Pakistan and India have faced each other seven times at the T20 World Cup, with Pakistan winning just once.
It was always going to be a toss-up between Tillakaratne Dilshan and Shahid Afridi. Dilshan's duck, and another brilliant all-round performance by Afridi, tilted the scales in favour of the phenomenally talented player from Pakistan.
Pakistan found Lasith Malinga's pace and swing too hot to handle as they went down to Sri Lanka by 19 runs in the Super Eights match of the ICC World Twenty20 at Lord's on Friday.
Zaheer Khan was more relieved than happy after his match-winning performance against Ireland in Trent Bridge on Wednesday.
A group of around 70 pro-Tamil supporters on Monday protested against the Sri Lanka cricket team and tried to prevent them from entering the Trent Bridge stadium. The Sri Lankan team, which is playing Australia in the group match of the ICC World Twenty20, was delayed as the protestors, who shouted slogans like 'Ban Sri Lanka from International Cricket' tried to block their way as they entered the stadium.
Pakistan cricket plunged into fresh crisis on Monday with chief selector Abdul Qadir resigning in mysterious circumstances. The announcement of his resignation came out of the blue and a day after Pakistan was trounced by England in the ICC World Twenty20. PCB chairman Ejaz Butt wasted no time in accepting the resignation.
Defending champions India touched down in Nottingham on Wednesday to play their group matches for the ICC World Twenty20 against Bangladesh and Ireland.
Former India Test captain Anil Kumble will join his former teammate Sourav Ganguly behind the microphone as an expert analyst for ESPN Star Sports in the ICC World Twenty20 which begins in England on Friday.
Australia eased into the semi-finals of the ICC World Twenty20 on Tuesday after a comfortable six-wicket win over West Indies, a result which eliminated the hosts. Australia will face Pakistan in their semi-final on Friday while Sri Lanka, who earlier produced a last ball win over India, will face England on Thursday.
Half-centuries from David Warner and Shane Watson, and splendid bowling by Dirk Nannes, saw Australia crush India by 49 runs in the Super Eights of the ICC World Twenty20, in Barbados, on Friday. Chasing a mammoth 185 for victory, India were dismissed for 135 in 17.4 overs, their first loss in the tournament.
'Dhoni may be hoping that luck stays with him for a couple of months more.' 'He may want to step down on a triumphant note, holding aloft the World T20 trophy on April 3.'
Indian pacer Ashish Nehra was trolled for his comments that he is still 'using his old phone' and doesn't have social media accounts like Facebook and Twitter.
Familiar batting woes came back to haunt the Indian women's cricket team as it lost by a run to arch-rivals Pakistan in a low-scoring thriller in ICC World Twenty20's group stage in Galle on Monday. The defeat saw the Indians finish winless.
Aware that one more defeat will ensure their exit from the tournament, New Zealand need nothing less than a big win against the West Indies in their make-or-break Super Eight match of the ICC World Twenty20 in Pallekele on Monday.
South Africa skipper AB de Villiers said he made a few captaincy errors that may have helped Pakistan snatch a thrilling win from the jaws of defeat in the opening Group 2 Super Eights match of the ICC World Twenty20 in Colombo on Friday.
South Africa took the top spot in Group C after skipper A B de Villiers led them to a 32-run victory over Sri Lanka in a rain-curtailed ICC World Twenty20 match in Hanbantota on Saturday. De Villiers scored a 13-ball 30 as South Africa posted 78 for four after the match was reduced to a seven-over-a-side affair. In reply, the Sri Lankans were restricted to 46 for five.
Warner has already announced that he will end his Test career in January next year
South Africa skipper Faf du Plessis was fined 40 per cent of his match fee while his teammates copped a 20 per cent fine each for maintaining a slow over-rate during their World Twenty20 match against New Zealand on Monday.
Rival openers Evin Lewis of the West Indies and India's Lokesh Rahul have made huge gains in the latest ICC Players Rankings for T20I Batsmen after slamming fine centuries in the recent two-match series in Lauderhill, USA, played on 27 and 28 August. The first match, in which a T20I record aggregate of 489 runs were scored, saw Lewis slam a 49-ball 100 in the West Indies' total of 245 for six that has helped him move up 288 slots to reach 51st rank.
Meanwhile, the Board has given the names of Hardik Pandya and Dinesh Karthik as India's representatives in the World XI team that will play West Indies in a charity Twenty20 match at the Lord's on May 31.
ICC Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat on Saturday confirmed the ICC event scheduled for 2010 in the West Indies will be a World Twenty20. The tournament was originally scheduled to be an ICC Champions Trophy but the ICC Board agreed it would switch to the shorter format to achieve a better mix of tournaments. It will take place between April 23 and May 9, 2010.
The ICC has also held talks with the BCCI over securing tax exemptions for the tournament from the Indian government.
Injury-prone Manoj Tiwary is hoping to impress the selectors in the Emerging Players' tournament Down Under and make it back to the Indian team.
Sri Lanka face a selection dilemma over their wicketkeeper as they gear-up for a tough three-Test series against Pakistan starting in Galle on Saturday. With regular wicketkeeper Prasanna Jayawardene out with a fractured finger, Sangakarra now faces the choice of captaining the side, batting at number three and also keeping wicket, an exhausting prospect in Sri Lanka's hot and humid climate.
Captain Kumar Sangakkara came to Sri Lanka's rescue in the ICC World Twenty20 final against Pakistan at Lord's on Sunday. The dashing batsman scored a fighting half-century to guide them to a competitive 138 for 6 after a horrendous start.
Did Sri Lanka mislead everyone with their patchy performances in the two warm-up games?
India were subjected to a humiliating exit from the ICC World Twenty20 after a disappointing 12-run loss to South Africa at Trent Bridge, Nottingham, on Tuesday. The defending champions put up an ordinary batting display and finished with 118 for eight in their 20 overs in reply to South Africa's 130 for five in the last Super Eights match of the tournament.
South Africa captain Grame Smith won the toss and elected to bat against India in the Super Eights match of the ICC World Twenty20 at Trent Bridge, Nottingham, on Tuesday.
Dwayne Bravo scored 66 from 36 deliveries as the West Indies beat defending champions India by seven wickets in the Super Eights of the World Twenty20 at Lord's on Friday.
India fast bowler Zaheer Khan was more relieved than happy after his match-winning performance against Ireland, in Trent Bridge, Nottingham, on Wednesday.
The match has been reduced to an 18-over-a-side affair and is scheduled to start at 1820 local time (1050 IST).
Wednesday's match against Ireland is the last chance for Team India to test various combinations and players, but captain M S Dhoni said there will not be much experimentation -- the focus is on winning.
The rift between sections of the Indian media and Mahendra Singh Dhoni escalated on Tuesday when India's captain refused to confirm news about Virender Sehwag being ruled out of the Word Twenty20 on fitness grounds.
England stayed afloat in the ICC World Twenty20 tournament after humbling Pakistan by 48 runs in their must-win Group B match at the Oval in London on Sunday. Facing early elimination from the home event, England's top-order responded magnificently as they posted a challenging 185 for 5, after being sent in to bat. They then restricted Pakistan to 137 for 7.
India's left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha credited the Indian Premier League for his match-winning performance in the opening match of the ICC World Twenty20 against Bangladesh in Nottingham, on Saturday.
Opener Virender Sehwag was forced to miss the match after failing to recover from a shoulder injury, but pace bowler Zaheer Khan was declared fit and included in the team after missing the two warm-up matches.
Heavy overnight threatens to wash out India's opening ICC World Twenty20 encounter against Bangladesh at Trent Bridge, Nottingham, on Saturday. It started raining late Friday evening and has since lashed the city through the night. The weather forecast is also not too bright, with more rainfall predicted for rest of the day.
India came up with a champions' performance as they crushed Pakistan by nine wickets in a warm-up match ahead of the ICC World Twenty20, at the Oval, on Wednesday. Rohit Sharma treated the packed stadium to wonderful strokeplay, smashing 80 from 53 deliveries, as India, replying to Pakistan's 158 for six, cruised to 159 for one in 17 overs.
Two spinners seems to be Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni's choice for the ICC World Twenty20 matches if his team selection for the warm-up game against New Zealand is any indication.
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