Stags, Lions, Stallions stay unbeaten in Faysal Bank T20 Cup

By AM Khan

LAHORE, Pakistan (TheSportsNEXT) December 3, 2012: The debutant Bahawalpur Stags continued their rich vein of form Monday as they joined Lahore Lions and defending champions Sialkot Stallions as the unbeaten teams in the Faysal Bank T20 Cup 2012 being played in Lahore.

Bahawalpur Stags (153/8 in 19.3) defeated a strong Karachi Dolphins (152/6 in 20) by two wickets, Lahore Eagles (162/8 in 20) beat Peshawar Panthers (86/8 in 20) by 76 runs, Abbottabad Falcons (120/8 in 19.5) beat Islamabad Leopards (116/8 in 20) by two wickets, Faisalabad Wolves (101/2 in 16.1) beat Hyderabad Hawks (97/8 in 20) by eight wickets, Lahore Lions (182/4 in 20) beat Multan Tigers (152/5 in 20) by 30 runs, and Sialkot Stallions (112/2 in 16.4) defeated Karachi Zebras (111/5 in 20) by eight wickets on Monday.

Lahore teams registered victories in their respective matches on the day three of the Faysal Bank Twenty20 Cricket Tournament here at the two different venues.

Man of the match Umar Akmal led Lahore Lions to an impressive victory over Multan Tigers in the fifth match of the day here at the Bagh-e-Jinnah ground.

Lahore Lions won the toss and decided to bat first. Nasir Jamshed and Ahmed Shahzad took a brilliant start and scored 59 runs in the first wicket partnership. Nasir fall prey of Kashif Naved when he was at 21. Then wicketkeeper stylish batsman Kamran Akmal joined aggressive opener Ahmed Shahzad and both the players played extremely well and added important 52 runs. Rahat Ali was the bowler who broke the second-wicket partnership and bowled Kamran on 31 runs runs. Opener Ahmed Shahzad played a responsible innings and remained on the crease till the 19th overs. He played brilliant shorts to every corner of the ground and remained the top scorer for the winners as he collected 68 runs. He was dismissed by Zulfiqar Babar in the very first delivery of the 19th over. Another leading player of the Lahore Lions was Umar Akmal who remained unbeaten on 55 runs in his just 21-ball innings in which he slammed five fours and four sixes. Abdul Razzaq could manage to score only two runs as he was run out by Gulraiz Sadaf. Lahore Lions total score at the end of their innings was 182 runs for the loss of four wickets in 20 overs.

Chasing the target of 183 runs, Multan Tigers started their innings well and score 48 runs in their first-wicket stand but then Wahab Riaz of Lions took the first wicket of Tigers when he dismissed Zain Abbas on 19 runs. Gulriaz Sadaf then joined the opener Sohaib Maqsood and added 14 runs for the second wicket partnership as Sohaib was caught and bowled by Mustafa Iqbal at the score of 35 runs. The third-wicket partnership of Multan Tigers proved very successful as Gulraiz and Saeed Anwar Junior played brilliant innings and kept on clicking the scoreboard. At that time, it seemed that Tigers will conquer the Lions but Lions captain M Hafeez roared on Gulraiz and showed him pavilion at the score of 38 runs. Lions’ bowler kept on momentum and got two more wickets restricting the Tigers at the score of 142 runs.

Umar Akmal for his superb and aggressive batting show was named best player of the match.

At LCCA ground, Lahore Eagles thrashed Peshawar Panther by 76 runs. Imran Farhat was hero of the Lahore Eagles as he smashed superb 45-ball 68 runs. The other good striker for the Eagles was Azhar Ali who made 26 runs with the help of three fours. Waqar Ahmed (3-36) and Aslam Qureshi (2-25) bowled well for the Panther. M Khalil and Saad Nasim destroyed the Panther batting line up by grabbing two wickets each and restricted them to paltry 86-8 in 20 overs.

In other matches of the day, Bahawalpur Stags defeated Karachi Dolphins by two wickets at Bagh-e-Jinnah ground. Man of the match Imran Ullah of Bahawalpur Stags played powerful innings of 48 runs to lead his team to victory.

Mir Azam of Abbottabad Falcons steered his team to two-wicket victory over Islamabad Leopards here at the Gaddafi Stadium. Islamabad Leopards scored 116-8 in 20 overs with Amad Wasim scoring 45 runs. Amjad Waqas grabbed 3-21 and Khalid Usman 2-25. Abbottabad Falcons chased the target in the last over of the match. Mir Azam was hero of Abbottbad with his 59 runs while Younas Khan was unbaten on 38 runs.

Faisalabad Wolves overwhelmed Hyderabad Hawks by eight wickets here at the LCCA ground. Hyderabad Hawks could manage to score 98 runs for the loss of eight wickets in 20 overs with Rizwan Ahmed scoring 41 runs. Magical bowler Saeed Ajmal chipped in with two wickets along with two wickets each by Khurram Shahzad and Asad Ali. Faisalabad Wolves achieved the victory target in just 16.1 overs Farrukh Shahzad smashing impressive 51-ball 57 runs laced with nine fours. He was ably assisted by Naveed Latif who remained unbeaten on 34 runs.

Sialkot Stallions won by 8 wickets.

Shoaib Malik superb half century helped Sialkot Stallions to score an impressive triumph over Karachi Zebra here at the Gaddafi Stadium. Karachi Zebra could manage 111 runs for the loss of five wickets in 20 overs with Daniyal Ahsan scoring unbeaten 24 runs and Faisal Iqbal, Ramiz Aziz and Ramiz Raja Jr 21 runs each. Adeel Malik remained successful bowler for the losers with three wickets for 19 runs. Shoaib Malik played captain inning and remained unbeaten on 50 runs as his team achieved the target in just 16.4 overs for the loss of just two wickets. Haris Sohail also played well and made unbeaten 34 runs.

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Pakistani, Indian senior cricketers face quit calls

By Abhishek Manroa

NEW DELHI, India (TheSportsNEXT) October 6, 2012: Pakistani and Indian skippers are under tremendous pressure to step down from their position after their respective team’s exit from the ongoing ICC World Twenty20 2012.

 

Indian cricket team crashed out of the ICC World Twenty20 2012 at Super Eights stage while its arch-rival Pakistan was knocked out by hosts Sri Lanka in the first Semi-Final by 16 runs the other night.

While India’s performance was not up to the expectations of the local fans, Pakistan did manage to finish among the four best Twenty20 teams in world cricket but despite of a great show, former cricketers and local media has really gone after Mohammad Hafeez and his men.

The center of criticism in both Pakistan and India are the senior cricketers where Indian media has lamented Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Gautam Gambhir. Across the Line-of-Control (LoC), Pakistani media has took apart senior cricketers like Shahid Khan Afridi, Shoaib Malik, Imran Nazir, Kamran Akmal, Sohail Tanvir, and Yasir Arafat.

The main argument behind the stern criticism is the pace of the shortest format of the game which is best-suited for younger cricketers as players like Suresh Raina, Virat Kohli, and Ravichandran Ashwin have impressed the Indian fans while Pakistani fans feel upbeat about Raza Hasan, Asad Shafiq, Nasir Jamshed, and Umar Akmal.

Former Pakistan Test fast bowler, Sikandar Bakht told TheNation on Friday, “There is a lesson in every defeat. For Pakistan, there are genuine concerns about the performance of their five to six senior players. They have remained inconsistent in the mega event”.

Sikandar Bakht showed no hesitation in naming these cricketers as he was of the view that skipper Mohammad Hafeez, Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Malik, Kamran Akmal, Abdul Razzaq and Imran Nazir had failed to impress in the ICC flagship-event therefore Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) should make a decision about future of these players and replace them with new blood.

Aaqib Javed, another former pacer, who now does coaching for United Arab Emirates, had identical thoughts about the senior Pakistani cricketers. He said there were several young players who could take on the baton from the senior generation of cricketers and get going.

Former Test captain Aamir Sohail showed great disliking for opening batsman Imran Nazir and questioned the rationale behind his selection for such a huge event. "His inclusion in the team spoiled the team's composition. He tries to hit every ball and does not know to take singles”.

Basit Ali, the match-fixing whistleblower, was of the belief that it was worrying to watch Pakistan failing to chase an easy target of 140 runs. Demanding the PCB to do away with foreign coach Dav Whatmore, Basit Ali said, "We don't need foreign coaches in the presence of Javed Miandad and other Pakistani cricket legends”.

On the other hand, Indian cricket team is facing even harder response from the former cricketers as well as a hostile media as they have witnessed a visible decline from their last year’s triumph in the ICC World Cup 2011.

After failing to qualify for the semi-finals of the ICC World Twenty20 for the third consecutive time after winning the inaugural event in South Africa, former cricketers are demanding MS Dhoni and his men to decide on their future to leave way for the younger generation who has improved leaps and bounds at the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Former Pakistan cricket captain, Wasim Akram, who is coaching the IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders, put the whole blame of defeat on Mahendra Singh Dhoni mentioning his flawed selection policy.

Wasim Akram was quoted as saying for ESPNStar.com. "I am puzzled with the way the Indian team management has picked playing XIs. For example, I feel a wicket-taking bowler like Harbhajan Singh was missed against the ragged South Africans on Tuesday night.

Talking about Zaheer Khan, Wasim Akram stated, "I have said before that Zaheer has to choose the format of cricket he wants to play. I can't see him running in hard every ball and bamboozling batsmen with pace and movement. India must find replacements and very soon at that. India need fresh legs and stronger shoulders because they will be playing a series of matches at home from November”.

Wasim Akram was quick enough to name replacements for Zaheer Khan. "Where is Umesh Yadav? And Varun Aaron seems to be a forgotten name. With the new selection committee in place, both Umesh and Varun should be groomed to power India's pace battery. I hear Varun is injured. I think the BCCI needs to get after him and pull him out of his problems. At least Umesh should have been in the T20 squad," he added.

Amid all the criticism and calls for captain’s resignation, there were some positives for both Pakistan and India as Virat Kohli once again exhibited his true colors at the biggest stage for India while Pakistan discovered Nasir Jamshed as a proper batsman in their top-order. As far as bowling is concerned, Pakistan were more fortunate as they found Raza Hasan as a true replacement for Abdur Rehman but Indian bowling woes sustain as their skipper feels no confidence in the experienced Harbhajan Singh and he mostly put him on the bench rather than using his skills against the top opposition in the tournament.

Yuvraj Singh, who recently rejoined the Team India after beating cancer, was another factor to relish for the Indian cricket fans as he was among the top wicket takers for the Men in Blue with eight wickets. Yuvi was the second leading wicket taker for India as Lakshmipathy Balaji took nine wickets despite of going for too many runs.

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ICCWT20: First Semi-Final Preview: Bowling Comparison

By Hamad Hussain

KARACHI, Pakistan (TheSportsNEXT) October 4, 2012: The first semi final of the ICC World Twenty20 2012 will be played between 2009 world champions Pakistan and the then finalists Sri Lanka in Colombo on Thursday (today) and it would be cracker of a game as both teams have some of the finest bowling talent in their ranks.

Sri Lanka might have a little edge on fast bowling department with Nuwan Kulasekara, Lasith Malinga, Thisara Perera, and Angelo Mathews all are in very good bowling form and are enjoying good record against Pakistan; especially Thisara Perera, who was the star performer during Pakistan’s tour to Sri Lanka earlier this year.

On the other hand, Pakistan are struggling in their fast bowling department as their premier bowler Umar Gul is facing the worst time of his international career and has shown no control whatsoever on his deliveries.

In absence of quality fast bowlers, Pakistan will have to heavily rely on their spin bowlers who bowled 18 overs in their last Super Eights contest against Australia.

The big worry for Pakistan, apart from their vulnerable batting, is the form of their star bowler Shahid Khan Afridi, who has been off-color since last two months and is yet to justify his place in the squad. He is due for his big performance as he had won Pakistan the matches on his own in the past and his record against Sri Lanka is also very impressive. The stage is set for Boom Boom Afridi to fire today as all cricket lovers and fans of Lala are expecting BIG EFFORT from him in this crucial match.

Despite of an in-form pace bowling attack, Sri Lanka still have something to worry about as their spinners have not come up with huge performances consistently. Their premier spinner Ajantha Mendis who, after taking six wickets against minnows Zimbabwe, hardly made an impact in the Super Eights matches. He was thrashed by Samit Patel of England in their last Super Eights match.

The encouraging sign for Sri Lanka is the impressive performances of their back-up spinners Jeewan Mendis and young Akila Dananjaya as both took five and four wickets in the tournament, respectively.

The cricket lovers will be watching a very evenly-contested semi-final today as Sri Lanka will look to take revenge of their defeat in the 2009 final to the hands of Pakistan while on the other hand Pakistan will want to improve their WT20 record by qualifying for the final this year after their horrible defeat in 2010 T20 World Cup semi-final against Australia.

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ICCWT20: Pakistan vs Sri Lanka Semi-Final Preview

By Hamad Hussain

KARACHI, Pakistan (TheSportsNEXT) October 4, 2012: Pakistan and Sri Lanka are locking horns in the first semi-final of the ICC World Twenty20 2012 at R Premadasa Stadium on Thursday.

 

If we analyze the performance of Pakistani and Sri Lankan batsmen in the ICC World T20 2012, we will see that Sri Lankan batsmen have utilized the home advantage and have been playing better cricket than Pakistani batters.

Sri Lankan team will heavily rely on their skipper Mahela Jayawardene in the all-important semi-final against Pakistan as Mahela is among the top five run-getters in the ongoing ICC World T20 with 168 runs at an average of 42.

Dilshan is also in the list of top runs scorer with 144 runs while another Sri Lankan star Kumar Sangakkara, who boasts an excellent record against Pakistan, is also in good form these days as he scored 130 runs in the event.

On the other hand, the youngster Nasir Jamshed is carrying the burden of batting for Pakistan as he has scored 144 runs in the event with two fifties. It is important to mention here that in Pakistan everyone is criticizing Imran Nazir for his poor batting performance but he is the second best batsman for Pakistan in the ongoing T20 world cup with 133 runs and has the best strike rate among the Pakistani batsmen with 164.19 runs per 100 balls.

Pakistani skipper is also in decent form these days as he is the third in the list of top runs-scorer for Pakistan in the event with 122 runs. Umar Akmal has also shown promised with the bat as it seems that he has been given the task to finish the match for Pakistan and he scored 96 runs with healthy average of 48 in the tournament.

All in all, it would be a great contest between both teams but Pakistan batting is always a worry and its unpredictability may cost them the match here.

It is also pertinent to mention here that, Pakistan also have to be wary of Sri Lankan late middle order batsmen like Jeewan Mendis, Thisara Perera and Angelo Mathews who are using the long handles rather effectively during the ongoing ICC World T20 2012.

Not to forget that Sri Lankan top order batsmen Mahela, Sangakkara and Dilshan are very good batsmen of spinners and Pakistan cricket team has the best spin attack in the world but they were exposed against India but it will be a new game altogether and pressure will be more on the batsmen as compared to bowlers because losers will be kicked out of the event, so Pakistan will have the advantage and one can predict that Shahid Khan Afridi and Saeed Ajmal may prove decisive in the all-crucial semi-final game.

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Pakistan beat India by 5 wickets in ICCWT20 warm-up

By Fathima Zanaida

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (TheSportsNext) September 17, 2012: A classy match-winning unbeaten knock by Karman Akmal helped Pakistan defeat India by five wickets in their warm-up match on Monday ahead of the ICC World Twenty20 2012 at R Premadasa Stadium.

Kamran Akmal turned himself into hero from a zero with a brutal knock of 92 not out from just 50 balls and hit as many as six maximums and five boundaries as Pakistan chased down a daunting target of 186 runs with five balls to spare.

Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni won the toss and decided to bat first to challenge a somewhat weaker Pakistani batting line-up by putting them under pressure of chasing.

Fast bowler Umar Gul got rid of Gautam Gambhir (10 from 16 – 2 fours) early in the innings and world’s best off-spinner Saeed Ajmal removed dangerous looking Virender Sehwag (26 from 14 – 4 fours, 1 six) to leave India two down for 45 runs on the board in the sixth over.

However, at ICCWT20 India’s batting sensation Virat Kohli (75 not out from 47 – 7 fours, 2 sixes) once again accepted the responsibility of taking the burden of batting on his young shoulders and together with quality batsman Rohit Sharma (56 from 40 – 6 fours, 2 sixes) scored 127 runs for the third wicket partnership which almost took the game away from Pakistan.

In the end, India finished with a massive total of 185 for three from their 20 overs.

Saeed Ajmal, expectedly, was the top bowler for Pakistan as he grabbed two wickets for only 22 runs from his four overs while Umar Gul took one wicket for 31 runs from his four. Shahid Afridi proved expensive option as he went for 41 runs from his four overs.

Very few cricket pundits and experts expected Pakistan to make a good match of the target but Pakistan’s WT20 skipper Mohammad Hafeez (38 from 29 – 4 fours, 1 six) set the tone with an aggressive knock and when he left the field Pakistan had scored 84 for three in the 10^th over and looked good to chase down the target but someone had to take the responsibility.

Imran Nazir (13 from 11 – 1 four) looked good before giving his wicket away to Ravichandran Ashwin while unlucky Nasir Jamshed (Duck) failed to face even a single delivery before getting run out to a mix up.

Shahid Afridi (Duck) also failed to trouble either Indians or scorers before Umar Akmal (2 from 5) also gifted his wicket to Ashwin thus leaving Pakistan in a quagmire of problems.

However, Kamran Akmal (92 not out from 50 – 5 fours, 6 sixes) joined forces with former skipper Shoaib Malik (37 not out from 18 – 2 fours, 2 sixes) made sure that Pakistan achieve the target with an unbeaten 95 runs partnership for the sixth wicket.

This was the first time that Pakistan defeated India in any match under the ICC World Cups and India had enjoyed an upper hand in the last three meetings between the two arch rivals.

Kamran Akmal, who was declared Man of the Match, was exceptional with his batting and showed no signs of nervousness and used his big-hitting ability to the maximum and finished the game in style by hitting Irfan Pathan over the Extra Cover position for a maximum to clinch the target on the first ball of the 20^th over.

For India, Ravichandran Ashwin was the only bowler who looked impressive as he bagged four wickets for 23 runs but none of the other bowlers cold support him and once again doubts were raised on the potency of Indian bowling attack ahead of the ICCWT20 which is starting from Tuesday.

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