Samuels, Braithwaite seal spectacular WT20 win

Carlos Brathwaite hit four consecutive sixes in the last over as the West Indies stunned England to lift the World Twenty20 title in Kolkata on Sunday.

The Windies went into the last over needing 19 to win and with expert death bowler Ben Stokes handed the ball, it looked like England would see out the win.

But Brathwaite held his nerve to fire the Windies to an unlikely four-wicket win with two balls to spare, leaving Stokes devastated on the field.

Marlon Samuels anchored the West Indies' run chase of 156 with an unbeaten 85, including nine boundaries and two sixes, after England had posted 155-9 in their 20 overs.

After being reduced to 11 for three, Samuels single-handedly kept the Caribbean team in the hunt with his 66-ball blitz.

Brathwaite finished on 34 not out off just 10 balls as the 2012 champions completed a hat-trick of titles after the women's clinched their maiden trophy earlier on Sunday.

The Under-19 team had already lifted the youth World Cup in February.

The Windies also became the first team to lift the World T20 twice.

England's batting hero Joe Root had hit Windies hard with a double strike when he shared the new ball with David Willey to get the West Indies' openers trudging back to the dug out.

Root struck on his first ball as Johnson Charles skied a catch to mid-wicket but the really big wicket came on the third delivery when Chris Gayle departed.

Gayle tried an ambitious slog after hitting a first-ball boundary but could only find the fielder at long-on to trigger wild celebrations in the English camp.

Willey then got semi-final star Lendl Simmons out leg before wicket for nought to leave the Windies tottering at 11 for three.

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The Belief Was Always There: Inzamam

Afghanistan have consistently been impressive on the world stage ever since they came through in a fairytale journey from Division 5 to near the top echelons.

On Sunday (March 27) at the VCA Stadium in Nagpur, they took their most significant step yet, beating powerhouses West Indies by six runs. They had beaten Bangladesh in a One-Day International during the 2014 Asia Cup, and in their first appearance in a World Cup, registered a thrilling one-wicket win over Scotland. However, this was the first time they had beaten a top team – one of the tournament favourites – at a world event.

Inzamam on cricket, peace and character in Afghanistan: In the last two-three years there has been a lot of activity – not just cricket, but football and other sports too – which is very healthy, for any country. If there is peace and there are facilities, sport will flourish better. We couldn’t play as well as we wanted to, we are not in the semifinals, but we didn’t play like absolute newcomers.

Inzamam-ul-Haq, the former Pakistan skipper who was appointed the team’s coach in November 2015, was understandably beaming after the match, and said that with more opportunities, his wards would do even better.

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Manish Pandey on standby post Yuvraj Singh’s Injury ahead of semi-final

Ahead of India’s World T20 semi-final against West Indies in Mumbai on Thursday, Manish Pandey has been put on standby for Yuvraj Singh, who injured his ankle during the team’s crunch World T20 encounter against Australia in Mohali on Sunday.

Yuvraj hasn't had the greatest of times in the World T20, scoring 63 runs in 4 matches with a highest score of 24 that came aginst Pakistan. He got to bowl in just one match, where he recorded figures of 1 for 19 in 3 overs against Australia.

It must be noted that Yuvraj Singh is not yet our of T20 WC. He is still part of the team and Pandey will replace him only if the former fails to recover from his injury.

Pandey has a decent Indian Premier League (IPL) record, having played 77 matches and scored 1571 runs at a strike-rate of 116.11. In the 2009 edition of the league, he became the first Indian batsman to score a hundred in the history of the competition, when he made an unbeaten 114 against the now-defunct Deccan Chargers in Centurion, while playing for the Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Many felt that Pandey was unlucky to miss out on a spot when the initial 15 for the competition was announced.The 26-year-old impressed one-and-all when he made his maiden ODI hundred against Australia in Sydney in January and featured in the squad that took on Sri Lanka in February.

In recent times, Pandey has formed a key component in the batting line-up of the Kolkata Knight Riders and scored a match-winning 94 in the final of the 2014 edition against the Kings XI Punjab, which helped them chase down 200 runs and lift the title for a second time in three years.

Kohli masterclass prompts Tendulkar comparisons

 Indian great Sachin Tendulkar remains the gold standard of batting in the post-Bradman era but Virat Kohli's latest masterclass in Sunday's World Twenty20 shootout against Australia has prompted comparisons with his famous compatriot.

Not for the first time in the tournament, it took Kohli's masterly knock to get India across the line in a virtual quarter-final against the reigning 50-overs world champions.

Kohli remained unbeaten after a sublime 82, burnishing his reputation as arguably the best chaser in limited-overs cricket with a knock that reminded many of Tendulkar's 143 against Australia in a 1998 one-dayer at Sharjah dubbed "desert storm".

Shane Warne was at the receiving end of Tendulkar's wrath in that match and 18 years since the contest, the Australian spin great saw Tendulkar's shadow in Kohli's latest knock.

"Great knock by @imVkohli Reminded me of one of your many special innings buddy," Warne tweeted to his great rival Tendulkar after Kohli secured India a place in the semi-finals on Sunday.
Kohli bejewelled his knock with two sixes and nine boundaries and sprinted tirelessly between wickets in a flawless display of limited overs batting under tremendous pressure.

He middled every ball, timed his shots with surgical precision and found gaps with eerie regularity to stamp his class.

"Of the modern players, I've always thought that Brian Lara was the best placer of the ball," former Australia captain Ian Chappell told www.espncricinfo.com. "I think I have got Brian in second spot now."

LARA'S PRAISE

The West Indian batting great was also bowled over by what he saw and requested videos of Kohli's early days, hailing the Indian as the "best timer of a cricket ball" that he has seen.

At 27, Kohli stands on the brink of batting greatness with 36 international centuries against his name and averages of 44 in tests, 51 in one-dayers and 55 in Twenty20 matches.

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Du Plessis: Proteas must fire on all cyclinders

Faf du Plessis knows South Africa must "step it up a gear" as they prepare for a crunch World Twenty20 clash against West Indies on Friday.

The Springboks started their World T20 campaign by losing to England in a run-fest last week, but responded with a defeat of Afghanistan.

South Africa could replace the Windies, who have won two out of two in India, at the top of Group 1 with a victory in Nagpur.

And T20 captain Du Plessis said there is plenty more to come from his side ahead of the match against the in-form Windies, with a final Group 1 game against Sri Lanka to come next Monday.

"You can't come here thinking any match is going to be easy," he said. "Afghanistan was a difficult game for us, I still think that they can beat someone in this tournament.

"We would have liked to start that first match with a win after posting 230 but it didn't work out that way. We know that we have to play our best cricket leading up to the semi-finals.

"It’s a nice boat to be in. You have to peak at the right time, that is when you win tournaments.
"As a team we have been going at 60 per cent for a while and I'm hoping we'll step it up a gear as we head into the crunch matches."

World T20: James Faulkner's five-for sends Pakistan packing

Australia beat Pakistan.

James Faulkner picked up five wickets while Steven Smith and Shane Watson starred with the bat as Australia kept their semi-final hopes alive after beating Pakistan by 21 runs.

Austraila won by 21 Runs T20 World Cup

Poor net run rate threatens India's campaign

India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni urged his big-hitters to improve their run rate dramatically against Bangladesh on Wednesday or face the prospect of a humiliating early exit from the World Twenty20 on home soil.


The hosts are precariously placed in fourth spot of Group Two after one defeat and one win. They desperately need a big victory to strengthen their bid for a semi-finals berth.

India's six-wicket victory over arch-rivals Pakistan on Saturday will have boosted their confidence after a shock 47-run defeat to New Zealand in their opening group match.

But Dhoni said India, who were firm favourites at the start of the tournament to lift a second World T20 title, needed to improve to qualify from a tough group that also includes Australia.
"I still feel there is still scope for improvement and in the coming two games that will be our priority," said the captain.

New Zealand top the group on four points after two wins while Pakistan, Australia and India all have two points. However India's run rate, which could determine who qualifies, is considerably worse than their rivals.

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New Zealand crush Pakistan, enter semifinals

New Zealand stormed into the semi-finals of the World Twenty20 Tuesday after opener Martin Guptill smacked 80 off 48 balls to set up a 22-run win against a wayward Pakistan.

The Black Caps posted a strong 180 for five before restricting Pakistan to 158-5 off 20 overs on a sporting wicket at the Punjab Cricket Association ground in Mohali.

The win extended the Kiwis' unbeaten streak in the tournament and also ensured them a place in the last four, their second semi-final of a global event since the last year.

Pakistan opener Sharjeel Khan had threatened to run away with the game after a blistering 25-ball 47 but his dismissal in the sixth over helped the Black Caps claw back on the back of some disciplined bowling and fielding.

Sharjeel gave Pakistan a flying start, hitting nine fours and a six, but the rest of the batsmen failed to rise up to the task.

His sparkling innings came to an end when he holed to Guptill off Adam Milne, and it was all downhill thereafter for Pakistan.

Guptill was the star of the show, smacking three sixes and 10 fours in his match-winning knock after skipper Kane Williamson won the toss and elected to bat.

Ross Taylor chipped in with an unbeaten 23-ball 36 to help his side put up a strong total on the board.

New Zealand V Pakistan World T20 Preview – Match 23

In the ICC World T20 2016 so far, New Zealand, who beat India by 47 runs, prevailed over Australia by eight runs and plays Bangladesh in its final Group B Super 10s fixture, is best placed to top the table and enter the semis. But Pakistan, who has had mixed fortunes so far, believes it could be in with a serious chance to be the other semifinalist from the pool if it beats Kane Williamson's men at the PCA IS Bindra Stadium on Tuesday (March 22).

Pakistan's 55-run win against Bangladesh was a complete performance, as the top order made runs and the bowlers delivered. Against India, it was possibly a spinner short in defending 118 as Virat Kohli produced a masterclass. But, form and conditions hardly are a factor when it comes to Pakistan. The more the odds are against the side, the deeper it digs to surprise everyone.

Shahid Afridi, the captain, who has been a part of many such spectacular turnarounds, was in familiar territory when he came for the pre-match press conference, and he was confident in backing his side.

“Even before the tournament started, people had written us off. But, I have stayed away from Twitter and Facebook,” he said. “Right now, all we can do is perform well. If you create a panic situation in the team then it is difficult to sort out things. Miracles always don’t work in cricket. We have to stop repeating small mistakes and play good cricket … There is a time to talk and there is a time to act. Now is the time to act on what has been spoken. We spoke over two days and planned, and tomorrow is action time.

“As a captain, I am just concerned about my team’s and my performance. I have belief in my and team’s ability that we will make the best use of our skills in tomorrow’s game,” he added. “New Zealand are a good team, they have been playing good cricket for a few years now, but conditions are different. It’s also a different event and we have the hunger to win the next match.”

Mike Hesson, New Zealand’s coach, was wary of Pakistan's volatile nature. His team's familiarity with the opposition after having beaten it 2-1 in a bilateral T20I series at home in January could work both ways, he felt.

“They are unpredictable, but very skilful. They have got a lot of pace of left-arm variety and with (Mohammad) Irfan they have a difference in terms of bounce. Their bowling attack is very challenging, completely different from what we had faced in the last two games,” said Hesson. “We are fortunate to have played them recently. Whether that makes them less predictable or just gives us more information [remains to be seen]. As a batting unit, they are relatively predictable in the way they play and that gives us more opportunity with the ball.”

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Fletcher, Badree maul Sri Lanka

Andre Fletcher powered the West Indies to a comprehensive seven-wicket victory against Sri Lanka in their World Twenty20 match in Bangalore on Sunday, even without destructive opener Chris Gayle.

The 28-year-old smashed an unbeaten 84, including five sixes and six fours, as the Windies successfully chased down Sri Lanka's paltry score of 122 for nine.

Fletcher spearheaded the attack with his 64-ball knock in the absence of explosive opener suffered Gayle, who suffered a tweak in his left hamstring while fielding during Sunday's match and did not bat.
A Windies team representative told reporters that the 36-year-old's injury was "not major" but it raises questions about whether he will play in the rest of the tournament.
An unimpressed crowd repeatedly chanted "We want Gayle, We want Gayle", anxious to see the Jamaican who has played several seasons for the city's team in the glitzy Indian Premier League (IPL).

He teased the crowd by stepping out of the bunker with his bat after the third wicket fell, bringing roars from the stadium, only to walk back inside.

Gayle smashed a scorching century last week during the West Indies' demolition of England by six wickets in their opening Group One Super 10 match.
The West Indies are one of the weakest teams in Test cricket, but they remain a force in the shortest format and are gunning for their second World T20 title after winning the trophy in 2012.

- Struggling Sri Lanka -
Johnson Charles made 10, before chopping the ball onto his stumps, while Marlon Samuels was gone for three and wicket keeper Danesh Ramdin was bowled for five. Andre Russell was not out on 20.
Defending champions Sri Lanka have been struggling for form since winning the trophy two years ago, slumping to seventh in the world rankings.

On Sunday, they posted 122 for nine after West Indies captain Darren Sammy won the toss and elected to field.
All-rounder Thisara Perera top scored for Sri Lanka with 40, including five fours, off 29 balls at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, while skipper Angelo Mathews chipped in with 20.
Opener Tillakaratne Dilshan, the star for Sri Lanka in their win over Afghanistan last week, started in promising style, smacking a six off the second ball.

But the 39-year-old was sent packing in the third over, lbw to Carlos Braithwaite.

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De Villiers, Morris set up crucial SA win

An unconvincing South Africa survived a spirited Afghanistan chase to defend a 200-plus score and get their World Twenty20 campaign back on track. In the absence of Dale Steyn, who was left out for tactical reasons, Chris Morris and Imran Tahir squeezed through the middle period to ensure AB de Villiers' quickfire 64 was not in vain.

Afghanistan's second loss means their chances of progressing to the knockouts are all but over, but they have showed their promise. They kept up with the required run-rate for the first half of their innings and were ahead of where South Africa were at the same stage in their knock, but lost too many wickets to keep going. Afghanistan also did not have a 17th over like South Africa did; de Villiers took 29 runs off Rashid Khan, which ended up being the major difference between the two sides.

In the end, South Africa will be relieved that they were able to defend their total, but disappointed that the margin of victory was not bigger. They tightened up on their discipline in the field but still gave away more extras than their opposition - six wides compared to two from Afghanistan - and did not show the kind of killer instinct that they will need later in the tournament.

They also suffered an injury concern. JP Duminy left the field four balls into Afghanistan's chase with a hamstring strain and was unable to take any further part in the match. Duminy has only just found form again and his availability will be important for the rest of the World T20.

As the same venue where they posted 229 batting first on Friday night, South Africa chose to set a target again. Quinton de Kock picked up from where he left off two days ago and dominated the opening passages of play. De Kock faced all but one delivery in the first two overs and found the boundary five times. Hashim Amla may have wanted to catch up but after one four, gifted a catch to Asghar Stanikzai at mid-off.

South Africa held de Villiers back and sent in Faf du Plessis at No.3. The strategy worked. Du Plessis took on the spin from Mohammad Nabi while de Kock continued to attack in the Powerplay. South Africa finished it on 66 for 1 and 60 of those runs came in boundaries.

When the fielding restrictions were lifted, Rashid put the brakes on with the first boundary-less over of the innings, but du Plessis did not want things to slow down too much. He picked up the pace before being run-out and de Villiers was soon at the crease.

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Classy Kohli maintains India's chokehold on Pakistan

Cool-headed Virat Kohli scored an unbeaten half century as India cruised to a comfortable six-wicket victory over arch rivals Pakistan at Kolkata's Eden Gardens in the World Twenty20 Saturday.

Pre-tournament favourites India put their campaign back on track after suffering a shock loss against New Zealand in the tournament opener, extending their jinx in major tournaments against Pakistan.

Chasing 119 on a track that seemed dual-paced, India lost their top three batsmen early only to see Kohli and Yuvraj Singh put together a 61-run, fourth-wicket partnership to help the hosts canter home in 15.5 overs in a game reduced to 18 overs a side because of rain.

Kohli (55 not out) and Yuvraj combined caution and aggression to blunt the Pakistan bowling attack, which seemed to miss left-arm spinner Imad Wasim, who made way for Mohammad Sami.

Sami did make an impression by sending back Shikhar Dhawan and Suresh Raina in his opening over to be on hat-trick but Pakistan's four-pronged pace attack had no answers to Kohli's batting.
Yuvraj (24) fell to Wahab Riaz, but Kohli, who was joined by captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni for the finale, was in cruise control as his 37-ball knock was laced by seven boundaries and a six

- Dhoni joins party -

Dhoni (13 not out) swiftly joined the party as he hit a six to level the scores and then hit the winning runs in front of a raucous crowd.

Earlier, Ahmed Shehzad and Shoaib Malik played useful cameos to guide Pakistan to 118 for five, a score which looked competitive on a tricky surface.

Put in to bat on a moisture-laden pitch that saw heavy rains through the day, Pakistan openers Sharjeel Khan (17) and Shehzad (25) played cautiously at first and then lost their wickets as they tried to accelerate.

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Dilshan overcomes spirited Afghanistan

Opener Tillakaratne Dilshan smacked an unbeaten 83 off 56 balls to steer defending champions Sri Lanka to a six-wicket win over a spirited Afghanistan in the World Twenty20 on Thursday.

Dilshan, 39, hit three sixes and eight fours as Sri Lanka overpowered Afghanistan's 153-7 with seven balls to spare in their opening group match at the Eden Gardens stadium in Kolkata.

Afghanistan, the only non-Test team left in the fray, paid the price for some sloppy fielding after an impressive effort with the bat that saw skipper Asghar Stanikzai make a fine 47-ball 62.

Dilshan gave Sri Lanka a flying start, smacking fast bowler Dawlat Zadran for two sixes on the trot, including one that came off his famous 'Dilscoop' shot which typically sails over the wicketkeeper's head.

Off-spinner Mohammad Nabi briefly put the brakes on Sri Lanka by dismissing opener Dinesh Chandimal for 18, before 17-year-old leg-spinner Rashid Khan accounted for Lahiru Thirimanne (six).

Wicket-keeper Mohammad Shahzad then sent back Thisara Perera with a direct throw at the stumps as Sri Lanka slipped to 85-3, but Dilshan held his nerve to ensure a smooth finish for his side in the end.

Earlier, Stanikzai led his side by example while Samiullah Shenwari chipped in with a handy 31 to help Afghanistan recover from a shaky 51-4.

Paceman Thisara Perera picked up 3-33 in an otherwise disappointing show by the Sri Lankan bowlers who let the Afghans off the hook after a promising start.

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World T20: Demand for India-Pakistan match tickets

A cricket fever is sweeping the metropolis, with the craze for Saturday's India-Pakistan World Twenty 20 match tickets reaching a crescendo.

"Several Eden Gardens can be filled up, such is the demand," said a Cricket Association of Bengal official on Wednesday.

The historic venue which is set to host the high-voltage clash, has a capacity of 65,000 presently which is around 35,000 less than what is used to be six years back. But still the crowd strength is enough to take the roof with their screams.

Outside the nearby Mohammedan tent from where the tickets for international matches are usually sold, a giant yellow banner has been fixed which says: "No tickets will be sold from the counter."
The display also says that only through bookmyshow.com can one book a ticket to the Eden this Saturday. Still there were fans queuing up in front of the counters in search of the prized paper possession.

"Dada, duto ticket hobe? (Brother, can I have two tickets for the game)" is the common question that is doing the rounds in the maidan area. And more often than not the person questioning is leaving with a glum face.

The tickets are priced at Rs.1,500, Rs.1,000 and Rs.500.

Besides the online distribution, tickets were given to each of the 121 CAB affiliate units. There were also an undisclosed number of complementaries.

"The demand for the tickets is huge according to the information I have received. It is going to be filled to the capacity this Saturday. We don't think there's enough place in the stadium to accommodate everyone who wants to book a ticket here. We can fill several Eden Gardens," a senior Cricket Association of Bengal official told IANS.

The online process to register for the lottery system for the contest on March 19, started at 12 noon last Saturday for a 48-hour window.

The fans, in India and abroad, registered by completing an online registration form available on the website. The registered fans were to be automatically enrolled into the random draw and then through an automated process, the winners were chosen.

The winners from the random draw were then given an opportunity to buy tickets for the match.

Batsmen fire Pakistan to 55-run victory

Pakistan's batting line-up, which had misfired frequently in recent matches, finally came together in their first match of the World T20 2016 to overpower Bangladesh by 55 runs. Fifties from Ahmed Shehzad and Mohammad Hafeez, and Shahid Afridi's 19-ball 49 propelled Pakistan to 201 for 5, a total which proved too steep for a side that had beaten them in their last two T20I encounters. This was only the second time Pakistan scored more than 200 in a T20 international, and the previous instance - in April 2008 - was also against Bangladesh.

Pakistan opted to bat first and, right from the start, kept their foot on the gas. They took 18 runs in three separate overs and failed to hit a four or a six in only two overs in their innings - the 9th and 14th - bowled by Shakib Al Hasan and Sabbir Rahman. Pakistan's opening pair of Shehzad and Sharjeel Khan was the fourth the side have tried out in T20Is this year, and Sharjeel set the tone, smashing two sixes and a four off Al-Amin Hossain in the second over.

Sharjeel fell in the next over to Arafat Sunny but Hafeez walked in and found his groove immediately, with a straight six down the ground off his second ball. Shehzad, who had struck a serene cover drive off Taskin Ahmed in the first over, then pushed the same bowler through midwicket, before pasting Sunny over extra-cover. His first three fours were pleasing shots, even as Hafeez blasted boundaries down the ground.

By the end of the Powerplay, Hafeez and Shehzad had similar scores before the latter pulled away and raced to his fifty off 35 balls. Shehzad fell in the 14th over, pulling Sabbir to the deep midwicket fielder for 52 off 39 balls with eight fours. His wicket ended a 95-run, second-wicket partnership that, through a combination of big hits and clever strike rotation, did not let the Bangladesh fielders relax.

Afridi promoted himself to No 4 to take advantage of the start. After Hafeez had reached his fifty in the 15th over, bowled by Mashrafe Mortaza, Afridi smacked two fours and a six off consecutive balls to produce an 18-run over. The pair took another 18 runs off Al-Amin's next over, with Hafeez striking two fours and Afridi a straight six.

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