Story The Natwest Pentangular 2005 -- Begins April 24th

[aditya123]

The Tournament Review So Far !

ESPNSTAR SAMSUNG CRICKET SHOW

We have witnessed 16 actionpacked games of cricket and now with just 4 gams to go, there are just 3 teams left in contention for a berth in the finals . India,Pakistan an Australia are the 3 teams . Unfortunately for the English fans, the home team has been knocked out of the competition . They were inconsistent throughout the series and had to pay for it . India who were the best team on display after the first 8 matches resume their campaign with a match against the arch rivals Pakistan who have been predictably inconsistent . The Aussies who are the current Tournament leaders have found their form after an indifferent start . Even their place in the finals in unconfirmed due to a couple of tied matches which they should have won ! Last but not the least, the most disappointing aspect of the series has been the way th boys from the Caribbean have performed . They hav played like minnows and have been blown away in each of th matches . One hopes that they perform better in the next couple of matches for th sake of their own pride .


GET SET FOR AN ACTION PACKED CLIMAX TO THE NATWEST PENTANGULAR 2005 :


WHO WILL QUALIFY FOR THE FINALS ??

INDIA V AUS , INDIA V PAK OR PAK V AUS



CATCH ALL THE ACTION AS IT UNFOLDS ON PLANETCRICKET

 

[gold639]

I hope its India vs Australia!

 

[gamerkid22]

i also go with INDIA vs AUS

 

[The Champ]

India vs AUS world cup final repeat may be we take some revenge

 

[gold639]

No way,we'll beat you yet again

 

[gamerkid22]

No way gold not a repeat this time .last time we had J.Wright but this time we have G.Chappell as coach .He will surely want to beat J.Buchannan in his 1st match as a coach and the Indians will be very confident as well having a new coach.

 

[aditya123]

The games to follow !

Matches to Follow in the League Stage

India V Pakistan at Derby
West Indies V Pakistan at Hove
Australia V India at Southampton
India V West Indies at Hove

-----------------------A Reminder of the possiblities regarding the finals--------------------------
*Australia are a point ahead of India but have played 2 games more .
*England are out of contention for a final berth.

The Requirements for Pakistan TO Qualify for the Finals :
(For AUS V PAK Finals )
*Pakistan need to win both matches with Bonus Points
*Australia and West Indies have to beat India .
*If the above 2 conditions are satisfied, we will have a Australia V Pakistan Finals .

FOR INDIA To Qualify For The Finals
(For India V Australia finals)
* India have to win just one game out of the 4 to be played !
* Pakistan will have to lose one of their 2 remaining matches .
* If the above 2 conditions are satisfied, we will have an India V Australia Finals
(For INDIA V PAKISTAN Finals)
*India will have to beat Australia .
*Pakistan will have to win their remaining 2 matches against India and West Indies.
* If these 2 conditions are satisfied, we will have an India V Pakistan finals .

 

[aditya123]

INDIA V PAKISTAN----A Sneak Preview

THE NATWEST PENTANGULAR 2005

Game 17 --------?INDIA V PAKISTAN----A Sneak Preview

Welcome to Derby for the Pre-game Show of this all important game 17 of the Natwest Pentangular 2005 . The business end of the tournament has begun and its time the finalists will be decided . Any game between these 2 arch rivals is tense and more so with this match. India could cement their place in the finals with a win and Pakistan have to win, preferably with a bonus point to stay alive . So expect a closely fought contest between the 2 rivals . Possibilities of an Indo-Pak finals cannot be ruled out either ! All it requires is Pakistan to beat India and West Indies and India to win the remaining matches after this . We asked some Indian and Pakistani supporters about who they thought would reach the finals . This is what some of them had to say ,

? I would personally like to see an Indo-Pak finals. It would be the icing on the cake. On the other hand , If its an India-Aus final, we have a chance to avenge the WC2003 finals defeat ! It would be great both ways but Iam confident , we will see India in the finals .?
? This is our first final with Greg Chappel as the coach . John Wright taught us to reach finals . We hope Greg will teach us to win them !?

This is what Greg Chappel Himself had to say about the prospects of India reaching the finals ,
? This has been my first outing with the team and has been quite good so far . John has done a great job in building the nucleus of this side and I hope I can continue the good work by him . ?
On the prospects of an India-Aus finals, he said ? It won`t matter to me . Iam here as a professional and Iam here to help India win matches . My being an Aussie won`t matter in any way.?

This is what the captains had to say :
Inzy : ? The boys are up for it . They know that we have a decent chance to reach the finals . We will only go there to win and n ot think about the mathematics behing qualifying ?
Dravid : ? We have to go out there and perform . Its not time yet to think about the finals . We have 4 important ODIs to be played before the finals . First of all w have to make sure of a berth in the finals . ?



The build up to the game is huge in England especially at Derby where Asians have flooded in from different corners of Europe . The game is expected to be a sellout and it being a Saturday the match will surely be a cracker !


Will Pakistan avenge the defeat at Birmingham in Game2 of the Natwest Pentangular or Will the Indian Juggernaut continue to steam roll the opponents ?

DON`t miss it !!

 

[gold639]

This will be a cracker.

 

[The Champ]

well i have booked my seats for that viewers do watch with me it shoukld be a humdinger

 

[aditya123]

India V Pakistan , Game 17 of The Natwest Pentangular

----------------------INDIA V PAKISTAN---------------------------------------------------

Welcome to Derby for the game 17 of the Natwest Pentangular . It?s the business end of the competition and the 2 great rivals meet again . The game is important to both in different ways ! India need just one win to reach the finals and Pakistan need to win both their games to stay alive . Its all set for another thriller .
The venue looks stunning and we have a full house expected .

Over to Ravi Shastri for the Pitch Report and Ramez Raza with the toss .

Pitch Report ::

Ravi Shastri : Have a look at the pitch and you`ll know about it ! Its another batting beauty and 250 will b a par score . Win the toss and bat first !
Chasing will be difficult due to the big game pressure .

Toss :

Bob : I have the 2 captains and the match refree . Its Dravid to call .
He calls heads and heads it is !
Rahul, what will you be doing ?

Rahul : We`ll have a bat . It looks a good pitch to bat on and if we put on a good score , we have a good chance .

Rameez : Inzy, would you have batted ?

Inzy : no we are comfortable chasing . We chased 316 against India at Ahd`bad and won .

Rameez : That?s the news from the centre . India have won the toss and have decided to bat !

 

[aditya123]

India off to a flier !

INDIAN OPENERS BLAST AWAY IN THE FIRST FIFTEEN
135/1 after 15 overs

India have got off to a flying start thanks to some superb attacking batting by Sourav Ganguly and indisciplined bowling by the Pakistani opening bowlers . They have already conceded 51 extras and 31 of them have been wides . This problem has been haunting Pakistani bowling lineups for a long time now and coach Bob Woolmer would be worried about it . Sourav Ganguly showed glimpses of his form of the old hitting a breezy 41 from 41 balls which included glorius hits to the fence and 3 over it .Sachin Tendulkar looked happy just knocking the ball around for singles and scoring an occasional boundary . Ganguly was bowled eventually when he went for a huge swipe across the line of M.Sami . Sachin has now been joined by VVS.Laxman who is looking for a big score in this series. HE has been getting out in an unfortunate manner in this series and the platform is set for a big score from him . Looking at the start in the first 15 overs, India will be looking to force the issue and bat Pakistan out of the match ! Pakistan who are desperately looking for a win will be seeking a few quick wickets to stem the run flow and keep the target to reasonable one. Its all damage control from now on!

 

[aditya123]

Ganguly smashes 41 of 41 balls !

Ganguly smashes 41 of 41 balls

Sourav Ganguly showed just why he is still one of the most dangerous ODI batsman with a breezy 41 of 41 balls before he was finally scalped by a M.Sami delivery . He hit 3 huge sixes and 4 boundaries in his promising innings .

 

[aditya123]

Sachin 39* looks good for a big score !

Sachin Tendulkar scored a riskfree 39 and is showing signs of getting back to peak form . Pakistan need to get him soon to stand a chance of staying in the series .

 

[The Champ]

Tendulkar will get 100