Cricket Blog

Pakistan have announced the ODI squad for the tour to India and named the following 16 players:

1. Shoaib Malik (capt)
2. Younis Khan
3. Mohammad Yousuf
4. Shahid Afridi
5. Misbah-ul-Haq
6. Kamran Akmal (wk)
7. Salman Butt
8. Yasir Hameed
9. Imran Nazir
10. Fawad Alam
11. Abdur Rehman
12. Shoaib Akhtar
13. Mohammad Asif
14. Umar Gul
15. Sohail Tanvir
16. Iftikhar Anjum

I would suggest reading this article where the author has discussed in detail about each player. Case in point here is the warning for Shoaib Akhtar that this is his last chance to prove his worth, both on the field and off.

Click here for the full schedule of the tour and tips on how to watch live telecast for free.

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More big names join IPL, the official league of the BCCI. The list now includes the following star players:

• Shaun Pollock - South Africa
• Jacob Oram - New Zealand
• Shoaib Akhtar - Pakistan
• Shane Warne - Australia
• Glenn McGrath - Australia
• Daniel Vettori - New Zealand
• Stephen Fleming - New Zealand
• Mahela Jayawardene - Sri Lanka
• Sanath Jayasuriya - Sri Lanka
• Graeme Smith - South Africa
• Mohammad Yousuf - Pakistan
• Brendan McCullum - New Zealand
• Shoaib Malik - Pakistan
• Younis Khan - Pakistan
• Mohammad Asif - Pakistan

The IPL boasts prize money of some $3 million and was created by the Indian cricket board to counter an unofficial version - the Indian Cricket League (ICL) - planned from next month.

The first edition of the IPL will feature eight franchise teams, with plans to extend that to 16 by 2010.

Each franchise will have a squad of 16 players to be comprised of local players, juniors, members of the Indian national squad and overseas professionals.

More pressure now on the ICL to compete with the IPL as a lot of big names have started to snub it off. But this was always going to happen. The ICL management should have worked with the BCCI rather than go against it. With the financial muscle behind the Indian board, the ICL will not have a long life, unfortunately.

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In the only game of the day, Pakistan overcame Sri Lanka by a comfortable 33 runs. Fifties from Shoaib Malik and Younis Khan set the win for the men in green. Sri Lanka won the toss and Mahela Jayawardene put Pakistan in first. The top order never really got going and soon Pakistan were 33-3 thanks to Dilhara Fernando and the ever-dependable Chaminda Vaas. It was then that Shoaib Malik joined ex-skipper Younis Khan (man of the match) and the two started rebuilding Pakistan’s innings.

Malik had to play a captain’s knock here and with Younis Khan, the two piled on 101 in only 9.1 overs. Both fell in quick succession to Malinga, but the damage had been done. The stage was once again setup for Afridi fireworks and once again he disappointed. Afridi got 17 runs from 9 balls and it is quite true, that even though Twenty20 is all about throwing your bat, it still needs to be done with a balanced head. And that I think is the reason why Afridi, Luke Wright, Pietersen and others are failing regularly.

Jayasuriya ended up with 64 runs from his four overs with no wickets. He was really taken apart by the Pakistani batsmen. Even Malinga, who got 3 wickets, went for 43 runs from his four overs. Despite stupendous bowling from Fernando (4-1-17-2) and Vaas (4-0-23-1), Sri Lanka could not keep the pressure on Pakistan. And some late hitting from Misbah-ul-haq saw Pakistan gain a massive 189 runs for the loss of six wickets.

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Hahahahaha. I can’t believe I missed the ending. What a bloody match, as if India-Pakistan are any different. This is what Twenty20 is all about, and I have to say One Day Internationals, better watch out. So far the tournament has been spectacular. Three matches every day, and to be quite honest, this is getting difficult for me to review every single match, but I will try my best.

Pakistan won the toss and put India in to bat. The weather was overcast and it would rain later on. Regardless, India started off disastrously and had lost their top order in the blink of an eye thanks to some sensational bowling from Mohammad Asif. The conditions were favoring the bowlers, and Asif made full use of it as he exposed the Indian batting by ripping through the top order. The score read 36-4 from only 6.4 overs. Robin Uthappa was joined by new skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Together to two put on a much needed 46 run partnership.

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Shoaib Akhtar gives his press conference after being sent back home to Pakistan from South Africa:

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