Bangladesh v Pakistan, 1st ODI, Mirpur

Afridi's five leads rout of Bangladesh

The Report by George Binoy

December 1, 2011

Shahid Afridi

Pakistan's battery of spinners used the considerable bounce and turn in the Mirpur pitch to exploit the inadequate temperaments and techniques of Bangladesh's batsmen, routing them for 91 to set up what should have been a facile victory in the first of three one-day internationals. It wasn't. Pakistan made a mess of chasing the small target, which Bangladesh defended spiritedly. They lost more wickets and took longer than they would have liked, as the match sparked to life before victory was finally achieved with plenty of overs to spare.

To subdue and wreck Bangladesh, Misbah-ul-Haq used four spinners - Mohammad Hafeez, Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Malik and Saeed Ajmal - for 22.3 out of 30.3 overs, and they had combined figures of 8 for 56. Though Afridi emerged the star, taking his seventh five-wicket haul in ODIs, the Bangladesh innings was rotting before he came on to bowl. Pakistan's chase had also begun to rot when Afridi came to bat at 63 for 5 in the 18th over. His innings wasn't pretty, but it cured Pakistan of the yips and secured the series lead.

The match began with Mushfiqur Rahim wining the toss, but little went right for Bangladesh after that. It was inevitable that Hafeez would take the first new ball, especially with two left-hand openers, and he had immediate success. Tamim Iqbal, who returned to the team after recovering from a knee injury, moved across his stumps and was trapped on the back foot by a delivery that darted into him from round the wicket. Hafeez's wicket maiden set the tone for the rest of the innings.

Umar Gul had first use of the other new ball, and though there was little assistance from the pitch for the fast bowler, the Bangladesh batsmen couldn't get the ball off the square. They had scored only 2 after 5.2 overs when Naeem Islam hit one past Gul to the straight boundary. He edged the next ball to slip.

Against spin, Bangladesh were stagnant. Hafeez tormented Shahriar Nafees, who would score only 2 off his first 23 deliveries. He found the left-hand batsman's outside edge three times - two fell short of Younis Khan at first slip, and one flew wide.

Bangladesh doubled their score in the eighth over, which they began on 8 for 2. Gul bowled a high bouncer over Mushfiqur's head for five wides, and was clipped towards deep square leg for three. The first proper forceful shot was in the tenth over, when Nafees cut Gul to the backward-point boundary. Bangladesh were 26 for 2 after the mandatory Powerplay.

Misbah then made a double bowling change, bringing on the legspinner Afridi and the offspinner Malik. It was Malik who struck first, getting Mushfiqur to edge an attempted cut to the wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed; the extra bounce was the Bangladesh captain's undoing. Afridi then struck twice. In his second over, the 13th of the innings, Afridi used the extra bounce to have Nafees caught at point while trying to cut off. Two balls later he bowled a legbreak that spun sharply and took the outside edge of Mahmudullah's forward defence. Bangladesh were 31 for 5 and the world's No.1 one-day bowler, Ajmal, hadn't been used yet.

Shakib Al Hasan and Nasir Hossain began to repair the substantial damage but they had miles to go to get the job done. They didn't get far. Their partnership was worth 36 when Hossain attempted to pull a delivery from Aizaz Cheema that wasn't that short. Hossain was unbalanced as he made contact and the top edge swirled towards square leg, where Sarfraz held it.

Only Shakib remained for Bangladesh and he too fell to the cut, caught at point off Afridi. At 71 for 7, the end was only a matter of time. Afridi took two more to complete his five-for, and didn't even stop to celebrate his success with his trademark star-man pose.

There was little sign of the tension that would briefly grip Pakistan's chase when their openers came out before the session break and added 36 in nine overs. Imran Farhat then played on to Nasir Hossain, beginning a phase in which four wickets fell in four successive overs for eight runs. Younis Khan was perhaps unlucky to be given caught behind but the rest fell to soft dismissals.

Misbah then batted with the sole aim of steering Pakistan to the break without losing another wicket. He edged a couple but dead-batted most of his first 16 deliveries, remaining scoreless. And then he slammed Shakib for a huge six over wide long-on, easing the pressure as Pakistan went into a 40-minute interval on 58 for 4, needing 34 more.

Umar Akmal was bowled by Shakib in the first over after play resumed. He was trying to cut as well. The crowd that had grown increasingly vocal as Pakistan slipped roared once more. For the final time, though, because Afridi silenced them. He made use of Nafees dropping him at slip off Shakib and hit three consecutive fours off the same bowler to drive Pakistan to the verge of victory. Afridi then edged Shakib wide of slip to finish the game as the highest wicket-taker and the top run-scorer. He had made only 24.

Innings Dot balls 4s 6s PP1 PP2 PP3 Last 10 overs NB/Wides Bangladesh 138 7 0 26-2 19-0 (16-20) 0/8 Pakistan 121 13 1 37-1 23-1 (16-20) 0/4

George Binoy is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo

England v India, 3rd npower Test, Edgbaston, 4th day

England reach No. 1 with emphatic win

The Report by Andrew McGlashan

August 13, 2011
England 710 for 7 dec (Cook 294, Morgan 104) beat India 224 (Dhoni 77, Broad 4-53, Bresnan 4-62) and 244 (Dhoni 74*, Anderson 4-85) by an innings and 242 runs

It had been inevitable for much of the previous three days but England officially became the No. 1 Test team in the world, ending India's stay at the top with one of their most crushing victories, by an innings and 242 runs. The fourth day didn't even last until tea as the visitors were dispatched for 244 after James Anderson ripped the top off the batting before Graeme Swann and Stuart Broad chipped in.

James Anderson

In theory India had the line-up to at least make England toil for victory, but in reality they have looked a beaten side throughout this match. When Gautam Gambhir and Rahul Dravid fell within the first four overs of the day it was clear Sunday wouldn't be required although at least India went down swinging as Praveen Kumar clubbed 40 off 18 balls - momentarily looking on course for the fastest Test half-century - and MS Dhoni continued his return to form with an unbeaten 74.

Yet all it did was delay the inevitable and when Sreesanth fended at Tim Bresnan, Kevin Pietersen held the catch at gully and England went top of the pile. Although the tables weren't introduced until 2003 back-dating shows it's the first time they have been No. 1 since 1979 although that was only a brief stay before West Indies, who had been severely depleted due to the Packer-era, took back their crown.

India, meanwhile, lose their title after a stint of 21 months and will have to dig very deep to try and salvage pride at The Oval. If they lose the series 4-0 they will be down to third. Sachin Tendulkar was the only one of the top six to really show the hunger for a fight and had moved to 40 when Dhoni drove towards Swann, who got his right hand to the ball, deflecting it into the stumps with Tendulkar's bat on the line. While it's always a tough way to fall, Tendulkar had backed up a long way which leaves the chance of such a dismissal. Regardless, though, Tendulkar wouldn't have saved the match for India because of the damage inflicted in the first hour.

Anderson didn't wait long to make an impression; he found Gautam Gambhir's outside edge with his first ball of the day and the catch was taken by Swann at second slip. Gambhir has shown the ability to occupy the crease in the past - he cited his 436-ball innings at Napier as how India could save this game - but with him removed early the pressure was squarely on Dravid and, of course, Tendulkar. Dravid, though, did not last long but his dismissal appeared to throw up a bizarre set of circumstances.

When he played forward to Anderson's outswinger, the noise suggested a clear outside edge and Simon Taufel gave the decision. However, subsequent replays showed that the sound didn't quite match the pictures and it appeared Dravid's shoelace may have flicked the bottom of his bat. Dravid could have reviewed but didn't take the option and whether there would have been enough clear evidence to overturn the decision will never be known.

India were 40 for 3 and sinking fast. Tendulkar gave momentary relief with a couple of sweet drives, but VVS Laxman was given a tough time by England's fast bowlers. Anderson's swing and Broad's extra bounce kept him on nought for 16 balls before Anderson produced another fine delivery to take the outside edge.

Broad, meanwhile, tried to take advantage of Tendulkar's problems with the sightscreen behind the bowler's arm. In a similar manner to Andrew Flintoff against Jacques Kallis in 2008, Tendulkar was having trouble picking up deliveries from a set of dark windows and Broad probed away with a series of very full balls which he tried to squeeze under Tendulkar's bat.

Tendulkar, though, responded with a fighting effort although a few of his drives came with a hint of frustration - even anger? - at India's position. The wait for the 100th hundred carries on until at least The Oval and there is a growing sense that it isn't meant to happen in this series.

Before Swann's literal hand in Tendulkar's scalp, he'd been brought on to target Suresh Raina and it was an absorbing, if brief, battle. Raina should have gone for 1, but Andrew Strauss couldn't hold a low chance at gully as Swann tried to add to his lean tally of two wickets in the series. Raina didn't hold back, crunching a straight drive past Swann's right hand, then driving over cover, but Swann had the final say when he gained an lbw decision from Steve Davis.

Raina wasn't happy, and even signalled for a review having forgotten they can't be used for lbws, but replays confirmed Davis was spot on with the ball hitting middle and leg. The fact Raina even considered the DRS showed his frazzled mindset. Swann claimed his second shortly after lunch when Amit Mishra was well caught at mid-off but his figures then suffered at the hands of Praveen.

Swann's last four overs cost 55 as a fifty stand between Praveen and Dhoni was raised in 28 balls of free swinging to ensure no record defeat for India. The fun ended when Broad was recalled and immediately had Praveen, whose right thumb had been given a battering, caught at cover. Dhoni continued to show the fight that has been so lacking from India, but it had long since become a forlorn effort. His team has had their time at the top, for the time being at least, and now that's England's honour. The next challenge is to stay there.

Andrew McGlashan is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo
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England v Sri Lanka, 1st Test, Cardiff, 2nd day

Prasanna keeps Sri Lanka on top

The Bulletin by Andrew McGlashan

May 27, 2011

Sri Lanka continued to impress with a gutsy display in Cardiff as they reached 316 for 6 at tea on the second day. Prasanna Jayawardene and Thilan Samaraweera struck half-centuries to bolster the middle order in the face of some impressive bowling from James Anderson, who later caused England some concern by leaving the field with a stiff back on another frustrating day for the hosts.

Tharanga Paranavitana

At various stages, especially when Tharanga Paranavitana was removed for a stubborn 66 and Samaraweera fell to the second new ball, England will have hoped to break the back of Sri Lanka's resistance but each time they came up against another obstacle. Prasanna and Samaraweera added 84 for the fifth wicket then Prasanna remained firm in his elevated role at No. 6 as the allrounders joined him for company. Debutant Thisara Perera was unbeaten on a composed 19 at tea in another valuable partnership.

The visitors hadn't added a run to their overnight score of 133 for 2 when England made the first breakthrough of the day as Mahela Jayawardene edged Anderson to Andrew Strauss, who held a superb catch diving to his right behind second slip. The wicket was brought about by trademark swing bowling from Anderson who began by probing Jayawardene's outside edge with a series of outswingers before bringing one back into him. Jayawardene tried to drop his hands but couldn't react in time.

Runs continued to be hard to come by as Anderson strung together four testing maidens and Chris Tremlett, the pick of the quicks yesterday, was also a handful as he hit an awkward length. He struck Paranavitana a painful blow on the inner thigh which required some attention from the physio and in his next over Tremlett found his inside edge to end a determined 191-ball innings.

Paranavitana had only managed to add eight to his overnight total but had shown the same good judgement and resilience that characterised his effort on the opening afternoon. However, it was due reward for Tremlett who continued to look dangerous and benefited from a hint of uneven bounce when he struck Samaraweera a nasty blow on his arm.

Samaraweera lived a little dangerously as he played away from his body but also collected some confident boundaries including a straight drive off Anderson. Whenever the England bowlers strayed onto his pads he was quick to pick them off although he wasn't far off edging to third slip when the ball just eluded a diving Alastair Cook.

Still, it was comfortably Samaraweera's best effort on British soil having failed to reach double figures in his previous four Test innings. After lunch Samaraweera went to fifty from 72 balls as the game drifted with England waiting for the new ball before he was squared up by Anderson and edged to second slip.

Prasanna, batting a place higher than normal at No. 6 to allow Sri Lanka to field five bowlers, had started his innings as a useful understudy for Samaraweera then became the senior partner. He twice gained boundaries to third man through the slip cordon but batsmen deserve some fortune when the ball moves around and he took advantage of Graeme Swann's introduction to collect two leg-side boundaries.

England, meanwhile, used up both their reviews in consecutive overs. The first was a waste after Broad seemingly convinced Strauss to use the DRS when Farveez Maharoof was clearly struck outside off stump. The second review was more understandable when Anderson swung one back into Maharoof's pads, but the batsman was again saved by the on-field decision, which remained.

Broad didn't do himself many favours in the afternoon session as he repeatedly appealed and only belatedly turned to the umpire. He was the least convincing of England's bowlers and also started to have problems with the foot holes which didn't help his mood. Strauss was further hampered by Anderson's injury which meant Jonathan Trott was given a ball just 12 overs old, although a huge stroke of luck went England's way when Trott deflected a straight drive into the non-striker's stumps to remove Maharoof.

Andrew McGlashan is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo

The best World Cup of all time

But the ICC's decision to chop out the Associates - especially Ireland, who were integral to the excitement - is both baffling and tragic

Andrew Miller

April 5, 2011

Four years ago in the Caribbean, it was said that the ICC got the World Cup it deserved. The 2007 tournament was a bloated, corporate, soulless sell-out of an event, infused with a noxious blend of controversy and apathy that turned the self-proclaimed Carnival of Cricket into a six-week wake. In Asia in 2011, however, the ICC got the World Cup that it needed, and that is not the same thing whatsoever.

By the standards set in 2007, not to mention those in South Africa in 2003 and England in 1999, the 2011 tournament was a resounding triumph. In fact, an impromptu survey of approximately 1.2 billion people might well conclude that it was the best World Cup of all time. Admittedly some non-Indian observers might suggest those findings had been skewed a touch, but try telling that to the jubilant masses who spilled out of the Wankhede Stadium and onto Mumbai's Marine Drive on Saturday evening, or to anyone who shared the scenes of delirium in every street of every city, town and village of the world's second-most populous nation.

The funny thing is, those 1.2 billion people are almost certainly right, but not necessarily for the reasons they might assume. Of the 10 World Cups to have taken place since 1975, none has come close to matching the narrative and drama of the tournament just completed - not even 1992, which is commonly cited as the pundits' pick to date. The greatest triumph of this edition lay not in the final outcome but in the journey that was required to reach that crowning moment, for the excellence of the entertainment was not simply an illusion glimpsed in the moment of India's victory. This would have been a World Cup to savour, irrespective of whether Gautam Gambhir and MS Dhoni had managed to turn the tide of the final in their country's favour.

All of which makes Monday's mood-darkening decision in Mumbai so incredibly hard to countenance. The decision to slam the door shut on cricket's Associate nations - in particular Ireland, whose role in the narrative was so fundamental - and revert to a ten-team formula in 2015, makes a mockery of the spectacle we have just been privileged to witness.

Ratnakar Shetty, the tournament director, admitted as much on the eve of the opening ceremony, when he let slip that the group-stage elimination of both India and Pakistan had torpedoed the entire event in 2007. Every available precaution was taken to ensure against a repeat of such a financial disaster, but when England tested the rejigged format to its absolute limits by threatening a group-stage exit at the hands of Ireland and Bangladesh, the doubts crept in. At the time England's struggles appeared to vindicate the tweaks that had been made, but at boardroom level it became clear that changing the locks alone wouldn't be enough to guard against future intrusions. It was time to roll out the razor wire.

The decision has been shocking both for its timing and its finality. A sop has been offered for 2019, but by then Associate cricket will have been stagnant for a generation. Even George Dockrell will be in his late twenties and in all probability an England regular - why would or should he squander the prime of his career waiting? - while John Mooney, Kevin O'Brien and all the other heroes of Bangalore will have long since retired. And the fact that the ICC reached their decision a mere two days after the tournament's conclusion suggests that there was never a decision to be reached in the first place. It was simply a matter of announcing the fait accompli.

The wider concern is the lack of concern. The public's initial reaction has been gratifyingly furious, but if ever there was a good day for the ICC to bury bad news, it is the Monday after India have won the World Cup, just as the IPL hype machine is beginning to grind into action. If enough righteous indignation is to be summoned to force the board into a change of heart, then a sizeable proportion of the 1.2 billion are going to have to speak out as well. But with some justification, they are a bit preoccupied right now.

The tone of this article was never intended to be so downbeat. A remarkable event took place in Mumbai on Saturday, and quite rightly, the celebrations throughout India will resonate for weeks and months to come. Dhoni's decisive six in the final could yet become the most replayed shot in cricket's long history, while no one who claims to love the game can take anything other than delight in the decisive role that Sachin Tendulkar played in his sixth and (presumably?) farewell campaign. Moreover, the best team in the tournament emerged with the spoils, and while everyone loves an upset now and again, it's right that class should prevail in the end.

But regardless of all that, the World Cup's postscript is one that ought to freeze the blood of all sports fans, irrespective of how much they've loved or loathed the campaign that preceded it. The most common complaint - particularly from those frequent flyers who took part in the six-week game of subcontinental hopscotch - was that the event was at least a fortnight too long, although that issue is one that is stipulated by the ICC's long-standing broadcasting deal with ESPN Star Sports, and hence a ten-team all-play-all format in 2015 will not lead to a significant reduction of matches or days on the road.

Kevin O'Brien

What it will lead to is the loss of one of the key reasons behind the success of 2011. Ireland's victory over England, powered by O'Brien's astounding century, was a performance the like of which we may never again be privileged to witness - it was so unexpected, yet so majestic, that when the deal had been done, and Ireland really had chased 328 to beat England, having at one stage been 111 for 5, it seemed churlish to demean it as an upset. Not even Australia in their pomp could have won a game with more confidence.

The knock-on effect was to electrify the permutations in Group B, where Bangladesh's fluctuations created a six-way tussle for four places. Though they wilted at the last against South Africa, their own story was a vital subplot in itself. It started with the youthful vigour they provided at the opening ceremony - a concept that tends to look laboured at sporting events where there's no Olympic flame to provide a focal point - and continued via the West Indies debacle and the subsequent stoning of the team bus, through to their own crowning moment against England. And all along the way, they - like the musically fuelled Sri Lankans - kept contributing the thrill of packed stadiums, a factor that had been so miserably absent throughout the previous World Cup.

But in the end the whole narrative reverts back to India, and quite rightly so, because this was their year, and they earned it the hard way, soaking up the pressures and the doubts, as well as 28 years of World Cup failure. That they won the final in such style was magnificent, but their journey to that Sri Lanka showdown was every bit as gripping. Along the way they faced up to each of their major rivals, and there was not a dull contest among them. England battled to a tie, South Africa secured a thrilling run-chase, before Australia were dethroned and Pakistan denied in consecutive knock-out encounters.

And then the party that kicked off on Saturday night was something to behold. If the purpose of sport is to fulfill a utilitarian brief of conferring the greatest pleasure for the greatest number, then the 2011 World Cup hit the spot like no other event in history. Sadly, however, there is so much more to it than that. Any sports fan with a moral compass, even one whose every wish has been granted this past week, will recognise that the tournament's true conclusion was signed and sealed not in the Wankhede Stadium, but in a Mumbai board-room, two days after the main event.

Andrew Miller is UK editor of ESPNcricinfo

India v Pakistan, 2nd semi-final, World Cup 2011, Mohali

India well prepared for pressure games - Dhoni

Sharda Ugra at the PCA Stadium

March 30, 2011

MS Dhoni

One of the most important benefits from India's scrappy World Cup semi-final victory over Pakistan - apart from the sound and sight of a hundred firecrackers going out around the PCA stadium on a Mohali night and the adoration of millions - is their team's sense of being in what captain MS Dhoni equated to a good spell.

Dhoni said the format of the World Cup had helped the Indians get to a stage just before the final where off-field distractions and on-field pressures could both be handled. "The format really helped us. We have had quite a few close games where we were tested. Some of the youngsters were tested. They were at the crease at a time when a big performance was needed from them. Slowly they are getting into the groove."

Dhoni said India's performances in the knockouts had given the team a greater sense of comfort going into the final, with regard to the pressures of the event. He compared the last week of the World Cup to a bowler bowling at more than 150kph. "Once you do that you don't think whether you are bowling 155 or 160. So I think after the semis, the final won't feel much different. The feeling (of the importance of a game) has been static for a while and hopefully that will really help us."

In the semi-final, Dhoni said the Indians had read the wicket incorrectly in deciding to opt for a 3-1 attack, replacing offspinner R Ashwin with left-arm seamer Ashish Nehra. It was driven, he said, by India's part-time options as well as Pakistani batsmen generally being at ease against spin. "We can manoeuvre with the part-timers. We thought on a normal Mohali pitch, you don't see assistance to spinners. The ball doesn't turn big time. Here the ball was stopping.

"I felt it was better to go with safer option, but we went with a safe option and misread the wicket."

The Indians, Dhoni said, had paced their innings against Pakistan well, particularly when compared to how they had handled the World Cup's middle and end overs prior to this game. The track, he said, became slower at the halfway stage, and with the Pakistanis bowling tight and India losing Virat Kohli and Yuvraj Singh off consecutive deliveries, it had become difficult to rotate the strike. "Their spinners bowled really well, even Mohammad Hafeez was able to capitalise." The innings calculation had then been tempered down. "After losing two wickets in the middle overs it is important to bat 50 overs in big games, you shouldn't look to score 300-320. If the wicket is behaving in a different way, re-adjust your target."

Dhoni said he had thought India's total of 260 was "a good score not a safe score" and India's immediate target had been to "not give away runs with the new ball."

All that Dhoni was willing to comment on about the first-ever all-Asian World Cup final to be held on April 2 was to praise the Sri Lankans for their progress through the tournament. India he said, "have also really been tested more often than not and it will be a really good game. It's not about what your rating is but how good you are on the day. You have to be at your best."

Sharda Ugra is senior editor at ESPNcricinfo