Ponting predicts India will beat Pakistan in the semifinals

AHMEDABAD: Australian captain Ricky Pontingon Thursday predicted that India would beatPakistan in the World Cup semifinal and Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men are the strong favourites to win the coveted title after a gap of 28 years. 

"India played well as a team today and deserved victory. Today we were not good enough (to win). Going forward they will be pretty hard to beat. They will beat Pakistan in the semifinal and go on to win the World Cup now," Ponting said at the post-match press conference after Australia were knocked out of the World Cup by India. 

"India have a very good batting line-up. We played very competitive cricket tonight but I'm disappointed with the two successive losses (against Pakistan in their last league game and today against India)," he said after his side's five-wicket loss in a high-octane World Cup quarterfinal. 

He said he would not be playing in the next World Cup but ruled out quitting one-day cricket. 

"I am not quitting one-day cricket but this is probably my last World Cup game. I will be happy to look back after retirement that I made a century in my last innings in the World Cup," Ponting said

He also said that the talk of the end of an era in Australian cricket was misplaced. 

"It's a bit premature to say it was the end of an era for Australian cricket, it was a pretty good game tonight. I do not think we were far away from winning the game against a very good Indian team on their home soil. I think it's a bit too early to say it's the end of an era," said Ponting. 

Ponting said his side had the chances to win the game and they were devastated by the loss. 

"We had great expectations from the game. We were a well organized group. We are devastated. We found it difficult to get momentum. Not performing at critical moments cost us the game. We did not grab our opportunities," he said. 

"We were 15 to 20 runs short with the bat. 250-260 was a good total but we lost wickets at bad time and never got the momentum going. We did not execute the plans properly," said the 36-year-old Tasmanian who scored a superb 104 after having struggled in the earlier part of the tournament. 

The Australian captain felt the schedule of the tournament could have been spread out better but said that that cannot be an excuse for his side's crashing out in the quarterfinals. 

"The schedule did not help us. But that cannot be put as an excuse for the loss. Over the last ten days my team has played four games. It would have been nice to have them (games) evenly spread out," he said. 

He sympathised with his key fast bowler Brett Lee who had made a great effort to get back into the team after a 14-month injury lay-off. 

"Brett has given a lot for Australian cricket during his entire career and at times coming back after big injuries. He will be shattered as he has worked very hard to get here," he said.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/cricket/cricket-world-cup-2011/news/Ponting-predicts-India-will-beat-Pakistan-in-the-semifinals/articleshow/7784011.cms

Ind vs Aus Live: Ponting stays but India go after the others

Australia are 158/4 in 35 overs with Ricky Ponting and Cameron White at the crease against India in their World Cup quarter-final match at the Sardar Patel Stadium in Motera, Ahmedabad, on Wednesday. Live Score

Earlier, Aussie skipper Ricky Ponting won the toss and elected to bat. Not an unusual decision considering that seamers won't have much bounce and carry and it is a good batting wicket.

The wicket looks dry and there will be some turn in offer for the spinners. Considering this, it was a good move by India captain MS Dhoni to give the ball to offie R Ashwin in the first over. And Ashwin did get the breakthrough though a bit late. On the last ball of the 10th over he scalped Satson with his turner that crashed into his stumps. He fell for 25 and Aussies went down to 40/1.

Post that wicket, Brad Haddin and Ricky Ponting got on with a fine partnership to put 70 runs for the second wicket. Brad Haddin went on to score his fourth half-century in the World Cup, but he could not carry any further as Yuvraj Singh got the man India wanted. Haddin went for a big hit off Yuvraj but failed to get the elevation and Suresh Raina took a fine catch to dismiss him on 53. Aussies lost their second wicket on 110/2.

Yuvraj, who is on a purple patch at the World Cup, came up with another vital breakthrough to send Aussie vice-captain Michael Clarke home. A top edge off Clarke's bat was taken by Zaheer Khan at mid-wicket. He departed for 8 and Australia fell to 140/3 in the 31st over. 

Then it was the turn of India paceman to join the party and Zaheer came headon scalping Michael Hussey with his slower ball that pitched on the off and turned in a little to take the batsman's off stump. Australia lost their fourth wicket on 150. 

In World Cups, India and Australia have played each other nine times. Australia have won seven times and India have won twice. However, in the knock-out stages of ICC events, they have met four times where India have won thrice and the Australia just once. At Motera, they have played twice and both have won one game each. 

Teams -

India: Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni (capt./wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Munaf Patel  

Australia: Shane Watson, Brad Haddin (wk), Ricky Ponting (capt.), Michael Clarke, Cameron White, Michael Hussey, David Hussey, Mitchell Johnson, Jason Krejza, Brett Lee, Shaun Tait 

Source: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/Story/133165/top-stories/ind-vs-aus-match-report.html

Ind vs Aus: India on the edge as Men in Blue face Australia

AHMEDABAD: This is it. Hold your breath whenIndia take on Australia on Thursday, for there will be no second chances. The biggest stage, and the crucial moment, has arrived. 

Where India and Australia stand in ODIs/World Cup 

Reputations are at stake for MS Dhoni and his beleaguered counterpart Ricky Ponting. India lost to Australia in the 2003 World Cup final and endured an awful campaign in 2007, but the scales have tilted since. This isn't the invincible Australia of old. Rather than a sublime and uplifting battle between two powerhouses of the international game, current form indicates this second quarterfinal might be more of a scrap. 

Neither side has been awe-inspiring in the build-up to this moment. Both have obvious chinks in the armour just waiting to be exploited, and both need to shed the blow-hot, blow-cold approach which has characterized their campaign so far. 

Then there's the enormous pressure breathing down their necks, especially Dhoni's men. India are playing at home and millions expect nothing less than victory. The backlash, in case of defeat, will be painful. Australia have dominated this stage for so long that this bunch of players wouldn't like to be remembered as children of a lesser god. Whichever team can raise its game now will go through to meet Pakistan. 

As many as six players in Dhoni's current squad were losing finalists in 2003 and will be looking to make amends. It's a great opportunity to settle an old score. Yet, making a statement of intent might not be easy, even though the Motera is expected to be dry and spin-friendly. India's bowling, apart from Zaheer Khan, has been ordinary. Time and again, they have faltered in the Batting Powerplay. Even the middle-order has collapsed twice. Australia's pacers can be a handful. Can the sight of a familiar opponent get the competitive juices flowing? 

The issue of Virender Sehwag's fitness is another complication the team could have done without. The opener is struggling with a troublesome knee and Dhoni said a call on his availability would be taken in the morning. Sehwag, however, spent a lot of time at the nets fielding and batting, and seems more likely to play than not. 

The Australians too have been anything but impressive. Ponting's time seems to be running out. His form and confidence is under the scanner and his fierce temper has shown through. Controversy and bad blood seems to be hounding the Aussies and they've been forced to maintain a quieter profile. The loss to Pakistan meant drawing the curtains on a 34-game unbeaten streak in this tournament and this loss of aura is a boost for opponents. 

Will this be India's turn to deliver a knockout blow?

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/cricket/cricket-world-cup-2011/news/Ind-vs-Aus-India-on-the-edge-as-Men-in-Blue-face-Australia/articleshow/7775807.cms

World Cup catches betting flu, 13 arrested

With due apologies to Australian cricket captain Ricky 'Punter' Ponting, he is not the only punter playing in this World Cup. Seriously, there have always been punters in cricket and they never retire.

Ever since the game evolved from the humble village of Humbledon in England, people have been wagering their money - from outcome of matches to something as strange as the colour of Bishan Singh Bedi's turban. Bedi apparently used to change his turbans for each session of a Test match and the Aussies used to love betting on the colour he would choose for a particular session.

That was when cricket was played by gentlemen in crisp flannels. Today, betting is a highrolling syndicate in the Western world and a similar big money spinning nefarious activity in our parts.

The World Cup give this "vice" a frenzied lease of life, spawning crores of rupees on the sly. Since the law of the land does not agree to such activities, the police obviously swoop down on such rackets operating from decrepit houses in dark alleys with an assortment of modern high-tech communication gadgets. These fly by night operators thrive on the human instinct to make money and more money.

Of late, the police have been hot on the heels of betting rackets across the country. In Delhi, they have busted three betting syndicates over the past three weeks.

On Sunday, inspector Arvind Kumar's team arrested five punters - Kuldeep Jain (32), Suresh Chand Jain(42), Ajay Jain (34), Manoj Jain (39) and Avdhesh Sharma (44) - from a house on rent in East of Kailash, south-east Delhi. These five were not taking bets directly, but 32 bookies across the city were doing their job. They were offering Rs 1.60 for every rupee invested.

The police said the punters use a computer software, Back and LayPro, to place the bets. The software can be downloaded from the internet or bought from Gaffar Market, the police added.

A rented room often attracts the police. Hence, many syndicates have moved to cars and vans. "Cars are the safest place to run a betting racket. All you need is a laptop with WiFi, mobile phone, television and a notebook.

The police have so far arrested 13 bookies in the Capital. Nine of them CUP CATCHES are property dealers. They confessed that were trying to cash in on the World Cup fever to make a quick buck.

Down south, the betting mafia has made Karnataka its new hub for the World Cup. The police have busted rackets in five different locations across the state over the past 15 days - arresting more than 25 people in Bangalore, Bellary, and Belgaum.

"We had clear information that the betting mafia has moved to Karnataka from Mumbai. They have formed a ring in the state. All the five gangs that we nabbed are interconnected," a senior police officer said.

What has appalled the police is the presence of armed guards from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar outside the houses of the betting gangs. "This is new to Bangalore. Armed guards are common in Mumbai. The Bangalore underworld does not rely on guards from other states," the officer added.

In Andhra Pradesh, the Vijayawada police on Sunday arrested five persons for betting on the India-England cricket match in Bangalore and seized Rs 2.10 lakh in cash, 12 mobile phones and a laptop.

Here again, real estate dealers from Hyderabad were involved in the betting racket. Subba Raju, a punter and property dealer, said cricket betting has two categories: match betting and fancy betting.

"Match betting is simple. In this, one can bet, for instance, on 40:42 when two favourite teams are playing. The bookie gets Rs 40,000 extra for every one lakh he bets on the first team if it wins the match. If the second team wins, he would lose Rs 42,000 for every one lakh straightaway.

As the match progresses, the bookies can raise their stake, but the basic figure remains the same," Raju explained.

Source:-http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/Story/131256/top-stories/world-cup-2011-betting-mafia.html