Friday, August 12, 2011

Vitori’s 5 dismantles Bangladesh as Zimbabwe draw first blood

Debutant Brian Vitori became the seventh bowler and the first Zimbabwean to take a 5-wicket haul on ODI debut as Zimbabwe bundled out Bangladesh for 184 and then chased it down with relative ease.

It was a bright and sunny day at Harare and the pitch experts were reckoning that it was a bat-first track and whatever seam movement would be available, will be there for only half an hour. Brendan Taylor, though, thought otherwise and opted to bowl. He felt that he would be better suited to extracting the juice from the pitch first.

Bangladesh started the game very cautiously, or rather over-cautiously. And the slow start had its effect. Debutant Brian Vitori struck in his third over to get rid of Tamim and Bangladesh were 7/1 in the 6th over.

Imrul Kayes and Shahriar Nafees then saw off the period till the end of the Quick Start Overs, slow, but steady, as Bangladesh were 19/1 in 10 overs, earning a Castrol Index of 2 while Zimbabwe were on 17. And then, when the Bowling Powerplay was taken, it turned all against Bangladesh. Vitori got through the defenses of Nafees and by the end of Powerplay 2, Bangladesh were reduced to 39/4, with a Castrol Index of 4 while Zimbabwe were on 26.

Mahmudullah was the fifth victim and it seemed that office was going to close early today, with Bangladesh on 43/5. But then, captain Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim got their heads down and put in a partnership. The pair added 105 for the sixth wicket and brought their side into some contention of putting some decent total on the board.

But Shakib lost his wicket to part-timer Hamilton Masakadza and that opened the flood-gates. Bangladesh collapsed again, from 148/5 to 184 all down. At that stage, their Castrol Index read 18 as compared to 32 of the Zimbabweans.

Have a look at the scorecard.

Shakib(53) and Rahim(59) scored half-centuries for their side with Shakib earning a Batting Momentum of 66. For Zimbabwe, it was Brian Vitori who picked up 5/30 in 10 overs and earned a Bowling Efficiency of 410.

Zimbabwe started their run chase on a bad note. Shakib struck in the 5th over, cleaning up Taylor(10). Sibanda and Masakadza then steadied things out in the middle, taking Zimbabwe to 58/1 at the end of the Quick Start Overs with the Castrol Index reading 38 for the hosts and 22 for Bangladesh.

Powerplay 2 was delayed and the pair consolidated. They added 86 for the second wicket before the Masakadza was run out for 41. Rubel Hossain then struck twice in two balls, first cleaning up Taibu(0) and then getting Ervine(0) caught behind next ball.

It seemed as if Rubel’s twin strikes would revive Bangladesh but Vusi Sibanda and Forster Mutizwa ensured that there was no more drama. They added 51 for the fifth wicket and brought their team to step of victory. They scored 20/0 in 5 overs of Powerplay 2 and took Zimbabwe’s Castrol Index to 47 with Bangladesh on 30.

However, with 10 runs needed for victory and Sibanda 4 short of a ton, he went for a big shot, trying to get his century in style and holed out to mid on off Rubel for 96.

Zimbabwe took a long time but they eventually got past the victory line with Mutizwa steering the ship home. They ended with a Castrol Index of 51 while Bangladesh earned only 34. Sibanda top scored with 96, earning a Batting Momentum of 129.

For Bangladesh, Rubel Hossain picked up 4 wickets, earning a Bowling Efficiency of 412. Zimbabwe won all the departments with the only victory for Bangladesh coming during Powerplay 2.

Brian Vitori was named the Man Of The Match  for his 5/30 and ended with an Overall Castrol Index of 87. But the best performer of the game was Rubel Hossain who earned 88 points for his 4-wicket haul.

The two teams clash again at this same venue in the second ODI on Sunday, 14th August, 2011 at 0730 GMT.

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Johnson sparks Australia to victory in his 100th ODI

A career-best 6/31 from Mitchell Johnson in his 100th ODI rallied Australia as they bundled out the Lankans to 191 and then chased it down with ease, with 7 wickets to spare.

After opting to bat on what looked like a flat deck, Sri Lankan openers Tillakaratne Dilshan and Upul Tharanga started off well, racing away to 54 inside 9 overs. The Aussie bowlers were not able to find their lengths and Russel Arnold’s pitch report of 300 being a par score was looking very much relevant.

But then, Michael Clarke turned to spin and it worked for him in the very first over. Xavier Doherty bowled a quicker and flatter delivery which beat Tharanga in his attempt to cut and went through to crash into the stumps. Just the breakthrough Australia needed as Sri Lanka were 58/1 at the end of the Quick Start Overs with a Castrol Index of 14 to 9 of the Aussies. 

That wicket gave Clarke the courage to take the Bowling Powerplay and he was rewarded soon. And it was the big one. Spin did the trick again but this time it was by David Hussey as Dilshan came down the track and mistimed his lofted drive straight to Bollinger at mid off.

And then, it was going to be the show for the seamers. Johnson, who was playing his 100th ODI got rid of Mahela Jayawardena who was caught behind. That ended a very good Bowling Powerplay for Australia as they conceded just 23 runs and picked up 2 wickets, reaching a Castrol Index of 15, trailing by just 1. The next 90 minutes saw a dramatic collapse as Sri Lanka slumped from 54/0 to 117/7.

It was an exhibition of classic combination of seam and swing as Johnson mixed all, his outswingers, inwingers, slower deliveries etc…But just when one thought that the Lankans would be rolled over, there was a late fight back. Suraj Randiv and Nuwan Kulasekara then got together to save the blushes for the Lankans.

The pair batted sensibly and added a valuable 60 in 91 balls for the eighth wicket and showed the top order the price of throwing their wickets away. Now, 250 seemed a reality but it was that man Johnson again, as he got Randiv to hole out to Doherty at long off. That just about settled it as Sri Lanka did not even bat their 50 overs and were bowled out for 191 in 41.1 overs with a Castrol Index of 25 while Australia were on 28.

Have a look at the scorecard.

Suraj Randiv top scored with 41 but it was Upul Tharanga who earned a Batting Momentum of 55 for his 28-ball 34 at the top. For the Aussies, it was a one-man show as Mitchell Johnson ripped the middle and lower middle order apart, taking 6/31 in his 10 overs, his third ODI 5-wicket haul and his best ODI figures, with a stunning Bowling Efficiency of 412.

In reply, the Aussie openers Shane Watson and Brad Haddin got off to a quickfire start. Like the Lankans, they too, reached 50 within no time. And a similar thing ensued as to what happened in the Lankan innings as Haddin was also bowled, like Tharanga, and that too, by a spinner, Ajantha Mendis.

Ricky Ponting walked out at number 3 and he, along with Watson, took Australia to 60/1 by the end of the Quick Start Overs with a Castrol Index of 35 while Sri Lanka were at 29.  Here is where, Dilshan decided to do the opposite of what Clarke did. He delayed the Bowling Powerplay and rightly so, as he wanted the wicket of Watson. His move too, paid off as Randiv dismissed Watson for a blistering 51-ball 69 which included 5 fours and 6 massive sixes.

With 111 more runs still to get and Ajantha Mendis looking in good form and, the Lankans fielding 4 spinners in the side, memories suddenly shifted to what back on a certain Monday night when Australia miraculously collapsed in the second T20I. But this is what you need experienced players in the side for. Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke then joined hands in ensuring that Wednesday is truly a different day and what happened on Monday was history.

Dilshan immediately took the Bowling Powerplay as soon as Watson was dismissed, in the 13th over, but the captain and his ex-captain saw off the period comfortably, adding 26 runs without losing a wicket and the Aussies moved to 39 points on the Index, 9 ahead of the Lankans. Dilshan tried all the tricks in the bag, bringing on spinner after spinner after spinner, but Ponting and Clarke were too good for them. The pair shared a 101-run stand for the third wicket in just 137  balls, when, in the 35th over, Ponting was cleaned up while attempting a sweep off Randiv for a well-made 53.

Clarke stayed unbeaten till the end on 53 and also scored the winning runs in the 39th over as Australia romped home to a 7-wicket victory. They finished with a Castrol Index of 48 while the Lankans were only on 31. Every department was taken of very clinically by the Aussies and the Batting Momentum was the only area where the Lankans came close.

Shane Watson top-scored with a breezy 69 and ended up with a Batting Momentum of 121, well supported by Ponting(53) and Clarke(53 not out). The bowling struggled for the Lankans tonight with Suraj Randiv being the pick of the bowlers, taking 2/44 in 8.1 overs, earning a Bowling Efficiency of 130 while Ajantha Mendis was the other wicket-taker.

Australia’s Mitchell Johnson was named the Man of the Match for his 6/31 and also ended as the best performer of the match with a Castrol Index of 88. For the Lankans, Suraj Randiv earned a value of 50.

The teams now move to Hambantota for the second ODI which will be played on Sunday, the 14th of August, 2011 at 0900 GMT.