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Monday, February 21, 2011

World Cup: Australia beat Zimbabwe by 91 runs

shane watson
(TOI)
AHMEDABAD:
Zimbabwe looked good to chase Australia's total when Charles Coventry drove Brett Lee handsomely through the covers for four in the second over and then sent one soaring over the point fence for a flat six in the fourth. But once Lee caught a skier to dismiss Coventry off his own bowling in the sixth over of the match and Shaun Tait sent Brendan Taylor's middle stump for a walk in the 11th, it was curtains for Zimbabwe.
Chasing Australia's hard-earned 262-6, Zimbabwe were bundled out for 171 in the 47th over as Ponting's men recorded an easy 91-run win in their World Cup opener at Motera here on Monday. And like all the three top teams in the first two days of the World Cup, Australia too showed that teams like Kenya, Canada, Zimbabwe and even Bangladesh would be better off playing in a league of their own and not in the premier tournament in ICC's cricket calendar.
It was a good warm-up for the defending champions before their crucial Group-A game against arch-rivals New Zealand in Nagpur on February 25. They still have some work to do as far as their batting against spinners is concerned but this might be the attack Australia would like to stick to after all their experimentation in the ODI series against England post Ashes. Lee and Tait opening the bowling with Mitchell Johnson coming first change followed by Shane Watson and Jason Krejza looks more than a formidable attack. With spin likely to play a crucial part as the tournament progresses, the Aussies will still have Michael Clarke and the young Steven Smith waiting in the wings.
But the same can't be said about their batting, especially against the spinners. Their weakness against spin is one thing other teams would like to exploit as Zimbabwe did here. Starting with Ray Price's left-arm orthodox spin from one end, the Zimbabwe slow bowlers shared 41 overs, restricting the mighty Aussies to a little over 250.
It was a David vs Goliath contest alright but Zimbabwe did everything right on the field to give the defending champions a wake-up call after Ponting elected to bat, ignoring the dew factor. One could understand Watson and Brad Haddin's cautious approach in their first match of the mega event, but slowly they found themselves caught in the Zimbabwean spin web from which breaking free became an uphill task.
That the Aussies managed to score just 32 runs losing one wicket in their batting powerplay—from the 41st over when spin was on from either end—showed the kind of stranglehold the Zimbabwe spinners had on the Aussie batsmen.
The hallmark of the spinning operation was the length as the Zimbabwe bowlers kept the ball up inviting the drive against the slight hint of spin. The Australians batsman's reluctance to play the sweep shot meant that playing straight in the V would be a dangerous proposition. Haddin and Watson both found that out—caught plumb in front playing straight and forward.
Interestingly, both these dismissals were referred after they were turned down by Ashoka de Silva and Richard Kettleborough respectively.
----------------------

score card


Australia innings (50 overs maximum) R M B 4s 6s SR
SR Watson lbw b Cremer 79 113 92 8 1 85.86
BJ Haddin† lbw b Utseya 29 68 66 3 0 43.93
RT Ponting* run out (Mpofu) 28 50 36 0 0 77.77

MJ Clarke not out 58 77 55 4 0 105.45
CL White b Mpofu 22 44 36 0 0 61.11
DJ Hussey b Price 14 15 8 1 1 175.00
SPD Smith c Chakabva b Mpofu 11 4 4 1 1 275.00

MG Johnson not out 7 5 3 1 0 233.33

Extras (lb 7, w 7) 14











Total (6 wickets; 50 overs; 191 mins) 262 (5.24 runs per over)
Did not bat SW Tait, JJ Krejza, B Lee
Fall of wickets1-61 (Haddin, 18.5 ov), 2-140 (Watson, 31.2 ov), 3-144 (Ponting, 32.5 ov), 4-207 (White, 44.6 ov), 5-241 (Hussey, 48.1 ov), 6-254 (Smith, 49.1 ov)










Bowling O M R W Econ

CB Mpofu 9 0 58 2 6.44 (2w)
RW Price 10 0 43 1 4.30 (1w)
P Utseya 10 2 43 1 4.30 (2w)
AG Cremer 10 0 41 1 4.10 (1w)

BRM Taylor 3 0 23 0 7.66


E Chigumbura 2 0 18 0 9.00 (1w)

SC Williams 6 0 29 0 4.83










Zimbabwe innings (target: 263 runs from 50 overs) R M B 4s 6s SR
BRM Taylor b Tait 16 53 24 1 0 66.66
CK Coventry c & b Lee 14 24 24 1 1 58.33
T Taibu† c Watson b Johnson 7 23 17 1 0 41.17
CR Ervine lbw b Johnson 0 13 6 0 0 0.00
E Chigumbura* c †Haddin b Krejza 14 44 25 2 0 56.00
SC Williams c Watson b Tait 28 40 40 1 1 70.00
RW Chakabva lbw b Krejza 6 21 18 0 0 33.33
P Utseya c Ponting b Hussey 24 52 45 1 0 53.33
AG Cremer c †Haddin b Johnson 37 51 51 4 0 72.54

RW Price not out 5 25 19 0 0 26.31
CB Mpofu c †Haddin b Johnson 2 12 11 0 0 18.18

Extras (b 4, lb 9, w 3, nb 2) 18











Total (all out; 46.2 overs; 190 mins) 171 (3.69 runs per over)
Fall of wickets1-22 (Coventry, 5.4 ov), 2-40 (Taibu, 10.3 ov), 3-40 (Taylor, 11.2 ov), 4-44 (Ervine, 12.3 ov), 5-88 (Chigumbura, 21.2 ov), 6-96 (Williams, 24.6 ov), 7-104 (Chakabva, 27.2 ov), 8-153 (Utseya, 39.2 ov), 9-167 (Cremer, 42.4 ov), 10-171 (Mpofu, 46.2 ov)










Bowling O M R W Econ

SW Tait 9 1 34 2 3.77 (1nb, 2w)
B Lee 8 1 34 1 4.25 (1nb, 1w)
MG Johnson 9.2 2 19 4 2.03

JJ Krejza 8 0 28 2 3.50


SR Watson 3 0 7 0 2.33


SPD Smith 5 0 24 0 4.80

DJ Hussey 4 1 12 1 3.00
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Paparazzi lie in wait for prince's bride-to-be

(TOI)
LONDON:
When Kate Middleton said "yes" to Prince William's marriage proposal, she was not just agreeing to become the wife of a future British king.
She was also signing up to massive media intrusion in her private life and years of intense attention from paparazzi photographers.
The question she and her future husband will now be pondering is whether that attention can be managed or if they will suffer from the same insatiable press frenzy that ultimately led to the death of William's mother, Princess Diana.
"There's huge interest. William has become the star of the royal family that his mother was and Kate's an attractive girl, so from a paparazzi point of view she potentially means a lot of money," said Max Clifford, Britain's best-known publicist.
"And these days the paparazzi are anyone -- anyone with a camera, anyone with a mobile phone," he told Reuters.
The couple's wedding on April 29 comes almost 14 years after Diana was killed with her lover Dodi al-Fayed when their limousine crashed into the wall of a Paris tunnel as they tried to escape from a posse of chasing paparazzi.
A British inquest in 2008 concluded the actions of the photographers were partly to blame for the fatal accident.
So far William and Kate, who began dating while at university in Scotland, have been largely spared the level of scrutiny that Diana suffered, partly through media restraint and because of more robust action from the royal family itself.

MOBBED
However, Middleton was mobbed by photographers on her way to work on her 25th birthday in 2007 and later that year formally complained to Britain's media watchdog, the Press Complaints Commission (PCC), after one newspaper published a picture of her which she said was taken as the result of harassment.
William has also complained that photographers on motorbikes had aggressively followed them after leaving a nightclub, while Queen Elizabeth has written to editors about paparazzi intruding on the royal family's privacy.
The crucial factor for the future will be the attitude of newspaper and magazine editors. If they do not use or pay for paparazzi pictures, there will clearly be less incentive for photographers to hound the royal couple.
"The judgment that editors will make will be 'can we justify showing this photo, breaking this news story, with our readers?'" Clifford said."Is it going to put them off or make more of them want to buy the paper or magazine? And that's the most important thing to all newspaper editors."
He predicted the couple's easy ride would continue initially, because upsetting the popular newlyweds is likely to upset their readers too.
"As time goes by, if opportunities come along then of course the media will exploit her because it sells papers," he said. "They will be looking to see if there's an angle there that obviously the more sensational, the more people will want to read it."
OUT OF TOUCH
Following Diana's death, the public turned against both the media and the royal family, regarding the latter as an aloof and out of touch institution which left Diana to suffer at the hands of a remorseless press.
Now, royal aides have developed a more intuitive, thoughtful, sensible, and workmanlike approach, experts say "What they've done is develop a kind of stick and carrot approach to the world media and in particular to the paparazzi, and they have warned the paparazzi off quite severely," royal biographer Christopher Wilson told Reuters. "They have sensed certainly within the British media there's still this residual feeling of guilt about Diana and the way she was treated which means (the press) has very much more been prepared not to intrude too much and give them their space."
Bob Satchwell, Executive Director of Britain's Guild of Editors, said aides now accepted the public had an interest in and a right to know more than had been thought in the past.
A new code of practice brought in by the PCC in the wake of Diana's death which stated people were entitled to privacy was also taken very seriously, he added. Editors would now think hard before using the sort of pictures printed 20 years ago.
"That (the code) made a significant difference to the way papers looked at not just royal princesses or royal princes, it made a huge difference and took away most of the market for paparazzi in this country," he told Reuters.
"I think editors will think more than twice before they publish pictures which might be considered intrusive."
Middleton herself, at 29, is viewed as much older and wiser than Diana who emerged from obscurity as a 19-year-old to become Prince Charles's bride and front page news.
Having dated William for so long, Kate has been groomed for her future role, and the media spotlight will not be such a shock. She is expected to get far more advice and be under greater control, with her exposure kept to a minimum unless on official duties.
"Kate comes from a much more stable background -- she is already eight years older than Diana was when she got married and is, in every sense, more mature, well-grounded and comfortable in her own skin," said Claudia Joseph, author of "Kate: The Making of a Princess".
"You have to remember that she has been dating the prince since they were at university so has had some practice for the role. Kate may well be as glamorous as Diana but they are very different people and come from totally different backgrounds."

Clifford said Kate is never going to have the kind of freedom that Diana found that she had in some ways.
"Obviously Diana exploited that freedom to become the most photographed woman in the world and Kate won't have that opportunity," Clifford said. "The palace and all those around will have learned from what happened with Diana and they will be very, very guarded to make sure that doesn't happen again."

However, it is not just the notoriously aggressive British media that the couple will have to cope with.
"If you think the UK media is obsessed with celebrity you should look at European media and American media who go even wilder," said Satchwell.
"And they don't get the same feedback that the UK media gets about the activities of the paparazzi involving the royals."
Most predict that once the wedding is over, the paparazzi will resume normal service.
"I don't think they'll ever change. Everybody is competitive with everyone else and they want to get a better story and they're prepared to go further than the competition," Wilson said.
He said Middleton has been shrouded in secrecy for the last seven years with occasional opportunities for photographs, but when she becomes a public figure after her marriage to William on April 29 the light-handed approach may end."I think that a lot of self-restraint that has been exercised so far will probably start to drip away."

Gadhafi's son warns of civil war in Libya

(TOI)
CAIRO :
The son of longtime leader Moammar Gadhafi warned in a nationally televised address that continued anti-government protests that have wracked Libya for six days might lead to a civil war that could send the country's oil wells up in flames.
Appearing on Libyan state television after midnight Sunday, Seif al-Islam Gadhafi said the army still backed his father, who was leading the fight, although he added that some military bases, tanks and weapons had been seized.
``We are not Tunisia and Egypt,'' the younger Gadhafi said, referring to the successful uprisings that toppled longtime regimes in Libya's neighbors.
He acknowledged that the army made mistakes during protests because it was not trained to deal with demonstrators but added that the number of dead had been exaggerated, giving a death toll of 84. Human Rights Watch put the number at 174 through on Saturday, and doctors in the eastern city of Benghazi said more than 200 have died since the protests began.
The younger Gadhafi offered to put forward reforms within days that he described as a "historic national initiative'' and said the regime was willing to remove some restrictions and begin discussions for a constitution. He offered to change a number of laws, including those covering the media and the penal code.

With HC order, Kasab one step closer to gallows

(TOI)
MUMBAI: "Apko di hui saza-e-maut barkarar rakkhi jaati hai (We have upheld your death sentence)." With these words the Bombay high court confirmed on Monday the death sentence awarded last May to gunman Ajmal Amir Kasab for his "diabolical" role in the 26/11 terror attacks.
Kasab's moods in court have fluctuated. On Monday, an unkempt Kasab was seen grinning through most of the hearing, during which the judges took 15 minutes to read the highlights of a 1,208-page judgment.
The court held Kasab, 23, individually responsible for seven murders and together with his accomplice Abu Ismail, responsible for 66 other killings on the night of November 26, 2008 when they went on the rampage from CST to Cama Hospital and Metro Junction to Chowpatty. He was also held guilty for abetting and conspiracy in the murders of the remaining 166 victims who died at the Taj, Oberoi and Trident and Nariman House.
However, in a continued setback to the state government, the bench of Justices Ranjana Desai and Ranjit More upheld the acquittal of co-accused Indians Faheem Ansari and Sabauddin Shaikh. The court said there was no conclusive corroborative evidence. The duo had been charged with facilitating the attack by furnishing a hand-drawn map of prominent targets in Mumbai to the gunmen at the behest of Lashkar-e-Toiba.
In an interesting development, the division bench differed with the trial court by accepting the police case that Malabar Hill was indeed the final destination of the terrorists. "(The confession statement) will show that these terrorists were proceeding via Chowpatty towards Malabar Hill, which was their final target," said the judges. Last year, the trial court had ruled out the possibility that Kasab and Ismail were proceeding to the upmarket Malabar Hill, where many VIPs stay, when Kasab was nabbed and Ismail was gunned down at Chowpatty.
Kasab was seen on the video-conference screen smiling in his prison cell. But he may have little to worry for a while. It could take years for a death sentence to be executed, even if Kasab moves the supreme court and it upholds the verdict. He can then file a mercy plea with the President.
Kasab, dressed in white prison attire and sporting a thin beard, looked slightly dishevelled but listened intently from the confines of his special high-security Arthur Road cell. However, he showed no anguish or remorse, but grinned and smiled when the verdict came.
Giving Ansari and Shaikh the "benefit of doubt", the HC ensured that it was a mixed bag for the state. "I have advised the chief minister to challenge the acquittals in the supreme court,'' special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam later said. He added he was elated with the death confirmation.
Calling Kasab`s crime the "rarest of rare``, the judges said they had no hesitation in awarding him the death penalty for the "brutal, grotesque and diabolical" murders. "Kasab is a threat to society," said the judges, adding, "Kasab waged a war against the government of India pursuant to a conspiracy which was hatched in Pakistan. The object was to destabilize (the country) and to weaken India`s economic might.... There is hardly any scope for a person like Kasab to be rehabilitated or reformed." The 26/11 attacks had caused damages to the tune of over Rs 150 crore, noted the court.
Kasab`s rampage at CST and Cama, which accounted for a majority of deaths—around 68—weighed heavy with the high court. "The brutality, perversity and cruelty exhibited by Kasab while committing multiple murders of innocent men, women, children, aged persons and policemen without provocation for a motive which has no moral justification makes this case a gravest case of extreme culpability," said the judges.
The court signalled a zero tolerance for terrorism and looked to send a strong message to deter any future terrorists. "The harsh penalty of death is necessary to warn those who may want to take a similar path. Strong arm of law must deal with Kasab firmly otherwise a wrong signal will be sent that the courts are ineffective in dealing with crimes as serious as this. Soft handling of a crime like this will erode the public confidence in the efficacy of law," the high court said.
Defence lawyers Amin Solkar and Farhana Shah had urged for leniency pointing out that Kasab was barely out of his teens, not sane, emotionally disturbed and a mere tool in the hands of the LeT. The high court refused to accept this, referring to his confessional statement where he expressed displeasure that more people could have been killed at CST if the killers arrived earlier. The judges noted that they had observed his demeanour during the hearing and Kasab had never shown any repentance or remorse. "He has never shown any repentance, but has loudly proclaimed that he wants to create more fidayeen by setting an example," said the judges.
The police theory that foreigners were targeted with an intention to "overawe" the country and harm its relations with other nations received a major fillip. The high court said the intercepted conversations of the terrorists holed up in the Taj and Nariman House "reflected anti-Jewish and anti-Israel sentiments. The terrorists attacked hotels where foreigners, India`s esteemed guests, stay because that would have adverse effects on India`s relations with foreign countries". The court further said that the attack on the crowded CST station, which was under the Union government, was a direct challenge to the Centre`s authority.
The court relied on Kasab`s own confession and the testimony of other witnesses to agree with the prosecution that Malabar Hill was the final destination of the two terrorists. "Deceased Abu Ismail told Kasab that he would tell him after he reaches Malabar Hill (about their target). This part of the confessional statement of Kasab fits in with the prosecution case deposed to by the witnesses. It is corroborated by them." Special judge M L Tahilyani had last year rapped the Mumbai police for its investigation into this aspect. The judge had then said that Kasab and Ismail were not planning to leave CST and had done so only after meeting with stiff resistance from the police. "Both terrorists were never destined to go to Chowpatty. By mistake they went there," the judge had observed.
On Monday, the high court upheld the 86 charges against Kasab, including 31 he is specifically charged with. He was sentenced to death on five counts -- waging war against India, murder, conspiracy to murder, common intention to commit murder and participating in an act of terror (the last under the Unlawful Activity Prevention Act).
Kasab was held guilty for individually murdering the Kuber`s navigator Amarchand Solanki, constables Ambadas Pawar and Tukaram Ombale, and CST commuters Sitaram Sakhare, Rahamutall Ibrahim, Vinod Gupta and Abbas Ansari. Along with Ismail, he killed 66 people, including ATS chief Hemant Karkare, and senior cops Ashok Kamte and Vijay Salaskar.
The court also convicted Kasab of robbery, dacoity, kidnapping, voluntarily causing hurt, grievously hurting a public servant, wrongful confinement and causing mischief with explosives (all Indian Penal Code); carrying unlicensed weapons and acquiring and using prohibited guns (Arms Act); possessing and using explosives, planting IED bombs at CST, lobbing hand grenades and causing explosions (Explosives Act); causing explosions to endanger life and property (Explosive Substances Act); damaging and destroying railway property and endangering passenger safety (Railways Act); entering the country without a passport and entering India illegally (Passports Act); and smuggling into India prohibited arms, pistols and ammunitions (Customs Act).

Germany agrees to share information about secret bank accounts

(TOI)
PARIS: German has assured Indian finance minister Pranab Mukhejee that it would pass on information about Indian citizens holding secret bank accounts.
The assurance came at a bilateral meeting between Mukherjee and German finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble on the sidelines of the meeting of the G20 finance ministers and central bank governors that concluded here on Saturday.
Mukherjee appreciated the role of Germany in providing information about Indian citizens having secret bank accounts in the LGT bank of Liechtenstein.
Germany has earlier provided names of some Indians having secret accounts in the Liechtenstein Bank.
"German finance minister ... assured him (Mukherjee) that as and when they have such information, they will pass it on to the Indian government", said a release.
Germany, it added, has also agreed to revise Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) and incorporate clauses to facilitate exchange of information between the law enforcement agencies of the two countries.
The negotiations to amend the DTAA will start soon, the release said, adding Mukherjee has requested for early amendments to the tax treaty. Under the existing treaty, Germany cannot share information for non tax purposes.
German tax authorities, Mukherjee added, need to share information with India's Enforcement Directorate, a body that deals with offences relating to violation of foreign exchange laws.
Raising similar issues with French minister for economy, industry and employment Christine Lagarde, Mukherjee said there was need to put pressure on tax havens to share information to prevent money laundering. Mukherjee also recalled the commitment of the French minister to share information on Indian monies in Swiss banks, the release said.
The finance minister asked his French counterpart to initiate early negotiations for amending the DTAA between the two countries.
Lagarde said the French team was working on the amendment proposed by India on the DTAA and the issue of providing information for tax purposes would be discussed shortly with Indian administration.
The two leaders also discussed a number of bilateral and multilateral issues and underlined the need for greater engagement between the two countries in the fields of energy, nuclear power, water treatment etc.

Sunday, February 20, 2011

World Cup: New Zealand thrash Kenya by 10 wickets

(TOI)
CHENNAI:
New Zealand crushed Kenya by 10 wickets in a totally lop-sided Group A match for a perfect start to their World Cup campaign on Sunday.
New Zealand unleashed their pace trio of Tim Southee (3-13), Hamish Bennett (4-16) and Jacob Oram (3-2) to bundle out rank outsiders Kenya for a meagre 69 in 23.5 overs and returned to overwhelm the target in eight overs.
There was not much room for batting practice chasing a 70-run victory target but openers Martin Guptill (39) and Brendon McCullum (26) stroked some easy boundaries before completing the chase.
The comprehensive win will lift New Zealand's morale which had taken a beating after a poor build-up that included whitewash in Bangladesh and India, besides a home series defeat against Pakistan.
Earlier, Kenya captain Jimmy Kamande won the toss and opted to bat first before a horror story unfolded in front of his eyes.
Two days before he turns 24, Bennett ran through the top order as Kenya's top half was back in the hut even before the team total had reached the 50-run mark.Openers Alex Obanda (6) and Seren Waters (16) began cautiously even if run-rate was nothing to write home about.
Southee trapped Obanda in the seventh over before Bennett suddenly took fancy to beating the blade and hitting the pad of the flummoxed Kenyan batsmen, claiming three of his four victims lbw.
Southee dismissed Nehemiah Odhiambo and Shem Ngoche off the last two deliveries of his sixth over but could not get a chance to complete his hat-trick as Oram removed Elijah Otieno for a duck to drop the curtains on the Kenyan innings.
Only three Kenyan batsmen - Waters, Collins Obuya (14) and Rakep Patel (15 not out) - managed double digit scores.
New Zealand missed Kyle Mills' service through a sore back but off-spinner Nathan McCullum recovered from fever to open the attack, a move that is getting increasingly popular among the visiting teams.
------------------------------
    score card                           
   
Kenya innings (50 overs maximum) R M B 4s 6s SR
AA Obanda lbw b Southee 6 27 19 0 0 31.57
SR Waters lbw b Bennett 16 49 42 1 0 38.09
CO Obuya lbw b Bennett 14 32 19 2 0 73.68
SO Tikolo b Bennett 2 4 2 0 0 100.00
MA Ouma† lbw b Bennett 1 12 6 0 0 16.66

RR Patel not out 16 46 23 1 0 69.56
JK Kamande* c †BB McCullum b Oram 2 19 16 0 0 12.50
TM Odoyo c Ryder b Oram 2 6 6 0 0 33.33
NN Odhiambo b Southee 0 6 6 0 0 0.00
SO Ngoche lbw b Southee 0 1 1 0 0 0.00
E Otieno c Styris b Oram 0 4 4 0 0 0.00

Extras (b 4, lb 3, w 2, nb 1) 10




----------------------------------------------------------------------------





Total (all out; 23.5 overs; 107 mins) 69 (2.89 runs per over)
Fall of wickets1-14 (Obanda, 6.6 ov), 2-40 (Waters, 11.6 ov), 3-42 (Tikolo, 13.2 ov), 4-44 (Obuya, 13.5 ov), 5-49 (Ouma, 15.3 ov), 6-59 (Kamande, 19.5 ov), 7-63 (Odoyo, 21.3 ov), 8-68 (Odhiambo, 22.5 ov), 9-68 (Ngoche, 22.6 ov), 10-69 (Otieno, 23.5 ov)










Bowling O M R W Econ

TG Southee 6 0 13 3 2.16 (1nb)

NL McCullum 4 0 15 0 3.75 (1w)
HK Bennett 5 0 16 4 3.20 (1w)

DL Vettori 6 1 16 0 2.66

JDP Oram 2.5 1 2 3 0.70










New Zealand innings (target: 70 runs from 50 overs) R M B 4s 6s SR

MJ Guptill not out 39 37 32 5 2 121.87

BB McCullum† not out 26 37 17 4 0 152.94

Extras (b 2, lb 1, w 3, nb 1) 7




-------------------------------------------------------------------------





Total (0 wickets; 8 overs; 37 mins) 72 (9.00 runs per over)
Did not bat JD Ryder, LRPL Taylor, JEC Franklin, SB Styris, DL Vettori*, NL McCullum, JDP Oram, TG Southee, HK Bennett










Bowling O M R W Econ


TM Odoyo 3 0 25 0 8.33 (1w)

E Otieno 2 0 18 0 9.00


JK Kamande 2 0 21 0 10.50 (1w)

NN Odhiambo 1 0 5 0 5.00 (1nb, 1w)
 

World Cup: Jayawardene shines as Sri Lanka crush Canada

(TOI)
HAMBANTOTA:
Veteran batsman Mahela Jayawardene smashed a sparkling century as Sri Lanka crushed Canada by 210 runs in their opening World Cup match at Mahinda Rajapakse Stadium on Sunday.
The 33-year-old scored his ton off 80 balls for his 13th one-day hundred, and the fourth fastest in World Cup history, which boosted his team's total to 332/7, much to the enjoyment of a sell-out 35,000 crowd. New-ball bowlers Nuwan Kulasekara (3/16) and Thisara Perera (3/24) combined to bundle Canada out for 122 in 36.5 overs.
The lop-sided contest would have given weight to the International Cricket Council's decision to restrict the next World Cup -- to be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand in 2015 -- to the top 10 teams, minus minor nations.Earlier in the day New Zealand had mauled Kenya by 10 wickets in Chennai, after bowling out Kenya for just 69.
Canada, who promised much by putting up a valiant fight against England during their 16-run defeat in a warm-up last week, found the co-hosts too tough to handle in the Group A clash.
"The real star was Mahela Jayawardene," said Sri Lanka skipper Kumar Sangakkara."Once we got the foundation and that solidity we were able to launch and go beyond 300."
Canada captain Ashish Bagai admitted chasing such a huge target was always going to be a tough proposition.
"Two world-class players took the game away from us and 330 was always going to be a tough ask," he said.
Sangakkara mixed up his bowling options as Canada lost wickets at regular intervals once their most experienced batsman John Davison had been bowled off Perera's first delivery of the second over.
Hard-hitting Rizwan Cheema top-scored with 37, including two sixes off world record wicket taker Muttiah Muralitharan, while skipper Ashish Bagai, with 22, showed some resistance.Jayawardene had laid the foundation for Sri Lanka's total with an invaluable third wicket partnership of 179 with Sangakkara, who made 92.
Jayawardene and Sangakkara built on the platform set by opener Tillakaratne Dilshan (50) after Sri Lanka won the toss at this new ground which became the 177th one-day venue.
Jayawardene completed his hundred with a single off spinner Davison after facing just 80 deliveries - the fastest by a Sri Lankan in the World Cup, beating Sanath Jayasuriya's 85-ball ton against Bangladesh at Port of Spain four years ago.But Davison dismissed him in the same over, caught at short fine-leg after Jayawardene had hit nine boundaries and a six.
Sri Lanka lost a cluster of wickets in the death overs, but Angelo Mathews (21) and Thilan Samarwaweera (18 not out) ensured they got past 300.
Dilshan (50) and Upul Tharanga put on a quick 63 for the first wicket by the 12th over before a mix-up between the two sent Tharanga back, run out for 19.
Dilshan fell just after scoring his third World Cup half-century, holing out at deep cover to Davison after hitting eight boundaries off 59 deliveries.
It was then left to Jayawardene and Sangakkara to punish a hapless Canadian attack, depleted by an injury to spearhead Henry Osinde who walked off the field due to a hamstring problem after bowling only 13 balls.
Jayawardene, who survived two caught behind referral appeals against spinner Jimmy Hansra, upped the tempo by hitting the same bowler for the first six at this ground.He then clobbered four boundaries in successive overs from Davison, but the veteran Canadian broke the partnership by having Sangakkara caught and bowled.Sangakkara hit seven fours and a six during his 87-ball knock.Sri Lanka now face Pakistan in their second match on February 26. Pakistan play Kenya on Wednesday.
--------------------------------------------
score card


Sri Lanka innings (50 overs maximum) R M B 4s 6s SR
WU Tharanga run out (Gunasekera/†Bagai) 19 56 31 1 0 61.29
TM Dilshan c Davison b Rizwan Cheema 50 86 59 8 0 84.74
KC Sangakkara*† c & b Davison 92 134 87 7 1 105.74
DPMD Jayawardene c Balaji Rao b Davison 100 115 81 9 1 123.45
NLTC Perera run out (Surkari/†Bagai) 11 17 11 1 0 100.00
AD Mathews c & b Baidwan 21 25 16 3 0 131.25
CK Kapugedera c sub (NR Kumar) b Baidwan 2 5 3 0 0 66.66

TT Samaraweera not out 18 9 10 3 0 180.00

KMDN Kulasekara not out 7 7 3 1 0 233.33

Extras (lb 3, w 8, nb 1) 12




---------------------------------------------------------------------





Total (7 wickets; 50 overs; 236 mins) 332 (6.64 runs per over)
Did not bat M Muralitharan, BAW Mendis
Fall of wickets1-63 (Tharanga, 11.5 ov), 2-88 (Dilshan, 19.1 ov), 3-267 (Sangakkara, 41.6 ov), 4-276 (Jayawardene, 43.6 ov), 5-284 (Perera, 45.1 ov), 6-295 (Kapugedera, 46.1 ov), 7-314 (Mathews, 48.4 ov)










Bowling O M R W Econ


Khurram Chohan 8 0 62 0 7.75


H Osinde 2.1 0 10 0 4.61 (1nb, 2w)
HS Baidwan 8.5 0 59 2 6.67 (2w)

AS Hansra 9 0 47 0 5.22 (1w)
Rizwan Cheema 7 0 47 1 6.71


WD Balaji Rao 7 0 48 0 6.85

JM Davison 8 0 56 2 7.00 (2w)









Canada innings (target: 333 runs from 50 overs) R M B 4s 6s SR
R Gunasekera c Dilshan b Kulasekara 1 12 10 0 0 10.00
JM Davison b Perera 0 4 1 0 0 0.00
ZE Surkari lbw b Perera 6 12 10 0 0 60.00
AS Hansra st †Sangakkara b Samaraweera 9 46 49 0 0 18.36
A Bagai*† c †Sangakkara b Perera 22 58 47 2 0 46.80
Rizwan Cheema c Jayawardene b Muralitharan 37 65 35 4 2 105.71
TG Gordon c †Sangakkara b Kulasekara 4 16 10 0 0 40.00
Khurram Chohan c †Sangakkara b Kulasekara 4 11 8 1 0 50.00

HS Baidwan not out 16 43 35 1 0 45.71
WD Balaji Rao c Tharanga b Muralitharan 6 7 7 1 0 85.71
H Osinde b Mendis 4 14 10 0 0 40.00

Extras (lb 8, w 4, nb 1) 13




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Total (all out; 36.5 overs; 148 mins) 122 (3.31 runs per over)
Fall of wickets1-0 (Davison, 1.1 ov), 2-8 (Gunasekera, 2.5 ov), 3-12 (Surkari, 3.6 ov), 4-42 (Hansra, 17.5 ov), 5-53 (Bagai, 21.3 ov), 6-68 (Gordon, 24.3 ov), 7-74 (Khurram Chohan, 26.2 ov), 8-103 (Rizwan Cheema, 31.3 ov), 9-111 (Balaji Rao, 33.2 ov), 10-122 (Osinde, 36.5 ov)










Bowling O M R W Econ

KMDN Kulasekara 6 2 16 3 2.66

NLTC Perera 7 0 24 3 3.42

BAW Mendis 7.5 3 18 1 2.29 (1w)
M Muralitharan 9 0 38 2 4.22 (1nb, 3w)

TM Dilshan 5 0 14 0 2.80

TT Samaraweera 2 0 4 1 2.00