Pakistan collapse in Karachi Test

FIRST TEST, KARACHI: South Africa 450; Pakistan 127-5 (day two, stumps)

South Africa blasted out Pakistan's top order cheaply to seize the advantage after two days of the first Test.

Pakistan had taken the last seven South African wickets for 98 runs in Karachi to bowl the tourists out for 450, but they then collapsed themselves.

Having raced to 71-0 in the 15th over, they slid to 127-5 at stumps, spinner Paul Harris taking 2-18 in 12 overs.

South Africa will aim for a big effort on Wednesday to give themselves the option of enforcing the follow-on.

However, with the pitch only expected to deteriorate more and more, they would probably not be keen on having to bat last.

After a first day dominated by South Africa's batsmen, and in particular Jacques Kallis who reached 118 not out in a score of 294-3, on Tuesday it was the turn of the bowlers to bite back.

Leg-spinner Danish Kaneria became the sixth Pakistan bowler to take 200 Test wickets when removing Kallis and Ashwell Prince in the morning.

Kallis added 37 to his overnight score before edging a back-foot force. For the 25th time in his Test career, he had failed to convert a century into a double ton.

The ultra-patient Prince (36 off 97 balls) then misread Kaneria's googly to send the bowler an easy return catch and Pakistan were back in the game.

Soon after lunch the scorebaord read 392-6 as slow left-armer Abdur Rehman, in a memorable debut, earned a fortunate decision from umpire Mark Benson.

Mark Boucher appeared to make no contact with an attempted sweep, but Pakistan's appeal for a catch at the wicket was upheld.

PAKISTAN'S TOP BOWLERS Wasim Akram: 414 wkts Waqar Younis: 373 Imran Khan: 362 Abdul Qadir: 236 Saqlain Mushtaq: 208 Danish Kaneria: 200

No doubt encouraged by his maiden Test wicket, Rehman then accounted for numbers 8,9 and 10 cheaply to claim figures of 4-105.

All the while, AB de Villiers was doing his utmost to farm the strike and played some commanding strokes.

But the support was not there and with only Makhaya Ntini for company he eventually fell to Umar Gul for 77.

Pakistan avoided losing any wickets in the early stages of their reply, to be 17-0 at tea.

But it all went horribly wrong in the final session.

First, Kamran Akmal was trapped lbw by Harris, before the next two wickets fell within four deliveries of each other.

Mohammad Hafeez was brilliantly caught by Kallis at slip off Harris, and Andre Nel bowled Younis Khan with a ball that kept low.

We still have a tough task ahead of us because the pitch is still good for batting Jacques Kallis

Inexperienced duo Faisal Iqbal and Misbah-ul-Haq were forced into their shells and it was no surprise that neither lasted until stumps.

Kallis duly bowled Iqbal off the inside edge and Misbah edged an ecstatic Dale Steyn behind.

It ended a great day for the veteran all-rounder, who rated his century in the "top three" of all those he had scored in Tests.

The 31-year-old added: "It's vital to have a good first innings score in a Test in the sub-continent and I think we fell 50 runs short.

"In the end our bowlers came out on top and put us in a strong position but we still have a tough task ahead of us because the pitch is still good for batting."

Pakistan vice-captain Salman Butt was admitted to hospital with suspected gastroeneteritis before play resumed on Tuesday.

"Butt had severe pain in his stomach and we took him to the hospital at around 3am," Pakistan team manager Talat Ali told reporters.

Substitute Yasir Hameed replaced the 22-year-old in the field on day two. Butt was unable to bat on Tuesday.

Australia destroy India in Kochi

SECOND ONE-DAY INTERNATIONAL, KOCHI:
Australia 306-5 beat India 222 by 84 runs

Australia handed India a crushing 84-run defeat to earn a 1-0 lead in the seven-match one-day series.

Asked to bat first in Kochi, they amassed a mighty 306-6 and then needed 47.3 overs to bowl out the hosts.

Andrew Symonds hit 87 off 83 balls, but the most impressive innings came from unsung reserve 'keeper Brad Haddin.

Pressed into service after injuries to key batsmen, he hit 87 not out off 69 balls. India lost too many early wickets, Australia catching everything.

India began their chase with plenty of big shots, Robin Uthappa free-wheeling at the top of the order to make 41 off 30 balls with one outrageous six back over Brett Lee's head.

But a brilliant Mitchell Johnson delivery sent back Gautam Gambhir cheaply, before Sachin Tendulkar and Yuvraj Singh played lazy shots, chipping catches to fielders in the inner ring.

When Uthappa stepped across his stumps to be lbw to the immaculate Stuart Clark, the score was 87-4.

Suddenly India had to play risk-free cricket, and the required run rate started going up.

Rahul Dravid (31) looked to push on, but hit a catch off Brad Hogg which Johnson took over his head at deep mid-wicket, standing no more than a few inches off the rope.

Many fans packed into the Nehru Stadium took that as their cue to head for the exits, though 25 overs remained.

They had the right idea, the remainder of the match descending into the sort of sterile contest that has given 50-over cricket a bad name.

Hogg continued to twirl away to earn figures of 3-40, while Clark and Michael Clarke each took two wickets.

Mahendra Dhoni was last man out for 58 in an innings which soaked up 88 deliveries.

Things had started so well for India, reducing Australia to 8-2 in the fourth over when Brad Hodge chased a wide outswinger from Sree Santh.

But Matthew Hayden hit a typically boisterous 75 to lay the platform for Symonds and Haddin.

We didn't bowl well in the last 20 overs and our batsmen failed to apply themselves Mahendra Dhoni

The batsmen were not concerned about pacing their innings, trusting their own batting skills to seize on anything loose.

And with the boundary markers brought in following rain in the run-up to the match, Symonds and Haddin shared five sixes - all beautifully struck.

Harbhajan Singh was one of two replacements for the hosts as he came in for the seamer RP Singh - the other being Uthappa for the injured Sourav Ganguly.

But the 21 overs of India slow bowling went wicketless, and were hit for 131.

In truth, India only matched Australia in the verbal exchanges and general posturing, which further marred a forgettable game of cricket.

Afterwards, India skipper Dhoni highlighted his team's failings: "We got a good start with the ball but didn't bowl well in the last 20 overs.

"That's the only concern for us. We lost a few wickets in the middle and that made the difference. Our batsmen failed to apply themselves."

Gilchrist's retirement from one-day cricket may come sooner rather than later following Haddin's recent success, and he said of his stand-in: "It is very satisfying to see new players come in and perform.

"With injuries come opportunities and Brad showed that today."

Though Haddin only played because of injuries to Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey, he looks likely to play in the remaining five matches of the series.

FIRST ONE-DAY INTERNATIONAL, DAMBULLA: Sri Lanka 269-7 (50 overs) bt England 150 (34.5 overs) by 119 runs

England slumped to a 119-run defeat by Sri Lanka in Dambulla to go 1-0 down in their five-match one-day series.

Mahela Jayawardene hit 66, Sanath Jayasuriya 41 and Upul Tharanga 40 in the home side's 269-7 on a slow pitch.

Debutant Phil Mustard made a brisk 27 in reply but he and Kevin Pietersen fell to Farveez Maharoof (4-31) as England went from 43-0 to 102-6.

Alastair Cook (46) battled for 80 balls but after he edged Maharoof behind, they folded for 150 in the 35th over.

It was England's heaviest defeat, in terms of runs, by Sri Lanka in one-day matches and took their dismal record on the island to eight defeats in nine ODIs.

They will need to improve considerably for the next two games in Dambulla.

The venue last staged a match more than two years ago and its recently relaid surface caused plenty of problems with its lack of pace and variable bounce.

Sri Lanka's openers never really came to terms with it even though Jayasuriya heaved James Anderson over wide long-on for six and to the backward square-leg boundary in an over costing 16.

He and Tharanga were caught in the deep, and Kumar Sangakkara (38) was stumped to provide a maiden international wicket for Graeme Swann, who found prodigious turn in his first appearance for England since January 2000.

Jayawardene knew patience and playing the ball late was the key in such conditions and showed his class by cutting skipper Paul Collingwood and sweeping Swann for early boundaries as he reached 50 off 61 balls.

When Chamara Silva cracked Ryan Sidebottom over the wide long-on rope and Jayawardene carved Swann over extra-cover, England were facing an even bigger total.

But the duo were among three wickets to fall for 15 runs to give the visitors hope of limiting the damage.

Jayawardene was pouched on the cover-point boundary, Silva (33) holed out to deep square-leg and Jehan Mubarak was expertly snapped up by Anderson at fine-leg to give Stuart Broad a deserved second wicket in his first spell since being smacked for six sixes by India's Yuvraj Singh at the World Twenty20.

Maharoof ensured his team finished with a flourish by clubbing three boundaries off the young seamer in his cameo of 22 off 12 balls to leave England in need of a flying start.

Mustard recovered from almost being caught first ball at slip off Chaminda Vaas to strike several lusty blows, none better than the swipe off the veteran left-armer over long-off for six.

With Cook timing the ball beautifully to drive Lasith Malinga and Dilhara Fernando elegantly through the covers, things were looking up.

But it all went horribly wrong once Mustard miscued Maharoof to a diving Malinga at wide mid-off and Ian Bell followed one that moved away a touch to edge behind.

Pietersen got an inside edge driving loosely and, although Collingwood ended a period of six overs without a four by driving Fernando down the ground, he soon guided a slower ball from the paceman to slip.

Owais Shah chipped Malinga to Mubarak at short extra-cover and when Cook failed in his attempt to guide Maharoof down to third man the game was all but up.

Swann (24) shared 42 in 39 balls with Ravi Bopara (27no) to delay the inevitable and once he was caught reverse-sweeping Tillakaratne Dilshan the end was not long in coming.

India beat Pakistan in the Final of Twenty20 World Cup

THE bowler was Sharma. It was the last over of a final. A six would have done it. The echoes of history thundered through the souls of every spectator aware of the annals of Pakistan-India matches.

Alas, for Misbah-ul-Haq it was not to be. No Miandad moment for him. Pakistan’s premier batsman in the tournament almost saved his team from a self-inflicted disaster, yet he will regret forever his decision to chip a slowish delivery over fine leg. On such moments are heroes made, fortunes lost, and hearts broken.

After a year that brought Pakistan cricket face to face with every controversy possible, Shoaib Malik’s young team came eyeball to eyeball with rivals India in a World Cup final.

That it was only Twenty20, the Zinger Burger of international cricket, mattered for nothing. What mattered was that Pakistan and India, the best-followed nations in the world, had recovered from their Caribbean limbo dance. Cricket in the two countries had never stooped lower but in Johannesburg it reached a height that nobody could have imagined. When this form of cricket was conceived it seemed ideal for Pakistan’s mentality, particularly the batsmen who often play as if 20 overs are too long. But it is Pakistan’s bowlers who have been the stars of this tournament.

This harks back to Pakistan’s best era in world cricket when its bowlers were always capable of keeping the team in any match. The last few years have seen an unsettled bowling attack, unable to adhere to the basics of top-class bowling. With Geoff Lawson’s arrival the bowlers have rediscovered their radar and ensured Pakistan reached the final and created a winning position.

Once again, Umar Gul was the pick of the bowlers, a mature stallion able to york and bounce the batsmen at will. These are the ancient arts of fast bowling and Gul has mastered them. He won what was supposed to be the key contest of the final, Pakistan’s tussle with Yuvraj Singh, the best batsman in the tournament undone by the best bowler.

The target was straightforward in ideal batting conditions, and Pakistan must have thought the match was won at half-time. But India fought back with tight if unspectacular bowling and Pakistan’s batsmen lost the battle of minds.

Two vital decisions turned the innings in India’s favour. First was Younis Khan’s call for a quick single immediately after Imran Nazir’s request for a runner had been rightly turned down. Nazir was run out, limping a quick single. The second misjudgement was to hold Shahid Afridi back until the pressure was too great for his brain to control the mental explosion.

There is no shame in this defeat even though it might be at the hands of Pakistan’s biggest rivals. Malik and Lawson have revived Pakistan as a force in world cricket. It is an era begun with energy, passion, discipline and much excitement.

Bangladesh knock West Indies out of World Twenty20

JOHANNESBURG, Sept 13: Bangladesh captain Mohammad Ashraful smashed the fastest half-century in Twenty20 cricket Wednesday to throw the West Indies out of the inaugural World Championship.

The 23-year-old dynamo pounded seven boundaries and three sixes in 61 off 27 balls as Bangladesh overtook the West Indian total of 164-8 with 12 deliveries to spare at the Wanderers.Aftab Ahmed chipped in with an unbeaten 62, sharing a rollicking stand of 109 for the third wicket with Ashraful that came off just 62 deliveries.Ashraful reached his half-century off 20 balls by hooking Fidel Edwards for a six, surpassing Sri Lankan Sanath Jayasuriya’s 23-ball 50 against New Zealand at Wellington in 2006.

The West Indies were knocked out of the 12-nation tournament with their second successive defeat following the eight-wicket loss to South Africa in Tuesday’s opening match.

The West Indians, who were sent in to bat on a drying wicket, struggled to 104-3 in 15 overs before the lower order added 60 valuable runs in the last five overs.Dwayne Smith hit 29 off seven balls to lead his team’s recovery, but the target of 8.3 runs an over was easily overtaken by the Bangladesh batsmen.

The match was delayed by an hour due to a wet pitch caused by excessive watering overnight by the ground staff, but there was no reduction in overs.“I think it was a very good toss to win because batting couldnot be easy on a drying wicket,” said Ashraful.“I knew in my mind that 50 percent of the match had been won by winning the toss but we still had to go out there and get the runs.“The boys have trained hard over the past month. We even attended an army cammando camp and I was confident we will do well in Twenty20.”Bangladesh lost openers Mohammad Nazimuddin and Tamim Iqbal by the fourth over with just 28 runs on the board before Ashraful joined Aftab to leave the West Indies in the dumps.

Ashraful began with four boundaries in Daren Powell’s third over which realised 18 runs and then hit seamer Ravi Rampaul for a six and four off consecutive balls.The dapper batsman, who was dropped by Edwards on the fine-leg fence when on 29, welcomed Dwayne Bravo with 4, 4, 6.At the other end, Aftab rotated the strike skillfully and hit eight boundaries and a six.Chris Gayle, who hammered the first-ever Twenty20 century in the previous match, fell to the third ball of the match when he cut Syed Rasel to Alok Kapali at point.Left-armer Rasel kept the runs in check with a superb spell of 1-10 in four overs even as Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Devon Smith put on 95 for the second wicket.Chanderpaul made 37 off 31 balls with three fours and two sixes, while Devon Smith top-scored with 51 off 52.Marlon Samuels launched the late charge with two sixes and two boundaries in one over of Ashraful before holing out off the over’s final delivery.Dwayne Smith hammered three consecutive sixes in another over from Ashraful, who conceded 55 runs in his spell.Left-arm spinner Saqibul Hasan finished with 4-34, including three wickets in the last over of the innings.Bangladesh play hosts South Africa in Cape Town on Saturday with both teams already assured of a place in the Super Eights round.

Scoreboard

WEST INDIES:

C.H. Gayle c Kapali b Rasel 0

D.S. Smith b Razzak 51

S. Chanderpaul c Mashrafe b Razzak 37

R.R. Sarwan st Mushfiqur b Saqibul 5

M.N. Samuels c Saqibul b Ashraful 27

D. Ramdin c Mushfiqur b Saqibul 2

D.R. Smith b Saqibul 29

D.J. Bravo st Mushfiqur b Saqibul 2

D.B.L. Powell not out 1

EXTRAS (LB-2, W-8) 10

TOTAL (for eight wkts, 20 overs) 164

FALL OF WKTS: 1-0, 2-95, 3-104, 4-126, 5-131, 6-155, 7-157, 8-164.

DID NOT BAT: R. Rampaul, F.H. Edwards.

BOWLING: Syed Rasel 4-1-10-1; Abdur Razzak 4-0-25-2; Mashrafe Mortaza 2-0-16-0 (3w); Farhad Reza 2-0-22-0; Saqibul Hasan 4-0-34-4 (1w); Mohammad Ashraful 4-0-55-1.BANGLADESH:Tamim Iqbal c Chanderpaul b Rampaul 10M. Nazimuddin c Sarwan b Rampaul 1Aftab Ahmed not out 62Mohammad Ashraful c Gayle b Sarwan 61Saqibul Hasan c Powell b Sarwan 13Alok Kapali not out 5EXTRAS (LB-4, W-8, NB-1) 13TOTAL (for four wkts, 18 overs) 165FALL OF WKTS: 1-2, 2-28, 3-137, 4-159.DID NOT BAT: Mushfiqur Rahim, Farhad Reza, Mashrafe Mortaza, Abdur Razzak, Syed Rasel.BOWLING: Powell 3-0-28-0; Rampaul 4-0-35-2 (2w); Gayle 4-0-21-0; Edwards 3-0-33-0 (1nb, 1w); Bravo 2-0-34-0 (1w); Sarwan 2-0-10-2.RESULT: Bangladesh won by six wickets.UMPIRES: M.R. Benson and N.J. Long (both England).TV UMPIRE: D.J. Harper (Australia).MATCH REFEREE: B.C. Broad (England).MAN-OF-THE-MATCH: Mohammad Ashraful.

South Africa Trounce West Indies in the Inaugural Match of Twenty20 World Cup

South Africa beat West Indies in a thrilled inaugural match of Twenty20 World Cup at wanderers on Tuesday.

Earlier West Indies were able to set the target of 205/6 in 20 overs which was later chased by South Africa with the lost of 2 wickets in 17.4 overs.

PCB tells Shoaib to KEEP QUIET

PCB's Chairman Dr. Naseem Ashraf has told Pakistan's Fastest Bowler with Controversial Career to keep his mouth shut after the dispute occured in South Africa, where Pakistan's Cricket Team is present for taking part in The Twenty20 World Cup.

Earlier, Shoaib Akhtar had pleaded with the PCB not to bann him for a long period, according to him he mistakely hit Muhammad Asif (Fast Bowler) with a bat on the thigh. He said it was the aftermath of the slanging match between him and Shahid Afridi (BOOM BOOM).