Second ball of the 49th over. Short of length delivery outside off , the Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni got under it and cracked over extra-cover for a boundary. With that India beat England by five wickets on to take an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match one-day series.

The lad from Mumbai, Ajinkya Rahane top-scored with 91 from 104 deliveries and Gautam Gambhir hit 58 as the 50-50 world champions surpassed England's challenging 298-4 with four balls to spare in a thrilling day-night match.

The two Indian openers began their innings rather tentatively, but somehow they were able to rotate the strike very frequently. The Mumbaikar put on 79 for the first wicket with Patel and 111 for the second with Gautam Gambhir to lift India to a comfortable 190-1 by the 34th over. That laid the foundation for the Indian team, which is required when you are chasing totals over 250-300.


Just as everyone felt the two would carry India home with a thumping victory, England hit back with four quick wickets for just 45 runs as the Middlesex fast bowler Steven Finn removed Gambhir and Rahane in quick succession, Bresnan dismissed Suresh Raina for zero and Graeme Swann trapped Virat Kohli, who, one thought had got eye in, for 35.

Debutants Doug Bracewell and Rob Nicol played important roles to see New Zealand romp home in a one sided affair in the opening ODI against Zimbabwe. Soon after Zimbabwe won the toss and decided to bat first they were in trouble as they were 21-4 in 11 overs as Bracewell picked up three quick wickets. A brilliant 128 from Captain Taylor and a gritty 69 from wicketkeeper Mutizwa climbed them to a respectable 231 for 6 in their allotted 50 overs.

New Zealand started the chase with Nicol opening with Martin Guptill and both batsmen started in a attacking vain, as they took the game away from the home side. When Guptill departed for 74 with the score at 153 in 29.3 the game was all but over. Nicol finished the game in grand style with a magnificent 108 not out as he and Brendon McCullum completed a nine wicket romp with over 6 overs to spare.

Coming up to his 23^rd Birthday, Virat Kohli, has the world at his feet. Born in Delhi, this young batsman has in the last three years gained a reputation and achieved more than most do in their entire careers. In 2008, he captained India in the under-19 World Cup and finished the tournament, batting with in his preferred number 4 position, with 235 runs but more importantly winning the cup for India for the second time.  He was instantly then promoted to the full India squad for the first time.

He started his career at the highest level as a injury replacement for Virender Sehwag and batted out of position as an opener. He finished the 5 match series with 159 runs and made his mark on the international scene. He carried on scoring runs for fun from there on under the solid guidance of players like Sehwag, Tendulkar, Yuvraj and captain Dhoni.

In the last few weeks, we have read and listened to alot about the saga of Shahid Afridi and the PCB. Most 'Lala' fanatics have been enraged with anger with the treatment of their hero. I've always put my point through that I ain't a member of 'Team Afridi', 'Team Misbah' or 'Team PCB', I'm in the side of Team Pakistan. As long as Pakistan is winning I couldn't care less who is in the team and who isn't. Saying that there is two names I'd like to talk about and their treatment by the Cricket Board and some fans.

Saqlain Mushtaq was a class player. The inventor of the 'Doosra'. He revolutionised the art of off-spin bowling. Saqi picked up over 200 in 49 Test Matches and was the quickest bowler in ODI history to get to 100, 150, 200, 250 wickets. He finished up on 288 Wickets in 169 games. But stats were not what Saqi was about, he bowled a attacking line, during Fielding restrictions and death overs. In Test Cricket where off-spin bowling was primarily used to contain at one end this man made it into a wicket taking option. The biggestest compliment a off-spinner can get is praise from Muttiah Muralitharan, whom regards Saqlain has a mentor and a hero.

Junaid Khan is the latest pace sensation of Pakistan, With fast Bowlers, from Pakistan, there is always something that strikes you, But this latest product of the pace mill in Pakistan is unique in his own way.

He may not be as quick as Akthar, or may not have the accuracy of a Mohammad Asif, He may not be as sharp as Umar Gul and he may not strike you with the reverse swinging ability of someone like Wahab Riaz. What he is actually, is a mix of all of them. A touch of Pace, swing and seam, line and length and reverse swing.

Junaid's normal speed is around 85-87Mph (Yes, if you talking about Pakistani fast bowlers 85-87mph is only average). Coupled with ability to bowl out-swingers to right handed batsman and the ability to bowl absolutely dream like yorkers, shown at the death in a county match against Northants.

He may not strike you like the impact made by, other left armers like, Amir and Wahab riaz but he will continue to be steady and graph will go onwards and upwards. He announced himself when he wrecked the Ireland top order, his figures in that match were 4/12.

He went wicket-less in first three games against West indies, considering that you would imagine that his average will be high but it does come as a surprise that his average is just 24.14, in his short International career thus far. He was praised by Micheal Holding, even though wicketless, shows that the potential of the boy is immense.

During his present county stint, for Lancashire, and performing admirably well in matches he was praised by the like of Nasser Hussain, Atherton and Bumble, with the later stating "He is bowling in Akram mode". For a new-comer like Junaid khan this will go down as a huge huge praise but also comes with the added of pressure of living upto the tag of a Pakistani great, of which I'm sure he will do in due course.

Wishing All The Very Best To Junaid Khan

Bangladesh beat West Indies in the 3rd ODI at Chittagong in a dream style.

After winning the toss, Bangladesh's captain Muushfiqur Rehman elected to bowl first. West Indies started slowly as usually. West Indies were 10 after 5.2 overs without any lost. But on the very next ball of Nazrul Hossain, Bangladesh was successful in achieving their first target. Hayyat was caught by Imrul Kayes on the Nazrul Hossain's delievery. After that Powell and Samuels were looking to play a big inning, but in the 10th over Samuels was caught by Suhrawadi Shuvo on Shafiul Islam's ball. Samuels scored only 5 runs after facing 21 balls.Then West Indies' tail-enders came on the crease and went back to the pavilion without any remarkable achievment. No batsman was able to reach in th double figure except Powell and Brathwaite. Shakib ul Hasan took 4 wickets in 5 overs.

West Indies were all out on only 61 runs after playing 22 overs. The target og 62 runs was too easy to complete. and as expected Bangladesh made it only in 20 overs at the lost of 2 wickets. Tamim Iqbal was the highest scorer of Bangladesh as he was 36 n.o.

Hence, Bangladesh won the 3rd ODI by 8 wickets, but West Indies won the series by 2-1. Shakib ul Hasan was awarded man of the match, while Marlon Samuels was awarded man of the series.

200 lead should be sufficient....

Commentary team: 
Sanath Jayasuria, Rameez Raja, Waqar Younis, Russel Arnold, Tony Greig were just 
some of the people involved. It was interesting to hear Waqar back in the 
commentary box just exactly 1 month after completing his tenure as coach. It was 
fascinating to hear his insightful views as he has been around the camp. It’s 
nice to see him going strong and still being involved in the game and more 
specifically with his country. His passion and enthusiasm for Pakistan Cricket 
never runs out. I look forward to hearing more from him throughout the course of 
the series with his knowledge and experiences more than the comical grammatical 
errors in tone of voice. Tony Greig of course is from channel 9 in Australia and 
a familiar voice to many. 

Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi is ready to play for his country again barely five months after retiring from international cricket, a great news for all you cricket fans out there! :D

Tuesday, 18th october 2011, All-rounder SHAHID AFRIDI  reversed his decision to retire from international cricket, saying he wanted to play for Pakistan since the chairman of Pakistan cricket board, Ijaz Butt, has been replaced.

 Butt completed his three-year tenure on Oct. 8 while  Coach of Pakistan, Waqar Younis resigned, after the recent tour to Zimbabwe . Last Week, Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, appointed banker Zaka Ashraf, chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to replace Ijaz Butt, who had developed Some serious differences with Afridi in May.
The 31-year-old all-rounder Was Removed from Captaincy  following a row over selection with team coach Waqar Younis on tour in the West Indies in May! Afridi spoke about the issues publicly, and was charged with a violation of the code of conduct by the PCB. Following this, Afridi was replaced as captain in the limited-over formats by Test captain Misbah-ul-haq, with Ijaz Butt saying the board had "solid reasons" to sack Afridi, which he would reveal when the time was right.  After his retirement , the PCB suspended his central contract and revoked permission for him to play abroad (NOC). Afridi then reffered the court, but the dispute was resolved after a private meeting with Butt. His permission to play abroad was reinstated but, He was told to appear before a PCB disciplinary committee and was fined $53,000 
Afridi also played for Hampshire in the Friends Life t20 in England after quitting international cricket but throughtout these Five months, he expressed his desire to play for Pakistan if the Board changed!