World Cup: India defeat Ireland by 5 wickets

BANGALORE: An Indian victory at theChinnaswamy Stadium on Sunday was never in doubt and so their five-wicket win did not come as a surprise to anyone. But the fact is that Irelandran India somewhat close, far closer than they should have been allowed to. Too many wickets were lost, too many overs were used up while chasing 208 for victory against an attack that was honest at best. 

Scorecard | Match in Pics 

Yes, the Indians did collect full points in the end but then these matches against the qualifiers should be more about making a point or two. And who knows, had the big Trent Johnston, who picked up two early wickets, not gone off injured after five overs, it could have been even closer. 

Yuvraj Singh, though, will take such a match everyday. The left-hander starred with the ball and his showing with the bat later justified his skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni's call to chase after he had won the toss. 

That Yuvraj was India's unlikely bowling hero goes without saying. It was his maiden five-wicket haul that pushed back the Irish cause a long way. The visitors were dismissed for a paltry 207, barely three days after they had chased down more than 300 against England. 

The Indians in turn stuttered a bit, losing Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir cheaply and thenSachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli and Dhoni all in their 30s but then were well served by Yuvraj the batsman as the target was reached with four overs to spare, setting off wild celebrations in the packed stadium. 

That little cushion in the end was chiefly because of Yusuf Pathan, the only Indian batsman, apart from the composed Yuvraj (50 not out, 75b, 3x4), to make a statement. Pathan (30 not out, 24b, 2x4, 3x6) walked in and straightaway got going with the big hits to ensure that Ireland didn't come too close to causing a second upset in this edition of the World Cup. 

In the afternoon, the pitch afforded some turn early on but it was a factor neither Piyush Chawlanor Harbhajan Singh, India's frontline spinners, could exploit. Yuvraj, with his part-time left-arm spin was easily the best on view, as his figures (0-0-31-5) reflect. He bowled all ten in one go. 

The early damage was done by Zaheer Khan, who should have had Ireland skipper William Porterfield before he had got off the mark had Pathan held on to the edge at second slip of just the third ball of the innings. Porterfield (75, 104b, 6x4, 1x6) went on to anchor the innings and give it some respectability before that man Yuvraj struck. 

Following the twin strikes by Zaheer, it was a sensible, 148-ball 113-run third wicket stand between the left-handed pair of Porterfield and Niall O-Brien that shored up the Ireland innings. The duo was also helped by some terrible bowling by leg-spinner Chawla, who even sent down two no-balls, the resultant free hit off the first handing the momentum to the Irish innings.

Source:-http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/cricket/cricket-world-cup-2011/news/World-Cup-India-defeat-Ireland-by-5-wickets/articleshow/7639191.cms

Fear is Pathan's primary weapon

Everyone has a favourite Yusuf Pathan story. A smattering of scribes and ex-players discovered theirs in Indore in January '08, during a Ranji Trophy game between Baroda and Delhi. It so happened that a few old-timers recalled how the swashbuckling southpaw Amay Khurasia, an ex-India international who was then commentating, once managed a six which thudded into a water tank yards outside the Maharani Usharaje stadium.

Khurasia merely nodded, for tales of his big-hitting still abounded in nooks and crannies across the country. It seemed impossible that someone could actually attempt such a hit again, much less manage to clear the ground.

On the third day, with Baroda under a bit of pressure and Rakesh Solanki attempting to steady things, Yusuf Pathan walked in at No. 7 and immediately started smashing the ball around with disdain. It was a counterattacking innings of such savagery that even the slumbering groundsmen ran for cover. The conditions were clearly treacherous for bowlers, and talk again veered towards a possibility of Khurasia's 'mark' being bettered. The tank fell right within Pathan's on-side hitting arc, and soon enough, he planted the front foot down the ground and took a huge swish at immense bat speed. The ball disappeared over midwicket and out of the ground, missing the tank by a whisker! Later, on being told how close he had come, Pathan said in all seriousness: "You should have told me earlier."

It's to Pathan's credit that he has transplanted this rare ability to hit big - and keep hitting big - on to the international stage. There have been others before him, game-changers whose cameos lower down the order sent shivers down opposition spines. But none had this degree of scary primal aggression, this ferocious and sustained ability to pounce on anything within range until fear paralyses the bowler.

Fear is Pathan's primary weapon as a batsman, but for long the nature of fear he inspired was specific to conditions. In South Africa, he extended this hunting ground to unfamiliar territory by identifying and maximising the controllables. Now, he can wait till he launches. He has learnt to stalk his prey. Over the past 10-odd ODIs, this soul-searching has made him a dangerously consistent batsman, able to single-handedly invert the logical outcomes of games, though he is aware failure always lurks a hair's breadth away.

His biggest gain has been elbowing his way into being an automatic choice for the starting XI ahead of the World Cup. He'll be back on familiar ground. Add to that the ability to chip in with the ball and engineer crucial middle-over breakthroughs too. The team has backed him, like Shane Warne did in the IPL, by giving him a license to kill. Without this freedom, Pathan will be half the batsman he is. It's worth it, for when there is no hope, there is still Yusuf Pathan.

THE NUMBER THAT DEFINES PATHAN

115.09: Yusuf's ODI strike rate: The second highest of all-time in the 50-over format.

Matches: 45

Runs: 694

Tons: 2

6s: 36

It is to be seen how MS Dhoni utilizes Pathan in the batting order. If he's used well, then I think Pathan is one cricketer who can change the course of a match singlehandedly. I have been watching his batting recently and the way he can clear the field is fabulous: Former India captain Kapil Dev.

SMASH HITS

OVER THE TOP: At good length or full, but if the ball is pitched even slightly outside the offstump and Yusuf has his eyes set, chances are you'll find it flying over long-on — enough to clear any field.

BIG SLASH: If its bowled short and on the body, he might take a blow or two. But if given any kind of width, Yusuf enjoys slashing it mercilessly anywhere between gully and the covers area.

WAITING FOR THE KILL: The thing about Yusuf is he's ready to wait. You bowl short, into the block hole, bring it into the righthander—he'll resist, punch back, take a hit... anything. But bowl where he wants & he will punish really hard.

Source:-http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/cricket/world-cup-2011/profiles/india-profiles/Fear-is-Pathans-primary-weapon/articleshow/7456257.cms

SA beat India by 48 runs (D/L method)

 South Africa beat India by 48 runs (D/L method) in the rain-reduced fourth ODI at St George's Park in Port Elizabeth on Friday. SCORE

India were batting 137/6 in the 31st over with Virat Kohli and Harbhajan Singh at the crease when rain halted play.

 South Africa's Jean-Paul Duminy en route to his unbeaten 71 against India. AP
The game resumed only to end within minutes as rain again stopped play - this time for ever as India score read 142 for 6 in 32.5 overs. Virat Kohli (87) and Harbhajan Singh (3) remained unbeaten.


Earlier, the duo got busy chipping away from the 266-run target even as the South Africa pacers were busy tightening the noose around India.

First South Africa pacer Lonwabo Tsotsobe, who has been in good from throughout the series struck early to claim both openers Rohit Sharma and Pathiv Patel. India were 32/2 post Pathiv's dismissal.

New man Yuvraj Singh had only stayed in the middle for twenty minutes before offie Johan Botha scalped him.

He followed the unwritten rule - if you don't understand which way the ball is turning just sweep it. But the sweep proved costly, the timing was entirely wrong and the ball took the aerial route only to come down at skipper Graeme Smith's throat. He fell for 12 and India to 49/3.

Then Suresh Raina and Virat Kohli formed a 64-run partnership for the fourth wicket before Raina fell to left-arm spinner Robin Peterson on 20. India were 112/4 at the stage.

Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (2) dropped by for a visit before Peterson thought he looked better on the benches. And India slumped to 123/5.

In came Yusuf Pathan, famous for his heavy heaves, and up went India's hopes only to crash land with a big thud.

A fatal edge off paceman Morne Morkel and Pathan was walking back on 2 with India score reading a poor 128/6.

Finally Virat Kohli and Harbhajan Singh decided to do the unthinkable before rain and Messrs Duckworth and Lewis dampened their spirits.

Earlier, the hosts treated their Indian visitors to some fine stitching exercise with Jean-Paul Duminy and Johan Botha showcasing their craftsmanship with the bat.

India bowlers were left awestruck as the duo put 70 runs on board for the sixth wicket. The end result was a fine 265/7 in 50 overs.

India didn't fall far behind. They too displayed their wares. In fact the South Africa total could have stretched on had India not used the scissors at the right time.

South Africa opener Hashim Amla en route to his 64. AP
Four quick wickets and South Africa were reeling on 118/5. The figure in the runs column could have been even lesser had opener Hashim Amla not posted 64 before being run out.

Yuvraj Singh, who finished with three wickets in the bag, started the snipping job with Morne van Wyk's dismissal on 15. Wyk departed edging an away moving ball to Virat Kohli in the slips.

At the stage the hosts were batting on 106 - not a bad figure considering that they had lost just one wicket (Graeme Smith) before.

Amidst all this cutting and snipping, Amla decided to display his running skills. But he was too greedy and paid heavily for it, falling short on the second run and South Africa fell to 111/3. Still his 64 proved to the central piece in South Africa's design.

AB de Villiers showed how good he is at marching. He marched back on 3 with Yuvraj claiming his wicket and the Protea score was 115/4.

Young Faf du Plessis knew he was good at running and he has proved it before with a half-ton in the last ODI. But today he ran out of steam and got out run out on 1. By now the hosts had slumped to 118/5.

But Duminy with his unbeaten on 71 and Botha, who scored 44 before being sent back by Yuvraj, turned out to be their team lifeguards. Duminy earned a Man-of-the-Match award for his efforts.

With this win, South Africa have levelled the series 2-2 against India. The two now meet on Sunday for the final ODI in Centurion.


Sorce:-http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/Story/127138/latest-headlines/india-vs-south-africa-odi-live-update.html