India scrap their way into World Cup final

10:15 PM Cricket No Comments

India's dream of a World Cup triumph at home is one step closer after their bowlers suffocated Pakistan's batsmen to set up a 29-run victory in the semi-final in Mohali. Saturday's decider will now be a battle of the hosts, and while Sri Lanka might have been surprised by the strength of India's bowling effort, they would also have taken note of a slightly lacklustre batting performance. In the end, India's 260 for 9 was enough as their bowlers did a fine job, but had Pakistan helped themselves,...

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Sohail Tanvir out of the World Cup

6:33 AM Cricket No Comments

Sohail Tanvir, the left-arm seamer, has been ruled out of Pakistan's World Cup campaign after failing to complete a full rehabilitation from surgery for a knee problem that has dogged him for two years. He will be replaced by the promising young left-arm fast bowler Junaid Khan. A PCB medical panel, after looking into a management report, said that though "the recovery from a knee operation was good, during the [New Zealand] tour it was observed that quick movements and pickup with weight...

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Eden Gardens loses India-England fixture

7:52 AM Cricket No Comments

In a major embarrassment to the BCCI, the ICC has ruled out Eden Gardens as the host of the game between India and England on February 27. The ICC's inspection team, which included some of the leading experts in the field of stadium and ground preparation, felt that Eden Gardens would not be ready in time. No alternate venue for the match has yet been named. The Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai and the three World Cup stadiums in Sri Lanka were all given the go-ahead by the ICC. "Regrettably,...

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Will Pakistan's batsmen fight back?

7:41 AM Cricket No Comments

Big Picture The perception of this contest is simple: it is a case of two battling batting line-ups pitted against the conditions; whichever team can produce incisive bowling is likely to trigger the opposition's latent tendency to implode. In the first ODI, Pakistan's batting crumbled like only it can. On their bad days, there is a dull sense of déjà-vu as the batsmen succumb meekly to their technical frailties. What excites the fan are Pakistan's good days: then you gasp at the audacious...

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'Game Amir played in was unofficial' - PCB

7:37 AM Cricket No Comments

The PCB believes the club match in which suspended fast bowler Mohammad Amir recently took part was not an official match, which would imply that the ICC's anti-corruption code of conduct was not breached by his appearance. But the board has stressed once again that all regional cricket bodies must remain in strict compliance of ICC directives. In a statement, the board said that the match, which took place on Monday, was "an unofficial match between two club sides that are not registered...

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Marsh and Bollinger star in Australian victory

8:14 AM Cricket No Comments

Shaun Marsh wasn't deemed good enough to be in Australia's World Cup squad, but in his first outing as Mike Hussey's injury replacement he cracked a brilliant hundred to lift his team from a hopeless position to 46-run victory at Hobart. Marsh's 110 rescued the hosts from two collapses, then England put together a poor run chase as Doug Bollinger completed a fine all-round match with four wickets. Australia's top order slumped to 4 for 33 and, following a 100-run stand between Marsh and...

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Misbah, Younis set up drawn match and series win

1:24 AM Cricket No Comments

Pakistan weathered a hostile opening spell that reduced them to 42 for 3 in the first hour, worked their way to safety in the second session, and made a half-hearted attempt to win the Test before settling for a draw that gave them the series 1-0. It was their first victory outside the subcontinent since the triumph in New Zealand in 2003-04, and their first anywhere since 2006-07. It was another impressive result for a team that has managed to hold its own on the field - with Test wins...

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Michael Hussey undergoes hamstring surgery

12:22 AM Cricket No Comments

Michael Hussey is in major doubt for the World Cup after having surgery on his left leg just hours after being named in Australia's 15-man squad. Hussey hurt his hamstring in Sunday's ODI victory in Melbourne and initially thought the problem was minor. But scans revealed one of the hamstring tendons had torn from the inner side of his knee. "The recovery time and availability for the World Cup will be dependent on his progress with the rehabilitation programme in the coming weeks," Australia's...

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New Zealand marginally ahead after riveting day

12:21 AM Cricket No Comments

The Basin Reserve Test sparked into life on a fourth day filled with twists, turns and momentum shifts, as one side inadvertently pushed the other to swap game-plans several times. Pakistan began with unimaginative bowling at unacceptable over-rates, spread-out fields, and sloppy fielding. New Zealand cashed in, with their openers adding 120 enterprising runs, before Pakistan's spinners rallied to reduce them to 208 for 5. For the second time in the match, though, Ross Taylor responded with...

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Amir's lawyer says deferment is a 'silver lining'

6:58 AM Cricket No Comments

Shahid Karim, Mohammad Amir's lawyer at the spot-fixing hearing in Doha, has said that the ICC tribunal's decision to defer their verdict gives his client renewed hope. "The last day of the (six-day) hearing was very positive," Karim told AP on his return to Lahore. "It could be a silver lining for us. I hope Amir will be exonerated next month when the verdict will be announced." Karim had earlier requested the three-man tribunal examining the charges to take more time to...

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Tribunal defers verdict till February 5

7:12 AM Cricket No Comments

The verdict in the spot-fixing case has been delayed till February 5, until which time the three Pakistani players - Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir - will remain provisionally suspended. The three-man tribunal hearing the case here in Doha wound up proceedings on Tuesday but have decided to defer the judgement and sentencing. The hearings, which began last Thursday, saw the three accused Pakistani players - defend themselves against the ICC's charge that they were involved...

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Rohit, Raina take India to 168

6:25 AM Cricket No Comments

It was a slow, low surface and South Africa deployed three spinners, but Rohit Sharma and Suresh Raina propelled India to a strong 168 in Durban. The Moses Mabhida Stadium hosted its first cricket international and Makhaya Ntini's last. The slow pitch and the design of the stadium, with its short square-boundaries, dictated the style of play. The new ball and seamers leaked runs, the spinners pegged back the run-rate, and the batsmen heaved square to collect boundaries. India raced to 57...

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Pakistan seal crushing win on dramatic day

6:16 AM Cricket No Comments

What Pakistan inflicted on New Zealand on a dramatic third day in Hamilton was nothing short of an embarassment. On a still-placid track, the hosts were victims of some incisive Pakistan bowling but let themselves down through some equally inept batting, transforming a Test that had been closely-fought on the first two days into a hopelessly one-sided contest in just one session. Pakistan's build-up to this Test had been hijacked by the spot-fixing hearings in Doha but they managed to infuse...

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Determined Pakistan stifle hosts

8:07 AM Cricket No Comments

Pakistan continued to punch above their weight in Tests under a new captain, earning the opening-day honours by stifling New Zealand on a pitch that has plenty of runs. Their advantage was a result of their perseverance as well as New Zealand's failure to build on a strong foundation laid by Brendon McCullum. Kane Williamson and Tim Southee, however, revived their team with a fighting stand, promising another tilt in the scales heading into the second day. Pakistan's decision to bowl on...

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England complete crushing Ashes victory

8:06 AM Cricket No Comments

England ended 24 years of hurt in crushing style at the SCG as they secured an innings-and-83-run victory to take the Ashes series 3-1. The crowning moment came shortly before noon when Chris Tremlett found Michael Beer's inside edge to bowl him leg stump. It was the first time in their history that Australia have suffered three innings defeats in a series and left nobody in any doubt where the balance of power now lies. The England players immediately embraced at the striker's end and ...

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Amir optimistic ahead of hearing

7:08 AM Cricket No Comments

As the Doha hearing into the spot-fixing case against three Pakistani players finally got underway on Thursday, Mohammad Amir, the youngest, most potent symbol of the trio expressed cautious optimism about the outcome of a hearing that could effectively end his career. Along with Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif, Amir was charged by the ICC for allegedly bowling pre-planned deliberate no-balls in the Lord's Test against England in August last year. The charges were the result of a sting operation...

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Suspended trio head to Qatar for hearings

8:05 PM Cricket No Comments

Suspended Pakistan trio Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir have flown out to Qatar to attend a hearing of the ICC's Anti-Corruption Tribunal. The three-member tribunal headed by Michael Beloff QC will hold a six-day long session starting Thursday before delivering its verdict on the three players. The players were suspended by the ICC in September following spot-fixing allegations against them during the Lord's Test against England a month earlier. The allegations were raised...

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Cook takes England close to lead

8:04 PM Cricket No Comments

Alastair Cook struck his third hundred of an epic series as England closed in on a first-innings lead at the SCG to reach lunch on 5 for 277. Cook dominated the morning's scoring as he lost the nightwatchman, James Anderson, and the out-of-form Paul Collingwood, who became Michael Beer's first Test wicket, leaving Ian Bell to join for what could be a match-defining partnership. Cook's ton took him past 700 runs for the series and made him the eighth England batsman to hit three in an Ashes...

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England hold the edge despite Johnson's efforts

7:01 AM Cricket No Comments

Mitchell Johnson did his best to keep Australia alive in the final Ashes Test with a vital half-century and two key wickets on an absorbing day, but England were handily placed on 3 for 167 in reply to 280. Andrew Strauss hit a sparkling 58-ball 60 to launch England's reply following Johnson's counterattacking 53, then Alastair Cook maintained his prolific form only to lose Kevin Pietersen shortly before the close. Strauss and Jonathan Trott fell in quick succession to leave England 2 for...

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Tendulkar and Steyn leave Test in the balance

6:59 AM Cricket No Comments

Dale Steyn bowled only 13 overs in the first two sessions of the third day, but to India's batsmen it was an eternity. Rarely in the modern era does a fast bowler threaten with every ball, like Steyn did at Newlands. He charged in at full pelt off a long run on the hottest day of the Test, his sinewy body straining to the limit, and subjected hapless batsmen to a barrage of outswingers that curved in towards middle stump before searing away off the pitch. His spells in the first session...

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Pakistani Governor Murdered by His Own Security for Opposing Blasphemy Laws

6:38 AM News No Comments

Salmaan Taseer, governor of Punjab, Pakistan's most populous province, was shot and killed by a member of his own security detail yesterday at a strip mall in one of Islamabad's poshest, foreigner-friendly neighborhoods. His attacker turned himself into the police, confessing that he shot Taseer because he sought to remove Pakistan's blasphemy laws. Taseer, a member of the ruling Pakistan People's Party, recently defended a Christian woman sentenced to death according to the country's relatively...

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Gilani scrambles for new alliances to save Govt

6:02 AM News No Comments

In a desperate move to shore up support, Pakistan Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani on Monday met top leaders of the opposition PML-N and PLM-Q, but got no firm assurance from them on saving his tottering government. Beleaguered Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani emerging from the crisis talks, however, claimed that the two main opposition parties had said they would not back any move “that derails democracy“. Mr. Gilani took the step to reach out to the PML-N and the PML-Q, as clamour mounted...

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Misbah shines but Pakistanis stumble

5:54 AM Cricket No Comments

New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori, who was rested for the Twenty20 series against Pakistan, picked up three wickets on the second day of the tour game against the Pakistanis, who were struggling in Whangarei despite captain Misbah-ul-Haq's unbeaten 99. New Zealand, who ended the first day on a comfortable 342 for 4, collapsed to 384 all out on the second morning. Fast bowlers Umar Gul and Sohail Tanvir, who shared seven wickets between them, ran through the New Zealand middle and lower ...

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England chip away on rain-hit day

5:53 AM Cricket No Comments

The hard work of Australia's top order was beginning to unravel at the SCG as both sides sparred for the ascendency on a truncated opening day of the final Ashes Test. The hosts had slipped to 4 for 134 when further rain ended play, with Usman Khawaja falling to the final ball before the weather closed in having made 37 in a promising start to his Test career. England couldn't quite match the intensity of their opening day in Melbourne, but chipped away once the opening partnership was broken...

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South Africa strike after Kallis masterclass

5:51 AM Cricket No Comments

Jacques Kallis was the only batsman to survive the difficult phase against the second new ball and his solidity ensured South Africa reached a formidable total despite losing four wickets in quick time on the second morning at Newlands. Sreesanth had threatened to end South Africa's innings for less than 300 but he and the rest of the Indian bowlers failed to dislodge Kallis, who drew level with Ricky Ponting on 39 Test centuries and added 79 runs with the last two batsmen, prolonging India's...

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