Akram set for Knight Riders bowling job

New Delhi: Former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram is all set to be appointed as the bowling consultant of IPL outfit Kolkata Knight Riders.

Though the Knight Riders' management continues to remain tightlipped on the matter, sources have told CNN-IBN that Akram will be working closely with the fast bowlers of the Knight Riders in the third edition of the tournament next year.

The news of Akram's appointment comes close on the heels of the appointment of Former Pakistan coach Richard Pybus as the head coach of the outfit.

Pybus was with the Pakistan cricket team during the 1999 World Cup.

Akram will join the Kolkata Knight Riders' camp, which begins in Gurgaon from October 1.

"He will join the KKR camp at Gurgaon to oversee the proceedings," former KKR skipper Sourav Ganguly said at the Eden Gardens here on Tuesday.

However, as Akram will be busy doing commentary for the ongoing Champions trophy, where the final is slated for October 5, he will join the camp only in the later stages.

The camp is scheduled to continue till October 8. Till Akram joins, Ganguly will be in charge of the camp.

However, leading Bengal players are unlikely to attend the camp as the cricket Association Bengal has organised a Challengers tournament to give some match practice to the players ahead of the gruelling season. Thus, Laxmi Rattan Shukla, Wriddhiman Saha, Ashok Dinda, Sourav Sarkar, Eklakh Ahmed and Avik Chowdhury will miss the camp.

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We have an advantage over Pakistan: Ponting

Johannesburg: Australian skipper Ricky Ponting reckons that having played a match at the slow Centurion track will give his team a distinct advantage over Pakistan in their must-win Champions Trophy encounter on Wednesday.

Ponting said there was no margin for errors in such crucial games and his tem had prepared well to beat Pakistan for a place in the semi-finals.

"It would be easier (for us) if Pakistan were to do so though we are preparing as if we would face their best team in the park. We can beat them and directly qualify," said Ponting when asked about reports that Pakistan would be fielding their B side in tomorrow's game. If Australia wins tomorrow's first game, the match between India and the West Indies would lose all relevance, and Ponting said he would want his side's semi-final hopes to be decided by their own work.

"There is no margin or error. If it gets rain affected tomorrow or not, the destiny is in our hands. If we don't make it to the semifinals, we would be disappointed.

"We have prepared very well. We have had very good last few weeks. We want to be the number one side of the world and that's why we prepare the way we do," he said at a press conference here.

"In the run-up to the game, South Africa and India were spoken about highly. Now South Africa are out and India have their work cut out. But we have prepared very well and have been playing good cricket in the last few weeks. We are in good enough position to make the next stage," Ponting said.

Ponting felt his side would have an advantage in Wednesday's game as they have had a first feel of the slow Centurion wicket against India.

"We would be disappointed with yesterday's result (against India). We were in pretty strong position. With 10 overs left, we were looking good for 300. It would have been

very competitive.

"We played their spin bowlers which would be a great help against Pakistan. Sure some positive did came out of yesterday's game."

Ponting had words of sympathy for struggling Indian pacer Ishant Sharma and said his troubles could be due to the workload his young shoulders were carrying for a while.

"People now say that Ishant is a bit off the boil now. It could be the workload, physical and mental drain. I don't really know but confidence is a big thing in international cricket. It happens to fast bowlers as well as to batsmen.

"It's a big job, as a coach, as fitness advisers. Juggling the workload is a big issue. We all the time try to embrace it. I took a break in Dubai and missed the first three games in England."

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Younis hopes to play India in the final

Pakistan captain Younis Khan finds himself in a unique position as his men take on Australia tomorrow in Centurion. Already through to the semi-finals, a third win in the group might help India, should they beat West Indies in Johannesburg, to join them in the final four.

Though Pakistan will experiment with their line-up against Australia to account for injuries as well as giving their bench strength a run, there will be no let-up in their approach. There is even a part incentive, says Younis, in the hope perhaps of playing against India in the final.

"I am just planning about each game as it comes," Younis said. "I wish for India to play in the final against us but we will not worry about that in our game tomorrow. We'll be trying our best. My wish is to win against the top teams, like South Africa, Australia and India. There is nothing in my mind about losing to Australia, and whether India will be out. It is only about what I can do for my country."

When Pakistan beat India by 54 runs at Centurion, it was one of the best-attended games in the tournament, in which crowds have generally been poor. The game was sold out two weeks prior to the match being played, prompting Younis to call for more games between the two neighbours.

Currently, relations between the two countries have cooled considerably from the mid-2000s, following the Mumbai terror attacks last year. That, in turn, has affected cricketing relations between the two and, until the Centurion game, they had not played each other in an international in over a year.

"Who was the biggest winner when we played at Centurion? Cricket. India and Pakistan should play. If we do not play, cricket will not benefit. Players become big names when they perform in these matches. The biggest sold-out crowd here was for that game."

Younis did, however, ask for these games to be treated as normal matches, appealing for calmer reactions from fans on both sides following good or bad results. "We lost to India in the Twenty20 final. Then we beat them the other day, what difference does it make? If we win a final, we'll be so happy anyways that we won't care which team we beat. All I say is, keep it normal. Don't hype us up too much if we beat India, or don't bring India down so much if they lose. This is not how life should be on winning or losing. Life should go on as normal. If Dhoni loses then don't get after him or get after us if we lose. Leave sports as sports."

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Ajmal out to put a spin on Australia

Saeed Ajmal, the Pakistan offspinner, is eyeing the wicket of one of the world's best batsmen tomorrow as Pakistan get ready to take on Australia. Ajmal played against Australia earlier this year in Dubai and Abu Dhabi in a five-match ODI series and had considerable success early in the contest; but Ricky Ponting was rested from that series and Ajmal is keen to match his wits against the Australian captain.

"Ricky Ponting," Ajmal shot back when asked whose wicket he would most cherish. "I haven't played against him and he is my absolute favourite player. I would really love it if I took his wicket."

Though Ajmal took only four wickets in the five-match series - which Pakistan lost 3-2 - he was difficult to get away on slow tracks, and in the first two games in particular, the Australian batsmen found his doosra difficult to pick up.

Barring his troubles against Harbhajan Singh, Ponting has a good record against other spinners but Ajmal was confident he could make an impression tomorrow. "Why not? The last series we played against them in Abu Dhabi I was successful. They sometimes struggle against spin so I want to exploit that."

Centurion has, through the tournament, been conducive to spin though not all spinners have had a good time at the ground - Ajmal was quick to point to the 300-plus scores made in this tournament at the ground. Muttiah Muralitharan and Harbhajan are two of the more established names to have floundered, but Ajmal and Shahid Afridi - who caused Australia more problems with 10 wickets in the same series including a career-best six-wicket haul in the first game - prospered against India earlier.

Intikhab Alam, the Pakistan coach, believes that the pair may make a difference tomorrow. "At Centurion, it helps spinners with bounce and turn," Intikhab said. "We have two world-class guys and they have done exceptionally well. We have an edge over them though I wouldn't say they are vulnerable to spin because they are a world-class side, they are very professional. But it will be a great challenge for them also to tackle Pakistan spinners."

If any side was capable of overcoming that challenge, it is likely Australia. In the washed-out game against India, they look relatively comfortable against Harbhajan and Amit Mishra and Ponting believes the experience will help them against Pakistan - even if they are without Michael Clarke, whom many consider to be the best player of spin in the side.

"Most definitely it is something we're working on," Ponting said. "I think you saw yesterday [Michael] Hussey and [Tim] Paine particularly played spinners really well. Ajmal and Afridi had a big impact at the start of the last series but as the series went on we played them a lot better. That was a really good result for us over there in conditions that suited Pakistanis."

Ajmal will continue, however, as he has done in his quietly impressive start to international cricket. He has become the specialist ODI spinner thus relieving Pakistan of the headache of making up overs from part-timers, he played a key role in Pakistan's World Twenty20 win earlier this year, and made his Test debut in Sri Lanka, where he took 14 wickets in his first three Tests. The doosra, he says, is coming out nicely.

"There is no pressure in these big matches," he said. "You cannot do that because in a way we are also a big team and world champions. I will keep doing what I have been doing. My first task is to stop the scoring, not wickets. That is my thinking, the batsman has his thinking and in that if I get a wicket then great."

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Mohammad Asif set to play against Australia

Print Version

Cricdb has reliably learnt that Pakistan will play Mohammad Asif and Misbah ul Haq in their final group match against Australia at Super Sports Park, Centurion.

Earlier today, Pakistan captain Younis Khan hinted out couple of changes in their squad bringing up Mohamamd Asif or giving Fawad Alam a chance but after a team meeting at Sandton Hotel, Johannesburg it has learnt that Pakistan decided to drop Imran Nazir – who sustained an injury while fielding during Pakistan India match and stitches have yet to be removed and give Misbah ul Haq a go to play against Aussies.

On other hand Mohammad Aamir will sit out to give Mohammad Asif a chance to register his comeback. Asif will be playing his first international match in 16 months since he was suspended for doping and disciplinary related offences last year.


Asif, has just finished up his a one-year ban for testing positive for the banned drug nandrolone during the Indian Premier League. His suspension ends on September 22, the day before Pakistan begin their Champions Trophy campaign against West Indies in Johannesburg.

Pakistan Squad against Australia: 1. Kamran Akmal (wicket-keeper), 2. Shahid Afridi, 3. Younis Khan (captain), 4. Shoaib Malik, 5. Mohammad Yousaf 6 Misbah ul Haq 7. Umer Akmal, 8. Mohammad Asif, 9. Rana Naveed ul Hasan, 10. Umar Gul, 11. Saeed Ajmal.
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Gutsy New Zealand reach Champions Trophy semi-finals

Collingwood was one of four England batsman who fell to South Africa-born right-arm medium pacer Grant Elliott, whose 4-31 off eight overs was the pick of the New Zealand bowlers and earned the man of the match award.

England wickets fell regularly and cheaply with the exception of 30-run Ravi Bopara until tail-ender Ryan Sidebottom struck three boundaries in a defiant 20 before Taylor caught him off Vettori to conclude the innings.

New Zealand reached 84 in 12.3 overs before England made a breakthrough as McCullum hopelessly mistimed a Stuart Broad delivery and Bopara took the catch at cover.

Another six overs passed before England could celebrate again as the 53-run stand of Guptill finished when he got a thick edge to a clever James Anderson delivery and Graeme Swann caught him at first slip.

Swann struck again three balls later, diving at second slip to remove Taylor, who bungled his reaction to a Broad delivery and got a thick edge, but despite losing a few more cheap wickets, the Kiwis won with relative ease. "It was a great all-round performance from our second must-win match in a row. Brendon (McCullum) and Martin (Guptill) started the innings superbly and that helped us survive a few hiccups," said winning captain Daniel Vettori.

Opposite number Andrew Strauss replied: "It was not a great wicket for one-day cricket but we beat Sri Lanka here so that is the way it goes. We needed some luck but full credit to New Zealand for winning."

Paul Collingwood, Ravi Bopara and tail-enders Graeme Swann and Ryan Sidebottom were the only England batsmen to reach double figures on an overcast afternoon.

If New Zealand were cursing their luck at losing bowlers Jacob Oram and Daryl Tuffey and batsman Jesse Ryder through injury since the two-week tournament began, they were not showing it.

Inspirational skipper Strauss was first to depart, getting on an outside edge off Kyle Mills to wicketkeeper McCullum having faced just two balls and failed to score.

Joe Denly was next to experience the venom of the Black Caps attack, scoring just five before reacting too slow and Shane Bond sent the off stump flying to his relief after two previous games yielded a solitary wicket.

Owais Shah, 98-run hero of the triumph over South Africa, survived a mere 10 balls and hit three runs before he tried to flick Bond over square leg and sent a thick edge to McCullum.

At 27-3 stunned England got a reprieve when New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori reversed a run-out decision against Collingwood, who went on to top score with 40 before an excellent Ross Taylor catch terminated his innings. Brave New Zealand shrugged off an injury crisis to defeat England by four wickets at the Wanderers on Tuesday and join them in the Champions Trophy semi-finals.

The victory completed a stirring Group B comeback by the Black Caps, who also overcame Sri Lanka after tamely surrendering to hosts South Africa in their opening match.

New Zealand came first ahead of England on net run rate after finishing with four points each with Sri Lanka and hosts South Africa eliminated having gained two points apiece.

Group A will be settled on Wednesday with leaders Pakistan and second-placed Australia favoured to advance to the knockout phase at the expense of India and the West Indies.

Bowlers Grant Elliott and Shane Bond inflicted most damage after the Kiwis won the toss and an England team that amassed 323 against South Africa just 48 hours earlier were bundled out for 146 in 43.1 overs.

New Zealand openers Brendon McCullum and Martin Guptill made a whirlwind start in pursuit of the total, harvesting 66 from 60 balls, and the 147-run target was reached for the loss of six wickets after 27.1 overs.
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Aussies aim for semis berth against Pak

Centurion: A semifinal berth well within their grasp despite the wash-out against India, defending champions Australia take on a rejuvenated Pakistan in their final group A match of the Champions Trophy here on Wednesday.

If Australia win, they would book their place in the semifinal no matter what happens in the India-West Indies match.

But if they lose and India win, Ricky Ponting's world champion side has to ensure that its net run rate remains ahead of Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men as the two teams would be tied on three points each in such a scenario.

The Australians have had a reasonably good tournament, wining the opening match against the West Indies before dominating the abandoned game against India.

Ponting has led from the front in both the matches, scoring a couple of crucial fifties and putting together match-saving partnerships in tough conditions.

The biggest concern for the Aussies on Wednesday would be all-rounder Shane Watson. Pushed to the opening slot some time ago, the big-hitting right-hander has come a cropper in the tournament so far, managing two ducks.

He has looked uncomfortable facing up to the new ball and it remains to be seen if he would be persisted with at the top on Wednesday.

The other opener Tim Paine has, however, adjusted well to the slot. Paine batted through a testing period in the match against India to make a fifty and stabilize the Australian innings.

Mike Hussey also seems to have rediscovered some of his lost form, against India, by scoring a morale-boosting half century.

The bowlers didn't get a chance last night as the heavy downpour forced abandonment of the match.

But Brett Lee and Co. were not too impressive against the West Indians in the opening match, in which the rag-tag Caribbean team gave a mighty scare to the world champions.

The Centurion track has been a batting paradise and it would take quite an effort from the Aussie bowlers to contain an in-form Pakistani line-up.

Pakistan, on the other hand, have little to be concerned about.

They are already in the semis and would be aiming to get some match practice before the last-four stage begins on October 2.

Skipper Younus Khan, who played with a fractured finger in the crucial win over India, might consider resting himself ahead of the knockout round.

It's a match that would decide the semifinal complexion despite the fact that one of the teams has absolutely nothing at stake.

Teams: (from)

Australia: Ricky Ponting (capt), Michael Clarke, Callum Ferguson, Nathan Hauritz, Ben Hilfenhaus, James Hopes, Michael Hussey, Mitchell Johnson, Brett Lee, Tim Paine, Peter Siddle, Adam Voges, Shane Watson, Cameron White, Brad Haddin, Doug Bollinger.

Pakistan: Younus Khan (capt), Shahid Afridi, Fawad Alam, Iftikhar Anjum, Imran Nazir, Kamran Akmal, Misbah-ul-Haq, Mohammad Aamer, Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Yousuf, Naved-ul-Hasan, Saeed Ajmal, Shoaib Malik, Umar Akmal, Umar Gul.

Match starts at 1 pm.

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India take on WI, pray for Pak win over Oz

Johannesburg: Their survival hinging on a favourable result elsewhere, India take on West Indies in a must-win match here on Wednesday, hoping that arch-rivals Pakistan do them a favour by beating Australia in their final group A engagament of the Champions Trophy.

India approach Wednesday's game against the West Indies with a prayer on the lips that Pakistan would somehow prevail over Australia by a big margin in the day's first game in Centurion.

If it happens, India would need to up their net run-rate dramatically, besides winning the match, to stand a chance of making the last-four stage.

India presently have a net run-rate of -1.08 whereas Australia have a massive advantage of +1.00 in their favour.

Australia won their opening game against the West Indies by 50 runs and India lost theirs by 54 runs. So if India are to go past Australia's net run-rate, they ought to cover the difference of 104 runs between the two teams.

For instance, if Australia lose their game by 25 runs, India need to win theirs against the West Indies by 80 runs to prevail and go through to the semi-finals. However, if Australia bat first and score 250 runs, India need to get their runs inside 40 overs for them to go through.

Clearly such complications don't bode good things for India. West Indies, despite missing most of their key players due to the ongoing contracts dispute, are no pushovers.

In their first game against Pakistan, they had the latter on ropes after Younus Khan's team had set itself up for a small chase. Pakistan, at one stage were reeling at 76 for 5, chasing 134 to win, when Umar Akmal bailed them out with his sensible batting.

In their second game, West Indies first had Australia on the backfoot and later in the evening, they batted beyond their skins to give the world champions a true scare.

Their fast bowling unit is more than competent which has settled itself nicely at the Wanderers.

India's bowling worries would also ease at the Wanderers where the pitch has consistently afforded bounce even though the swing factor isn't on. They quickly need to adapt themselves.

India's bowling could go unchanged despite the fact that having a five-strong attack did little to stop the Aussie batting from notching up 234 runs in 42 over.

Ishant Sharma too seems very low on confidence and was hammered by Australian batsmen last night. It would not come as a surprise if he is rested though the bounce at the Wanderers pitch might as well give the lanky pacer a shot in the arm.

Batting hasn't done too badly and the experienced line-up, despite missing the likes of Yuvraj Singh and Virender Sehwag, shouldn't find it tough to negotiate what is essentially a second-string attack.

Even with their fighting spirit, West Indies are a rag-tag side and it would be interesting to see how they keep themselves motivated in an inconsequential game for them as they are already out of semifinal contention after their losses to Australia and Pakistan.

Teams (from):

India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (C), Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Harbhajan Singh, Dinesh Karthik, Virat Kohli, Praveen Kumar, Amit Mishra, Abhishek Nayar, Ashish Nehra, Yusuf Pathan, Suresh Raina, Ishant Sharma, RP Singh.

West Indies: Floyd Reifer (C), Darren Sammy, David Bernard, Tino Best, Royston Crandon, Travis Dowlin, Andre Fletcher, Kevin McClean, Nikita Miller, Kieran Powell, Dale Richards, Kemar Roach, Devon Smith, Gavin Tonge, Chadwick Walton, Daren Powell.

Match starts at 6 pm IST.

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Strauss was right to deny runner: Hussain

England captain Andrew Strauss did no wrong by denying his South African counterpart Graeme Smith a runner during their teams' Champions Trophy clash as Smith was merely tired not injured, feels former skipper Nasser Hussain.

"Andrew Strauss was right to deny Graeme Smith a runner at the climax of England's outstanding win over South Africa. It is down to the umpires to decide if someone can have a runner and, as I understand it, they were not happy for the South Africa captain to have one, so why should Strauss step in?" Hussain wrote in his column for 'The Daily Mail'.

"Smith had cramps, which is a fitness issue rather than an injury, and it is impossible to criticize Strauss for saying 'no'," he said.

England went on to win the match and qualify for the semifinals but the decision to deny Smith a runner caused quite a furore in South Africa.

Hussain said Strauss was mindful of the criticism he faced following his decision to recall Sri Lanka's Angelo Mathews after a run-out in England's opening match.

"...in the build-up to Sunday's game, Strauss had been criticized publicly by his coach, Andy Flower, over his generous decision to recall Sri Lanka's Angelo Mathews after a run-out.

"Strauss must have been conscious of that criticism as he weighed up the situation with Smith," he said.
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We will delay naming the XI: Dhoni

With his side's Champions Trophy semifinal hopes hanging by a slender thread, India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said he would name his squad for tomorrow's match against the West Indies depending on how the match between Pakistan and Australia was progressing.

If Pakistan beat Australia at Centurion by a big margin, India will need to defeat West Indies by a huge margin to make it to the semifinals in their last Group B match which will start five hours later.

Dhoni said he would keenly follow the Pakistan-Australia game and would decide on his playing eleven only after he has seen how the day's game is heading.

"We would delay our team selection. It depends on how the match is progressing. If we need to strengthen our batting we would do so. If we need the bowling to get stronger, we would do that," Dhoni said at a press conference here.

A lot of calculation would be on tomorrow and Dhoni expected not only his support staff, but even the seniors to chip in with their suggestions.

"Not only the coach and the support staff, even the seniors would be needed to chip in with their advice.

"Unfortunately, not everything is in your hand. Lot of things need to happen: Pakistan to win, we to beat West Indies and net run-rate," he said.

Dhoni said that the Indian fans would be cheering for Pakistan to win against Australia.

"All of India wants its team to do well. Knowing that Pakistan's win (against Australia) earlier in the day is so important, they all would be cheering for Pakistan," he said.

It didn't concern Dhoni that Pakistan, the arch-rivals, could actually be attempting to lose by giving a few of their star players a rest against Australia.

"Now that they have qualified, they could be looking to experiment with their bench strength. It depends on what they want to get out of tomorrow's game."

Looking at how the tournament has gone by for India, Dhoni squarely blamed his bowlers for the side's ills.

"We batted in only one game so you can't say the batting has let us down. But we have bowled twice and we are not bowling that well. Yesterday (against Australia), the bowlers were much better, they were neither too short nor too full. But we have to admit we didn't bowl that well," he said.

Personally though, Dhoni was prepared to look his team's performance in Champions Trophy philosophically.

"Losing and winning is part and parcel of any sport. It's enough for me that I am playing for my country and am leading the side which not everybody gets a chance to do. That's enough for me.

"We have done very well in the last 18-20 months. We have done well all over the world. We have the potential to do well. The boys can bounce back and on their day can give any side tough fight."

On Ishant Sharma's poor show so far, Dhoni had words of encouragement and said the young fast bowler would strike form soon.

"It's not about the drop in pace. It's about the line and length you bowl. I thought Ishant, in his second spell yesterday, was the old Ishant we know. Keeping it on the off-stump and bringing the ball in and not giving too much width to the batsmen.

"It happens all the time in cricket. A few good shots and a batsman is back in form. A few good balls and a bowler regains his confidence."

Dhoni also responded with interest to his Australian counterpart Ricky Ponting's suggestion that the workload of cricketers, particularly fast bowlers, needs to be managed well.

"It's a tough thing to say. You rotate a few players and lose a game and it becomes a big issue in India. One thing which whole of India needs all the time is a win. You have to admit with so many games being played, you can't win all the games.

"This is something which everyone has to understand. You need bench strength but you don't want to miss big players in big tournaments. The second line must be readied though. You need to groom them. They ought to have played 20-30 games so when a senior misses out, a young player is ready to step in."
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Pakistan look for more discipline in bowling

JOHANNESBURG: Pakistan’s deal is not quite done yet. Two wins from two, in this tight tournament, at least means onward progress to the semi-final rests in their own hands. Regardless of the result between Australia and India at Centurion, they will be aiming to keep their game in working order when they take on the world champions in Centurion on Wednesday. “Our preparation is going really well at the moment,” Intikhab Alam, Pakistan’s coach, said after a training session on Monday. Pakistan will be confident, despite a poor recent record against Australia; they’ve won only three of the last 12 encounters between the sides. “We are confident. It’s always a challenge to play against better sides,” Intikhab said.

However, Pakistan are not without dilemmas. The first is that Mohammad Asif has yet to play a part in the tournament. If the game becomes a dead rubber, he may well get a look-in but it remains to be seen. Also, on Saturday against India, Umar Gul and Mohammad Aamer gave away six no-balls between them. Australia will not waste such offerings. “We always call no-balls in the nets and want to reduce extras against Australia as we know it’s very important against them,” the coach added. cricinfo
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Further injury woes rock New Zealand

New Zealand have suffered a further injury blow before their must-win Champions Trophy cricket match against England in South Africa with fast bowler Daryl Tuffey ruled out because of a broken hand.

Tuffey becomes the third member of the New Zealand side to suffer a tournament-ending injury.

Allrounder Jacob Oram returned home early after straining a hamstring while opening batsman Jesse Ryder suffered a groin injury during his innings of 74 in New Zealand's 38-run win over Sri Lanka.

Team manager Dave Currie told Radio Live here from South Africa that Tuffey suffered his injury while fielding.

"He broke a bone in the back of his hand. He needs to get back to New Zealand now to have surgery," Currie said.

For Tuesday's match against England Tuffey will be replaced by Ian Butler who is available for selection again after being down with a stomach illness.

Meanwhile, batsman Aaron Redmond who was rushed to South Africa to replace Ryder is unlikely to be considered for the match as flight delays mean he will only arrive a few hours before the game begins.

England have already qualified for the semi-finals of the tournament and New Zealand need to beat them in the final pool match to also enter the knock-out phase.
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Rain ruins India's semis hopes

India's semifinal chances today suffered a big jolt as incessant rain led to the abandonment of their Group A Champions Trophy match against Australia, forcing them to split points at SupertSport park here.

Now India will have to beat West Indies by a big margin on Wednesday and pray that Pakistan too beat Australia by a good margin on the same day.

Today's result cleared Pakistan's way into the last-four stage.

Australia were cruising comfortably at 234 for four in 42.3 overs when the skies opened up. The unrelenting rain turned the stadium into a virtual pool and lightning struck one light tower as well.

Electing to bat, Australia flourished on some fabulous partnerships after getting off to a slow start.

Ponting led from front with a composed fifty and conjured up two crucial partnerships with Tim Paine (56) and Michael Hussey (67) to lay a solid platform for a big score.

Indian pacers Ashish Nehra and Praveen Kumar, who replaced RP Singh, bowled in tandem to give their side a decent start as they conceded just 23 runs in the first eight overs and also dismissed Shane Watson for a duck.

Australia broke the shackles in the eight over by milking the gangly Ishant for 16 runs as Paine hit him for a six and four and Ponting also drove him for a sweet four through the covers.

The pair grew in confidence after that fruitful over and went on to add 83 runs for the second wicket which was enough to stabilise the Australian innings.

Amit Mishra vindicated the decision of his drafting into the side with his disciplined bowling, which played a role on slowing down Australia's progress.

The leg-spinner provided the second breakthrough when he scalped Paine.

Ponting and Mike Hussey though went about the business very efficiently, working the field around, and erected a stand of 88 runs for the third wicket.

India had a fortuitous break when Gautam Gambhir, running in from deep midwicket, threw down the non-striker's end and caught Ponting short of his crease.

Ponting's 65 came off 88 balls and contained four fours and a six. Hussey though kept going strongly from the other end and soon completed his half century from 45 balls and inclusive of four fours.

With lightning and dark clouds mushrooming on the horizon, Australia opted for their batting powerplay in the 36th over in the hope of advancing their score rapidly.

They made 44 runs and another half-century stand, this time between Hussey and Cameron White, had materialised.

Ishant put his bowling woes behind when he got Hussey caught in the deep on the off-side. Hussey's knock came off 65 balls with the help of five fours.

With the score reading 234 for 4, the rain started pelting down at the Centurion forcing the cricketers indoors.
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It’s our Trophy, says Younis

JOHANNESBURG: Following Pakistan’s emphatic win against India on Saturday evening, skipper Younis Khan declared that the “Champions Trophy is ours and his country deserves it most”.

“This Trophy was originally scheduled to be held in Pakistan. We were the real hosts. My nation wants it back and we are ready to give our hundred percent to get it back for the country,” Younis told reporters.

He said another factor that has added to their hunger was that they had never reached the final of the Champions Trophy. “We have never reached the final and I think it is a good opportunity to go on to win the prestigious title. It is a good chance and we are only three games away from winning it. Our country needs a few more titles like this Trophy.”

He praised Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Yousuf for their sensible game in the middle. “We owe the victory to both of them. Their innings have given us tremendous boost. They stuck to their job well and that turned out to be real difference.”

Younis said it was a good toss to win on a wicket that suited stroke-play. “I knew it very well that anything around 300 would provide a good opportunity for Pakistan to wrap up the match. Even a score of 270 would have been a fighting one. If you look at the records under lights on this ground such targets have not been chased.”

The captain, however, was unhappy with his team’s fielding display. “When I got Gautam run out, I felt pain in my finger. Fielding with a broken finger is always difficult but I knew the team needs me and my inclusion would help boost the player’s morale.”

He admitted that India had their chances in the match. “Gautam Gambhir was playing brilliantly and when (Suresh) Raina was playing with Raul Dravid, things were getting dangerous.”

He also praised Dravid’s innings, saying his efforts were focussed on staying at the crease. “We are very lucky that he got run out. I was getting the feeling that if he continues to bat like he was he could take the game away from us.”

To a question about Umar Gulís inability to bowl on the Centurion pitch, he said: “Had he bowled brilliantly, India could not have made even 200. It was his off day mainly because the wicket was not suited to a bowler who pitches short.”

Younis said that though Aamir bowled well he became too excited. “Sometimes in these big matches you tend to get a bit too excited. That is why there were a few no-balls and wides. When I was very young, whenever I played against India, Australia or England I wanted to do something extra all the time. That is why sometimes you cross the boundary.”
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Former Pakistani cricketer Mudassar Nazar was all praise for the young pacer Mohammad Aamer.

On Saturday, there was double joy for this 17-year-old left-arm fast medium bowler, who not only took the wicket of great Sachin Tendulkar but his team also registered victory against the arch-rivels India.

Aamer found the perfect line outside the off stump as Tendulkar edged a delivery into Kamran Akmal's gloves and the youngster simply went wild.

"He has learnt that if you want to hurt the opposition then you must target their main man. So far he has been able to deliver every time," said Muddassar Nazar, the former director of PCB's Lahore-based National Cricket Academy, where he worked with the bowler.

"During the Twenty20 also, he went all out to dismiss both Tillakaratne Dilshan and Sanath Jayasuriya. So, I wasn't surprised to see him claim the wicket of Sachin."

"Aamer has always been very confident. Even at the age of 15, he was as confident.

"However, it is too early to judge whether he would be able to fill in for Shoaib Akhtar. He certainly does not have Shoaib's pace (although he is touching 90 miles an hour now) but he can surely match him for talent. But he will have to maintain a strict training regime,

"I feel that if he can remain fit then he can take more wickets than Shoaib," added Nazar, who is currently based in Dubai, where he work as a coach for the ICC's Global Cricket Academy.

Aamer's talent was first spotted by former Pakistan skipper Wasim Akram, who picked him up as a special talent at a pace camp in Lahore in May 2007.

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England sail into semis despite Smith heroics

Graeme Smith's brilliantly crafted century under pressure went in vain as England produced an all-round performance to beat South Africa by 22 runs and book a semifinal berth in the Champions Trophy here today.

Batting first, England notched up a formidable 323 for 8 thanks mainly to Owais Shah's audacious 98 and then came up with a disciplined bowling and fielding performance to restrict South Africa to 301 for 9 in a thrilling Group B tie.

With two wins from as many matches, England, who came into the tournament with a 6-1 thrashing at the hands of Australia, booked a semifinal berth.

Having won only one out of three matches, South Africa, on the other hand, are out of contention of a semifinal berth.

Even if England beat New Zealand, who have one win from two matches, in the final Group B match on September 29, South Africa will not make it to the last four as their net run rate would still be lower than that of Sri Lanka, who also ended with just one win from three games, and the Kiwis.

Chasing 324 for a win in front of a packed house under good batting conditions at the SuperSport Park, Smith kept the home team in the hunt till the very end with a brilliantly compiled century, his ninth in one-dayers.

He found little support from his team-mates with AB de Villiers (36) being the second highest scorer.

South Africa needed 94 from the last 10 overs with six wickets in hand but could only add 71 with Mark Boucher (8), Albie Morkel (17), Johan Botha (0) and Roelof van der Merwe (0) failing to contribute much.

Smith, who was dropped by Paul Collingwood while on 82, was finally out in the 47th over holing out to Owais Shah at mid-on off Stuart Broad. His 141 was his highest score in one-dayers after the unbeaten 134 he made in Kolkata in November 2005 against India.

James Anderson was the pick of England bowlers with 3/42 while Broad also took 3/67. Collingwood and Graeme Swann chipped in with one wicket each.

Smith's opening partner Herschelle Gibbs (22), who missed the first two matches due to injury, could not contribute falling to Anderson in the seventh over, so as Jacques Kallis who fell in the 12th over for just 12, holing out to Joe Denly at deep square leg off Broad at 64 for two.

Run rate dropped down after initial flourish and South Africa could have been in more trouble had Collingwood held on to a simple catch of de Villiers at backward point off Luke Wright when the batsman was on three in the 15th over.

Unlike England, who accelerated in the middle overs, South Africa struggled and the asking rate rose to above seven from the 16th over onwards and 8.5 by the 35th over.

There was a brief ray of hope when Smith and Jean-Paul Duminy (24) shared a 64-run stand for the fourth wicket but that ended when the later was removed in the 37th over by Graeme Swann.

Earlier, a blazing 98 from Owais Shah and a late blitzkrieg from Eoin Morgan (67) helped England post 323 for eight after opting to bat first.

Shah was the batsman around whom England batting revolved and he was ably suported by crisis man Collingwood (82) as the duo shared a 163-run partnership for the third wicket from 157 balls after they were reduced to 59 for two by 13th over.

Towards the close, Morgan, whose 34-ball innings included five sixes and four fours, pushed England to 323 for eight, the highest score in the tournament so far.

Coming together in the 13th over, Shah and Collingwood sent the South African bowlers for a leather hunt in the middle overs with a flurry of sixes as they took the score from 93 for two in the 20th over to 222 before the former was out in the 39th over.

Shah's blazing 98 included six hits over the ropes, two each off Morkel and van Der Merwe, and one each off Dale Styne and Duminy. He also hit five fours in his 89-ball innings.

Collingwood played the perfect foil for Shah by rotating strike with ones and occasional boundaries. His 94-ball innings was studded with six boundaries and a six.

For South Africa, left-arm pacer Wayne Parnell was the most successful bowler with 3/60. Johan Botha took two wickets for 56 while Kallis and dale Steyn got a wicket apiece.

England were off to a good start with Andrew Strauss (25) and Joe Denly (21) scoring boundaries at both ends and reaching 27 for no loss at the end of fifth over.

But two quick wickets saw England slumped to 59 for two by the 13th over.

First change bowler Kallis provided the breakthrough as Denly holed out to Duminy at the deep in the last ball of the 10th over for a 25-ball 21.

Thirteen balls later, Strauss was on his way with wicketkeeper Mark Boucher effecting a stunning catch diving to his left after the England captain had nicked a wide delivery off Steyn.

Collingwood and Shah then steadied the England innings settling down first before launching themselves for some amazing strokes. Instead of slowing down, the duo pushed the run rate in the middle overs.
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Younis made peace between Malik, Yusuf

Karachi: They were not even on talking terms just a few months back with a history of bad blood between them but Shoaib Malik and Muhammad Yousuf put aside their personal differences to set up a morale boosting win against arch-rivals India on Saturday.

And the credit for bringing about a change in the attitude in the Pakistan dressing room goes to skipper Younis Khan, according to team sources.

Last year Yousuf after joining the unofficial Indian Cricket League had directly blamed Malik for insulting and mistreating him in his (Malik's) tenure as captain.

Yousuf had blamed Malik's shoddy treatment as the reason for his joining the ICL from which he resigned in June to make a comeback to the national team.

And even before joining the ICL it was no secret that Malik and Yousuf didn't get along well because of Malik's elevation to the captaincy after their 2007 World Cup debacle.

"They were not even on talking terms until recently. But Younis played a big role in removing the bad blood between the two senior players," one source in the Pakistan team said.

The source added that ever since replacing Malik as captain, Younis had been trying hard to gel the players even though he was aware that some of them were working against him behind his back.

Former skipper Rashid Latif also praised Younis for making a difference with his leadership.

"All credit to Younis. He has set clear goals for himself and his team and he is now doing his best to see the team achieves these goals," he said.

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Harbhajan should have bowled earlier - Malik

Shoaib Malik, the Man of the Match for his 126-ball 128, expressed his surprise at MS Dhoni's decision to bring on Harbhajan Singh to bowl only by the 26th over, by which time he and Mohammad Yousuf had nearly built a half-century partnership.

"I think he [Dhoni] should have brought on Harbhajan early," Malik said. "We were three down and another wicket would have hurt us." Pakistan lost their third wicket in the 15th over with the score at 65 and after Malik batted out a maiden over by RP Singh, Dhoni brought in part-timers Virat Kohli and Yusuf Pathan, instead of Harbhajan.

Dhoni justified his move, saying if a part-timer bowled along with Harbhajan then the batsmen would score off him while playing the senior bowler's overs out. "We wanted to force the batsmen to play shots against him," Dhoni said.

The Pakistan captain Younis Khan, by contrast, has fewer headaches to resolve and he aims to reach the ICC Champions Trophy final without dropping a game. The team leads Group A with two wins out of two. "It was a good toss to win and even a score of 260-270 was defendable. Even though they [India] started their chase brilliantly, I thought we only needed a wicket or two to get back in the match. After all, this score has never been chased at this venue," Younis said.

Most of the attack chipped in, especially the spinners Shahid Afridi and Saeed Ajmal. He was happy with the efforts of offspinner Ajmal who took 2 for 31 in 8.5 overs but typically cautioned against building him up too much. "There is this tendency in our part of the world where youngsters are immediately compared to Imran Khan, Wasim Akram and Inzamam-ul Haq," Younis said. "This can make a youngster lose his bearing. But yes, Saeed is coming up very nicely. We now have good youngsters in Umar Akmal, Mohammad Aamer and Saeed. If they keep performing and learning, we can be the best in near future."

The only one to have a real off-day was Umar Gul, generally the leader of Younis's attacks. But Younis played down concerns over Gul, who was the leading wicket-taker in the World Twenty20 in England: Gul went for 55 runs in six overs against India but Younis attributed it to a rare bad day. "He bowled too short and when he needed to bowl up."

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Dhoni slams his bowlers for giving too many runs

A furious Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni slammed his bowlers for conceding too many runs against Pakistan in their Champions Trophy opener and said if his side were to repeat today's listless performance they should pack up and go back home.

"We have to win both the matches against Australia and West Indies if we want to reach semifinals. From now onwards it will be a knock-out tournament for us. If we don't improve in the next two matches it is better we pack up and go back home," he said in disgust after India's 54-run loss against the arch rivals.

Dhoni was clearly unhappy that his bowlers conceded so many runs towards the close of Pakistan innings and said he felt three or four bowlers short today.

"In the first eight overs we bowled a bit short and gave away boundary balls. From 38th over till the 42nd, if I am not wrong, we gave away nearly 100 runs. That was crucial. I have never seen so many runs conceding off cut shot," he said.

"Frankly speaking, I was thinking in the middle that it was one of those days in which we fell short by three or four bowlers. Thankfully, Ashish Nehra and Yusuf Pathan did their job," he added.

Dhoni though said till the 35th over when Suresh Raina and Rahul Dravid were going strong he thought the 303-run target was gettable.

"Till Raina was batting I thought we were in the chase. But a few wickets in quick succession we were in the backfoot."

"Me and Virat Kohli fell in quick succession. Then Yusuf Pathan and Raina were out and a run out (of Rahul Dravid) that did not help when we were chasing over 300," said Dhoni.

Pakistan captain Younus Khan was happy with the performance of his side.

"It was a great performance by our batsmen. We had a good start by Imran Nazir and Kamran Akmal. Myself chipped in and then Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Yousuf were fantastic," he said.

"We thought we would get 320 but could not score much from the last powerplay and lost quite a few wickets. But overall we had a great game. We have not won many away games against India and so the boys wanted to win," he added.
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Pakistan prevail over arch-rivals India

Twin half centuries from Gautam Gambhir (57) and Rahul Dravid (76) turned out to be heroics for a lost cause as India wilted under pressure to suffer a 54-run defeat to arch rivals Pakistan in their nerve-wrecking opening Champions Trophy match here today.

Asked to chase a big target of 303, mainly due to the listless performance by their slow bowlers, India were all out for 248 in 44.5 overs to start their Champions Trophy campaign on a losing note, in front of a packed house at SuperSport Park here.

Gambhir's dominating 46-ball 57 at the top of order gave India hopes of a successful run chase after Sachin Tendulkar (8) fell early while Dravid held one end together for more than 37 overs for his 103-ball innings which included just four boundaries.

Suresh Raina was the other main contributor with a quick 41-ball 46, which included five fours and two sixes.

Click here for the Match in Pics

Earlier, Shoaib Malik (128) led a late explosive batting with a scintillating century to propel Pakistan to 302 for 9 after his captain Younus Khan opted to bat on a slow pitch after winning the toss.

Pakistan, who notched up their second win against India in an ICC event after their victory in 2004 Champions Trophy in England, have virtually qualified for the semifinals from Group A as they had beaten the West Indies by five wickets in their opening match on September 23.

India, on the other hand, will have to beat both Australia and West Indies on September 28 and 30 respectively to make it to the last four stage.

Just before Raina was out in the 35th over, India were still in the chase at 205 for four with asking rate just over 6.5 per over and Dravid past his half century.

After Yusuf Pathan was out cheaply for five, the run rate climbed up and India needed 74 from the last 10 overs with four wickets in hand.

But once Dravid, who made a comeback in the Indian ODI squad after a while, was run out in the 42nd over following a mix up with Harbhajan Singh at 238 for seven, the match was all over for India.

The last three batsmen could contribute just 10 runs to lose the plot in the much anticipated showdown.

For Pakistan, four bowlers -- Shahid Afridi, Mohammad Aamer, Saeed Ajmal and Rana Naved-ul-Hasan -- took two wikcets apiece.

Tendulkar failed to replicate his match-winning exploits against the same opponents at the same venue in the 2003 World Cup as fell cheaply for just eight.

The batting maestro edged a Mohammad Aamer slow delivery to wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal in the fifth over to the stunned silence of the Indian supporters.

His opening partner Gambhir, however, took the battle on to the Pakistanis to ensure that India were ahead of the required run rate of just above six an over before he was run out in dramatic fashion.

Gambhir was sent back by Dravid who pushed the ball towards mid-off and the former was on his way as Younus Khan's direct throw from hit the stumps. In his 46-ball 57, his 16th one-day half century, Gambhir hit seven fours and two sixes, off a free hit each from Aamer and Umar Gul.

Virat Kohli (16) and captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni (6) fell in quick succession off Afridi just as the run rate dropped down six an over as the Pakistani slow bowlers extracted turn from the slow SuperSport Park pitch which the Indians had failed to do earlier in the match.

Kohli holed out to Gul long-off in the 22nd over while trying to push the scoring rate and 14 balls later Dhoni was rapped on the pad to return to the hut and signal deep trouble for India at 133 for four.

Dravid and Raina kept Indian hopes alive with run-a-ball 72-run partnership for the fifth wicket. Raina was more dominating hitting Shoaib Malik for two fours and a six off three successive deliveries in the 33rd over before he fell LBW to Ajmal two overs later.

Earlier, man-of-the-match Shoaib Malik (128) led a late explosion with a scintillating century to propel Pakistan to 302 for nine.

Pakistan exploded in the second half of their innings with Malik and Mohammad Yousuf, who scored an 88-ball 87, sharing a 206-run stand for the fourth wicket from 188 balls after they were reduced to 65 for three in the 15th over.

Except for Ashish Nehra (4/55) all other Indian bowlers, including Harbhajan Singh, failed to deliver after Pakistan chose to bat first.

Harbhajan (1/71), who was India's trump card on a slow SuperSport Park pitch, was wayward giving width to Malik and Yousuf and was clobbered all around.

Ishant Sharma did a shade better by taking two wickets towards the close for 39 runs while RP Singh and Yousuf Pathan took a wicket apiece.

As Indian bowlers lost the plot, Pakistan recovered from 108 for three at the end of 25th over to 217 for three in the 40th over to finally end at 302 for 9.

Malik played sheet anchor initially before opening up later. He took 81 balls to score his fifty but accelerated to reach his hundred off 108 balls. He was out in the penultimate over after facing 126 balls, from which he hit 16 fours.

The former captain was ably supported his senior partner Yousuf, who returned to the Pakistan squad after serving a ban for playing in the 'rebel' India Cricket League.

Captain Younus Khan (20), Shahid Afridi (4) and Umar Akmal (0) though could not contribute much.
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Sehwag sees Gambhir as future India captain

Virender Sehwag has said his fellow opener Gautam Gambhir is a leading candidate to captain India in the future. Sehwag felt Gambhir, his team-mate at the club, state and national levels, had the potential to be groomed into a leader and that appointing him vice-captain in South Africa was clear indication that he could graduate into the captaincy.

"He [Gambhir] is a good cricketer, is very intelligent and Delhi have won the Ranji Trophy under him already once [in 2007-08]," Sehwag said in Mumbai.

Gambhir, named deputy to MS Dhoni in the Champions Trophy after Yuvraj Singh was forced home with a finger injury, was recently appointed Delhi Daredevils captain after Sehwag opted out of the role. Sehwag made public his intentions of not wanting the Indian vice-captaincy as he felt the selectors were better off grooming a youngster for the job, but was open to leading his country. "I never said I don't want captaincy," he said. "I don't want to be the vice-captain of Indian team."

Elaborating on his decision to step down from the leadership role with the Daredevils, Sehwag said he was disappointed the team couldn't qualify for the IPL final under him. "I tried for two years and we didn't qualify for the finals so I told the owners to try someone else's luck as mine was not working."

Sehwag targeted Australia's tour of India for seven one-day internationals later this year as the time for his return to international cricket. He said he would start by playing for Rest of India in the Irani Trophy next week and then graduate to the Daredevils in the Champions League Twenty20 before the home series beginning October 25. "I'm not yet fit for international cricket as I can't throw the ball from the boundary. During the Irani Cup I will be standing the slips since I'm the captain [of Rest of India] and if I perform I stand a good chance."

Sehwag returned to on-field cricket recently for the low-key JP Atray tournament after shoulder surgery for an injury sustained during the IPL and ruled him out of the ICC World Twenty20, a short visit to the West Indies, the triangular ODI series in Sri Lanka and the ongoing Champions Trophy.

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Mentally tough will win India-Pak tie: Zahid

Islamabad: While the battle on the ground is still hours away, the psychological encounter has already begun ahead of the India-Pakistan clash in the ICC Champions Trophy.

Former Pakistan fast bowler, Mohammad Zahid has said, and rightly so, that matches between both these arch-rivals are often won by the team which is mentally stronger.

"These matches are very high intensity and there is a lot of pressure on the players. Most of the time, its the team who is mentally better prepared and mentally tougher on the day that comes out on top. The players who control their nerves will be the ones that perform well in these matches," Zahid said.

Zahid pointed out that India certainly has an advantage over them and is a team which has been performing really well in the past, but added that Pakistan, on its day, could create problems even for the world’s top teams.

"I think India has the slightly better overall team balance, but make no mistake, this Pakistan team on its day can beat anyone put in front of them. You could put a World XI up against Pakistan and on their day they could beat them," Zahid told PakPassion.net.

He said the contest between the Indian spinners and Pakistani batsmen would be interesting to watch.

"India’s spinners and how Pakistan's batsmen play them will be intriguing, as I think India's spin attack could stifle the Pakistan batting especially if they go into their shell and don't attack them.

"Additionally India's fielding is much better than Pakistan’s, so I really do think the key battle will be Pakistan's bowlers against the Indian batting lineup," Zahid added.

He said India would miss the services of hard hitting batsmen like Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh, which could affect the result of the match.

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Match Preview: India vs Pakistan

Ground Reality: With grass embankments forming a large part of the seating area, the SuperSport Park at Centurion makes for a pretty picture for the spectator as well as the television viewer. With so much riding on the contest, the cricket is expected to be nothing short of explosive. The pitch should be similar to the ones Centurion has served up in the tournament so far - conducive for strokeplay to batsmen who are set, and aiding spin in the latter stages. The weather, appropriately enough for the occasion, is forecast to be sunny.

Context: This is where the Champions Trophy actually starts - with this 'mother of all battles'. In the future, depending on the fate of One Day Internationals, historians will point to this match and say either

a) in spite of the great crowds for the India-Pakistan match, it was generally acknowledged that ODIs were on their way out, and that this was one of the few matches that could still compete with the Twenty20 revolution. Or,

b) This match proved that the ODI was still healthy, alive and kicking. One only had to be at the Centurion on that day and experience the fanatical devotion of the fans to know that something that struck such a deep chord with such a large mass of people, could in no way be called 'dead' or 'dying'.

The venue couldn't have been more apt - It was here in 2003 that these two sides last met in a match that has since been summed up by two words: Sachin Tendulkar. The occasion is perfect for an established master or a rising star to play the kind of innings or bowl the kind of spell for which generations will remember him.

Team News:

India: India have had a rather fragmented build-up to the tournament. While the Compaq Cup win would have filled them with confidence, the injury to Yuvraj Singh couldn't have come at a worse time. On the positive side, Gautam Gambhir is back, so India are essentially as strong as they were in Sri Lanka. There, they were missing Sehwag, Gambhir and Zaheer Khan, now they are missing Sehwag, Yuvraj and Zaheer Khan. Plenty of talk has centred around the absence of Sehwag and Yuvraj - and rightfully so, since both are match-winning batsmen. However, the absence of Zaheer might well prove to be a bigger problem. In the batting department, India have the likes of Tendulkar, Dravid, Gambhir and Dhoni to fall back on, but there is nobody who is ready to assume the mantle of spearhead the way Zaheer has done. For India to do well, Ishant Sharma will have to recapture the form he showed in Australia at the start of his career, and Ashish Nehra will have to continue his upward come-back trail. Nehra has always been successful in South Africa, and he will be hoping to continue his remarkable run here. In the warm-up match against New Zealand, about the only thing that went right for India was the bowling of Amit Mishra, and he could well partner Harbhajan, seeing the way Centurion has helped the spinners in earlier matches. Importantly for India, to mount a credible challenge for a continued stay atop the ODI rankings, they have to prove that they can win without some stars - because that is the true test of a champion team.

Pakistan: Pakistan will be breathing a bit easier after the unexpectedly hard-fought win over the West Indies and the return of captain Younis Khan. They have been very upfront about their desire to beat India and all sorts of comments have been forthcoming from their camp, from the youngest members to the oldest ones. The intent behind the comments may be to portray a young, aggressive Pakistan, but the team management should be wary of infusing youngsters with too much aggro, because in a high-pressure situation it can easily backfire. One need only look at Zaheer Khan's meltdown in the 2003 World Cup final for confirmation. Indeed, Pakistan could learn a thing or two from the Indian camp, who have been monkishly silent so far. The team composition for Pakistan could present some headaches with Asif vying for a spot. However, the question of who to leave out if Asif is picked is a tough call. The one to miss out could well be Naved-ul-Hasan, but with the impressive Aamer, the reliable Gul and the new find Ajmal, the bowling is in safe hands. The batting looks solid on paper, but as nobody who can air his opinion in Pakistan tires of pointing out - the seniors have to perform more consistently. The incandescent talents of Umar Akmal have been captivating audiences all over, and he is quickly becoming the batsman that the opposition would worry most about. However, the likes of Misbah, Yousuf and Younis complemented by Afridi can be a handful by themselves and India will ignore them at their peril.

Most Quoted Wrong Statistic:

Pakistan has never beaten India in an ICC tournament - i.e. the World Cup, the Champions Trophy and the World Twenty20 Cup. In actual fact, the sides have met just once in the Champions Trophy in 2004 - a match that India lost. It is, however, true that Pakistan has never beaten India in either of the World Cups - 50 overs or 20 overs.

Numbers Game:

46.15 - India's winning percentage against Pakistan in all ODIs since January 1 2000. Since that time the two sides have played 39 matches of which India have won 18, while Pakistan have won 21. However, in the last three years, India have won 10 out of 16 ODIs that have been played, while Pakistan has won just 6.

5 - The number of centuries that separate Sachin Tendulkar from the combined total of the entire Pakistan squad. Separate in the positive direction, that is. Tendulkar has 44 of them, while the combined total of the Pakistan squad is 39 ODI centuries.

Soundbytes:

"May be if it was another game, I would have sat on the bench. But you don't get to play India everyday. Who knows the next time you play against India would be two years from now." - Younis Khan candidly admits what this match means to him, while acknowledging its rarity.

"Gautam has earned his cricket and worked really hard. There were always apprehensions about his not performing against big teams. He has proved everybody wrong and become the No 1 Test batsman. I am very proud of him as a team-mate." - Yuvraj Singh on Gautam Gambhir's elevation to the vice-captaincy.
Source

Match Preview: India vs Pakistan

Ground Reality: With grass embankments forming a large part of the seating area, the SuperSport Park at Centurion makes for a pretty picture for the spectator as well as the television viewer. With so much riding on the contest, the cricket is expected to be nothing short of explosive. The pitch should be similar to the ones Centurion has served up in the tournament so far - conducive for strokeplay to batsmen who are set, and aiding spin in the latter stages. The weather, appropriately enough for the occasion, is forecast to be sunny.

Context: This is where the Champions Trophy actually starts - with this 'mother of all battles'. In the future, depending on the fate of One Day Internationals, historians will point to this match and say either

a) in spite of the great crowds for the India-Pakistan match, it was generally acknowledged that ODIs were on their way out, and that this was one of the few matches that could still compete with the Twenty20 revolution. Or,

b) This match proved that the ODI was still healthy, alive and kicking. One only had to be at the Centurion on that day and experience the fanatical devotion of the fans to know that something that struck such a deep chord with such a large mass of people, could in no way be called 'dead' or 'dying'.

The venue couldn't have been more apt - It was here in 2003 that these two sides last met in a match that has since been summed up by two words: Sachin Tendulkar. The occasion is perfect for an established master or a rising star to play the kind of innings or bowl the kind of spell for which generations will remember him.

Team News:

India: India have had a rather fragmented build-up to the tournament. While the Compaq Cup win would have filled them with confidence, the injury to Yuvraj Singh couldn't have come at a worse time. On the positive side, Gautam Gambhir is back, so India are essentially as strong as they were in Sri Lanka. There, they were missing Sehwag, Gambhir and Zaheer Khan, now they are missing Sehwag, Yuvraj and Zaheer Khan. Plenty of talk has centred around the absence of Sehwag and Yuvraj - and rightfully so, since both are match-winning batsmen. However, the absence of Zaheer might well prove to be a bigger problem. In the batting department, India have the likes of Tendulkar, Dravid, Gambhir and Dhoni to fall back on, but there is nobody who is ready to assume the mantle of spearhead the way Zaheer has done. For India to do well, Ishant Sharma will have to recapture the form he showed in Australia at the start of his career, and Ashish Nehra will have to continue his upward come-back trail. Nehra has always been successful in South Africa, and he will be hoping to continue his remarkable run here. In the warm-up match against New Zealand, about the only thing that went right for India was the bowling of Amit Mishra, and he could well partner Harbhajan, seeing the way Centurion has helped the spinners in earlier matches. Importantly for India, to mount a credible challenge for a continued stay atop the ODI rankings, they have to prove that they can win without some stars - because that is the true test of a champion team.

Pakistan: Pakistan will be breathing a bit easier after the unexpectedly hard-fought win over the West Indies and the return of captain Younis Khan. They have been very upfront about their desire to beat India and all sorts of comments have been forthcoming from their camp, from the youngest members to the oldest ones. The intent behind the comments may be to portray a young, aggressive Pakistan, but the team management should be wary of infusing youngsters with too much aggro, because in a high-pressure situation it can easily backfire. One need only look at Zaheer Khan's meltdown in the 2003 World Cup final for confirmation. Indeed, Pakistan could learn a thing or two from the Indian camp, who have been monkishly silent so far. The team composition for Pakistan could present some headaches with Asif vying for a spot. However, the question of who to leave out if Asif is picked is a tough call. The one to miss out could well be Naved-ul-Hasan, but with the impressive Aamer, the reliable Gul and the new find Ajmal, the bowling is in safe hands. The batting looks solid on paper, but as nobody who can air his opinion in Pakistan tires of pointing out - the seniors have to perform more consistently. The incandescent talents of Umar Akmal have been captivating audiences all over, and he is quickly becoming the batsman that the opposition would worry most about. However, the likes of Misbah, Yousuf and Younis complemented by Afridi can be a handful by themselves and India will ignore them at their peril.

Most Quoted Wrong Statistic:

Pakistan has never beaten India in an ICC tournament - i.e. the World Cup, the Champions Trophy and the World Twenty20 Cup. In actual fact, the sides have met just once in the Champions Trophy in 2004 - a match that India lost. It is, however, true that Pakistan has never beaten India in either of the World Cups - 50 overs or 20 overs.

Numbers Game:

46.15 - India's winning percentage against Pakistan in all ODIs since January 1 2000. Since that time the two sides have played 39 matches of which India have won 18, while Pakistan have won 21. However, in the last three years, India have won 10 out of 16 ODIs that have been played, while Pakistan has won just 6.

5 - The number of centuries that separate Sachin Tendulkar from the combined total of the entire Pakistan squad. Separate in the positive direction, that is. Tendulkar has 44 of them, while the combined total of the Pakistan squad is 39 ODI centuries.

Soundbytes:

"May be if it was another game, I would have sat on the bench. But you don't get to play India everyday. Who knows the next time you play against India would be two years from now." - Younis Khan candidly admits what this match means to him, while acknowledging its rarity.

"Gautam has earned his cricket and worked really hard. There were always apprehensions about his not performing against big teams. He has proved everybody wrong and become the No 1 Test batsman. I am very proud of him as a team-mate." - Yuvraj Singh on Gautam Gambhir's elevation to the vice-captaincy.
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