Razzaq’s miraculous batting steers Pak to win

Razzaq's miraculous batting steers Pak to win

ABU DHABI: Woken-up Abdul Razzaq hit a belligerent unbeaten hundred to help Pakistan pull off an incredible win in the second one-day international against South Africa here on Sunday.

The dashing 30-year-old all-rounder hit a quick fire 109 off just 72 balls studded with ten towering sixes and seven fours to help Pakistan overhaul a daunting 288-run target with just one wicket and one delivery to spare.

Razzaq's third one-day hundred -- crossing the fifty mark for the first time since making 75 not out against England four years ago -- helped Pakistan level the five-match series 1-1 at the Abu Dhabi Stadium.

South Africa won the first match by eight wickets here on Friday. The third match will be played in Dubai on Tuesday.

Razzaq, who came to the crease at 5-136, added 81 for the sixth wicket with Fawad Alam (48) to raise hopes of Pakistan win and even after Alam fell, he did not lose heart despite Pakistan needing 87 in the last ten overs.

He hit Charl Langeveldt for three sixes in 47th over before taking a six and a boundary off the same bowler in the 49th.

Pakistan needed 14 off the last over as Razzaq cut loose, hitting sixes off the second and third balls from Albie Morkel to raise his third hundred in one-day cricket, which came off just 70 balls.

He then cut through the point for boundary to bring Pakistan's win.

Langeveldt, who completed his 100 wickets in the match, provided his team with early breakthroughs, removing opener Asad Shafiq (one) and Younis Khan for 18.

Pakistan struggled to 70-4 before Alam and skipper Shahid Afridi (49) added 66 for the fifth wicket to lift the stuttering innings. Afridi hit two sixes
and three boundaries off 40 balls before passing the buck to Razzaq.

Man-of-the-match Razzaq said he was happy to play lead role in the victory.

"I am elated," he said after the match. "I am sure this win will lift our morale which was down after Twenty20 series defeat and first one-day loss.

"I thought the match turned South Africa's way when we lost the eighth wicket and it became a game of fours and sixes. I am happy that I am able to
hit those. It is the best innings of my career."

Earlier, the 25-year-old Ingram scored exactly 100 for his second century in three weeks after achieving hundred on debut at home against Zimbabwe just two weeks ago.

The left-hander put on 84 for the second wicket with opener Amla (65) and then another 86 for the third wicket with AB de Villiers (29) as Pakistan bowlers found it hard to put brakes on the South African innings.

Jean-Paul Duminy chipped in with a swift 43-ball 54.

Graeme Smith, who missed the match along with Jacques Kallis due to injury, praised Razzaq.

"We were in a position to shut the match close and it needed a massive individual effort to turn the tables which Razzaq did," said Smith.

It was Ingram who built the innings, hitting ten boundaries and a six off paceman Razzaq before he was trapped leg-before by fast bowler Wahab Riaz who replaced Umar Gul in the Pakistan squad for the only change. He faced 119 balls.

Amla started the run feast with three boundaries in paceman Shoaib Akhtar's first over of the match, before fellow opener Robin Peterson fell leg-before to Razzaq in the fourth over.

Ingram then took charge and in company of Amla took the score to 108.

Pakistan broke through captain Shahid Afridi who trapped Amla leg-before. The bearded opener hit eight boundaries off 62 balls.

Duminy's knock contained three fours and a six before he fell in the last over.

South Africa
Hashim Amla lbw b Afridi 65
R. Peterson b Razzaq 6
C. Ingram lbw b Riaz 100
AB de Villiers b Afridi 29
JP Duminy c Alam b Akhtar 54
D. Miller c and b Riaz 6
A. Morkel b Hafeez 1
J. Botha run out 9
M. Morkel not out 1
C. Langeveldt not out 4

Extras (1b, lb5, w5): 11

Total (for eight wickets): 286

Did not bat: L. Tsotsobe

Fall of wickets: 1-24 (Peterson), 2-108 (Amla), 3-194 (De Villiers), 4-216 (Ingram), 5-232 (Miller), 6-236 (A. Morkel), 7-263 (Botha), 8-281 (Duminy).

Bowling: Akhtar 10-1-57-1 (1w), Razzaq 5-1-37-1, Hafeez 10-0-49-1 (1w), Riaz 10-0-43-2 (1w), Afridi 10-0-59-2 (1w), Ajmal 5-0-35-0 (1w)

Overs: 50

Pakistan
Asad Shafiq c M. Morkel b Langeveldt 1
Mohammad Hafeez c de Villiers b Botha 30
Younis Khan lbw b Langeveldt 18
Misbah-ul-Haq lbw b Peterson 17
Fawad Alam c A. Morkel b Langeveldt 48
Shahid Afridi c Ingram b Tsotsobe 49
Abdul Razzaq not out 109
Zulqarnain Haider run out 6
Wahab Riaz run out 0
Saeed Ajmal run out 1
Shoaib Akhtar not out 0

Extras (lb3, nb2, w5): 10

Total (for nine wickets): 289

Fall of wickets: 1-8 (Shafiq), 2-31 (Younis), 3-58 (Haq), 4-70 (Hafeez), 5-136 (Afridi), 6-217 (Alam), 7-228 (Haider), 8-254 (Riaz), 9-257 (Ajmal).

Bowling: Langeveldt 10-0-75-3, Tsotsobe 10-1-39-1 (1nb, 1w), M. Morkel 10-0-39-0 (2w), A. Morkel 4.5-0-52-0 (1nb), Peterson 7-0-40-1, Botha 8-0-41-1 (2w)

Overs: 49.5

Result: Pakistan won by one wicket

Umpires: Aleem Dar (PAK) and Rodney Tucker (AUS)

TV umpire: Nadeem Ghouri (PAK)

Match referee: Andrew Pycroft (ZIM)

Pakistan can improve World Cup chances, says Afridi

Karachi, Oct 19 : Skipper Shahid Afridi wants Pakistan to put its preparations for World Cup 2011 back on track by winning the forthcoming one-day series against South Africa in United Arab Emirates (UAE) next month.

The 1992 champions find their cricket in a mess just five months before the World Cup gets under way in Dhaka and will need to really work hard in the lead up to the quadrennial spectacle if they are to be counted among the leading title contenders.

Three of their key players are under suspension because of their alleged role in a match-fixing scandal while the country's cricket chiefs have been told by the International Cricket Council (ICC) to put their house in order within 30 days or face sanctions.

To say that Pakistan cricket is going through a difficult phase would be an understatement. However, Afridi, the man who will lead them in the World Cup, believes that his team can still go on to win the world crown in the final in Mumbai next April.

His mantra is simple.

Afridi wants his boys to gel together and pick up as many wins as possible ahead of the World Cup to boost their confidence.

"It's all about confidence," he said Tuesday. "We can improve our World Cup chances by boosting our confidence and should do that by winning matches against South Africa and later against New Zealand," he said.

Pakistan will play two twenty20 Internationals against South Africa in Dubai later this month before taking on the Proteas in a five-match One-day International series in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

The limited-overs matches will be followed by two Tests before the Pakistanis fly for New Zealand to play a full series, including T20 games, ODIs and Tests.

Afridi is hoping that his team will make the most of the twin assignments in the UAE and New Zealand.

He wants Pakistan to put aside the bitter memories of an acrimonious tour of England and give their best against South Africa.

"We have to forget what happened during the tour of England," said Afridi. "What the team desperately needs is some good results and I'm sure that if we play to our potential we can do that against South Africa."

Pakistan lost to England in all three formats (3-1 in Tests, 3-2 in ODIs and 2-0 in T20s) during a marathon tour of England that also included a series against Australia.

Much more damaging for them was a 'match-fixing' scandal that resulted in the ICC suspending Test captain Salman Butt and pace spearheads Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir following allegations that they accepted bribes from match-fixers.

Pakistan will be without the tainted trio in the UAE and Afridi said that he and his team will certainly miss them.

"We are going to miss the three because they are our key players," he stressed. "But we can't just sit back and cry over it. We have to focus on the upcoming assignments and, thankfully, we still have several match-winners in our side."

Afridi is confident that Pakistan's spin attack will give the 'hosts' an edge on slow and turning wickets in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

"Spinners will certainly be playing the major role in UAE," said Afridi, himself an accomplished leg-spinner. "The wickets there should give them a lot of assistance."

Zulqarnain Haider suffers fractured finger

Zulqarnain Haider is in danger of missing the remainder of the Test series due to a finger injury that could have been aggravated when Stuart Broad hurled a ball back at him in frustration during the second Test at Edgbaston. Haider is scheduled to meet a finger specialist when the team reaches London on Sunday and the team management will take a call - whether to send him back or retain him - based on the diagnosis.

"He picked up a hairline fracture to his little finger. We don't know yet if he will stay but we will wait to hear from the specialist," Yawar Saeed, Pakistan's manager told Cricinfo.

It is believed that Haider started experiencing pain after being hit on his hand by Broad. Having stopped the ball in his follow through, Broad had thrown the ball back at Haider, who raised his hand to shield himself but was hit on the little finger. The incident happened on the third day of the Edgbaston Test during the second session when Haider and Mohammad Amir were involved in an inspired stonewalling effort. Broad, who admitted his fault, was fined half his match fee by Ranjan Madugalle, the ICC match referee.

Haider, on the verge of earning the unwanted honour of getting a king pair on debut, went on to make a resolute 88 which injected some steel into an otherwise deflated Pakistan batting. He had first hurt his little finger at a practice session at Leeds during the Australia series, and the pain resurfaced on the eve of the second day of the tour game against Worcestershire at New Road. Another team source told Cricinfo that Haider is all but set to return home soon. "The doctor has said that he [Haider] will take one month to heal with or without operation. So he is bound to be out of the series," the official said.

Haider complained of pain and subsequent X-rays at a local hospital in Worcester revealed a minor fracture to the bone in the finger, a step up from what was initially a minor injury. Haider was drafted into the team on the eve of the Edgbaston Test after the Pakistan team management felt their first-choice keeper Kamran Akmal needed to rest and sort out the mistakes he was committing with regularity. Akmal was struck on his right eye during practice on Friday and was holding an ice pack but is under no threat of missing out if called.

Haider gained fair points for his technical skills behind the stumps even if he failed to latch on to a couple of chances in the second innings.

TV channels broadcasting Airtel Champions league T20 2010 - Live

The Champions League T20 2010, commercially known as Airtel CLT20 is set to start from September 10, 2010 in South Africa. 10 teams from 6 countries participate which will broadcast all over the world. ESPNStar secured the broadcasting rights for the tournament. ESPNStar's Star Cricket and Star Sports will be showing it live in India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and other different countries.

Here are a list of TV Channels showing ACLT20 2010 Live:



Australia: ONE HD

Canada: CBN, ATN Cricket Plus

Europe: Eurosport 2

India: Star Cricket and Star Sports

Middle East (including Saudi Arabia, UAE) : ART Prime Sport

New Zealand: Sky Sport

Pakistan: GEO Super

Singapore: Star Cricket and Star Sports

South Africa : Supersport

Sri Lanka : Star Cricket and Star Sports

UK: British Eurosport

Pakistani pacer Mohammad Irfan to play for KKR in IPL 2011

Mohammad Irfan, a left-arm medium pacer from Pakistan will be playing for Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 4. Irfan who is about 7 feet tall is one of the tallest cricketers of all time. It was KKR bowling coach, Wasim Akram who recommended him to the KKR team. As he is not a Pakistan international, he doesn't need to go for auction and is signed directly by KKR.



Born in Gaggu Mand, a rural place in Eastern Pakistan, Irfan initially had to quit cricket to support his family. His talent brought him back to the game. At the age of 28 he is now knocking the doors of Pakistani team too as he was nearly selected for World T20 team.

Though he has been selected by KKR, he may need to be approved by various bodies like PCB. He may even need to get NOC from Pakistan government.

TEN Cricket

After Neo cricket and Star cricket, another 24-hour cricket channel has been launched in India. Ten Cricket is launched by Zee Network and Taj Television as sister channel for Ten Sports and Zee Sports. The channel will be broadcasting live matches, non-live matches as well as cricket related programs.

Currently, Zee Network owns the broadcasting rights for matches hosted by 5 cricketing boards - Sri Lanka, South Africa, West Indies, Pakistan and Zimbabwe. These matches are expected to be broadcast on the new channel.

In next six months Ten Cricket will show eight Test Matches, 25 ODI’s and five T20’s live. Currently it is broadcasting Sri Lanka Tri-series along with its sister channel Ten Sports.

Australian Tour of India Schedule

Australian cricket team will tour India for two match test series and three one day internationals. India is first scheduled to host seven match ODI series against Australia but as per the request of BCCI, Cricket Australia accepted the proposal sent by BCCI of modifying the fixtures.

This is not the first time the Indian board has made changes to a tour itinerary. Earlier this year, Cricket South Africa agreed to replace a five-match ODI series with two Tests and three ODIs.

BCCI has changed the tour schedule against Australia, now the first and second test match will start one day earlier than the initial announced schedule. First Test match at Mohali will be played from October 1^st to October 5^th 2010 while second test match between India and Australia will be played from October 9^th to 13^th October 2010 in Bangalore. The venue of three ODI’s has been announced by BCCI which will be Kochi, Goa and Vishakapatnam.

The first ODI’s will be played on October 17^th at Kochi, 2^nd at Vizag on 20^th October and final ODI will be played on 24^th October 2010 at Goa.

India v Australia complete Fixtures Series 2010 Fixtures (All timings are mentioned in GMT+05:30)

Timing	Teams	Venue	Results
Sat 25 Sep – Mon 27 Sep 09:30 AM	Tour Game – Australia v Board President XI	Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali, Chandigarh
Fri 1 Oct – Tue 5 Oct 09:30 AM	1st Test - India v Australia	Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali, Chandigarh
Sat 9 Oct – Wed 13 Oct 09:30 AM	2nd Test - India v Australia	M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore
Sun 17 Oct 09:00 AM	1st ODI – India v Australia	Nehru Stadium, Kochi
Wed 20 Oct (D/N) 14:30 PM	2nd ODI – India v Australia	Andhra Cricket Association-Visakhapatnam District Cricket Association Stadium, Visakhapatnam
Sun 24 Oct 09:00 AM	3rd ODI – India v Australia	Nehru Stadium, Fatorda, Margao