Bell stumped by his UDRS reprieve

Ian Bell has conceded that he was as baffled as anyone when he benefited from a controversial decision review in England's tie with India on Sunday. Bell was given not out by umpire Billy Bowden but the bowler Yuvraj Singh was certain he had trapped the batsman lbw, and convinced the captain MS Dhoni to ask for a review. 

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India under fire after dramatic World Cup tie

World Cup favourites India came under fire from a demanding media Monday after their dramatic tie with England as fallen giants West Indies looked for their first win against the Netherlands.

 

In a gripping contest on Sunday that injected life into a tournament that has seen a series of lopsided matches, the home side scored 338 all out in Bangalore thanks to a crowd-pleasing century from Sachin Tendulkar.

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Strauss edged it twice but Indians didn't appeal!

The Indian team seems to have a 'hearing problem' in addition to its bowling and fielding woes which led to its failure to defend a strong score of 338 in the World Cup match against England here last night.

Much has has been spoken and written about how poor bowling and fielding in addition to a late batting collapse that resulted in the fall of India's last seven wickets for 33 runs and nearly enabled England to win. But two huge blunders committed by skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his bowling spearhead Zaheer Khan appear to have gone unnoticed in the debate and discussion over the tied match.

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Dhoni confounded by umpiring call against England

Bangalore: MS Dhoni made a thinly-veiled criticism of the umpiring decision that nearly cost India the World Cup match against England that ended in a tie. 

Ian Bell, batting on 17 on the last ball of the 25th over, was hit in front by Yuvraj Singh. Umpire Billy Bowden turned down the LBW appeal and India asked for a review. Replays showed three things working in favour of the appeal --- there was no no-ball, the ball hit in line, and Hawkeye said the ball was hitting the middle stump. Seeing the replay on the giant screen, Bell started walking back when the umpires decided to stay the not-out decision. 

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We cannot improve our fielding: Dhoni

After the dramatic World Cup tie against England, Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni admitted that the team cannot improve its fielding, but can certainly do a lot in the bowling department.

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India, England battle to a tie

On a track that offered full value for good strokeplay, the marquee game of the World Cup thus far, between India and England at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore, turned out to be a contest between two sets of weak bowling attacks.

That needs qualification. England's attack was definitely weakened by the absence through illness of Stuart Broad, and by the fact that James Anderson, the de facto leader of the lineup, is rendered totally innocuous in sub-continental conditions, while their game-breaker Graeme Swann holds little terror for Indian batsmen reared on spin, on a track devoid of significant turn.

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Tendulkar and Gambhir flourish for India

Sachin Tendulkar produced a half-century of ominous poise and determination, with Gautam Gambhir bristling alongside him on 43 not out from 51 balls, as India's batsmen built on a typically forceful cameo from Virender Sehwag to push along to an imposing 140 for 1 at the halfway mark of their critical Group B encounter with England in Bangalore. Shorn of the services of Stuart Broad, who withdrew before the match with a stomach upset, England's bowlers maintained their composure in a fervent atmosphere, but found little reward on a pitch that offered pace, swing and a hint of turn for the spinners. 

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Teams unite to show support for Room to Read

Players from both England and India's teams took time out from their preparations for Sunday's huge ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 clash to show their support for Room to Read.

The ICC is working with Room to Read at the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 to raise awareness of literacy and promote access to books. Virat Kohli met with four adolescents from the Room to Read initiative, who the ICC had flown in from Delhi for the experience, and took time to learn about how Room to Read has transformed the lives of young people across India, before playing a game of cricket with the teenagers. 

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England in trouble if Sehwag fires, warns Dhoni

England will have problems if hard-hitting Indian opener Virender Sehwag bats through the innings in Sunday's World Cup clash, skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni said.

Sehwag, fit to play the day-night game after suffering a rib injury on Friday during a practice session, said ahead of the tournament he would like to bat the entire 50 overs.

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We will love to spoil the Indian party: Strauss

England skipper Andrew Strauss Saturday put a confident India on notice by asserting that the hosts would be under pressure in their World Cup clash on Sunday.

"In some ways, there is more pressure on India than on us in this game, as they are playing in front of home crowd whose expectations are always high," Strauss said on the eve of the Group B clash at the Chinnaswamy stadium in the heart of the city, facing the famous Cubbon Park.

Coming into the second league match after winning a hard game against minnows the Netherlands at Nagpur Tuesday, the English team has been sweating it out at the nets for a tough encounter with favourites India who beat Bangladesh Feb 19 in the opening match.

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An occasion to test nerves and character

The build-up and hype ahead of this match has been huge and we are still barely into the second week of the World Cup. This was always going to be one of the marquee clashes of the tournament, and even though it has been moved away from Eden Gardens to the slightly less daunting Chinnaswamy Stadium, that hasn't dulled the anticipation. 

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Misbah and Afridi sink Sri Lanka

Anyone still out there who thinks Pakistan are not dangerous contenders for the World Cup? The World Cup came alive with a mesmeric exhibition of high-quality cricket from Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis Khan propelled Pakistan, who were on a tricky 105 for 2 in the 21st over, to a strong 276 with tremendous poise and skill in the middle overs before Shahid Afridi and Shoaib Akthar produced a bit of magic to derail the chase. Chamara Silva threatened to pull off a thrilling heist, with a flurry of boundaries in the end, and Nuwan Kulasekara made one heroic last-ditch effort to reduce the equation to 18 runs from the final over, but Umar Gul held his nerve to steer Pakistan home. 

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Eye on weather, India play England

As Bangalore gets ready for Sunday's India-England match, there are doubts if the rain clouds will stay away. Saturday remained overcast for the best part; several parts of the city saw drizzles and there's a thunderstorm forecast for tonight. Friday had seen heavy rains but the playing area at the Chinnaswamy Stadium had recovered sufficiently from it today.

A sunny Sunday has been forecast, but there's only one thing to be said about Bangalore's weather with certainty: it is fickle. After the transfer of this game from Kolkata and the uproar over availability of tickets, a weather disruption would upset the fans severely. From a cricket point of view, India captain MS Dhoni said it's not a situation he can prepare for.

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Strauss relishes Tendulkar, Pietersen battle

Sachin Tendulkar and Kevin Pietersen are poised for a heavyweight World Cup clash of superstars on Sunday when India and England go head-to-head.

Tendulkar is the world's leading scorer in both Test (14,692 runs) and one-day (17,657) cricket, while Pietersen is relishing his new role at the top of the order. "He (Tendulkar) has been one of the mammoths of world cricket over the last two decades," said England captain Andrew Strauss. "The fact he's been able to do it for so long and so consistently is a great testament to him and his preparation. There aren't many negative words you can say about the guy. He's an absolute legend. But at the moment our job is not to build up the Indian players, our job is to beat them." Pietersen opened against the Netherlands and scored 39 as his team successfully chased a 293-run target. "I think this is the sort of match that brings out the best in him (Pietersen). Opening the batting is giving him a fresh outlook on his one-day cricket and we hope he'll transfer all that into big runs," said Strauss.

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Broad struggles with upset tummy before India clash

England's in-form opening bowler Stuart Broad skipped practice due to an upset stomach but is expected to recover in time for the Group B showdown with co-hosts India on Sunday, skipper Andrew Strauss said.

"Stuart Broad is struggling with a bit of a tummy upset today but he should be fully fit for tomorrow," Strauss told a press conference at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. "Other than that everyone's fine." The fitness of 24-year-old Broad is key to England's success in curbing the explosive Indian line-up, especially since his partner with the new ball, James Anderson, has not yet kicked into full gear. In contrast, the lanky Broad has been among the wickets, picking up two in their tournament-opening win over the Netherlands and five-wicket hauls in their warm-up victories over Pakistan and Canada. Broad is the latest in a long line of fitness issues with the England team after a long Ashes tour took a physical and mental toll on the team. India themselves have been struggling with injuries with Virender Sehwag being the latest casualty after being struck in the ribs in net practice on Friday, but should be fit for Sunday according to team staff. A win on Sunday would be a true measure of each side's ability to deal with the injuries and would be a huge confidence boost to each side's bowling. Both teams conceded almost 300 runs to teams with arguably weaker batting orders. Beside a jaded bowling line-up, Strauss also has to deal with the uncertainty of weather conditions, saying that he had conflicting reports on how the wicket would play depending on the possibility of rain. "I think it's important not to be too blinkered into assuming (the wicket) is just going to do something. You've got to look at the conditions. There's a bit of weather around at the moment and that might change the look of the wicket," Strauss said. England had a long fielding session on Thursday, brushing up their catches, ground fielding and throws. Strauss said the team had a "pretty stark wake-up call" after some sloppy fielding almost cost them a win in their opening match against the Dutch.

"We know we have to play well and we are under no illusions about that."

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India bid to put England in a spin

India look set to beef up their spin options for their blockbuster clash against England on Sunday as both sides face the first major Test of their World Cup credentials.

India, strongly fancied to add a second World Cup trophy to their 1983 success, are expected to go into the day-night match with a second specialist spinner in addition to their clutch of part-timers. Leg-spinner Piyush Chawla looks likely to join off-spinner Harbhajan Singh at the expense of paceman Shanthakumaran Sreesanth, who proved expensive in the win against co-hosts Bangladesh.

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Will not wear jersey with numbers - Sehwag

Indian opener, Virender Sehwag's numberless jersey controversy has taken a new turn today. The ICC has already made it clear that, it is against rules, but Sehwag is in no mood accept ICC's decision.

Sehwag has made it clear to the ICC that, he will not be wearing jersey with numbers on it. It can be noted that Virender Sehwag had scored a mammoth 175 runs innings against Bangladesh, in the opening match of World Cup without wearing jersey number. "I don't want to use a number," Sehwag said, making it clear that he would not listen to what ICC says.

"My mother had consulted some astrologers, who gave her some numbers which I could use, but I told her that I don't have a number when I play Test cricket, so why should I have one when I play one-day cricket," he said. Supporting Sehwag's stance on the issue, Indian team manager, Ranjib Biswal said that, "If Sehwag could play the ICC World T20 without a jersey number, I don't see why he cannot do that in another ICC tournament ” the 50-50 World Cup. And if the ICC wanted him to wear one during this tournament, they should have informed us earlier."

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Sachin hits sixes batting left-handed

The name of the game is power and it doesn't matter if the power arises from the left or right. On Wednesday, Sachin Tendulkar, very much back in action after a day's break, decided that he, like Mahendra Dhoni, Virat Kohli and Yuvraj Singh before him, would attempt to smash a few sixes off a set of hapless spinners, mostly local lads who were occasionally joined by R Ashwin and Piyush Chawla.

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ICC asks Pawar to intervene over tickets

The ICC has asked its president Sharad Pawar to intervene in a growing controversy over the sale and distribution of tickets for the World Cup. A letter written to Pawar by David Becker, the ICC's legal head, and published by the Indian channel NDTV, warns of the growing discontent among the ICC's commercial partners over tournament tickets due to them and the possible financial fallout.

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England to be fearless against India, says Broad

England need to be "positive" and "fearless" in their high-profile World Cup clash against crowd favourites India, fast bowler Stuart Board said on Friday.

"The thing about batting in the sub-continent is that you have to have a positive mindset at all times. That is the way we have tried to play our one-day cricket over the last 18 months," said Broad. "We have been very fearless and if you think a shot is on you take it on. 

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Sehwag fit despite ribs blow

The hard-hitting opener was struck by a delivery from a net bowler and did not bat again.

"A thorough examination has been done and a scan is not required. There is no major worry and he is fit enough to play," Indian team manager Ranjib Biswal said. India, who meet England in the day-night match on Sunday, defeated Bangladesh by 87 runs in their opener in Dhaka last Saturday. Sehwag was instrumental in setting up his team's victory, hammering a blazing 175 off 140 balls with the help of five sixes and 14 fours.

He has so far scored 7,555 runs in 229 one-day internationals. India had already been sweating over the fitness of fellow opener Sachin Tendulkar who needed a scan of his left knee after the win against Bangladesh where he made 28. Tendulkar, 37, had only recently recovered from a hamstring strain which forced him to miss three games of the recent five-match one-day series against South Africa.

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Ten Things The Connoisseur Can Learn From The WC So Far

Now look here. It's high time everyone just stopped moaning about what a ridiculously bloated tournament this is. Enough of the barbed comments concerning the idiotic fixture schedule that sees game after game of stultifying tedium played out before we get to a decent clash of heavyweights.

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Yuvraj and Sehwag injured ahead of England clash

Yuvraj picked up a minor injury on his hand after being hit by a delivery from bowler Shanthakumaran Sreesanth, a Reuters cameraman said. The explosive middle-order batsman was seen applying ice to the injury before he aborted the training session to seek medical attention. It was a minor niggle and he should be fit to play on Sunday," an Indian spokesman said. Yuvraj is the latest Indian player to suffer injury woes as openers Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag picked up knee problems at the weekend. 

Sehwag, who skipped practice for the last two days, was back at the nets on Thursday and showed off his batting skills at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium. A billion dreams are resting on the Indian team's shoulders as they seek to become the second Indian team, after 1983's 'Kapil's Devils', to bag the 50-over World Cup.

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Zaheer Khan Bowls the Fastest Ball in the History of cricket

Every one who noticed will  definitely wonder how Zaheer did that. During the First and Revenge World Cup match of India against Bangladesh tigers Zaheer clocked never before speed of 170.4kmph 108.6mph. Really no one noticed it since in that match only for that particular ball the speed tracker displayed that record speed of 108.6mph. Might be speed tracker also excited because of that. Just watch the video proof here:

It Might also be a glitch of the year 2011.

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Atul Sharma the fastest bowler in the world

Who is this guy, heard that he is the fastest bowler on earth. He is an amazing talent with a great physique. He is touted to bowl more than 100mph and he himself say that it wont be a surprise to himself or his coach to see if he bowls at 100mph. He is actually aiming something more than that. He is born on 1, 1989, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh and he plays for rajasthan royals in IPL. But unfortunately he is not in the squad since he is working to make his bowling action more smoother to avoid any problems with the rules when he enters the cricket scene.

Atul has based his cricket training at the University of Potchefstroom and the North West cricket facility, Senwes Park in Potchefstroom. Apparently he's been under training for the last 3 years or so away from the prying eyes of Indian domestic coaches that would 'ruin' him. Guys meant to be extreme, talk of him bowling 90mph off a six pace run up. 

This Video Shows his training session and his ability as more than a fast bowler.

 

Hope India would get a Genuine fast bowler who can consistently bowls 100mph.

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Online tickets for knockouts to be sold via lottery

Online tickets for the knockout rounds of the World Cup will be available via an online lottery system after a heavy load crashed the tournament's official ticketing website on Monday.

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Only 4000 tickets to be sold for World Cup final

Ratnakar Shetty, the World Cup's tournament director, has said that the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai will have all the necessary permissions in place before it hosts the group-stage game between New Zealand and Canada on March 13. The stadium recently failed a fire inspection, raising concerns that it may not be ready in time for the match. It is also scheduled to host the final on April 2.

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Wankhede Stadium gets fire-safety approval

The Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, the venue for the World Cup final, has been given an all clear by the city's Fire Brigade to stage matches during the tournament.

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Focus on batting in India's training

India had a three-hour nets session with the focus mainly on batting at the National Cricket Academy grounds in Bangalore. Sachin Tendulkar, who underwent a MRI Scan at a Mumbai hospital on Sunday after feeling uneasiness in his knees, had light weight training at the gym and didn't bat or bowl.

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