Yuvraj smashes India to victory

Yuvraj Singh smashed six sixes off one Stuart Broad over to guide India to an important Super Eights victory over a shell shocked down and out England at Kingsmead.

Stuart Broad was hit for six sixes in an over as England's World Twenty20 bid ended with an 18-run defeat by India.

The young seamer was savaged in the 19th over by Yuvraj Singh, who made 58 off 16 balls, as India amassed 218-4.

South Africa's win over New Zealand had already eliminated England and, despite some brave hitting, they were always struggling to keep up with the rate.

The top five all got starts, with Vikram Solanki making 43 and Kevin Pietersen 39, as they ended on 200-6.

But this game will be remembered solely for the dramatic events in the final over of Broad's spell - which leaked 60 runs in four overs - as Yuvraj made the fastest fifty in international history, off 12 balls.

The ball disappeared with tremendous velocity over wide long-on, backward square-leg, extra-cover, backward point and mid-wicket while Broad and skipper Paul Collingwood played the role of startled rabbits.

It ultimately proved the difference between the teams - and yet there was no hint of the carnage to come when the openers cautiously went about garnering 23 in the first four overs.

They stepped on the gas to make more than double that in the next 24 balls as Gautam Gambhir (58) pulled Andrew Flintoff and Virender Sehwag (68) flogged Dimitri Mascarenhas over extra-cover for sixes.

England should have had a breakthrough when Sehwag sliced Collingwood to fine third man on 39, where Mascarenhas over-ran to miss the chance.

The right-hander profited by hammering over backward point for six and thrashing through the covers to reach 50 off 38 balls, while Gambhir got to his fifty off two fewer deliveries by punishing a Chris Tremlett full-toss.

Tremlett, who had come in for some severe punishment in his first appearance had two moments of joy when he knocked back Sehwag's leg-stump and cleaned up Robin Uthappa.

However, any suggestions that the innings might fizzle out were truly shattered by Yuvraj, who left England needing to hit the leather off just about everything from the start.

Solanki and Darren Maddy made decent enough progress, picking up sixes each before the latter was pouched at mid-on off Irfan Pathan.

Solanki was dropped at gully off Joginder Sharma and by the latter at square-leg off Sree Santh before eventually being snaffled at mid-off.

By the time England passed 100 in the 12th over, the required rate was 13.50.

Pietersen slapped Sharma a dozen rows back over mid-wicket and down the ground to give his team a glimmer of hope but only nine runs came in the next 12 balls.

And when Pietersen hammered a Harbhajan Singh full-toss back to the off-spinner, the rate was around a daunting 17 an over.

Collingwood swung defiantly to send Santh over mid-wicket and down to fine-leg for 10 in two balls before another thrash over mid-wicket made it 16 off the over.

Owais Shah pulled Sharma for six and four to join in the fun but he was snapped up at wide mid-on off RP Singh, who clean bowled Collingwood.

There was some humors at the end when England began the final over needing 36, and Luke Wright helped them get half of those before being brilliantly caught on the boundary by Harbhajan.

But, ultimately, they had no-one with Yuvraj's midas touch.

India win bowl out thriller

India won a dramtic bowl-out 3-0 to beat Pakistan and seal their place in the Super Eights after their Twenty20 World Cup Group D match ended in a thrilling tie.

Pakistan, who had already qualified, needed one to win off the last ball in Durban but Misbah-ul-Haq (53) was run out and the game went into a bowl-out.

India's first three all hit the stumps but Pakistan's top three all missed.

India were reeling after Mohammad Asif took 4-18 in a superb spell, but Robin Uthappa's 50 helped India to 141-9.

Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh and Robin Uthappa all hit the leg-stump while Pakistan's Yasir Arafat, Umar Gul and Shahid Afridi all missed.

Asif vindicated Pakistan's decision to put in their arch-rivals by holding a superb return catch to dismiss Gautam Gambhir for a duck off the match's third ball.

He bowled Virender Sehwag in his next over, had Yuvraj Singh caught at mid-on by captain Shoaib Malik in his third over and finished by bowling Dinesh Karthik in his final over.

Uthappa hit Yasir Arafat for two magnificent sixes to the delight of the India fans in the packed Kingsmead stands.

But Sohail Tanvir had Uthappa caught behind soon after to leave the onus on Dhoni.

Left-hander Irfan Pathan hit Shahid Afridi's spin on to the roof of the main stand and spanked another booming six off the next delivery, before Afridi bowled him for 20 off 15 balls in a three-ball spell which encapsulated all the excitement of Twenty20 cricket.

A third, brief rain delay interrupted the thrilling entertainment just as Dhoni seemed to be getting into his stride.

Afridi bowled Harbhajan Singh almost immediately after the resumption and Umar Gul dismissed dangerman Dhoni when the Indian captain mis-timed a slower delivery high into the floodlit sky.

Ajit Agarkar's 14 at the death helped India push up the total as they sought to ensure their run-rate remains high enough to eliminate Scotland - even if they lose.

RP Singh took out Imran Nazir's leg stump in his second over but Pakistan seemed intent on going for a quick victory to knock their arch-rivals out of the tournament.

Wicket-keeper Kamran Akmal, promoted up the order, blasted a six and a four to set pulses racing.

But Salman Butt struggled to live up to the required rate and was caught by Dhoni off Agarkar for a sluggish 17 off 25 balls.

Yuvraj swooped to run out Akmal after a mix-up and Pathan bowled Younus, and all of a sudden India were scenting victory as Pakistan lost three wickets for three runs.

Malik and Misbah-ul-Haq put on 40 for the fifth wicket before Harbhajan Singh removed the skipper but not even the belligerent Afridi could rescue Pakistan.

Agarkar dropped Afridi from a towering straight whack but Dinesh Karthik held another high chance off a Harbhajan full toss to dismiss the big-hitter for seven.

Misbah blasted a big six and a four to leave Pakistan needing 29 from the final two overs.

Misbah and Yasir Arafat hit 17 off the penultimate over and only 12 were needed off the last six balls.

The Indian duo got the scores level but could not manage a run off the last ball as Sree Santh bowled a tight line and the bowler even managed to run Misbah out.

Inspired Zimbabwe humble world giant

Zimbabwe have caused one of the biggest upsets in cricket history by beating World Champions Australia by 5 wickets in a truly stunning match at Newlands in Cape Town.

The 50-over world champions could only manage 138-9, with Elton Chigumbura (3-20) and Gary Brent (2-19) backed up by energetic fielding and good catches.

Vusi Sibanda (23) began the reply well but wickets slowed the scoring before rain forced a delay in Cape Town.

Brendan Taylor kept cool to hit 60 off 45 balls and the penultimate ball went for four leg-byes to seal a famous win.

It provided an early and dramatic twist in Group B, which also features England, who can eliminate the world's best team by beating them on Friday.

Ricky Ponting's men will need to improve considerably after a well below-par performance which continued the rustiness they showed in the warm-up matches.

Ponting became the first skipper in the tournament so far to opt to bat and soon saw Matthew Hayden edge behind, while Adam Gilchrist mis-timed a pull to deep mid-wicket to give Chigumbura two early victims.

When Ponting heaved Brent down to third man, the Aussies were 19-3 and Sibanda struck another blow when he hit the target from point after Mike Hussey changed his mind over a quick single.

The first six arrived in the 14th over when Brad Hodge (35no) crashed Hamilton Masakadza over wide mid-on but two balls later the Australians were five down when Andrew Symonds (33) was stumped lunging forward to the medium-pacer.

Hodge, the leading run scorer in Twenty20 history, then launched Tawanda Mupariwa over the fence at deep mid-wicket for his second maximum and he remained their best hope of a challenging total.

But Brad Haddin was snaffled at long-on, while Brett Lee clobbered Tatenda Taibu through the off-side for a six and four before losing his off-stump.

Mitchell Johnson was sent packing by a stunning throw from keeper Brendan Taylor which hit the single stump he had to aim at and Nathan Bracken sliced Chigumbura to deep cover.

Sibanda pouched with aplomb and then launched a series off terrific drives, crashing Bracken and Lee through the covers before hammering Bracken down the ground.

Ponting cut a worried figure but he was relieved when Sibanda edged behind trying to flay the left-armer away.

Justice Chibhabha made a confident start by driving Clark firmly down the ground and helped Mitchell Johnson down to backward square-leg before pummelling the left-armer to the long-off boundary.

Taylor had been content to push the ball around for singles but he too got in on the act by cutting Clark as 50 was passed in the seventh over.

But Chibhabha got carried away and mis-timed another booming drive off Clark straight up in the air, Gilchrist pouncing, while Taibu edged Johnson behind to no doubt create palpitations in the Zimbabwean dressing room.

The boundaries dried up as the seamers started pitching the ball shorter and Matsikenyeri should have been run out by Hodge at one end and by the fielder backing up at the other.

With the rain coming down hard, the sense of drama was heightened when Matsikenyeri skied a catch off Clark to keeper Gilchrist and the seamer ended with excellent figures of 2-22.

When the umpires called a halt not long after the Aussies were firmly back in the game but boundaries started flowing on the resumption and Taylor cracked two big straight sixes off Hodge to bring the game back to the boil.

He got to his fifty off 38 balls and 23 were needed off the last three overs but clever bowling from Johnson and Lee denied the batsmen the room to clear the field.

Masakadza (27) was lbw trying to do that against Lee and 12 were required off the final over.

Taylor got an inside edge of the first ball from Bracken which evaded the fielder at deep backward square-leg and when the fifth delivery was speared down the leg-side by Bracken, it flicked off his pads to spark scenes of unbridled jubilation.

Scotland bow to Pakistan pressure

Four wickets each for Shahid Afridi and Umar Gul helped Pakistan to a comfortable 51-run win over Scotland in their World Twenty20 match in Durban.

The Scots performed well in the field to restrict Pakistan to 171 for nine from their 20 overs at Durban but the target proved beyond them.

Opener Fraser Watts hit an excellent 46 but a middle-order collapse, in which Shahid Afridi claimed four quick wickets, undermined their efforts.

Afridi finished with four for 19 while paceman Umar Gul took four for 25 including the wickets of Craig Wright and John Blain in successive balls.

Watts gave Scotland hope but he could not establish a significant partnership as the quality of Pakistan's attack shone through.

Gul removed captain Ryan Watson and Navdeep Poonia early on and when former England all-rounder Gavin Hamilton swept Afridi into Gul's hands in the deep, the Scots began to fold.

They slumped from 53 for three to 79 for seven in the space of four overs before Gul returned late on to bowl Wright and Blain and put Pakistan on the brink.

They were eventually finished off for 120 in the final over as Mohammad Asif bowled Majid Haq for 14.

Earlier, Younis Khan top-scored for Pakistan with 41 but the Scots applied pressure and took wickets at regular intervals to keep themselves in the game.

Wright shone with three wickets for 29 from his four overs, including that of dangerman Afridi.

Afridi came to the wicket with Pakistan limping at 81 for four in the 13th over and threatened to change the course of the innings as he slog-swept his first ball for six.

That over from Haq - which had begun with the wicket of captain Shoaib Malik - went for 23 with Afridi responsible for all but four of them.

But Afridi, having scored 22 from just six balls, was not to last long as he tamely clipped his next delivery to Haq at short fine leg.

Haq followed up to remove Younis soon after to leave Pakistan 116 for six.

Off-spinner Haq was the most expensive of the Scottish bowlers as he conceded 49 from his four overs but he cannily had Shoaib stumped by Colin Smith and then had Younis hole out to Watts.

Misbah-ul-Haq added 23 to get Pakistan up towards a more testing total.

Dewald Nel took two wickets late on to finish with two for 25 and bowled Yasir Arafat for 17 with the last ball of the innings.

Arafat had been caught the ball previously by

Hamilton but the all-rounder could not prevent himself from stepping over the boundary rope.

New Zealand thrash hapless Kenya

New Zealand blew away minnows Kenya for a record low total at Kingsmead to begin their World Twenty20 campaign with a crushing nine-wicket win.

The Kenyans, whose previous appearance in Durban was for the 2003 World Cup semi-final, never recovered from a whirlwind start and were eventually dismissed for a paltry 73.

Any chances of an early tournament shock were dispelled inside the first two overs as Kenya were reduced to one for four.

Fast bowlers Shane Bond and Mark Gillespie caused mayhem by moving the ball in the air and off the surface at pace, after New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori won the toss.

Each of the first four Kenyan batsmen fell for ducks and runs did not overtake wickets until deep into the fourth over.

Although Collins Obuya (18) and Thomas Odoyo (18) added some respectability with a stand of 36, the gulf in class saw Kenya shot out inside 17 overs.

Gillespie finished returned to clean up the tail and finished with four for seven, the best figures in the short lifespan of international 20-over matches.

The Black Caps cantered home inside eight overs with Lou Vincent, Brendon McCullum and Peter Fulton all hitting sixes to emphasize the difference in power between the sides.

It was a fine start to Vettori's career as full New Zealand captain, having taken over the Test leadership earlier in the day from Stephen Fleming.

Gayle fireworks not enough for Westindies

Chris Gayle struck the first ever Twenty20 international century but it was not enough as Herschel Gibbs lead South Africa to victory by eight wickets.

Gayle blasted 10 sixes, another record, in a pulsating 117 from 57 balls.

Graeme Smith was hit painfully on the hand off the first ball as South Africa chased 206 but the Westindies missed three catches and leaked a record 23 wides.

Herschelle Gibbs, with a runner, fired 13 fours and two sixes in an epic 90 to seal victory with 14 balls remaining.

The bright lights and carnival atmosphere even affected the languid Gayle, who skipped out to the wicket like a prize fighter.

Gayle, freed from the pressure of captaincy, flicked Shaun Pollock over mid-wicket for the opening six in the third over and then dished out the punishment to Makhaya Ntini.

A lofted drive straight down the ground was followed next ball by a stupendous towering stroke that soared like a firework into the second tier at long-off.

Another extraordinary stroke brought him six more, leaning back he sliced it to third man and the altitude helped to just elude the boundary fielder.

It was that rare breed a quiet single that brought up his fifty from 26 balls and at the halfway stage it was 109-0.

The big shots continued amid the dancers in camouflage hot pants in the crowd, and having appeared to damage his arm with another whirling dervish follow through for six, he decided to flick one casually next ball - which went even further.

Smith, finding things difficult, edged in the 14th over but it brought in Marlon Samuels, who took all of one delivery to play himself in before swinging his second for six.

But it was all Gayle, and having sent the ball clean out of the massive Wanderers stadium, another breathtaking shot was bounced back off the players' tunnel.

The shell-shocked South African fielders were compelled to shake Gayle's hand when his incredible innings ended with a top-edge straight up in the 17th over.

Had it not been for Gayle, the hosts would have been firmly in the driving seat, with the other West Indies batsmen struggling to adapt, although skipper Ramnaresh Sarwan hit a six with one hand in the final over.

Beginning their quest to score in excess of 10 an over, the Proteas saw their captain floored by a hostile opening delivery from Daren Powell.

Smith bravely battled on but was clearly impaired and it benefited his team when he drove to cover.

With the score on 59-1 and Gibbs on 20, Dwayne Bravo juggled and spilled a crucial chance on the cover boundary.

Dwayne Smith conceded 20 from his opening over and the required rate dipped below 10 for the first time, but after Fidel Edwards came on for the ninth over and sent down the 14th wide, he ousted AB de Villiers who got a towering leading edge.

With 100 needed from the final 10 overs Gibbs was dropped on the boundary again by Shiv Chanderpaul and reached 100 from 50 balls with the powerful Kemp, who was badly missed in the outfield by Samuels.

Gibbs defied injury to display some superb clean hitting, sharing 120 with the powerful Justin Kemp (46) as the Windies were left to rue their lax display in the field and their failure to build on Gayle's outstanding innings.

Rules of Twenty 20 cricket-Twenty 20 cricket rules and laws

Basic rules of Twenty 20 cricket.

The basic rules and laws of Twenty 20 cricket are fundamentally the same as a one inning one day international cricket match. As the name 'Twenty 20' implies, the rules of Twenty 20 cricket matches state that each team in a Twenty 20 cricket match will have a maximum of 20 overs, unlike 50 overs as in an one day international cricket match.
Other rules and laws of Twenty 20 cricket are designed to make Twenty 20 cricket more exciting and add to the 'fun' factor of a typical Twenty 20 cricket match.
Rules of Twenty 20 cricket- Rules to make Twenty 20 cricket more fun
Here are some rules of Twenty 20 cricket to add to the carnival cricket atmosphere


Twenty 20 cricket rule 1: The Free Hit

An interesting rule of Twenty 20 cricket is the Free Hit. This Twenty 20 cricket rule states that following a no-ball as a result of overstepping, the next ball shall be a Free Hit. For this ball,the batsman is not given given out by any way in the cricket rules apart from being run-out.

Twenty 20 cricket rule 2: Power to the umpires

A controversial rule of Twenty 20 cricket states that umpires may award five runs to one of the teams playing the Twenty 20 cricket match, in case the umpires feel that the other team is needlessly wasting time. This Twenty 20 cricket rule is obviously controversial because of the recent ruckus over the Inzamam-Hair incident. One just hopes that this rule of Twenty 20 cricket does not lead to more cricketing controversies

Twenty 20 cricket rule 3: Twenty overs within 75 minutes

This Twenty 20 cricket rule imposes strict penalties on bowling teams not completing their alloted 20 overs within 75 minutes. As per this rule of Twenty 20 cricket, a bonus of 6 runs is awarded to the batting team in case the bowling team does not begin their 20th over before 75 minutes. This rule of Twenty 20 cricket is intended to be strictly imposed since completing the Twenty 20 cricket match within 3 hours is one of the primary benefits and selling points of Twenty 20 cricket.

Twenty 20 cricket rule 4: Bowling restrictions of Twenty 20 cricket

This rule of Twenty 20 cricket once again emphasizes that the laws and rules of the cricket game are becoming more batsman-friendly at the expense of the hapless bowlers.
This bowler specific Twenty 20 rule states that bowlers can bowl a maximum of 4 overs- limiting the individual impact of bowlers on the outcome of a Twenty 20 cricket match.

Twenty 20 cricket rule 5: Fielding restrictions of Twenty 20 cricket

Twenty 20 cricket rules state that only 5 fielders can field on the leg side at any point of time. This rule of Twenty 20 cricket is largely inconsequential these days as the bowlers typically tend to set a more balanced field on either side of the wicket.

This particular Twenty 20 rule impacts perhaps only off spinners who sometimes prefer to have 6 fielders on the leg side as the direction of the spin implies that batsmen will prefer to play on the leg side.

The other fielding restriction rule of Twenty 20 cricket states that a maximum of two fielders can be outside the ring in the first 6 overs and a maximum of five fielders can be outside the ring for the remaining 14 overs. This rule of Twenty 20 cricket is quite simple and similar to the fielding restriction rule of one day international cricket.

Twenty 20 cricket rule 6: Bowl-outs

This special Twenty 20 cricket rule applies to Twenty 20 matches that end in a tie. This Twenty 20 cricket rule introduces the novelty of a bowl-out to decide on the outcome of the Twenty 20 cricket match.

According to this Twenty 20 cricket rule, five bowlers from either team are allowed to bowl two balls at the wicket with no batsman at the crease. The Twenty 20 rule states that the maximum times the wicket is castled by either team decides the outcome of the Twenty 20 match. This Twenty 20 cricket rule, borrowed from other sports such as soccer, adds to the excitement of the spectators.

However, a novel Twenty 20 rule similar to the 'Golden goal' or the 'extra time' concept of soccer or basketball would probably make the end-game of a Twenty 20 cricket match more interesting.

Twenty20 called off a day early

England's one-off Twenty20 international against South Africa has been abandoned a day in advance because of heavy rain. The ICC match referee Roshan Mahanama called off the game on Tuesday afternoon in consultation with the ground staff after deciding there was no chance of the ground being ready.

With Chester-le-Street having been under water for a week, Kevin Pietersen will have to wait to lead England for the first time in this form of the game. The match would have represented a final chance for England's players to make a mark ahead of November's Stanford matches which are worth millions.

"The ECB were advised by Durham that there were concerns about the state of the ground following a considerable amount of rain in the last week," said a statement. "The ECB then called in the ICC match referee who along with the ECB match umpire Nigel Llong inspected the ground this (Tuesday) afternoon.

"An early decision was taken because the weather forecast was poor for the next 24 hours and to prevent spectators making an unnecessary journey. Ticket holders will be eligible for a full refund. The refund policy is detailed on the back of the tickets."

Owais Shah was slated to come in at No 3 with his new captain favouring boosting him up the order as he felt he was "wasted" at No 7. Jacques Kallis was to have opened for South Africa who had been forced to practise inside.

The teams will now meet in the first of five ODIs at Headingley on Friday.

The World of Twenty 20 cricket

Twenty 20 cricket is set to revolutionize the world of cricket. Twenty 20 cricket is the natural evolution of the sport of cricket.

The dull dreary world of test match cricket was slowly replaced by one day international cricket matches. But now, Twenty 20 cricket seems set to replace both forms of cricket.

Twenty 20 cricket - No turning back anymore!

Domestic Twenty 20 cricket tournaments are being announced by almost every cricket team in the world on their annual cricket calendars. Twenty 20 cricket is exciting and fun and the Stanford 20/20 cricket tournament was probably the key tournament in bringing back West Indies fans to cricket stadiums and perhaps a factor in the rejuvenation of West Indies cricket.

Twenty 20 domestic cricket tournaments such as the State Twenty 20 cricket tournament in New Zealand, the Twenty 20 cup in England,the Twenty 20 Big Bash in Australia and the Pro20 series in South Africa have been huge cricketing successes

Twenty 20 World Cup- The uncorking of the champagne for Twenty 20 cricket.

The Twenty 20 World cup cricket tournament for all leading world cricket teams will be held in South Africa in 2007. Though the Twenty 20 world cup immediately follows the official cricket one day international world cup in the West Indies, one can be rest assured that the timing will not take the sheen off the Twenty 20 World cup.

A comparison of the Twenty 20 world cup cricket tournament in South Africa and the cricket one day international World cup in the West Indies, will make it clear that Twenty 20 cricket tournaments are here to stay and the Twenty 20 cricket format is the future of world cricket.