New Delhi: Abdul Qadir, the former Pakistan legspinner, has tipped India as finalists for the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy while stressing on the team's batting as giving them the upper hand in Saturday's match against Pakistan in Birmingham. India are the only team to so far qualify for the knockout stage - having failed to do so for the past three editions of the tournament - and Qadir said they were the favourites in what he termed "the final before the final".
"India are playing like a champion and I think they will play the final. Their strength lies in their batting. Despite the absence of Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and Gautam Gambhir in their line up, they are scoring 300 plus runs," he told PTI-Bhasha. "They played brilliantly in first two matches. They also have two new match-winners in Shikhar Dhawan and Ravindra Jadeja. India enjoy upper hand but Pakistan is capable of springing surprises. They will give their best in this match and we must not forget that Pakistan has one of the best bowling combinations."
Pakistan's elimination from the tournament following defeats to West Indies and South Africa has left Saturday's fixture without any bearing on the tournament, but Qadir - who played 19 of his 104 ODIs against India - felt it would still be massive for the passionate fans of both teams.
"Whenever India and Pakistan play, there is always a different kind of feeling. People do not
07:13 PM, Jun 13, 2013
Mumbai: Sunrisers Hyderabad coach Tom Moody lavished praise on Mumbai Indians allrounder Kieron Pollard, saying the visitors had won "80 per cent" of the IPL game before the West Indian got in their way. "Of course we are disappointed. We won 80 per cent of the game, but Mumbai are undefeated here at home. We have been criticised throughout the tournament how poorly we have batted and I think we...
11:04 AM, May 14, 2013
Jaipur: Twenty20 cricket is heavily loaded in the favour of batsmen but Mushtaq Ahmed reckons that the spinners of late have been able to influence the outcome of the matches in the shortest format. Ahmed, one of the best leg-spinners the game has seen, said the best thing about spinners is that they have a lot of variety to attack the batsmen. "A lot of teams are winning the matches...
01:28 AM, May 07, 2013
Amit Mishra is not a bad performer, but the musical chairs between him and Piyush Chawla makes one believe these are the only two India are left with when it comes to picking a legspinner for the national side. It's hard to see Mishra getting a game in the Champions Trophy in England, but going back and forth between him and Chawla puts a mirror in front of India's declining...
04:11 PM, May 04, 2013
New Delhi: The Sandip Patil-led BCCI selection committee on Saturday awarded medium pacer Vinay Kumar and wicketkeeper batsman Dinesh Karthik for their good show in IPL 6 with a call-up to India's ODI squad for the Champions Trophy in England next month. However, veteran opener Gautam Gambhir and Yuvraj Singh didn't find a place in the 15-member touring party. The All-India Senior Selection Committee met at the Cricket Centre in...
12:59 PM, May 04, 2013
Hyderabad: After two back-to-back losses, Sunrisers Hyderabad face another difficult task when they take on the in-form Mumbai Indians in game 43 of IPL 6 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium on Wednesday. With two teams battling for the play-off spot expect it to be a thriller of a contest. Mumbai have 12 points from nine matches, while Hyderabad are on 10 from nine games. Batting is one of...
04:44 PM, Apr 30, 2013
The fight for getting the Purple cap this season in the Indian Premier League seems to be getting intense with every passing day. Legspinner Amit Mishra got hold of the Purple Cap on Friday when he also became the highest wicket taker in IPL, and within 24 hours it was overtaken by Royal Challengers Bangalore's best bowler this season Vinay Kumar. The Karnataka pacer now has 12 wickets this season,...
09:26 AM, Apr 21, 2013
As the dream run of the IPL 6 underdogs Sunrisers Hyderbad continue with the team now leading the points table, legspinner Amit Mishra has added one more record to his name. With 85 wickets to his name, Amit Mishra now has the most number of scalps in IPL along with Lasith Malinga. The legspinner from Haryana, in an interview to IPL website, gave the credit of his success to bowling...
09:59 AM, Apr 20, 2013
Hyderabad: A dramatic collapse of 4 for 1 proved irreparable for Kings XI Punjab, who lost to Sunrisers Hyderabad by five wickets on Friday. For the second game in a row Amit Mishra had a say in a late-innings hat-trick, though it was not recorded next to his name - in the 18th over, he removed Azhar Mahmood with his fourth delivery, Manpreet Gony was run out on the fifth,...
11:16 PM, Apr 19, 2013
While Hyderabad defended a small total to beat Pune, Rajasthan mauled Mumbai by 87 runs in a one-sided match on Wednesday. ...
10:26 AM, Apr 18, 2013
A dramatic 19th over saw Mishra grab four wickets to bowl Sunrisers Hyderabad to a thrilling 11-run win over Pune Warriors on Wednesday. ...
09:54 PM, Apr 17, 2013
Pune: Sunrisers Hyderabad legspinner Amit Mishra on Wednesday became the first bowler to achieve the distinction of taking three hat-tricks in the IPL, courtesy a stunning penultimate over in which he dismissed four Pune Warriors players to clinch an 11-run win for his team at the Subrata Roy Sahara Stadium in Pune. Mishra's hat-trick - Bhuvneshwar Kumar lbw, Rahul Sharma and Ashok Dinda bowled - came after he removed Pune...
08:25 PM, Apr 17, 2013
New Delhi: In the pulsating closing moments of their Indian Premier League (IPL) match against Sunrisers Hyderabad, Delhi Daredevils seriously thought Amit Mishra should have been given out for obstructing the field while taking a run on Friday. Mishra, who was adjudged man of the match for his one for 15 in his four overs of legspin, and then an unbeaten 15 to steer the Sunrisers to victory from a...
08:40 AM, Apr 13, 2013
Bangalore: Royal Challenger Bangalore have a tough task on their hands when they play the in-form Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in IPL 6 on Tuesday. Playing at home on Sunday, Hyderabad got the better of Bangalore in a Super Over thriller thanks to Cameron White's heroics with the bat. In their first match on April 5, they had beaten Pune Warriors India after Amit Mishra, Thisara Perera and...
07:11 PM, Apr 08, 2013
