Story Thread Closed: 20-20 World Cup in Australia

[SaiSrini]

West Indies upset New Zealand

West Indies upset New Zealand​

In a remarkable upset, West Indies have beaten New Zealand by 26 runs here at Perth in the first match of the Twenty20 World Championship taking place in Australia! The West Indian bowlers applied the brakes skillfully as New Zealand were left fuming and finally folded up for a meagre 133 all out as opposed to West Indies 159/9!

Stephen Fleming top scored for the New Zealanders with a good 30. The rest just flattered to deceive as they folded up quite easily. Sinclair and Astle were the next two top performers with 28 and 27 respectively!

For West Indies, Mervyn Dillon was the star performer, picking up 4 wickets for 35 runs off his 4 overs! Even though he was expensive, he priced out the important wickets and was almost unplayable in his final over where he picked up 2 quick wickets!

Next Match: Sri Lanka vs Australia (at Melbourne)

​

 

[Liam Williams]

Great presentation and great story. Good luck in your matches.

 

[SaiSrini]

South Africa arrive in Australia!

SOUTH AFRICA ARRIVE IN AUSTRALIA!​

Graeme Smith, the South African captain, handles the press and the media soon after the arrival his team for the participation in the Twenty20 World Championship. South Africa, who are going to face India in their first encounter, are visibly energized by their break from international cricket and look excited!

*So, how do you think South Africa would fare in this tournament?

We have a very good chance here in this tournament! The side is more or less settled and has been consistently winning matches! We have some very good young blood who can stand up and perform! We are keeping our fingers crossed!

*How has captaincy been so far for you?

Captaincy has been a rollar coaster ride for me! I have had my share of ups and downs! Its a tough part to build a team almost from the scratch, which we have done! Now I think its time to reap the results which we hope we will!

South African Squad​

Pakistan arrive amidst huge hoardes of fans!​

Inzamam Ul Haq, the Pakistani captain, had to avoid huge hoardes of Pakistani fans who have thronged the Melbourne airport to welcome the Pakistani team who have arrived in the city for the participation in the Twenty20 World Championship! Inzamam finally came through and had a brief chat with us!

*Your team seems to have a lot of fans Inzy? How do you feel about this tournament?

We always have fans wherever we go! Regarding this tournament, we are hopeful of coming out on the top! We have a great side of experienced cum young players! We have Afridi who will be very useful for this format of the game! We hope to challenge the rest of the sides!

*How about the participation of your premier fast bowler, Shoaib Akthar?

Well, he has been selected in the squad of 20 but it remains to be seen whether he is available to play the first few matches of the tournament! We face England tomorrow in the first game. Shoaib is nursing an ankle injury and chances are he will not play in tomorrow's game

 

[ashu2411]

wow West Indies defeated the mighty New Zealand

 

[SaiSrini]

Match 2 - Sri Lanka vs Australia

Match 2 - Sri Lanka vs Australia​

After a highly intense first game where we witnessed an upset victory for the Windies over the formidable New Zealand, we come to one of the highly intense competitions of the modern game, Sri Lanka facing World Champions and hosts Australia! Australia, fresh from their Super Series success, must be raring to have a go at their Sri Lankan opponents who are not considered lethal outside the sub continent! Australia have the top players in their ranks with a good mix of youngsters and it should be an easy task for them to handle the Sri Lankans!

Sri Lanka win the toss and elect to bat first!

Here is what Atapattu had to say:

The wicket looks great for batting! If we can score about 160-180 runs, we would be in with a very good chance of beating the world champions Australia in their own backyard!

 

[Cricketman]

Cmon srilanka!

 

[ashu2411]

Australia will win

 

[Bala]

Sri Lanka are going to get steam rolled by the Aussies!

 

[SaiSrini]

Australia restrict Sri Lanka to 134/2

Australia restrict Sri Lanka to 134/2 in 20 overs​

Inspite of some brave knocks from the Sri Lankan captain Marvana Atapattu who scored 54 of 56 balls and a quickfire knock from Jayawardena, Australia stifled Sri Lanka's scoring rate in the end overs to set themselves a relatively easier target to chase here at Melbourne! Atapattu was the top scorer for Sri Lanka today with a fine half century but he was guilty of getting bogged down by the discplined bowling of the Aussies, especially Mc Grath and Clarke!

Sanath Jayasuriya gave a good start for Sri Lanka along with Atapattu but wasnt in his usual fluent self. He had a tricky time at the crease before driving Mc Grath to the Aussie captain Ricky Ponting at gully who took a brilliant one handed catch to dismiss the Lankan marauder Jayasuriya! It was a blinder and Ponting who is known to come off with such brilliant ones was visibly subdued after taking that catch!

Jayawardena then unleashed a flurry of strokes that kept the Sri Lankan hopes of setting a target of 160 alive. But just at the right moment, Brett Lee cleaned up Jayawardena's stumps out of the ground with a fiery delivery which easily was the fastest of the competition so far! It was a clean fiery full toss coming at full speed and Jayawardena did not have any other option other than to miss it and was clean bowled for 39. For Australia, Mc Grath and Clarke were economical in their spells! Lee was expensive but got the most important wicket of Jayawardena who attacked Australia! Gillespie wasnt at his best today but off late, he has been very wayward in his bowling!

Australia require 135 runs to win this contest and move 1-0 up in the table!

 

[Bala]

If Sri Lanka manage to win this match, then they should thank Jayawardane! 39 of 22. That is rapid! Good presentation Sai! Waiting for you to go live.

 

[SaiSrini]

Australia beat Sri Lanka by 5 wickets!

Gilchrist and Hayden help Australia overcome Sri Lanka​

It wasnt to be an easy victory for Australia as the Lankan boys gave them a pretty decent fight en route to victory in the second match of the Twentry20 World Championship at Melbourne! Aftera rollicking opening stand of 76 between Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden who scored 52, Australia lost its a way a bit in the middle but finally finished things off and went back with a victory to boast of! Gilchrist scored 35 off 37 balls and Hayden was the more aggressive of the two today, scoring 52 off 48 balls with a six and 9 fours!

Matthew Hayden pulls Muralitharan to the fence​

Sanath Jayasuriya effected a double breakthrough to rattle Australia for a brief period when he picked up 2 crucial wickets that of Ricky Ponting and Micheal Clarke. Ponting edged Jayasurya behind for Sangakkara to complete the catch after shuffling with it twice! Micheal Clarke then in a rush of blood, holed out to Vaas at deep long on off Jayasuriya! Muralitharan was very expensive today and was treated with disdain by the Australian bowlers who didnt find him to be a threat on their batting beauties!

Murali - Was a huge flop today!​

Man of the Match : Matthew Hayden

Hayden: It was a satisfying knock for me today! I knew that if I stayed at the wicket for a longer time, we would be home in the end. But it was an expected comfortable victory. We had a few hiccups! But we knew that we were going to win this after we restricted Lanka to 134! Gilly supported me as usual at the other end! He is an absolute delight to play with!

If Sri Lanka manage to win this match, then they should thank Jayawardane! 39 of 22. That is rapid! Good presentation Sai! Waiting for you to go live.

Oh you are waiting for me to actually play my matches! Dont worry. Your wish is going to come true soon! Next match is Pakistan vs England! I am playing as Pakistan!

 

[ashu2411]

Australian bowler did well to contail sri lanka at 134. That was always an easy chase for world champions.

 

[SaiSrini]

Akthar ruled out - Youhana sounds confident ahead of match!

Akthar ruled out - Youhana sounds confident​

Just before the match is about to begin, Mohammed Yousuf (formerly called Yousuf Youhana) met with the press to talk about the match. The Pakistani captain Inzamam Ul Haq has a mild flu and didnt want to talk to the press and instead sent Youhana to speak with the media before Pakistan's big match against England at Telstra Dome, Melbourne!

*Are you ready for the big match today vs England?

Definitely yes! We have practiced well and are confident of facing England! We have a good mix of players and would definitely face England in the right spirit!

*How is Akthar shaping? Is he playing today?

No! He has been ruled out of today's match against England. We did not want to risk him today. He is showing signs of improvement and would probably be more confident for our second game of the tournament!

*You seem to have changed to Islam? Why this sudden change?

I prefer not to talk about that at this important moment before a match starts! I have spoken a lot about it and I am sure I have said all that I should have said!

*Lot has been said about this tournament by many players, including Inzamam. Whats your opinion?

[With a wide grin] I think everyone is entitled to their own opinion! I for one, think that this is a great tournament! This format of the game has a lot of chances of becoming a big success with the audience and the ICC have done well to organise this tournament at this time between all the teams in the world! Its sure to be a great success!

Marcus Trescothick - We're probably the most in form team at the moment!

Trescothick was caught up by a few reporters during the team's final practice session before the start of the game. Here is what Trescothick had to say!

We're probably the most in form team at the moment! Obviously, the Ashes victory has boosted our confidence no end! I would probably be just confident if I say we will beat Pakistan today!

Match to start in a few hours! The weather not looking good! A few showers are forecast during the day! The sponsors and the players look forward to a clear day on the field! Both teams finish practice sessions and leave the field!


Note: Going to play with Boss's patch! Starting to play live as Pakistan!

 

[Cricketman]

Im eagerly awaiting the first india match! i personally think that Dhoni should come in at 3 to step up and slam the bowlers!

 

[SaiSrini]

Pakistan elect to bowl first on a Wet pitch!

Inzamam elects to bowl on a wet pitch against England​

Its a big day and a big match - Pakistan vs England at the Telstra Dome, Melbourne. The sky is overcast with indications of a few showers overlooming on the match! Pakistan are coming from a break and England are coming fresh from a sensational Ashes victory over Australia which has grabbed much of the headlines in recent times! A close look at the pitch brought to you by Foster's Australian Beer!

The pitch looks extremely wet. Obviously due to the heavy overnight rain! It is going to be extremely tough for the batsmen to score runs! All in all, looks to be a paradise for the bowlers!

Inzamam wins the toss and elects to bowl first! Here is what he had to say "The wicket looks wet and the ball would swing a lot during the game! In such a scenario, it would be a wise decision to have our bowlers take first use of the wicket!

Here are the line ups for both Pakistan and England! Shoaib Akthar has been ruled out due to ankle injury!

Match to start in a few minutes! Commentars are in place! Over to the commentary box and let the action begin!