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
New Delhi: Out of favour India opener Gautam Gambhir doesn't feel IPL's reputation has got a beating because of the spot-fixing and betting scandal, and said a "handful of wrong individuals doesn't carry the image of the entire sport". "A handful of people who do something wrong doesn't carry the image of the entire sport. There are still millions of people who wants to go out there and play the...
09:28 PM, Jun 11, 2013
Shikhar Dhawan got India's campaign in the ICC Champions Trophy off to a flying start as he smashed his maiden ODI ton to help India register a convincing win over South Africa on Thursday. After his emphatic debut in Tests three months ago, where he scored a century off just 85 balls, Dhawan's maiden ton in 'Blue' was scored in just 80 balls, which included 12 classy boundaries and a...
12:00 PM, Jun 07, 2013
Ever since its inception 15 years ago, the ICC Champions Trophy has been a see-saw ride for the Indian cricket team. Only twice have they made the final - they were joint winners with Sri Lanka in 2002 - but have contested some cracking matches. Cricketnext recaps India's run in each edition of the tournament: Wills International Cup 1998 The inaugural edition of the tournament featured eight teams. India's campaign...
11:29 AM, Jun 01, 2013
New Delhi: A Delhi High Court judge on Friday recused himself from hearing a plea of senior Congress leader Jagdish Tytler challenging a lower court order by which the CBI was asked to further investigate his role in a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case. "In any case, I am not going to hear it. Put this matter on July 3 before another bench," Justice Kailash Gambhir said, without assigning any reasons...
03:07 PM, May 31, 2013
Live updates from game 72 of IPL 6 between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders played at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Hyderabad. The race for the fourth spot still hangs in the balance, and Sunrisers Hyderabad face the last obstacle in their path. After handing Rajasthan Royals one of their more comprehensive defeats this season, Hyderabad have taken out quite a few positives. Defending champions Kolkata Knight...
07:05 PM, May 19, 2013
Hyderabad: The race for the fourth spot still hangs in the balance, and Sunrisers Hyderabad face the last obstacle in their path. After handing Rajasthan Royals one of their more comprehensive defeats this season, Hyderabad have taken out quite a few positives. Defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders are already out of the tournament after their "mathematical equation" was laid to rest by party poopers Pune Warriors but Gautam Gambhir and...
12:18 AM, May 19, 2013
Ranchi: Lack of consistency has been Kolkata Knight Riders' biggest drawback in the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League, feels skipper Gautam Gambhir. "If you play inconsistent cricket, the results will be before you. So this I think is the biggest drawback," Gambhir said on the eve of his team's match against Pune Warriors. The defending champions are placed seventh in the points table with six wins and eight...
11:29 PM, May 14, 2013
Ranchi: Royal Challengers Bangalore's loss to Kings XI Punjab on Tuesday has left Kolkata Knight Riders hoping that RCB lose their final match and Sunrisers Hyderabad end up on the wrong side of both their remaining matches, and then the 2012 winners need to win their last two. The first of those is against the ousted Pune Warriors at Ranchi on Wednesday, and KKR will hope for an encore of...
08:26 PM, May 14, 2013
Live updates from game 60 of IPL 6 between Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bangalore played at JSCA International Cricket Stadium in Chennai. KKR innings: End of over 19.2: Doeschate hits four runs off the second ball of the 20th over as Kolkata win the match by five wickets. End of over 19 - KKR 115 for 5: Unadkat starts the new over with two dot balls. Doeschate hits...
02:55 PM, May 12, 2013
Ranchi: His team is virtually out of the play-offs race having lost eight of their 13 matches, but an optimistic Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Gautam Gambhir on Saturday said they still have a "fair chance" of making the cut in the ongoing Indian Premier League. "At the moment, the competition is pretty open. We still have a fair chance of reaching the play-offs. For me what matters is the remaining...
09:31 PM, May 11, 2013
Ranchi: The equation couldn't be more crystal clear. Royal Challengers Bangalore already have a foot inside the IPL 6 play-offs door and a win against Kolkata Knight Riders will guarantee it. For the defending champions, there is simply no room for any further goof-up as Mumbai Indians, Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings are the three out of four teams who are on the verge of qualification. KKR continue to...
04:36 PM, May 11, 2013
Pune: Keeping alive the slightest of hopes in reaching the IPL 6 play-offs, defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders registered their fifth victory of the season by beating Pune Warriors by 46 runs on Thursday. Pune might have thought they had done well to keep KKR to 152 but even that target proved too much to chase. The hosts never looked comfortable and kept losing wickets at regular intervals to fall...
11:24 PM, May 09, 2013
Live updates from Game 56 of IPL 6 between Pune Warriors and Kolkata Knight Riders at the Subrata Roy Sahara Stadium in Pune. Pune Warriors India innings: End of match - PWI 106 in 19.3 overs: L Balaji sends Bhuvneshwar Kumar's off stump for a walk with the first ball. Off the third, he pulls off a brilliant return catch to get rid of Parvez Rasool. So that is that:...
07:27 PM, May 09, 2013
New Delhi: To force their way back into the national side, the axed trio of Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh and Virender Sehwag should keep the fighting spirit alive and get back through good performances in domestic cricket, former captain and chairman of selector Kris Srikkanth on Thursday. Srikkanth said not losing self belief was key to any struggling player looking for a comeback. "They are young players with lot of...
06:07 PM, May 09, 2013
Pune: Pune Warriors India can pull the plug on Kolkata Knight Riders' play-off hopes on Thursday when they take on Gautam Gambhir's team for the first time in the sixth season of the IPL. While Pune are already out of the play-off race, Kolkata's hopes hang by a thread. A loss in the last match against Mumbai Indians means Kolkata now need to win each of their last four matches...
09:12 PM, May 08, 2013
Eleven matches. Eight defeats. Kolkata Knight Riders, defending champions and regarded as one of the strongest teams in the league, are almost certifiably out of IPL 6. The stage has been reached where it is almost easier to say "insert previous match comments here" in describing how KKR have stumbled through IPL 6 like zombies, walking in circles with their groans getting louder as their hunger for success increases. Unfortunately...
12:20 PM, May 08, 2013
Mumbai: Kolkata Knight Riders' IPL title defence fell by the wayside on Tuesday when a 65-run away loss at Mumbai Indians ended their hopes of entering the play-offs, but Kolkata skipper Gautam Gambhir refused to admit that his team is jinxed when playing away from home. "I don't know whether it's [playing away] a jinx, but if you don't play proper cricket, this is what is going to happen," Gambhir,...
10:23 AM, May 08, 2013
Mumbai: Chasing an uphill target of 171, Kolkata Knight Riders surrendered meekly to Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede stadium on Tuesday losing the tie by 65 runs to bow out of IPL 6 play-off race, effectively ending their title defence. With the tournament fast approaching its business end, it was must win match for Kolkata, but an opening stand of 93 runs between Sachin Tendulkar (48) and Dwayne Smith (47)...
11:39 PM, May 07, 2013
Riding on an inspiring bowling performance, Mumbai Indians registered a 65-run victory over Kolkata Knight Riders and moved to second place in points table. Read on for the live updates ...
06:59 PM, May 07, 2013
