Shahid Khan Afridi (Urdu: صاحبزادہ محمد شاہد خان آفریدی)

Sahibzada Mohammad Shahid Khan Afridi (Urdu: صاحبزادہ محمد شاہد خان آفریدی) (born 1 March 1980 in Khyber Agency of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, Pakistan[2]), popularly known as Shahid Afridi (Pashto: شاهد ‏افریدی) is a Pakistani cricketer and current One Day International (ODI) and Twenty20 captain of the Pakistani national team in the international circuit. He made his ODI debut on 2 October 1996 against Kenya and his Test debut on 22 October 1998 against Australia.

He is known for his aggressive batting style, and holds the record for the fastest ODI century which he made in his first international innings, as well as scoring 32 runs in a single over, the second highest scoring over ever in an ODI.[3] He also holds the distinction of having hit the most number of sixes in the history of ODI cricket.[4] Afridi considers himself a better bowler than batsman, and has taken 48 Test wickets and over 300 in ODIs. Currently Afridi is the leading wicket taker in the Twenty20 format taking 53 wickets from 41 matches.

In June 2009 Afridi took over the Twenty20 captaincy from Younus Khan, and was later appointed ODI captain for the 2010 Asia Cup. In his first match as ODI captain against Sri Lanka he scored a century however Pakistan still lost by 16 runs. He then also took over the Test captaincy but resigned after one match in charge citing lack of form and ability to play Test cricket; at the same time he announced his retirement from Tests. He retained the captaincy in limited-overs form of the game and led the team in the 2011 World Cup. Amongst his highlights while captaining Pakistan include leading the team to their first ODI series win in two-years, against New Zealand.

Afridi is from the Afridi tribe of the Khyber Agency in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas and hails from a Pashtun family.[2] He is married and has two daughters, Aqsa and Ansha.[5]
International career

In October 1996 at the age of sixteen Afridi was drafted into the ODI team during the four-nation Sameer Cup 1996–97 as a leg spinner as a replacement for the injured Mushtaq Ahmed.[6] He made his debut on 2 October against Kenya, however he didn't bat and went wicketless.[7] In the next match against Sri Lanka, Afridi batted at number three in the role of a pinch-hitter. In his first international innings, Afridi broke the record for fastest century in ODI cricket, reaching his hundred from 37 balls. The eleven sixes he struck also equalled the record for most in an ODI innings.[8][nb 1] Aged 16 years and 217 days, Afridi became the youngest player to score an ODI century.[10] Pakistan posted a total of 371, at the time the second-highest in ODIs, and won by 82 runs; Afridi was named man of the match.[8]

Two years after appearing on the international scene, Afridi made his Test debut in the third game of a three-match series against Australia on 22 October 1998.[11] By this point he had already played 66 ODIs, at the time a record before playing Tests.[12] He opened the batting, making scores of 10 and 6, and took five wickets in the first innings.[11] He played his second Test the following January during Pakistan's tour of India; it was the first Test between the two countries since 1990.[13] Again opening the batting, Afridi scored his maiden Test century, scoring 141 runs from 191 balls. In the same match he also claimed three wickets for 54 runs.[14] After winning the first match by 12 runs, Pakistan lost the second to draw the series.[15]

In 2001, Afridi signed a contract to represent Leicestershire. In five first-class matches he scored 295 runs at an average of 42.14, including a highest score of 164,[16] and took 11 wickets at an average of 46.45;[17] Afridi also played 11 one day matches for the club, scoring 481 runs at an average of 40.08[18] and taking 18 wickets at 24.04.[19] His highest score of 95 came from 58 balls in a semi-final of the C&G Trophy to help Leicestershire beat Lancashire by seven wickets.[20] Derbyshire County Cricket Club signed Afridi to play for them in the first two months of the 2003 English cricket season.[21] In June 2004 Afridi signed with English county side Kent to play for them in three Twenty20 matches and one Totesport League match.[22]
An innings-by-innings breakdown of Afridi's Test match batting career up to 30 December 2007, showing runs scored (red bars) and the average of the last ten innings (blue line).

Afridi made his presence felt in the third Test against India in March 2005, scoring a quick-fire second-innings half-century and taking five wickets in the match (including Tendulkar twice) to help Pakistan to win the game and register a series draw.[23] In April Afridi struck what at the time was the equal second-fastest century in ODIs; he reached 100 off 45 deliveries against India, sharing the record with West Indian Brian Lara.[24] Afridi was more consistent with his batting and bowling throughout 2005, starting with the tours of India and West Indies and through to the England tour. The Pakistani coach Bob Woolmer helped Afridi to reach a fuller potential by improving his shot selection and giving him free rein over his batting attitude.

On 21 November 2005, Shahid Afridi was banned for a Test match and two ODIs for deliberately damaging the pitch in the second match of the three-Test series against England. TV cameras pictured him scraping his boots on the pitch scuffing the surface when play was held up after a gas canister exploded. Afridi later pleaded guilty to a level three breach of the ICC code of conduct relating to the spirit of the game. Inquiries were made and Afridi's antics came into view. He was investigated and banned after the day's play, along with receiving a huge amount of criticism from the cricketing world for bringing the game into disrepute. Match referee Roshan Mahanama said: "This ban should serve as a message to players that this type of behaviour is not allowed." On this Afridi accepted his fault and said that a "senior player like me should set good examples to others because they see us to learn." His behaviour was also condemned by the Pakistan Cricket Board.[25][26][27]

On 12 April 2006, Afridi announced a temporary retirement from Test cricket so that he could concentrate on ODIs, with a particular focus on the 2007 World Cup, and to spend more time with his family. He said he would consider reversing his decision after the World Cup. Afridi had played ten Tests since being recalled to the side in January 2005, averaging 47.44 with the bat including four centuries.[28] However, on 27 April he reversed his decision, saying that "[Woolmer] told me that I am one of the main players in the team and squad and that Pakistan really needed me".[29] Before Pakistan toured England in July to September, Afridi played for Ireland as an overseas player in the C&G Trophy.[29] In six matches, he scored 128 runs[30] and took seven wickets.[31] England won the four-match Test series 3–0;[32] Afridi played two matches, scoring 49 runs[33] and took three wickets.[34] It was the last Test cricket Afridi played until 2010.[35]

Afridi was charged on 8 February 2007 of bringing the game into disrepute after he was seen on camera thrusting his bat at a spectator who swore at him on his way up the steps after being dismissed. Afridi was given a four-game ODI suspension, the minimum possible ban for such an offence, meaning that he would miss Pakistan's first two 2007 World Cup matches. The PCB and Afridi chose not to appeal the ban, despite feeling that the punishment was excessively harsh.[36]

In the 2007 World Twenty20, he performed poorly with the bat but brilliantly with the ball, earning the Man of the Series award, though he failed to take a wicket in the final and was out for a golden duck.But in the next ICC Twenty20 World Cup, held in 2009 Afridi performed brilliantly in the series scoring 50 runs in the semi-final and 54 in the final and leading his team to victory.
Ascending to the captaincy (2009–2011)

Shortly after Pakistan won the 2009 ICC World Twenty20 the captain Younis Khan announced his retirement from Twenty20 cricket the Pakistan Cricket Board subsequently announced that Shahid Afridi had taken over the Twenty20 captaincy; the appointment was initially for one match, with a decision on the permanent replacement to be made later.[37] On 31 January 2010, Afridi was caught on camera biting into the ball towards the end of the 5th Commonwealth Bank ODI series in Australia.[38] Later Afridi pleaded guilty to ball tampering and he was banned from two Twenty20 internationals.[39]

In March 2010 the board announced that Shahid Afridi had been appointed ODI captain in place of the sacked Mohammad Yousuf he led Pakistan in the 2010 Asia Cup and during his first three matches as ODI captain he scored two centuries against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh he finished as the tournaments highest runscorer with 384 runs from 3 matches.

On 25 May 2010, Afridi was appointed captain of the national team in all three formats, after he announced his return to Test cricket.[40] In July 2010, Afridi captained Pakistan in the first Test of the series at Lord's against England. He scored 31 off 15 deliveries in the first innings and 2 in the second but was dismissed succumbing to rash strokes in both the innings. After the match, he announced retirement from Test cricket again citing lack of temperament for Test cricket as the reason.[41] Afridi was officially removed from the Test squad on the England tour, but after the spot-fixing scandal saw Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Amir and Test captain Salman Butt temporarily suspended by the International Cricket Council, he stated that he might return to Test cricket if "the team needs it".[42] According a representative of Afridi, he had voiced his concerns about Mazhar Majeed – who had approached Pakistan's players – in June.[43] Majeed also confirmed that he approached Afridi, Abdul Razzaq, Younis Khan and Saeed Ajmal but all off them refused to be affiliated with him of his fixing menace. Worth mentioning is that the four names given above were not associated in the original scandal and that no disciplinary action have been taken against them by the sports governing body the International Cricket Council.[44]

In October, Afridi stated in an interview with Express News that the squad had been selected without his consultation; the PCB gave him an official warning for the interview.[45] Coach Waqar Younis also expressed his unhappiness at having no input in selection, however Mohsin Khan, the chief selector, defended the decision, stating "it is not written down in the PCB constitution that the coach and captain(s) must have a say in the selection of any squad".[46] Pakistan lost the series 3-2.

The team toured New Zealand between December 2010 and February 2011 for two Tests, six ODIs, and three T20Is. Afridi stated just before the series that he had been working on honing his batting technique and that to address Pakistan's opening troubles he would open in Twenty20 Internationals in the future[47] During the T20Is, he became the first cricketer to reach 50 international wickets in the format when he had Nathan McCullum trapped leg-before.

When Pakistan's squad for the 2011 World Cup was announced, no captain was named; Afridi, the incumbent ODI captain and Misbah-ul-Haq, the Test captain, were the front runners for the position.[48] Pakistan lost the first match against New Zealand by 8-wickets, the second match got rained out and in the third Mohammad Hafeez scored a century and Afridi scored a blistering 65 from just 25 balls. The following match was a tight game but Pakistan prevailed by two-wickets thanks to three boundaries from Sohail Tanvir, the match was setup by a 93 not out from Misbah-ul-Haq. The fifth ODI was won for Pakistan by 43 runs courtesy of a maiden ODI-century from Ahmed Shehzad. Afridi helped in the lower order by scoring 24 and taking two crucial top order wickets to help guide Pakistan to a 43-run victory and their first ODI series win in two years[49]

After gaining victory as a captain against New Zealand, the PCB declared Shahid Afridi as Pakistan's captain for the 2011 World Cup. In Pakistan's opening match of the tournament, Afridi took 5 wickets for 16 runs against Kenya, giving him the best bowling figures by a Pakistan bowler in a World Cup.[50] In the following match against Sri Lanka, which Pakistan won, Afridi claimed for more wickets to help his side to victory and became the second player to have scored 4,000 runs and taken 300 wickets in ODIs.[51][nb 2] He claimed 17 wickets from 6 matches in the first round of the Cup, including a five-wicket haul against Canada,[52] as Pakistan finished top of their group and progressed to the next stage.[53] Pakistan beat West Indies in the quarter-final by ten wickets, with Afridi taking four wickets.[54] Pakistan were knocked out of the semi-finals in a 29-run defeat to India.[55] Afridi was the tournament's joint-leading wicket-taker with 21 wickets, level with India's Zaheer Khan.[56]
Playing style
Batting

His general style of batting is very aggressive and attack oriented and has earned him the nickname "Boom Boom Afridi". Moreover, out of the seven fastest ODI centuries of all time, Afridi has produced three of them.[57] As of 27 February 2011, he has an ODI strike rate of 113.83 runs per 100 balls, the third highest in the game's history.[58] This attitude has been transferred to Test cricket as well, with Afridi scoring at a relatively high strike rate of 86.13. He has an approach to batting that can change the tempo of a game and inspire the mood of an audience, as shown when a mass exodus of spectators occurred in Pakistan in late 2005 following his dismissal from the crease.

He hits many sixes long and high, favouring straight down the ground or over midwicket and hit the longest ever six in the history of ODIs against Australia. His trademark shot is a cross-batted flick to the leg-side to a ball outside off stump.[59] However, his aggressive style increases his risk of getting out and he is one of the most inconsistent batsmen in cricket. This is reflected by the fact that he is the only player to score more than 6,000 ODI runs at an average under 25.[60] Afridi has moved about the batting order, and this lack of consistency has made it difficult for him to settle. In the Indian subcontinent, where the ball quickly loses its shine, he prefers to open the batting however elsewhere he prefers to bat at number six.[61]
Bowling
Afridi bowling his stock leg-spin delivery

Having started as a fast bowler, Afridi decided to start bowling spin after someone told him he was throwing. He modelled himself on Pakistan leg-spinner Abdul Qadir.[2] Afridi began his career as primarily a bowler, however after scoring the fastest century in his maiden ODI innings more was expected of him with the bat. He considers himself a better bowler than batsman.[61] While he is renowned for his aggressive batting, he is also a handy leg-spinner capable of producing a good mix of wicket taking balls.[62] He has over 300 International wickets, most of which are from the ODI format. While his stock ball is the leg break, his armoury also includes the conventional off break and a 'quicker one' which he can deliver in the style of a medium-pacer, reaching speeds of around 130 kilometres per hour (80 mph).[63] He bowls at a high speed for a spinner, resulting in lesser turn, and relying more on variations in speed. He occasionally sends down a bouncer to a batsman, which is very rare for a spin bowler.
Records and achievements
Test centuries

* In the column Runs, * indicates being not out
* The column title Match refers to the Match Number of the player's career

Test centuries Runs Match Against City/Country Venue Year
[1] 141 2 India Chennai, India MA Chidambaram Stadium 1999
[2] 107 12 West Indies Sharjah, United Arab Emirates Sharjah C.A. Stadium 2002
[3] 122 18 West Indies Bridgetown, Barbados Kensington Oval 2005
[4] 103 21 India Lahore, Pakistan Gaddafi Stadium 2006
[5] 156 22 India Faisalabad, Pakistan Iqbal Stadium 2006
ODI centuries

* In the column Runs, * indicates being not out
* The column title Match refers to the Match Number of the player's career

ODI centuries Runs Match Against City/Country Venue Year
[1] 102 2 Sri Lanka Nairobi, Kenya Nairobi Gymkhana Club 1996
[2] 109 65 India Toronto, Canada Toronto CSCC 1998
[3] 108* 146 New Zealand Sharjah, United Arab Emirates Sharjah C.A. Stadium 2002
[4] 102 204 India Kanpur, India Green Park 2005
[5] 109 294 Sri Lanka Dambulla, Sri Lanka Dambulla International Stadium 2010
[6] 124 296 Bangladesh Dambulla, Sri Lanka Dambulla International Stadium 2010
ODI five-wicket hauls
No. Date↓ Ground↓ Against↓ Inn↓ Overs↓ Runs↓ Wkts↓ Econ↓ Batsmen Result↓
1 02000-10-27 27 October 2000 ♠ Gaddafi Stadium England 1 10 40 5 4.00

* ME Trescothick
* N Hussain
* GP Thorpe
* C White
* AF Giles

Won[64]
2 02004-09-14 14 September 2004 ♠ Edgbaston Cricket Ground Kenya 1 6 1 5 1.83

* MA Ouma
* TM Odoyo
* BJ Patel
* ML Patel
* PJ Ongondo

Won[65]
3 02009-04-22 22 April 2009 ♠ DSC Cricket Stadium Australia 1 10 38 6 3.80

* BJ Haddin
* SR Watson
* A Symonds
* CJ Ferguson
* NW Bracken
* SR Clark

Won[66]
4 02011-02-23 23 February 2011 ♠ Mahinda Rajapaksa International Stadium Kenya 1 8 16 5 2.00

* Steve Tikolo
* Tanmay Mishra
* Jimmy Kamande
* Thomas Odoyo
* Collins Obuya

Won[6

Shahid Khan Afridi (Urdu: صاحبزادہ محمد شاہد خان آفریدی)

Sahibzada Mohammad Shahid Khan Afridi (Urdu: صاحبزادہ محمد شاہد خان آفریدی) (born 1 March 1980 in Khyber Agency of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, Pakistan[2]), popularly known as Shahid Afridi (Pashto: شاهد ‏افریدی) is a Pakistani cricketer and current One Day International (ODI) and Twenty20 captain of the Pakistani national team in the international circuit. He made his ODI debut on 2 October 1996 against Kenya and his Test debut on 22 October 1998 against Australia.

He is known for his aggressive batting style, and holds the record for the fastest ODI century which he made in his first international innings, as well as scoring 32 runs in a single over, the second highest scoring over ever in an ODI.[3] He also holds the distinction of having hit the most number of sixes in the history of ODI cricket.[4] Afridi considers himself a better bowler than batsman, and has taken 48 Test wickets and over 300 in ODIs. Currently Afridi is the leading wicket taker in the Twenty20 format taking 53 wickets from 41 matches.

In June 2009 Afridi took over the Twenty20 captaincy from Younus Khan, and was later appointed ODI captain for the 2010 Asia Cup. In his first match as ODI captain against Sri Lanka he scored a century however Pakistan still lost by 16 runs. He then also took over the Test captaincy but resigned after one match in charge citing lack of form and ability to play Test cricket; at the same time he announced his retirement from Tests. He retained the captaincy in limited-overs form of the game and led the team in the 2011 World Cup. Amongst his highlights while captaining Pakistan include leading the team to their first ODI series win in two-years, against New Zealand.

Afridi is from the Afridi tribe of the Khyber Agency in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas and hails from a Pashtun family.[2] He is married and has two daughters, Aqsa and Ansha.[5]
International career

In October 1996 at the age of sixteen Afridi was drafted into the ODI team during the four-nation Sameer Cup 1996–97 as a leg spinner as a replacement for the injured Mushtaq Ahmed.[6] He made his debut on 2 October against Kenya, however he didn't bat and went wicketless.[7] In the next match against Sri Lanka, Afridi batted at number three in the role of a pinch-hitter. In his first international innings, Afridi broke the record for fastest century in ODI cricket, reaching his hundred from 37 balls. The eleven sixes he struck also equalled the record for most in an ODI innings.[8][nb 1] Aged 16 years and 217 days, Afridi became the youngest player to score an ODI century.[10] Pakistan posted a total of 371, at the time the second-highest in ODIs, and won by 82 runs; Afridi was named man of the match.[8]

Two years after appearing on the international scene, Afridi made his Test debut in the third game of a three-match series against Australia on 22 October 1998.[11] By this point he had already played 66 ODIs, at the time a record before playing Tests.[12] He opened the batting, making scores of 10 and 6, and took five wickets in the first innings.[11] He played his second Test the following January during Pakistan's tour of India; it was the first Test between the two countries since 1990.[13] Again opening the batting, Afridi scored his maiden Test century, scoring 141 runs from 191 balls. In the same match he also claimed three wickets for 54 runs.[14] After winning the first match by 12 runs, Pakistan lost the second to draw the series.[15]

In 2001, Afridi signed a contract to represent Leicestershire. In five first-class matches he scored 295 runs at an average of 42.14, including a highest score of 164,[16] and took 11 wickets at an average of 46.45;[17] Afridi also played 11 one day matches for the club, scoring 481 runs at an average of 40.08[18] and taking 18 wickets at 24.04.[19] His highest score of 95 came from 58 balls in a semi-final of the C&G Trophy to help Leicestershire beat Lancashire by seven wickets.[20] Derbyshire County Cricket Club signed Afridi to play for them in the first two months of the 2003 English cricket season.[21] In June 2004 Afridi signed with English county side Kent to play for them in three Twenty20 matches and one Totesport League match.[22]
An innings-by-innings breakdown of Afridi's Test match batting career up to 30 December 2007, showing runs scored (red bars) and the average of the last ten innings (blue line).

Afridi made his presence felt in the third Test against India in March 2005, scoring a quick-fire second-innings half-century and taking five wickets in the match (including Tendulkar twice) to help Pakistan to win the game and register a series draw.[23] In April Afridi struck what at the time was the equal second-fastest century in ODIs; he reached 100 off 45 deliveries against India, sharing the record with West Indian Brian Lara.[24] Afridi was more consistent with his batting and bowling throughout 2005, starting with the tours of India and West Indies and through to the England tour. The Pakistani coach Bob Woolmer helped Afridi to reach a fuller potential by improving his shot selection and giving him free rein over his batting attitude.

On 21 November 2005, Shahid Afridi was banned for a Test match and two ODIs for deliberately damaging the pitch in the second match of the three-Test series against England. TV cameras pictured him scraping his boots on the pitch scuffing the surface when play was held up after a gas canister exploded. Afridi later pleaded guilty to a level three breach of the ICC code of conduct relating to the spirit of the game. Inquiries were made and Afridi's antics came into view. He was investigated and banned after the day's play, along with receiving a huge amount of criticism from the cricketing world for bringing the game into disrepute. Match referee Roshan Mahanama said: "This ban should serve as a message to players that this type of behaviour is not allowed." On this Afridi accepted his fault and said that a "senior player like me should set good examples to others because they see us to learn." His behaviour was also condemned by the Pakistan Cricket Board.[25][26][27]

On 12 April 2006, Afridi announced a temporary retirement from Test cricket so that he could concentrate on ODIs, with a particular focus on the 2007 World Cup, and to spend more time with his family. He said he would consider reversing his decision after the World Cup. Afridi had played ten Tests since being recalled to the side in January 2005, averaging 47.44 with the bat including four centuries.[28] However, on 27 April he reversed his decision, saying that "[Woolmer] told me that I am one of the main players in the team and squad and that Pakistan really needed me".[29] Before Pakistan toured England in July to September, Afridi played for Ireland as an overseas player in the C&G Trophy.[29] In six matches, he scored 128 runs[30] and took seven wickets.[31] England won the four-match Test series 3–0;[32] Afridi played two matches, scoring 49 runs[33] and took three wickets.[34] It was the last Test cricket Afridi played until 2010.[35]

Afridi was charged on 8 February 2007 of bringing the game into disrepute after he was seen on camera thrusting his bat at a spectator who swore at him on his way up the steps after being dismissed. Afridi was given a four-game ODI suspension, the minimum possible ban for such an offence, meaning that he would miss Pakistan's first two 2007 World Cup matches. The PCB and Afridi chose not to appeal the ban, despite feeling that the punishment was excessively harsh.[36]

In the 2007 World Twenty20, he performed poorly with the bat but brilliantly with the ball, earning the Man of the Series award, though he failed to take a wicket in the final and was out for a golden duck.But in the next ICC Twenty20 World Cup, held in 2009 Afridi performed brilliantly in the series scoring 50 runs in the semi-final and 54 in the final and leading his team to victory.
Ascending to the captaincy (2009–2011)

Shortly after Pakistan won the 2009 ICC World Twenty20 the captain Younis Khan announced his retirement from Twenty20 cricket the Pakistan Cricket Board subsequently announced that Shahid Afridi had taken over the Twenty20 captaincy; the appointment was initially for one match, with a decision on the permanent replacement to be made later.[37] On 31 January 2010, Afridi was caught on camera biting into the ball towards the end of the 5th Commonwealth Bank ODI series in Australia.[38] Later Afridi pleaded guilty to ball tampering and he was banned from two Twenty20 internationals.[39]

In March 2010 the board announced that Shahid Afridi had been appointed ODI captain in place of the sacked Mohammad Yousuf he led Pakistan in the 2010 Asia Cup and during his first three matches as ODI captain he scored two centuries against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh he finished as the tournaments highest runscorer with 384 runs from 3 matches.

On 25 May 2010, Afridi was appointed captain of the national team in all three formats, after he announced his return to Test cricket.[40] In July 2010, Afridi captained Pakistan in the first Test of the series at Lord's against England. He scored 31 off 15 deliveries in the first innings and 2 in the second but was dismissed succumbing to rash strokes in both the innings. After the match, he announced retirement from Test cricket again citing lack of temperament for Test cricket as the reason.[41] Afridi was officially removed from the Test squad on the England tour, but after the spot-fixing scandal saw Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Amir and Test captain Salman Butt temporarily suspended by the International Cricket Council, he stated that he might return to Test cricket if "the team needs it".[42] According a representative of Afridi, he had voiced his concerns about Mazhar Majeed – who had approached Pakistan's players – in June.[43] Majeed also confirmed that he approached Afridi, Abdul Razzaq, Younis Khan and Saeed Ajmal but all off them refused to be affiliated with him of his fixing menace. Worth mentioning is that the four names given above were not associated in the original scandal and that no disciplinary action have been taken against them by the sports governing body the International Cricket Council.[44]

In October, Afridi stated in an interview with Express News that the squad had been selected without his consultation; the PCB gave him an official warning for the interview.[45] Coach Waqar Younis also expressed his unhappiness at having no input in selection, however Mohsin Khan, the chief selector, defended the decision, stating "it is not written down in the PCB constitution that the coach and captain(s) must have a say in the selection of any squad".[46] Pakistan lost the series 3-2.

The team toured New Zealand between December 2010 and February 2011 for two Tests, six ODIs, and three T20Is. Afridi stated just before the series that he had been working on honing his batting technique and that to address Pakistan's opening troubles he would open in Twenty20 Internationals in the future[47] During the T20Is, he became the first cricketer to reach 50 international wickets in the format when he had Nathan McCullum trapped leg-before.

When Pakistan's squad for the 2011 World Cup was announced, no captain was named; Afridi, the incumbent ODI captain and Misbah-ul-Haq, the Test captain, were the front runners for the position.[48] Pakistan lost the first match against New Zealand by 8-wickets, the second match got rained out and in the third Mohammad Hafeez scored a century and Afridi scored a blistering 65 from just 25 balls. The following match was a tight game but Pakistan prevailed by two-wickets thanks to three boundaries from Sohail Tanvir, the match was setup by a 93 not out from Misbah-ul-Haq. The fifth ODI was won for Pakistan by 43 runs courtesy of a maiden ODI-century from Ahmed Shehzad. Afridi helped in the lower order by scoring 24 and taking two crucial top order wickets to help guide Pakistan to a 43-run victory and their first ODI series win in two years[49]

After gaining victory as a captain against New Zealand, the PCB declared Shahid Afridi as Pakistan's captain for the 2011 World Cup. In Pakistan's opening match of the tournament, Afridi took 5 wickets for 16 runs against Kenya, giving him the best bowling figures by a Pakistan bowler in a World Cup.[50] In the following match against Sri Lanka, which Pakistan won, Afridi claimed for more wickets to help his side to victory and became the second player to have scored 4,000 runs and taken 300 wickets in ODIs.[51][nb 2] He claimed 17 wickets from 6 matches in the first round of the Cup, including a five-wicket haul against Canada,[52] as Pakistan finished top of their group and progressed to the next stage.[53] Pakistan beat West Indies in the quarter-final by ten wickets, with Afridi taking four wickets.[54] Pakistan were knocked out of the semi-finals in a 29-run defeat to India.[55] Afridi was the tournament's joint-leading wicket-taker with 21 wickets, level with India's Zaheer Khan.[56]
Playing style
Batting

His general style of batting is very aggressive and attack oriented and has earned him the nickname "Boom Boom Afridi". Moreover, out of the seven fastest ODI centuries of all time, Afridi has produced three of them.[57] As of 27 February 2011, he has an ODI strike rate of 113.83 runs per 100 balls, the third highest in the game's history.[58] This attitude has been transferred to Test cricket as well, with Afridi scoring at a relatively high strike rate of 86.13. He has an approach to batting that can change the tempo of a game and inspire the mood of an audience, as shown when a mass exodus of spectators occurred in Pakistan in late 2005 following his dismissal from the crease.

He hits many sixes long and high, favouring straight down the ground or over midwicket and hit the longest ever six in the history of ODIs against Australia. His trademark shot is a cross-batted flick to the leg-side to a ball outside off stump.[59] However, his aggressive style increases his risk of getting out and he is one of the most inconsistent batsmen in cricket. This is reflected by the fact that he is the only player to score more than 6,000 ODI runs at an average under 25.[60] Afridi has moved about the batting order, and this lack of consistency has made it difficult for him to settle. In the Indian subcontinent, where the ball quickly loses its shine, he prefers to open the batting however elsewhere he prefers to bat at number six.[61]
Bowling
Afridi bowling his stock leg-spin delivery

Having started as a fast bowler, Afridi decided to start bowling spin after someone told him he was throwing. He modelled himself on Pakistan leg-spinner Abdul Qadir.[2] Afridi began his career as primarily a bowler, however after scoring the fastest century in his maiden ODI innings more was expected of him with the bat. He considers himself a better bowler than batsman.[61] While he is renowned for his aggressive batting, he is also a handy leg-spinner capable of producing a good mix of wicket taking balls.[62] He has over 300 International wickets, most of which are from the ODI format. While his stock ball is the leg break, his armoury also includes the conventional off break and a 'quicker one' which he can deliver in the style of a medium-pacer, reaching speeds of around 130 kilometres per hour (80 mph).[63] He bowls at a high speed for a spinner, resulting in lesser turn, and relying more on variations in speed. He occasionally sends down a bouncer to a batsman, which is very rare for a spin bowler.
Records and achievements
Test centuries

* In the column Runs, * indicates being not out
* The column title Match refers to the Match Number of the player's career

Test centuries Runs Match Against City/Country Venue Year
[1] 141 2 India Chennai, India MA Chidambaram Stadium 1999
[2] 107 12 West Indies Sharjah, United Arab Emirates Sharjah C.A. Stadium 2002
[3] 122 18 West Indies Bridgetown, Barbados Kensington Oval 2005
[4] 103 21 India Lahore, Pakistan Gaddafi Stadium 2006
[5] 156 22 India Faisalabad, Pakistan Iqbal Stadium 2006
ODI centuries

* In the column Runs, * indicates being not out
* The column title Match refers to the Match Number of the player's career

ODI centuries Runs Match Against City/Country Venue Year
[1] 102 2 Sri Lanka Nairobi, Kenya Nairobi Gymkhana Club 1996
[2] 109 65 India Toronto, Canada Toronto CSCC 1998
[3] 108* 146 New Zealand Sharjah, United Arab Emirates Sharjah C.A. Stadium 2002
[4] 102 204 India Kanpur, India Green Park 2005
[5] 109 294 Sri Lanka Dambulla, Sri Lanka Dambulla International Stadium 2010
[6] 124 296 Bangladesh Dambulla, Sri Lanka Dambulla International Stadium 2010
ODI five-wicket hauls
No. Date↓ Ground↓ Against↓ Inn↓ Overs↓ Runs↓ Wkts↓ Econ↓ Batsmen Result↓
1 02000-10-27 27 October 2000 ♠ Gaddafi Stadium England 1 10 40 5 4.00

* ME Trescothick
* N Hussain
* GP Thorpe
* C White
* AF Giles

Won[64]
2 02004-09-14 14 September 2004 ♠ Edgbaston Cricket Ground Kenya 1 6 1 5 1.83

* MA Ouma
* TM Odoyo
* BJ Patel
* ML Patel
* PJ Ongondo

Won[65]
3 02009-04-22 22 April 2009 ♠ DSC Cricket Stadium Australia 1 10 38 6 3.80

* BJ Haddin
* SR Watson
* A Symonds
* CJ Ferguson
* NW Bracken
* SR Clark

Won[66]
4 02011-02-23 23 February 2011 ♠ Mahinda Rajapaksa International Stadium Kenya 1 8 16 5 2.00

* Steve Tikolo
* Tanmay Mishra
* Jimmy Kamande
* Thomas Odoyo
* Collins Obuya

Won[6

Shahid Khan Afridi (Urdu: صاحبزادہ محمد شاہد خان آفریدی)

Sahibzada Mohammad Shahid Khan Afridi (Urdu: صاحبزادہ محمد شاہد خان آفریدی) (born 1 March 1980 in Khyber Agency of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, Pakistan[2]), popularly known as Shahid Afridi (Pashto: شاهد ‏افریدی) is a Pakistani cricketer and current One Day International (ODI) and Twenty20 captain of the Pakistani national team in the international circuit. He made his ODI debut on 2 October 1996 against Kenya and his Test debut on 22 October 1998 against Australia.

He is known for his aggressive batting style, and holds the record for the fastest ODI century which he made in his first international innings, as well as scoring 32 runs in a single over, the second highest scoring over ever in an ODI.[3] He also holds the distinction of having hit the most number of sixes in the history of ODI cricket.[4] Afridi considers himself a better bowler than batsman, and has taken 48 Test wickets and over 300 in ODIs. Currently Afridi is the leading wicket taker in the Twenty20 format taking 53 wickets from 41 matches.

In June 2009 Afridi took over the Twenty20 captaincy from Younus Khan, and was later appointed ODI captain for the 2010 Asia Cup. In his first match as ODI captain against Sri Lanka he scored a century however Pakistan still lost by 16 runs. He then also took over the Test captaincy but resigned after one match in charge citing lack of form and ability to play Test cricket; at the same time he announced his retirement from Tests. He retained the captaincy in limited-overs form of the game and led the team in the 2011 World Cup. Amongst his highlights while captaining Pakistan include leading the team to their first ODI series win in two-years, against New Zealand.

Afridi is from the Afridi tribe of the Khyber Agency in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas and hails from a Pashtun family.[2] He is married and has two daughters, Aqsa and Ansha.[5]
International career

In October 1996 at the age of sixteen Afridi was drafted into the ODI team during the four-nation Sameer Cup 1996–97 as a leg spinner as a replacement for the injured Mushtaq Ahmed.[6] He made his debut on 2 October against Kenya, however he didn't bat and went wicketless.[7] In the next match against Sri Lanka, Afridi batted at number three in the role of a pinch-hitter. In his first international innings, Afridi broke the record for fastest century in ODI cricket, reaching his hundred from 37 balls. The eleven sixes he struck also equalled the record for most in an ODI innings.[8][nb 1] Aged 16 years and 217 days, Afridi became the youngest player to score an ODI century.[10] Pakistan posted a total of 371, at the time the second-highest in ODIs, and won by 82 runs; Afridi was named man of the match.[8]

Two years after appearing on the international scene, Afridi made his Test debut in the third game of a three-match series against Australia on 22 October 1998.[11] By this point he had already played 66 ODIs, at the time a record before playing Tests.[12] He opened the batting, making scores of 10 and 6, and took five wickets in the first innings.[11] He played his second Test the following January during Pakistan's tour of India; it was the first Test between the two countries since 1990.[13] Again opening the batting, Afridi scored his maiden Test century, scoring 141 runs from 191 balls. In the same match he also claimed three wickets for 54 runs.[14] After winning the first match by 12 runs, Pakistan lost the second to draw the series.[15]

In 2001, Afridi signed a contract to represent Leicestershire. In five first-class matches he scored 295 runs at an average of 42.14, including a highest score of 164,[16] and took 11 wickets at an average of 46.45;[17] Afridi also played 11 one day matches for the club, scoring 481 runs at an average of 40.08[18] and taking 18 wickets at 24.04.[19] His highest score of 95 came from 58 balls in a semi-final of the C&G Trophy to help Leicestershire beat Lancashire by seven wickets.[20] Derbyshire County Cricket Club signed Afridi to play for them in the first two months of the 2003 English cricket season.[21] In June 2004 Afridi signed with English county side Kent to play for them in three Twenty20 matches and one Totesport League match.[22]
An innings-by-innings breakdown of Afridi's Test match batting career up to 30 December 2007, showing runs scored (red bars) and the average of the last ten innings (blue line).

Afridi made his presence felt in the third Test against India in March 2005, scoring a quick-fire second-innings half-century and taking five wickets in the match (including Tendulkar twice) to help Pakistan to win the game and register a series draw.[23] In April Afridi struck what at the time was the equal second-fastest century in ODIs; he reached 100 off 45 deliveries against India, sharing the record with West Indian Brian Lara.[24] Afridi was more consistent with his batting and bowling throughout 2005, starting with the tours of India and West Indies and through to the England tour. The Pakistani coach Bob Woolmer helped Afridi to reach a fuller potential by improving his shot selection and giving him free rein over his batting attitude.

On 21 November 2005, Shahid Afridi was banned for a Test match and two ODIs for deliberately damaging the pitch in the second match of the three-Test series against England. TV cameras pictured him scraping his boots on the pitch scuffing the surface when play was held up after a gas canister exploded. Afridi later pleaded guilty to a level three breach of the ICC code of conduct relating to the spirit of the game. Inquiries were made and Afridi's antics came into view. He was investigated and banned after the day's play, along with receiving a huge amount of criticism from the cricketing world for bringing the game into disrepute. Match referee Roshan Mahanama said: "This ban should serve as a message to players that this type of behaviour is not allowed." On this Afridi accepted his fault and said that a "senior player like me should set good examples to others because they see us to learn." His behaviour was also condemned by the Pakistan Cricket Board.[25][26][27]

On 12 April 2006, Afridi announced a temporary retirement from Test cricket so that he could concentrate on ODIs, with a particular focus on the 2007 World Cup, and to spend more time with his family. He said he would consider reversing his decision after the World Cup. Afridi had played ten Tests since being recalled to the side in January 2005, averaging 47.44 with the bat including four centuries.[28] However, on 27 April he reversed his decision, saying that "[Woolmer] told me that I am one of the main players in the team and squad and that Pakistan really needed me".[29] Before Pakistan toured England in July to September, Afridi played for Ireland as an overseas player in the C&G Trophy.[29] In six matches, he scored 128 runs[30] and took seven wickets.[31] England won the four-match Test series 3–0;[32] Afridi played two matches, scoring 49 runs[33] and took three wickets.[34] It was the last Test cricket Afridi played until 2010.[35]

Afridi was charged on 8 February 2007 of bringing the game into disrepute after he was seen on camera thrusting his bat at a spectator who swore at him on his way up the steps after being dismissed. Afridi was given a four-game ODI suspension, the minimum possible ban for such an offence, meaning that he would miss Pakistan's first two 2007 World Cup matches. The PCB and Afridi chose not to appeal the ban, despite feeling that the punishment was excessively harsh.[36]

In the 2007 World Twenty20, he performed poorly with the bat but brilliantly with the ball, earning the Man of the Series award, though he failed to take a wicket in the final and was out for a golden duck.But in the next ICC Twenty20 World Cup, held in 2009 Afridi performed brilliantly in the series scoring 50 runs in the semi-final and 54 in the final and leading his team to victory.
Ascending to the captaincy (2009–2011)

Shortly after Pakistan won the 2009 ICC World Twenty20 the captain Younis Khan announced his retirement from Twenty20 cricket the Pakistan Cricket Board subsequently announced that Shahid Afridi had taken over the Twenty20 captaincy; the appointment was initially for one match, with a decision on the permanent replacement to be made later.[37] On 31 January 2010, Afridi was caught on camera biting into the ball towards the end of the 5th Commonwealth Bank ODI series in Australia.[38] Later Afridi pleaded guilty to ball tampering and he was banned from two Twenty20 internationals.[39]

In March 2010 the board announced that Shahid Afridi had been appointed ODI captain in place of the sacked Mohammad Yousuf he led Pakistan in the 2010 Asia Cup and during his first three matches as ODI captain he scored two centuries against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh he finished as the tournaments highest runscorer with 384 runs from 3 matches.

On 25 May 2010, Afridi was appointed captain of the national team in all three formats, after he announced his return to Test cricket.[40] In July 2010, Afridi captained Pakistan in the first Test of the series at Lord's against England. He scored 31 off 15 deliveries in the first innings and 2 in the second but was dismissed succumbing to rash strokes in both the innings. After the match, he announced retirement from Test cricket again citing lack of temperament for Test cricket as the reason.[41] Afridi was officially removed from the Test squad on the England tour, but after the spot-fixing scandal saw Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Amir and Test captain Salman Butt temporarily suspended by the International Cricket Council, he stated that he might return to Test cricket if "the team needs it".[42] According a representative of Afridi, he had voiced his concerns about Mazhar Majeed – who had approached Pakistan's players – in June.[43] Majeed also confirmed that he approached Afridi, Abdul Razzaq, Younis Khan and Saeed Ajmal but all off them refused to be affiliated with him of his fixing menace. Worth mentioning is that the four names given above were not associated in the original scandal and that no disciplinary action have been taken against them by the sports governing body the International Cricket Council.[44]

In October, Afridi stated in an interview with Express News that the squad had been selected without his consultation; the PCB gave him an official warning for the interview.[45] Coach Waqar Younis also expressed his unhappiness at having no input in selection, however Mohsin Khan, the chief selector, defended the decision, stating "it is not written down in the PCB constitution that the coach and captain(s) must have a say in the selection of any squad".[46] Pakistan lost the series 3-2.

The team toured New Zealand between December 2010 and February 2011 for two Tests, six ODIs, and three T20Is. Afridi stated just before the series that he had been working on honing his batting technique and that to address Pakistan's opening troubles he would open in Twenty20 Internationals in the future[47] During the T20Is, he became the first cricketer to reach 50 international wickets in the format when he had Nathan McCullum trapped leg-before.

When Pakistan's squad for the 2011 World Cup was announced, no captain was named; Afridi, the incumbent ODI captain and Misbah-ul-Haq, the Test captain, were the front runners for the position.[48] Pakistan lost the first match against New Zealand by 8-wickets, the second match got rained out and in the third Mohammad Hafeez scored a century and Afridi scored a blistering 65 from just 25 balls. The following match was a tight game but Pakistan prevailed by two-wickets thanks to three boundaries from Sohail Tanvir, the match was setup by a 93 not out from Misbah-ul-Haq. The fifth ODI was won for Pakistan by 43 runs courtesy of a maiden ODI-century from Ahmed Shehzad. Afridi helped in the lower order by scoring 24 and taking two crucial top order wickets to help guide Pakistan to a 43-run victory and their first ODI series win in two years[49]

After gaining victory as a captain against New Zealand, the PCB declared Shahid Afridi as Pakistan's captain for the 2011 World Cup. In Pakistan's opening match of the tournament, Afridi took 5 wickets for 16 runs against Kenya, giving him the best bowling figures by a Pakistan bowler in a World Cup.[50] In the following match against Sri Lanka, which Pakistan won, Afridi claimed for more wickets to help his side to victory and became the second player to have scored 4,000 runs and taken 300 wickets in ODIs.[51][nb 2] He claimed 17 wickets from 6 matches in the first round of the Cup, including a five-wicket haul against Canada,[52] as Pakistan finished top of their group and progressed to the next stage.[53] Pakistan beat West Indies in the quarter-final by ten wickets, with Afridi taking four wickets.[54] Pakistan were knocked out of the semi-finals in a 29-run defeat to India.[55] Afridi was the tournament's joint-leading wicket-taker with 21 wickets, level with India's Zaheer Khan.[56]
Playing style
Batting

His general style of batting is very aggressive and attack oriented and has earned him the nickname "Boom Boom Afridi". Moreover, out of the seven fastest ODI centuries of all time, Afridi has produced three of them.[57] As of 27 February 2011, he has an ODI strike rate of 113.83 runs per 100 balls, the third highest in the game's history.[58] This attitude has been transferred to Test cricket as well, with Afridi scoring at a relatively high strike rate of 86.13. He has an approach to batting that can change the tempo of a game and inspire the mood of an audience, as shown when a mass exodus of spectators occurred in Pakistan in late 2005 following his dismissal from the crease.

He hits many sixes long and high, favouring straight down the ground or over midwicket and hit the longest ever six in the history of ODIs against Australia. His trademark shot is a cross-batted flick to the leg-side to a ball outside off stump.[59] However, his aggressive style increases his risk of getting out and he is one of the most inconsistent batsmen in cricket. This is reflected by the fact that he is the only player to score more than 6,000 ODI runs at an average under 25.[60] Afridi has moved about the batting order, and this lack of consistency has made it difficult for him to settle. In the Indian subcontinent, where the ball quickly loses its shine, he prefers to open the batting however elsewhere he prefers to bat at number six.[61]
Bowling
Afridi bowling his stock leg-spin delivery

Having started as a fast bowler, Afridi decided to start bowling spin after someone told him he was throwing. He modelled himself on Pakistan leg-spinner Abdul Qadir.[2] Afridi began his career as primarily a bowler, however after scoring the fastest century in his maiden ODI innings more was expected of him with the bat. He considers himself a better bowler than batsman.[61] While he is renowned for his aggressive batting, he is also a handy leg-spinner capable of producing a good mix of wicket taking balls.[62] He has over 300 International wickets, most of which are from the ODI format. While his stock ball is the leg break, his armoury also includes the conventional off break and a 'quicker one' which he can deliver in the style of a medium-pacer, reaching speeds of around 130 kilometres per hour (80 mph).[63] He bowls at a high speed for a spinner, resulting in lesser turn, and relying more on variations in speed. He occasionally sends down a bouncer to a batsman, which is very rare for a spin bowler.
Records and achievements
Test centuries

* In the column Runs, * indicates being not out
* The column title Match refers to the Match Number of the player's career

Test centuries Runs Match Against City/Country Venue Year
[1] 141 2 India Chennai, India MA Chidambaram Stadium 1999
[2] 107 12 West Indies Sharjah, United Arab Emirates Sharjah C.A. Stadium 2002
[3] 122 18 West Indies Bridgetown, Barbados Kensington Oval 2005
[4] 103 21 India Lahore, Pakistan Gaddafi Stadium 2006
[5] 156 22 India Faisalabad, Pakistan Iqbal Stadium 2006
ODI centuries

* In the column Runs, * indicates being not out
* The column title Match refers to the Match Number of the player's career

ODI centuries Runs Match Against City/Country Venue Year
[1] 102 2 Sri Lanka Nairobi, Kenya Nairobi Gymkhana Club 1996
[2] 109 65 India Toronto, Canada Toronto CSCC 1998
[3] 108* 146 New Zealand Sharjah, United Arab Emirates Sharjah C.A. Stadium 2002
[4] 102 204 India Kanpur, India Green Park 2005
[5] 109 294 Sri Lanka Dambulla, Sri Lanka Dambulla International Stadium 2010
[6] 124 296 Bangladesh Dambulla, Sri Lanka Dambulla International Stadium 2010
ODI five-wicket hauls
No. Date↓ Ground↓ Against↓ Inn↓ Overs↓ Runs↓ Wkts↓ Econ↓ Batsmen Result↓
1 02000-10-27 27 October 2000 ♠ Gaddafi Stadium England 1 10 40 5 4.00

* ME Trescothick
* N Hussain
* GP Thorpe
* C White
* AF Giles

Won[64]
2 02004-09-14 14 September 2004 ♠ Edgbaston Cricket Ground Kenya 1 6 1 5 1.83

* MA Ouma
* TM Odoyo
* BJ Patel
* ML Patel
* PJ Ongondo

Won[65]
3 02009-04-22 22 April 2009 ♠ DSC Cricket Stadium Australia 1 10 38 6 3.80

* BJ Haddin
* SR Watson
* A Symonds
* CJ Ferguson
* NW Bracken
* SR Clark

Won[66]
4 02011-02-23 23 February 2011 ♠ Mahinda Rajapaksa International Stadium Kenya 1 8 16 5 2.00

* Steve Tikolo
* Tanmay Mishra
* Jimmy Kamande
* Thomas Odoyo
* Collins Obuya

Won[6

IND vs AUS

ICC CWC Warm-up LIVE: IND vs AUS

What a warm-up win for India! Chasing 215 runs for victory, Australia were bundled out for 176. For latest, stay tuned with ESPNSTAR.com.

CLICK HERE FOR SCORECARD

So finally, Indian spinners got the better of Australian batsmen and ensured that Men in Blue start the ICC Cricket World Cup campaign in style.

Over 34.4: Smart work by MS Dhoni as Ricky Ponting fails to get his back-foot back in time. Harbhajan Singh finally won the little battle.

Over 30.4: Chawla dismisses Callum Fergusson. Shane Warne kind of delivery! Slip coming into operation as Kohli completes the formality.

Piyush Chawla is living a dream spell. A huge blow for Australia as they have now lost 7 wickets for 148 runs with Ricky Ponting playing on 51.

Over 28.2: Huge wicket! David Hussey gets a stunner on the very first ball he faces as MS Dhoni rattles the stump.

Over 28.1: Piyush Chawla induces a false shot Cameron White lofts, only to perish at mid-on.

Over 21.5: Yuvraj Singh has struck for India as Tim Paine's lofted shot lands staright in Munaf Patel's hand. Great running catch from Munaf.

Over 20.2: Oh! hoo! A spectators catch by Sreesanth in the deep on a top edge of Harbhajan Singh's ball just made Indian fans interested. A contest you would not like to miss. For the moment - Aussie skipper survives.

Harbhajan Singh gets the ball and bowls a tight over. But what India desperately need at this moment is wickets and that too in bunch.

Over 18: Chasing 215 for victory, Australia found themselves cruising along with 103/1.

Shane Watson led Ausssie chase in style as he carted Indian pacers all-aroun the park. Kangaroos would take huge confidence if at all they win the current match as lot of pre-match talks centered around how the visitors would fare on a slow pitch. India Innings: 214/10

An impressive Brett Lee produced a fast and furious second spell to skittle out India for a modest 214 in their first warm-up match ahead of the ICC Cricket World Cup.

Lee (3/35) accounted for three Indian wickets in his second spell of five overs, giving away just 12 runs. He was ably supported by John Hastings who returned with figures of two for 24 from his six overs.

David Hussey also picked up two wickets during the fag end of the Indian innings with the part-time off-spinner giving away 25 runs.

Opting to bat, India produced a listless batting display as they lost wickets at intervals to be eventually bundled out under 250 in 44.3 overs.

(Can Sachin Tendulkar really change India's fortunes? We would value your comments!)

Virender Sehwag was the top-scorer for India with a 56-ball 54 while Yusuf Pathan took his time to the open up during his 32 that came off 39 balls and was studded with two towering sixes.

Apart from Sehwag, the Indian batters were found wanting from the onset against Australia's lethal pace battery. Virat Kohli (21), skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (11) and Suresh Raina (12) all got starts but gave away their wickets when the team needed them.

India's agony in the batting department can be gauged from the fact that they failed to notch up a single 50-run partnership, the highest being the 49-run ninth wicket stand between Pathan and R Ashwin (25 not out).

Gautam Gambhir never looked in his comfort zone from the very first ball. He was circumspect throughout his 15-ball stay, which included a maiden first over from Brett Lee.

His agony finally came to an end in the fourth over when he edged a Doug Bollinger delivery to Cameron White at the second slip.

Virat Kohli (21) looked in supreme confidence from the time he arrived at the crease and hit a boundary both of Lee and Bollinger in consecutive overs to continue his impressive run of form that was visible in the five-match ODI series in South Africa.

Sehwag, on the other hand, patiently waited for the bad deliveries to hit and brought up India's 50 in style in the 10th over, clobbering John Hastings to the cover boundary.

But just when it seemed Kohli is in for a big innings the right-hander slashed a full length Hastings' delivery to David Hussey at point.

After just two overs spell, Ponting replaced Hastings and introduced spin in the form of Jason Krejza, but it was left-arm pacer Mitchell Johnson who struck the third blow for Australia. Yuvraj Singh's awful form continued as he looked completely out of sorts from the time of arriving at the crease. He scored just one run of seven balls before edging an accurate Johnson bouncer to Tim Paine behind the stumps.

The bowling powerplay worked wonders for Australia as they conceded just 12 runs, picking up two vital wickets in those five overs.

India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni too did little justice to his reputation as he contributed just 11 runs before edging a Hastings delivery on to the stumps to cut short his stay at the crease with the India scoreboard reading 101 for four.

Sehwag, however, was at his full display at the Chinnaswamy Stadium as he took Krezja for special treatment before the off-spinner picked up his man.

After a sedate start, Sehwag opened up and struck as many as eight boundaries and a six during his 56-ball innings before giving away his wicket after doing all the hard work.

Sehwag raised his half-century in ominous fashion sending Krejza over the long-off fence. But the off-spinner took his revenge in the very next ball when he bowled the Indian opener as he went for a cut only to get an inside on to the stumps.

With two new batsmen out on the pitch in the form of Suresh Raina and Yusuf Pathan, Ponting gave the ball back to his strike bowler Lee and the right-arm pacer did not disappoint, striking twin blows in the 28th over.

Raina, who is struggling to find a place in the playing eleven, did little help to his cause and was Lee's first victim. Going for his trademark on-the-up cover drive off good length delivery the left-hander gave a simple catch to Paine behind the wicket.

As if that was not enough, a ball later Lee castled through the defence of Harbhajan Singh with a full length fast delivery to leave India tottering at 136 for seven after 28 overs.

Lee was unlucky not to have picked up his third wicket in the next over when Paine dropped dangerman Pathan. But the Australian pacer was not to be denied as two balls later he sent Piyush Chawla packing for a duck.

Pathan got another life when he was on 13. Going for a big swing over the off-side off a Johnson delivery he got a thick edge, which flew fast to Watson at the first slip but the Australian opener failed to latch on to the chance.

Ponting was bang on target with his bowling changes today. He brought David Hussey on to the attack in the 39th over and the part-time spinner did not disappoint his captain.

Inspite of being hit for two huge sixes by Pathan soon after his arrival, Hussey did not lose his cool and got the big-hitting right-hander in the same over as he went for one too many.

India managed to cross the 200-mark thanks mainly to Ashwin and Ashish Nehra (19), who stitched 27 runs together for the last wicket.

Ponting: Nice to get back to playing cricket and atmosphere is just huge. Not sure about the pitch at Bengaluru so we will concentrate on making inroads.

MS Dhoni: Not a bad start, especially when you are used to losing tosses. Sachin and Zaheer won't play today. Others will get a chance to feature and get some practice. It is very important to concentrate on basics, it will be good to play in front of a packed home crowd.

Pitch News: Ian Chappell says there is a bit of even grass and a couple of cracks ahead of the good length spot. Harbhajan Singh will fancy it.

Teams:

Australia (Playing XV): Shane Watson, Brad Haddin(w), Ricky Ponting(c), Michael Clarke, Cameron White, David Hussey, Steven Smith, Mitchell Johnson, Brett Lee, Jason Krejza, Doug Bollinger, John Hastings, Tim Paine, Shaun Tait, Callum Ferguson

India (Playing XIII): Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni(w/c), Yusuf Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Ashish Nehra, Munaf Patel, Suresh Raina, Ravichandran Ashwin, Piyush Chawla, S Sreesanth
Follow these links to find out all you want to know about the Teams, Star Players , Captains, Statistics, Factoids, History, Venues and of course the Fixtures of the ICC Cricket World Cup.

IND vs AUS

ICC CWC Warm-up LIVE: IND vs AUS

What a warm-up win for India! Chasing 215 runs for victory, Australia were bundled out for 176. For latest, stay tuned with ESPNSTAR.com.

CLICK HERE FOR SCORECARD

So finally, Indian spinners got the better of Australian batsmen and ensured that Men in Blue start the ICC Cricket World Cup campaign in style.

Over 34.4: Smart work by MS Dhoni as Ricky Ponting fails to get his back-foot back in time. Harbhajan Singh finally won the little battle.

Over 30.4: Chawla dismisses Callum Fergusson. Shane Warne kind of delivery! Slip coming into operation as Kohli completes the formality.

Piyush Chawla is living a dream spell. A huge blow for Australia as they have now lost 7 wickets for 148 runs with Ricky Ponting playing on 51.

Over 28.2: Huge wicket! David Hussey gets a stunner on the very first ball he faces as MS Dhoni rattles the stump.

Over 28.1: Piyush Chawla induces a false shot Cameron White lofts, only to perish at mid-on.

Over 21.5: Yuvraj Singh has struck for India as Tim Paine's lofted shot lands staright in Munaf Patel's hand. Great running catch from Munaf.

Over 20.2: Oh! hoo! A spectators catch by Sreesanth in the deep on a top edge of Harbhajan Singh's ball just made Indian fans interested. A contest you would not like to miss. For the moment - Aussie skipper survives.

Harbhajan Singh gets the ball and bowls a tight over. But what India desperately need at this moment is wickets and that too in bunch.

Over 18: Chasing 215 for victory, Australia found themselves cruising along with 103/1.

Shane Watson led Ausssie chase in style as he carted Indian pacers all-aroun the park. Kangaroos would take huge confidence if at all they win the current match as lot of pre-match talks centered around how the visitors would fare on a slow pitch. India Innings: 214/10

An impressive Brett Lee produced a fast and furious second spell to skittle out India for a modest 214 in their first warm-up match ahead of the ICC Cricket World Cup.

Lee (3/35) accounted for three Indian wickets in his second spell of five overs, giving away just 12 runs. He was ably supported by John Hastings who returned with figures of two for 24 from his six overs.

David Hussey also picked up two wickets during the fag end of the Indian innings with the part-time off-spinner giving away 25 runs.

Opting to bat, India produced a listless batting display as they lost wickets at intervals to be eventually bundled out under 250 in 44.3 overs.

(Can Sachin Tendulkar really change India's fortunes? We would value your comments!)

Virender Sehwag was the top-scorer for India with a 56-ball 54 while Yusuf Pathan took his time to the open up during his 32 that came off 39 balls and was studded with two towering sixes.

Apart from Sehwag, the Indian batters were found wanting from the onset against Australia's lethal pace battery. Virat Kohli (21), skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (11) and Suresh Raina (12) all got starts but gave away their wickets when the team needed them.

India's agony in the batting department can be gauged from the fact that they failed to notch up a single 50-run partnership, the highest being the 49-run ninth wicket stand between Pathan and R Ashwin (25 not out).

Gautam Gambhir never looked in his comfort zone from the very first ball. He was circumspect throughout his 15-ball stay, which included a maiden first over from Brett Lee.

His agony finally came to an end in the fourth over when he edged a Doug Bollinger delivery to Cameron White at the second slip.

Virat Kohli (21) looked in supreme confidence from the time he arrived at the crease and hit a boundary both of Lee and Bollinger in consecutive overs to continue his impressive run of form that was visible in the five-match ODI series in South Africa.

Sehwag, on the other hand, patiently waited for the bad deliveries to hit and brought up India's 50 in style in the 10th over, clobbering John Hastings to the cover boundary.

But just when it seemed Kohli is in for a big innings the right-hander slashed a full length Hastings' delivery to David Hussey at point.

After just two overs spell, Ponting replaced Hastings and introduced spin in the form of Jason Krejza, but it was left-arm pacer Mitchell Johnson who struck the third blow for Australia. Yuvraj Singh's awful form continued as he looked completely out of sorts from the time of arriving at the crease. He scored just one run of seven balls before edging an accurate Johnson bouncer to Tim Paine behind the stumps.

The bowling powerplay worked wonders for Australia as they conceded just 12 runs, picking up two vital wickets in those five overs.

India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni too did little justice to his reputation as he contributed just 11 runs before edging a Hastings delivery on to the stumps to cut short his stay at the crease with the India scoreboard reading 101 for four.

Sehwag, however, was at his full display at the Chinnaswamy Stadium as he took Krezja for special treatment before the off-spinner picked up his man.

After a sedate start, Sehwag opened up and struck as many as eight boundaries and a six during his 56-ball innings before giving away his wicket after doing all the hard work.

Sehwag raised his half-century in ominous fashion sending Krejza over the long-off fence. But the off-spinner took his revenge in the very next ball when he bowled the Indian opener as he went for a cut only to get an inside on to the stumps.

With two new batsmen out on the pitch in the form of Suresh Raina and Yusuf Pathan, Ponting gave the ball back to his strike bowler Lee and the right-arm pacer did not disappoint, striking twin blows in the 28th over.

Raina, who is struggling to find a place in the playing eleven, did little help to his cause and was Lee's first victim. Going for his trademark on-the-up cover drive off good length delivery the left-hander gave a simple catch to Paine behind the wicket.

As if that was not enough, a ball later Lee castled through the defence of Harbhajan Singh with a full length fast delivery to leave India tottering at 136 for seven after 28 overs.

Lee was unlucky not to have picked up his third wicket in the next over when Paine dropped dangerman Pathan. But the Australian pacer was not to be denied as two balls later he sent Piyush Chawla packing for a duck.

Pathan got another life when he was on 13. Going for a big swing over the off-side off a Johnson delivery he got a thick edge, which flew fast to Watson at the first slip but the Australian opener failed to latch on to the chance.

Ponting was bang on target with his bowling changes today. He brought David Hussey on to the attack in the 39th over and the part-time spinner did not disappoint his captain.

Inspite of being hit for two huge sixes by Pathan soon after his arrival, Hussey did not lose his cool and got the big-hitting right-hander in the same over as he went for one too many.

India managed to cross the 200-mark thanks mainly to Ashwin and Ashish Nehra (19), who stitched 27 runs together for the last wicket.

Ponting: Nice to get back to playing cricket and atmosphere is just huge. Not sure about the pitch at Bengaluru so we will concentrate on making inroads.

MS Dhoni: Not a bad start, especially when you are used to losing tosses. Sachin and Zaheer won't play today. Others will get a chance to feature and get some practice. It is very important to concentrate on basics, it will be good to play in front of a packed home crowd.

Pitch News: Ian Chappell says there is a bit of even grass and a couple of cracks ahead of the good length spot. Harbhajan Singh will fancy it.

Teams:

Australia (Playing XV): Shane Watson, Brad Haddin(w), Ricky Ponting(c), Michael Clarke, Cameron White, David Hussey, Steven Smith, Mitchell Johnson, Brett Lee, Jason Krejza, Doug Bollinger, John Hastings, Tim Paine, Shaun Tait, Callum Ferguson

India (Playing XIII): Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni(w/c), Yusuf Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Ashish Nehra, Munaf Patel, Suresh Raina, Ravichandran Ashwin, Piyush Chawla, S Sreesanth
Follow these links to find out all you want to know about the Teams, Star Players , Captains, Statistics, Factoids, History, Venues and of course the Fixtures of the ICC Cricket World Cup.

IND vs AUS

ICC CWC Warm-up LIVE: IND vs AUS

What a warm-up win for India! Chasing 215 runs for victory, Australia were bundled out for 176. For latest, stay tuned with ESPNSTAR.com.

CLICK HERE FOR SCORECARD

So finally, Indian spinners got the better of Australian batsmen and ensured that Men in Blue start the ICC Cricket World Cup campaign in style.

Over 34.4: Smart work by MS Dhoni as Ricky Ponting fails to get his back-foot back in time. Harbhajan Singh finally won the little battle.

Over 30.4: Chawla dismisses Callum Fergusson. Shane Warne kind of delivery! Slip coming into operation as Kohli completes the formality.

Piyush Chawla is living a dream spell. A huge blow for Australia as they have now lost 7 wickets for 148 runs with Ricky Ponting playing on 51.

Over 28.2: Huge wicket! David Hussey gets a stunner on the very first ball he faces as MS Dhoni rattles the stump.

Over 28.1: Piyush Chawla induces a false shot Cameron White lofts, only to perish at mid-on.

Over 21.5: Yuvraj Singh has struck for India as Tim Paine's lofted shot lands staright in Munaf Patel's hand. Great running catch from Munaf.

Over 20.2: Oh! hoo! A spectators catch by Sreesanth in the deep on a top edge of Harbhajan Singh's ball just made Indian fans interested. A contest you would not like to miss. For the moment - Aussie skipper survives.

Harbhajan Singh gets the ball and bowls a tight over. But what India desperately need at this moment is wickets and that too in bunch.

Over 18: Chasing 215 for victory, Australia found themselves cruising along with 103/1.

Shane Watson led Ausssie chase in style as he carted Indian pacers all-aroun the park. Kangaroos would take huge confidence if at all they win the current match as lot of pre-match talks centered around how the visitors would fare on a slow pitch. India Innings: 214/10

An impressive Brett Lee produced a fast and furious second spell to skittle out India for a modest 214 in their first warm-up match ahead of the ICC Cricket World Cup.

Lee (3/35) accounted for three Indian wickets in his second spell of five overs, giving away just 12 runs. He was ably supported by John Hastings who returned with figures of two for 24 from his six overs.

David Hussey also picked up two wickets during the fag end of the Indian innings with the part-time off-spinner giving away 25 runs.

Opting to bat, India produced a listless batting display as they lost wickets at intervals to be eventually bundled out under 250 in 44.3 overs.

(Can Sachin Tendulkar really change India's fortunes? We would value your comments!)

Virender Sehwag was the top-scorer for India with a 56-ball 54 while Yusuf Pathan took his time to the open up during his 32 that came off 39 balls and was studded with two towering sixes.

Apart from Sehwag, the Indian batters were found wanting from the onset against Australia's lethal pace battery. Virat Kohli (21), skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (11) and Suresh Raina (12) all got starts but gave away their wickets when the team needed them.

India's agony in the batting department can be gauged from the fact that they failed to notch up a single 50-run partnership, the highest being the 49-run ninth wicket stand between Pathan and R Ashwin (25 not out).

Gautam Gambhir never looked in his comfort zone from the very first ball. He was circumspect throughout his 15-ball stay, which included a maiden first over from Brett Lee.

His agony finally came to an end in the fourth over when he edged a Doug Bollinger delivery to Cameron White at the second slip.

Virat Kohli (21) looked in supreme confidence from the time he arrived at the crease and hit a boundary both of Lee and Bollinger in consecutive overs to continue his impressive run of form that was visible in the five-match ODI series in South Africa.

Sehwag, on the other hand, patiently waited for the bad deliveries to hit and brought up India's 50 in style in the 10th over, clobbering John Hastings to the cover boundary.

But just when it seemed Kohli is in for a big innings the right-hander slashed a full length Hastings' delivery to David Hussey at point.

After just two overs spell, Ponting replaced Hastings and introduced spin in the form of Jason Krejza, but it was left-arm pacer Mitchell Johnson who struck the third blow for Australia. Yuvraj Singh's awful form continued as he looked completely out of sorts from the time of arriving at the crease. He scored just one run of seven balls before edging an accurate Johnson bouncer to Tim Paine behind the stumps.

The bowling powerplay worked wonders for Australia as they conceded just 12 runs, picking up two vital wickets in those five overs.

India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni too did little justice to his reputation as he contributed just 11 runs before edging a Hastings delivery on to the stumps to cut short his stay at the crease with the India scoreboard reading 101 for four.

Sehwag, however, was at his full display at the Chinnaswamy Stadium as he took Krezja for special treatment before the off-spinner picked up his man.

After a sedate start, Sehwag opened up and struck as many as eight boundaries and a six during his 56-ball innings before giving away his wicket after doing all the hard work.

Sehwag raised his half-century in ominous fashion sending Krejza over the long-off fence. But the off-spinner took his revenge in the very next ball when he bowled the Indian opener as he went for a cut only to get an inside on to the stumps.

With two new batsmen out on the pitch in the form of Suresh Raina and Yusuf Pathan, Ponting gave the ball back to his strike bowler Lee and the right-arm pacer did not disappoint, striking twin blows in the 28th over.

Raina, who is struggling to find a place in the playing eleven, did little help to his cause and was Lee's first victim. Going for his trademark on-the-up cover drive off good length delivery the left-hander gave a simple catch to Paine behind the wicket.

As if that was not enough, a ball later Lee castled through the defence of Harbhajan Singh with a full length fast delivery to leave India tottering at 136 for seven after 28 overs.

Lee was unlucky not to have picked up his third wicket in the next over when Paine dropped dangerman Pathan. But the Australian pacer was not to be denied as two balls later he sent Piyush Chawla packing for a duck.

Pathan got another life when he was on 13. Going for a big swing over the off-side off a Johnson delivery he got a thick edge, which flew fast to Watson at the first slip but the Australian opener failed to latch on to the chance.

Ponting was bang on target with his bowling changes today. He brought David Hussey on to the attack in the 39th over and the part-time spinner did not disappoint his captain.

Inspite of being hit for two huge sixes by Pathan soon after his arrival, Hussey did not lose his cool and got the big-hitting right-hander in the same over as he went for one too many.

India managed to cross the 200-mark thanks mainly to Ashwin and Ashish Nehra (19), who stitched 27 runs together for the last wicket.

Ponting: Nice to get back to playing cricket and atmosphere is just huge. Not sure about the pitch at Bengaluru so we will concentrate on making inroads.

MS Dhoni: Not a bad start, especially when you are used to losing tosses. Sachin and Zaheer won't play today. Others will get a chance to feature and get some practice. It is very important to concentrate on basics, it will be good to play in front of a packed home crowd.

Pitch News: Ian Chappell says there is a bit of even grass and a couple of cracks ahead of the good length spot. Harbhajan Singh will fancy it.

Teams:

Australia (Playing XV): Shane Watson, Brad Haddin(w), Ricky Ponting(c), Michael Clarke, Cameron White, David Hussey, Steven Smith, Mitchell Johnson, Brett Lee, Jason Krejza, Doug Bollinger, John Hastings, Tim Paine, Shaun Tait, Callum Ferguson

India (Playing XIII): Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni(w/c), Yusuf Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Ashish Nehra, Munaf Patel, Suresh Raina, Ravichandran Ashwin, Piyush Chawla, S Sreesanth
Follow these links to find out all you want to know about the Teams, Star Players , Captains, Statistics, Factoids, History, Venues and of course the Fixtures of the ICC Cricket World Cup.

IND vs WI

West Indies Cricket
West Indies related Cricket News

* West Indies Cricket matches not involving India & other tournaments
* West Indies in World Twenty20 2009
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ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 in Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka
ICC CRICKET WORLD CUP 2011 Quarter Finals- Latest News
Cricket World Cup
ICC World Cup 4th Quarter Final, Sri Lanka v England (Match D) -
Mar 26, 2011
09:00 GMT | 14:30 local | 05:00 EDT

* 4th Quarter Final Sri Lanka v England (Match D) in Colombo

ICC World Cup 3rd Quarter Final, New Zealand v South Africa (Match F) -
Mar 25, 2011
08:30 GMT | 14:30 local | 04:30 EDT

* 3rd Quarter Final New Zealand v South Africa (Match F) in Mirpur

ICC World Cup 2nd Quarter Final, India v Australia (Match E) -
Mar 24, 2011
09:00 GMT | 14:30 local | 05:00 EDT

* India Cricket Team For World Cup 2011
* 2nd Quarter Final India v Australia (Match E) in Ahmedabad

ICC World Cup 1st Quarter Final, Pakistan v West Indies (Match C) -
Mar 23, 2011
08:30 GMT | 14:30 local | 04:30 EDT

* 1st Quarter Final Pakistan v West Indies (Match C) in Mirpur

ICC World Cup Cricket Quarter Finals
Date Start Time Match Venue
Wed Mar 23 08:30 GMT | 14:30 local | 04:30 EDT 1st Quarter Final
Pakistan v West Indies
(Match C) Mirpur
Thu Mar 24 09:00 GMT | 14:30 local | 05:00 EDT 2nd Quarter Final
India v Australia
(Match E) Ahmedabad
Fri Mar 25 08:30 GMT | 14:30 local | 04:30 EDT 3rd Quarter Final
New Zealand v South Africa
(Match F) Mirpur
Sat Mar 26 09:00 GMT | 14:30 local | 05:00 EDT 4th Quarter Final
Sri Lanka v England
(Match D) Colombo

ICC CRICKET WORLD CUP 2011 Group Round
ICC World Cup Cricket Group A
Teams Mat Won Lost Tied N/R Pts
Pakistan 6 5 1 0 0 10
Sri Lanka 6 4 1 0 1 9
Australia 6 4 1 0 1 9
New Zealand 6 4 2 0 0 8
Zimbabwe 6 2 4 0 0 4
Canada 6 1 5 0 0 2
Kenya 6 0 6 0 0 0

ICC World Cup Cricket Group B
Teams Mat Won Lost Tied N/R Pts
South Africa 6 5 1 0 0 10
India 6 4 1 1 0 9
England 6 3 2 1 0 7
West Indies 6 3 3 0 0 6
Bangladesh 6 3 3 0 0 6
Ireland 6 2 4 0 0 4
Netherlands 6 0 6 0 0 0


ICC World Cup 42nd Match, India v West Indies, Group B - India win sets up Aussie showdown
Mar 20, 2011
India set up a World Cup quarter-final against holders Australia with a 80-run victory over West Indies, who face Pakistan in the last eight. West Indies paceman Ravi Rampaul took 5-51 on his World Cup debut including the wicket of Sachin Tendulkar for two.

Yuvraj Singh, who was dropped twice, hit 113 and shared a third wicket stand of 122 with Virat Kohli (59) before India collapsed from 218-3 to 268. Devon Smith hit 81 but West Indies lost eight wickets for 34 to finish on 188.
India 268 (Yuvraj 113, Kohli 59, Rampaul 5-51) beat West Indies 188 (Smith 81, Sarwan 39, Zaheer 3-26) by 60 runs

* World Cup Cricket Group B Matches
* India v West Indies Group B Match 42

* ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 in India, Sri Lanka & Bangladesh
* ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 Schedule
* ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 Group A Matches
* ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 Group B Matches
* ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 Quarter Finals
* ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 Semi Finals
* ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 Final
* ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 in India, Sri Lanka & Bangladesh
* Indian Cricket Site | Board of Control for Cricket in India BCCI


India vs West Indies Cricket News
India in West Indies 2009
4th ODI washed out, India win series (IND 2:1|4)
July 5, 2009
MS Dhoni's team won the fifth consecutive ODI series since the defeat in the Asia Cup final at the hands of Sri Lanka last year.

Dhoni won the fourth straight toss in the morning and asked West Indies to bat for the second time in the series, and West Indies suffered an early set back as Ishant Sharma removed Chris Gayle in the very first over for a duck. The hosts who went into the game 2-1 down in the best-of-four contest saw their hopes destroyed by the weather.
When the home side was on 27 for one after 7.3 overs a heavy downpour saw the contest called off.

MS Dhoni is the Man of the Series.
Fourth ODI, St Lucia: West Indies 27/1 (Ishant 1-17) vs India - Match abandoned

* Indian tour of West Indies, 2009 home
* India vs West Indies, Fourth One Day International

India win 3rd ODI by six wickets to lead series (IND 2:1|4)
July 3, 2009
India won the third ODI with West Indies on Friday in a rain-shortened encounter at St Lucia by six wickets. Rain delayed the start and interrupted play no fewer than four times leading the umpires to shorten the innings and revise the target couple of times.

Dhoni won the third straight toss in the morning and asked West Indies to bat for the first time in the series. Ramnaresh Sarwan, with 62 off 59, top-scored as the hosts made 186-7 from 27 overs.

Set 159 to win from 22 overs, openers Dinesh Karthik (47) and Gautam Gambhir (44) added 84 for the first wicket. Then, skipper Mahendra Dhoni (46 not out off 34 balls) saw India home with one ball remaining.
Third ODI, St Lucia: India 159/4 (Karthik 47, Dhoni 46*, Gambhir 44) beat West Indies 185/7 (Sarwan 62, Nehra 3-21) by six wickets (D/L method)

* Indian tour of West Indies, 2009 home
* India vs West Indies, Third One Day International

West Indies thrash India in Kingston, level series (IND 1:1|4)
June 28, 2009
West Indies beat India by eight wickets in the second cricket international at Sabina Park. Chasing 189 to win, Chris Gayle (64) and Renako Morton (85) shared 101 as West Indies won with 15.5 overs to spare.

India won the toss in the morning and batted but they were reduced to 7-3 and 82-8, before Mahendra Singh Dhoni hit a patient 95 and shared a record 101-run ninth wicket parternership with RP Singh, who made 23 off 75 balls, to help India score a modest 188 all out in 48.2 overs.
Ravi Rampaul had career-best figures of 4 for 37 and Denesh Ramdin took five catches.

The third one-day international will be played in St Lucia on Friday.
Second ODI, Kingston, Jamaica: West Indies 192/2 (Morton 85*, Gayle 62) beat India 188/8 (Dhoni 95, Rampaul 4-37, Taylor 3-35, Bravo 3-26) by eight wickets

* Indian tour of West Indies, 2009 home
* India vs West Indies, Second One Day International

India win high-scoring thriller in Kingston (IND 1:0|4)
June 26, 2009
A 131 in 102 balls with 10 fours and 7 sixes from Yuvraj Singh helped India amass 339 for six in Jamaica on Friday in their first of a four-match series of one-dayers, but the determined hosts ran them close to be bowled out for 319 in the 49th over. India's total was the second highest one-day international score at Sabina Park.

Chris Gayle (37) and Runako Morton (42) put on 65 inside 10 overs for the opening stand before Ramnaresh Sarwan (45) and an aggressive Shivnarine Chanderpaul (63) kept West Indies up with the run-rate. They needed 25 to win off the last three overs with two wickets remaining but Rudra Pratap Singh bowled Sulieman Benn for seven in the 48th over, and then wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin, who had kept the score ticking with a smart 29 off 26 balls, was caught by Harbhajan Singh off Ashish Nehra's first ball of the 49th over.

Earlier, deciding to bat first, India lost Gautam Gambhir and Rohit Sharma cheaply, but Karthik (67) and Yuvraj set them on their way to the big total. Mahendra Singh Dhoni (41 of 46 balls), Yusuf Pathan (40 not out off 38) and Harbhajan Singh (21 not out off 13) chipped in with useful contributions.
First ODI, Kingston, Jamaica: India 339/6 (Yuvraj 131, Karthik 67) beat West Indies 319 (Chanderpaul 63, Ashish Nehra 3-49, Yusuf Pathan 3-56) by 20 runs

* Indian tour of West Indies, 2009 home
* India vs West Indies, First One Day International

India seek redemption in the Caribbeans
June 25, 2009
India will meet West Indies in the first game of their four-match ODI series at Kingston, Jamaica on Friday.
India is looking to restore pride after a horrendous performance at the Twenty20 World Cup in England, where they crashed out after losing to West Indies and then England. It was, in fact, India's seven-wicket loss to the West Indies in the first Super Eights game that started their losing streak in England.
Apart from restoring pride, this is India's opportunity to leapfrog Australia, and target chart-toppers South Africa in the ODI rankings. A four-nil victory will take the team, now placed third, to the lead.
West Indies Squad (from): Gayle (Capt), Ramdin, Baker, Bravo, Dwayne Bravo, Benn, Bernard Jr, Chanderpaul, Deonarine, Morton, Rampaul, Sarwan, Taylor.
India Squad (from): MS Dhoni (Capt), Yuvraj, Gambhir, Rohit, Harbhajan, Ojha, Yusuf, Vijay, Badrinath, RP Singh, Praveen Kumar, Ishant, Nayar, Nehra, Jadeja, Karthik.

* Indian tour of West Indies, 2009 home
* India vs West Indies, First One Day International
* India vs West Indies, Second One Day International
* India vs West Indies, Third One Day International
* India vs West Indies, Fourth One Day International

Tendulkar and Zaheer rested for West Indies tour, Irfan axed!
June 17, 2009
BCCI Secretary N Srinivasan announced a depleted Indian squad for the one-day tour of West Indies starting later this month, just days after the holders were knocked out of the Twenty20 World Cup.
The squad will be captained by Mahendra Singh Dhoni with Yuvraj Singh as his deputy. The team was selected in London after a teleconference between Chairman of the committee Krishnamachari Srikkanth, East Zone selector Raja Venkat, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and coach Gary Kirsten (in London) and three selectors — Yashpal Sharma, Surendhra Bhave and Narendra Hirwani - in Mumbai.

While Sachin Tendulkar opted out, Zaheer Khan, Virender Sehwag and Suresh Raina are out because of injuries, while Munaf Patel and Irfan Pathan were dropped for unknown reasons. Delhi left-arm seamer Ashish Nehra (who has played 72 ODI matches, taking 92 wickets) is back in the team after a long gap of four years - his last match was in in September 2005, while 25-year-old Mumbai all rounder Abhishek Nayar, RP Singh, all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, Tamil Nadu opener Murali Vijay (who has played one Test against Australia) and middle order batsman Subramaniam Badrinath (who has played three one-day internationals against Sri Lanka) also found place in the squad based on their superb performance in the IPL.
The four matches against West Indies will be played from June 26 to July 5 in Jamaica and St. Lucia.

India Team for West Indies: MS Dhoni (captain/wicketkeeper), Yuvraj Singh (vicecaptain), Gautam Gambhir (specialist opener), Rohit Sharma, Harbhajan Singh, Pragyan Ojha, Yusuf Pathan, M Vijay (specialist opener), S Badrinath, RP Singh, Praveen Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Abhishek Nayar, Ashish Nehra, Ravindra Jadeja, Dinesh Karthik.

* Indian tour of West Indies, 2009 home

Indian Tour of West Indies, 2009
May 14, 2009
After the completion of 2nd edition twenty20 World Cup in England, Indian team will tour Caribbean for four match ODI series against the West Indies.

India will play their first one day international on 26th June 2009. And the rest of three one day internationals will be played on 28th June, 3rd July and 5th July 2009. Probable venues included in the schedule.
Schedule Match Venue
Fri 26 Jun
10:30 EDT/14:30 GMT/15:30 BST/20:00 IST 1st ODI – India v West Indies Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica
Sun 28 Jun
10:30 EDT/14:30 GMT/15:30 BST/20:00 IST 2nd ODI – India v West Indies Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica
Fri 3 July
09:30 EDT/13:30 GMT/14:30 BST/19:00 IST 3rd ODI – India v West Indies Beausejour Stadium, Gros Islet, St Lucia
Sun 5 July
09:30 EDT/13:30 GMT/14:30 BST/19:00 IST 4th ODI – India v West Indies Beausejour Stadium, Gros Islet, St Lucia

* Indian tour of West Indies, 2009 home
* India vs West Indies, First One Day International
* India vs West Indies, Second One Day International
* India vs West Indies, Third One Day International
* India vs West Indies, Fourth One Day International

India vs West Indies, World Twenty20 2009
Bravo magic sinks defending champions
June 12, 2009
West Indies Cricket team India Cricket team West Indies beat India by seven wickets in a thrilling run chase at the Twenty20 World Cup at Lord's on Friday. After winning the toss and electing to bat first, India lost quick wickets at the top with Rohit Sharma the first to go for 5, caught by Simmons off Edwards in the second over. Suresh Raina was next for 5, giving a catch behind to Denesh Ramdin off Edwards. Simmons then brilliantly caught opener Gautam Gambhir, taking a superb catch running back as Gambhir miscued a Bravo delivery. Dhoni made a painful 11 before he was out caught on the boundary by Andre Fletcher off Bravo as he tried to force a sixer.
Yuvraj Singh (67) and Yusuf Pathan (31) gave something to the packed Indian crowd to cheer on, and they looked they were taking the match away from the West Indians, but an ill-timed shot by Yuvraj again gave the momentum back to the Caribbeans. Harbhajan hit three fours off the last three balls to give India a defendable target of 153-7.
India celebrated with early wicket of Fletcher for nought, and later when dangerman Gayle was out on 22, but Simmons and Bravo put on 50 from 35 balls, and shifted the momentum decisively in West Indies' favour. Dwayne Bravo who had taken four wickets to keep India down earlier, went on to score a 66 not out and ended up with the Man of the Match award.
2009 ICC World Twenty20 Match 16: IND vs WIN, Group E, June 12: West Indies 156 for 3 (Bravo 66*, Simmons 44) beat India 153 for 7 (Yuvraj 67, Yusuf 31, Bravo 4-38, Edwards 3-24) by seven wickets