Kevin Pietersen out of World Cup for hernia surgery

CHENNAI: England batsman Kevin Pietersen will miss the rest of the World Cup, with a team spokesman announcing Monday he would be returning home in the next 24 hours for a hernia operation. 

England have applied to the International Cricket Council (ICC) for Eoin Morgan to come in as a replacement player, the spokesman said. 

Pietersen, moved up the order to open during the World Cup, made a duck during England's dramatic Group B win over his native South Africaon Sunday, and it is now 27 one-day internationals since his last century. 

Team officials said Saturday that Pietersen would undergo an operation, but after the tournament, although he did say the injury would "no doubt impact my preparation" during the World Cup. 

However, the procedure appears to have been brought forward after he was clearly troubled during Sunday's six-run win at the Chidambaram Stadium and looked more of a threat with his part-time off-spin than with the bat. 

Pietersen's injury was diagnosed following England's 6-1 one-day series loss in Australia which came after the Test side's Ashes series triumph. 

The batsman's early departure from the World Cup raises questions over his future in the 50-over form of the game, with Pietersen having frequently complained about a crammed international schedule. 

Advancing the surgery might enable Pietersen to appear in this year's Indian Premier League. His original plan for a six-week course of treatment after the World Cup coincided with the lucrative event, which starts next month. 

Pietersen is due to earn around $650,000 (400,000 pounds) playing for IPL side the Deccan Chargers this season. 

However, England would like their star batsman to be well-rested ahead of a busy home season of international cricket, featuring series against Sri Lanka and India. 

The first Test against Sri Lanka starts in Cardiff on May 26. 

Former Ireland batsman Morgan would have been in England's original squad but for a finger injury. His replacement, Ravi Bopara, made a man-of-the-match winning 60 against South Africa in Chennai on Sunday. 

However, both Morgan and Bopara are middle-order batsmen which leaves England needing to find a new opening partner for captain Andrew Strauss. 

Either Jonathan Trott or Ian Bell could now be promoted up the order. 

England's victory over previously unbeaten group leaders South Africa revived a faltering World Cup campaign which has featured a stuttering win over the Netherlands, a tie with co-hosts Indiaand a shock defeat by Ireland. 

Their bid for a quarter-final spot continues with a group match against co-hosts Bangladesh in Chittagong on Friday.

Source:-http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/cricket/cricket-world-cup-2011/news/Kevin-Pietersen-out-of-World-Cup-for-hernia-surgery/articleshow/7644360.cms

World Cup: India-England thriller ends in a tie

BANGALORE: This was a game both India and England deserved to lose but in the end it was a tie. If the Indians seemed listless while defending a more than healthy 338, the English after being in a position to spoil the Indian party on a pitch on which the expected demons did not surface, suddenly seemed to have invoked the devil himself. In the end what transpired was the fourth ever tie in the history of the World Cup. 

The match swayed like a pendulum. The Indian total of 338, set up by a record fifth World Cup ton from Sachin Tendulkar, looked good enough at the break, more so as the hosts had gone in with two spinners. England captain Andrew Strauss had different ideas as he set about all but obfuscating Tendulkar's knock with his maiden World Cup ton. 

Then came the batting Powerplay. Suddenly from an impregnable 280/2 from 43 overs, when Strauss (158, 145b, 18x4, 1x6) and Bell (69, 71b, 4x4, 1x6) were going strong with a 170-run stand off 156 balls, things turned upside down. Zaheer Khan, hit around in his first two spells and held back by Mahendra Singh Dhoni for the Powerplay, got two in two, sending back Bell and Strauss to open up the game again. 

Suddenly the Indians were pumped up, as the English middle and late order collapsed. But then two sixes, one each by Graeme Swann and Tim Bresnan, both off Piyush Chawla's final over, the penultimate one of the innings, again changed the game. Fifteen had come from that over leaving 14 required from the last to be bowled by Munaf Patel. With number 10 Ajmal Shazad on strike, the match looked to be in India's grasp, but the drama wasn't over by any means. A solid six and some hurriedly run singles brought the equation to two runs off the ball. They got one and the Bangalore crowd, some of whom had left early seeing India's chances all but gone, got what they expected least. A tie! 

Before that, the Indians had got most things right. Having decided to play with two spinners in Harbhajan Singh and Chawla, it was important that Dhoni won the toss and allowed his spinners the second use of the pitch. That part went along the script as did the batting, with the top-order firing for the second match in succession. It was even better that the middle-order too got a chance to show their wares and they didn't do too badly either. 

Only Tim Bresnan stood up and got noticed among English bowlers. Having dismissed the fortuitous as well as dangerous-looking Sehwag off his fifth ball, Bresnan came back at the death, to keep the Indians from running away to a total in excess of 350. His final analysis of 10-1-48-5 was true reflection of his showing on the afternoon. 

No other English bowler went under five an over, with James Anderson in real danger of going for twice that. Every Indian batsman got stuck into him. Tendulkar and Gambhir used his wayward line and length to full effect. That Tendulkar (120, 115b, 10x4, 5x6) picked boundaries even off his better deliveries, ensured that it was not to be Anderson's day. 

Once Sehwag (35, 26b, 6x4) had gone, poking at Bresnan for wicketkeeper Matt Prior to bring off a fine one-handed catch diving to his right, the right-left pair of Tendulkar and Gambhir (51, 61b, 5x4) took charge. Without looking in any sort of hurry, the master-blaster milked the bowlers before assaulting them. 

The innings wasn't just about Tendulkar and Gambhir though, even if their 134-run second wicket stand set it up. There was also Yuvraj Singh, rightly promoted ahead of Kohli seeing that it was the 30th over, and Dhoni, whose 25-ball 31 went almost unnoticed. Yuvraj (58, 50b, 9x4) wasn't at his fluent best but who knows this knock could well be the launching pad for more to come. 

Warne predicted it 8 hours ago 

Shane Warne was bang on target when before the start of the match he Tweeted saying "Looking forward to the game between India and England today. My prediction... a tie." And the cracker of a contest which saw 676 runs being scored did actually end up in a tie, making Warne's prediction come true.

Source:-http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/cricket/cricket-world-cup-2011/news/World-Cup-India-England-thriller-ends-in-a-tie/articleshow/7585674.cms