Top 4 ODI teams to start test match on 26th December

On 26th December, The top 4 ODI cricket teams will be starting to play test match :-) It will be India playing Australia at Melbourne, Australia. This will be the first test match of the series which will be played between both teams. On the other hand, Srilanka will be playing  South Africa at Durban, South Africa and this will be the second test match of the series played between them.

I can better say it's MS Dhoni vs Michael Clarke's boys in IND-AUS series and Tillakaratne Dilshan vs Graeme Smith's boys in SL-SA series.

For IND-AUS, it will be a 4 test match series. This will be the first test match between them.

For SL-SA, it's a 3 test match series. Already, one match has been completed. South Africa won the match by an innings and 81 runs. SA is leading SL by 1-0.

People to be watched out in both the series are Vernon Philander, Jacques Kallis, Hashim Amla, Mahela Jayawardena, Kumar Sangakarra, Angelo Mathews, Ricky Ponting, Michael Hussey, James Pattinson, Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman.

Ravi Rampaul breaks Indian bowling tactics and saves WI to put up a good total

Currently, West Indies and India are playing their 2nd ODI of the series at ACA-VDCA Stadium, Visakhapatnam. The toss was won by India and they selected to bat first.

Lendl Simmons and Adrian Barath were the openers for the WI team. In the last delivery of the second over, Adrian Barath got out and returned back to the pavilion. This wicket gave confidence to the Indian bowlers and they kept on attacking the WI batsmen. They could not sustain the attack and hence WI batting lineup started to collapse. At one point of time WI were 63 runs for 5 wickets. Kieron Pollard came in to bat he batted well and scored some quick runs which helped WI to recover a bit. After hitting 2 biggies, Pollard could slow down and hence fell for Ravichandran Ashwin who finally removed Pollard after giving 2 sixes in the over.

This was a crucial break for India and they were back on track again. By 36 overs, India managed to pick up 9 wickets by just giving 170 runs to WI. One more wicket, India will have a fair chances to win the match easily. But it did not work towards Indian side. Ravi Rampaul who came into bat at number 9 started to hunt the bowlers. He batted magnificently and replied to the bowlers with fours and sixes. With the help of his partner Kemar Roach, Ravi Rampaul went on hunting the bowlers. Both played well till the end and helped the West Indies team to come out of the disastrous situation and remained not out till the end of the innings. West Indies put up a total score of 269 runs for the loss of 9 wickets in 50 overs (WI - 269/9, 50 over). Ravi Rampaul was unbeaten scoring 86 runs with 6 fours and 6 sixes. Kemar Roach was unbeaten scoring 24 runs which included 3 fours. The last wicket partnership was 99 runs. I think this might be the biggest partnership for 10th wicket.

Indians took the WI's last wicket very lightly and that is why Indians are suffering. But there is no use in regretting now. Only thing to be done is to hunt down the score successfully.

India vs West Indies test match 3 highlights

Current status of the match is Lunch. Yesterday, West Indies won the toss and elected to bat first. After loosing the first 2 test matches, now its time for the West Indies to avoid the whitewash. Keeping this on mind, West Indies gave a perfect start for the day. The Indians failed to take early wickets at the start. West Indies first wicket fell after its total reached 137 runs. Once the break up of the partnership happened, Indians managed to remove other opener as well in short duration. At the end of the first day, West Indies managed to put up a total of 291 runs and lost only 2 wickets. Indians failed in the first day and they were hoping to make some early dismissals on the second day.

The hope did not become into reality as they managed to remove only one wicket after bowling 13.5 overs. West Indies 3rd wicket partnership was 164 runs. Darren Bravo scored his century and is still batting. As of now, West Indies have played 121 overs and scored 378 runs having a run rate of 3.12 runs per over (WI - 378/3, 121 over). Darren Bravo and Kieran Powell are playing and have scored 108 runs and 38 runs respectively. The partnership between them is 64 runs. Ravichandran Ashwin has took 2 wickets and Ishant Sharma took a wicket.

If, West Indies managed to play till the end of the day then the match would end up in a draw or India will loose the match.

First Test match: India vs England

After triumphing over West Indies, Now India will be touring England. They will be playing 4 test match cricket series which will be followed by 1 T20 match and 5 ODI cricket series. On 21st of June India and England will be playing the first test match that will be played at Lord's, London.

From past few years India have shown up some extraordinary performances and they have won many series which includes World Cup 2011. England is very keen about playing against the World champs and they are waiting for the moment. On the other hand, India are also looking to triumph over England as well. Plenty of actions to happen out in England for the next 2 months. After this tour, England in return will visit India.

It's Lasith Malinga's day.....

First match of the Tri-Nation Tournament between Srilanka and Ireland was abandoned. Second match  of the Tri-Nation Tournament was played between Ireland and Scotland. Scotland won the match by 5 wickets.

Today, Srilanka and Scotland played the 3rd ODI match of the Tri-Nation Tournament at Raeburn Place, Edinburgh - Scotland. The toss was won by Scotland and they chose to field first. It's already known that Srilankan's are the better side as they are one of the strongest teams in the world. It is very much clear that Srilanka will be the winner of the day.

Srilanka opened the innings with a good start. The run rate was about average and they were not belting the bowlers though. They played pretty decently and the first wicket partnership resulted in 101 runs. Both the openers made their half centuries. After their fall, there was pretty good contributions from others as well. When the 7th wicket fell, Lasith Malinga came in to bat and he played magnificently and scored 32 runs in just 15 deliveries with 2 fours and 2 sixes. This helped Srilanka to end up with a total score of 284 runs on board.

The total looked huge for the Scottish to bear. The start was poor and they could not score at an average pace right from the start. In 5th over itself they started to loose wicket. It was Lasith Malinga who started to spoil Scotland's batting line up. He took 3 quick wickets which made a huge difference. After this Dammika Prasad took few wickets and finally it was Lasith Malinga who removed the last 2 wickets. Scotland ended up scoring 101 runs only and lost all 10 wickets. Malinga took 5 wickets.

Srilanka won the match by 193 runs. Man of the match was Lasith Malinga for his awesome performance with both bat and ball.

On-going series

Yesterday, second test match between India and West Indies ended up in a draw. India were very close to  the victory but unfortunately they could remove remaining 3 wickets. As of now India lead the series West Indies by 1-0. One more test match to go and it will be played on 10th of July at Windsor Park, Roseau, Dominica. This will be the only chance for the West Indies to level the series and for that they have to win the match. Indians are already in safer zone as they have won the first test match. If West Indies wins the match, the series will end up in a draw else it will Indians who will be returning home victorious. Indians have got higher chances of winning this series.

ODI series is currently being played between England and Srilanka. England won the first match and the second match was won by the visitors. Third ODI match was played today at Lord's, London. England won the toss and they batter first. They had put up a total score of 246 runs in 50 overs. Opener, Alastair Cook put up his century and scored 117 runs which helped England to put this score. In reply Srilankans chased the target successfully in 48.2 overs. Dinesh Chandimal put up his century and remained unbeaten scoring 105 runs. He was chosen as the man of the match who helped his team to victory. Now Srilanka leads the series by 2-1 and 2 more matches to go.

First Test match: India vs West Indies

As of now, India are playing their second batting innings. They have already lost 8 wickets and have scored a total of 214 runs (IND - 214/8). They are leading West Indies by 284 runs. Only 2 more wickets to go. The Wall Rahul Dravid has again saved India by his lone battle against the homies. He is still unbeaten scoring 97 runs. Amit Mishra is also showing resistance against the bowling attack. Still its 3rd of the match and second session is going on. Long long way to go and Indians have already lost 8 wickets.

From West Indies point of view, taking another 2 wickets will not be a big deal. The big deal will be to chase the target of around 300 runs will be a big deal. They have to play very patiently and should not give wickets to India that easily. They have plenty of time, almost 2 days and 1 session are there to complete their chase.

If we see the first innings batting performance of the hosts, its very poor as they were all-out scoring only 173 runs. But my intuitions say that, if India fails to put more than 300 for chase, then Indians will have more chances of winning else West Indies will win the match. If you ask me, i will tell that match will never end up in a draw.

Cricket Updates

Currently, The World Champion India has toured West Indies and have already played 1 T20 match and 4 ODI matches. India has won T20 match and 3 ODI matches so far. Hosts, West Indies team has won only one ODI match.

On the other hand World Cup finalist, Srilanka has toured England and have already played 2 Test matches. Already hosts have made a mark of winning, they won the first test match. Second match ended up in a draw.

Tomorrow, there is lots of action that is gonna take place. England and Srilanka will be playing their 3rd and final test match. If England wins or match is drawn, England will be the victorious one in the series. Srilanka cannot win the series but they have chances to draw the series by winning the 3rd test match.

India and West Indies will be playing their last and final ODI match of the series. India have already won the series, now its the time to show up their conquering power and glory. West Indies are looking to finish the series with 3-2, so that they can have some smile on their faces. Once the ODI matches are over, they will be playing a test series which consists of 3 test matches.

After touring the West Indies, India will be looking for their next prey which will be England. England team is very confident in winning all the matches that will be played against the visitors (India).

India tour of West Indies

India has toured West Indies, where they play 1 T20 match, 5 ODI matches and 3 Test matches. Out of these already 1 T20 match and 4 ODI matches are played. India have won the T20 match and also 2 ODI matches thereby clean sweeping the ODI series from West Indies. Now the 4th and 5th ODI match was to be played for pride.

As usual Team India was fielding first. In the first 3 ODI's India fielded first and won all the matches. But yesterday unusual happened when they faced West Indies at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, Antigua. West Indies played pretty decently to put up a total score of 249 runs loosing 8 wickets. Kieron Pollard and Lendl Simmons played some pretty decent knocks which brought them back in the game when they lost 5 wickets very badly.

India needed 250 runs to win the match, but this time things did not favor towards Indians. They started to feel the pressure and loose wickets. In just 39 overs, India were all-out scoring only 146 runs. West Indies won the match by 103 runs. Anthony Martin was main man behind this victory as he took 3 important and much required wickets for the team. After this ODI match, the series is 3-1. Though the series has already been won by India, its time for West Indies to win last match for pride.

Australia tour of Bangladesh: Match 3

Third and the final ODI match of the Australia tour of Bangladesh was played today at Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur, Bangladesh. Toss was won by Australia and they elected to bat first.

Shane Watson and Ricky Ponting opened the batting innings for Australia. Right from the start of the innings they started to hit the ball every corner of the ground. First wicket partnership was 110 runs and Shane Watson was the first wicket to fall. He scored a magnificent 72 runs in just 40 deliveries that included 11 fours and 3 sixes. Ponting and Michael Clarke could not complete their half-centuries. They were short of 3 runs just before getting out. Michael Hussey (Mr.Cricket) came in and played an magnificent innings and score 108 runs. This helped Australia to put up a big total against the home team. In 50 overs, they lost 8 wickets and scored 361 runs (AUS - 361/8, 50 over). Abdur Razzak and Mashrafe Mortaza took 3 wickets each.

This was an difficult chase for them as they were playing against the number one team. Bangladesh team started of very well and were very aggressive, they scored 43 runs in just 4.2 overs. In the 4.3 over, they lost their 1st wicket. After this fall, there was a big partnership of 129 runs but this did not help as their run rate was around 6 runs per over. After the second fall, there was few small partnerships which kept them to play till the end. Bangladesh failed to chase the target and they finally ended up scoring a total of 295 runs for the loss of 6 wickets in 50 overs (BAN - 295/6, 50 over). Imrul Kayes was the top scorer for Bangladesh, he scored 93 runs. Mitchell Johnson took 3 wickets for Australia.

Australia won the match by 66 runs. Man of the match was Michael Hussey for his century. Man of the series was Shane Watson for his brilliant all-round performance.

2nd ODI: Australia vs Bangladesh

On 11th April, second ODI match of the Australia tour of Bangladesh was played at Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur, Bangladesh. The toss was won by the hosts and they chose to bat first.

Tamim Iqbal and Imrul Kayes opened the batting innings for Bangladesh. Both the openers failed to stand for longer time as they could not resist the Aussies bowling attack. At one point of time, they lost 5 wickets and scored only 88 runs in 27 overs. Later on, Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah put up a partnership of 79 runs that helped Bangla's to end up with a decent total to defend. They successfully played for 50 overs and scored a total of 229 runs with the loss of 7 wickets (BAN - 229/7, 50 over). Mushfiqur Rahim was unbeaten scoring 81 runs. Mitchell Johnson picked up 3 wickets.

Aussies needed 230 runs in 50 overs with a very good batting line-up. Shane Watson and Brad Haddin started to play for the team. Shane Watson right from the start of the innings played very aggressively but Brad Haddin kept his calm and gave strike to his partner as much as possible. Brad Haddin did not make it big as he was back to pavilion after scoring only 8 runs in 19 deliveries. Later on, Ricky Ponting joined the party and gave a good company to his partner. It was Shane Watson's day. He cruised in to score 50 runs in just 26 balls and then got his century in 69 delivers. After this, Shane Watson became even more aggressive. He scored 85 runs in just 27 deliveries thereby adding his total score of 185 runs in just 96 deliveries. This was an unbelievable batting performance given by any batsmen so far. He hit 15 fours and 15 sixes in the match. Shane Watson created a new world record for the most number of sixes (15 sixes) in a match. In just 26 overs, Australia managed to chase their target successfully scoring a total of 232 runs with the loss of 1 wicket (AUS - 232/1, 26 over). Shakib Al Hasan was the only bowler whose economy rate was less than 6 (5 runs per over).

Australia won the match by 9 wickets. Man of the match was Shane Watson for his brilliant performance.

If the total was more, then Shane Watson would have broke the record of Sachin Tendulkar and become the highest run getter in a match and would have been in the history book.

Srilanka enters WC 2011 finals

Today first semi-finals of the World Cup 2011 was played between Srilanka and New Zealand at R.Premadasa Stadium, Colombo, Sri Lanka. This was the most important match for the Kiwis as they have never won a World Cup in history. The Victory over Srilanka was a best chance for them to win a World Cup 2011. Srilankan's have already geared up to lift the cup and they are looking to finish up the things easily. The toss went into the favor of New Zealand and they chose to bat first.

Martin Guptill and Brendon McCullum opened the batting innings for Kiwis. They gave a slow and stable start. The run rate was not on average. Srilankan's kept the pressure on the Kiwis right from the start of the innings so that the Kiwis could not go for big hits. They managed to pick 3 wickets when the total score was 84 runs which was hit in 21.3 overs. After this fall there was a good partnership of 77 runs that helped the Kiwis to come out of the critical situation. When Ross Taylor departed, things changed and the Kiwis started to loose wickets and finally Scott Styris who played a big innings got out. In last 25 runs Kiwis lost 6 wickets which resulted in low total. In 48.5 over, New Zealand managed to put up a total score of 217 runs and lost all 10 wickets (NZ - 217/10, 48.5over). Team's highest scorer was Scott Styris who scored 57 runs. Lashith Malinga and Ajantha Mendis took 3 wickets each. 


This was not a big total at all and Srilankan's did not have much pressure as the required run rate was less than 5 runs per over. As usual Upul Tharanga and Tillakaratne Dilshan started off the second innings and the start was better than Kiwis. Upul tharanga was back to pavilion after scoring 30 runs. Kumar Sangakkara came in to bat and put up a very good partnership of 120 runs with Tillakaratne Dilshan. Tillakaratne Dilshan departed after scoring 73 runs and Kumar Sangakkara got out after scoring 54 runs. Srilanka after a big partnership lost 5 quick wickets which made the Kiwis to be back on track. Now the pressure was on Srilanka as they lost 5 wickets when their total was 185 runs. But Samaraweera and Mathews played beautifully and helped the team to come out of pressurized situation. Srilanka finally managed to chase the target successfully scoring a total of 220 runs with the loss of 5 wickets in 47.5 over (SL - 220/5, 47.5 over).

Srilanka won the match by 5 wickets. Man of the match was Kumar Sangakkara. Now the Srilankan's are into the finals of the World Cup 2011. They will be playing against India or Pakistan on 2nd of April in Mumbai.

On 30th March India and Pakistan will face against each other in the second semi-finals. This is the most awaited match to be watched across the globe. Who ever wins, definitely this is gonna be a thriller. I wish India to win the match. INDIA DHAK DHAK GO!!!!!!

England are out of World Cup 2011

The last quarter-finals was played between England and Srilanka today at R.Premadasa Stadium, Colombo, Sri Lanka. The toss went in to the favor of England and they chose to bat first. This game was an a crucial game for England as they have not even won a World Cup so far. Being a strong team, England were looking to dominate Srilankan's in their home ground.

Andrew Strauss and Ian Bell gave a very slow start. Their intention was not to play big shots and make huge total. They were looking to play calm and put up a good total. But this did not work as they lost 2 big wickets in the first 10 overs and their total was just 31 runs when they lost both the openers. After this 2 fall, there was 2 good partnership that helped England to recover from the collapse. But the run rate was very low. When fourth wicket fell, their total was only 186 runs consuming 43 overs. England ended up their batting innings with a total score of 229 runs in 50 overs and lost only 6 wickets (ENG - 229/6, 50 over). Highest scorer in the team was Jonathan Trott who scored 86 runs and Eion Morgan scored a half-century. Muralidaran took 2 wickets.

This total was not that challenging for the Srilankan's. Upul tharanga and Tillakaratne Dilshan opened the batting innings for Srilanka. They started off well and put up a unbeaten partnership of 231 runs. In just 39.3 overs, Srilanka successfully chased the target scoring 231 runs for no loss of wicket (SL - 231/0, 39.3 over). Upul tharanga scored a unbeaten score of 102 runs and Tillakaratne Dilshan scored an unbeaten 108 runs. No England bowler managed to take a wicket of Srilanka.

Srilanka won the match by 10 wickets. Man of the match was Tillakaratne Dilshan for his brilliant batting for hitting a unbeaten century and bowling performance for taking a wicket.

Srilanka will be playing against New Zealand in the semi finals that will be happening on 29th of March.

South Africa's dream of winning WC 2011 comes to an end

The third quarter-finals of the World Cup 2011 was played between South Africa and New Zealand at Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur, Bangladesh. This was a crucial match for both of them as they have never won any World Cup till now. Who ever wins will proceed to the semi-finals and the other will have to sacrifice their dream of winning their World Cup. New Zealand won the toss & they chose to bat first.

Martin Guptill and Brendon McCullum opened the batting innings for Kiwis. The start was a bad one and the South Africans right from the start were putting pressure on the batting side. Both the openers were unsuccessful and they were back to pavilion in quick interval. NZ were 16 for 2 utilizing 6 overs. Jesse Ryder and Ross Taylor played well and put up a partnership of 114 runs which helped the kiwis to recover a bit. Ross Taylor gave a catch to Jacques Kallis and went back scoring 43 runs consuming 72 deliveries. After this fall, Kiwis could not resist the bowling attack of the South Africans and the wickets kept on falling in regular fashion. The score did not reach high but some how they manage to put up a total score of 221 runs for the loss of 8 wickets in 50 overs (NZ - 221/8, 50 over). Morne Morkel picked up 3 wickets. Jesse Ryder was the highest scorer for Kiwis scoring 83 runs.

This did not look like a huge target for the South Africans as they were playing outstanding World Cup. Hashim Amla in the very first over departed scoring only 7 runs. After this fall, there were some decent partnerships put. After the fall of Jacques Kallis, South African team collapsed. They could not resist the bowling attack of the Kiwis. They failed to reach the target and lost all 10 wickets scoring a total of only 172 runs in 43.2 overs (SA - 172/10, 43.2 over). Jacob Oram took 4 wickets and 2 catches.

New Zealand won the match by 49 runs. Man of the match was Jacob Oram for his brilliant all-rounding performance.

Thus the dream of winning WC 2011 for South Africa came to an end. In yesterday's match, Australia lost to India and were out of WC 2011. Fourth quarter-finals will be played between Srilanka and England. The winner of this match will face Kiwis in semi-finals while India will face Pakistan.

1st Quarter-finals of the ICC World Cup 2011

The first quarter-finals of the ICC World Cup 2011 was played between Pakistan and West Indies at Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur, Bangladesh. The toss was won by West Indies and they chose to bat first.

The start was fine for West Indies by the openers Devon Smith and Chris Gayle. But this partnership did not build up properly and it was broken when the total was just 14 runs. After this break, Pakistan removed 2 more wickets which were considered to be the dangerous ones in just 2 runs. There was a small partnership between Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shivnarine Chanderpaul which resulted 42 runs. This was the biggest partnership in the West Indies innings. After the successful removal of Sarwan, Pakistan team managed to remove remaining wickets easily without any pain. West Indies failed to put up a good total and they finally ended up scoring a total score of just 112 runs (WI - 112/10, 43.3 over). For this they utilized 43.3 overs in total. Shivnarine Chanderpaul was unbeaten till the end of the innings scoring 44 runs in 106 deliveries. Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi managed to pick up 4 important wickets.

The target score was a cake-walk for any team. Pakistan being an strong opposition, managed to score this total in just 20.5 overs (PAK - 113/0, 20.5 over). Openers Kamran Akmal and Mohammad Hafeez were unbeaten till the end scoring 47 runs and 61 runs respectively.

Pakistan won the match by 10 wickets. Man of the match was Mohammad Hafeez for his brilliant batting and bowling performance. He scored 61 runs and also took 2 wickets.

In quarter finals Pakistan will be playing against India or Australia. Second quarter finals will be played between India and Australia tomorrow at Sardar Patel Gujarat Stadium, Motera. Winner of this match will be facing Pakistan in the semi-finals.

India vs Australia in quarter finals facing each other

India won against West Indies in the last league match of the ICC World Cup 2011 that took place at Chennai, yesterday. This victory has led to face against the toughest team Australia in the quarter finals. Australians are the defending champions who are defending from last 3 World Cup's which was in 1999, 2003 and 2007.

In 2003, India and Australia were in the finals. Australia outplayed India and defended the cup. Now, this is the time for the Indians to take their revenge against the Aussies for their World Cup loss. As you can see from the league matches, India have not performed at a good level against the strong teams so far. On the other side, Aussies have lost only one match so far and a match was drawn. Aussies have not performed that great though, but they have played sensible cricket so far.

Aussies looks to be a silent killer. On the other side, Indians apart from poor bowling, now their batting performance is also getting inhibited. But both the rivals will face against each other after the finals that was played in 2003 World Cup.

Other quarter finalists are Pakistan playing against West Indies, Srilanka playing against England and South Africa taking against the Kiwis. All the top teams of the World are into the quarter finals. This World Cup is going to be full of excitement and entertainment with lots of action.

India vs Srilanka / India vs Australia at quarter finals??

In Group A, Pakistan tops the table followed by Srilanka and third stands Australia finally Kiwis at the last. In Group B, South Africa are at the top and England are at the fourth position. The fight for second and third place is between India and West Indies.

Based on the todays match result which will be played against India and West Indies, we will come to know that who will be in the second and third position. If India wins this match, India will play against Australia and West Indies will play against Srilanka in the quarter finals of the ICC World Cup 2011. If India looses, West Indies will come to the second position and they will be facing the Aussies in the quarter finals and Indians will face against Srilankans.

India have already completed its batting innings, Yuvaraj Singh was the top scorer scoring 113 runs and Virat Kohli scoring a half-century. Indians did not perform well with the bat today and again they were all-out in 49.1 over scoring only 268 runs in total. Ravi Rampaul took 5 wickets.

After seeing the match and the performance by the Indians i lost the hope that they will win this match. It looks like they will end up with a loss and face Srilankans in the quarter finals.

ICC World Cup 2011: Australia vs Canada

On 16th of March 2011, a match was played between Australia and Canada at M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru, India. The toss went into the favor of Canada and they chose to bat first.

Hiral Patel and John Davison opened the innings for Canada. they both gave a solid start where the run rate went  more than 10 runs per over. In just 3.4 overs i.e, in 22 deliveries they scored 41 runs. This was the best start given by Canada in this World Cup and more over it was against the World number one team. After the total reaching 41, Canada lost its first wicket and Australians were back on track. The run rate dropped but it was more than 6 runs per over until second wicket fell. Hiral Patel scored a magnificent 54 runs in 45 deliveries that included 5 fours and 3 sixes. The run rate got dropped and the third wicket partnership resulted in 68 runs. After this fall, Australians were back in full form and managed to remove remaining 7 wickets giving 211 runs in total in 45.4 over (CAN - 211/7, 45.4 over). Australian Pace bowler Brett Lee took 4 wickets. 


Australia needed 212 runs in 50 overs and it was not an tough one for them. Shane Watson and Brad Haddin opened the batting innings for Australia. They both started off well and were playing really nice. The run rate was more than 6 runs per over. First wicket partnership was 183 runs. Brad Haddin departed after scoring 88 runs and Shane Watson departed scoring 94 runs. Captain Ricky Ponting did not stay till the end and he was back to pavilion after scoring only 7 runs. After the fall of 3rd wicket, Australia managed to complete their batting by successfully chasing the target of 211 runs. In 34.5 overs, Australia scored a total of 212 runs and lost only 3 wickets (AUS - 212/3, 34.5 over).

Australia won the match by 7 wickets. Man of the match went to Shane Watson for his beautiful all-rounding performance. Australia have not even lost a match in this World Cup so far.

ICC World Cup 2011 updates: 14th March 2011

The 33rd match of the ICC World Cup 2011 was played between Pakistan and Zimbabwe at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Kandy, Sri Lanka. The toss went into the favor of Zimbabwe and they chose to bat first.

Brendan Taylor and Regis Chakabva opened the batting innings for Zimbabwe. After hitting for a four, Brendan Taylor got out in the first over itself. In the next over, his opening partner Regis Chakabva got out by getting lbw. Zimbabwe were on deep trouble and their run rate dropped drastically. On the other hand when their total was only 12 runs, third wicket fell. After this fall, there were some good partnerships that followed. Even their run rate was back on track but not to good level. Craig Ervine scored an half-century. In 39.4 overs, Zimbabwe scored a total of 151 runs for the loss of 7 wickets (ZIM - 151/7, 39.4 over). The match turned into an D\L method. Umar Gul took 3 wickets for Pakistan.

Pakistan wanted to finish off the match as soon as possible and the target was an easy one for them. They gave an brilliant start. First wicket fell when Pakistan had scored only 17 runs it was Ahmad Shahzad. Second wicket partnership costed 82 runs. In just 34.1 overs, Pakistan put up a total of 164 runs for the loss of 3 wickets (PAK - 164/3, 34.1 over). It was an D\L method. Asad Shafiq was unbeaten scoring 78 runs.

Pakistan won the match by 7 wickets. Man of the match went to Umar Gul for his brilliant piece of bowling.

ICC World Cup 2011 updates: 14th March 2011

On 14th March 2011, match number 32 and 33 of the ICC World Cup 2011 was played. 32nd match was played between Bangladesh and Netherlands at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, Chittagong, Bangladesh. Netherlands won the toss and they elected to bat first.

The start was not so smooth and played very defensively. First wicket fell in the first delivery of the 10th over where they had scored only 28 runs. After this, the run rate was not pretty much stronger and the wickets started to fall at regular intervals. Ryan ten Doeschate played well and he remained unbeaten scoring 53 runs. Other batsmen failed to play for longer period and could not give a good support to Ryan ten Doeschate. In 46.2 overs, Netherlands were all out scoring only 160 runs (NED- 160/10, 46.2 over). Abdur Razzak took 3 wickets for Bangladesh. The run rate was only 3.45 runs per over put up by Netherlands.

Bangladesh needed only 161 runs to win the match in 50 overs with 10 wickets on hand. Tamim Iqbal and Imrul Kayes opened the batting innings for Bangladesh. Opener Tamim Iqbal departed without scoring any run by getting bowled in Mudassar Bukhari delivery. There was a good support given by Zunaed Siddique and Shahriar Nafees to Imrul Kayes which helped the Bangladesh team to win the match. Imrul Kayes was unbeaten scoring 73 runs. In 41.2 overs, Bangladesh chased the target successfully scoring a total of 166 runs  for the loss of 4 wickets (BAN - 166/4, 41.2 over).

Bangladesh won the match by 6 wickets. Man of the match went to Imrul Kayes.