India faces Australia in quarterfinals
Source: Agencies |
March 22, 2011, Tuesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
INDIA set up a mouthwatering World Cup quarterfinal against defending champion Australia after beating West Indies by 80 runs in the last group match on Sunday.
India claimed second place in Group B and will host Ricky Ponting's Australians at Ahmedabad on Thursday, while West Indies finished fourth and will face Group A winner Pakistan in Dhaka on Wednesday.
"Australia are a very good side, they play tough cricket, they're quite expressive on the field," India captain M.S. Dhoni said. "But it's not about which opponent you're playing, it's all about how you're preparing and what you really want to achieve. We'll give it our best shot."
In the other quarterfinals, Group B leader South Africa is against New Zealand at Dhaka on Friday and Sri Lanka hosts England on Saturday at Colombo.
The home crowd in Chennai was almost silent as West Indies reached 154-2 chasing 269 against India, but once Zaheer Khan bowled Devon Smith for 81, the visitors crumbled, losing eight wickets for 34 runs.
In Sunday's other match, Zimbabwe defeated Kenya by 161 runs in a game between two eliminated teams.
The speed of West Indies' demise made India's win look more convincing than it was. In reality, there were tense moments for the home fans as their side struggled to get on top of a West Indies lineup missing Chris Gayle, Kemar Roach and Shivnarine Chanderpaul.
"The game really changed once Zaheer gave us that breakthrough that was really needed," Dhoni said. "Before that Devon was batting really well, we gave him opportunities to score and he really capitalized on that. But once we got his wicket, we were able to put pressure on the other batsmen."
Yuvraj Singh's maiden World Cup century and a 59 from Virat Kohli gave India a solid foundation at 173-2, but the lower order collapsed in similar fashion as it did in the loss to South Africa and India was all out for 268.
The last seven wickets fell for the addition of 50 runs. Four of those fell in the batting powerplay as India failed to bat out 50 overs for the third time in the tournament.
West Indies proved even more vulnerable with the bat, and inspired spells by Zaheer and Harbhajan Singh sent wickets tumbling.
"We have to tighten up and tighten up very quickly," West Indies captain Darren Sammy said. "We're going to be facing Pakistan, so we have to bring our A-game.
"We lost eight wickets for 30-odd runs so that's a concern. We're in the knockout stage and anything could happen, but we have to pick up."
Yuvraj, despite suffering from stomach cramps, added bowling figures 2-18 to his calm innings of 113. Ravichandran Ashwin, finally included in the team following a clamor in the local media, took 2-41 in 10 overs on his World Cup debut.
Sachin Tendulkar is still seeking his 100th international century. He was out for 2 in the first over after feathering a catch to wicketkeeper Devon Thomas to set Ravi Rampaul on his way to figures of 5-51 on his World Cup debut.
Meanwhile, New Zealand has called up fast bowler Daryl Tuffey as replacement for Hamish Bennett, who injured his ankle in the loss to Sri Lanka.
India claimed second place in Group B and will host Ricky Ponting's Australians at Ahmedabad on Thursday, while West Indies finished fourth and will face Group A winner Pakistan in Dhaka on Wednesday.
"Australia are a very good side, they play tough cricket, they're quite expressive on the field," India captain M.S. Dhoni said. "But it's not about which opponent you're playing, it's all about how you're preparing and what you really want to achieve. We'll give it our best shot."
In the other quarterfinals, Group B leader South Africa is against New Zealand at Dhaka on Friday and Sri Lanka hosts England on Saturday at Colombo.
The home crowd in Chennai was almost silent as West Indies reached 154-2 chasing 269 against India, but once Zaheer Khan bowled Devon Smith for 81, the visitors crumbled, losing eight wickets for 34 runs.
In Sunday's other match, Zimbabwe defeated Kenya by 161 runs in a game between two eliminated teams.
The speed of West Indies' demise made India's win look more convincing than it was. In reality, there were tense moments for the home fans as their side struggled to get on top of a West Indies lineup missing Chris Gayle, Kemar Roach and Shivnarine Chanderpaul.
"The game really changed once Zaheer gave us that breakthrough that was really needed," Dhoni said. "Before that Devon was batting really well, we gave him opportunities to score and he really capitalized on that. But once we got his wicket, we were able to put pressure on the other batsmen."
Yuvraj Singh's maiden World Cup century and a 59 from Virat Kohli gave India a solid foundation at 173-2, but the lower order collapsed in similar fashion as it did in the loss to South Africa and India was all out for 268.
The last seven wickets fell for the addition of 50 runs. Four of those fell in the batting powerplay as India failed to bat out 50 overs for the third time in the tournament.
West Indies proved even more vulnerable with the bat, and inspired spells by Zaheer and Harbhajan Singh sent wickets tumbling.
"We have to tighten up and tighten up very quickly," West Indies captain Darren Sammy said. "We're going to be facing Pakistan, so we have to bring our A-game.
"We lost eight wickets for 30-odd runs so that's a concern. We're in the knockout stage and anything could happen, but we have to pick up."
Yuvraj, despite suffering from stomach cramps, added bowling figures 2-18 to his calm innings of 113. Ravichandran Ashwin, finally included in the team following a clamor in the local media, took 2-41 in 10 overs on his World Cup debut.
Sachin Tendulkar is still seeking his 100th international century. He was out for 2 in the first over after feathering a catch to wicketkeeper Devon Thomas to set Ravi Rampaul on his way to figures of 5-51 on his World Cup debut.
Meanwhile, New Zealand has called up fast bowler Daryl Tuffey as replacement for Hamish Bennett, who injured his ankle in the loss to Sri Lanka.
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