Preview: India vs Sri Lanka World Cup 2011 final match

INDIA VS SRI LANKA World Cup 2011 final will probably be the last Cricket World Cup match of two contemporary legends, batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar and bowling great Muttiah Muralitharan. Sachin Tendulkar has added numerous feathers in his cap with the exception of the Cricket World Cup trophy, whereas Murali has lifted the trophy in the 1996 Cricket World Cup.
The finalists of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011, India and Sri Lanka, have played 128 matches so far with each other and the record is in favour of India by 67-50 (NR: 11). In World Cup matches Sri Lankans are leading by 4-2. At the venue of the final match of the Cricket World Cup 2011, both teams have won one match each.
In the India vs Sri Lanka World Cup 2011 final match on Saturday, Indian fast bowler Ashish Nehra, who bowled exceptionally well in the semi final against Pakistan in Mohali, is battling an injury because of a fractured right hand middle finger.
Sri Lanka coach Trevor Bayliss has said spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan will play his last international match on Saturday at Wankhede Stadium despite his fitness problem, which include hamstring injury, side strain, troublesome knee and a groin issue.
In the final of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011, the Indian team will have to give attention to fielding. Throughout the tournament Indian fielding has been an area of concern for the captain and team management, though India has fielded well in crucial encounters against Australia and Pakistan.

In bowling Zaheer Khan has done a good job of containment and of taking wickets, but Harbhajan has not supported him up to his capacity.
Sachin Tendulkar is performing consistently well, but Gautam Gambhir has gifted his wicket many times in the ongoing tournament. Virender Sehwag is providing eletrifying starts in the tournament, and has scored 380 runs so far with an average of 54.29.

Virat Kohli needs improvement and consistency in his batting. Yuvrag Singh, one of the strongest contenders of the man-of-the-series, has performed equally well in both batting and bowling.
In the final of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011, Indian batsmen will have to be ready for the yorkers and intelligent deliveries of Lasith Malinga. Muttiah Muralitharan can also create panic for Indian batsmen. Sri Lankan batsmen Kumar Sangakkara, Tillakaratne Dilshan and Upul Tharanga are playing good cricket and are scoring in every match. Indian bowlers will have to bowl a good line to the Lankan batsmen in form, and play with a cool mind.
The India vs Sri Lanka World Cup 2011 final match is likely to be an entertaining cricket match. Let's see on Saturday, April 2, at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, who will play like a real champion, Sachin Tendulkar or Muttiah Muralitharan?
Given below are the India and Sri Lanka squads for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 final match:
India: MS Dhoni (capt/wk), Virender Sehwag (vice capt), Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Yusuf Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, R. Ashwin, Piyush Chawla, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Munaf Patel and S. Sreesanth.
Coach: Gary Kirsten
Sri Lanka: Kumar Sangakkara (capt/wk), Mahela Jayawardene (vice capt), Tillakaratne Dilshan, Upul Tharanga, Thilan Samaraweera, Chamara Silva, Chamara Kapugedera, Angelo Mathews, Thisara Perera, Nuwan Kulasekara, Lasith Malinga, Dilhara Fernando, Muttiah Muralitharan, Ajantha Mendis, Rangana Herath.
Coach: Trevor Bayliss

Manish Pandey of Pune Warriors handed four IPL game ban

It has been announced that Manish Pandey has been hit with just a four-match ban by the Indian Premier League (IPL) Governing Council after the player had been found guilty of violating the rules for uncapped Indian players.

As a result, the highly-promising middle-order batsman from Karnataka will now have to sit out the first four games of the fourth edition of the IPL 4 for his franchise, the Pune Warriors, with the tournament set to finally get under way at the start of April.

Pandey, who played for the Royal Challengers Bangalore franchise during the previous two competitions, was found guilty of asking a franchise for more money than uncapped Indian players were entitled to, with the limit being set at Rs 20 lakh.

However, the player should be thankful that he has only been banned for four matches, as last year Indian international Ravindra Jadeja was suspended from the entire tournament having been found guilty of the same offence.

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Ryan McLaren to play for Kings XI Punjab in IPl 4

Kings XI Punjab have decided to replace injured Stuart Broad and Dimitri Mascarenhas with Ryan McLaren  a South African all-rounder,  ahead of the start of the fourth season of the Indian Premier league competition which starts next month.

The two England players were both forced to withdraw from IPL 4 due to injury, with Stuart Broad having injured his side while representing his country in the World Cup , while Hampshire’s Dimitri Mascarenhas is suffering from an Achilles’ tendon problem.

Ryan McLaren, who has played one-day and Twenty20 international Cricket for the Proteas, represented the Mumbai Indians in last year’s tournament and was approached by his new franchise on the weekend to inquire as to his availability for this season, which gets under way at the start of next month.

As no one opted to sign him during the January player auctions which took place in Bangalore, McLaren will only cost the Kings XI Punjab the base rate of $100,000.

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Shahrukh Khan, Shakira to perform together for Kolkata Knight Riders

After Akon, Shahrukh Khan is ready to work with another Hollywood singer Shakira. Shahrukh will be seen shaking his legs with Shakira for his IPL 4 team’s music video. Shahrukh’s KKR (Kolkata Knight Riders) has not performed well in last IPL, but this time to charge his team he has roped in Shakira. Salim - Suleiman are composing the song for the video.

Shahrukh met Shakira at the Fifa World Cup in South Africa where Shakira sang Waka Waka.

 

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Sajid-Wajid compose theme song for IPL 4

Post the success of Dabangg, last year Sajid-Wajid are certainly the most 'Wanted' composers in tinsel-town. The duo has now been roped in to compose the theme song of the forthcoming IPL 4 event.

The theme song has been sung by Wajid himself and is called 'Dhum Dhadaka'.The beats have a lot of rhythm.They have also used the trademark horn.

A music video featuring the hosts of IPL 4 will also be shot on April 3.
The track is surely set to become a chartbuster once IPL 4 action kicks off on April 8.

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Tim Southee to play in IPL

New Zealand pace bowler Tim Southee has signed to play for the Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League (IPL) Twenty20 cricket competition this year, assistant coach Steve Rixon said today.

Injuries have depleted the defending champions' bowling stocks so they have moved to shore them up by signing Southee, 22, who took 18 wickets at 17.33 during the one-day World Cup on the subcontinent.

Chennai are coached by former New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming, while Rixon, a former New Zealand coach, is the fielding coach and current New Zealand international Scott Styris is on their playing roster.

"It's good to have (Southee) on board, especially coming out of such a great recent tournament (at the World Cup)," Rixon told Radio Live today.

"It's an absolute bonus for us at the moment to be able to get our hands on such a quality player.

"Tim's recent form over there (at the World Cup) indicates that he handles those conditions beautifully."

 

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India Vs Pakistan semi final match: Team India wins

INDIA HAS won the semifinal match of ICC cricket world cup match being played at Mohali today. Indian bowlers managed a tight line and length and did not allow any Pakistani batsman to go amock as they took wickets at regular intervals to restrict their arch rivals from across the border.

India won this match by 29 runs much to the delight of millions of fans.

Indian bowlers Harbhajan Singh, Ashish Nehra and Munaf Patel bowled brilliantly and did not give any quarter to the opposition to score runs freely. Nehra and Munaf were particularly stingy with their bowling and justified the faith shown by captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

Harbhajan Singh bowled brilliantly and ensured that Pakistan batsmen had to work harder to score runs. He also claimed the crucial wickets of Umar Akmal and Shahid Afridi to ensure that India won the ICC world cup semifinal match in Mohali.

Earlier, Dhoni's decision to play Nehra in place of spinner Ashwin and Yusuf Pathan was questioned by the  experts but Nehra's performance in the match will silence the critics. Nehra also claimed the wicket of Wahab Riaz, who earlier tormented the Indian batsmen as bowled a dream spell claiming 5 wickets.

As soon as the wicket of Wahab Riaz fell there was widespread jubiliation and fire crackers were set off by Indian fans. Misbah was left to be the sole hope for the Pakistan team as score reads 204 for the loss of 8 wickets in 45 overs.

Cricket being the game of glorious uncertainties, it would have been too early to say that India will  win the match. However, Nehra struck again as he claimed the wicket of Umar Gul and now it could be safely predicted that India will win the match.

Mishbah tried hard to make the best out of the match but the equation proved too tough for the Pakistan team. Pakistan needed 30 runs from the last six balls and this was perhaps the toughest ask for any batsman in the history of the game.

As soon as the match was won by India, fans across the nation burst crackers and danced in streets to express happiness over this victory. The India Vs Pakistan semifinal match had become an issue of prestige for both the sides and it had acquired an even higher profile after Indian PM Manmohan Singh invited the Pakistan PM to watch the match in Mohali.

As expected the man of the match award was given to Sachin Tendulkar as he made 85 crucial runs and held the Indian inning together for quite some time. However, when compared to Tendulkar's standards, this inning was quite patchy as the little master was dropped as many as three times and even survived two very close calls.