India takes on Sri Lanka, and England and South Africa will battle it out in the Champions Trophy semi-finals. What are the strengths and weaknesses of the teams and what is expected? James Alter, editor, Cricketnext.com, joined IBNLive readers for an interaction on the issue.
Q. Hi Jamie! Let me, for a change, reverse the question for you.India, we all know, are firm favorites to go all the way, but do you suppose Sri Lanka, in the semis,could pose problem? Who, in you view, as an indiviual, is a threat to India's chances in the SFs? Asked by: Mansoor
A. Surely Sri Lanka will fancy their chances against India, especially considering how familiar they are with the opposition. They've played each other 41 times in the last five years, and while Sri Lanka have won just 14 of those they know India's strengths and weaknesses well. If you're asking about an individual, I would say Mahela Jayawardene. He averages almost 47 against India in knockout matches of ODI tournaments (compared to a career average of 33) so that indicates that he lifts his game against this opposition....
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06:48 PM, Jun 18, 2013
Cardiff: England put a ball-tampering row behind them to book their place in the semi-finals of the Champions Trophy with a 10-run win over New Zealand in Cardiff on Sunday. New Zealand, chasing 170 for victory in a match reduced by rain to 24 overs per side, were held by the tournament hosts to 159 for eight. Victory saw England, yet to win a major 50-over competition, into the last...
12:42 AM, Jun 17, 2013
Indian defence once again buckled under pressure to conceded soft goals and go down 0-2 to a dominating Netherlands side. India proved to be no match to the Dutch team that was relentless in attack and scored early through Billy Bakker (2nd minute) and Jeroen Hertzberger (18th). The win took Netherlands to 4 points while India, who next take on New Zealand on Monday, have 1. ...
07:32 PM, Jun 15, 2013
Los Angeles: It's a video game more than seven years in the making. Square Enix revealed Monday during Sony's presentation at the Electronic Entertainment Expo that "Final Fantasy XV" would finally see the light of day. The latest entry in the long-running role-playing series was previously known as "Final Fantasy Versus XIII" and was first revealed at E3 way back in 2006. What's taking so long? Tetsuya Nomura, Square Enix's...
04:37 PM, Jun 12, 2013
London: Rafa Nadal has booked his place at the World Tour finals after winning a record eighth French Open title, the ATP said on Monday. Nadal has staged a spectacular comeback after being sidelined for seven months with a knee injury from June last year. Since returning in February, he has reached the final in all of the nine events he has played, winning seven titles including Indian Wells and...
06:54 PM, Jun 10, 2013
Paris: A Roland Garros final against Rafa Nadal should have been the highlight of Spanish warrior David Ferrer's career. Instead what he got was a "strange" match featuring driving rain, invaded by "strange" people "without clothes on" and he will now "strangely" be ranked above Nadal despite finishing second best. At least it wasn't a dull day in the office for a man who was contesting his first grand slam...
10:52 AM, Jun 10, 2013
Paris: Four protesters, one letting off a flare, briefly interrupted the French Open tennis final between Rafa Nadal and fellow Spaniard David Ferrer on Sunday. Two bare-chested protesters stood up in one of the front rows behind the players' benches on court Philippe Chatrier at the end of the sixth game of the second set and one let off a flare. The protester with the flare, wearing a white mask,...
09:27 PM, Jun 09, 2013
Paris: Rafael Nadal's final shot at the French Open was a typically ferocious fallaway forehand, and when it landed for a winner, his momentum and emotions sent him splaying backward onto the clay he loves. The champion quickly bounded to his feet and headed for the net at a trot. It was time to collect his latest Roland Garros trophy. Nadal became the first man to win eight titles at...
08:58 PM, Jun 09, 2013
Paris: His words catching in his throat, Toni Nadal called it "really a miracle" that his nephew is back in the French Open final. Seriously? Miraculous? More like expected, given that Rafael Nadal is 58-1 for his career at Roland Garros, a seven-time champion who will become the only man with eight titles at one Grand Slam tournament if he beats David Ferrer in Sunday's all-Spanish final. Here is what...
08:53 AM, Jun 09, 2013
Paris: Rafael Nadal won an epic semifinal against Novak Djokovic at the French Open to remain the King of Clay - for another couple of days, at least. The seven-time champion twice let a lead slip away in the fourth set Friday, then came from behind in the fifth to beat the No. 1-ranked Djokovic 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 6-7 (3), 9-7. Djokovic blew an easy overhead on the opening point...
11:44 PM, Jun 07, 2013
Paris: Indian challengers continued to exit from the French Open as Sania Mirza and her American partner Bethanie Mattek-Sands were forced to retire from their pre-quarterfinals following a groin problem to the latter, here Tuesday. Sania and Bethanie, seeded seventh, had annexed the first set but the American encountered a groin issue in the second set and eventually they pulled out with score reading 7-6(0) 3-5 against 11th seeds Anastasia...
06:59 PM, Jun 04, 2013
Kolkata: Mumbai Indians coach John Wright commended his team for winning their first Indian Premier League title and maintaining consistency in the two-month-long tournament. "I am delighted for the boys. It is a tough tournament to win. It is long and there is a lot of travelling involved. The team grew stronger as the tournament progressed," said Wright, who is also a former India coach. The New Zealander lauded the...
01:31 AM, May 27, 2013
Kolkata: After helping Mumbai Indians win their maiden IPL title, the ecstatic Kieron Pollard said he was kept back for the end overs to provide the necessary impetus to the innings. Mumbai were 52 for 4 in 9.3 overs when Pollard came out to bat. Gauging the situation, Pollard took a bit of time to settle before opening his shoulders. "Chennai have some world class players but it's good to...
12:47 AM, May 27, 2013
London: Arjen Robben scored in the 89th minute on Saturday to give Bayern Munich a 2-1 win over German rival Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League final, ending four years of frustration for his team in Europe's biggest tournament. Robben ran on to Franck Ribery's backheeled flick-on in the area and calmly slotted the ball past goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller to give Bayern its first Champions League victory since 2001. The...
01:10 AM, May 26, 2013
Karachi: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Zaka Ashraf, who was invited by the BCCI to watch the final of the Indian Premier League, on Saturday declined to attend the event citing his busy schedule at home. "Zaka Ashraf is tied up in some commitments in Pakistan at the moment so he wouldn't be going to attend the final for which he was invited by the BCCI," the spokesman said. Sources...
09:44 PM, May 25, 2013
Kolkata: They have disowned their CEO, refused to admit he is their owner and now face an uncertain future in the Indian Premier League, but Chennai Super Kings will live another day. Live for maybe their last day of existence and fight for their third title in just six years of the IPL - against Mumbai Indians. It's not the ideal way to prepare for a title clash. Players, however...
08:12 PM, May 25, 2013
Mumbai Indians entered this season of the IPL as serious contenders for the title and through some good cricket have set up a rematch of the 2010 final against Chennai Super Kings. Here, we take a look at how Mumbai's season has panned out. 1st match, v RCB in Bangalore - lost by two runs Royal Challengers Bangalore, inspired by Chris Gayle and indebted to Vinay Kumar, made a winning...
03:06 PM, May 25, 2013
The Kolkata Police has stepped up security and has placed CCTV cameras at the Eden Gardens to keep a check on any betting or fixing practices during the IPL 6 final on Sunday. ...
12:29 PM, May 25, 2013
New Delhi: After the arrest of Chennai Super Kings' CEO and Team Principal Gurunath Meiyappan late on Friday night, BCCI sources have now told CNN-IBN that the Chennai franchise will not be suspended immediately and will play Sunday's IPL final against Mumbai Indians. Speculation was rife after Meiyappan's arrest on Friday that the franchise will be scrapped according to the IPL rule book; however, sources say that won't happen at...
11:07 AM, May 25, 2013
