18:00
12	New Zealand	v	Kenya	Kingsmead	10:00
12	Pakistan	v	Scotland	Kingsmead	14:00
12	Australia	v	Zimbabwe	Newlands	18:00
13	West Indies	v	Bangladesh	Wanderers Stadium	10:00
13	Zimbabwe	v	England	Newlands	14:00
13	India	v	Scotland	Kingsmead	18:00
14	Sri Lanka	v	Kenya	Wanderers Stadium	10:00
14	Australia	v	England	Newlands	14:00
14	India	v	Pakistan	Kingsmead	18:00
15	Sri Lanka	v	New Zealand	Wanderers Stadium	14:00
15	South Africa	v	Bangladesh	Newlands	18:00

It doesn't really make sense putting up the Super 8 fixtures as of now. Actually it doesn't even make sense putting up these fixtures....!

(Timings are local South African time)

Here's a preview of all the teams:

South Africa vs West Indies - Record Breaking WIn?

2007-09-12T07:40:00.000+05:30

Pretty pathetic game. West Windies put up a commanding 205 in their 20 overs. In the process Chris Gayle became the first man to hit a century in an official international Twenty20 game. Windies fell short of at least 20-25 runs of what could have been a challenging total. Was sad to see the Windies lose.

Ironically this was the same ground (Wanderers, Johannesburg) where South Africa chased down 434. It was the same man who scripted this win - Herschelle Gibbs - with a decent 90. It's as if Gibbs desperately wants at least one world cup before he retires, so that it can wipe of the memory of Steve Waugh's: You've just dropped the World Cup son!

It must really suck to be a bowler in a Twenty20 game. Here's a look at the bowling figures:

All in all - it seemed like a match was fixed. The host nation had to win it. I remember West Indies thrashing South Africa during the 2003 World Cup game which was followed by some serious repercussions.

Chak De India! India win Asia Cup HOCKEY

2007-09-12T00:11:00.000+05:30

What are the chances of Indian winning the Twenty20 Cricket World Cup? Pretty dismal. Well here’s something to cheer about. The Indian Hockey Team did the country proud and simply overwhelmed South Korea in the finals of the Asia Cup and thereby defended their title.

They thrashed South Korea 7-2 in the finals. India was runner up to Pakistan in 1982, '85 and '89 and to Korea in 1994. In 1999 they secured the third position, but emerged as the winners in the last edition in 2003 at Kuala Lumpur.

Oh yes…India hasn’t won the Asia Cup in Cricket for more than a decade. Pretty pathetic eh? Time to switch to hockey?

Twenty20 World Cup – LIVE Scores

2007-09-07T04:16:00.000+05:30

There is a LIVE Twenty20 WorldCup Scoreboard / Scorecard on the Right Hand Side of this Page. You can easily follow the game via that.

An alternate option would be downloading the Google Live Scoreboard Gadget for Free from HERE.

Do take some time out and read few posts here….
Perhaps it might alter the way you think and live.

Why is cricket so popular in India?

Well why is Mr. Sharad Pawar running BCCI? Is he even qualified to hold such a post?
Well all of us know that he’s there for the money. Money which is being taken from us. Viewers. Not players. Us the Viewers.

It’s the long tail of this over-hyped stupid game.

How many Test Playing nations exist? 8?
Australia, South Africa, England, West Indies, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, New Zealand. Bangladesh? Well fine 9. Give them some credit! They knocked us out of the World Cup.

Now let us forget the Sub-Continent. Because we all are pretty pathetic.

Let’s take Australia.
Apart from dominating Cricket, they’ve been World Champions in Hockey and Rugby. They’ve got a pretty strong Football team – which deserved to have beaten Italy in the World Cup and qualified further, except for Totti’s theatrics at Germany last year. Their football team is now ranked No. 1 in Asia!
How many of you knew that they now play in the Asian Federation? You guys need to seriously wake up.
Australia excels in Athletics too. Thorpe, Freeman etc.
They’ve had champions in Tennis too. Hewitt, Rafter.

South Africa.
Springboks are pretty damn strong when it comes to Rugby. And South Africe is hosting the god-damned Footballing World Cup – So I guess they must be knowing how to play it.

England.
Jonny Wilkinson inspired England to the Rugby World Cup and with it were born a lot more Rugby fans. The Football team performs as depressingly as the Indian Cricket Team – but England also boasts of the most popular and exciting footballing league in the world! Which of course you can follow at EPL08.com.
I know they suck when it comes to Tennis. Henman could pretty much be called as the British Leander Paes. Rusedski vanished in thin air, but the new kid Murray is pretty much the British (Male) Sania Mirza.
Anyways back to the topic…

West Indies.
Tell me you guys know that West Indies is not one country?
Did you know Trinidad and Tobago qualified for the Football World Cup last year.
Mumbai has a population greater than that puny nation.
Need I say more?

New Zealand.
The All Blacks are legends. Rugby is huge there. Hockey is decent and so is football. At least cricket isn’t over-hyped there.

India!!!
Rugby? We got a puny arty-bollywood actor leading our team….whose also disappointingly portrayed the character of a Cricket Captain in a recent flop movie.
Hockey? Name a player except for Dhanraj Pillay? No Kabir Khan was a fictional character.
Football? Baichung Bhutia? Anyone else? Anyone at all? No Michael Chopra is not Indian. He pretty much told the Indian authorities that the Indian Football Team sucks so bad that he rather play in the third division in England. By the way he plays for the Premiership side Sunderland.

Cricket?
Well I’m sure you can even name Robin Uthappa’s fathers name. The media has hyped up our victory yesterday to such an extent that people in Karnataka want him to be the next Sports minister. Ok I’m exaggerating a bit! Apologies.

Wake up! No need to smell the red cherry or the leather….
Screw cricket – Play the beautiful game.

Follow the English Premier League at EPL08.com. Get excited, get hooked, start kicking the ball around.

ICC Twenty20 World Cup

2007-09-02T11:38:00.000+05:30

Move over Cricket - Let's switch to Football.

The Indian Cricket Team has disappointed us time over time...over time and then continued to disappoint us some more.

In the 1996 World Cup, we threw it away at Eden Gardens against Sri Lanka. Their swashbuckling opening duo was back in the pavilion before they had barely opened their respective accounts. A dramatic collapse and Vinod Kambli's tears coupled with a massive no. of bottles thrown on the pitch is all we might remember.

In the 1999 World Cup we threw it away against Zimbabwe! We were pretty much the worst team in the Super Sixes and all you might remember is Dravid and Ganguly blasting Sri Lanka away at Taunton and Sachin Tendulkar's fathers demise. Well thankfully these 3 oldies have been dropped from the Twenty20 squad.

In the 2003 World Cup we were the luckiest team in the whole Cup. Imagine having to play Kenya in the Semi-Finals? We were deservingly thrashed by Australia in the finals. I bet most of you won't even remember who Australia beat in the other semis?

Come 2007. We were sending the strongest Indian Team to the Caribbean. A Billion Blue Fans. Nike pumping in money...Reebok pumping in money...Adidas pumping in money...Pepsi pumping in money...VISA pumping in money....etc etc.

What the @#$% happened? We were mauled by the Bangladeshis and the Lankans. Back home before the Tournament even started!

Isn't it time we give the other games a chance? I'm happy a movie like Chak De has done really well. I hope it encourages kids to take up hockey. A movie titled Goal is soon to come out and I'm sure it'll inspire more than a dozen kids to take up Football.

...It's about time!
After the success of the Indian Football team in the Nehru Cup (Though many of you might not even be aware of that), we definitely need to promote the Beautiful Game in our country. Football is the most widely played sport in the whole wide world. As a nation with the world's second largest population - it's disgusting to see that your country is not even featured in the Top 100 ranked Footballing nations.

I wouldn't advocate supporting the National Football League with extreme passion from tomorrow - because the quality is pretty disappointing there.

But what can you do? Well follow the World's most exciting Football League. Get Addicted, support teams, know the players, mimic their style...develop your own style!

Check out the English Premier League Blog at EPL08.com.

Get the latest news and scoop of the Premiership.
The latest transfer rumours, match score predictions and Live Commentary.

Play and compete in the Fantasy Premier League and even receive free SMS Alerts. Follow your favourite team and start playing football in your backyard.

Let us inspire India to qualify for the Football World Cup - at least once in our lifetime.