Smith's knock help Sussex seal QF berth

LONDON: West Indies batsman Dwayne Smith played a crucial role with the bat to steer Sussex into the quarter-finals of the Twenty20 Cup at Lord’s on Monday.

Chasing a modest target of 120 runs set by Middlesex, the right-handed Smith hit a measured 33 from 34 balls and shared a crucial partnership for the fourth wicket with Ed Joyce to help bolster the middle-order as Sussex beat Middlesex by six wickets with an over to spare.

Significantly, Dwayne Smith has not played for the national side in the past two years but such performances might boost his chances for a national call-up.

At a stage, Sussex were stumbling at 28 for three but Smith shared a 55-run fourth-wicket stand with Ed Joyce (41) to put Sussex back on track.

Earlier, Middlesex could manage just 120 runs on the board at the loss of eight wickets after electing to bat first.

In an innings of restraint, Smith struck two fours and a six in his knock.

Chris Nash took on Chris Silverwood in the penultimate over scoring 26 runs off him and remained unbeaten on 35 in an unbroken fifth-wicket stand of 47 with Ed Joyce.

The win over Middlesex makes Sussex finish second behind Kent in the South Division. They will now play Warwickshire in the final eight.

Meanwhile, West Indies batsman Wavell Hinds made an unbeaten 49 off 44 balls to enable Derbyshire register a 37-run victory over Yorkshire at Headingly on Monday.

The left-hander in his innings of one less in a 50 hit two fours and a six. Hinds shared 57-run stand with Garry Park (42) as they reached 164 for five after being asked to bat.

In reply, Yorkshire scored 127 all out in 19.5 overs. However, Derbyshire were already out of the running for a quarter-final spot.

World T20 win is dedicated to terror victims, says Afridi

KARACHI: Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi on Thursday dedicated his match-winning performances throughout the ICC World Twenty20 to victims of terrorism in his troubled nation.

"Throughout The World Cup I only thought about winning this for those people who have been affected by terrorism in our country," Afridi told media persons.

In a red carpet welcome, Afridi was garlanded by ecstatic fans with thousands of them turning up at the airport on the arrival of Pakistan team.

Pakistan beat Sri Lanka by eight wickets in the final at Lord's on Sunday.

"The troubled conditions back home, the way Pakistan is being isolated as a cricket nation, all this spurred the team to win the Cup," he said.

Afridi was disappointed the next World Twenty20 in West Indies was just nine months away, leaving Pakistani fans very little time to savour the triumph.

"You don't win the World Cup everyday," he said. "I think cricket is now being treated more like a business. It is hard on the players as well," Afridi added.

Younis' decision will hurt Pak cricket: Manjrekar

NEW DELHI: Former Indian batsman Sanjay Manjrekar on Thursday said that Pakistan captain Younis Khan's decision to quit Twenty20 cricket is ill-timed and Pakistan will have to pay a price for this decision.

"At a time when Pakistan is resurrecting themselves, Younis' decision does not bode well. It is ill-timed," Manjrekar said.

"I don't understand the logic behind it. Pakistan need good leadership. Now here is a captain who has won a tournament so he automatically gets the respect of the players. By resigning, I think he has not helped Pakistan's cause," he added.

Younis was a reluctant captain to start with and had refused to take up the job after Inzamam-ul Haq stood down following the 2007 World Cup debacle.

Manjrekar said the latest decision is shocking. "I don't think it is a great move. But it is something that Younis has a tendency to do. He has done things like this in the past when he shocked everyone by stepping down most unexpectedly," Manjrekar said.

Pakistan President rewards team for magnificent win

Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari congratulated the cricket team on Sunday for winning the ICC World Twenty20 in London and announced an award of Rs 10 lakh each for captain Younis Khan and Man of the Match Shahid Afridi and Rs 5 lakh each for other players.

In messages sent from Naudero to the captain and manager of the team, President Zardari termed the victory one of the most magnificent moments in the history of Pakistan cricket. ‘That our team is wearing this crown on the 56th birth anniversary of Shaheed Mohtarma Bhutto has made it even more magnificent,” he said.

President Zardari said the superb teamwork had made the victory possible and the nation would savour it for a long time. He asked the captain to convey his felicitations to all members of the team.

Afridi powers Pakistan to ICC World T20 final

NOTTINGHAM: Shahid Afridi smashed a scintillating half-century and claimed two crucial wickets to help Pakistan register a 7-run win over South Africa and march into the finals of the ICC World Twenty20 here at Trent Bridge on Thursday.

Pakistan skipper Younis Khan had elected to bat and it was Afridi who gave their innings impetus with a 32-ball half century containing eight boundaries.

He shared in a third wicket stand of 67 in 10 overs with a more circumspect Shoaib Malik (34) but the last five overs only realised 29 runs in a total of 149 for four.

Then Afridi shone with the ball, dismissing Herschelle Gibbs and AB De Villiers and conceding only 16 runs in his four overs, as the Proteas failed to shrug off their chokers tag.

Jacques Kallis returned to the eleven for South Africa in their all important semi-final clash but his valiant effort of 64 runs off 54 balls was just not enough as the South African continued with their chokers tag.

The South African openers looked to set a good pace early on, so that the 7.5 required run rate did not climb up too soon.

They looked to have the task well in hand, and were 26 for none after three overs. Graeme Smith was caught and bowled off Mohammad Aamer in the 6th over.

In the next over, Shahid Afridi took Herschelle Gibbs’ wicket off the last ball. 104 runs were needed off 78 balls, with 8 wickets in hand.

AB de Villiers was dropped off the second ball of the ninth over, but fell to Afridi's short length the very next ball.

Pakistan sensed the game might be turning, and that it might be a close finish. The score was 61/3 after the 10th, and 64 at the end of the 11th. The required run rate was now hovering near 10.

Umar Gul came in to bowl the 14th over. He bowled a few interesting deliveries but didn't bag a wicket.

All the same, the required run rate had climbed to over 11, and there were little fireworks on display.

South Africa scored a few more runs in the next over, but the chase was a long shot by now. Umar Gul tightened the screws further in the 17th over, giving away just six runs.

Jacques Kallis was caught by Shoaib Malik off Saeed Ajmal close to the boundary in the 18th over.

He played a steady, good inning, but it wasn't enough. With two overs to go, South Africa were 121/4, 29 runs more needed. Umar Gul gave away just six runs.
A dot ball, a six, and a wicket - the final over had all the excitement of top quality cricket. In the end, 10 runs were needed off the last ball, and Pakistan, much to their surprise, were through to the finals.

Earlier, Shahid Afridi's (51) smashed his maiden half century in T20s to help Pakistan post a competitive 149 for four.

Electing to bat on a dry Trent Bridge pitch, Pakistan recovered from early setback of losing two wickets inside the third over through Afridi and Shoaib Malik (34 off 39 balls) but lost way at the death to end their innings below 150.

South Africa hit back hard after Afridi was snapped up by part-timer JP Duminy in the 13th over. The flow of runs dried up and the last five overs produced just 29 runs without any boundary.

Younis' (24 not out) decision to bat first also seemed to have backfired as Pakistan lost their first two wickets inside the third over at 28.

Young opener Shahzaib Hasan did not trouble the scorers by returning to the dug out for a duck in the second over bowled by Wayne Parnell.

His opening partner Kamran Akmal (23 off 12 balls) though was in his aggressive best hitting two fours off the opening over bowled by Dale Steyn and another couple off boundaries off Parnell.

Captain asked me to go for wickets and I did: Gul

LONDON: Umar Gul revealed that he had been working in bowling yorkers at the nets and that it paid off as he was able to take a five wicket haul to star in Pakistan’s superb victory over New Zealand in the ICC World Twenty20 Group F match at the Oval here on Saturday.

:It was a special day,” Gul said. “The main thing was bowling the first six overs very well. The captain told me to go for wickets so that's what I did. I've been practising yorkers and it paid off.”

Pakistan captain Younis Khan said "We knew it was a do-or-die situation. The message was to play your natural game – we are aggressive players,” he said. “It was a good toss to lose. The key thing is getting a wicket in the first six overs and we got three. In the last couple of years Umar has bowled very well in Twenty20 cricket, he knows how to play this format.”

New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori praised Gul’s bowling after the game. “I've never seen someone reverse-swing the ball after 12 overs and he managed to do that, which made all the difference," he said.

Sangakkara applauds batsmen for great start

The Sri Lankan skipper Kumar Sangakkara said, “Great batting performance to start off with that. We really stuck it out there.”

On being asked why he opened the bowling with Sanath Jayasuriya, Sangakkara said: “It was probably a bad option to open the bowling with Sanath, but we always knew that once the field spread out we could always pull them back.”

Meanwhile, New Zealand skipper Daniel Vettori said, “160 was gettable target, we got off to a decent start but the capitulation in the middle left us with no chance.”

The spinner applauded the Sri Lankan bowlers for their efforts and said, “They deserved to win.”

Ajantha Mendis was adjugded the Man of the Match for his magical spell of 3/9.

Dhoni apologises to fans for team's early exit

LONDON: India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has apologised to the team’s disappointed fans after they went out of the ICC World Twenty20 at Lord’s on Sunday and promised to make amends in the West Indies next year.

The defending champions, who had also lost to the West Indies on Friday, were eliminated after they lost by three runs to England in their Super Eight Group E clash on Sunday.

“We are sorry for what happened but we can say we gave our best,” Dhoni told reporters. “I think we have the guys who can handle the pressure, it was a day when nothing really worked for us.”

Dhoni said India would bounce back at the next ICC World Twenty20 in the Caribbean next year. “We can definitely prove a point over there. We were never really up to the mark but in nine months time there will be another tournament and that is the only good thing we can say now,” he said.

“Cricket never tests your character when you are doing really well. It tests you when you are not doing well. I think this is a testing time for us but it's not the end of the road. We lost in the ICC World Cup 2007, that was the worst part of my career. This loss is disappointing but still I don't think it comes near to the loss we had in the World Cup in the West Indies.”

Dhoni said suggestions that IPL had adversely affected his team were unfounded. “It is a demanding format because you play at different venues, it's not like you play three or four games at the same point,” he said. “But I personally believe it's not an excuse. We failed in batting. If the opposition scores 153 and you cannot achieve that on a track like this, I don't think there can be any excuse. You just cannot explain that.”

The Indian captain was candid when he said the team lost because they did not bat well. “I'm happy with the performance of the bowlers. The England bowlers started really well. They looked aggressive and used the bouncers really well. All of a sudden our batsmen could not change their game plan.”

Asked if Yuvraj Singh should have batted up the order, Dhoni said “He could have. But we thought (Ravindra) Jadeja would go in and stabilise the innings. Once Yuvi or I are out there, we can achieve a run rate like nine or 10 an over, since we also have Yusuf Pathan and Harbhajan Singh down the order. We lost wickets at crucial times. First Jadeja got out and then unfortunately Yuvraj too got out. The timing of those dismissals was crucial,” he added.

Dhoni conceded it was difficult to replace Virender Sehwag in the squad. “Sehwag is a kind of player you cannot really replace and we did miss him. But Rohit Sharma was doing the job for us and he scored in quite a few games. Of course with Sehwag there, the batting order looks different. We missed him because of injury and you cannot do much about that,” he said.

England captain Paul Collingwood was elated with the win and he disclosed that jeers from some Indian fans worked as extra motivation for his side. “We had a lot of English supporters but we got booed at the home of cricket by the Indian fans, which was a bit strange. So that gave us a bit of motivation,” he said.

The England captain felt they should have put a bigger score on the board but was happy with the way his bowlers defended the total. “At one stage, I thought we would get 160-170 but it was a fantastic performance. We really put India under a lot of pressure. We were hoping the wicket would have pace and it did. We got the balls in good areas,” he said.

Ryan Sidebottom, won the Man-of-the-Match award for his two for 31 effort, was happy with show and said, "As a bowling unit, we did well but we have a big game tomorrow (against the West Indies) and I hope to do as well as I did today.”

A handshake that renews friendship

Between you and me, my friend, a handshake is enough, goes an old adage. The handshake is one custom that can break the ice, iron out the differences and may even mark a new beginning. So, when Pakistan cricket captain Younis Khan shook hands with his Indian counterpart Mahendra Singh Dhoni, it reflected the true meaning of sport.

The two men have crossed one other twice in the tournament so far. Their first meeting was at The Oval, where India and Pakistan played a warm-up match. The second occasion was at the MCC’s Indoor Centre at Lord’s. Younis had just finished his session with the media, Dhoni was to begin his.

“All the best bhai,” the Pakistan captain wished his opposite number. Dhoni shook hands, saying “To you too.”

The handshake may appear little more than a formality to some, but to others it is a complete view into the personality of the person on the other end of the handshake. The handshake has also created nations and bought homesteads. It also reminded the picture of former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf’s historic handshake with the then Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee at a SAARC summit in Kathmandu.

Younis even went a step ahead and gave his sincere advice to Dhoni. “Keep your cool, man,” was Younis' message when asked to comment on Dhoni's tussle with the media. Dhoni was upset with the media after it reported a rift between the skipper and his deputy Virender Sehwag.

Cricket is the most popular sport in India and Pakistan. Though it is regularly affected by fluctuations in political relations, it has also been used as a tool of diplomacy.

The sides played a warm-up match and as India cruised to a nine-wicket win – it set the tone of the tournament which is still coming into terms of Twenty20.

If one looks back to realise that the cricket tours between India and Pakistan were revived in the wake of diplomatic initiatives to bury half a century of mutual hostility. Both sides relaxed their tough visa regulations for each other, allowing thousands of fans to travel across the border.

In a country as ethnically diverse as Pakistan, it has been said that the two things that bind society together are the Urdu and cricket. And when it comes onto India – it is Bollywood and Cricket.

The uninitiated might say that cricket is just a game. This could not be further from the truth in Pakistan, where the antics of the national team arouse fierce nationalist passion, and where governments use the sport as a channel for diplomacy between India and Pakistan.

The late General Zia ul-Haq was a keen cricket lover, although he at times exploited the game to further his own ends, such as scheduling games when opposition protest rallies were planned. Cricket would invariably prove the stronger attraction.

In a standoff between India and Pakistan during the mid-1980s, Zia astonished the world by making a sudden visit to India to watch a match between the two countries. This successful "back door" diplomacy during the time of the then Prime Minister late Indira Gandhi is still remembered in the sub-continent as Zia's cricket diplomacy, which immediately eased tension between the countries.

So, what the two governments have failed to do so far, we hope that this handshake or cricket diplomacy as they call might help the nations and mark a new beginning.

Sri Lanka pursue victory, show Australia the exit door

Sri Lanka showed no signs of any trauma in their psyche as they comprehensively beat Australia by six wickets and send them out early from the ICC World Twenty20 at Trent Bridge in Nottingham on Monday. There were no overt signs of the distress that Sri Lankans were under in the wake of a terrorist attack on the team in Lahore a few weeks ago.

As a unit, they were single-minded in their pursuit of a win against a team walloped earlier by Chris Gayle and the West Indies in their opening game. And yet, they found individual heroes like Ajantha Mendis, Lasith Malinga, Tillekeratne Dilshan and skipper Kumar Sangakkara as they stopped Australia at 159 for nine in 20 overs.and then chased it down with an over to spare

Australia are unlikely to forget their first meeting with mystery spinner Mendis in a hurry. The Sri Lankan claimed three wickets for 20 runs in his four overs to mastermind Australia’s slide from a heady 48 for one in 5.5 overs. He foxed Ricky Ponting in his first over and Shane Watson in his second to force Australia to get into a damage control mode.

Mike Hussey became Mendis’ third victim when he came back for his third over and Australia’s cup of woes overflowed until Mitchell Johnson and Brett Lee led a 65-run spree in the last five overs. But then, 159 for nine was way below par and Australia were left to work hard to overcome the impact of 10 overs of spin bowling by the Sri Lankans.

Australia needed quick wickets when they started the defence of the 160-run target and Lee prised out Sanath Jayasuriya early enough but Tillekeratne Dilshan and skipper Kumar Sangakkara – coming off very good time in the DLF Indian Premier League in South Africa – added 62 runs for the second wicket and frustrated Australia.

Dilshan was at his attacking best in scoring 53 off 32 balls (10 fours) while Sangakkara played the steady hand till the end and made 55 off 42 balls, striking four fours and two sixes at a time when pressure was building up. Sangakkara’s maturity – and Jehan Mubarak’s good finishing skills – saw the side home when Mitchell Johnson slipped a wide down the leg-side.

Australia now have more time to prepare for the Ashes than they would have envisaged while Sri Lanka now face the West Indies to decide the top spot in the group. The Sri Lankans have caught the fancy of many as potential semifinalists along with India and South Africa but coming together on a tour after the Lahore attack, Sangakkara and his men have their feet grounded.

India's cup of woes overflows after another bitter loss

INDIA THE T20 CHAMPION

India’s wretched run the Super Eight Group E in the ICC World Twenty20 came to a bitter end at Trent Bridge in Nottingham on Tuesday, the defending champions failing to reach the modest target set by South Africa. India had a great chance to treat the packed ground to a consolation victory but the fans were let down again by the team’s batsmen.

And it was evident how wrong coach Gary Kirsten had been in suggesting that he had not been able to connect to the players because of the Indian Premier League – the South African team management did not seem to have any such issues, even if many of their players were also busy with their respective franchises.

For all that, India head home after another batting failure even though their slow bowlers turned in a heart-warming show in bowling 14 overs to give the team a chance to score a consolation win. The Indian batsmen lost their way against South Africa’s spinners whose nine overs saw them concede just 32 runs and take five wickets.

Riding on a well constructed 63 by AB de Villiers (51 balls, seven fours), South Africa made 130 for five in 20 overs, struggling through 14 overs of spin. The Indian slow bowlers – as many as five of them – conceded just 75 runs and took three wickets to keep the South African total down to manageable levels.

Despite getting off to a sound start of 48 runs by Gautam Gambhir and Rohit Sharma in the first six overs, India crumbled when spin was introduced. Johan Botha claimed the wickets of Gambhir and Suresh Raina in successive overs while fellow off-spinner Jean-Paul Duminy scalped Rohit Sharma in his only over to push India’s challenge back.

Yet again, it was down to whether Yuvraj Singh would be able to pull the chestnuts out of the fire but with Mahendra Singh Dhoni getting run out, his task became that much more difficult. Yuvraj and Harbhajan Singh tried hard to match the mounting asking rate, it was clear that South Africa’s allround bowling had the men to stop India.

South Africa had been stopped at 128 by New Zealand at Lord’s but the side succeeded in eking out a one-run win over the Black Caps earlier in the tournament, relying on their faster bowlers but on Tuesday, it was their spinners who delivered the knockout punch. It is hard to overlook the fact that left-arm spinner Roelof van der Merwe bowled 14 dot balls in his four over spell.

South Africa have not been beaten in the ICC World Twenty20 and will meet Pakistan in the semifinal in Trent Bridge on Thursday while Sri Lanka will take on the West Indies in the other semifinal at the Oval on Friday.

As for India, it will not be surprising if some players choose to stay back in England for a few days, given the heat that is being generated by three successive losses in the Super Eight. The defeat on Tuesday was reminiscent of a lacklusture show by another Indian team against New Zealand at the same venue in the farewell Super Sixes game at the 1999 ICC World Cup.

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Younis Khan firm on T20 retirement

KARACHI: Notwithstanding with the pressure on him to reconsider retirement from T20 cricket, Pakistan captain Younis Khan has reiterated that he will not go back to his decision.

“I had decided before going to the World Cup I would retire no matter what the result. I don’t want to be in a situation where I am left out of the team,” Younis said on arrival at the Karachi airport.

Khan admitted that T20 is the toughest form of the game, “It’s not easy and I think I’m too old for this type of game. Commenting of the victory in the final”, he said, “We had entered the championship without having the pressure of being favourite.”

“ The favourite team has always have pressure but we played without taking up any pressure and even we didn’t have any kind of pressure in the final,” he maintained.

Younis said he was surprised at former chief selector Abdul Qadir’s statement that he would not have picked Younis or Shoaib Malik in his T20 team.

“It is his own opinion but his resignation and statement were badly timed. It had no effect on me but it did affect Malik who came to me and complained,” he said, adding that the statement only spurred him on to do better.

Lauding the efforts of star all-rounder Shahid Afridi and Kamran Akmal in bagging the coveted cup, Khan said, “Afridi was playing in the manner that some time I feel ‘Sir Don Bradman’ was on the crease as he contrary to his game, played and grew his innings patiently without throwing away his wicket and finish the game with victory note”.

Dilshan named the player of ICC World T20

LONDON: Sri Lanka batsman Tillakaratne Dilshan was named the Player of the Tournament at the concluding ceremony of the ICC World Twenty 20 at Lord’s on Sunday.

Dilshan was the unanimous choice by a select group of experts following his sensational form that helped guide his side to the final of the event.

Opening the innings throughout the tournament, Dilshan scored a total of 317 runs at a strike-rate of 144.74 and an average above 52.

He scored three half-centuries in the tournament and his unbeaten 96 in the semi-final against the West Indies was the highest individual total of the tournament.

That innings almost single-handedly dragged Sri Lanka to a score that it was then able to defend. The Sri Lankan skipper Kumar Sangakkara after his outstanding innings in the semi-final against West Indies hailed Dilshan as “a pioneer stroke-maker in Twenty20”.

Dilshan also hit more boundaries than any other player, his 46 fours and three sixes well clear of the next biggest tally of hits both to and over the ropes, 28 fours and four sixes by South Africa’s Jacques Kallis.

Dilshan’s batting was talked about not only for its excellence but also for its innovation, with his ability to flip fast and medium-paced bowlers past his nose and over the wicketkeeper’s head to the boundary one of the enduring memories of the action for all that saw it.

After presenting the player with his award, former West Indies captain Clive Lloyd, the Chairman of the ICC Cricket Committee and himself a two-time ICC Cricket World Cup winner at Lord’s, said: “Tillakaratne has been a tower of strength for Sri Lanka throughout this tournament. He has impressed us all with his improvisation, courage out in the middle and wonderful range of shots.

“I’m not sure how he manages to play that scoop shot – if I had tried that when I played I think I would have ended up with a mouth full of ball – but it was wonderful entertainment and his contribution really gave the tournament a boost”, he said.

“Although there were many other players who excelled in this event, I think Tillakaratne is a worthy winner of the player-of-the-tournament award,” said Lloyd.

Dilshan is the second man to be named player of the tournament at an ICC World Twenty20 event, following on from Pakistan’s Shahid Afridi, who picked up the award at the conclusion of the inaugural tournament in South Africa in 2007.

Shahid Afridi learns to respect bowlers

KARACHI: Shahid Afridi, who was named the Man of the Match in the final of the ICC World Twenty20 at Lord’s on Sunday, said he owe his success with the bat to the respect he gave to the bowlers throughout the tournament.

He said," I thought I could take on any bowler and I showed no respect to them. That is why I was struggling to get runs”.

Afridi played an important role in the semi-final against South Africa and in the final against Sri Lanka guiding his team to be the champions of the T20 format.

After being promoted higher up the order, Afridi scored back-to-back half-centuries and also took wickets at crucial junctures for his team.

Shahid Afridi said that his captain and coach told him to take his batting seriously.

“I decided then that I needed to show respect to the bowlers and be patient at the crease. I realised that you can't attack the bowlers all the time and you need to take your time to settle down,” he added.

Return of Razzaq makes a telling difference

He was away from international cricket for two years, a veritable outcast for choosing to play in the rebel Indian Cricket League. He was among the scores who decided to take up the amnesty offer made by their respective Boards but he was the fastest off the block in returning to mainstream – and what is more, Pakistan all-rounder Abdul Razzaz made it count.

To be sure, reinventing himself in a new, mature batting incarnation, all-rounder Shahid Afridi walked away with the man of the match award in the semifinal and final but Razzaq’s return was the catalyst that revived Pakistan’s fortunes in the ICC World Twenty20. The team found the balance that had been missing earlier and did not lose any of the four games after his comeback.

What a heady 12 days Razzaq has had since he was cleared as Yasir Arafat’s replacement!
His abiliity with the new ball allowed Pakistan the liberty of identifying Umar Gul as their death overs’ specialist and not having to come on as the first change. His skills in stifling the flow of runs allowed spinners Shahid Afridi and Saeed Ajmal to come on and tighten the screws quite easily.

Razzaq claimed two wickets in his first game against New Zealand – Brendon McCullum, no less, in his opening over and Martin Guptill in the third. He bowled good spells against Ireland and South Africa in the semifinal but his biggest contribution came in the title clash against Sri Lanka on Sunday.

The scalps of Jehan Mubarak, Sanath Jayasuriya and Mahela Jayawardene in the span of 13 deliveries with the new ball broke Sri Lanka’s back and set up a fine win for Pakistan. Razzaq, who had been earmarked as one of the finest allround talents to emerge in Pakistan but had chosen to play for ICL, came back to show himself what he had missed in the past two years.
International cricket will ready itself to see the return of some more exciting cricketers in the coming months – Shane Bond can be expected to slip back into the New Zealand side soon while a number of Bangladesh players can expect to be reinstated in their national team too – but Razzaq will have the pleasure of being the fastest former ICL player off the blocks.

Pakistan seal a chance to heal

LONDON: Marking one of the greatest days in Pakistan cricketing history, the Green Brigade made the amends to their heart-breaking loss in the final against India in the last edition by bowling aggressively and batting with supreme calm to seal a convincing eight-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the final of the ICC World Twenty20 at Lord’s on Sunday.

Shahid Afridi’s finely judged 54, saw them home with eight balls to spare after three wickets from Abdul Razzaq had limited Sri Lanka to 138 from their 20 overs.

The victory will certainly serve as a healing balm to the Pakistan cricket, which has been effectively been evicted from playing cricket in their homeland because of the political instability in the region.

Sri Lanka, who had progressed through the tournament, winning all their matches till now failed at the last hurdle.

Afridi smashed a huge six off the penultimate ball of the 18th over and took just four balls of the 19th to reach the required total for victory. Afridi’s big-match temperament came to the fore as he along with Shoaib Malik stitched a match-winning partnership of 76 runs to ensure that Pakistan overhaul the target of 138 runs without any hiccups.

The Pathan smashed a scintillating half-century as Malik complimented him with some great running between the wickets.

There are few chosen ones who get another opportunity to make amends and this time it was Afridi who was chosen. After their loss in the final in the inaugural season, Afridi’s effigies were burnt all over Pakistan for not playing responsibly. But destiny gave him another opportunity and Afridi seized it with awesome display of temperament.

Afridi was playing a patient innings, clearly under instructions not to do anything silly, and although he looked to open his shoulders with a big six off the first ball of the 14th over he was well in control.

By this point the odds were heavily stacked in Pakistan's favour, with only a batting collapse likely to salvage anything from the match for Sri Lanka.

Kamran Akmal started the chase aggressively hitting Angelo Matthews for a boundary in the first over. But Udana and Malinga stifled the opening batsmen for runs in the next two overs.

In a bid to accelerate, Shahzaib tried to clear the in-field and ended up given an opportunity to make early in-roads. However, Mathews superb effort went in vain as the ball fell short of him. In the sixth over Sangakkara introduced his trump card Ajantha Mendis and the Pakistanis decided to counter with Akmal taking the onus and scoring a six off him.

The opening partnership started to look threatening as Akmal continued in the same vein and backed himself to smash another six off Mathews.

The Man with the golden-arm Sanath Jayasuriya did the trick for the Lankans as he got an over-aggressive Akmal stumped off his very first ball. Kamran Akmal scored 37 runs off 28 deliveries which included two huge sixes. Kamran Akmal and Shahzaib Hasan put up 48 runs for the first-wicket partnership.

After being beaten off first two deliveries off Ajantha Mendis in the eighth over, Shahzaib hit back to back boundaries to keep the momentum going. Sangakkara called Muralitharan back into the attack and the ploy worked well as Shahzaib top-edged the off-spinner to Jayasuriya at short fine-leg. Pakistan scored 65/2 after 10 overs.

Earlier, Sangakkara batted with a mix of caution and aggression but in a display of his true class he completed his 50 off 44 balls in the 17th over as Sri Lanka went past 100-run mark.

The ‘Dilscoop’ which brought so many allocates for Tillakaratne Dilshan eventually did him in when it mattered the most. The highest scorer of the tournament perished while trying to scoop the ball straight into the hands of Shahzaib off Mohammad Aamer.

The second wicket fell soon when Jehan Mubarak, who was promoted up the order, tried to go over the top only to top-edge Abdul Razzaq and failed to clear the circle.

The skipper arrived when the Lankans were struggling on 2-2 and played a drive on the up off Aamer to keep the score board ticking.

Old war-horse Sanath Jayasuriya then came into the act and the victim was Abdul Razzaq. Jayasuriya hit him for a huge six and then smashed a boundary through the backward point region.

But it was Razzaq who had the last laugh when he got Jayasuriya’s inside edge crashing into the stumps. Razzaq fell off balance but got up in a second to celebrate the dismissal of the big fish.

With Sri Lanka reeling at 26-3 after four overs, Mahela Jayawardene joined Sangakkara at the centre to do the repair work. The former Sri Lankan skipper didn’t last long and fell to a Razzaq out-swinger by edging it straight to Misbah ul-Haq who was guarding the first slip.
Razzaq knew that Jayawardene was vulnerable to deliveries outside the off-stump and he got the better off him with tried and tested strategy.

Younis Khan introduced Shahid Afridi in the 7th over to tighten the noose. Chamara Silva who joined the skipper concentrated on the singles and the duo gathered five off the over.

Silva finally break lose in the next over when he opened the face of the bat to Ajmal and collected four runs in the third man region. But Silva kept on living dangerously while facing Shahid Afridi.

Silva swept and swept hard to bisect the fielders and got the much needed boundary off Shoaib Malik. The Lankans were 54-4 at the end of 10 overs.

Sangakkara finally broke the shackles by hitting back-to-back fours in Shahid Afridi’s third over.

The Pakistan skipper then introduced his best bowler of this format- Umar Gul in the 12th over. And the decision paid dividends immediately as he forced Silva to mistime a pull straight into the hands of Ajmal.

Both the teams have relied heavily on their bowling attack and Pakistani bowlers did their bit by extracting the juice from the pitch offered to them at Lord’s.

The star with the ball for Pakistan in the semi-final – Shahid Afridi cleaned up Isuru Udana who was sent up the order to give company to his skipper. Udana scored just a run as Sangakkara kept watching his batsmen take the long walk back to the pavilion one after the other.

The Lankan captain was content with taking singles as Sri Lanka reached 79-6 after 15 overs.

However, the best shot of the innings came from Angelo Mathews when he played a straight drive off Ajmal to compliment Sangakkara’s boundary two balls earlier. The duo added 68 runs off 42 balls for the seventh wicket as Sri Lanka posted a challenging total of 138 runs.

But it was Pakistan’s day. The side that looked so under prepared in the initial stages twisted it on just when it mattered. They have won it!

Win is a gift to our nation: Younis Khan

LONDON: After thrashing Sri Lanka in the final of the ICC World Twenty20 by eight wickets, Pakistan skipper lauded his team’s performance and dedicated the victory to his nation.

Pakistan skipper Younis Khan said, "It was fantastic, we were underdogs, all credit goes to the team and the nation."
"A team like us needs a good start and suddenly we got that. I knew if we restricted them to 140-150 it would be chaseable. This is a gift from us to our nation," he said.

Shahid Afridi was named the Man of the Match for his unbeaten half-century. Afridi said, “I think the credit goes to Younis for sending me up in the order and telling me to just play my game. The guys were really motivated for today."

Player of the Tournament Tillakaratne Dilshan said, “It has been a great tournament for me. But unfortunately I couldn’t do it today.”

Speaking about his opening with veteran Sanath Jayasuriya, Dilshan said, “It is wonderful to open with him. He is a great player.”

Meanwhile, losing Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara said, "I'm very proud of my team."

"I'm proud about their fight, their attitude and I think we're going to be a really good team. It was tough for our bowling unit to keep on defending totals during the tournament, we could have done with 20 runs more. That's (Sri Lanka's) the best bowling unit in the world," Sangakkara signed off.

ICC praises player behaviour and officiating at WT20

LONDON: International Cricket Council Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat has praised the behaviour of the players and the positive influence of the match officials during the ICC World Twenty20 2009, which concluded at Lord’s in London on Sunday.

Throughout the 17-day tournament, which for the first time included a women’s section running in conjunction with the men’s event, there was not a single formal code of conduct issue for any of the players of the 20 teams involved (12 men’s and eight women’s).

“The spirit of this tournament has been one of the great aspects of it,” Lorgat said. “We talk a lot about the spirit of cricket and what it means to our sport but ultimately it is down to the players to conduct themselves in the best manner and I have been very impressed with their contributions in that regard.

“Sometimes when the heat is on and a tense battle is unfolding, there is a tendency for players to lose their cool but that just didn’t happen this time. It is great for the image of the game and how it is perceived by the wider public that this unique spirit is maintained,” he said.

Lorgat also paid tribute to the role of the match officials in helping to foster this atmosphere of friendly rivalry. “I thought our umpires and match referees collectively had a great tournament. They can be very proud,” Lorgat said.

“The quality of decision-making was very high but also there are plenty of aspects of an umpire’s or referee’s job that are not so visible. How they interact with players on and off the field can affect how the game is played and I think our match officials generally have a good rapport with players. There is a genuine sense of mutual respect and, perhaps more importantly, a universal respect for the game.

“So I want to thank the players and the officials for their part in making the event such a great success. I also want to thank the England and Wales Cricket Board, particularly the tournament director Steve Elworthy, the four wonderful venues, the volunteers, our commercial partners and broadcasters, members of the media and the ICC staff for their vital contributions.”

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Pakistan erupts in celebration of a feel-good victory

LAHORE: The bus driver who drove Sri Lankan players and officials to safety at the Gaddafi Stadium here on March 3 when a terrorist attack on the bus left six policemen dead, led the chorus that hailed Pakistan’s victory over Sri Lanka in the ICC World Twenty20 final at Lord’s in London on Sunday.

“We desperately needed this victory because there's so much happening around our country,’ Mohammad Khalil told news TV channel, waving the National flag after he watched the match live on a big screen with hundreds of other supporters in Lahore.
“Sri Lanka is our friend and it will remain our friend but I wanted Pakistan to win the match,” Khalil said.

Former Pakistan captain and member of the 1992 World Cup winning squad Ramiz Raja rated Sunday's victory as more important than the one against England in Melbourne 17 years ago. “It's a major turnaround in a sense that over the last six to eight months whatever has happened in Pakistan it has sent wrong messages,” Ramiz Raja said. “Nobody was rating this team but the way they have made a comeback there's no example in our sporting history.”

Another former captain, Inzamam-ul-Haq, gave the credit to Pakistan bowlers. “I think bowlers play vital role in winning the tournament. Umar Gul, Shahid Afridi and Saeed Ajmal bowled superbly throughout,” he said. “It's our second biggest achievement since winning the 1992 World Cup.”

Pakistan Cricket Board Director General Javed Miandad paid tribute to the team spirit. “We are always slow starters, but once the team started playing as a unit, I knew it would go all the way and lift the World Cup,’ Miandad said. ‘It's a great achievement.’

PAKISTAN

Played 7

Won 5

Lost 2

N/R 0

Points 10

Trent Bridge, Nottingham

No Indian in ICC World T20 men's team

LONDON: Members of Team India have failed to find a place in the ICC World Twenty20 squads announced by the International Cricket Council (ICC) in London on Monday.

The teams were chosen by a select group of experts who were given the task of picking a balanced side for all conditions on the basis of performances in the tournament. Statistics were used but were not the sole basis for selections.

The men’s team, including 12th man, contained four players from Pakistan, three each from South Africa and Sri Lanka and two from the West Indies while the women’s team included five players from the winner, England, four from beaten finalist New Zealand and one each from Australia, India and Sri Lanka.

Players

* Younis Khan
* Ahmed Shehzad
* Fawad Alam
* Iftikhar Anjum
* Kamran Akmal
* Misbah-ul-Haq
* Mohammad Aamer
* Saeed Ajmal
* Abdul Razzaq
* Salman Butt
* Shahid Afridi
* Shahzaib Hasan
* Shoaib Akhtar
* Shoaib Malik
* Sohail Tanvir
* Umar Gul
* Yasir Arafat