Live Cricket Streaming Bangalore Vs Pune Warriors

Indian Premier League 2011, Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Pune Warriors Match Online. Watch Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Pune Warriors IPL 2011 Match Live Score. Geo Super, Star Cricket, Ten Cricket, Star Sports, Ten Sports, ESPN, NEO Cricket, Sky Sports and other Tv Channels are broadcasting the Match Live. Read IPL 2011, RCB vs PW Match Online Review.

Royal Challengers Bangalore and Pune Warriors will play 35th match of IPL 2011 at M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore on 29th April 2011. RCB vs PW Match will start at 20:00 local time (14:30 GMT). Teams Squad for Royal Challengers Bangalore and Pune Warriors is given below.

Royal Challengers Bangalore Team Squad (probable): DL Vettori*, MA Agarwal, S Aravind, KB Arun Karthik, BN Bharath, RR Bhatkal, AB de Villiers, TM Dilshan, ANPR Fernando, CM Gautam, M Kaif, AA Kazi, Z Khan, V Kohli, CK Langeveldt, A Mithun, DP Nannes, R Ninan, AUK Pathan, LA Pomersbach, CA Pujara, RR Rossouw, SS Tiwary, JJ van der Wath, JD Vandiar.

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Live Cricket Streaming Rajasthan Royals Vs Mumbai Indians

Mumbai Indians will look to consolidate their place at the top of the Indian Premier League table when they take on Rajasthan Royals in Jaipur on Friday.
Mumbai have been the most consistent side so far in the competition with five wins from six games and will start as favourites despite playing away from home.

Skipper Sachin Tendulkar is at the top of the run-scorers list and Lasith Malinga leads the wicket-takers' table by a comfortable margin and the two will be the key against Rajasthan as well.

The match will also see Tendulkar and skipper Shane Warne reignite their rivalry and unlike in the past when the battles have been evenly-matched, an in form Tendulkar is the favourite to dominate the Australian legend.

Rajasthan will have to play out of their skins to get anything out of the game and will look to Shaun Tait to make the early inroads.

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Chanderpaul Questions Hilaire's Comments

Former West Indies captain Shivnarine Chanderpaul has demanded an explanation from WICB chief Ernest Hilaire regarding the comments he made regarding the lack of discipline and application in the team, leading up to its massive post World Cup overhaul. In a strongly-worded letter addressed to Hilaire, a copy of which is with ESPNcricinfo, Chanderpaul questioned whether the comments were directed at him.

Chanderpaul, along with senior players Chris Gayle and Ramnaresh Sarwan were axed from the side for the ongoing series against Pakistan. Hilaire's interview with Line and Length network, a copy of which was later released by the WICB, touched upon a number of the problems ailing West Indies cricket over the past 15 years.

Chanderpaul's concerns were over the following excerpt from the interview: "If you look at West Indies cricket since the mid-90s, a lot of the systems we had in place broke down. There's no discipline, there's no application. We've been doing that for 15 years and we've been losing.

 We need to put a new system in place. No one man is bigger than the team, no one man is such a superstar he can decide if he is training today, if he's going to have treatment tomorrow, if he's going to attend a team meeting. It cannot work that way."

In response, Chanderpaul wrote: "I am particularly concerned about the following statements:

 1. There's no discipline, there's no application.

 2. No one man is bigger than the team, no one man is such a superstar he can decide if he is training today, if he's going to have treatment tomorrow, if he's going to attend a team meeting.

"I am of the opinion that anyone reading these comments in the specific context will conclude that:

 I, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, am an indisciplined individual and during my tenure as a West Indies player over the past fifteen years have lacked discipline and contributed to the West Indies team losing.

 I, Shivnarine Chanderpaul have not applied myself or demonstrated any real application to my role as a member of the West Indies team over the past 15 years and by so doing have contributed to the West Indies team losing.

 I, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, consider myself to be bigger than the team.

 I, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, while a member of the West Indies team during the past fifteen years, have decided when I was training or not training.

 I, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, while a member of the West Indies team during the past fifteen years, have decided when I was going to attend or not attend team meetings.

 (Based on the accusations above) I, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, while a member of the West Indies team during the past fifteen years, have disregarded the coaches and managerial staff or undermined team discipline by my actions and attitude."

Chanderpaul also questioned whether the statements were reflective of Hilaire's personal opinion, or were made in his capacity as WICB chief. "If they were made by you, I note that you constantly use the word 'we' in the excerpt above," Chanderpaul wrote.

"I would like to know if this is a 'royal we' or, in other words, are you speaking for yourself, albeit as CEO of the West Indies Cricket Board or are you speaking for and on behalf of the West Indies Cricket Board itself? This is important to me since I believe I have served the WICB and West Indies Cricket faithfully and well during my career and it would be difficult for me to accept that the members of the board of directors of West Indies cricket have sanctioned those remarks. On what basis have you made those statements and with what purpose?"

Asking Hilaire to reply urgently, Chanderpaul said he was worried the comments would damage his reputation. "I am convinced that those persons who do not know the sacrifices I have made on behalf of West Indies Cricket and my dedication to the cause of West Indies Cricket would believe, based on what you have said in your interview, that I lack discipline and application and have not demonstrated the sense of responsibility which I know that I have shown throughout my career.

While I would refer you to my unblemished reputation for professionalism and to all the other CEOs, coaches and managers with whom I have worked, I believe that you have crossed the line by making these public accusations that, while they may include others, are also directed at me and if unchallenged and corrected may destroy my career."

Chanderpaul told Hilaire in his letter that if he did not receive an adequate explanation he would take whatever action necessary to clear his name.

"While it would help if the WICB as an organisation repudiates your comments in this regards, it would still not be sufficient to erase the tremendous damage already done. I await your urgent response and reserve all of my rights in this matter."

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Misbah Stays Calm To Secure Series Victory

Pakistan overcame a blistering spell from Ravi Rampaul and some late panic against the impressive Devendra Bishoo to secure the series against West Indies with a three-wicket victory in Barbados. The hosts had collapsed feebly once again, but Pakistan were jolted by Rampaul's four strikes and needed the calm head of Misbah-ul-Haq, who remained cool as Bishoo threatened to turn the game again.

It became a more compelling contest than looked likely during another insipid batting display from West Indies. Then Pakistan again appeared to be cruising at 127 for 4 after a composed stand between Misbah and Hammad Azam. However, Bishoo benefited from some poor umpiring and hot-headed strokes to leave them needing 24 when Wahab Riaz joined Misbah, but there were eventually 29 balls to spare as Wahab launched two sixes in four deliveries to hurry a conclusion.

Misbah was roundly criticised for Pakistan's World Cup semi-final exit against India when his poorly-paced innings proved costly, but in this series he has provided vital ballast in an inexperienced order. Without him here, Pakistan would have lost. This was his third unbeaten score to secure a run chase - although he could have been stumped on 20 if part-time keeper Lendl Simmons had gloved the ball - and showed a technique, and composure, that was lacking among some of his team-mates.

Despite the early clatter of wickets the required rate was never an issue for Pakistan, which allowed Misbah to bed in and weather the tough passages while Rampaul was in action. This tour started on the slow, low pitch in St Lucia, where the ball barely got above knee height, but this Kensington Oval surface had far more pace and carry for the quick bowlers who were willing to bend their backs.

Ahmed Shehzad, fresh from his hundred three days ago, tried to pull Rampaul's first delivery and top-edged to a back-tracking Simmons and next delivery Asad Shafiq edged to second slip; suddenly the West Indian fans started to find their voice. Mohammad Hafeez was the next to fall to another top-edged pull, which was well taken by Bishoo, running towards deep square-leg, to leave the visitors 12 for 3.

Misbah's natural game is always to cut out risk and bat time; for Umar Akmal it is the opposite and he took the aggressive route. He struck five boundaries in a 27-ball stay before being undone by a wonderful delivery that bounced and shaved the glove as he tried to sway out of the line.

presence. Azam, in his first ODI innings, showed composure and pulled a free hit from Andre Russell for six. He also did well to leave the crease so swiftly after Asoka de Silva failed to spot a huge inside edge when he gave an lbw decision in Bishoo's favour - there is no DRS in this series.

Shahid Afridi's batting has disintegrated and, after two boundaries, it was predictable when he attempted a slog over midwicket. Mohammad Salman then showed his inexperience by not running hard when he thought the ball would reach the boundary and was bowled by a flipper that he shouldn't have been facing. Fortunately for Salman it didn't cost the match.

But while West Indies showed spirit in the field their innings followed a depressingly familiar pattern as they lost 8 for 53 after Simmons and Darren Bravo had formed a solid platform with an 86-run stand. Once they were separated, the innings almost came to a stand-still and soon fell in a heap amid a mixture of prods, pokes and hopeless slogs.

Marlon Samuels, who is struggling to adjust back to international cricket, was again culpable in the loss of momentum as he took 35 balls over his 18, while Kirk Edwards laboured until being run out by a direct hit from backward point. Aside from Simmons, and to a lesser extent Darren Bravo, there is precious little confidence in West Indies' line up and it showed as the innings faded away with Wahab taking two in three balls.

Devon Smith's horror trot against Hafeez's offspin had continued when he was trapped lbw first ball, the third time in a row he had fallen in such fashion. After reaching fifty from 61 balls Simmons had time to double his score, but drove a fraction too early and offered a low chance to Saeed Ajmal who took it well in his follow through.

The onus was on Darren Bravo not to follow a similar path of giving away a useful innings, however, having struggled to increase the tempo, he then played across a full ball from Hafeez as the stall kicked in. Any hopes of pushing past 200 vanished in the space of three balls from Wahab as he had both Darren Sammy and Dwayne Bravo caught at long on. A little bit of sensible batting and this could have been West Indies' match.

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Killing Of Cricket Pakistan Now A Nation Of Nomads

The death of cricket in Pakistan may be a foregone conclusion, but cricket on the subcontinent - where the game's financial heart beats - may also be fatally wounded, pundits say.

As the shock waves from yesterday's attack on Sri Lankan cricketers spread, the future of the game has been dissected in newspapers and on TV.

Numerous outlets drew direct comparisons to the attack on Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics.

Almost uniformly, experts and officials have declared that international cricket will not be played in Pakistan anytime soon.

Some of the most fatalistic statements came from Pakistan's former cricketing greats.

"It is all gone," former batsman Javed Miandad said.

Former spinner Iqbal Qasim said: "For the time being we feel everything has come to a dead end."

Former captain Wasim Akram said: "This will end the game for the next couple of years, including the hosting rights of the World Cup."

Former Pakistan coach Geoff Lawson told Cricinfo that the Pakistan team would become nomads.

"Cricket won't be played in Pakistan for the foreseeable future ... Pakistan look like they will become a wandering cricket team now."

Other cricketing nations might even refuse to play Pakistan at home, over fears terrorists might trail the team, former fast bowler Sarfraz Nawaz said.
Cricket authorities have been more cautious, accepting that "a very significant change" was necessary before cricket in Pakistan could resume, but not ruling out a return even by 2011, when Pakistan was to co-host the World Cup.
"The current situation need not perpetuate into the future. We must not believe Pakistan will remain unsafe for ever," ICC president David Morgan said. "The world is dangerous but cricket must and will go on."

The Pakistan Cricket Board pleaded for Pakistan cricket not to be abandoned. "It is very easy now to just say 'let's stop going to Pakistan', but we need the support of the international cricket community," PCB spokesman Wasim Bari said.

"We can still hold international matches. Terrorists have tried to hit cricket targets in other countries as well."

While much of the focus has been on the game's future in Pakistan, yesterday's attack crystallised safety fears about the entire subcontinent, raising broader fears about the future of international cricket.

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Public Display Of Love At The IPL4

The intimacy between British actress Liz Hurley and cricketer Shane Warne was spotted during the matches of the fourth season of the Indian Premiere League. These days celebrities are busy defining their relationship status with abundant display of affection.

This is something new especially in our society and is being displayed by those particularly in the cricket stadia. Hurley is presently on a holiday to India accompanied by her 9 year old son Damian.

She has come to India to cheer for Warne’s team Rajasthan Royals. Warne is the captain of the team. Liz is spending quality time with her new found love Shane Warne.
The two are enjoying each others company and making the best use of the time by travelling together in their team bus and arriving at hotels.

Recently, Hurley admitted in the stadium that she was not much interested in cricket before and was absolutely at ease with her public display of love for her beau.
They even celebrated Royals’ victory over Kochi Tuskers with a kiss. They are not concerned about the media or their children who are always around.

They had booked a room in a Hotel Mountview, Chandigarh where he signed ‘Warne family 1&2’.

Columnist of The Sydney Morning Herald, Samantha Brett stated in her recent column that Liz Hurley does not mind being lovey-dovey in the public.

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Visiting Kolkata Punish Struggling Delhi

Manoj Tiwary and Iqbal Abdulla helped Kolkata Knight Riders strangle Delhi Daredevils by 17 runs to grab second position in the Indian Premier League 2011 (IPL 2011) at Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium on Thursday night.

With this defeat, Delhi Daredevils have further consolidated their position right at the bottom of the points table as other than their skipper Virender Sehwag no one looks ready to take the responsibility.

Batting first, Kolkata Knight Riders scored 148 runs for the loss of seven wickets from their 20 overs, thanks mainly to an unbeaten half century by Manoj Tiwary.

Kolkata started off well with Jacques Kallis (11 from 11 – 2 fours) and SP Goswami (22 from 20 – 4 fours) scoring 29 runs for the opening wicket from just 27 balls but both of them went back into the pavilion in short succession. However, skipper Gautam Gambhir (18 from 19 – 2 fours) then added 40 runs for the third wicket with Manoj Tiwary (61 not out from 47 – 2 fours, 3 sixes) before Yadav dented the Kolkata middle-order with double strike.

First he got rid of an explosive Yusuf Pathan (5 from and on the very next ball he took the wicket of dangerous Eoin Morgan as the visitors found themselves in trouble at 5/105 after 15 overs.

Ryan ten Dooeschate (19 from 12 – 2 fours, 1 six) then helped Tiwari in the death overs with some lusty blows to propel Kolkata Knight Riders to a good total of 148 runs.

U Yadav was Delhi’s most successful bowler with figures of two for 29 from his four overs.

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Early Appointment Of Fletcher Will Help Us Prepare Better Says Shewag

New Delhi, April 29 (IANS) India vice-captain Virender Sehwag said the early appointment of Duncan Fletcher as the India cricket coach will help the team prepare well for the forthcoming series in England.

"It's good for India. It's a good thing that the board has found a replacement in quick time. It will obviously help the players and the new coach to settle down early. He (Fletcher) will get enough time to do home work before our series against England starts," said the opening batsman.

"Now that he is in charge of the team, we will have an early camp and it will help us to prepare better," he said.

Asked if he had any interaction with the former England coach in the past, Sehwag said: "No, I don't know him."

Fletcher, a former Zimbabwe captain, who guided the England cricket team to a historic Ashes triumph in 2005, will join the team only after the tour of the West Indies due to prior commitments. Bowling coach Eric Simons will be the interim coach in the Caribbean.

Gautam Gambhir, however, declined to comment about Fletcher's appointment saying he was not even thinking about the new coach right now.

"Right now, my concentration and focus is totally on the IPL. I am not thinking about all these things. I will only think about all this once the IPL ends," he said.

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Sarabha Ladies' Club Dances To Cricket's Tune

 To celebrate the ICC World Cup win of Indian cricket team, Sarabha Ladies' Club organized its annual meet in great style. A musical match was held between Indian and Sri Lankan cricket teams and the performance enthralled the audience. The programme was organized to celebrate Baisakhi through a fusion of Punjabi and western dance and was appreciated by all the club members.

It was organised under the guidance of the director Shammi Bindra and its coordinator was Avinash Kaur. Some members were also awarded for their contribution in making the event successful.

Lovely Dang, a homemaker and resident of Ghumar Mandi said that for a performance of 10 minutes she had practised for 12 days. She added that her mother-in-law Dolly Dang, who ran a boutique, had given her permission to perform. ''I was very excited as my inspirational mother-in-law was also among the spectators.''

Sabina, a resident of Model Gram, stated that it was first time that she had performed a fusion dance and that too with a theme of cricket.

She stated that 15 days of rehearsal and getting time out of the busy schedule was tough but she eventually got the applause from every club member.

Priyanka Sood, a resident of Haibowal, said that after Indian team won the World Cup she had developed an interest in watching cricket matches.

She stated that it was difficult for her to understand the IPL format, but her brother helped her in understanding that.

Ritu Bhalla from Kundan puri stated that she had danced in such performances before as well, but the theme of musical cricket had really clicked with her. She added that this kind of fusion was the best dance she had ever experienced.

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Chappell In To Bat For Oval Development

The redevelopment will ensure AFL matches move to the historic city venue in a sharing arrangement with cricket.

Around 19,500 members of the South Australian Cricket Association (SACA) will effectively vote on Monday to determine if the redevelopment proceeds.
Only 25 per cent of SACA members need to vote no to block the state government-funded proposal.

The members will vote at a special general meeting to allow a change to the SACA constitution which permits the cricket body to facilitate the redevelopment, slated for completion in 2014.

South Australia-born Chappell implored SACA members to vote for the plan.
"If you're not regenerating ... it's going backwards, and I think Adelaide Oval needs to be constantly regenerated and upgraded," Chappell said at the ground on Friday.

"And if it doesn't, I would be more worried about it becoming a ghost town in the long term."

Chappell was asked by SACA hierarchy to publicly support the redevelopment, which would replace the eastern Chappell Stands, named after he and brothers Ian and Trevor.

The redevelopment would raise the ground's capacity to 50,000 from the current 36,000, with AFL clubs Adelaide and Port Adelaide supporting a move.
Both clubs posted financial losses last year and ranked last and second last in the AFL for monetary yields from deals with their current playing venue, Football Park.

Adelaide and Port Adelaide believe they could benefit by up to $8 million a year from moving games to the inner city oval.

The government will also pay the SACA $85 million to retire debt.
"We'll have an absolutely world class venue in Adelaide which will be great for any of the sports and any other activities that take place here," Chappell said.
"It's very difficult, particularly with a population the size of Adelaide, to have single purpose venues, you need multi purpose venues.

"I grew up with Adelaide Oval being a football venue and a cricket venue and to see the two of them playing here again, I would see as a positive thing.
"If the opportunity is missed it may never happen again."

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It's A Tie Between Muthiah And Srinivasan In SC

NEW DELHI: It's a rarity in T20 cricket as also in litigation, but a bitter legal contest between the cricket board's ex-president A C Muthiah and present secretary N Srinivasan ended in a tie in the Supreme Court on Thursday.

A bench comprising Justices J M Panchal and Gyan Sudha Misra gave a split verdict on Muthiah's challenge to an amendment to a BCCI rule, which allowed Srinivasan to hold office as treasurer and later secretary while his company, India Cement, owned the Chennai Super Kings team for the IPL T20 tournament.

The unamended rule had prohibited administrators from having commercial interest in all cricket matches organised by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). However, the September 2008 amendment permitted them to have business interest in T20 matches.

Justice Panchal ruled in favour of Srinivasan and dismissed Muthiah's plea. He agreed that after the amendment was effected by BCCI, Srinivasan could not be faulted more so when he was only one of the 12 directors on the India Cement board.

But, Justice Misra allowed Muthiah's appeal and said Srinivasan could not be seen wearing two hats -- one being that of a cricket administrator and the other with commercial interest in matches organised by the Board.

With the litigation ending in a tie with the split verdict, the Bench ordered the matter be placed before the Chief Justice for fresh hearing by a new bench.

The Board had rallied behind Srinivasan. It had termed Muthiah as an outsider who was resorting to bodyline bowling to disrupt cricket administration.

Srinivasan had said he was not the alter ego of India Cement, which owns the IPL T20 team Chennai Super Kings, and hence as a cricket administrator could not be accused of breaching the conflict of interest code. He had said that he had not participated in the decision of the India Cement Board to bid for the IPL team.

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Pakistan Vs West Indies Men In Green Clinch Series

Pakistan defeated West Indies by three wickets in low-scoring match at Kensington Oval in Barbados on Thursday to clinch the series 3-0 as Misbah-ul-Haq once again showed the way, instead of skipper Shahid Afridi.

The match was shortened to 45 overes after heavy rain delayed the start of the match and Pakistani skipper never hesitated inviting his opposite number to bat first after winning the toss.

Shahid Khan Afridi was once again below par with his captaincy and then his batting skills as he lost his cool when Pakistan required him to stay at the wicket with no batsman left after him to take the responsibility, but the Pakistan skipper, who is renowned for playing for spectators rather than the country, lofted a delivery by Bishoo to get caught well within the circle. Pakistan were still needing 29 runs when skipper lost his nerves.

However, Wahab Riaz, a lower-order tail-ender, showed his captain the way to bat in crunch situations as he kept his cool along with Misbah-ul-Haq and steered Pakistan to a memorable victory in Barbados.

Star of the show was once again Misbah-ul-Haq (62 not out from 109 – 4 fours, 1 six) as he was the only one batsman who stood tall and braved the West Indian bowling attack that found some rhythm on a double-paced and double-bounce pitch of Barbados.

Batting first, West Indies were bundled out for only 171 runs from 43.4 overs thanks to unplayable bowling by Saeed Ajmal (8.4-0-29-3) and furious fast bowling by Wahab Riaz (8-1-38-3) while Mohammad Hafeez (9-0-31-2) once again proved methodical with new ball. Hammad Azam was only tried for two overs and never allowed to show his real talent with the ball.

For West Indies, Lendl Simmons (51 from 64 – 4 fours, 2 sixes) once again gave them a solid start and despite of losing Devon Smith (Duck) he held the innings together in company of Darren Bravo (47 from 77 – 3 fours, 1 six) as West Indies scored 92 runs for the loss of one wicket from 20.4 overs. Devon Smith has been having a poor run against Mohammad Hafeez as the off-spinner has been taking his wicket since the quarter-final match of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011.

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I Miss Cricket Says Zulqarnain

LAHORE: 
Despite the fact that Zulqarnain Haider hung up his boots prematurely given the circumstances that forced him to retire, it may be a while before the former wicket-keeper is considered for national duty again.

Haider admitted missing playing cricket but also stated the stance he took, against corruption, was equally important. The 25-year-old left the team during the One-Day International series against South Africa in the UAE and fled to the UK after claiming to have been threatened by bookmakers. He sought political asylum in Britian before returning to Pakistan earlier this week after being assured of security by the government.

Haider now resides in Islamabad with his family and is yet to step foot in Lahore due to security concerns.

“My cricket has already suffered a lot and I miss playing,” Haider told The Express Tribune from Islamabad. “I had worked very hard to get into the national side and I don’t know why I was targeted by the bookmakers. But I think the stance I took against corruption is equally important as playing for Pakistan.”

The former wicket-keeper said that his rightful place was on the cricket field and his role of a glovesman but due to the circumstances, he was left with nothing.

“I started playing cricket in a shadow of crisis. Aged 13, I lost my mother but still managed to continue playing cricket. I never knew that things would turn out this way.”

Haider, who announced his retirement in London, said that he is yet to decide on his future. “I may be losing valuable time by not playing cricket but I will stage a comeback.”

Haider maintained he was ready to answer all the questions of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and was in fact, eager to clear things up.

“I’ve no problems in facing the PCB. I know there are negative things being said about me but I’m keen to clear them.”

PCB’s Chief Selector Mohsin Khan, however, said that Haider would be considered once the board clears him to play first-class cricket.

Haider, who faced heavy criticism after he deserted the team during the UAE series, said he was delighted after the police arrested eight bookmakers in the Sambrial area near Sialkot. And while the bookmakers confessed to have threatened the 25-year-old, Haider said his actions were fully justified.
He added that the International Cricket Council should take steps to curb the menace of corruption in cricket and backed any effort that targets corruption.
“I put my career on the line and I won’t get bothered if I’m required to help,” said Haider.

“The confidence that has been given to me by the government of Pakistan has brought me back. I hope that with serious steps, a time will come when our cricket will become clean.”

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Fire In Babylon Revenge Of The West Indies

August 1976. England is in the grip of the longest and fiercest heatwave on record. The cricket field at the Kennington Oval is so parched that you might imagine yourself to be in Trinidad or Antigua, not London. The thousands of black faces around the boundary rope only add to the impression of a Caribbean outpost in SE11.

Michael Holding has the ball. Loose-limbed and doe-eyed, with a languid running style that has earned him the nickname 'Whispering Death’, he is the avenging angel of the West Indies’ fearsome cricket team. He stands in front of the sightscreen, almost pawing the ground at the end of his 44-pace run-up. The air buzzes with anticipation as he fixes his gaze on Tony Greig, the South African émigré who has played his way to the England captaincy. Everyone in the stands knows there is more at stake here than the next run or wicket. This is personal.

Holding begins his silky approach to the crease, his shirt billowing and his head swaying gently from side to side. 'When you watch him,’ the cricket photographer Clyde Cumberbatch said, 'what you are looking at is an African individual with African rhythm.’

That rhythm is matched by the pulse building in the crowd, as thousands of West Indian supporters beat their drums, blow their horns or simply bang a couple of tin cans together.

Holding leaps. The ball whips from his hand in a blur. Greig tries to jam his bat down in time but he is hopelessly late. The stumps detonate, and even though the match is not yet over, there are suddenly hundreds of people on the field. 'Did you see that one, Tony?’ they jeer. 'Who’s grovelling now?’

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We Need To Learn How To Utilise The Batting PowerPlay Says Afridi

Shahid Afridi and his Pakistani side must be justifiably proud of their performance in the recently concluded ICC Cricket World Cup 2011. Not only did they confound expectations by defeating pre-tournament favourites Sri Lanka in the latter's home territory, they also earned the honour of ending the defending champion Australia's 12-year unbeaten run at the World Cup. Coming on the back of arguably the most difficult 12-month period in the history of Pakistan cricket, it is indeed remarkable that this apparently ramshackle unit was able to reach the semi-finals, and that as group leaders. In doing so, they fared considerably better than their much vaunted predecessors of 2003 and 2007.

In a wide-ranging and exclusive post-World Cup discussion with , the Pakistan ODI and T20 captain discussed issues related to the World Cup 2011, talked about his development as a player over the past 15 years and looked ahead towards his own future and that of Pakistani cricket in general. Employing his characteristic honesty and his trademark wit, Shahid Afridi provided forthright and even blunt answers to some probing questions from the team.


The use of the Batting Powerplay

Whereas Afridi’s captaincy and on field demeanour were generally lauded during the recently concluded edition of the ICC World Cup, the Pakistan team’s strategy vis-à-vis batting powerplays often left their followers perplexed.

In particular, in the all-important semi-final encounter with India, it is felt that Pakistan’s poorly strategised use of the batting powerplay was a significant factor in the team’s defeat. When asked about the timing of the powerplay, Afridi agreed that his team had not used powerplays to good effect, stating that ”We need to learn how to utilise the batting powerplay".

The Pakistan skipper, to his credit, was clear for the reason behind this and suggested that serious thought was being given to remedy this problem by the team think tank.

“Quite a few teams have faced problems in regards to the batting powerplay. For us, when we take the batting powerplay, we start losing wickets, so then we thought it’s probably best to delay the powerplay and take it right at the end to avoid losing wickets earlier. I do realise we have this problem. The Coach and I have discussed this in detail and hopefully we will see some better results on this in the upcoming series in the West Indies” he assured.


Afridi on his bowling form 

Shahid Afridi was truly inspirational with the ball in his hand during the World Cup and thus, deservedly took a lot of praise for Pakistan’s impressive performances. He finished as the joint highest wicket-taker at the tournament alongside India’s paceman, Zaheer Khan, despite the latter playing one more game. Grabbing 21 wickets at an average of 12.85, Afridi surpassed Wasim Akram as Pakistan’s all-time highest wicket-taker at a single World Cup.

Afridi’s batting may well be on a downward spiral, but it is his bowling that has been one of the more talked-about topics in cricket over the past few years. Commenting on his bowling form, Pakistan’s current exponent of the art of leg-spin stated “For the past three or four years, I am a bowling all-rounder. I have focused a lot on my bowling in this period and Alhamdolillah it has worked well”.


On his batting form

Shahid Afridi continually bamboozled the batsmen at the World Cup with his lethal leg-spin bowling. However, he struggled to get runs throughout the tournament as his highest individual score remained a paltry 20 runs which he scored against Canada. Known as “Boom Boom Afridi” for his batting prowess, he failed to meet the expectations of his hundreds of thousands of fans around the globe who longed for a thrilling display of batting from him. He was also heavily censured for preferring to bat lower down the order instead of taking responsibility by coming in to bat higher up the order.

According to the man himself, he is happy to play the role of a “floater” batsman. Commenting on his batting position, the flamboyant cricketer stated “I should use my batting according to the situation. There should be no set position for me.”

The dashing all-rounder remains unfazed by the criticism of his batting in recent times and is looking to make the most of the upcoming series to regain his touch with the bat. “Definitely, there is criticism and I always take the criticism positively. The West Indies tour and the Zimbabwe tour are good series for me to regain my batting form, for me to perform well with the bat and the ball. I acknowledge that recently I may not have worked as hard on my batting as I should have, but I have addressed that”.


Playing under different Captains and Coaches

Shahid Afridi is the most experienced of all players in Pakistan’s present squad. In his 15-year career, he has played under several captains, as Pakistan change their leaders more often than most other teams. Afridi thus is ideally placed to appraise the various Pakistani skippers since the mid-1990s, selecting three as ones who stood out.

“I enjoyed my cricket a lot under the captaincy of Wasim bhai. And my performance was good too. Moin bhaiwas also a tough cricketer and a fighting captain. Inzi bhai was good too. So these would be my top-three, the three captains under whom I enjoyed my cricket a lot", he stated.

When it came to naming the coach who inspired him the most, Afridi could not look past the late Bob Woolmer. Describing the Englishman as the “best coach” he had, Afridi in particular was full of praise for Woolmer’s ability to motivate the players and boost their confidence level. “Bob Woolmer has to be the best coach. His coaching style was great, so when a player wasn’t performing, Bob Woolmer would sit with the player, chat with him informally, all this to ensure one’s spirits didn’t fall and the player wouldn’t get demoralized. That was a great quality in him, as players do need that,” he added.


The Highs and Lows of his career

From being labelled as a swashbuckling hard-hitting batsman to being hailed as Pakistan’s front-line spinner, Shahid Afridi has come a long way. Few international cricketers have gone through more ups and downs than the player labelled 'Boom Boom' by his millions appreciative Pakistani fans.

Describing these highs and lows as “part of cricket”, Afridi went on to declare the period under Bob Woolmer’s supervision as the highlight of his career. Commenting on his performance ever since he accepted captaincy, Afridi said “Since becoming captain, there have been two or three tours where I personally took on added responsibility and played well, and those were the tours I enjoyed most.”

Pakistan cricket team is second to none when it comes to controversies and scandals. As a player, Shahid Afridi has battled through many blows that have hit his career over the years. In his opinion, the worst lows are “when groups and cliques stand up against you and are trying to remove you! Leading the Pakistan team is very difficult.”


The 37-ball hundred

Afridi took the world by storm, smashing the fastest century in the history of ODI cricket in his first-ever international innings, in just his second international appearance. That remarkable record has withstood the test of time and stands to this day. Although he was drafted into the team for his bowling skills, it was his fearless stroke-play that earned him the status of a crowd-puller. Till date, fans expect a similar display of aggressive batting each time he comes to the crease. Such expectations naturally put Afridi under enormous pressure which he often struggles to cope with.

Many experts believe that it would have been better for Pakistan had Afridi not scored that blistering hundred against Sri Lanka in 1996. However, the mercurial cricketer emphatically disagreed “If I didn’t make that 100, the Afridi you see today, wouldn’t be here!”


Test captaincy

Despite having a somewhat healthy Test career, Shahid Afridi never seemed to be very enthusiastic about the longest version of the game and gave up on the format in 2006 to give his full concentration on his LOI career. He announced his return to Test cricket in May 2010 as the PCB appointed him the captain for the tour of England. However, he officially declared retirement from Test cricket following his team’s defeat in the very first Test match of the series. His decision received its fair share of criticism, with observers labelling it as the ‘right decision at a wrong time’. Afridi believes that he did not make a mistake by relinquishing his Test career for Tests did not suit his temperament.

“My decision was absolutely the right one. I don’t think I am a Test-temperament player, hence it’s best that instead of me, players more suited to Test cricket are selected” he opined.

Critics believe that he should not have returned to the Test arena and accepted the role of a captain if he was not sure of his future in the longest version of the game. Afridi admits that he accepted the captaincy against his own will. “I didn’t want to accept, but I was under pressure to accept it. I was advised that the unit that I had built [in LOIs] should be continued in Tests too – I didn’t want to back-out or let the team down. The team was going through a difficult phase and we were trying to re-build the team [hence I accepted]” he revealed.

“However, I had made it clear that if I didn’t enjoy it, I would leave. I should not have quit after that first Test, but I realized that Test cricket is not for me” he concluded.

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Sangakkara, Jayawardene Support Malinga's Decision

Former Sri Lankan captains Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene have backed fast bowler Lasith Malinga's decision to quit Tests on account of a degenerative knee condition. Malinga announced his retirement last week, when the Sri Lankan board questioned his participation in the IPL after withdrawing from the upcoming England Tests citing fitness issues.

Sangakkara pointed out that Malinga's decision was best for the team, while Jayawardene said it was the right call from a personal point of view.

"We were all well aware of the seriousness of his knee condition and while I was captain we tried to manage him as carefully and sensitively as possible during the past couple of years," Sangakkara wrote in his column in the Times of India. "We obviously wanted him to play Tests, but when we asked him to play the India tour it took him two months to physically recover from that."

Sangakkara revealed that Malinga's future was one of the issues he had discussed with the Sri Lankan board while stepping down from captaincy. "The truth is that Lasith is our best fast bowler in limited-overs cricket right now," Sangakkara wrote. "If we forced him to play Tests we would be running the risk of losing him completely. That would be a tragedy for Sri Lanka, undermining both the ODI and T20 teams."

Sangakkara dismissed suggestions that Malinga chose to quit Tests in order to extend his participation in the lucrative IPL. "Malinga has always given his best as a national cricketer. Had it not been for his knee problem he would definitely want to play Tests. I fully support his decision and hope that as a result of it we see him playing for a few more years."

Jayawardene, who was in charge of the Sri Lankan side before Sangakkara took over said it was unfair to criticise Malinga's decision. "Given the state of his knee condition, there is no point in him taking the risk of playing Test cricket," Jayawardene wrote in the same newspaper. "If he breaks down then it will be bad for Sri Lanka. We want him playing for us as long as possible. Some people have criticised the decision, arguing that he is being selfish. This short-sighted argument is very unfair given that he clearly has a chronic knee problem.

"Lasith is a human being and, while he is totally committed to Sri Lanka, he also has responsibilities as a husband and, one day hopefully, a father. If his career is ended by injury, who is going to look after him and his family? When he suffered the injury the first time he was stripped of his central contract within about six months and left with no income.

"Any individual in any profession has to consider their personal and family interests when they make big decisions in their life. Why should a professional cricketer be any different? We need to support him and protect him. He is a natural match-winner and a great asset for Sri Lanka. We should be grateful for his services and help him look after himself."

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Delhi Back To Winning Ways On Green Track

Delhi finally feels like home for Delhi Daredevils. With players such as Virender Sehwag, David Warner and Morne Morkel in the side, they had been frustrated by lifeless home tracks that made stroke-play and pace bowling difficult. Before this game Sehwag demanded pace, and then in the company of Warner showed just why. They added 146 for the first wicket in 11.4 overs, an ideal platform for a comfortable win despite an equally remarkable innings by Shaun Marsh, and despite the continuing good luck of Kings XI Punjab's openers who were both dropped on nought.

With the ball coming on well on this green pitch, Warner and Sehwag let the bowlers feel their wrath. They were like beasts who had been uncaged after years of confinement, gorging on anything remotely loose. It is a scary thought to imagine what Sehwag would have managed had he not got out for 77 off 35, trying a fourth successive six off the fourth delivery of a David Hussey over. Sehwag even dived into his crease, one of the very few times he has committed that unbecoming act while batting, to bring up his half-century off 28 deliveries, one fewer that Warner took to reach his.

Warner got to his landmark with a trademark pull deep into the stands, his second pulled six and third overall. Sehwag was on only 36 then. It takes some special hitting to dominate the strike and still not frustrate Sehwag.

 Warner managed that nicely. He began in earnest in the first over, pulling and cutting Praveen Kumar for fours. Ryan Harris managed to trouble him for a bit with the extra bounce, but Warner's comeback was emphatic: a huge pull over midwicket to end Harris' spell of 2-0-13-0 in a score of 35 for 0 after four overs.

The floodgates had just begun to open then. Sehwag tucked into Praveen with three fours in the fifth over, Warner went down on a knee and lofted Shalabh Srivastava's medium-pace over the sightscreen. The middle overs and spread fields mattered little as both batsmen moved to 59 each by the end of the 11th over. Enter Hussey, Punjab's expensive signing, playing his first game this IPL. Sehwag showed his famous disdain for spin through sixes over long-on, cow corner and midwicket. A mis-hit off the fourth ball brought some decorum to the proceedings, with only 38 coming in the next 5.2 overs.

That phase included Warner's wicket for 77 off 48 balls. Temporary relief. Lull between storms. Harris came back to have his figures rearranged, ending with 48 off four to join two other colleagues with 40-plus aggregates to their names. Venugopal Rao and Naman Ojha took 47 off the last three overs to post the third-highest total in IPL history, and Delhi's biggest.

Morkel made a further show of why a pitch with bounce suits Delhi more. He got lift, he got movement, he got an edge second ball, one that was dropped by Ojha. However, Morkel's first spell of three overs for 20, four of which came through a misfield and 10 off free hits, left Punjab an asking rate of 13.2. A period of superb hitting followed, but despite 57 coming off the next four overs, they were just about keeping up with the rate. A five-run over from James Hopes turned the pressure back on, forcing Gilchrist to slog debutant Varun Aaron and miss.

Marsh batted beautifully for his 46-ball 95, fetched mainly through proper cricketing shots in an innings that deserved to be on the winning side. He, though, was swimming against the current, and the current won.

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Lasith Malinga Gives Up Test Cricket

 Sri Lankan fast bowler, has given up Test cricket because of a "long-standing degenerative condition in the right knee". He intends to continue playing the shorter formats, though, and hopes to play in the 2012 World Twenty20 and the 2015 World Cup.

Malinga, 27, made himself unavailable for the upcoming Test tour of England citing his fitness problems, but has been playing for Mumbai Indians in the IPL. Sri Lanka Cricket asked him to return home and undergo a rehabilitation programme, but Malinga has now clarified that his condition stops him from playing only the longest format.

"Although I am sufficiently fit to play both ODI and T20 cricket, I have a long-standing degenerative condition in my right knee that needs to be carefully managed," Malinga's statement read. "The condition relates directly to the chronic knee injury I sustained playing for Sri Lanka in Australia back in February 2008, an injury that prevented me from playing ODI cricket for 16 months.

"The injury was a career-threatening injury and my orthopaedic surgeon was of the opinion that given his experience with other professional athletes in Australia I was very fortunate to play again. I have since been advised by the national team physiotherapist and my orthopaedic consultant that my condition will deteriorate when fielding or bowling for prolonged periods.

"I did try to return to Test cricket after a three-year absence last year [against India] following requests from the team management and the selectors, but it left me unfit nursing severe knee pain for two months.

"I have realised that the heavy workload of Test cricket, which requires a fast bowler to be able to bowl more than 15 overs, sometimes on consecutive days, could lead to permanent injury. I have carefully considered my options and have decided that not playing Test cricket will help me achieve my goal of representing Sri Lanka in the 2012 World Twenty20 and the 2015 World Cup."

Malinga said he was available for all limited-overs internationals, and planned to travel to Sri Lanka soon to discuss his plans with the selectors.

Since his debut in July 2004, Malinga has played only 30 Tests and 84 ODIs. His slingshot round-arm action and focus on pace put a lot of strain on his body, and he was forced to miss several games. His career seemed to have stalled after the Galle Test against England in December 2007, but he returned for the series against India mid-2010. It was, however, a false dawn on his stop-start Test career.

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Rohit, Malinga Lead Mumbai To Impressive Win

Deccan Chargers had the chance to retain Rohit Sharma and Andrew Symonds, but let both of them go, and paid the price on Sunday. The pair came together with Mumbai wobbling at 70 for 4 in the 10th over, having lost three wickets for the addition of no run in six balls, and proceeded to pulverise their former side in a 102-run stand that came off just 65 balls. Mumbai followed the pyrotechnics of their Deccan imports with a typically clinical show in the field, to surge to a four-point lead at the top of the IPL table.

Match Meter MI Jacobs opens well: Davy Jacobs begins with a series of innovative blows against the new ball DC Deccan surge through spin: Amit Mishra and Pragyan Ojha snare three wickets in six balls for no run MI Rohit and Symonds blaze away: Mumbai's Deccan imports plunder 40 runs off the last 2 overs to put their side on course MI Malinga murders the stumps: Malinga produces a yorker to send back Dhawan, a direct hit to dismiss White, and a full toss to end Sangakkara's stay. Game Mumbai Advantage Honours even

Having galloped to a strong score, Mumbai seized control with three pieces of brilliance, all of which involved Lasith Malinga slinging the stumps down. The first was a stunning yorker that the aggressive Shikhar Dhawan did well to save his toes from, though his leg stump was not so fortunate. Cameron White came in at Dhawan's fall and sucked the momentum out of the chase after struggling to get bat on ball in his short stay. It ended when he pushed his seventh ball to mid-off and set off on an ambitious single. Malinga swooped on the ball and fired in a throw that clattered into the stumps at the non-striker's end to catch White short. Kumar Sangakkara fought hard against the tide, before Malinga returned to blow his middle and off pegs out with a superfast, low full toss. The chase was as good as over when Davy Jacobs stumped Daniel Christian while standing up to Munaf Patel.

In reality, Deccan never recovered from the Rohit-Symonds show, especially the last two overs that bled 40 runs. Symonds began the closing brutality by smashing Dale Steyn's length bowling for two fours and a six in the penultimate over. Rohit then took over, flaying Christian for three sixes and a four in the 20th. Christian invited trouble by serving up two full tosses and two length balls at a hittable pace. Rohit, who finds a new plane when he is batting in the IPL, tucked in with huge blows down the ground, the last of which left Christian floored in his follow through.

Mumbai's innings followed three distinct phases. The first was guided by Jacobs' enterprise against the new ball, while Sachin Tendulkar played the support role. It's not easy to take the spotlight off Tendulkar, especially so on his birthday, but Jacobs managed it for the first five overs. He began with a reverse slap off Amit Mishra in the opening over, before thumping Pragyan Ojha for a straight six. He proceeded to shred Ishant Sharma's shoddy lines for fours on either side of the wicket, and scrambled Christian's lengths with quick feet to loot two more boundaries.

Tendulkar survived a close shout for lbw in the first over before trotting inside the line to Steyn's first ball to whip him through midwicket. Thereafter, Tendulkar seemed almost over-eager to impose himself by charging out to Ishant and Steyn, who both hit speeds around 145 kph and gave him nothing to drive. Still, Mumbai managed to reach 47 in the first five overs, before Deccan hit back.

Jacobs fell attempting an ambitious heave off Ishant, but Tendulkar counter-punched with two boundaries in the same over. However, the advent of spin with spread-out fields stalled Mumbai's progress. Mishra struck twice in three balls, beating Tendulkar in the flight and enticing Ambati Rayudu to hole out. Soon after, Kieron Pollard miscued an against-the-turn paddle off his first ball, to leave Mumbai reeling. It was time for their middle-order muscle to rescue them.

Symonds and Rohit checked in cautiously as Mumbai went boundary-less for 40 balls, but switched gears rapidly thereafter. Rohit began the assault by sweeping Ojha for four before Symonds forehanded a short ball from Christian through long-off. With Rohit timing his drives particularly well, Ishant kept trying to tuck him up, but Rohit responded with a couple of strong pulls. Around that time, the owners of the Deccan Chargers franchise must have begun wondering if they had got it horribly wrong at the auction. By the end of the game, they must have been kicking themselves.

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Botha Returns, Rajasthan Field In Jaipur

Rajasthan Royals came back home to Jaipur to good news as they won the toss and chose to field first at a ground where dew was expected later in the night. They also welcomed back their best player of the tournament so far, Johan Botha, who replaced Shaun Tait. Ajinkya Rahane was included in place of Abhishek Raut.

Kochi Tuskers Kerala were forced to make two changes themselves. A bad shoulder kept Brendon McCullum out, and he was replaced by VVS Laxman. With a window open for another overseas player, Kochi went for allrounder Thisara Perera in place of Ramesh Powar.

Rajasthan Royals 1 Rahul Dravid, 2 Shane Watson, 3 Ajinkya Rahane, 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Johan Botha, 6 Ashok Menaria, 7 Stuart Binny, 8 Dishant Yagnik (wk), 9 Shane Warne (capt.), 10 Amit Singh, 11 Siddharth Trivedi

Kochi Tuskers Kerala 1 VVS Laxman, 2 Mahela Jayawardene (capt.), 3 Parthiv Patel (wk), 4 Brad Hodge, 5 Ravindra Jadeja, 6 Kedar Jadhav, 7 Thisara Perera, 8 Raiphi Gomez, 9 R Vinay Kumar, 10 RP Singh, 11 Muttiah Muralitharan

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Pakistan's Batsmen Seal The Job Started By Spinners

Pakistan strolled to victory in the first one-day international against West Indies at the Beausejour Stadium in St Lucia, Mohammad Hafeez, Misbah-ul-Haq and Asad Shafiq all contributing half-centuries as West Indies' score of 221 for 6 was overhauled with more than eight overs to spare.

It appeared West Indies had a fighting chance of continuing the success of the opening Twenty20 of the tour after Darren Bravo's 67 helped them to a workable total and legspinner Devendra Bishoo struck twice in quick succession to reduce Pakistan to 88 for 2. Bishoo had precious little support from the rest of the bowling attack, however, and Misbah and Shafiq put together an unbroken partnership of 134 for the third wicket to steer Pakistan home.

This match had been billed as a chance for West Indies to get revenge for their World Cup humiliation by Pakistan, but in the end it was more like a replay. Even the Man of the Match, Hafeez, was the same and West Indies' greatest errors stemmed from their misreading of the pitch for today's game - an unforgivable error as they should have known what to expect after the Twenty20, which was also played at Gros Islet.

It had been thought the pitch would be slow, and it was, but it also offered turn and bounce to the spinners. Shahid Afridi, Saeed Ajmal and Hafeez bowled a combined 30 overs for just 100 runs, picking up two wickets, but Bishoo was the only slow bowler in an unbalanced seam-heavy attack as Devon Smith bowled two ineffectual overs of offspin and Marlon Samuel's respectable offerings weren't called upon.

West Indies were left chasing the game almost from the start as, reprising his World Cup role, Hafeez was brought on early and soon dealt with Smith while Ajmal toyed with Lendl Simmons before sending down a doosra that the batsman feathered through to the keeper to give a sluggish start an even more sombre tone.

Samuels maintained his trademark ice cool composure and exhibited his best poker face but fell to some indecisive running and it was left to Darren Bravo and Kirk Edwards to get an increasingly rudderless innings back on track. They gritted out a fourth-wicket partnership worth 59, replete with snappy singles and dinks into the outfield, that carried West Indies to 135 before Edwards tried to break the shackles with a heave into the deep that could only get as far as Junaid Khan at deep midwicket.

That brought Darren's half-brother Dwayne to the crease, and it was in his company that he reached a boundary-free half-century from 97 balls. The brothers Bravo continued to push the ones and twos wherever possible, and when the Batting Powerplay was called for at the start of the 43rd over Darren took it as his cue to take the attack to Pakistan's seamers.

With much of the boundary unprotected, Dwayne Bravo attempted to follow Darren's lead but his charge came to a premature end when he chipped a Riaz full toss towards mid-off, where Afridi skipped to his right and bent low to hold the catch inches from the turf.

Sammy's walk to the crease was accompanied by a warm reception from a middling crowd - St Lucia being his home island - but they were soon hushed into silence by another piece of inept running. Bravo dug a free hit towards deep mid-off and Sammy cajoled him into a second run that was never there, the result being that the set batsman was run out for 67 just as he began to accelerate and West Indies faced the final five overs of the innings with two brand new batsmen at the crease.

While Ajmal continued to weave mysteries around the batsmen until the very end, Sammy took the dismissal in his stride and responded with a flurry of boundaries - including a memorably monstrous six that landed on the roof of the stands on the western side of the ground - and together with an energetic Carlton Baugh boosted West Indies' total at the death.

It was soon made to look nowhere near enough, however, as Hafeez and Ahmed Shehzad put on an untroubled 68 for the first wicket at close to a-run-a-ball before Bishoo's intervention. Hafeez had set about Pakistan's chase with alacrity from the start, displacing a silken touch on both sides of the wicket as he raced to 20 from just 10 balls without a slog in sight and taking full advantage as a swirling top-edge evaded Kemar Roach, running in from long leg.

After a slow start his opening partner, Shehzad, started to catch up with three classy boundaries from one Roach over and with Pakistan soon racing along at better than a-run-a-ball West Indies began to wilt visibly in the field.

Bishoo's introduction quickly changed that, however, as he gave away just one run from his first nine deliveries and then lured Shehzad forward with a looping, dipping legbreak that fizzed past the outside edge for wicketkeeper Carlton Baugh to complete a smart stumping with the batsman's back foot in the air. Hafeez went to his fifty with a slog sweep over deep backward square off Bishoo, but was then undone by what appeared to be a wrong 'un as, cramped for room, he clipped straight to a diving short midwicket.

The wickets reduced Pakistan to 88 for 2 and brought West Indies back into the game, but with the seam attack unable to contain the batsmen and spin support for Bishoo unavailable Misbah and Shafiq soon settled. Both played with increasingly imperious confidence, Misbah raising a 63-ball fifty in the 35th over and Shafiq following suit four overs later. West Indies' demise thereafter was swift, and they will have to improve in all areas if they are to square the series in the second match at the same ground on Monday.

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United Bank Back In The Big Time

After an absence of nearly 15 seasons from top-flight first class cricket, one of Pakistan's most famous domestic teams, United Bank Limited (UBL), is set to make a return in next season's Quaid-e-Azam (QEA) trophy.

On Tuesday, UBL won the PCB's Patron's Trophy Grade II final, beating Pak Medicam on first-innings lead in a rain-interrupted final at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. That win meant the side has now qualified to play in the QEA trophy division II next season. It will be the team's first appearance in top-flight cricket since January 1997, when, in their last match as a first-class side, they defeated another domestic powerhouse and long-term rival Habib Bank Limited (HBL) in the final of the Patron's Trophy to win it for the first and only time in their history.

UBL joined the first-class circuit in 1975, a decade in which a number of banks entered the first-class scene, offering players employment and an opportunity to play premier first-class level domestic cricket. The move was part of the BCCP's restructuring of Pakistan's domestic cricket, to involve departments such as banks and airlines in the domestic structure. UBL arrived on the circuit after a merger with the now-defunct Commerce Bank, which had been on the first-class scene since 1973.

From thereon, they proceeded to become one of the scene's giants, winning the QEA four times, the Pentangular thrice, and the Patron's Trophy once, in addition to several limited-overs titles. More importantly perhaps, they produced - or nurtured - a procession to talent that served Pakistan well over the years. Sadiq Mohammad, Haroon Rasheed, Sikander Bakht, Ashraf Ali, Ehteshamuddin, Mansoor Akhtar, Tauseef Ahmed, Mudassar Nazar, Basit Ali, Rashid Latif, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Waqar Younis and Azhar Mahmood, among others, all played for UBL at one point or another in the bank's time.

The privatisation of the bank and a subsequent change in management in 1997 brought an end to the bank's sports department, at a time when a number of other banks and organisations also pulled out for financial reasons. But their ground, the UBL Sports Complex, was kept on as a first-class ground in Karachi as was the academy. The former Test batsman Mansoor Akhtar, who now heads the bank's sports department, continued to push the management, however, to invest in sports again.

"I was involved with the UBL sports complex after the sports department shut down and the academy as well, and kept pushing for sports to re-start," Akhtar told ESPNcricinfo. Five seasons ago, the bank's management agreed and UBL returned to the second tier of domestic cricket, Grade II. This season, with a young side made up mostly of its own academy products, they have won the Grade II title and finally returned.

"We have eight players in our side from our academy and they have been exceptional this season," Akhtar said. "Guys like Sharjeel Khan [the young, left-handed opener who hit two centuries in the final] and Saad Sukhail [another left-handed top order batsman who came to the UBL academy when he was 10] have done really well for us and will be big prospects over the coming years."

The bowling is led by former Test fast bowler Shabbir Ahmed, who also captained the side this season, and includes one-time tearaway quick Mohammad Irshad and Rumman Raees Khan, a left-arm fast bowler Akhtar is particularly excited about. Though Akhtar is keen to keep the bulk of the side and a number of players, such as former U19 talent and Karachi regular Ali Asad, have sufficient first-class experience for regional sides, in any case.

But he realises a few big-name acquisitions may have to be made if UBL are to be competitive next season. "We will speak to the management about getting some big names because Grade II to Grade I is a big leap. But we have done it now and it's amazing. We're hoping that soon we can put UBL back on the path to those glory days that we are so proud of."

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