ICC World T20 2014: Dwayne Bravo and Darren Sammy underline the importance of batting 20 overs

April 2, 2014

ICC_World_T20_2014Apr 2: Darren Sammy and Dwayne Bravo’s brilliant assault against Pakistan’s bowling helped West Indies seal a berth in the semi-final of the ICC World T20 2014. Nishad Pai Vaidya looks back at that partnership and how it promises to blood momentum into the West Indies camp.

To say that Dwayne Bravo and Darren Sammy’s assault in the slog overs was brutal is an understatement. In many ways, it was reminiscent of their ICC World T20 2012 final against Sri Lanka, where they compensated for a slow start with an unmatched assault at the death. Pakistan bled runs profusely, conceding 59 in the last three overs. Actually, there was that West Indian belief all along that they could put up a good score on the board and defend it. This time around, a semi-final spot was at stake and they found their mojo with some spectacular hitting.

At the post match press conference, Bravo resonated the belief when he stated that it is important to bat the allotted 20 overs and anything is possible. But, they were up against, Saeed Ajmal and Umar Gul, two men who are fine bowlers in Twenty20 (T20) cricket. They had worked in tandem to pull a rabbit out of the hat and beat Australia in a thriller earlier in the tournament. Here, The odds were in Pakistan’s favour with West Indies at 81 for five in the 14th over. What did the West Indies have then? Their belief and self confidence. That is what took them through.

It is great to see Bravo and Sammy come to the party for the West Indies in the last two games. The T20I and the One-Day International (ODI) skipper respectively, stitched a superb partnership at a crucial stage of the innings, exhibiting their craft with the bat. Both have been criticised at various points in the recent past, but in the game against Pakistan, they showed what they are made of. Sammy was perhaps an easy target. However, his hitting ability, backed up by a calm head on his shoulders is working wonders for West Indies now. Against Australia, they faced a stiff challenge in the slog overs and had only one option: attack their way around. But, against Pakistan, it was a different challenge. There was more at stake, plus they had to put up a good score.

Bravo reflected on the partnership during the media interaction and revealed the simple plot, “We had nothing to lose, we were under pressure. I told Sammy not to worry about taking on Ajmal, just stay there, keep your eyes on the ball and be powerful enough to get close to the ball to hit it over the ropes. The idea was to get about 135-140.” With that carefree approach they not only managed to overhaul that 140 mark, but went past 160.

Watching the duo work their way from the press box was an absolute pleasure. The whole crowd had come to watch Chris Gayle, but were given similar entertainment by this duo. Bravo didn’t try too many things at the crease and let his reflexes take over. There was no shuffling about and he did back that plan of staying still at the crease and maintaining his balance. When Gul came onto bowl the 18th over, he smacked a full length delivery, then a shortish one and carted another wide one behind point. He also waited for Ajmal to make a mistake to attack. Sammy went almost unnoticed, while Bravo fashioned that assault, but was equally effective.

Such a victory is bound to give West Indies the momentum and would bring back memories of that crowning glory of 2012. And guess what? It is Sri Lanka they face next, the team they defeated in the final back then. There are many reasons to smile for the West Indies! This time, they are holding back the Gangnam style though!

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January 31,2020

Wellington, Jan 31: A nervous New Zealand threw it away yet again as a perseverant India prevailed in the Super Over for the second successive time to take a 4-0 lead in the T20 International series on Friday.

Needing just 11 runs off the last two overs with seven wickets in hand, New Zealand dug a hole for themselves yet again, taking the game to a Super Over two nights after doing the same in Hamilton.

New Zealand managed 13 runs in six balls and India got there effortlessly.

KL Rahul smashed 10 runs off the first two balls before he was caught. Then, a fired-up Virat Kohli and Sanju Samson finished the game in style.

Earlier, Manish Pandey proved his value to the team with an unbeaten 50 off 35 balls, taking India to 165 for eight from 88 for six in the 12th over.

India's total wasn't enough considering the batting-friendly conditions but the hosts made life a lot tougher for themselves from a commanding position before succumbing to pressure.

The entertaining knocks from Colin Munro (64 off 47) and Time Seifert went in vain (57 off 39).

Mohammed Shami, who was rested on Friday, had bowled a brilliant 20th over on Wednesday and man of the match Shardul Thakur was up to the task this time, conceding just six runs when the opposition needed seven for victory.

With the series already in the bag, India gave opportunity to Sanju Samson, Washington Sundar and Navdeep Saini for the first time in the five-match series, resting Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja and Shami. However, none of them was able to make an impact in the game.

Chasing 165, New Zealand lost Martin Guptill early. But Munro and Seifert put on 74 runs for the second wicket to put themselves on track.

Munro scored a half-century of 38 deliveries, inclusive of six fours and three sixes. He was out against the run of play as Kohli's direct hit surprisingly found the target after a relay throw from the deep.

It was the turning point as New Zealand lost regular wickets. Yuzvendra Chahal bowled Tom Bruce (0), but Seifert found a partner in Ross Taylor as they pushed the score past 150 in the 18th over.

Seifert scored a half-century off 32 balls, including four fours and three sixes. But the great choke was yet to come again. Needing 18 off 18, the Black Caps lost four wickets in the last over bowled by Thakur.

Taylor holed out of the first ball, while Seifert was run out two balls later. Daryl Mitchell (4) was caught next and Mitchell Santner (2) couldn't steal two runs off the last ball as the sides engaged in a tie-breaker for the second game running.

This was after New Zealand won a fourth consecutive toss and opted to field. Kane Williamson didn't take part in the match owing to a shoulder niggle.

Tim Southee was the stand-in skipper, with the Black Caps making two changes.

Put in to bat, the visitors were struggling at 88-6 at one stage before Pandey's lonesome rescue act took them to a respectable total. KL Rahul contributed 39 runs off 26 balls, inclusive of three sixes and two fours.

Leg spinner Ish Sodhi got into the act and ran through India's batting order. First to go was Shreyas Iyer (1) and then Shivam Dube (12) was caught at mid-wicket.

Sodhi finished with 3-26 while Santner dismissed Sundar for nought as the New Zealand spinners rounded up a good outing with 4-54 in eight overs.

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February 10,2020

Potchefstroom, Feb 9: Bangladesh clinched their maiden ICC U-19 World Cup title after beating favourites India by three wickets in the summit clash here on Sunday.

Set a revised target of 170 after a brief rain interruption, Bangladesh won the match with 23 balls to spare.

Sent in to bat, India's batting wilted under pressure as a superb Bangladesh bowling attack shot the defending champions out for a paltry 177 in 47.2 overs.

Yasashvi Jaiswal (88 off 121 balls) was once again a standout performer but not for once did he look like dominating the Bangladesh bowling unit whose new ball bowlers Shoriful Islam (2/31 in 10 overs) and Tanzim Hasan Shakib (2/28 in 8.2 overs) literally stifled the Indians for runs.

The third seamer Avishek Das (3/40 in 9 overs) was the most successful bowler in terms of figures but it was Shoriful's first spell with channelised aggression that put the Indians on the back-foot from the onset.

After a short rain break towards the end, the target was revised to 170 from 46 runs but Bangladesh reached 170 for 7 in 42.1 overs to win the match.

Opener Parvez Hossain Emon top-scored for Bangladesh with a 79-ball 47 while captain and wicketkeeper Akbar Ali was not out on 43 from 77 deliveries.

For the India U-19 side, Ravi Bishnoi was the most successful bowler with figures of 4/30 while Sushant Mishra had 2/25.

India thus missed out on a record fifth title in their seventh final appearance.

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January 10,2020

Srinagar, Jan 10: Real Kashmir FC made a strong comeback in the second half to play out a 1-1 draw against former champions Punjab FC in their home I-League match here on Friday.

The 'Snow Leopards' equalised in the 62nd minute through Gnohere Krizo in front of a partisan crowd of 8,500 spectators after Makan Chothe had given Punjab FC the lead in the 21st minute at the TRC ground.

After Thursday's draw, Punjab FC is placed third on the table with 10 points from seven games. Real Kashmir FC remained at eighth with six points from five matches. This was Real Kashmir's third home match on the trot.

The match was a story of two halves as the first belonged to the visitors who enjoyed a 62 per cent possession of the ball, whereas the second belonged to the home side.

Both the teams were looking to gain an early advantage and Punjab FC took the lead after 21 minutes.

Confusion inside the Real Kashmir box because of a long ball from Punjab opened up an opportunity for Chothe and he made no mistake as he smashed the ball at the back of the net.

As the fans cheered on, Real Kashmir created a flurry of chances, but none of the home side players could find the back of the net. Punjab was able to hold on to their slender lead heading into the tunnel.

The second half resumed with Real Kashmir pressing high up the field and pressurising Punjab.

In the 56th minute, Real Kashmir playmaker Kallum Higginbotham cut through two defenders on the left side of the box and the ball fell to Mason Robertson, whose shot was too weak to trouble the Punjab goalkeeper.

Soon after, it was Danish Farooq who tried a curler from a distance but his shot did not have enough bend to trouble the Punjab goalkeeper. The home team's effort finally paid off in the 62nd minute.

A miscalculated header by Danilo Augusto fell at the feet of Gnohere Krizo, who was one-on-one with the keeper. He made no mistake in striking the ball into the opponent's goal to score the equaliser.

Real Kashmir was in their groove now, and Kallum came in from the right with a beautiful low cross across the face of the goal but Mason could not get a touch as the chance went begging.

The duo of Kallum and Mason were proving difficult for Punjab to deal with. In the 82nd minute, a beautiful long ball by Kallum found the head of a towering Mason, but the effort went just over the crossbar.

Within a few moments, Punjab again had another nervous moment as Chesterpoul Lyngdoh's cross from the right side hit the arm of Thoiba Singh but the referee turned down an appeal for penalty.

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