Pakistan - New Asian Champion
Saturday, March 24, 2012
posted @ 1:28 PM,
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Asia Cup to World Cup
Friday, June 25, 2010
M.S Dhoni said “Asia cup will be a great preparation opportunity for India’s 2011 cricket world cup campaign” at the outset of Asia Cup 2010. Seems as if the Indian brigade have taken it rather seriously as they made the most of this opportunity & given nation a faint hope of 2011 Cricket World Cup. The manner in which they crushed Srilanka to reclaim their lost authority in last league game was relieving to say the least.
Having pulled off easy victory over Bangladesh & a cliffhanger with Pakistan, Indian team displayed great show with bat & bowl to such an extent that even the lankan tigers failed to make any mark. The Indian team made all the right moves & srilankans who until now were looking dangerous surrendered meekly in final of Asia Cup 2010. Having lent an embarrassing defeat to the Indians just two days ago, Srilankans seem to got complacent & lost the plot very badly in the final.
India posting 268/6 in 50 overs challenged Srilanka to conquer it under the flood-lights. Srilanka in reply was never allowed to even a decent start as M.S Dhoni filled the inner ring with strategic field placements. Even singles were dried as the young Indian put an impressive & one of their best fielding effort in recent times. The bowlers kept bowling a tight line & took the advantage of strong breeze sweeping through the ground. Srilankan chase tottered as wickets kept tumbling at regular intervals & no substantial partnerships building whatsoever in their innings. Nuwan Kulasekara & Chamara Kapugedera gave a tiny shimmering hope to the srilankan camp during batting powerplay but Ravindra Jadega eventually struck gold by getting Kulasekera stumped by M.S Dhoni. Eventually Srilanka were bowled out in the 45th over as India went to win by 81 runs.
Smiles spread across the Indian camps as they won deservedly the Asia Cup 2010 in 15 years. With Sachin Tendulkar, Virendar Sehwag & Yuvraj Singh set to return to the Indian camp, the 2011 cricket world cup seems a possible dream for team India now. They do have a few chinks in their armor but with still time to go they would be looking to plug them up & give the nation a more bigger occasion to celebrate in the coming year. #
Labels: Asia Cup, ICC Cricket World Cup 2011, India, Sri Lanka
posted @ 11:42 AM,
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The Squads
Thursday, June 24, 2010
India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt), Virender Sehwag (vice-capt), Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, Harbhajan Singh, Praveen Kumar, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Pragyan Ojha, Ashok Dinda, Ravichandran Ashwin, Saurabh Tiwary.
Pakistan: Shahid Afridi (capt), Salman Butt (vice-capt), Imran Farhat, Shahzaib Hasan, Umar Akmal, Asad Shafiq, Shoaib Malik, Umar Amin, Kamran Akmal, Abdul Razzaq, Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Amir, Shoaib Akhtar, Saeed Ajmal, Abdul Rehman.
Sri Lanka: Kumar Sangakkara (capt), Muttiah Muralitharan (vice-capt), Mahela Jayawardene, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Upul Tharanga, Thilan Samaraweera, Angelo Mathews, Farveez Maharoof, Chamara Kapugedara, Nuwan Kulasekara, Chanaka Welegedara, Lasith Malinga, Suraj Randiv, Rangana Herath, Thilina Kandamby.
Bangladesh: Shakib Al Hasan (capt), Mushfiqur Rahim, Tamim Iqbal, Imrul Kayes, Jahurul Islam, Junaid Siddique, Mohammad Ashraful, Mohammad Mahmudullah, Mashrafe Mortaza, Naeem Islam, Abdur Razzak, Syed Rasel, Rubel Hossain, Shafiul Islam, Suhrawadi Shuvo.
Labels: Asia Cup, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Players, Squads, Sri Lanka, Teams
posted @ 4:19 PM,
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India, Sri Lanka Before Asia Cup Final
Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara warned that his team would “hit the ground running” against India in Thursday’s Asia Cup final at Dambulla.
“A final is a final,” he told reporters on Wednesday.
“Winning an Asia Cup especially at home would be a special thing.
“It’s going to really inspire us and we are going to hit the ground running and really try and win it.”
India’s captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, meanwhile, insisted his team was not under any added pressure despite being beaten by the hosts by seven wickets in their final pool match.
“As a cricketer you see it as just another game,” he said.
“There is no point thinking it as a final. We are playing against Sri Lanka, that’s it.”
Dhoni demanded more consistency from his bowlers.
“I think they have done decently for us in patches,” he said.
“It will be really good to win a few games where you put 240 or 260 on the board and win.
“You can’t all the time expect your batsmen to score 280 or more and make you win the game.
“It will be good if we can do that. But then again our strength has been batting. We are a side that relies more on our batting than our bowling.”
Sri Lanka, who had never batted under lights in their previous two matches against Pakistan and Bangladesh, invited India to bat first earlier this week.
“It was another step towards challenging ourselves to get a bit better and a bit tougher,” said Sangakkara, whose team are aiming for a hat-trick of Asia Cup wins after winning in 2006 and 2008.
Teams
India (from): Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Gautam Gambhir, Dinesh Kartik, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja, Zaheer Khan, Praveen Kumar, Suresh Raina, Harbhajan Singh, Ashish Nehra, Ashok Dinda, Pragyan Ojha.
Sri Lanka (from): Kumar Sangakkara (captain), Tillakaratne Dilshan, Upul Tharanga, Mahela Jayawardene, Thilan Samaraweera, Angelo Mathews, Chamara Kapugedera, Nuwan Kulasekara, Lasith Malinga, Muttiah Muralidaran, Farveez Maharoof, Thilina Kandamby, Chanaka Welagedera, Rangana Herath, Suraj Randiv. —AP
Labels: Asia Cup, India, Sri Lanka
posted @ 4:16 PM,
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Pakistan's Asia Cup flop 'a warning bell'
Monday, June 21, 2010
Former Pakistan cricket greats said Sunday Pakistan’s failure to reach the final of the Asia Cup was “a warning bell” for problems that needed urgent attention before next year’s World Cup.
“Pakistan did play well in both the matches but the fact is that we are still number three, behind Sri Lanka and India, which is a warning bell for next year’s World Cup,” former Pakistan captain Zaheer Abbas told AFP.
The four-nation Asia Cup, being played in the Sri Lankan resort of Dambulla, is seen as a build-up for next year’s World Cup, which will be jointly hosted by India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
Arch-rival India beat Pakistan by three wickets on Saturday, qualifying for the June 24 final against Sri Lanka and leaving runners-up Pakistan and Bangladesh to contest a league match on Monday.
Abbas said the results showed that Pakistan was performing poorly.
“Against India our batting did well, but bowling and fielding were not up to the mark,” said Abbas.
Pakistan also failed to reach the final of the 2008 Asia Cup, when the tournament was held in their own country.
Abbas said there were “too many coaches” in the Pakistan camp, which he found “hard to understand,” referring to head coach Waqar Younis, assistant coach Aqib Javed and batting-fielding coach Ijaz Ahmed.
“Too many coaches are spoiling the broth,” Abbas said.
Former chief selector Iqbal Qasim, who resigned in February after Pakistan’s winless tour of Australia, said Pakistan had to confront its problems before next year’s World Cup.
“Fielding is our main problem, which again failed us on Saturday,” said Qasim, a former left-arm spinner.
“We also need to know when to utilise our batting powerplay, which is being spoiled every time.”
Qasim said fast-rising batsman Umar Akmal and paceman Mohammad Amir needed guidance to turn their huge talent into better performances.
“Umar is creating panic when he comes on to bat, which led to run-outs for his batting partners which he survived,” Qasim said.
“It’s a big problem which needs to sorted out.”
Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi will lead the team on the tour of England starting next week.
Pakistan will play two Twenty20 and two Tests against Australia and four Tests, two Twenty20 and five one-day matches against England.
Labels: Asia Cup, ICC Cricket World Cup 2011
posted @ 10:56 AM,
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Pakistan Out of Asia Cup
Sri Lanka: Harbhajan Singh smashed the penultimate ball from Mohammad Aamer for a six as India knocked Pakistan out of the Asia Cup with a three-wicket win on Saturday.
Harbhajan’s last-gasp shot over the midwicket fence helped India past Pakistan’s 267 with one ball to spare in a heart-stopping finish at the Rangiri stadium in Dambulla.
India scored 52 runs in the last five overs after the sixth wicket had fallen at 219, with Suresh Raina making 34 off 27 balls and Harbhajan an unbeaten 15 off 11.
The exciting victory lifted both India and hosts Sri Lanka into the June 24 final with two wins each and rendered the last two league matches inconsequential.
Pakistan and Bangladesh, who have yet to win a game, play each other on Monday, while India and Sri Lanka clash on Tuesday in a dress rehearsal for the final.
Barely 2,000 Sri Lankan fans were on hand to watch a rare clash between the arch-rivals, only their second one-day encounter in the past two years.
Opener Gautam Gambhir hit 83 off 97 balls and skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni chipped in with 57 during a third-wicket stand of 97 which lifted India to 180-2 in the 36th over.
But Gambhir’s dismissal at that stage, bowled by Saeed Ajmal, triggered a middle-order collapse which saw four wickets fall for the addition of 39 runs.
Dhoni was bowled by Shoaib Malik and Rohit Sharma was trapped leg-before by Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi, before Ajmal removed Ravindra Jadeja to make it 219-6 in the 46th over.
Raina and Harbhajan then stepped in to lead a brilliant recovery and crush a valiant Pakistan side’s hopes of staying alive in the tournament.
For Pakistan, opener Salman Butt top-scored with 74 and Kamran Akmal hit 51 off 41 balls after Afridi won the toss and elected to bat in the day-night international.
Labels: Asia Cup, India, Pakistan
posted @ 10:52 AM,
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India v Pakistan 2010 Asia Cup
Sunday, June 20, 2010
India v Pakistan 2010 Asia Cup Match Updates, Schedules, Teams Squad, Stats, Pitch And Condition Saturday, June 19, 2010
Pakistan are known to be dangerously volatile when put in a do-or-die situation, as is the situation now after they lost their first match to Sri Lanka. Shahid Afridi has already shown the sign of return to form after a 75 ball 109 runs knock against Sri Lanka. With batsmen like Umar Akmal, Kamran Akmal and Shoiab Malik in their rank they can expect to beat India of everything go as per their plan.
India on the other hand needs to short out their bowling which was punished badly by the Bangladesh openers in their first game. Their batsman Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli also needs to put some runs on the board to put less pressure on M.S.Dhoni in the middle order.
With both teams raring to go on each other after nine months it would be an intense battle in the middle.
After long nine months wait the much awaited game of the Asia Cup 2010 finally arrived. It will be intense battle when arch-rivals India and Pakistan take on each other in the fourth game of Asia Cup 2001 at Rangiri Dambulla international stadium.
Pakistan must win this game to stay in the contention for the Asia Cup final after having lost their first game against Sri Lanka despite of superb batting display by their captain Shahid Afridi.
Pakistan after loosing their first game needs to short out their batting department specifically the out-of-depth youngsters at the top. With the return of Shoaib Akhtar their bowling department looks sharp and in shape which will test the top and middle order Indian batsmen.
Last time when these two team mates, Pakistan came out as winner in the ICC Champions Trophy in South Africa. Where Shoiab Mallik scored a brilliant century for his team and Pakistan needs such type of performance again from someone to beat India in such a high pressure battle.
Watch out for
Virendra Sehwag: He has just scored 11 runs in his first outing after returning from shoulder injury but he has earn the confidence needed for international games by picking up four crucial wickets. So in any department he will be the key man for India.
Shahid Afridi: His century was in vane, when his team lost the game by rare margin of 16 runs. However his record against India is outstanding and he will try to repeat one of his past performances to keep his team hopes alive in 2010 Asia Cup.
Pitch & Condition
At Rangiri Dambulla international stadium, as we have seen in last three games batting under light is not as easy as it is during the day time. So toss will once again play a crucial part in the fate of the game against India and Pakistan. Team winning the toss would like to bat first and put somewhere around 260 runs on the board.
Teams
India is likely to go into the game with Same XI as Pakistan unless there is some injury concern for any players.
Likely Playing XI for both Teams (Match is Schedule to begin at 14:30 PM India Time)
India Squad: Virender Sehwag, Gautham Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni (Captain/WK), Ravindra Jadeja, Harbhajan Singh, Praveen Kumar, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra.
Pakistan Squad: Salman Butt, Shahzaib Hasan, Umar Amin, Shahid Afridi (Captain), Umar Akmal, Shoaib Malik, Kamran Akmal(WK), Abdul Razzaq, Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Aamer.
Stats
India and Pakistan have played eight times in the Asia cup with India managing to win three while loosing four to Pakistan.
Shoaib Malik and Salman Butt has phenomenal record against India with both batsmen scored their most of the centuries against arch-rivals India.
Labels: Asia Cup, India, Pakistan
posted @ 5:29 PM,
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Bangladesh Vs Sri Lanka
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Tillakaratne Dilshan starred with bat and ball as Sri Lanka trounced Bangladesh by 126 runs on Friday to virtually book their place in the Asia Cup final.
Dilshan smashed 71 off 51 balls and claimed three wickets as the defending champions piled up a commanding 312-4 in their 50 overs and then shot out Bangladesh for 186.
It was Sri Lanka's second win in a row after the 16-run defeat of Pakistan in their opening match and helped them step closer to becoming the first team to take a berth in the June 24 final.
Bangladesh, who had lost to India on Wednesday, are virtually out of contention in the four-nation tournament.
Sri Lanka put on a dazzling batting performance to record the highest total ever at the Rangiri international stadium in Dambulla.
Dilshan and Upul Tharanga set the ball rolling with an opening stand of 111 by the 16th over after Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara won the toss and elected to bat in the day-night match.
Tharanga (54) and Sangakkara (52) hit half-centuries to build on Dilshan's aggressive knock which included 11 boundaries and a six.
Mahela Jayawardene chipped in with 43 during a third-wicket stand of 69 with Sangakkara.
Angelo Mathews (42 not out) and Chamara Kapugedera (37 not out) hammered 73 runs in the last 10 overs to set Bangladesh a tough target of six runs an over under lights.
Bangladesh found the task beyond their reach despite a typically aggressive 51 off 53 balls by left-handed opener Tamim Iqbal.
Tamim put on 57 for the second wicket with Junaid Siddique (38) after opening partner Imrul Kayes was caught in the slips off Nuwan Kulasekera for three.
Bangladesh, who were 77-1 at one stage, lost five wickets for 66 runs as Dilshan and Muttiah Muralitharan sliced through the middle order.
Dilshan, bowling off-spin, sealed Bangladesh's fate in the space of nine deliveries when he had Tamim stumped by Sangakkara and then trapped Mohammad Ashraful leg-before.
Dilshan also removed Mushfiqur Rahim, while Muralitharan dismissed Junaid Siddique and skipper Shakib Al Hasan at the other end.
Labels: Asia Cup
posted @ 10:52 AM,
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Asian Cup Schedules and Squads
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Teams and schedule for the four-nation Asia Cup limited-overs tournament starting in Dambulla on June 15.
India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt), Virender Sehwag (vice-capt), Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, Harbhajan Singh, Praveen Kumar, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Pragyan Ojha, Ashok Dinda, Ravichandran Ashwin, Saurabh Tiwary.
Pakistan: Shahid Afridi (capt), Salman Butt (vice-capt), Imran Farhat, Shahzaib Hasan, Umar Akmal, Asad Shafiq, Shoaib Malik, Umar Amin, Kamran Akmal, Abdul Razzaq, Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Amir, Shoaib Akhtar, Saeed Ajmal, Abdul Rehman.
Sri Lanka: Kumar Sangakkara (capt), Muttiah Muralitharan (vice-capt), Mahela Jayawardene, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Upul Tharanga, Thilan Samaraweera, Angelo Mathews, Farveez Maharoof, Chamara Kapugedara, Nuwan Kulasekara, Chanaka Welegedara, Lasith Malinga, Suraj Randiv, Rangana Herath, Thilina Kandamby.
Bangladesh: Shakib Al Hasan (capt), Mushfiqur Rahim, Tamim Iqbal, Imrul Kayes, Jahurul Islam, Junaid Siddique, Mohammad Ashraful, Mohammad Mahmudullah, Mashrafe Mortaza, Naeem Islam, Abdur Razzak, Syed Rasel, Rubel Hossain, Shafiul Islam, Suhrawadi Shuvo.
Schedule
June 15: Sri Lanka vs Pakistan
June 16: India vs Bangladesh
June 18: Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh
June 19: Pakistan vs India
June 21: Pakistan vs Bangladesh
June 22: India vs Sri Lanka
June 24: Final
June 25: Reserve day
Labels: Asia Cup
posted @ 10:55 AM,
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Asia Cup launching ground for cricket World Cup 2011
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
This month's Asia Cup will provide the region's cricket nations with an ideal preparation ahead of the World Cup to be played on the subcontinent in just eight months' time.
Host Sri Lanka joins India, Pakistan and Bangladesh at the central town of Dambulla for the region's top limited-overs tournament starting Tuesday.
India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh will co-host the cricket World Cup from February 2011. Pakistan was originally to have also been a co-host, but was dropped due to security concerns.
"For us, any tournament we play in is important," Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara told reporters Monday ahead of his team's opening match against Pakistan.
"This is important for building confidence and a stepping stone for the World Cup as well."
All four teams will play six preliminary round-robin games ahead of the June 24 final.
India is recovering from its early exit from the Twenty20 world championship in the West Indies and its team comprising mostly of second-string players failed to reach the final of a recent tri-nation series featuring Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe.
"We are always under pressure," Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said referring to high expectations from home fans. But he added that with the return of senior players, India's fortunes could be turned around.
"It's good to have the senior players back. They've got a decent time off cricket and at the same time they've got time to work on their fitness."
Sri Lanka, a winner of four Asia Cups including the previous two editions in 2004 and 2008, has dropped veteran batsman Sanath Jayasuriya and spin bowler Ajantha Mendis, whose efforts were instrumental in winning in 2008, due to poor form.
Sangakkara said their absence provided other players with a chance to prove themselves.
Left-arm spinner Rangana Herath and all-rounder Farveez Maharoof have been recalled after long layoffs.
India batting great Sachin Tendulkar has opted out of the tournament to stay with his family, while batsmen Yuvraj Singh and Yousuf Pathan have been dropped.
Saurabh Tiwary, a 20-year-old uncapped batsman, has been called into the side on the back of an impressive performance in the Indian Premier League. India has four Asia Cup titles, but has not won the tournament for 15 years.
Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi's biggest challenge will be team unity after infighting in recent months resulted in suspensions for some senior players, including former captains Mohammad Yousuf, Younis Khan and Shoaib Malik.
The suspensions on Younis and Malik have been lifted while Yousuf is still under an indefinite ban.
Malik has been included in the side for the Asia Cup while pace bowler Shoaib Akhtar also returns after a year's layoff.
Labels: Asia Cup
posted @ 12:08 PM,
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Cricket Giants
Asia’s Test-playing nations begin their preparations for next year’s World Cup when they contest the region’s top one-day prize from Tuesday.
Away from the global spotlight on the football World Cup in South Africa, the four-nation Asia Cup will be played in Sri Lanka over the next 10 days.
India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, who co-host the cricket World Cup in February-April, will be joined by Pakistan in a round-robin preliminary league with the top two teams contesting the final on June 24.
“This is a good chance to test our strengths and weaknesses and also see how the others are faring on the way to the World Cup,” Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said.
India go into the tournament in the central town of Dambulla hoping to make amends for their failure to reach the semi-finals of the World Twenty20 in the Caribbean.
A second-string side then lost twice to hosts Zimbabwe in a recent one-day tri-series also featuring Sri Lanka, exposing a weak bench that does not augur well for the World Cup.
India, who face Bangladesh in their first match on Wednesday, are without veteran Sachin Tendulkar, the world’s most prolific Test and one-day batsman, who opted to rest ahead of a busy season.
Also missing is one-day regular Yuvraj Singh, who was dropped due to poor form after scoring just 74 runs in five World Twenty20 matches. In five one-day internationals this year, the left-hander has managed only 96 runs.
Pakistan, preparing to clash with holders Sri Lanka in Tuesday’s opener, have recalled mercurial fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar for the first time since May last year when he was sidelined with a knee injury.
Flamboyant all-rounder Shahid Afridi leads a talented Pakistani squad which includes three promising batsmen in Umar Amin, 21, Shahzaib Hasan, 20, and Asad Shafiq, 24.
Sri Lanka – who won the last Asia Cup in Pakistan two years ago – have left out ageing batsman Sanath Jayasuriya and unorthodox spinner Ajantha Mendis for the tournament.
Jayasuriya, who turns 41 later this month, is the most experienced one-day batsman in the world with 444 appearances and second in the leading scorers’ list with 13,428 runs behind Tendulkar’s 17,598.
But a woeful average of 3.75 in six matches at the World Twenty20 forced his exclusion for the Asia Cup and raised doubts over the left-hander’s future ahead of the World Cup.
Bangladesh hope to regroup on the slow Dambulla wickets after being beaten by England in both Tests on seam-friendly tracks at Lord’s and Old Trafford.
With Sri Lanka co-hosting the World Cup with India and Bangladesh, organisers hope fans will not shun the matches like they did when the previous edition was held in Pakistan.
Two years after the players were forced to contest the matches in the energy sapping heat of June and July, they will be hoping for more pleasant conditions as all the games take place under lights in the central Sri Lankan town of Dambulla.
All four teams will play six preliminary, round-robin games ahead of the June 24 final. —Agencies
Labels: Asia Cup
posted @ 10:36 AM,
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Asia Cup vs FIFA
Monday, June 14, 2010
By Sulakshana
The biggest sporting event of the year literally kicked off this week taking the undiverted attention of all sports lovers world wide. But this does not mean that the other sports are put on hold. The Asia Cup is clashing head on with FIFA.
The Asia Cup first played in 1984 is seen as a one day international tournament where the Asian cricket teams meet each other to prove the best in the continent. It is a platform where some of the strongest international cricket teams in the world such as Sri Lanka, India and Pakistan battle for one trophy.
The most popular sport in southern Asia at least is undoubtedly- cricket. However, football is also making an impact on the continents sports fans and the clash of the Asia Cup with the Football world cup may mean that viewers will have a hard time choosing one.
Given the public frenzy over the FIFA World Cup, Pakistan cricket captain Shahid Afridi is of the opinion that fans would give the upcoming Asia Cup in Sri Lanka due attention.
Talking to media persons before leaving for Sri Lanka for the quadrangular one-day tournament starting June 15, Afridi said he believes that fans would tune in to the cricket matches amidst the madness for football.
“Football is huge, but I hope after the 90 minutes of excitement (of a World Cup game) fans will give cricket its due attention and follow the Asia Cup,” The News quoted Afridi, as saying.
Afridi said that while his team will also be following the football World Cup, the prime attention would be on cricket.
“Like millions of Asians I also follow football and my favourite team is Brazil, so like my team mates I will follow World Cup matches as and when we have time, but the focus remains the Asia Cup,” he said.
Afridi also said he is hopeful of good results in the Asia Cup.
“We have all trained really hard and we see the Asia Cup as the first part of our preparations for the 2011 World Cup so this is a important tournament for us,” he said.
The captain’s statement reflects the attitude of most Asian countries where football is idolised nearly as much as cricket. The popularity of cricket in each country is directly proportional to the strength of that countries cricket team. Another factor that helps cricket to retain its throne is the fact that no South Asian team is taking part in FIFA. However, sports fans are more into good quality sports rather than seeing their own team play.
The Asian football teams have always been overshadowed by the more sponsored and publicised cricket teams and this may be the reason why the region has no strong football team yet to give a challenge to the westerners as they are doing with cricket.
This years Asia Cup is hosted by Sri Lanka who has appeared in every final match of the Cup since it was initiated, and will see the participation of the best teams in the region as well as budding new teams such as Afghanistan.
The tenth Asia Cup will be played from June 15-24 in Dambulla, in central Sri Lanka, about 150 kilometres northeast of capital Colombo, coinciding with the month-long FIFA world cup, which kicked off in South Africa this Friday.
Labels: Asia Cup, Cricket, FIFA, Shahid Afridi, Sri Lanka
posted @ 11:01 AM,
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Sanath Jayasuriya Dropped from Asia Cup
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Sri Lanka has dropped Sanath Jayasuriya from its squad for this month's Asia Cup and recalled left-arm spinner Rangana Herath after his six-year absence from one-day cricket.
The 40-year-old Jayasuriya has been in poor form recently and was widely criticized by the media and fans after his disastrous display at the World Twenty20 in the West Indies, where he made just 15 runs in six matches.
Herath's selection Wednesday was a reward for his impressive performances in recent test matches, which has seen him take 35 wickets in his last nine games. He has played just six one-dayers for Sri Lanka.
Labels: Asia Cup
posted @ 9:51 AM,
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Indian Asia Cup Squad
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
India on Monday picked a 15-man squad for the four-nation Asia Cup limited-overs tournament to be held in Sri Lanka from June 15 to 24.
India squad includes Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt), Virender Sehwag (vice-capt), Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, Harbhajan Singh, Praveen Kumar, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Pragyan Ojha, Ashok Dinda, Ravichandran Ashwin and Saurabh Tiwary.
Labels: Asia Cup
posted @ 11:58 AM,
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Asia Cup Ahead of 2011 World Cup
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Though this month’s 2010 Asia Cup marks a return to a two-year cycle for the regional tournament, this edition is a prime opportunity for each of the four teams to test themselves against Cricket World Cup rivals ahead of the March 2011 contest.
Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh will be meeting at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium for a series of one day international tests, as the hosts defend their 2008 title.
Each team plays each other once, meaning six days’ play are spread over nine days before the top two sides contest the cup itself on June 24.
The Nimbus-owned sports channel NEO Cricket will be broadcasting the tournament in India and expect to reveal details regarding worldwide coverage closer to the start of the event. After the Asia Cup, Sri Lanka will welcome back India who will be joined by New Zealand for the International Triangular Series from July 9-24.
The Cricket World Cup starts on February 19, 2011 and features 14 of the world’s best cricket nations. India are currently ranked 2nd in the ICC One Day International rankings, Sri Lanka 6th, Pakistan 7th and Bangladesh 9th.
Asia Cup match calendar, June 2010
June 15: Sri Lanka vs Pakistan
June 16: Bangladesh vs India
June 18: Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh
June 19: India vs Pakistan
June 21: Bangladesh vs Pakistan
June 22: Sri Lanka vs India
June 24: Final
Via
Via
Labels: Asia Cup
posted @ 12:35 PM,
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