ICC Champions Trophy 2009/10

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Fixtures

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Younis rues costly dropped catch against Kiwis

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan captain Younis Khan will never forget the dropped catch that proved so costly in the Champions Trophy semifinal loss to New Zealand.

Younis, who opted to play in the tournament despite fracturing a finger in a warm up match, put down a simple chance off Grant Elliott when the New Zealand batsman was on 42.

Elliott went on to score unbeaten 75 and guided the Kiwis in a successful run chase.

�It will stay with me for the rest of my life,'''' Younis told reporters in the southern port city of Karachi. �Maybe the result could have been different had I not dropped that catch.''''

He said he decided to play in the Champions Trophy with a broken finger because he was desperate to win a second international title in 2009 following Pakistan''s stunning win in the Twenty20 world championship in July.

�I wanted to win another big tournament this year and give a gift to my countrymen,'''' he said. Another motivation was the venue.

The International Cricket Council shifted the Champions Trophy from Pakistan to South Africa after gunmen attacked the Sri Lankan test team''s bus at Lahore on March 3, killing six police officials and a van driver and injuring players and staff.

``We have been sidelined (to host international matches), it was my wish to bring back the trophy to Pakistan,'''' said Younis, who declined to comment on some contentious umpiring decisions in the loss to New Zealand.

Television replays showed the ball had deflected off Umar Akmal''s bat before hitting the pads, but Australian umpire Simon Taufel adjudged him leg before wicket. Both Taufel and English umpire Ian Gould turned down several confident lbw appeals when the New Zealanders batted.

Instead, he blamed the batsmen for not scoring enough runs in the semifinal and praised New Zealand for playing as a team through out the tournament.

�We were probably 20-30 runs short in the end,'''' he said.

New Zealand was to play defending champion Australia in the final at Centurion later Monday.

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New Zealand wins toss, elects to bat

CENTURION: New Zealand has won the toss and chose to bat against Australia in the final of ICC Champion Trophy here at SuperSport Park on Monday.

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ahan

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New Zealand wins toss, elect to bat

CENTURION: New Zealand has won the toss and chose to bat against Australia in the final of ICC Champion Trophy here at SuperSport Park on Monday.

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Luck did not favour us: Afridi

KARACHI: Shahid Khan Afridi, the vice-captain Pakistan cricket team, blaming fate for Pakistan�s ousting from semi-final of Champions Trophy, said we tried our best but luck did not favour us.

Also he considered the catch which skipper Younis Khan missed as the main turning point of the match saying, �Had he caught it cleanly, the result would be otherwise.�

Talking to media at Jinnah airport here, Afridi said I am satisfied with team�s performance being vice-captain, adding, we could not make batting power play fruitful.

Refusing to give any statement over poor umpiring, Afridi said if I said any thing in this regard, ICC will serve upon me notice of rendering indiscipline.

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Kiwis set 201-run target for Aussies

CENTURION: New Zealand succeeded in completing 50 overs as they made exactly 200 runs for nine wickets against Australia in the final of the sixth ICC Champions Trophy here at the Super Sport Park on Monday.

Winning the toss, New Zealand stand-in captain Brendon McCullum elected to bat and set a target of 201 runs for Australia.

The main scorers for New Zealand were Martin Guptill (40), Neil Broom (37), James Franklin (33) and Aaron Redmond (26).

For Asutralia, Nathan Hauritz bagged three wickets for 37 and Brett Lee claimed two for 45 while Peter Siddle and Mitchell Johnson took one wicket each.

McCullum is captaining New Zealand in place of Daniel Vettori who has pulled a hamstring and missed the final. Jeetan Patel replaced Vettori in the team while Australia are playing unchanged.

Teams:
Australia: Shane Watson, Tim Paine (wk), Ricky Ponting (captain), Michael Hussey, Callum Ferguson, Cameron White, James Hopes, Mitchell Johnson, Brett Lee, Nathan Hauritz, Peter Siddle.

New Zealand: Brendon McCullum (captain wk), Aaron Redmond, Martin Guptill, Ross Taylor, Grant Elliott, Neil Broom, James Franklin, Kyle Mills, Jeetan Patel, Ian Butler, Shane Bond.

Umpires: Aleem Dar (PAK) and Ian Gould (ENG), TV umpire: Asad Rauf (PAK)
Referee: Roshan Mahanama (SL)
Reserve umpire: Billy Bowden (NZ).

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hmmm

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Australia regain Champions Trophy title

CENTURION: Opener Shane Watson hit second successive six to bring Australia victory over New Zealand and complete his fourth ODI century on the second ball of the 46th over of the innings here in the day/night final of the sixth ICC Champions Trophy at the SuperSports Park on Monday.

Watson remained unbeaten on 105, his second successive hundred, scored off 129 balls with ten fours and four sixes. He along with Cameron White (62) took his team out of trouble from 6-2 and both added 128 runs for the third wicket stand.

Chasing 201 to win, Australia began disastrously losing opener Tim Paine (1) and captain Ricky Ponting (1) for only six runs on the board but Watson and White made a remarkable recovery to help Australia win the final by six wickets.

Michael Hussey made 11 while James Hopes was 22 not out.

For New Zealand, Kyle Mills captured three wickets for 27 runs in 10 overs while Shane Bond took one wicket for 34.

Earlier, New Zealand made 200 runs for nine wickets after stand-in captain Brendon McCullum won the toss.

He was captaining New Zealand in place of Daniel Vettori who has pulled a hamstring and missed the final. Jeetan Patel replaced Vettori in the team while Australia were unchanged.

The main scorers for New Zealand were Martin Guptill (40), Neil Broom (37), James Franklin (33) and Aaron Redmond (26).

For Asutralia, Nathan Hauritz bagged three wickets for 37 and Brett Lee claimed two for 45 while Peter Siddle and Mitchell Johnson took one wicket each.

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Ponting praises cool Watson

CENTURION: Australia captain Ricky Ponting praised Shane Watson''s coolness after the all-rounder''s century steered the champions to a six-wicket win over New Zealand in the Champions Trophy final on Monday.

Australia, chasing 201 for victory, had slipped to six for two before Watson proved guided them to victory with 105 not out off 129 balls, following his 136 not out in the semi-final against England.

"I think people have started to see the real Shane Watson in the last couple of matches. Now that he''s back to full fitness, he''s showing everybody how good he can be. He bowled terrifically against England and then went out and scored 130-odd, but you can''t get much tougher than tonight''s situation," Ponting told a news conference.

"I''m ecstatic to win a tournament as big as this one, it''s the second biggest one, there''s nothing else outside the World Cup. It''s a very special achievement and a massive positive after the ups and downs of the last 18 months," Ponting said.

The Australian captain said the performance of the younger players in the rarefied atmosphere of a major final had been especially pleasing.

"To see youngsters like Shane and Cameron White stand up tonight and get us across the line was very satisfying. I think it''s one of our strengths that when the so-called big names don''t stand up, others get up and do the job. The young guys are starting to make major impacts in world events," Ponting said.

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Aussies...did it again...


chalo...asha hai