Cricket

Title aspirants India will have revenge on their minds when they launch their 2011 Cricket World Cup campaign against co-hosts Bangladesh in the tournament-opener here on Saturday, fully aware that any slip-up could prove costly.

Minnows Bangladesh had ensured India’s early exit in the first round of the 2007 edition at the Caribbeans and Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his men will be eagar to settle the score and kick start their campaign on a positive note at the Sher-e-Bangla National stadium.

Tipped as one of the favourites, the current world number two side, boasts off an exceptionally balanced team, but such a pool of talented players will also pose a few selection questions for skipper Dhoni.

Dhoni though seems to have sorted out his problem of plenty in the batting department when he tipped Virat Kohli ahead of Suresh Raina after their second warm up match against New Zealand.

“The number four slot is very important for us. Right now it is a slot war. It is the number four slot where Kohli needs to bat with Gautam Gambhir at number three,” Dhoni said.

“Kohli is sort of a player who likes to spend little bit of time early and then go after the bowlers. Still, there is a bit of chance where Virat may get an edge over (Suresh) Raina seeing the current form he is in,” he added.

Dhoni also hinted that he would stand by Yuvraj Singh as his ability to spin the ball away makes him an asset to the team even though currently he is a bit short of runs.

“We are playing with four bowlers. A part-time spinner is really important especially if it is a left-arm away going spinner. That’s the one big advantage he (Yuvraj) has got over others,” Dhoni said.

The explosive batting line-up will be marshalled by Sachin Tendulkar, who would be participating in his sixth World Cup this time around and the senior batsmen will look to give India a flying start with Virender Sehwag.

Gautam Gambhir will be next, while the middle-order also looks rock solid with Kohli, Dhoni, Yuvraj and Yusuf Pathan – all capable of playing big-shots and also rotating the strike.

In their second and last warm up game, India scored a mammoth 360 against New Zealand and it will give a lot of confidence to the batsmen, especially skipper Dhoni and Gambhir, who hit an unbeaten 108 and 89 respectively.

Kohli and Raina also cracked half-centuries against New Zealand and Dhoni would be hoping his boys continue the good work.

In the bowling department, Dhoni will have to pick his options carefully since India is going with a four-pronged attack.

Indian spinners Harbhajan Singh and surprise inclusion Piyush Chawla have taken five and six wickets in the last two warm up games. Even R Ashwin and part-time spinner Yuvraj scalped two and three wickets respectively.

In contrast, the pacers have struggled with Ashish Nehra claiming two and Praveen Kumar’s replacement S Sreesanth taking one wicket, while Munaf Patel remaining wicketless in the warm up matches.

But with pace spearhead Zaheer Khan, who didn’t feature in the two warm up ties because of a minor niggle, returning to action on Saturday, a much better performance can be expected from the seamers.

Bangladesh, on the other hand, have so far been content with an odd upset and have been generally looked upon as underachievers but the tigers would look to shrug off that tag when they lock horns with India at home.

Though they have just five victories from 20 World Cup matches to show, Bangladesh has the distinction of beating Pakistan on debut during the 1999 edition and ousting India and defeating South Africa four years ago.

Skippered by Shakib-Al-Hasan, Bangladesh have a few good batsmen in talented Mohammad Ashraful, the pint-sized dynamic opener Tamim Iqbal and wicket-keeper Mushfiqur Rahim. Besides, captain Shakib-Al-Hasan, himself, ranks number one in the ICC’s all-rounders list and knows how to wield the willow.

Bangladesh won their first warm up match against Canada but lost to Pakistan in the second tie. However, their openers Tamim and Imrul Kayes have got runs under their belt in the two matches.

Though their pace attack will lack the fire-power of speedster Mashrafe Mortaza, 21-year-old pacer Rubel Hossain had claimed five wickets in the warm up matches.

Besides, Bangladesh also have some good tweakers in left-arm slow bowlers Shakib and Abdur Razzaq, who can get handy support from many other part-timers.

Bangladesh can also take heart from the fact that they came into the tournament after having made a clean sweep against New Zealand, a full-fledged test playing country and defeating Zimbabwe 3-1 at home, where they will play all their six league games.

TEAMS

India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Captain/wicketkeeper), Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Yusuf Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Munaf Patel, S Sreesanth, Piyush Chawla, R Ashwin, Ashish Nehra.

Bangladesh: Shakib Al Hasan (Captain), Tamim Iqbal, Imrul Kayes, Junaid Siddique, Shahriar Nafees, Raqibul Hasan, Mohammad Ashraful, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Naeem Islam, Mahmudullah, Abdur Razzak, Rubel Hossain, Shafiul Islam, Nazmul Hossain, Suhrawadi Shuvo.

Match starts at 1430 hrs (IST).

Cricket India

Master blaster Sachin Tendulkar is looking forward to next year’s ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 which will be staged in the Indian sub-continent after a span of one and a half decades.

“The Cricket World Cup is the ultimate limited overs competition for a cricketer as it happens only once in four years. The entire cricketing fraternity eagerly waits for this event and when it starts, everyone gets deeply involved,” said Tendulkar, who will become the most capped Test batsman when he plays against Sri Lanka in his 169th match tomorrow.

“It’s a completely different feeling to be part of a Cricket World Cup where the atmosphere and the buzz is very special and to be staged in the sub-continent for the first time in 15 years is a magnificent feeling,” added the Indian batting maestro.

With the World Cup to be co-hosted by India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka, skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni said winning the the show-piece event on home soil is his biggest dream.

“It can’t get any bigger than the ICC Cricket World Cup in which the best of the best enter with just one objective to take home the Cup that counts,” the Indian skipper said.

“It’s not only my dream to be a Cricket World Cup winner but it’s the wish of every member of Team India to put his hand on the Cricket World Cup trophy. We’ll work as hard as possible to turn our dreams into reality,” Dhoni said.

“This trophy has been eluding us for the past 27 years and I think we have a very good chance at home to break the drought,” he added.

With 200 days to go before the first ball is bowled in the World Cup, the ICC today announced the event mascot’s name as ‘Stumpy’ at the P Sara stadium here ahead of the third Test between India and Sri Lanka starting tomorrow.

The mascot, an elephant, has been named ‘Stumpy’ after an online selection process that drew proposals from thousands of cricket fans around the world.

The lucky winner will receive a cricket bat signed by the all-star quartet of Dhoni, Tendulkar, Sri Lanka’ captain Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardena.

“This is another milestone in the build-up to our flagship event and it’s great to see the game’s best players like Mahendra, Kumar, Sachin and Mahela looking forward to the ICC Cricket World Cup with such enthusiasm,” ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat said in a statement.

“As the excitement builds over the coming 200 days, we will see Stumpy throughout the cricket world, promoting the event and generating enthusiasm,” he said.

The mascot of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011, which is an elephant, has been named Stumpy. The name was unveiled in Colombo on Monday.

This is the second elephant mascot. The first was Appu, the baby elephant, in 1982 for the Asian Games in New Delhi.

The International Cricket Council had launched an online competition to suggest names for the mascot of the next year’s mega-event to be held in the sub-continent.

ICC has tried to imbibe morals of an ideal player into the mascot’s personality by stating that the mascot believes in hard work and is always learning to master the art of concentration.

ICC had said the mascot is someone who is young and enthusiastic, and determined individual.

He is someone who thinks cricket is the most fun game in the world and loves playing street cricket. He worships his cricket heroes, their technique, skill and character and dreams of playing in the ICC Cricket World Cup one day.

The first match of the World Cup will be played in Dhaka, Bangladesh on February 19 next year and the final is scheduled to be held in Mumbai on April 2.

The Asia Cup ODI tournament will be held in Sri Lanka from June 16 to 25 this year.

The Chief Executive Officer of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Syed Ashraful Huq told The Hindu here that only the four Test playing nations of Asia – India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh – would take part in the event. Ashraful, in the city to hold discussions with BCCI Secretary N. Srinivasan, said The matches will be staged in Colombo and Premadasa Stadium is the likely venue. In all there will be six league games and the final.

In the last edition of the Asia Cup, we had Hong Kong and UAE in the tournament but we had to shorten the format this time because of the lack of time available for the major teams.

He admitted Malaysia was in contention to host the championship. Yes, Malaysia was in the running. Eventually, the ACC has settled for Sri Lanka.

This will be the fourth occasion Sri Lanka will be hosting the tournament begun in 1984. They played host in 1986, 1997 and 2004 and won the final on each occasion.

The 2010 version is the tenth edition of the Asia Cup. Sri Lanka are the present holders of the trophy having won it in 2008 when Pakistan hosted it. They beat India by 100 runs in the final played at Karachi. Sri Lanka has appeared in every final since the tournament`s inception except the first when it was decided on a round-robin league.

Sri Lanka and India have won the Asia Cup the most occasions four each and Pakistan once. Bangladesh, Hong Kong and United Arab Emirates have yet to lay their hands on the trophy.

Cricket India

Ogilvy & Mather has been selected as the official Advertising and Media Agency for the 50-over ICC Cricket World Cup to be co-hosted by India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh next year.

In 1948, David Ogilvy founded the agency that went on to become Ogilvy & Mather later. The company is eighth largest advertising networks in the world and has more than 450 plus offices in 169 cities.

The 10th edition of the World Cup will take place during February and March 2011, with the first match being played on February 19th in Dhaka and final in Mumbai on April 2nd.

It will be Bangladesh’s first time co-hosting of a World Cup and fourteen cricketing nations will complete in the quadrennial event.

The World Cup was also to be co-hosted by Pakistan, but in the wake of the 2009 attack on the Sri Lanka national cricket team in Lahore, the International Cricket Council (ICC) were forced to strip Pakistan of its hosting rights.

The tournament will take place at 13 venues in Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka. The prize money for the prestigious event has been set by the ICC Board at a record $10 million in order to reflect the importance of the competition.

Tickets for the premium event will go on sale online from June 1, 2010 at www.iccevents.yahoo.com.

Half-centuries from Junaid Siddique and Mahmudullah led Bangladesh to a three-wicket victory, and a 3-0 cleansweep of the One-Day International series over West Indies on Friday.

Siddique struck six fours in 55 from 73 balls, and Mahmudullah, who was named man-of-the-match, hit two fours and one six in an unbeaten 51 from 70 balls to help Bangladesh overhaul a victory target of 249 in the third and final ODI at Warner Park.

Mahmudullah made sure of victory when he flicked a delivery from Kemar Roach through square leg.

Bangladesh won the opening match in Dominica last Sunday by 52 runs, and the second match at the same venue on Tuesday by three wickets.

Their ODI series victory followed a cleansweep of the preceding two-Test series against a home side decimated by a player boycott.

“After winning the Test series, we were looking forward to this ODI series,” said Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan.

“It was a total team effort. Every time the team was under pressure, someone was able to put their hands up and do the job. This success in the Caribbean will help to take us to the next level.”

Bangladesh dismissed West Indies for 248 in 47.4 overs, after the home team decided to bat.

Siddique and fellow opener Tamim Iqbal set Bangladesh on their way with a stand of 54 for the first wicket.

But they slid to 133 for five in the 28th over before Mahmudullah joined Mushfiqur Rahim and added 50 for the sixth wicket.

It however, took a stand of 49 for the seventh wicket between Mahmudullah and Naeem Islam which virtually pushed the Tigers over the threshold.

Earlier, Mahmudullah, bowling his off-spin, along with fast-medium bowler Mahbubul Alam, and left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak all captured two wickets.

The Bangladesh bowlers maintained the pressure throughout, and several West Indies batsmen got starts.

Andre Fletcher led the way with 52 from 42 balls, captain Floyd Reifer and his deputy Darren Sammy made 40 apiece.

“I think throughout the series we needed to build more and better partnerships when we were batting,” said Reifer.

“Whenever we seem to be building partnerships, the guys always seem to be getting out at the wrong time. They needed to carry on at crucial stages in the game.”

He added: “But we had a young, inexperienced team. We have got to continue to play hard, keep talking more about the game, and looking back at our mistakes.

“All the games were very close, and it was just that we kept making crucial mistakes at crucial times.”

Bangladesh restricted West Indies to 10 for two in the fourth over before Dowlin and Andre Fletcher put on 76 for the third wicket.

Fletcher reached his 50 from 40 balls, when he slogged Abdur Razzak over mid-wicket for his eighth four in the 14th over, after he had taken a four and a six off the third and fourth balls of the same over.

Bangladesh then made West Indies wobble on 124 for five in the 28th over, but were revived when Reifer and Sammy added 64 before they were among a cluster of wickets that fell in the last 15 overs.

The 3rd and final ODI in the series between West Indies and Bangladesh takes place in St. Kitts on Friday. Once again the West Indies will be fielding a weakened side as Bangladesh look to complete a whitewash.

Live Cricket Score

Shakib Al Hasan has admirably led Bangladesh to victory in the first 2 ODI’s which were held in Dominica. The West Indies batsmen showed signs of getting to grips with spin bowling in the 2nd ODI as they posted a competitive 274 (including a century from Travis Dowlin). Alas, it was not enough as Bangladesh built steady partnerships and despite one or two scares along the way, they clinched the series with an over to spare.

While the West Indies batsmen finally came to the party, their bowling was mediocre and was not helped by Kemar Roach being removed from the attack after a beamer and a high full toss. Darren Sammy looked to have pulled a hamstring and operated off a short run but retains his place in the squad.

On they go to St. Kitts with West Indies cricket at a real low point and only pride to play for.

The Venue: Warner Park, St Kitts

West Indies have played 3 ODI’s here and have beaten India (by 4 wickets) and Australia (by 1 run). There have been some big ODI totals though some matches were in the World Cup ad involved some of the cricketing minnows.

The Verdict:

Whatever the outcome, lets hope the shambles in West Indies cricket is brought to a halt. Try as they might, this reserve side will really struggle in the Champions Trophy if the WICB don’t budge on their stance concerning the participation of their leading players. The West Indies cricket loving public have suffered enough.

Bangladesh won their first One-day series against a current Test nation when they defeated West Indies by three wickets in the second match at Windsor Park on Tuesday.

Two days after beating West Indies in a One-dayer for the first time, Bangladesh chased down the home side’s 274-6 in 50 overs, including an unbeaten century by Travis Dowlin, by reaching 276-7 with an over to spare.

Bangladesh can go for the two-Test and three-ODI sweep on Friday at St. Kitts.

Bangladesh were led by captain Shakib-al-Hasan, who cracked 65 off 61 balls, and Mohammad Ashraful, who hit 64 off 77 deliveries.

They had solid support from the entire top order.

Left-handers Tamim Iqbal (29) and Junaid Siddique (23) shared an opening stand of 46, while Raqibul Hasan (20) and Mushfiqur Rahim (31) helped steel the middle order.

David Bernard was responsible for removing both openers as Bangladesh slipped to 64-2.

First, he claimed Siddique with the ball then pulled off a sensational one-handed catch at midwicket off pacer Kemar Roach to dispatch Tamim.

Ashraful then forged two half-century partnerships to tilt the balance back to the Tigers.

He and Raqibul added 52 for the third wicket, followed by an even more destructive stand of 74 off 64 balls with his skipper.

Bernard claimed Raqibul to a lofted drive to extra cover but that failed to halt Bangladesh’s momentum.

Ashraful and Shakib were cruising when Ashraful gifted his wicket as he lofted leg-spinner Rawl Lewis to long-off at 190-4 in the 37th over. Ashraful, who also hit a half century in the opening match victory, struck three fours and a six off 77 balls.

Shakib and Mushfiqur soon dulled the home crowd again in a stand of 48 for the fifth wicket.

But in a frantic finale, the tourists almost threw it away.

Darren Sammy grabbed the wicket of Shakib, who sliced a catch to short third man after hitting two fours and a six off 61 balls.

Wicketkeeper Devon Thomas, on debut, was called out from behind the stumps once Roach had been banned from the attack for two beamers and the 19-year-old grabbed two wickets to suggest a fairytale ending for the home team.

Mahmudullah clipped to square leg while Mushfiqur slapped a full toss to extra cover at 261-7.

But Naeem Islam and Abdur Razzak were levelheaded as they led their side home with an unbeaten stand of 15 off 18 balls.

Razzak hit the winning boundary with a sliced four over short third man off Bernard.

Earlier, Dowlin’s brilliant, unbeaten 100 off 117 balls gave West Indies hope. The 32-year-old, in only his second match, struck six fours and a six off 117 balls. He paced his innings superbly, with his first 50 occupying 88 deliveries before he exploded for 50 off his next 29 balls.

Before he appeared, West Indies received an encouraging start after winning the toss.

Dale Richards (20) and Andre Fletcher (22) added 33 off the first five overs but Bangladesh struck back once spin was introduced.

Fletcher perished to the first ball from skipper Shakib’s left-arm spin, slicing a catch to cover.

Richards fell at 52-2, run out as he ended up in the same crease as Smith after a mix-up.

Smith and Dowlin gradually rebuilt the innings in the face of a disciplined Bangladesh spin attack.

Just as they were beginning to blossom, Smith also departed to a run out. This time, it was Tamim’s brilliant direct hit from deep square leg that did the damage.

Smith struck one four and one six off 62 balls.

Captain Floyd Reifer’s tortured return to international cricket continued when he fell for 7 as he slapped a wide ball from Naeem to backward point at 134-4 in the 33rd over.

But Dowlin and the home team’s all-rounders rallied in the latter overs.

The last 10 overs realized 98 runs, including the batting powerplay of five overs that produced 50 runs.

Bernard struck two fours, Lewis launched two sixes and Sammy closed the innings with a flurry that included four fours.

Dowlin, who missed out on a maiden century when he fell for 95 in the second Test, endured one bit of luck when Syed Rasel just failed to cling onto a diving return catch with Dowlin on 97.

The Guyanese brought up his century of the second ball of the final over, with a nudge into the off side.

The 2nd ODI between West Indies and Bangladesh takes place at Roseau, Dominica on Tuesday. Bangladesh are 1-0 up in the 3 match series and will be looking to pile on the agony for their troubled hosts.

Live Cricket Score

This series has fallen under the radar somewhat with a second string West Indies given the chance to see what they can do in the ODI’s despite the end of the players strike. The dispute between the West Indies players and the WICB has rumbled on for weeks and the cricket loving West Indian public are the victims. Credit then to the people of Dominica who still produced a decent atmosphere in the 1st ODI played here at the weekend even though their side slipped to a 52 run defeat.

Bangladesh posted 246/9 on Sunday and soon took control in the West Indian chase. Opening the bowling with spin, they took early wickets and the home side came up well short. The West Indians just don’t seem to have an answer to spin bowling, the talk was of preparing wickets for the ODI’s which would nullify the Bangladesh spinners but once again they surrendered. Having lost the test series, they are now on the verge of losing the ODI’s.

West Indies cricket players returned to work on Tuesday under an agreement that saw former Commonwealth Secretary General Sir Shridath Ramphal, appointed mediator in their bitter pay dispute.

One day after Bangladesh players completed a two-Test series sweep of the West Indies for their first overseas series triumph, West Indies players agreed to resume representing the region.

Players have been fighting the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) over pay but returned after the appointment of Ramphal at a meeting convened by Guyana’s President, Bharrat Jagdeo, at the request of the West Indies Players Association (WIPA).

Jagdeo is the current chairman of the 15-nation Caribbean Community (Caricom).

“It was agreed that, in light of the mediation agreement the parties expect to lead to the resolution of outstanding issues, all the players will make themselves available for selection,” they said in a joint statement.

WIPA and WICB have also agreed to each nominate a facilitator to assist Ramphal in his work.

“The mediation team, with assistance from the Caricom secretariat, would begin work immediately,” they said in the statement.

“Both parties have taken this step, mindful of the interest of their respective organisations but conscious also of their wider responsibility to the people of the West Indies and the international sport of cricket,” the organisations added.

The memorandum of understanding was signed by WIPA President Dinanath Ramnarine and WICB President Dr. Julian Hunte in the presence of the Guyanese leader.

The latest dispute erupted two weeks ago, when 13 of the leading players made themselves unavailable for the first test against Bangladesh in St. Vincent, citing pay and contract issues.

Except for Haiti and Surinam, the remainder of Caricom member nations are former British colonies and international cricket-playing nations from which the West Indies team is drawn.