Watch Pakistan Vs South Africa 1st Twenty20 International Live Streaming

Tuesday, 26 Oct 2010

			Pakistan Vs South Africa
Venue :1st Twenty20 International, Dubai International Cricket Stadium Live action starts from: 16:00 GMT (21:30 IST) T20 Pakistan and South Africa in UAE 2010-11 Match

Pakistan will play South Africa in the first T20I of the two match T20I series at Abu Dhabi. The game will be played on Tuesday, October 26.

Pakistan is the host of the tour by South Africa but because of the security situation back home, Abu Dhabi and Dubai have been the neutral venues chosen to host the entire series. This includes two Test matches and five ODIs as well and will see the Pakistanis trying to win something this year.

Pakistan has had a very bad lead-up to the series. They had an abysmal tour of England where they not only lost all the series that they had played but were also involved in so many controversies that there were rumours that they may be banned from playing cricket. There were match fixing and spot fixing allegations and the side saw three of the cricketers being provisionally suspended by the ICC for the same.

Speaking of their on-field cricket, their issue has been their batting but in this format of the game, they are expected to do well. Younis Khan makes a comeback to the side but it remains to be seen whether the former captain can play in the T20Is or will be directly play the other two formats. Mohammad Yousuf is out due to injury while Shahid Afridi will continue to lead the side despite issues with the Pakistan cricket board. It was said that the Pakistani management that included the captain Afridi and coach Waqar Younis were not happy with the team that they had got but they had had no say in the decision.

South Africa, on the other hand, go into the T20Is with a new captain. Johan Botha has replaced Graeme Smith in the T20Is and will look to command as much respect as Smith did when he was the captain. So far, Botha's initiation has been good enough - in a series against Australia where he was the stand-in captain he had won the series for them, while against Zimbabwe, he led them to a 2-0 win.

However, playing Pakistan on the slow and low wickets of Abu Dhabi could just be a different ball game altogether. South Africa will need to adapt themselves to the tracks which are going to be unlike those back home and things could get interesting. AB de Villiers will be the wicket-keeper.

Watch India Vs Australia 3rd One Day International Live Streaming

Sunday, 24 Oct 2010

			India Vs Australia
Venue :3rd One Day International, Nehru Stadium, Fatorda, Margao, Goa Live action starts from: 03:30 GMT (09:00 IST) ODI Australia Tour of India 2010-11 Match

India Vs Australia 3rd One Day International 24 Oct Live

India are 1-0 up in the three match series with only one game to go. Things look good for India ahead of New Zealand assignment. It is very evident from attitudes of both teams that the one day series is an unimportant one and both the teams are looking beyond the series, perhaps the World Cup. Big names from both the teams are missing.

This has made series interesting as it gives a chance of youngsters of both the countries to shine and reserve a birth for the Subcontinent World Cup next year.

India would enter to play at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Goa with little worries. They already have an uncatchable lead against a battling Australian team. Perhaps the only worry in the Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni mind would be their fast bowlers. But again India have learned to live with that worry.

They will be a compact unit with many of their players in confidence and fancying to shine in front of home crowd. One thing that seemed to have gone milder is the fact that these two are bitter rivals who cherish and celebrate every victory over each other. This would motivate this new look Indian team to carry on and snatch only chance of victory from Australia on this tour. Virat Kohli was magnificent in the last game and would like to be backbone of Indian batting on 24th October. India had chased a big target of 290 with relative ease and therefore will be upbeat for another run fest.

India have won three of their last five games.

Australia, with the Ashes coming up, World Cup in the corner, nothing seems to be going right for them. Australia like India were missing big names but the performance on 20th October exposed the serious lack of depth in an aging Australian side. Michael Clarke, few doubt his ability to lead, seemed out of options with his bowlers.

Australia, more than any team in the world would want to win now. They have been humiliated for far too long by England, Pakistan and now India. They certainly would look to level the series on Sunday and restore some pride and confidence. Their batsmen would be at ease having put up a decent show last time around, but their ground fielding and bowling needs serious improvement if they want to win on 24th October. Australia have a history of making comebacks form lowly positions. We can have a compelling game in store for us in Goa on Sunday.

Australia have managed to win two of their last five games.

Watch India Vs Pakistan 4th Match Asia Cup 2010 Live Streaming

Saturday, 19 Jun 2010

			India Vs Pakistan
Venue :4th Match, Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium (D/N) Live action starts from: 09:00 GMT (14:30 IST) ODI Asia Cup 2010 Match

India play Pakistan in the fourth game of the Asia Cup at Dambulla. The Indians had made mincemeat of Bangladesh in the first game of the tournament, whereas Pakistan had lost a narrow game to Sri Lanka first up, after they had batted second, under the lights and yet, almost chased down the target.

India's heroes in the first game were Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag. While Gambhir smashed an 80 to guide his side to the win, Sehwag's performances came with the ball, as he scalped figures of 4/6 in 17 balls to end the Bangladeshi resistance.

For Pakistan, the previous game had seen the likes of Shoaib Akhtar and Shahid Afridi bowl and bat rather well but failing to achieve the win. Akhtar returned back to international cricket with a three wicket haul and ensured that the side would benefit from his return as the Lankans were throttled thanks to that. at the other end, Afridi's century was one of the best in the business, but his untimely cramping meant that the side was in deep trouble by the time he was sent back.

India, on the other hand, showed signs of rustiness in the early part of the game when they bowled, but came back well to overcome the Bangladeshi batsmen. However, they will need to be careful of the manner in which they bowl, as the stronger teams in Sri Lanka and Pakistan will not spare the Indian bowlers as lightly as the Bangladeshis did.

Against Pakistan, it will be interesting to see whether the Indians try out something different if they bowl first. Zaheer and co. did not seem to be getting much help from the wicket in the early part of the Bangladesh game, but it must also be said that they lacked rhythm.

The good thing from India's point of view is that Zaheer Khan usually gets better as he bowls more and more, and one can expect him to make a comeback against Pakistan. Praveen Kumar did swing the ball around, but it was, rather surprisingly, the spinners who did well.

The battle to look forward to will be the one between Harbhajan Singh and Shahid Afridi, both of whom would love to have a go against each other. Afridi had already shown that he can take on Muralitharan, and he will look to do the same against Bhajji as well. It remains to be seen how well Harbhajan and India respond to that onslaught.

Watch South Africa Vs England Live World Cup T20 2010

South Africa Vs England 6th Match Super 8s Twenty20 World Cup 2010 8 May Live

Saturday, 08 May 2010

			South Africa Vs England
Venue :6th Match Super 8s Group E, Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados Live action starts from: 17:30 GMT (23:00 IST) T20 ICC Twenty20 World Cup 2010 Match

The 6th game of the Super Eight stage will see England play South Africa at Bridgetown in Barbados. Both sides had won their opening encounter and this means that the team winning this game will be almost sure to go through to the next round, that is the semi-finals, whereas the team losing this encounter will need to restart all over again and win the last match in order to have any chance of making it through to the next round.

England did not have a great first round of the tournament, having lost to West Indies in the first game and then, going on to almost lose another one before the rains prevented any play and sending them through to the next round with a better net run-rate than Ireland.

However, their game against Pakistan was a revelation as they batted and bowled much better than their opposition. They could have been hit around for too many runs by the Pakistan batsmen, but the spinners held their nerves and bowled beautifully at an opposition which loves to play spin bowling.

The pitch at Barbados was such that the batsmen did struggle to come to grips with it, but the good thing was that Kevin Pietersen batted on through the innings. He did not flinch even he got beaten, and almost took that pull stroke out of his armoury to which he had got out in both the earlier games in the tournament.

This means that when England take on the traditional foes South Africa, the contest will be an even one.

South Africa had, rather unsurprisingly, sent out Loots Bosman for the previous game and called in Herschelle Gibbs, and Gibbs contributed, both, with the bat and in the field. He scored a 24-ball 30 that took his side through the middle overs and then held three smart catches to push the Kiwis back in that game.

However, for this game, South Africa will know that they are up against an opposition who had, only late last year, held them to a 1-1 draw in a T20I series. Both the games were high-scoring and that is where the English batsmen had been able to score, unlike this game which may not be high-scoring. Instead, this one could be a grind, and one can expect the team that is able to bat through the initial phase without losing too many wickets to be able to do much better.

Watch Pakistan Vs New Zealand Live T20 World Cup Match

Pakistan Vs New Zealand 5th Match Super 8s Twenty20 World Cup 2010 8 May Live

			Pakistan Vs South Africa
Venue :9th Match Super 8s Group E, Beausejour Stadium, Gros Islet, St Lucia Live action starts from: 13:30 GMT (19:00 IST) T20 ICC Twenty20 World Cup 2010 Match

New Zealand will play Pakistan in what will be the fifth game of the Super Eight stage of the ICC World T20. This will also be the match between the two sides which had lost their opening games of the Super Eights stage; New Zealand were put down by South Africa, whereas Pakistan lost to England.

Hence, the winner of the game will still have a chance to qualify for the next round, whereas the losing team will almost be knocked out of the tournament, unless there is a miracle.

Pakistan's batting continues to haunt them in the tournament despite that one innings against Bangladesh. Against an attack which is strong enough, the side has struggled to make it count, and this has been witnessed in two games now. There is a sense of vulnerability or brittleness in the batting and that has probably been caused by lack of the very big hitters of the ball.

Even against England, the side started out well, but all of a sudden one wicket fell and this was followed by a line of wickets before a nervous-looking Shahid Afridi was run-out. It continues to be a surprise to see that Afridi bats so high up the order and it will make sense for him to come down lower in the batting, thereby allowing some of the more talented batsmen to ensure that they get a start at the top of the order.

The bowling did its best, but nothing much seemed to have come out of it as the side had already scored far too less.

For New Zealand, it was a problem of conceding far too many runs on a difficult pitch. The track was a 150 or thereabouts wicket, but with the Kiwis not possessing anyone with the pace of Dale Steyn and with Shane Bond, not exactly in the best of forms, the opposition could run away with 170 on the board in the slog overs.

The Kiwis may have to try to get in Kyle Mills, something that was a surprise that they did not get him in the side for the South Africa game. His height and ability to bowl the different lengths at different times in the game will go on to augur well for the side.

Between the two teams, one gets the sense that the side that bowls first will have an advantage given that this is a morning match.

Watch South Africa v England, 2nd ODI Live Streaming

South Africa v England, 2nd ODI, Centurion

Kallis ruled out of one-day series

Match Facts

Sunday, 22 Nov 2009

			South Africa Vs England
Venue :2nd One Day International, SuperSport Park, Centurion Live action starts from: 08:00 GMT (13:30 IST) ODI England Tour of South Africa 2009-10 One Day International Match

Jacques Kallis played purely as a batsman recently and his rib injury is more serious than first thought

Jacques Kallis has been ruled out of the one-day series against England with a fractured rib and is also doubtful for the opening Test at Centurion Park on December 16.

It is thought Kallis suffered the injury during last month's Champions League in India but the seriousness of the problem was only revealed in recent days when he underwent a scan after the pain hadn't disappeared.

"He just wasn't getting better from that injury," Mickey Arthur, the South Africa coach, said. "We had him re-scanned this morning and found there is a fracture in the cartilage of the rib - which clearly affects his performances for the next four weeks.

His absence will be a significant blow to South Africa and means they will need to adjust the balance of their side to cover for the loss of a batsman and a bowler.

Kallis was set to partner Graeme Smith at the top of the order in a reshaped batting line-up, but now there will have to be another rethink. Hashim Amla is the likely replacement as opener, but the selectors may be tempted to call up Loots Bosman after his exceptional performances during the Twenty20 series including a 45-ball 94 in the second match at Centurion Park.

The opening game of the series at the Wanderers was abandoned without a ball bowled on Friday but the forecast is better for Sunday's meeting at Centurion.

Watch Pakistan Vs New Zealand T20 Live Streaming

Cricket: Black Caps eye Twenty20 challenge

Tim Southee wants his side to carry their winning momentum from the ODI series into the Twenty20s against Pakistan.

Thursday, 12 Nov 2009

			Pakistan Vs New Zealand
Venue :1st Twenty20 International, Dubai Sports City Cricket Stadium Live action starts from: 16:00 GMT (21:30 IST) T20 Pakistan and New Zealand in UAE 2009-10 Twenty20 International Match

In-form bowler Tim Southee believes New Zealand can carry the momentum of a one-day international series win over Pakistan into the Twenty20 series starting in Dubai on Friday morning (NZT).

Captain Daniel Vettori's men came back from losing the first match of the one-day series in Abu Dhabi by 138 runs to record back-to-back successes - by 64 runs and seven runs.

And even though Pakistan have beaten New Zealand in successive World Twenty20 events in 2007 and 2009, Southee believed the one-day result will provide a confidence boost for the Black Caps.

"Pakistan have proved they're a great Twenty20 outfit - they're the world champions - and they've got the wood over us in the last few outings," he said.

"But hopefully we can carry some momentum from the ODIs into the Twenty20 series and continue the form we've shown in the last couple of matches."

That series win almost didn't happen, of course, thanks to the remarkable 10th-wicket stand of 103 between Mohammad Aamer (73 not out) and Saeed Ajmal (33) yesterday.

Southee admitted that while logic said Pakistan should never win the match, there were doubts creeping in before Ajmal was dismissed in the final over.

"With them being nine down it was a question of saying it would only take one ball so we were pretty confident it would happen at some stage," said the 20 year-old who impressed with two for 26 in his 10 over-spell.

"Then again, when it got to within 20 or 30 runs, everyone was a bit nervous and it gave us a bit of a scare.

"If they had been eight down then it might have been a different story but we were only ever one ball away from that last wicket."

Southee has spent the series occupying the same slot as Ajmal, propping up the bating line-up at number 11 despite scoring 77 not out from only 40 balls on test debut against England in Napier in March 2008.

And he is keen to move up the order and realise his potential with the bat as soon as he can.

"I'd love to get as far as I can with my batting," he said

"You look at someone like Daniel Vettori, his batting over the last few years has been outstanding and it just shows you it can be done as he started at 10 or 11 when he was a youngster.

"It's not going to happen overnight and hopefully slowly it progresses.

"It's something I'm willing to work on as I don't want to be batting at number 11 too much longer."