New Indian skipper to be named on Sept 18

The national selection committee is all set to pick Rahul Dravid`s successor on September 18, amid growing speculation that master blaster Sachin Tendulkar could be handed over Team India`s reign for the second time.BCCI President Sharad Pawar said the board would respect Dravid`s wish and selection committee would decide his successor at the “appropriate time“Meanwhile, board Vice-President Rajiv Shukla said it has accepted

Dravid`s resignation and the national selectors will meet on September 18 to choose a new captain when they choose the team for the home ODI series against Australia amid speculation that Tendulkar would be given back the captaincy for the second time in his career.Some reports though say that the job may be split with Tendulkar, who is likely to return as Test captain and Mahendra Singh Dhoni tipped to be captain Team India in the ODI.

Dhoni tense ahead of Pakistan match

Durban: Indian skipper Mahendra Dhoni conceded in Durban on Wednesday that there would be added pressure playing Pakistan in the ICC Twenty20 World Championship match at the Kingsmead on Friday.

“The match against Pakistan will be a high pressure one since this is a world level event and ours is an old rivalry,” Dhoni said at a press conference. “Any match against Pakistan is a tough one but we are hoping to go out there and do our best. We could not play them in the World Cup because of our early exits and so this will be probably a much awaited match,” said Dhoni.

“The Pakistan match will no doubt be an important one for us but we are concentrating on the Scotland match as for now,” the skipper said on the eve of their opening match against the European outfit.

“Having played them in an ODI recently, we have a fair idea of the players. We have also watched videos in a bid to analyse them as we are not taking things easy. In this form of the game, a single performance can prove decisive,” he said.

The wicketkeeper-batsman said the team was planning to stick to the basics in this format.
“We have to go out there and bat as we do. I am of the view that you don’t have to try too hard or something very different despite the short duration of the games. As a batsman, I would like to just go out there and play my usual stuff and hopefully hit some more big shots,” said Dhoni, who was named captain after Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly opted out of the Twenty20 World Championship.

“We have not decided on the composition of the team as yet but we will definitely consider the conditions here,” said Dhoni, who dismissed a suggestion that the team lacked experience.
“This is a natural process. The same players won’t continue playing forever.

There will be some point in time, say even five years from now, when these young players will be the senior players in the side. That is the time we will look back to see where they started.
India, Scotland and Pakistan have been placed in Group D of the preliminary league. Two teams from the preliminary league will advance to the Super Eight stage, which will again be played on a league basis in two groups. These will be followed by the semi-finals and final.

Afridi shines in patchy Pakistan win

Durban: Shahid Afridi did not have to be anywhere close to his best to show that the shortest version of cricket can bring out the best in him. The dynamic all-rounder played a cameo knock and then picked up some crucial wickets as Pakistan scored a comfortable 51-run win over Scotland in the ICC Twenty20 World Championship on Wednesday despite an unimpressive performance.

Afridi smashed 22 off just seven deliveries as Pakistan put up a patchy effort to score 171-9 in the opening match of group D, and then cut through the Scottish middle-order like a hot knife through butter.

Put in to bat, Pakistan lost wickets at regular intervals and it took a solid 41 from the experienced Younis Khan to steady the ship in the face of some disciplined bowling. Younis, coming in at number four, struck three fours and two sixes off just 29 balls to boost the mid innings which had looked a testing time for the Pakistan batting line-up.

Afridi then produced a typical whirlwind knock that consisted of two sixes and a four, which left everyone wondering why he was not sent in earlier than at number six. Misbah-ul-Haq, a controversial selection ahead of Mohammad Yousuf, produced a quick 23 off 16 balls with four fours.

“I just went out and played my natural game. We needed some quick runs at that stage of the match and that is what I tried to do,” said Afridi, who started with a first-ball six.
“I am primarily a batsman but also like to bowl when needed. It is not easy doing that in a Twenty20 match I always try to do my best,” added Afridi, who was named the man of the match.

Zimbabwe shock Australia by 5 wickets

New Delhi: Reigning limited overs world champions Australia were shocked in their lung opener as Zimbabwe scripted a thrilling victory by five wickets in their Group B encounter at Newlands in Cape Town on Wednesday.

Australia put up a below par performance as their batsmen only managed 138 runs after electing to bat, and were unable to defend their modest total as Zimbabwe got there with one ball to spare.

The Zimbabwean outfit put up a sterling bowling display coupled with terrific fielding as the Australians never got going on a damp Newlands wicket. Opener Brendan Taylor then notched up an unbeaten 60 from 45 balls to see his side home.

The Zimbabweans got cracking no sooner after pinning the Aussie batsmen into submission as openers Vusimusi Sibanda and Brendon Taylor went after Brett Lee and Nathan Bracken, scoring at a staggering 10 runs an over. But Bracken brought Sibanda’s stay to an end as the batsman was caught behind for an entertaining 23 from just 15 balls.

A startled Brett Lee, who went for 19 runs in his first burst of two overs, was replaced by Stuart Clark who got the Aussies back in the game with two wickets, while Mitchell Johnson added another to curtail the Zimbabweans from scoring heavily.

At four wickets down for 74 in the twelfth over, Zimbabwe were well on course to chase down the ‘modest’ Australian target, but an impromptu rain delay meant the Zimbabweans were still behind by two runs on Duckworth-Lewis.

Play resumed as Taylor and Hamilton Masakadza put together 53 runs for the fifth wicket to take Zimbabwe closer to their target, only to witness high drama as Brett Lee dismissed Masakadza in the penultimate over for a crucial 27.

Needing 12 runs from the final over off Nathan Bracken, Taylor dispatched the first delivery for a boundary. And with four runs to get from the last two balls, Bracken’s penultimate delivery was sent for yet another boundary to spark off wild celebrations in the Zimbabwean camp.

World Twenty20 2007 Informations

England vs India

Twelve teams of the world are ready to compete once again. This time they are meeting from 11 to 24 September at South Africa to play for the ICC World Twenty20.

The teams will play in 4 groups of 3 teams each. The format of the tournament will be similar to that of the ICC World Cup 2007 which was played in West Indies earlier this year.

The teams have been grouped in 4 groups of 3 teams each. These groups will play 3 match each. Based on the outcome of these matches, the Super 8 will be short listed. These 8 teams will play the Super 8 series of matches.

Top 4 teams from the Super 8 matches will play the semi finals and the winners of the semi finals shall play the finals on 24 September.

Both Semi Finals are scheduled for 22 September.