Lanka orders Indian Premier League players back home

MUMBAI: The club versus country row has flared up again. Sri Lankan cricketers who are involved in the fourth edition of the Indian Premier League have been ordered back home for training ahead of next month's tour of England. Sri Lanka will be touring the UK for a 63-day tour involving three Tests and five ODIs in England and an ODI each against Scotland and Ireland in Edinburgh. 

Sports minister Mahinadananda Althugamage said he wanted team members to prioritize the national side over the IPL. "In future, national cricket players can participate in foreign tournaments only in a manner that will not affect practices of the Sri Lankan national team," the ministry said. 

Eleven Lankan players are involved in the IPL at the moment, including two captains - Kumar Sangakkara (Deccan Chargers) and Mahela Jayawardene (Kochi Tuskers Kerala). 

"All the players will have to report to Colombo by May 5. That is when we start the camp for the England tour. The team will depart for England on May 11," DS De Silva, chairman of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), told TOI from Colombo. 

SLC secretary Nishantha Ranatunga, brother of 1996 World Cup winning skipper Arjuna, too confirmed the development. "The conditions in England will be completely different to those that prevail in Lanka. The selectors have issued a directive to have the players ready for the camp by May 5. The team for England will be selected in a week's time. All those selected will have to be here," he told TOI. 

When asked if the players were aware, Ranatunga said, "Yes, they have been kept in the loop." To the more tricky question as to whether the players were happy or not to forgo the greenbacks for the matches they will miss, Ranatunga was more guarded. "I don't know if they are happy or not. In any case they have to be here." He also denied that SLC and the players were on a collision course and played down the possibility of action being taken on the players who will miss the camp. "I'm sure they will toe the line," was his terse reply. 

Former IPL commissioner Lalit Modi had been clamouring hard for a separate window for IPL, a sentiment echoed by Rajasthan Royals skipper and former Aussie leg-spin legend Shane Warne to save the players the dilemma of choosing between club and country. This latest episode highlights the need for it even more.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/cricket/ipl-2011/news/Lanka-orders-Indian-Premier-League-players-back-home/articleshow/7967444.cms

India win toss, elect to bowl against Ireland

Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni won the toss and elected to bowl against Ireland in their Group B match of the cricket World Cup at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore on Sunday

The hosts can not treat the Irish team as minnows considering Ireland's impressive win against England on Wednesday in which Kevin O'Brien had scored the fasted century of the World Cup using just 50 balls to reach there.

India have more reasons to worry about as their opener Virender Sehwag is nursing a rib injury that he had acquired during practice ahead of the England game, which had ended in a tie.

India have fielded the same team which tied its previous match against England.

Ireland have made one change to the side which upstaged England, bringing in Andrew White for Gary Wilson.

Teams:

India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (c), Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Yusuf Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Piyush Chawla, Zaheer Khan, Munaf Patel.

Ireland: William Porterfield (c), P Stirling, Ed Joyce, Niall O'Brien, Andrew White, A Cusack, Kevin O'Brien, J Mooney, D Johnston, George Dockrell, W Rankin.

Source:-http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/Story/131360/sports/ind-vs-ire-match-report.html

Biggest World Cup upset: O'Brien smashes fastest WC ton as Ireland stun England by 3 wickets

BANGALORE: Kevin O'Brien struck the fastest-ever World Cup hundred as Ireland pulled off a sensational three-wicket win over England on Wednesday. 

Ireland won with five balls to spare as they finished on 329 for seven after England, who had made 327 for eight, had been cruising when they reduced non-Test playing Ireland to 111 for five. 

But a brilliant burst of power-hitting got O'Brien to three figures in just 50 balls at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. 

That meant he'd obliterated former Australia opener Matthew Hayden's previous fastest World Cup century record off 66 balls against South Africa at St Kitts in 2007. 

O'Brien's whirlwind innings of 113 off 63 balls, including six sixes and 13 fours, ended when he was run out by Stuart Broad's throw to wicketkeeper Matt Prior. 

Ireland's target was down to three off the last over and victory was secured when John Mooney struck a four off James Anderson. 

"I don't think it's quite sunk in," said 26-year-old O'Brien, after another famous win to follow Ireland's shock World Cup triumph over Pakistan in 2007. 

"It's probably the best innings I've ever played. I just hit the ball pretty well and got a bit of luck and things went my way. I just kept going and kept attacking. 

"When we were 111-5 I said to myself we could have just pottered around and got 220 off 50 overs for eight or nine and the game would have been pretty boring to watch. 

"But I just chanced my arm and said I was going to be as positive as I can and got a few away and didn't look back." 

It was the highest successful run chase in World Cup history beating Sri Lanka's 313 against Zimbabwe at New Plymouth in New Zealand in 1992 

"It's pretty amazing," said Ireland batsman Alex Cusack, who made 47 in a decisive sixth-wicket partnership of 162 with O'Brien. 

"I was just trying to knock it around for Kev. He's got the power. That was my job and he was playing the big shots." 

England captain Andrew Strauss said: "We thought we'd done a reasonable job with the bat and we got Ireland at five down and things were looking pretty comfortable. 

"But we weren't reckoning on an outstanding innings from Kevin O'Brien. It was pretty brutal." 

Mooney struck several superb blows of his own on his way to 33 not out to complete a fine all-round display after he had claimed four wickets for 63 runs with his medium-pacers. 

O'Brien went to fifty in 30 balls when he pulled Anderson for six. 

He then lofted Anderson for an enormous six over midwicket, with television replays estimating the ball had carried for 102 metres, the longest of the tournament. 

O'Brien did have a break on 91 when a huge skyer off Paul Collingwood was dropped by Strauss. 

Ireland burst into life during the batting powerplay, scoring 62 runs in five overs. 

It was the second-time in a matter of days the Chinnaswamy Stadium had served up a run-fest after Sunday's extraordinary tie between India and England had seen the two teams make 676 runs between them. 

Anderson, whose first overs yielded one wicket for 11 runs, finished with figures of one for 49 in 8.1 overs while Broad was pummelled for 73 runs in nine wicketless overs. 

Earlier Jonathan Trott equalled the record for the fastest 1,000 runs in one-day internationals 

Trott's 92 was the centrepiece of England's 327 for eight and when he made 64 he equalled West Indies great Vivian Richards and England team-mate Kevin Pietersen in taking just 21 innings to reach four figures in ODIs. 

Ireland's victory was all the more impressive as they lost captain William Porterfield to the first ball of their reply when he dragged on to Anderson.

Read more: Biggest World Cup upset: O'Brien smashes fastest WC ton as Ireland stun England by 3 wickets - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/cricket/cricket-world-cup-2011/news/Biggest-World-Cup-upset-OBrien-smashes-fastest-WC-ton-as-Ireland-stun-England-by-3-wickets/articleshow/7613583.cms#ixzz1FVa47HZ6

Revenge is foremost on India's mind

It's revenge time for India. The unexpected defeat at the hands of Bangladesh during the 2007 World Cup is still fresh in the minds of most Indian players and avenging that loss will be on top of their must-do agenda as they clash with the co-hosts in the opening match of the World Cup in Dhaka on Saturday.

That defeat was instrumental in sending India out of the tournament in the first round itself and the hurt can still be felt in the Indian camp. Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni just doesn't want to talk about it. "Never even thought about it because we don't want to repeat what happened in 2007," he said on the eve of the big game that millions of people are looking forward to. In several ways, the result of the day-night encounter at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium could set the tone for the 14-nation, 45-day tournament. If it turns out to be a closely fought encounter, it will be a good advertisement for the 50-over format - which some people feel is under threat from Twenty20 - and will make investors/advertisers and some others smile.

Already, an anonymous punter has put a bet of £82,000 bet - the biggest ever laid on a one-day game - with a London bookmaker on India winning the World Cup. But Dhoni would again not like to think about it, otherwise it would add to the pressure on him. Bangladesh have managed to eke out only two wins in 22 matches against India in more than 22 years of bilateral ODI history, but the one they managed on March 17, 2007, was the most telling. And when Dhoni, who failed to score in that game but took three catches, goes out for the toss, his mind would surely go back to that defeat.

He may have given a new name to pressure, "added responsibility", but he can't just shrug it away from his mind. One consolation for India is that pacer Mashrafe Mortaza, who bagged four wickets and was man of the match in that game, is not in the team. Seven of the 11 players who lost that game are still in the Indian team and would be itching to avenge that embarrassment.

Interestingly, India and Bangladesh could be in different mindsets as they returned contrasting results just before the World Cup. While India lost the five-match ODI series 2-3 in South Africa last month, Bangladesh blanked New Zealand 4-0 at home and then thrashed Zimbabwe 3-1 in December and would be high on confidence.

For India, pace spearhead Zaheer Khan is suspected to be a doubtful starter due to an injury. But Dhoni was confident he would play. "Zaheer is fit as of now. I have not spoken to the physio. If there is something, I will let you know," he said. Left-armer Zaheer bowled at the nets on Friday evening, but did not go full throttle. Maybe, Dhoni wants to preserve him for the more important matches coming ahead. Maybe, the bowler is still not 100 per cent match fit. The answers will be known on Saturday afternoon when Dhoni exchanges the team sheets with his Bangladesh counterpart Shakib Al Hasan at the toss.

Dhoni said spinners could play a big role in the tournament as pitches in India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka largely support slow bowlers. Bangladesh too would depend largely on spinners, who happen to be their strength, especially on home turf.

The India skipper too acknowledged this. "All three Bangladesh spinners are good. They have got two good part-timers who can bowl off-spin and leg-spin. It's a good side. In the sub-continent, they rely a lot on their spinners because here they get more assistance than anywhere else," he said.

Shakib was gung ho about Bangladesh's prospects. "Our bowlers are in good form, the batsmen have been doing their job and our fielding has improved a lot," he said, looking confident.

"This tournament is not only about playing India. We have six league matches to play and we have to perform in all of them. If we get our basics right, we will do well."

Bangladesh will no doubt receive wholehearted support from vociferous home fans. But the experienced Indian players are not new to playing and winning in adverse conditions. And they are expected to do the same on Saturday.

Source:-http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/Story/130298/top-stories/world-cup-team-india-seeks-revenge-for-2007-defeat.html

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