India defeats Australia- Ponting century in vain- Aussies out of World Cup- India wins in World Cup enters Semis against Pakistan

Australia out of Cricket World Cup 2011

Finally Australia loses! India defeated the Aussies!

India have done it. First Pakistan defeated the Aussies in the Group Stage and now India defeats them in the Quarters. India now plays against Pakistan in the Semi final! Batting first, Shane Watson and Brad Haddin made a good start until the 9th over when Watson was bowled by R Ashwin. Enter Ricky Ponting, the Aussie Captain who led the Aussies to World Cup victories twice in a row, but now completely out of form, and is desperately looking for a big score especially in this important pressure match against India. Punter played a classic innings and scored his 5th World Cup 100 under pressure. With good support from David Hussey at the other end, Ponting made 104 from 118 balls when he played straight to the hands of Zaheer Khan in Ashwin's 48th over. A classic innings by a classic batsman! Aussies 260 for 6 in 50 overs. Ashwin, Khan and Yuvraj claimed 2 wickets each.

Indian Tigers chasing the Kangaroos!

After a good start Sehwag fell giving way for Gambhir who was a bit rusty in this tournament so far. Then began a good foundation. Sachin and Gambhir started to build a good partnership while Sachin also completed 18000 runs in ODIs. Just when everyone thought Sachin would get to his century he nicked one to Haddin on 53. Once more a partnership ensured between Kohli and Gambhir who registered his 50. After the loss of Dhoni who tried to go for a big one, for the team's cause, though it looked like one for the crowd and that consecutively in 2 matches, Yuvraj, the man in form, came out and displayed his talent and maturity. Along with a sensible Suresh Raina, Yuvraj steered India to the semis and in the process thumping out the Mighty Aussies out the World Cup and making way for a new Champion Nation. For the Aussies, Lee, Watson, Tait and David Hussey took 1 wicket each.

Good Luck India

On 20th March 2011, India faces Pakistan for a spot in the finals. Can Afridi and his boys do it for Pakistan? Will Dhoni's talented team do it for India? Will the viewers witness their favourite cricket war once again? Let's wait and see... In the meantime South Africa will play against New Zealand tomorrow. Good luck to both teams.

Chak De India! ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 Fans hoping India, Australia or South Africa most likely Champions

Are India Favourites?

(The photo is original which I have uploaded in Alamy. Please contact Alamy for commercial inquiries)

Billions of Indians around the world have only one dream right now. India must bring home the Cricket World Cup 2011 Trophy! Dhoni & Co. must be crowned the Champions! So will this happen? Well, for the last two years India has been playing some of the best Cricket ever and they are the current No. 1 Test playing nation as well. Yes the Australians are the No. 1 ODI side but India is quickly closing in on them. So if they continue this current form they are sure to be the champions in the World Cup Tournament that started on the 19th of February 2011. And the opening match was also won by hosts India when they beat co-host Bangladesh. Sri Lanka, co-host as well, is also a strong contender for the cup. Do you think Team India will win?

Aussies and Proteas are also Champion Nations

Well, the current Aussie Team may not be the old 'Never say Die' Team but they still have some fighters who is still being led by the Cricket Legend Ricky Ponting. Ricky who is the next best after Sachin Tendulkar when it comes to stats seems the best person to win the cup for Australia. South Africa, as always, the nemesis for both Australia and India is also a top contender for the Trophy.

Pakistan and England

However, there are still some who favour Pakistan and England. While Pakistan is the Dark Horse who can surprise anyone at any time, England are close behind with the Ashes and Twenty2o Trophies in their pockets. So fans all over the world are watching the matches hoping for their favourite team to win the World Cup.

Indian Cricket Team Players- Click them for Cricinfo Stats

MS Dhoni (c/wk)
Virender Sehwag (vc)

Ashish Nehra
Munaf Patel
Yusuf Pathan
Suresh Raina
Sreesanth
Sachin Tendulkar
Yuvraj Singh
Ravichandran Ashwin
Piyush Chawla
Gautam Gambhir
Harbhajan Singh
Zaheer Khan
Virat Kohli

So All the Best India- Chak De India!!!

(The photo is original which I have uploaded in Alamy. Please contact Alamy for commercial inquiries)

My friend paid Rs 1000 for today's Cricket match at Kochi- India vs Australia with no Sachin, Sehwag, Gambhir, Ponting & Sreesanth

My friend's Facebook update read "After buying tickect for one day..the very evening i came to know...sachin,sehwag...zaheer nor bhajji is playing the series...now it's non stop rain..hmmmmm...hmmmmmmmmm"

Haha...I spoke to him and he said he had no words to describe his situation. India was scheduled to play against Australia in Kochi today. But the Indian team was without Sachin, Sehwag, Harbhajan and Zaheer Khan. The Aussie team was without Ricky Ponting as well. What a shame! This ODI series is between the two top teams in the world. It promised lots of action and drama. Unfortunately most of the fans dont get to see the stars they paid to see. Who knows- it could have been the last time we would have got to see Sachin and Ponting playing against each other. Heh, it could have also been the last time Sreesanth would be bowling to Ponting...

Of course it is an opportunity for the youngsters to claim their position in the team while ultimately, the whole nation will be supporting India to win irrespective of the stars' absence in the field. But just like some 'Sachin' loyal supporters and fans, my friend too didnt know that these Cricket stars were missing. He was really shocked when he came to know about it. And to add to his dismay, the match has been abandoned because of non-stop rain and by now I'm sure he must be eating his ticket. I havent asked him if he will get it refunded though. Heh heh....Yeah these kind of things happen to everyone. Even I have faced situations like these. Haha....But it's fun when you think about it later- heh, laughing at our own misery...hahaha......Well, the good news is that all those who bought the ticket also got a free blue colour Nike T-shirt along with it. So, I think he is happy because he can atleast keep the T-shirt as a memorable item. Chak de India!

Mighty Dhoni's India Minces Meat out of Ponting's Aussies!!

Ricky Ponting bites his nail in India again!!!

Dhoni's 107 ball 124 runs helped in ensuring a victory over the Mighty Australia! The devastating century by Indian Captain M.S.Dhoni destructed Ponting's plan of taking the dew advantage while he sent India to bat after winning the toss!

Destructive Dhoni at the best of his destruction!!!

Once again a good opening partnership was about to turn into a batting order collapse when Sehwag (40 runs), Sachin(4 runs) and Yuvraj Singh (23 runs) got out even before the scoreboard read 100 runs. But then came Destructive Dhoni and steadied the innings with Gautam Gambhir. Gambhir was out after a valiant 76 runs but the partnership he shared with Dhoni was a superb 113 runs which really brought India out of trouble!

Mr. Cameo Suresh Raina

"More crackers were added to the fireworks when Suresh Raina played a cameo knock of 62 from 50 balls!!"

More crackers were added to the fireworks when Suresh Raina played a cameo knock of 62 from 50 balls!! Together Raina and Dhoni added 136 runs for the 5th wicket which is India's highest against Australia! The target set India set for the Kangaroos to win was a massive 355!! MEK Hussey played his famous repetitive 'Backbone' role for Australia. But they lost by 99 runs!!

Indian Bowlers

R.A.Jadeja grabbed 3 wickets for 35 (6.3 overs) while Ishant Sharma and Praveen Kumar took 2 wickets each from 8 overs. Whether or not India is said to be Lions when they bat first, it's Kudos time for the Men in Blue! Congratulations India, you have earned this victory!!

Scoreboard- India Vs Australia ODI series

Here's the link to the scoreboard from ESPN cricinfo (the site for free online cricket match scores)- India Vs Australia ODI series, Nagpur- 2nd match results:

Click here for Scoreboard: India Vs Australia ODI series- 2nd ODI match results

Man of the Match Award went to Mahendra Singh Dhoni for his smashing century of 124 runs from 107 balls!

Some of the Cricketers' profiles, stats and records from ESPNcricinfo:

1. Ricky Ponting the next Sachin Tendulkar!- Ricky Ponting!

2. J.P. Duminy the next Ricky Ponting as predicted by Ian Chappell!- J.P. Duminy!

3. Harbhajan Singh The Turbanator who always destroys the Aussies with his all round performance!- Harbhajan Singh!

4. 'Wrestler' Praveen Kumar one of the new breed swing bowlers of India!- Praveen Kumar!

5. Michael Hussey Mr. Cricket!- Mike Hussey!

6. 'Master Blaster', 'Little Master', 'Cricket Legend' Sachin Tendulkar!- Sachin Tendulkar !

7. 'Swashbuckler Mahendra Singh Dhoni!'- M.S.Dhoni !


India Vs Australia highlights from YouTube:

Record 8th wicket partnership of 84 runs by Harbhajan and Praveen Kumar almost beat Ricky Ponting's Aussies in 1st ODI- India Vs Australia match...

Ricky Ponting and his Aussie mates beat India's Bhajji and pacer Praveen Kumar

Everyone thought that India would win today's ODI match at Vadodara. Honestly when India lost Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Suresh Raina, we were sure that India would lose and so we lost interest in the match. Yet, like every passionate Indian Cricket supporters we hopefully stayed glued to the screen in case some miracle happened. And our hope paid off!! But finally Australia defeated India by 4 runs.

Enter Harbhajan Singh and Praveen Kumar

The way these two batted really helped in raising the hopes of Indians who were watching today's live cricket match between India and Australia. While the top order, barring Gautam Gambhir who made 68 runs, M.S Dhoni with 34 runs and Virat Kohli with 30 runs, had a major top order collapse, it was these two bowler batsmen or tail enders who raised the India's scoreboard from 201 for 7 wickets to 285 runs!!!

Australia Innings

"If J.P Duminy has been predicted as the next Ricky Ponting by former Australian Captain Ian Chappell, then Ponting need not be bothered by it at all, because the way he is still playing at 34 years of age, it shows just what kind of a Superstar Cricketer he is, and how difficult it's going to be for someone to be his successor!"

Once again, the Mighty Aussies showed their dominance in World Cricket. Four half centuries from their top order batsmen including Ricky Ponting and Mike Hussey the next Michael Bevan, registered a huge target of 292 runs for the Men in Blue to chase and win. However, this was not the case. If J.P Duminy has been predicted as the next Ricky Ponting by former Australian Captain Ian Chappell, then Ponting need not be bothered by it at all, because the way he is still playing at 34 years of age, it shows just what kind of a Superstar Cricketer he is, and how difficult it's going to be for someone to be his successor!

Come on India- Cheer up!

Hey, overall, I would say that India lost a fighting match in the end thanks to the two tail enders. With a good start by Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar, the chase was not good as the Aussie bowlers spearheaded by Brett Lee and Nathan Hauritz restricted runs for India. And though the Indian bowlers, except Ishant Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja, found it hard to stop the Aussie run flood, it were the bowlers The Turbanator and Praveen Kumar who turned batsmen and kept the match alive to bring the winning chase to 6 runs from the last ball. The 8th wicket 84 runs partnership between them was the India's highest in an ODI match! Hats off to you guys!! In the end, we learnt a lesson to never understimate India until the end of the match ;)

Scoreboard- India Vs Australia ODI series

Here's the link to the scoreboard from ESPNcricinfo (the site for free online cricket match scores)- India Vs Australia ODI series, Vadodara- 1st match results:

Click here for Scoreboard: India Vs Australia ODI series- 1st ODI match results

Man of the Match Award went to the successor of Michael Bevan, Michael Hussey for his 73 runs from 54 balls!

Some of the Cricketers' profiles, stats and records from ESPNcricinfo:

1. Ricky Ponting the next Sachin Tendulkar!- Ricky Ponting!

2. J.P. Duminy the next Ricky Ponting as predicted by Ian Chappell!- J.P. Duminy!

3. Harbhajan Singh The Turbanator who always destroys the Aussies with his all round performance!- Harbhajan Singh!

4. 'Wrestler' Praveen Kumar one of the new breed swing bowlers of India!- Praveen Kumar!
5. Michael Hussey Mr. Cricket!- Mike Hussey!

6. 'Master Blaster', 'Little Master', 'Cricket Legend' Sachin Tendulkar!- Sachin Tendulkar


India Vs Australia highlights from YouTube: