Afghanistan win the ICC World T20 Qualifiers
Romance in sport is what drives the fans to the grounds. And makes them flick their television sets on more eagerly than any other time. A generation or two onwards, when the fans look back at cricket as we know it today, they would probably be savouring the emergence of a new powerhouse in the international cricket, Afghanistan!
For the time from when the Afghanistan team had won the Division Five title in ICC’s qualifiers for the World Cup of 2011, their story has been seeped in romance, grit, gumption, and to say the least, glory. They had narrowly missed out on qualifying for the World Cup 2011, but thanks to that performance, they had managed to qualify for the ICC World T20 Qualifiers which was played in Dubai recently.
There were ten teams in that tournament, and only two out of those were to qualify for the ICC World T20 in West Indies to be played in April this year. In the competition were the teams like Ireland, who have played in the World Cup before and qualified for the Super Eights in 2007, Netherlands, who have not only played in the World Cup, but also in the 2009 edition of the ICC World T20 and beaten England, Kenya, who have featured in the semi-finals of the 2003 edition of the World Cup and others like Canada, UAE and Scotland, all of whom have done their bit at the highest level.
So, while Afghanistan’s record before the tournament would have put them amongst the top four favourites, they were up against some fierce competition across the board.
And not only did they pass the examination, but they also aced them with wins over Ireland, Scotland, USA and UAE in the league stage. This ensured their place in the finals of the tournament, and more importantly, a slot in the ICC World T20 to be played in West Indies later this year. The cherry on the cake was then provided by Nowroz Mangal and Mohammad Shahzad, both of whom assisted the side in a facile win over the Irish in the finals of the tournament, to lift the trophy as well! In turn, this gave them a right to play India and South Africa in the World T20.
Ireland, on the other hand, had qualified for the finals after their first match loss to Afghanistan. They beat Scotland, USA, UAE and Netherlands, en route the finals, and had it not been for a rather arduous schedule, they would have probably done much better than they actually did.
Like all of the other teams, they played their first three league matches in three days, and qualifying for the Super Fours meant that they had to play their remaining two games off consecutive days as well. So, after featuring in five matches in as many days, they qualified for the finals, which was to be played on the same day as the final league game; ensuring back-to-back games for the Irish, in a span of a couple of hours!
The coach, Phil Simmons, a former West Indian all-rounder was obviously an unhappy man at the scheduling, but would have taken heart from the fact that they qualified for their second successive ICC World T20. Last year, they had played India and Bangladesh in the first round, and while they lost to the Indians, they had bundled Bangladesh out of the tournament and qualified for the second round. This time around, they face West Indies and England in the first round of the tournament.
I may be thinking far, but the romance that I was alluding to in sport may not be over. While expecting the Afghan side to beat India and South Africa may sound a bit far-fetched, they may give the two sides a run for their money. However, what could even be more probable is that Ireland could surprise either of West Indies or England in the first round to enter the second! That will be some day.
Bosman smashed English bowlers in both games
A week ago, I had predicted that the T20I series between England and South Africa would be rather close and should end in a 1-1 score-line here. As it turned out, the prediction wasn’t too far off the mark as the sides traded games and in the end the series was tied.
The two matches were played at Johannesburg and Centurion respectively, the same venues that the Champions Trophy had used. In that tournament, the pitch at Centurion had turned out to be a run-fest, whereas that at Wanderers in Johannesburg was the one on which the bowlers had a gala-time. As it turned out in the series, both the pitches were so full of runs that it almost seemed like the bowlers were there to fill in the number only.
In the first match, South Africa elected to field on the premise that it is rather difficult to set targets in a T20 game on a flat-as-a-pancake pitch. Their decision almost worked as Joe Denly was dismissed off the very first ball, but first Jonathon Trott – playing in the country of his birth – and then Paul Collingwood and Eoin Morgan smacked the hosts around to get to 202/6 in the twenty overs. Morgan was at his merciless best and got to an unbeaten 45-ball 85.
South Africa replied equally strongly with Graeme Smith and his new opening partner, Loots Bosman, adding 97 in less than nine overs. One wicket brought two, but the South Africans looked good to get to their total, when it started to drizzle. At the end of 12 overs, the South Africans were a couple of runs ahead of the target, but a superb over from Anderson brought them a run behind the par score when the heavens opened for good. The match ended there, with the Proteas going down by one run!
They made a fine comeback in the second game as Bazooka Bosman - as he is known - continued his supreme touch to seal Heschelle Gibbs’ ouster – for the time being. His 94 came off only 45 balls, and by the time he was out, the South Africans had scored 170 in only 13 overs! They ended with 241 to their name – lest one forgets, this was in 20 overs only – and then restricted the English side to 157/8 in their twenty overs to easily win the game. Trott scored his first half century in T20Is.
The good news for England was the return of Kevin Pietersen after being out of the game for more than six months due to an Achilles Heel injury.
In the meantime, the IPL committee met in Bangkok to discuss the details of the next season of the IPL. What has emerged is that the players will not be able to sign contracts with the IPL and not feature in the tournament on the grounds of playing for domestic cricket back home. In fact, apart from injuries or international commitments – and extreme scenarios – the players will have to honour their commitment to the league through its entire duration. The rationale behind this has been the move is said to be the advancing of the league to February-March instead of April-May. Many of the domestic competitions are still on, especially in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.
There was also an announcement that seven out of the eight franchises have agreed to the inclusion of the extra teams in the fourth season of the IPL. Apparently, Chennai Super Kings has opposed the move so far.
And to end the piece, another piece of trivia for you. South Africa’s 241/6 in the twenty overs was the second highest total in a T20I, behind Sri Lanka’s 260/6 in 20 overs against Kenya in the first edition of the ICC World T20. The highest total ever chased successfully in a T20I is 208 by South Africa against West Indies – again, in the ICC World T20 in 2007.
1st Semi-Final
Who: Delhi Daredevils v Deccan Chargers
When: May 22, 2009
Where: Centurion
Winner: Deccan Chargers won by 6 wickets (with 14 balls remaining)
2nd Semi-Final
Who: Royal Challengers Bangalore v Chennai Super Kings
When: May 23, 2009
Where: Johannesburg
Winner: Royal Challengers Bangalore won by 6 wickets (with 7 balls remaining)
The Grand Final
Who: Royal Challengers Bangalore v Deccan Chargers
When: May 24, 2009
Where: Johannesburg
The Winner of the Indian Premier League 2009 are the Deccan Chargers
(Deccan Chargers won by 6 runs)
Well Done Gilly!
40th Match: Deccan Chargers v Rajasthan Royals
When: 11 May 2009
Where: Kimberly
Winner: Deccan Chargers won by 53 runs
Well Done Chargers!
41th Match: Royal Challengers Bangalore v Kolkata Knight Riders
When: 12 May 2009
Where: Centurion
Winner: Royal Challengers Bangalore won by 6 wickets (with 4 balls remaining)
Well Done Challengers!
42th Match: Kings XI Punjab v Mumbai Indians
When: 12 May 2009
Where: Centurion
Winner: Mumbai Indians won by 8 wickets (with 22 balls remaining)
Well Done Indians!
43th Match: Deccan Chargers v Delhi Daredevils
When: 13 May 2009
Where: Durban
Winner: Daredevils won by 12 runs
Well Done Daredevils!
44th Match: Royal Challengers Bangalore v Chennai Super Kings
When: 14 May 2009
Where: Durban
Winner: Royal Challengers Bangalore won by 2 wickets (with 2 balls remaining)
Well Done Challengers!
45th Match: Mumbai Indians v Rajasthan Royals
When: 14 May 2009
Where: Durban
Winner: Rajasthan Royals won by 2 runs
Well Done Royals!
46th Match: Delhi Daredevils v Kings XI Punjab
When: 15 May 2009
Where: Bloemfontein
Winner: King XI Punjab won by 6 wickets (with 5 balls remaining)
Well Done Kings XI Punjab!
47th Match: Chennai Super Kings v Mumbai Indians
When: 16 May 2009
Where: Port Elizabeth
Winner: Chennai Super Kings won by 7 wickets (with 5 balls remaining)
Well Done Kings!
48th Match: Deccan Chargers v Kolkata Knight Riders
When: 16 May 2009
Where: Johannesburg
Winner: Deccan Chargers won by 6 wickets (with 0 balls remaining)
Well Done Chargers!
49th Match: Deccan Chargers v Kings XI Punjab
When: 17 May 2009
Where: Johannesburg
Winner: Kings XI Punjab won by 1 run)
Well Done Kings XI Punjab!
50th Match: Delhi Daredevils v Rajasthan Royals
When: 17 May 2009
Where: Bloemfontein
Winner: Delhi Daredevils won by 14 runs
Well Done Delhi Daredevils!
51st Match: Chennai Super Kings v Kolkata Knight Riders
When: 18 May 2009
Where: Centurion
Winner: Kolkata Knight Riders won by 7 wickets (with 0 balls remaining)
Well Done Riders!
52nd Match: Royal Challengers Bangalore v Delhi Daredevils
When: 19 May 2009
Where: Johannesburg
Winner: Royal Challengers Bangalore won by 7 wickets (with 6 balls remaining)
Well Done Challengers!
53rd Match: Kolkata Knight Riders v Rajasthan Royals
When: 20 May 2009
Where: Durban
Winner: Kolkata Knight Riders won by 4 wickets (with 3 balls remaining)
Well Done Knights!
54th Match: Chennai Super Kings v King XI Punjab
When: 20 May 2009
Where: Durban
Winner: Chennai Super Kings won by 24 runs
Well Done Super Kings!
55th Match: Delhi Daredevils v Mumbai Indians
When: 21 May 2009
Where: Centurion
Winner: Delhi Daredevils won by 4 wickets (with 15 balls remaining)
Well Done Daredevils!
56th Match: Royal Challengers Bangalore v Deccan Chargers
When: 21 May 2009
Where: Centurion
Winner: Royal Challengers Bangalore won by 12 runs
Well Done Challengers!
30th Match: Kings XI Punjab v Rajasthan Royals
When: 5 May 2009
Where: Durban
Winner: Rajasthan Royals by 78 runs
Well Done Royals !
31st Match: Delhi Daredevils v Kolkata Knight Riders
When: 5 May 2009
Where: Durban
Winner: Delhi Daredevils by 9 wickets (6 balls remaining)
Well Done Daredevils!
32nd Match: Deccan Chargers v Mumbai Indians
When: 6 May 2009
Where: Centurion
Winner: Deccan Chargers by 19 runs
Well Done Chargers!
Read the rest of this entry...
Indian Premier League 2009 (South Africa)
You can buy tickets for IPL2 online at:
CompuTicket (some later games are selling out so hurry!)
Indian Premier League 2008 (India)
You could buy tickets online for IPL1 from:
- Ticket Pro
- Bangalore (Phone: 99002 38888)
- Kolkata(Phone: 098677 48888)
- Mohali (Phone: 98768 48888)
- Jaipur(Phone: 99283 38888)
- Kyazoonga
- Bangalore
- Big bazaar
- Cafe Coffee day outlets
- E-zone
- Bangalore Central
- Pantaloons
Or buy IPL tickets from each team's respective stadiums:
ICC World Twenty20 2009 (England)
Register for Account and Buy Online (official) OR Check my post for discussions.
KFC Twenty20 International (Australia)
Buy online from Ticketmaster
23rd Match: Kolkata Knight Riders v Mumbai Indians
When: 1 May 2009
Where: East London
Winner: Mumbai Indians by 9 runs
Well done Indians!
24th Match: Royal Challengers Bangalore v Kings XI Punjab
When: 1 May 2009
Where: Durban
Winner: Royal Challengers Bangalore by 8 runs
Well done Challengers!
25th Match: Deccan Chargers v Rajasthan Royals
When: 2 May 2009
Where: Port Elizabeth
Winner: Rajasthan Royals by 3 wickets (2 balls remaining)
Well Done Royals!
26th Match: Chennai Super Kings v Delhi Daredevils
When: 2 May 2009
Where: Johannesburg
Winner: Chennai Super Kings by 18 runs
Well Done Super Kings! Read the rest of this entry...
The Maharashtra bann on cheerleaders exposing too much skin only applies in India. Now the second season of the Indian Premier League is being held in South Africa on the 18th of April 2009 we will see a lot more liberating dance routines.
Check out other cheerleader posts. Make sure to vote for your favourite IPL2 cheer squad.
Bangalore Royal Challengers - The White Mischief Girls
The White Mischiefs for Bangalore are a mix of 14 seasoned cheerleaders from US Varsity and 10 other international cheerleaders. Read the rest of this entry...
On March 29, 2009 South Africa claimed a 17 run victory in the T20 International series against Australia at Centurion.
