India defeated Pakistan by 29 runs in their World Cup semi-final

India defeated Pakistan by 29 runs in their World Cup semi-final on Wednesday. They will meet Sri Lanka in the final in Mumbai on Saturday.

Left-arm pace bowler Wahab Riaz took 5-46 in India's 260-9 while Sachin Tendulkar, only one short of an unprecedented 100 international centuries, was dropped four times on his way to 85.
Pakistan made 231 all out off 49.5 overs in reply with Misbah-ul-Haq scoring 56 in a late flurry.
* Kamran Akmal struck two confident boundaries off Zaheer Khan's opening over. Zaheer, India's best bowler, was taken off after two overs in which he was unable to get any swing with the new ball. He was replaced by Munaf Patel, who bowled an accurate openng over, but then conceded boundaries in one over from Akmal and Mohammad Hafeez. Zaheer returned in the ninth over and broke through immediately getting Akmal (19) caught at point by Yuvraj Singh. 52/1 off 10 overs
* Hafeez played fluently to reach 43 off 59 balls when he played a reckless paddle sweep to a ball well outside the off-stump from Patel and snicked an easy catch to Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni behind the stumps. 77/2 off 20 overs
* Asad Shafiq struck two fours and gathered a series of singles to reach 30 when he stepped back to cut Yuvraj. The ball hurried through and took his middle stump. In Yuvraj's next over Younus Khan survived a stumping chance but was then caught by Suresh Raina for 13. 112/4 off 27 overs
* Umar Akmal raised Pakistan hopes with 29 from 25 deliveries, including the first two sixes of the match off Yuvraj. Dhoni recalled Harbhajan Singh who responded by bowling Akmal off-stump with the first ball of his new spell. 146/5 off 35 overs
* Abdul Razzaq was bowled off-stump for three by Patel and captain Shahid Afridi, whose batting form in the tournament has been the direct opposite of his splendid bowling, came to the crease. He hit one booming four but was out for 19 caught by Virender Sehwag off Harghajan. 184/7 off 42 overs
* Riaz (8) struck left-arm paceman Ashish Nehra straight to Tendulkar at cover, Umar Gul was lbw to Nehra for two and Misbah was caught by Virat Kohli off Zaheer for 56. 231 all out off 49.5 overs
* Sehwag received a deafening ovation when he drove the third ball of the match from Umar Gul to the cover boundary.
He helped himself to a further three fours through an unprotected leg-side and two through the off in Gul's next over followed by a further brace in the hapless paceman's third.

Riaz replaced Razzaq at the other end and was immediately successful when Sehwag played across his fifth ball and was given out lbw. 49/1 off six overs
* Tendulkar played two exquisite shots off Riaz, turning his wrists late to steer the ball through the leg-side for four then dipping low to carve another boundary through the covers.
With left-hander Gautam Gambhir at the crease, off-spinner Saeed Ajmal was introduced to the attack in the ninth over. 73/1 off 10 overs
* Tendulkar survived appeals off consecutive balls from Ajmal which temporarily silenced the crowd. He was given out lbw for 23 by Ian Gould but appealed against the decision and won a reprieve when the television replay showed the ball would have missed the leg-stump.
Pakistan appealed for a stumping off the next ball and Tendulkar was again reprieved when the replay showed his back foot was grounded. Tendulkar's charmed life continued wheh he was dropped on 27 off Afridi by Misbah-ul-Haq at mid-wicket mistiming a pull. 99/1 off 15 overs

Sri Lanka beat New Zealand & Enters in Final

Sri Lanka reached the World Cup final with a five-wicket win against New Zealand on Tuesday as veteran off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan said goodbye to his home crowd.
Sri Lanka, set a modest 218 to win, wobbled in the middle before reaching their target in 47.5 overs with Tillakaratne Dilshan (73) and skipper Kumar Sangakkara (54) setting the foundation at a packed R. Premadasa stadium.

Muralitharan took his 534th wicket off his last ball on home soil as New Zealand were bowled out for a below-par score of 217 in 48.5 overs.
Muralitharan, who last year retired from Tests after finishing as the highest wicket-taker with 800, now aims to win his second title – after being part of the 1996 Cup winning squad – in Saturday’s final in Mumbai.
Sri Lanka, cruising along at 160-1, lost four wickets in the space of 25 runs to raise fears of an unlikely defeat before Thilan Samaraweera (23 not out) and Angelo Mathews (14 not out) guided them home with an unbroken 35-run stand.
The victory took Sri Lanka into their second successive World Cup final, after finishing runners-up to Australia in 2007, as a capacity 35,000 celebrated with firecrackers.
Sri Lanka play the winners of Wednesday’s semi-final between India and Pakistan in Mohali.

S Africa collapse sends NZ through Semi finals

New Zealand joined India and Pakistan in the World Cup semi-finals as South Africa collapsed when in command of a straightforward chase in Mirpur.

New Zealand batted cautiously, making 221-8 with Jesse Ryder (83) key.
South Africa were excellent in the field and their varied bowling attack kept the Black Caps pinned down.
When they then reached 108-2 after 24 overs the Proteas seemed to be cruising to victory, but they subsided horribly to be all out for 172.
With Jacques Kallis and AB de Villiers batting so calmly just before the mid-point of the South Africa chase and having stayed ahead of an undemanding required run rate, New Zealand skipper Daniel Vettori must have sensed the worst.
But the game changed dramatically when Kallis, on 47, attacked a gentle long-hop from Tim Southee and unerringly picked out Jacob Oram at deep midwicket.
Seven wickets remained and there was absolutely no reason for South Africa to panic - but they did just that, bringing to mind similarly ignominious exits in the 1999 and 2003 World Cups.

India beat Australia by 5 wickets.. goto semi final with pakistan

India booked their place in the World Cup semi-finals after knocking out Australia in a nail-biting clash.
Yuvraj Singh struck a four with 14 balls remaining in a nervy finish to beat the Aussies by five wickets in Ahmedabad.

Pakistan beat West Indies by 10 wickets

Pakistan defeated the West Indies by 10 wickets in the first quarter-final of the cricket World Cup at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium, here today.
Pakistan will next take on the winner of Thursday's quarter-final match between India and Australia.
Brief Scores:
West Indies: 112 all out in 43.3 overs (Shivnarine Chanderpaul 44 not out, Ramnaresh Sarwan 24; Shahid Afridi 4/30).
Pakistan: 113 without loss in 20.5 overs. (Mohammad Hafeez 61 not out, Kamran Akmal 47 not out)

Pakistan beat Australia by 4 wickets to top Group A

Paceman Umar Gul claimed three victims as Pakistan beat Australia by four wickets on Saturday, ending the defending champions´ unbeaten 34-match World Cup run and capturing top spot in Group A.

Gul took 3-30 to help Pakistan dismiss Australia for 176 -- their lowest World Cup total since 1992 -- before Umar Akmal hit an unbeaten 44 to steer Pakistan to victory in 41 overs, finishing top of the pool with 10 points.

Pakistan, champions in 1992, will play the fourth placed team in Group B, while Australia (nine points) finished third behind Sri Lanka (nine points) on run-rate and will play the second placed team from Group B.

Saturday´s loss was Australia´s first in the World Cup since losing to Pakistan by 10 runs in Leeds in 1999.

But the champions, led by spearhead Brett Lee (4-28), fought hard and twice raised hopes of an unlikely win.

Pakistan were cruising along on 98-2 before Lee derailed the chase in his first over of his second spell, dismissing Younis Khan (31) and Misbah-ul-Haq for a first-ball duck -- both caught by keeper Brad Haddin.

Mitchell Johnson removed Asad Shafiq (46) while Jason Krejza tempted skipper Shahid Afridi (two) to hole out in the deep, but Umar and Abdul Razzaq (20 not out) saw their team home with a cautious 36-run stand for the seventh wicket.

Razzaq hit two boundaries off spinner Jason Krejza to complete the victory.

Lee had taken two wickets in his first spell, taking a smart catch off his own bowling to dismiss opener Mohammad Hafeez (five) before trapping Kamran Akmal lbw for 23.

Shafiq, who hit five boundaries during his 81-ball knock, added 53 with Younis and 41 with Umar to keep Pakistan on track.

Earlier, Gul and Razzaq (2-8) exposed the untested Australian batting after Ricky Ponting won the toss and decided to bat on a seemingly flat R. Premadasa stadium pitch.

Haddin (42), Michael Clarke (34) and Steve Smith (25) offered some resistance as Pakistan applied relentless pressure to take the last seven Australian wickets for a mere 59 runs after they were 117-3.

Pakistan, who opened the attack with left-arm spinner Abdur Rehman from one end, forced an early breakthrough when Gul bowled opener Shane Watson with a sharp incoming delivery for nine.

Haddin added 63 for the second wicket with Ponting (19) before Pakistan struck twice, with Hafeez removing the Australian skipper off a miscued cut, caught by wicket-keeper Kamran Akmal.

Umpire Marais Erasmus of South Africa turned down a vociferous appeal before Pakistan successfully overturned the verdict on review to leave Australia 75-2.

Left-arm paceman Wahab Riaz then had Haddin caught behind by Kamran in the 24th over. Haddin hit three boundaries and a six during his 80-ball knock.

Pakistan then took four crucial wickets in the space of just 30 runs to reduce the Australians to 147-7, including wickets of Clarke and Michael Hussey for 12.

Gul removed Krejza and Lee cheaply to wrap the Australian innings for their sixth lowest World Cup total.

South Africa beat Bangladesh by 206 runs

South Africa once against won the match against Bangladesh in World cup group B match...

South africa innings
Kallis - 69
Amla - 51
Plessis - 52
Total 284 / 8 (50 overs)

Bangladesh innings
shakib ul hasan - 30
islam - 8*
Total 78 /10 (28 overs)

Sri Lanka beat New Zealand by 112 runs - Murali rocks

Sri Lanka beat New Zealand by 112 runs in their last Group A match today at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, India.
After winning the toss and deciding to bat Sri Lanka's captain Kumar Sangakkara scored a ton. With a 63 from Mahela Jayawardena and at the tail end Angelo Mathews scoring unbeaten 41 out of 35 balls to set a target of 266 for New Zealand to chase.
Legendary Sri Lankan bowler Muttiah Muralitharan took 4-25 to demolish the black caps to 153.
Sangakkara was the Man-of-the-Match hitting 111 for off of 128 balls after New Zealand bowled off Upul Tharanga and Tillakaratne Dilshan for 3 each.
Today's win will place at the second position of the point table. The final position before the knock-out quarter final round will depend on the Australia-Pakistan match on Saturday.

Ireland beat Netherlands at Eden

Opener P R Sterling scored his maiden ODI century and added 177 runs in first wicket partnership with captain W T S Porterfield (68) guiding Ireland to beat The Netherlands in their last World Cup match from group “B”  at Eden Gardens here
Friday.

Though the match was held for academic interest only as both the teams were
out of contention, it saw more than 600 runs being scored on a pitch which became more flat as the match progressed.

With only ten teams playing in the final round in the next edition of World Cup, it now remains to be seen whether any of these two teams would be seen in action in the tournament proper of the cricket’s mega event in near future. 

While Ireland finished their campaign in the ongoing World Cup earning four points from two victories after six matches, The Netherlands after raising some hope by posting a total of 305 runs, failed to live up to the expectation because of inept bowling and poor fielding. 

They  finished at the bottom of group “B” without securing any point after six outings.

Requiring a total of 306 runs to force a victory, Ireland, which earlier beat England, rose to the occasion with Sterling and Porterfield holding the centrestage. They were  also ably supported by O’Brien brothers  N J  and K J  who remained unbeaten with 57 and 15 respectively to see Ireland through. 

Besides, E C Joyce and  G C Wilson also chipped in with  28 and 27 respectively.

Facing a huge total put up by The Netherlands, Porterfield and Sterling, who opened  Ireland innings,  played a sedate knock each and had no difficulty at all to punish the  ordinary  bowling from The Netherlands.

Of  the two, Sterling, who was adjuged “Man of the Match”, was more aggressive
and plundered runs demolishing opponent bowlers at ease. In the process Sterling earned his maiden century in his One Day International career.

He, however, made his exit scoring only one more run after hitting the ton as he
was caught by Kervezee off Seelaar. He hit ten fours and two sixers off 72 deliveries.

The departure of Sterling saw Porterfield also making his exit being caught by keeper off Cooper after scoring 68 playing 93 balls and hitting 10 bounderies.

Earlier, The Netherlands scored an impressive  305 runs losing all wickets in stipulated 50 overs after they were put to field by Ireland captain Porterfield  who called correctly.

The highlights of  Netherland team’s innings were  105 by Ryan ten Doeschate and  84 by Peter Borren.

Commenting on their performance in this World Cup Netherlands skipper Borren said the experience in this world cup "will help us in future”.

Ireland captain William said: “We have enjoyed  playing  in this sub continent and are happy to win two matches  in this championship."

Australia easy win against Canada

Australia's World Cup honeymoon continued as they extended their unbeaten run to 34 when they trounced Canada by 7 wickets in Bangalore thanks to Shane Watson's 94 runs off 90 balls and a clinical performance from the Aussie pacemen.

But it wasn't smooth sailing for Australia when the Canadian openers took the attack to the bowlers in the first innings. Patel decimated the Australian seam attack smashing 54 runs off just 45 balls. His blitz of an innings, that featured 5 fours and 3 sixes helped Canada reach 82-1 in 11 overs. His first wicket partnership with John Davidson, playing his last ODI, yielded 41 runs in just 3.5 overs before Davidson (14) fell to a slow bouncer from Brett Lee.
Patel was next to go when he was caught in the deep by Mitchell Johnson off Shane Watson. But the Canadian run rate was well above 7 and it looked like Canadian were on their way to set a challenging total. However, Australia bowlers then wrestled back in the game with four wickets in four overs. It started with Bagai, who fell in the twenty-ninth over after a 68 run partnership with Zubin Surkari to a short delivery from Shaun Tait. He was followed by Jimmy Hansra (3), claimed by Jason Krejza, Surkari castled by Tait and Rizwan Cheema who was Lee's second.
After a great start, Canada found themselves reeling at 161 for 6 in the 32nd over. Johnson's lone wicket came next in the form of Nitish Kumar (7) who was dismissed in the thirty-seventh over. A spirited effort from Karl Whatham (18) and Harvir Baidwan (17) ensured Canada posted a 200+ total before Australian fast bowlers came back strongly to wipe out the tail and end the Canadian innings for 211 in the 46th over.
Australia in reply didn't have trouble chasing down the target on a pitch that has yielded big scores in the past. Their openers Shane Watson and Brad Haddin posted a massive 183 first wicket partnership, frustrating the clueless Canadian bowlers. It was not until the twenty-ninth over when Canada got a break through after Haddin nicked an ordinary delivery from Osinde to keeper Baidwan. It was too little too late as Australia needed just 29 runs to win at that stage.
There were some hiccups nevertheless as Australia went on to lose two more wickets before they finally sailed to an easy win. Watson missed his century by 6 runs after he skied one from Baidwan to long-on where Osinde accepted a smart catch. But he still went on win the Man of the Match award. Ricky Ponting's woes with the bat continued as he failed to record a double figure score, falling for 7 to a short ball from Osinde. So it was finally up to Michael Clarke (16 n.o) and Cameron White (4 n.o) who led the Aussies home.
Brief Scores: Australia 212-3 (Watson 94, Haddin 88; Davison 1-29) beat Canada 211 all out in 45.4 overs (Patel 54, Bagai 39; Lee 4-46) by 7 wickets with 15.1 overs left.

South Africa Defeats Ireland by 131 Runs to Reach World Cup Quarterfinals

South Africa beat Ireland by 131 runs to reach the quarterfinals of the Cricket World Cup and eliminate the Irish.
Ireland won the toss and decided to field. JP Duminy’s 99 led the South Africans, who looked in trouble at 95-4 when Jacques Kallis was run out for 19. Duminy combined with Colin Ingram for 87 runs and Johan Botha for 65 to settle the victors, who finished their 50 overs on 272-7.
The Irish couldn’t match South Africa’s batting. They fell to 51-4 at one point, and finished 141 all out after 33.2 overs. Morne Morkel took 3 wickets for 33 runs for the South Africans.
South Africa moves past India to the top of the Group B after today’s win at Eden Gardens in Kolkata, India. South Africa has 8 points from 5 games, with India on 7 points from 5. The West Indies is on 6 after 4 games, tied with Bangladesh, which has played 5 matches. England is in fifth on 5 points after 5 games, and wouldn’t make the quarterfinals. That would send them home along with Ireland, on 2 points, and the Netherlands, which has no points.
The top four teams in each of seven-member groups make the quarterfinals. The event ends April 2.

Pakistan beat Zimbabwe to make World Cup quarters

Pallekele (Sri Lanka), March 14 (IANS) Debutant Asad Shafiq's unbeaten 78 guided Pakistan into the quarterfinals of the World Cup with a seven-wicket win over Zimbabwe in a rain-marred Pool A match at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium here Monday that was decided on the Duckworth-Lewis Method.

Needing a win to secure a spot in the World Cup last eight, Pakistan gave a clinical display to restrict Zimbabwe to 151/7 in 39.4 overs in the rain-hit game before reaching a revised victory target (162 in 38) with 23 balls to spare.

Asad Shafiq, who replaced the injured Umar Akmal in the playing eleven, was the star for Pakistan with an unbeaten 78 off 96 balls. Opener Mohammad Hafeez finally ended his lean run with a 65-ball 49.

This is the first time in almost 12 years that Pakistan has won a World Cup match while chasing. The last they did it was against New Zealand in the 1999 World Cup semifinal at the Old Trafford.

Earlier, a gritty 50 by Craig Ervine enabled Zimbabwe to labour to 151/7 after opting to bat first under overcast conditions here. The Zimbabwe innings was hit twice by showers and eventually ended after 39.4 overs.

Ervine, 25, struck his third One-day International 50 and in the process rescued Zimbabwe from a precarious 43/4 after fast bowler Umar Gul had struck twice to dismiss opener Regis Chakabava (0) and Vusi Sibanda (5).

But the key wicket was that of the in-form Brendan Taylor, who fell to medium-pacer Abdul Razzaq in the very first over of the match with the otherwise blundering wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal taking a simple catch.

The Zimbabwean innings was hit by rain at 96-5 in the 28th over and the match had to be curtailed to a 43 overs a side encounter.

Ervine put on a 41-run partnership with Gregory Lamb (16) for the fifth wicket and was starting to look dangerous when he was cleaned up by off-spinner Mohammad Hafeez.

Skipper Elton Chigumbura, celebrating his 25th birthday, scored an unbeaten 32 off 46 balls and added 48 off 61 balls for the seventh wicket with Prosper Utseya (18). Umar Gul finished with 3-36.

Bangladesh beat Netherlands, stay on quarterfinal

Chittagong, March 14 (IANS) Imrul Kayes stroked an unbeaten 73 as Bangladesh overwhelmed the Netherlands by six wickets in a World Cup Group B match at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium here Monday to stay on course for a quarterfinal berth.
The Netherlands were bowled out for 160 and Bangladesh reached the target in 41.2 overs.

It was a must-win game for Bangladesh, who now need to beat South Africa Saturday to keep their hopes alive for a quarterfinal berth. Bangladesh, who beat England in the last match, are on six points from five matches.

Kayes shared a 92-run stand for the second wicket with Junaid Siddique (35) after pacer Mudassar Bukhari bowled Tamim Iqbal in the very first over for a duck.

Siddique hit four boundaries in his 53-ball 35 and was caught by Pieter Seelaar off Peter Borren in the 21st over.

Shahriar Nafees chipped in with 37 runs off 60 balls with four boundaries.

Bangladesh bowled a disciplined line. Abdur Razzak, who took three wickets for 29 runs in his 10 overs, led the Bangladeshi attack, which dismissed the Dutch in 46.2 overs. Ryan ten Doeschate remained unbeaten on 53 off 71 balls which included two fours and a six.

The Dutch innings was also marked by four run outs.

Electing to bat, the Dutch were off to a slow start with openers Wesley Barresi (10) and Eric Szwarczynski (28) rustling up just 28 runs in 9 overs before the former was trapped leg before by Shakib Al Hasan in the 10th over. Razzak soon got Mudassar Bukhari (6) in the thirteenth over.

Szwarczynski and Tom Cooper (29) were then run out within three overs to further arrest the Dutch progress. Szwarczynski found himself stranded at the non-striker's end while Cooper ended up having a terrible mix up with Doeschate.

Left-arm spinner Suhrawadi Shuvo dismissed Alexei Kervezee (18) to reduce the Dutch to 113/5 in 33.3 overs.

The Dutch had barely recovered from the loss when Razzak struck twice within two balls of the 38th over to send Tom de Grooth (4) and Atse Buurman (0) back to the shed.

Australia beat Kenya by 60 runs

Australia defeated Kenya by 60 runs in a World Cup Group A match at the Chinnaswamy Stadium here Sunday.
Australia amassed 324 for six but Kenya could only reach 264 for six in 50 overs.

Michael Clarke top-scored for Australia with 93 runs while Shaun Tait took two wickets.

Collins Obuya stood till the end in Kenya's chase, making 98 off 129 balls.

New Zealand beat Canada by 97 runs

New Zealand beat Canada by 97 runs in their Group A match of the cricket World Cup here today. Brief Scores: New Zealand: 358 for six in 50 overs (Brendon McCullum 101, Ross Taylor 74; Hairvir Baidwan 3/54, Balaji Rao 2/62) Canada: 261 for nine in 50 overs (Ashish Bagai 84, Jimmy Hansra 70 not out, Jacob Oram 3/47, Kyle Mills 2/2).

Earlier, New Zealand made 358 for 6 against Canada in their World Cup Group A match at the Wankhede stadium on Sunday where a win will guarantee them a quarter-final place.
Earlier, Canada captain Ashish Bagai won the toss and elected to field first in the Group A World Cup tie against New Zealand at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday.
New Zealand were without their captain Daniel Vettori who is injured and the team id being led by vice captain Ross Taylor. Vettori was replaced by middle order batsman and part time spinner Kane Williamson.
Canada omitted Parth Desai, Tyson Gordon, Nitish Kumar and Karl Whatham from their playing eleven.
Teams: New Zealand: Ross Taylor (capt), Martin Guptill, Brendon McCullum, James Franklin, Nathan McCullum, Kyle Mills, Jacob Oram, Scott Styris, Jesse Ryder, Tim Southee and Kane Williamson.
Canada: Ashish Bagai (capt), Rizwan Cheema, Harvir Baidwan, Amarbir Hansra, W Balaji Rao, John Davison, Ruvindu Gunasekara,  Khurram Chohan, Henry Osinde, Hiral Patel and Zubin Sarkari.

South Africa beat India by 3 wickets

Needing 13 to win in the last over off seamer Ashish Nehra, South Africa found an unlikely star in Robin Peterson who plundered 16 runs off the first four balls to help his side achieve a 297-run target.
India looked set to post a mammoth total when they reached 267-1 following Sachin Tendulkar's brilliant 111 for his 48th one-day hundred, but lost their last nine wickets for just 29 runs in nine overs to be bowled out for 296.

Man of the match Steyn (5-50) played a key role in his team's fightback to bag his maiden five-wicket haul in one-day internationals.
India, who had been hoping to wrap up a quarter-final place, still top Group B with seven points from five matches.
They are followed by West Indies (6/4), South Africa (6/4), England (5/5) and Bangladesh (4/4) as the pool heads for a thrilling conclusion in the final week of first round games.

Bangladesh beat England in thriller

Bangladesh players go into Friday's World Cup group match against England trying to ignore the pressure created by the millions of fans they have so far disappointed.

Bangladesh's status as co-host created high hopes of success in the impoverished country but angry fans turned on the players after a crushing nine-wicket loss to the West Indies derailed the attempt to reach the quarterfinals.

Batsman Junaid Siddique says the team can do much better and that "in three years of my cricket career, it was the worst match."

"It is very important for us," Siddique said. "We know it was a very bad match. In three years of my cricket career, it was the worst match. We know that."

Bangladesh scored just 58 against the West Indies for the fourth-lowest total in World Cup history. Fans subsequently pelted the winners' team bus with stones and attacked captain Shakib Al Hasan's house.

Bangladesh must now beat England in Chittagong to have any real hope of advancing from Group B.

But if Siddique needs any inspiration, he need only look to the first test against England in Chittagong last year.

The batsman, who has made good starts to innings against India and the West Indies but has just 65 runs from three World Cup knocks, hit a career-best 106 at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium.

"Test matches and one-day are different scenarios," Siddique said. "It depends upon the match. If I am thinking too much, I know I had a couple of matches where I am not getting big scores. I have it in my mind."

After their shock loss to Ireland, England beat South Africa by six runs last time out to put themselves in a strong position. Victory on Friday would assure them of progress with three wins and a tie after five of six matches, but they are without the injured Stuart Broad and Kevin Pietersen.

The pair were ruled out of the rest of the tournament this week because of a side strain and hernia problem respectively. The former Ireland international Eoin Morgan has replaced batting star Pietersen and looks set to play just three days after arriving.

But Morgan said England can look to their last two victorious Ashes series for evidence that they know how to win without key players. Pietersen missed the last three Ashes Tests in 2009 and Broad sat out the last three with a different side strain in the most recent series that concluded in January.

"To lose two world-class players in Kevin and Stuart is going to be a big loss," Morgan said. "But in the past, as we have seen maybe in the Ashes series in recent times, guys have come in and filled other guys' places, done very well and we have gone on to do exceptionally well.

"So the guys who do come in will be able to fill their boots."

Morgan is likely to bat at No. 5, which could see Ravi Bopara — man of the match against South Africa — promoted to opener in place of Pietersen. Ajmal Shahzad or Chris Tremlett, Broad's replacement, could take the vacant pace spot.

Broad's injury came at an unfortunate time for England since the bowling attack had just clicked for the first time in the tournament, successfully defending 171 against South Africa on a crumbling Chennai wicket.

But Morgan's arrival could bolster an already in-form batting lineup that racked up 967 runs in its first three games.

"I have been very successful at number five in the past and it is my favorite position to bat," Morgan said. "I find coming in the middle overs — and being a left hander — and playing spin OK is one of the better parts of my game."

Siddique said Bangladesh need to rediscover their own batting spark to have any chance of progress. The team opened with 283-9 in losing to India but then made 205 to beat Ireland and just 58 against the West Indies.

"A top order bat always needs big scores and that's why I'm working so hard in the nets," Siddique said. "I can talk too much and not do it out there. I need to prove it there what I have got."

West Indies beat Ireland by 44 runs

With other minnows failing to trounce a major team in this year's Cricket World Cup, Ireland have earned themselves the title of giant killers after beating England in their second match. Ireland not only beat England by 3 wickets, they also managed to chase down a massive total of 328 to victory. And in their most anticipated match against India at Bangalore last Sunday, Ireland came close to causing another major upset by running close to the mighty Men in Blue.
West Indies, on the other hand, have made their intentions clear in this tournament. They have played three games, lost one and won two. Their only loss came against a strong side, South Africa. But what they are mostly remembered for so far is their merciless thrashing of Bangladesh in their last game which they won by 9 wickets with 226 balls to spare.
As the two teams size up each other at Mohali on March 11, an aura of respect will be in the air but winning will be their only agenda. West Indies knows they have stronger opponents to face as the league stage progresses and Ireland will realize that losing this one will almost certainly water down their heroic performances in the tournament so far and bring them closer to exit.
The teams
Though West Indies have been ravaged by injuries especially the last one involving Dwayne Bravo, they have kept their little woes aside to perform impressively in the tournament. The squad is in sublime form. They can afford to smile as long as their top bowlers Kemar Roach, Sulieman Benn and Darren Sammy continue doing what they have done so far.
West Indies' last game against Bangladesh was rightfully won by the bowlers. However, their batting lineup is also very good. Gayle had a forgettable day against South Africa but Bangladesh bowlers had no answers to his flawless batting. He almost singlehandedly achieved the small target to finish with a strike rate of 102. If he can continue in the same vein and gets some support from the likes of Darren Bravo, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Kieron Pollard, surely, Ireland will need another magical performance to bring down the men from the Caribbean.
The Irish have proved everyone wrong with their performances. All they need is a bit of consistency in their top order batters and strong support from their middle order to keep them in the game. William Porterfield failed against England but came strong against India. Kevin O'Brien was magnificent against England, but came short against India. Instead of creating a hero in every game, Ireland needs a good performance from the team as a wole to consistently win their following matches.
Ireland bowlers too have lacked consistency. Boyd Ranking has failed to get wickets while Mooney was completely out of form against India. Only Trent Johnson has maintained some form but he will need support from others like Paul Stirling, George Dockrell and the rest.
The pitch
The Mohali pitch promises runs but the quick bowlers will get assitance unlike many other pitches in India that have strongly favored spinners. This being the case, West Indies seem to have a strong squad of quickies and Ireland needs to up their game in that department.
Players to watch
Roach is on the roll and will be keen to have a go at the Irish at Mohali. Kevin O'Brien was upset after getting out early against India and will be looking to make amends when he faces the West Indians.
Who win?
From the way things have gone so far, you can't pick a favourite. But given their recent form and potent pace attack, West Indies surely have an edge over the Irish.

Sri Lanka beat Zimbabwe by 139 runs

Sri Lanka rode on a record-breaking opening stand between Upul Tharanga and Tillakaratne Dilshan to beat Zimbabwe by 139 runs and reach the World Cup quarter-finals Thursday.

Tharanga (133) and Dilshan (144) put on 282 for the first wicket, beating the previous World Cup best of 194 made by Pakistan's Saeed Anwar and Wajahatullah Wasti against New Zealand in 1999.

India beat Netherlands by 5 wickets to move into World Cup quarter-finals

India overcame mid-innings hiccups to beat the Netherlands by five wickets in a Group B match on Wednesday to maintain their unbeaten run in the World Cup. Chasing 190, Sachin Tendulkar (27) and Virender Sehwag (39) provided a brisk start before India lost five wickets and it took Yuvraj Singh's mature 51 not out to steer them home in 36.3 overs.
Opting to bat first, the Netherlands had earlier put 189 runs on boards before losing all their wickets in 46.4 overs at the near-capacity Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium.
Eric Szwarczynski (28) and Wesley Barresi (26) provided a sedate 56-run opening stand and down the order, captain Peter Borren (38 off 36 balls) came up with a desperate knock to push the score but the 200-mark eventually eluded them.

NZ beat Pakistan by 110 runs - TAYLOR ROCKS

Cricket: Ross Taylor scored a stunning 131 not out to help New Zealand beat Pakistan by 110 runs and take over the lead of Group A at the Cricket World Cup.
Taylor thumped eight fours and seven sixes in his unbeaten knock scored off 124 balls in the Group A match, as New Zealand reached 302-7 from their 50 overs.

In response, Pakistan struggled from the off and at one stage were 66-6 and then 125-8. But Abdul Razzaq, in at No 8, gave more than a modicum of respectability to Pakistan with a defiant 62 in a ninth wicket partnership of 66 with Umur Gul (34 not out).
Pakistan were eventually all out for 192.

CANADA beat Kenya by 5 wickets

Canada defeated Kenya by five wickets in a World Cup Group A match at the Feroz Shah Kotla stadium on Monday.

Brief scores

Kenya 198 (Tanmay Mishra 51, Thomas Odoyo 51; Henry Osinde 4-26) v Canada 199-5 in 45.3 overs (Jimmy Hansra 70, Asish Bagai 64 not out)

Canada won by five wickets.

India beat Ireland by 5 wickets - Yuvraj rocks

Yuvraj Singh's superb all-round performance helped India beat Ireland by five wickets in their third World Cup encounter at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore on Sunday (March 6). Chasing a modest total of 207, India reached the target in 46 overs. Yuvraj remained not out on 50 after having taken five for 31 with the ball.

Brief Scores:
Ireland 207 in 47.5 overs (William Porterfield 75, Niall O'Brien 46, Yuvraj Singh 5/31, Zaheer Khan 3/30)

India 210 for five in 46 overs (Yuvraj Singh 50 not out, Virat Kohli 38, Yusuf Pathan 30 not out)

England Beat South Africa by 6 runs THRILLER MATCH

England snatched victory from the jaws of defeat with a six-run World Cup win over South Africa in their Group B clash at Chennai's M.A. Chidambaram Stadium on Sunday.
England were bowled out for 171 in 45.4 overs after captain Andrew Strauss won the toss and elected to bat.
South Africa appeared to be coasting in reply at 124-3, but lost four wickets for three runs in five overs.
Fast bowler Stuart Broad then took two wickets in four balls to finish with figures of 4-15 as South Africa fell for 165 with 14 balls left.
An eighth victory in nine completed matches against South Africa should help England take one of the four quarter-final berths in Group B.
Reflecting on the victory - and its effect on England's campaign - Strauss said: "The guys showed a lot of fight and we had to respond well in the second innings. This puts us back on track in the World Cup and it couldn't come a day too soon."
"We're delighted with the win and we have high hopes of achieving a great thing. We still need to learn some lessons, but we got away with a win and a win is all you need to kickstart things and get it going," he added.
With three games remaining, South Africa, too, are almost certain to advance.

Sri Lanka vs Australia match abandoned

Sri Lanka - Sri Lanka's World Cup match against defending champion Australia was abandoned Saturday due to heavy rain.

Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara hit an unbeaten 73 to take the tournament co-host to 146-3 before rain forced players off the pitch in the Group A match at Colombo's R. Premadasa Stadium.

However, there was no let up in the rain, forcing match officials to call off the game and declare a 'no result'. With no reserve day allocated in case of bad weather, both teams earned a point each.

Australia now has five points in the group, after comfortably winning its two previous matches against Zimbabwe and New Zealand. Sri Lanka also has five after winning two matches — against Canada and Kenya — and losing to Pakistan in its three previous games.

"I think it might have been a very good game of cricket," Australian captain Ricky Ponting told reporters.

"Sangakkara played particularly well. I think at the best stage of the game, 30 odd overs — 140 runs on the board, we thought of making another breakthrough."

Sangakkara also felt the game was reaching a turning point.

"The game was really well poised at that time, 18 overs to go we were realistically looking at anything close to 250 or maybe even slightly above. It could have been a great game of cricket had it continued," he said.

"We'd had quite lot of rain over the last few months and unfortunately today was the first time it really rained during the World Cup. Everyone was expecting to see a great game of cricket out there, so it's disappointing not just for the players but mostly for the spectators as well."

West Indies win by 9 wickets against Bangladesh

West Indies beat Bangladesh by nine wickets in their World Cup Group B match here today.
bowling display by West Indies and were bowled out for a meagre 58 in their World Cup Group B match here today.

Fast bowler Kemar Roach (3/19), Darren Sammy (3/21) and Sulieman Benn (4/18) produced a lethal cocktail of pace and spin to bowl out Bangladesh for the lowest total of the 2011 World Cup in just 18.5 overs.
Electing to bat first, Bangladesh batting lineup fell like a house of card as beside Junaid Siddique (25) and Mohammad Ashraful (11) none of the batsmen could even reach double figures and were bundled out for the fourth lowest total in World Cup history.
A pall of gloom descended on the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium as wickets kept tumbling in the face of some disciplined bowling produced by West Indies.
Opening the innings, Tamim Iqbal failed to give Bangladesh any kind of start as he was caught for a naught in the third ball of the innings when he nicked one from Roach to second slip.

New Zealand beat Zimbabwe by 10 wickets

The New Zealand team trounced Zimbabwe by 10 wickets to register an impressive win against the minnows.
Openers, Martin Guptill, and, Brendon McCullum, did not put a foot wrong as the Kiwis chased down a target of 162 in just 33.3 overs.
Earlier in the day, Zimbabwe had won the toss and elected to bat on a bright sunny morning in Ahmedabad but they failed to make use of good batting conditions and got bundled out without playing their full quota of overs.
The New Zealand team did more than a commendable job of chasing a below par total posted by the Zimbabwe team. Guptill and McCullum started the innings very confidently and ended the match on a high, with both of them scoring half centuries.
The opening stand was the highest for the Black Caps in World Cups and also for any team in this tournament so far.
Guptill helped himself to 86 not out with seven fours and 2 sixes. His innings was an excellent mix of aggression and caution. McCullum too played a remarkable knock of 76 runs. He also played with controlled aggression, as he helped himself to six fours and two sixes.
The bowling by the Zimbabweans was not good enough to trouble the Kiwi batsmen. The bowlers toiled hard but without any success as all of them remained wicket-less by the innings end. Tinashe Panyangara was the most expensive of the lot as he gave 42 runs from 5.3 overs.
The New Zealand opener, Guptill, won the man of the match of the award for his match winning knock.
The Black Caps and Zimbabwe went into this Group A match with two points each and New Zealand placed one spot higher because of a superior run rate.
Zimbabwe have now lost two of their three matches and the chances of making the second round have diminished quite significantly. They take on Sri Lanka in their fourth match next week.
New Zealand will take a lot of confidence from this comprehensive win and go into their next match against group leaders Pakistan with high hopes of securing another victory. 

Pakistan beat Canada by 46 runs - Afridi on fire

COLOMBO: Skipper Shahid Afridi led from the front with a scintillating five-wicket haul to help Pakistan notch up a 46-run victory over Canada in a Group A World Cup match on Thursday.

Inspired by Afridi's exploits, Pakistan shot out Canada for 138 in 42.5 overs after folding for a modest 184 batting first at the R Premadasa stadium.

Afridi, who grabbed 5/16 and 4/34 against Kenya and Sri Lanka respectively in their last two matches, became the first bowler to take three consecutive four-wicket hauls in World Cup history.

South Africa beat Netherland by 231 runs

South Africa thrashed Netherlands by 231 runs in a Group B match to record their second successive victory in the World Cup on Thursday.
Put into bat, Hashim Amla (113) and AB de Villiers (134) added a record 221-run third wicket stand while Jean Paul Duminy (40) chipped in with a 15-ball cameo to propel South Africa to a commanding 351 for five at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium.
South African bowlers removed the Dutch top half as they reached 100 and bowled them out for 120 in 34.5 overs. Barring Wesley Barresi (44) none of them could show some resistance with the bat.
South Africa made a slow start after they had slumped to 58-2 in the 16th over. But De Villiers hit his second successive century in the tournament and Amla his eighth overall in the 50-overs format to bail them out.
Amla hit eight fours in his 130-ball knock. De Villiers was more fluent in his brisk 98-ball innings that included 13 fours and four sixes.

Ireland beat England by 3 wickets - K o'brien Rocks

Kevin O'Brien hit a sensational 113 off 63 balls as Ireland pulled off one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history with a three-wicket win over England.
Looking down and out at 5-111 in reply to England's 8-327, O'Brien clubbed six sixes and 13 fours to power his side to victory, the winning runs coming off the first ball of the final over.
O'Brien's knock smashed Australian Matthew Hayden's record for the quickest World Cup century, the Irishman run out in the penultimate over.
His sixth-wicket stand of 162 with Alex Cusack effectively clinched the Group B match in a win even more memorable than Ireland's victory against Pakistan at the last World Cup.
England had a woeful night in the field with four dropped catches and must now regroup for Sunday's match with in-form South Africa.
Scores: England 8-327 (J Trott 92, I Bell 81; J Mooney 4-63); Ireland 7-329 (K O'Brien 113, A Cusack 47; G Swann 3-47).

Malika Rocks - Srilanka easily beat Kenya

SL vs Ken live cricket score, Can Sri Lanka beat Kenya easily as Pakistan and New Zealand did. Kenya have scored 128 runs for the loss of five wickets after 41 overs

 Kenya has been able to come up with one of the best shows at the world cup so far here in Colombo, during its 2011 edition. Playing against the co-hosts Sri lanka, the Kenyan cricket team has managed to score 128 runs for the loss of five wickets at the end of 4 overs.

Two Kenyan batsmen Co Obuya and Do Obuya have been able to score half centuries against the Lankans shattering Lankan hope of wrapping up the match as early as possible.

The two batted very well despite one of the best bowling attack against them trying their best to send them back to the pavilion. After two early success in the form of two openers’ wickets, Lankans were hoping that they can do better than New Zealand bowlers who had wrapped up the inning for just 69 runs.

Malinga who returned to his squad today has been impressive taking two wickets. One wicket each has been scalped by KKulasekra, Mendis and Muralithanr.

After 41 overs they Kenyan score is 128 runs for the loss of five wickets.

Kenya in 2003 had pulled off one of the biggest shocks in World Cup history when they beat 1996 champions Sri Lanka by 53 runs.

Off-spinner Collins Obuya had taken five wickets as they fought back to end Sri Lanka's unbeaten streak in that World Cup Cricket. The dramatic triumph at the Nairobi Gymkhana was set up by Obuya who ripped the heart out of the Sri Lankan batting line-up, finishing with figures of 5-24 off 10 overs.