England Outplayed By Netherlands In World T20 Opening Match

ICC World Twenty20 opener creates history when England were defeated by Dutch.In a outstanding last-ball finish, England were thrashed out by the Netherlands by four wickets.
Chasing the target of 162 on an even surface that allowed batsmen to go through with their shots, the Dutch batsmen achieved the target on the last ball with four wickets to spare.
Earlier,England started there match in star batsman Kevin Pietersen’s absence from the playing XI due to an Achilles tendon injury.

For England, the adventurous opening duo of Luke Wright (71) and Ravi Bopara (46) got the team off to a blazing start, bringing up the 100-run partnership inside 12 overs. ten Doeschate, who plays alongside Bopara for Essex, dismissed his county team-mate to trigger a mini collapse for England.
Soon after seamer Edgar Schiferli got rid of the dangerous Owais Shah (5). Wright held fort and continued to play his strokes but did not find any substantial support from the English middle and lower order.So unusual was the English innings that it was deprived of a single six in the innings. Wright’s eight boundaries were complimented by five off Bopara’s blade besides one by Collingwood.
For the Netherlands, Dirk Nannes went wicket-less but conceded an acceptable 30 runs off his four-over spell. ten Doeschate proved to be their most effective bowler with figures of 2-35 while part-timer Peter Borren finished with figures of 1-31.

Nerve overtook the Dutch chase when their batsmen lost lost the momentum in the period immediately after the 15-over mark. A tremendous late burst by England spearhead James Anderson (3-23) pegged things back for the Netherlands but Ryan ten Doeschate held his nerves and stunned Paul Collingwood’s men.

The Netherlands went into the final over needing 7 runs but came up against a fired-up Stuart Broad, who conceded just three runs from the first three balls.

Schiferli was left with the strenuous task of finishing off the game, as the Dutch needed two runs off the last ball. Schiferli hit the ball straight back at Broad and ran for life. Broad collected the ball cleanly in his follow-through but failed to hit the stumps at the non-striker’s end. The result was disastrous for England as there was no fielder to back up, allowing Schiferli and ten Doeschate to come back for the second run and seal a famous victory at the Lord’s.
It was the fifty-run stand between Borren (30) and de Grooth for the fourth-wicket that held the Dutch innings together and proved to be the difference between the two sides.


Final Score:

ENGLAND: 162/5 (20) RR: 8.10

Ravi Bopara : 46 runs on 34 balls, 4 fours, S/R 135.29

Luke Wright : 71 runs on 49 balls, 8 fours, S/R 144.90

Ryan ten Doeschate : 2 wickets for 35 runs.

NETHERLANDS: 163/6 (20) RR: 8.15

Tom de Grooth : 49 runs on 30 balls, 6 fours , 1 six ,S/R 163.33

James Anderson : 3 wickets for 23 runs

Man of the match : Tom de Grooth

Result: Netherlands won by 4 wickets

ICC World Twenty20: Rohit Sharma shocks Pakistan

Pakistan's innings was like a bad action movie: it started and finished at speed, but went through an extended slow passage in the middle. They did eventually manage to claw their way to 158 for six, but even that looked manifestly inadequate once the Indian openers got up and running.

Virender Sehwag missed this match with a bad shoulder, which left the way clear for his replacement, Rohit Sharma, to deliver a dream of an innings of 80 off 53 balls. He is a baby-faced 22 year-old, and there is nothing stiff or rigid about his batting either.

His hands yield beautifully when he plays a soft deflection, and they move with uncanny speed when he decides to lash one over mid-wicket. India have been looking for a possible replacement for Sachin Tendulkar for years, and here they have a contender.

One might have expected Gautam Gambhir, the more established player, to try to compete with Sharma's virtuosity. Sensibly, though, Gambhir, who made an unbeaten 52, performed a steady supporting role. Given that Sehwag has expressed an interest in moving down into the middle order, it will be interesting to see what happens when he comes back into the team.

After the small crowds and desultory West Indies performances that marred the start of this season, it was good to see such exuberance on and off the field. But England had better watch out when they come to keep their Super Eight date with India (pencilled in for Lord's on Sunday week). Paul Collingwood's men could end up feeling like the away team.

Final Score:

The Oval: Pakistan 158-6 (20 overs; Misbah ul-Haq 37no, Younus Khan 32); India 159-1 (17 overs; R G Sharma 80, G Gambhir 52no). India won by by 9 wkts.

Cricket Moments ICC World Twenty20 2007

CHAMPIONS! Team India after winning the inaugural World Twenty20.


Pakistan's Yasir Arafat loses his nerve and his wicket in the grand finale against India.


The hotstepping dancers keep going on and on.



A super spell by Aussie pacer Brett Lee led to the first ever hat-trick in Twenty20 internationals.




Yuvraj Singh of India created T20 history by being the first batsman to score 6 sixes in an over off England's Stuart Broad.



Robin Uthappa of India takes a bow after hitting the stumps in the bowl out against Pakistan.




Chris Gayle celebrates being the first to score a T20I century in the opening game against South Africa.

Duccan Chargers(Hyderabad) beats Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL final.

Duccan Chargers Hyderabad beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by 6 runs to lift the IPL '09 trophy. Electing to bowl after winning the toss Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Anil Kumble took 4 wickets as Deccan Chargers scored 143/6 in 20 overs.
Former India captain Anil Kumble produced a magnificent bowling performance for the Bangalore Royal Challengers but could not prevent the Deccan Chargers from winning the Indian Premier League final by six runs at the Wanderers.

"We were happy to be playing without any big expectation because we were trying to rebuild," Deccan Chargers captain Adam Gilchrist said. "Given what we did last year it was a phenomenal effort by everyone in the franchise to turn things around."

Herschelle Gibbs top-scored with an unbeaten 53 while Andrew Symonds was the next best performer with 33 as Deccan reached 143-6 from its 20 overs.

Gilchrist paid tribute to Andrew Symonds, who took two wickets in two balls to undermine Bangalore's run chase.

"He is a great team man. He creates good spirit in the team. He's just a great personality and a wonderful talent on a cricket field," Gilchrist said.

Kumble named man-of-the-match after taking 4-16 in four overs, said the dismissal of Ross Taylor and Virat Kohli by Symonds was a big blow to Bangalore's chase.

"We worked really hard to get to this," Kumble said. "But having said that nobody gave us a chance three weeks ago to be in the final."

"We were cruising. But those two wickets in two balls did it," Kumble said.

Left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha takes three wickets for just 28 runs as Bangalore were restricted to 137-9 in reply.

Score Card:

Hyderabad vs Bangalore Match: T20 Venue: Johannesburg | Date: May 24, 2009

Toss: Bangalore elected to field

Hyderabad 143-6 (20)

Bangalore 137-9 (20)

Result: Deccan Chargers won by 6 runs

Man of the match: Anil Kumble.

Man Of The Series:Adam C Gilchrist.

Orange Cap: Matthew Hayden .

Purple Cap: RP Singh

Under 23 Player of the Series: Rohit Sharma.

Yuvraj's Six Sixes In ICC 20-20 World Cup 2007

Yuvraj Singh smacked six sixes in one over to incapacitated England’s bowler Stuart Broad and this Indian Cricket star becomes the first player in Twenty20 history to hit six sixes in an over in India's match against England.Sir Gary Sobers was the first to hit six sixes in an over in first-class cricket while Herschelle Gibbs managed it in a one-day international. West Indies legend Sobers made history while playing for Nottinghamshire against Glamorgan's Malcolm Nash in Swansea in 1968.
Yuvraj's 50 runs off 12 balls is the fastest fifty against any team, not only in Twenty-20 world Cup, but also in the history of One Day and Test cricket.

Ball By Ball Scenario:

Broad to Yuvraj 19th over of the match:

• Ball one - hooks over cow corner, between midwicket and mid-on
• Ball two - flicks off the legs, into the crowd beyond backward square leg
• Ball three - steps to leg and smashes the ball over extra cover
• Ball four - wide full toss steered over backward point
• Ball five - thrashes over midwicket, down on one knee
• Ball six - leans back and smacks over wide mid-on