May 25, 2011

Pakistan win by 196 runs and level the series at 1-1

Abdur Rehman finished with career-best figures, and shared the last five wickets with fellow spinner Saeed Ajmal to usher Pakistan to a series-levelling 196-run victory in the second Test against West Indies on Tuesday.

Rehman captured four for 65 from 24.3 overs, and Ajmal took three for 79 from 31 overs, as West Indies, in pursuit of a highly improbable target of 427, were dismissed for 230 in their second innings about 15 minutes before lunch on the final day at Warner Park.

The match came to an anti-climatic close, when Kemar Roach failed to beat Wahab Riaz's direct hit at the bowlers' end, and was run out for 12, after indecision about taking a single with Devendra Bishoo.

The Pakistani victory meant the two-Test series was tied 1-1, after West Indies claimed a 40-run victory in the first Test.

May 18, 2011

Sri Lanka in England 2011, Test, ODI & T20i Schedule

DateMatch DetailsTime (IST)Place
May 26 - 30 England v Sri Lanka, 1st Test15:30Cardiff, Wales
Jun 03 - 07 England v Sri Lanka, 2nd Test15:30London
Jun 16 - 20 England v Sri Lanka, 3rd Test15:30Southampton
Jun 25 - Sat England v Sri Lanka, Only T20I19:00Bristol
Jun 28 - Tue England v Sri Lanka, 1st ODI17:30London
Jul 01 - Fri England v Sri Lanka, 2nd ODI15:15Leeds
Jul 03 - Sun England v Sri Lanka, 3rd ODI15:15Chester-le-Street
Jul 06 - Wed England v Sri Lanka, 4th ODI18:30Nottingham
Jul 09 - Sat England v Sri Lanka, 5th ODI15:15Manchester

May 17, 2011

West Indies defeated Pakistan by 40 runs in 1st test

West Indies Captain Darren Sammy took five wickets and Ravi Rampaul claimed four as the West Indies defeated Pakistan by 40 runs on Sunday in the 1st Test.

Chasing 219 for victory, the Pakistanis were dismissed for 178 in their 2nd innings about 50 minutes after lunch on the 4th day at Guyana.

Darren SammyWI captain finished with the impressive figures of 5/29 from 17 overs that helped him to earn the man of the match award, and Ravi Rampaul supported with 4/48 from 21 overs.

Fittingly, the embattled Sammy brought the match to a climax when he bowled Pakistan bowling hero Saeed Ajmal for three.

The victory gave West Indies a 1-0 lead in the two-match test series, which concludes with the 2nd Test, starting on Friday at Warner Park in St. Kitts.

It was also the West Indies' first Test victory since February 2009, when they humbled England by an innings and 23 runs at Sabina Park in Jamaica. "This is all about West Indies cricket," said Sammy. "We as a team needed this performance, this victory, and I can't stop commending the effort of the guys - every single person that batted on such a difficult pitch.

"It was a total team effort, and it was good to come out on the right side of the result for a change."

The result also meant that Pakistan will have to wait for another trip to earn their first Test series victory in the Caribbean. "To lose a Test match is never an easy thing," said Pakistan skipper Misbah-ul-Haq, whose 52 was the top score in his side's 2nd innings.

"But they played better cricket than us. They bowled really disciplined throughout the match, and most of the time, they got us out with good bowling."

Ravi RampaulMisbah added: "I think it was a bit of everything that went wrong for us, but our fielding especially. We dropped way too many catches.

"We gave away too many runs, especially runs scored by the tail. They had good partnerships towards the end of each innings, particularly in the 2nd innings, and that was really crucial.

Pakistan's bid for victory hit a problems in the final half-hour before lunch, when Sammy removed Misbah and Mohammad Salman - both lbw - in the space of three balls to leave the visitors on 153 for six at the interval.

But the result did not appear to be a formality until Sammy trapped Umar Akmal plumb lbw for 47, as Pakistan lost their last four wickets for 18 runs in the space of 31 deliveries after lunch.

Akmal's dismissal established a new record for the most lbw decisions ever in a Test of 20, erasing the previous mark of 17 between the two sides 18 years ago at Queen's Park Oval in Trinidad.