Pakistan vs West Indies 1st Test Day1.

Devendra Bishoo claimed 4-68 on his Test debut as West Indies opened up a 100-run lead over Pakistan on the second day of the first Test in Guyana.

The leg-spinner trapped Misbah-ul-Haq leg before to claim his first Test wicket and then snared Asad Shafiq as Pakistan crumbled from 57-1 to 66-5.

Bishoo had Umar Akmal caught by Carlton Baugh to break a seventh-wicket stand of 50 as Pakistan ended 160 all out.

Match scorecard:

West Indies 1st Innings - All out

			Runs	Balls	4s	6s
Smith		b Mohammad Hafeez	13	26	1	0
Simmons	lbw	b Saeed Ajmal	49	130	3	1
DM Bravo	lbw	b Riaz	25	85	2	0
Sarwan	c Salman	b Rehman	23	79	2	0
Chanderpaul		b Saeed Ajmal	27	83	4	0
Nash	lbw	b Saeed Ajmal	5	10	1	0
Baugh	lbw	b Saeed Ajmal	4	15	1	0
Sammy	c U Akmal	b Rehman	12	26	1	1
Roach	c Azhar Ali	b Saeed Ajmal	24	80	3	0
Rampaul	lbw	b Mohammad Hafeez	14	26	2	0
Bishoo	not out		15	31	1	0
Extras		2nb 1w 5b 7lb	15
Total		all out	226	(98.0 ovs)

Bowler O M R W Gul 13.0 0 40 0 Mohammad Hafeez 13.0 5 22 2 Rehman 29.0 11 51 2 Saeed Ajmal 33.0 14 69 5 Riaz 10.0 1 32 1

Fall of wicket   15 Smith 71 DM Bravo 127 Sarwan 136 Nash 142 Baugh 159 Sammy 162 Chanderpaul 175 Simmons 198 Rampaul 226 Roach

Pakistan 1st Innings - All out

			Runs	Balls	4s	6s
Mohammad Hafeez		b Rampaul	4	7	1	0
Umar	lbw	b Sammy	19	62	2	0
Azhar Ali		b Sammy	34	73	5	0
Misbah-ul-Haq	lbw	b Bishoo	2	13	0	0
Shafiq	lbw	b Bishoo	2	11	0	0
U Akmal	c Baugh	b Bishoo	33	75	4	0
Salman	lbw	b Bishoo	4	18	0	0
Rehman	not out		40	104	4	0
Gul	c Baugh	b Rampaul	5	7	0	0
Saeed Ajmal	lbw	b Rampaul	1	7	0	0
Riaz	c Baugh	b Roach	5	13	0	0
Extras		2nb 6b 3lb	11
Total		all out	160	(64.4 ovs)

Bowler O M R W Roach 10.4 2 40 1 Rampaul 17.0 5 27 3 Sammy 12.0 6 16 2 Bishoo 25.0 6 68 4

Fall of wicket   5 Mohammad Hafeez 57 Umar 60 Misbah-ul-Haq 62 Azhar Ali 66 Shafiq 80 Salman 130 U Akmal 135 Gul 141 Saeed Ajmal 160 Riaz

West Indies 2nd Innings

			Runs	Balls	4s	6s
Smith	lbw	b Mohammad Hafeez	1	3	0	0
Simmons	not out		18	22	1	0
DM Bravo	lbw	b Saeed Ajmal	8	27	1	0
Roach	not out		3	13	0	0
Extras		4b	4
Total		for 2	34	(10.5 ovs)

Bowler O M R W Gul 3.0 0 10 0 Mohammad Hafeez 3.0 1 5 1 Rehman 2.0 0 9 0 Saeed Ajmal 2.0 1 3 1 Riaz 0.5 0 3 0

Fall of wicket   3 Smith 23 DM Bravo

Bishoo then bamboozled the middle order before Rampaul returned to remove the tail.

DONE A GREAT JOB AT A DEBUT "BISHOO"

However, any thoughts of a home victory were quickly put to one side as Devon Smith and Darren Bravo became the 12th and 13th wickets to fall on an intriguing day.

Alastair Cook is England new ODI Captain and Broad named as a new T20 Captain.

Alastair Cook has been named England's one-day international captain following the resignation of Andrew Strauss.

Cook,26, has played in only three ODI games since November 2008, leading England's victorious tour of Bangladesh in 2010 when Strauss was rested.


Strauss ,34,who has also announced his retirement from one-day internationals, will continue as Test skipper.


Sturat Broad ,24, replaces Paul Collingwood as Captain of England's Twenty20 side.


It is the first time that a nation's Test, ODI and T20 team will be led by different captains and England team director Andy Flower is buoyed by the prospect.


"It has never been tried before so I am excited by the opportunity it provide us with," he said.


"We don't know 100% whether it will work and be the most efficient system but we're going to give it a try."
Strauss's decision to step down as captain was not unexpected after England's disappointing showing in the recent World cup in India.

"The end of the World Cup was a watershed for all teams, not just England and it is time to refresh, regenerate and move forward," said Strauss.



 "I've enjoyed my time as England one-day captain immensely and I'm extremely proud of the strides we've made in limited overs cricket over the past two years.

INDIA in WEST INDIES 2011.

India starts their tour in June. They will play 1 Twenty20,5 One-day internationals and 3 Test matches.

FIXTURE OF THEIR TOUR IS

June
4 Twenty20 international, Trinidad
6 1st ODI, Trinidad
8 2nd ODI, Trinidad 
11 3rd ODI, Antigua
13 4th ODI, Antigua
16 5th ODI, Jamaica
20-24 1st Test, Jamaica
28-2 Jul 2nd Test, Barbados
July
6-10 3rd Test, Dominica

NOTE:Fixtures and start times are subject to change. We are not responsible for any changes that may be made.




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West Indies beat Pakistan again but lose 3-2 in series.

  West Indies secured a second successive Victory with a 10-wicket rout in Guyana as Pakistan finished 3-2 winners in the one-day international series.


Pakistan played very well in first three ODIs but then pakistan's hopes of beating West indies White wash in Odis gets down when 4th ODI was affected by rain as a result west indies won the $th match by just 1 runs by D/L method and in the 5th ODI pakistani's wickets fell down like a school boy's cricket.

 Pakistan lose the one match series of T20 early from west indies but they showed their spirit to one the world in ODIs and Won the ODIs series by 3-2.

Pakistan team eyes was on the upcoming test series in West Indies.Test team of pakistan plays under the captaincy of Misbah ul Haq.Pakistan and West Indies meet at the same providence ground in Guyana on 12 May 2011.



Both the teams are looking  to win the two test matches series and both the captains have lot of confidence on their team.

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Rana Naved-ul-Hassan names Inzamam as best captain and Woolmer greatest coach.

Pakistani fast bowler Rana Naved-ul-Hassan, who is representing sussex in this English county season, says that Inzamamul Haq was his best captain and the Bob woolmer was the "graetest coach" he ever had.




Rana, a veteran of over 80 international matches for pakistan, has had the distinct honor of playing under the captaincy of inzamam and the legendary coach, the late Bob Woolmer.


"He [Inzamam] was able to utilize all the players very well and got the best out of the players. I really enjoyed playing under him said by the Rana Naved.

Rana, Who considers Inzamam his role model, also feels that the skipper  will had the unique ability to get the most out of his players, 


Talking about the couch Bob wollmer, he said that the Englishman "was a great couch. Everybody in the team respected him." 

He [woolmer] had created a great atmosphere with in the team and everybody really enjoyed playing under him.Bob had teach how to deal with pakistanis and we picked up a lot of  skills from him "said by the former pakistani bowler."

"I played domestic cricket and performed very well. I went on to play in Australia and now am playing in England. So I think I will make a comeback if I continue to stay fit and performed well," he stated. 

Sri Lanka's Lasith Malinga retires from test cricket.

Sri Lanka fast bowler Lasith Malinga, 27 ,is retiring from tests in a bid to prolong his one-day international career through to the 2015 World cup.


Malinga angered cricket Sri Lanka by ruling himself out of the England tour with a knee injury , while continuing to play in the IPL.


But he insists that while his knee can stand up to one-day and 20-overs game,it cannot cope with five-day Tests.


"The heavy workload of Tests could lead to permanent injury," he said.


The right-armer has played only two Tests since England's tour of Sri lanka in December 2007 , both against India last year , but has fashioned himself as a one-day and Twenty20 specialist, taking 13 wickets as sri lanka reached the final of the 2011 World Cup.

"I have realized that the heavy workload of Test cricket, which requires a fast bowler to be able to bowl more than 15 overs, something on consecutive days, could lead to permanent injury.


"I have carefully considered my option and have decided that not playing test cricket will help me achieve my goal of representing Sri Lanka in the 2012 World T-20 and the 2015 World cup"

Malinga made his international debut in 2004, and took four wickets in four balls against South Africa at the 2007 World Cup, the first time it had been done in international cricket history.


LASITH MALINGA FACTFILE
                       
. Born: 28 August 1983,
Galle, Sri Lanka       
                       
.Test: 30 matches,101  
wickets @33.15 ,       
best 5-50              
                       
.Oneday internationals:
84 matches ,127 wickets
@26.38,best 6-38       
                       
.T-20 internationals:  
29 matches,35 wickets @
20.80, best 3-12       

Match summary Pakistan vs West Indies T-20.

The T-20 match between pakistan and west indies is played in Beausejour Stadium,on 21 Apr 2011.


Umpires: JJ Crowe,NA Malcolm,PJ Nero,GO Brathwaite,JS Wilson.


West indies won the toss and chose to bat first.They lose an early wicket of  ADS Fletcher on the score of 2 in 2nd over.Then LMP Simmons and DM Bravo played a responsible inning and help West indies to get 150 in 20 overs with the loss of 7 wickets.LMP Simmons scored 65 runs in 44 balls with 7 fours and 2 huge sixes.Abdur Rehman,Saeed Ajmal and Wahab Riaz took 2 wickets each.

West Indies: 150/7 (20.0)       RR:7.50 

In replay pakistan didn't play well in all the inning and scored 143 scores in 20 overs with the loss of 9 wickets.U Akmal scored 41 on 41 balls.D Bishoo took 4 wickets.

Pakistan: 143/9 (20.0)       RR:7.15 

Result: West Indies won by 7 runs

Player of the Match: D Bishoo

England fast bowler Broad pens new Nottinghamshire deal

Struat Broad has signed a new three-year contract with Nottinghamshire.

The 24-year-old England fast bowler, who arrived at Trent bridge from Leicestershire in 2007, is still on an ECB central contract.

 His new deal with Notts, which runs until 2013, will only come into effect should he lose his England deal.

 "We fully except Stuart will maintain his England place for year to come but this re-affirms his commitment to us,"said director of cricket Mick Newell.

broad has made just a single one-day appearance, as well as playing three games in the T20 and seven County Championship matches in his four years at Trent Bridge.

But he may be due to get in a few early season appearance once he has recovered from the side strain that forced him home early from England's unsuccessful World Cup adventure last month.

And Notts can only hope that Broad, who played for them in the FP t20 finals day at the Rose Bowl last August, will hope that he turns in a repeat of the match-winning performance he produced on his last County Championship appearance.

 Broad took 11 wickets in the match in his side's 10-wickets win over Warwickshire at Edgbaston July, claiming a career best 8-52 in the second innings.

"We knew he was in the England selectors' thought when we signed him in 2008," added Newell.

"Although his county appearances have been limited, he has always performed exceptionally well when he's turned out for us." 

Shane Watson hits World-record 15 sixes as Aussies win

Watson beat Marshall's record of 12 sixes against Canada

One-day international, Mirpur: Australia 232-1 (26 overs) beat Bangladesh 229-7 (50 overs) by nine wickets


Shane Watson hits a record 15 sixes on his way to making the highest one-day innings by an Australian as Bangladesh were crushed by nine wickets.

  The 29-years-old, who also hit 15 fours, scored 185 off 96 balls beating Matthew Hayden's previous total of 181 made against New Zealand in 2007.

"I got a bit of luck,"said Watson, who beat West Indies' Xavier Marshall's record of 12 sixes.

   "I had no idea what the sixes record was. I didn't want to run too much."

"My job was easy, I just let Shane do what he was doing,"said by the Ricky Ponting.

Watson also recorded the sixth- highest one-day score when he struck 161 against England in January this year.

Ponting joined Watson at the crease with the scores on 62-1 after Brad Haddin lost his wicket when he was caught by Mahmudullah off the bowling of Shakib Al Hasan.


The opener, who along with Ponting helped Australia reach 100 inside 15 overs, smashed Suhrawadi Shuvo for four sixes in the 22nd over on his way to helping Australia to their second successive victory over Bangladesh to tie up the three-match series win.

Earlier, Watson also took a wicket and made two catches as the home side laboured to 229-7 from their 50 overs.

The Tigers could only manager 62 in 20 overs and were reduced to 88-5, partly thanks to left-arm paceman Mitchell Johnson, who removed openers Tamim Iqbal [5] and Imrul Kayes [5] before eventually finishing with figures of 3-54.

Mushfiqur Rahim [81 no] and Mahmudullah [38] added some respectibility to the total with a 79-run stand before the latter was out lbw to Watson.

Wisden omits Pakistan player from cricketers of year

Wisden has named only four cricketers of the year for its 2011 edition because of the spot-fixing scandal surrounding three pakistan players.

  Wisden reduced the list after the trio were found guilty of corruption by the ICC.
The revered publication has selected five players since 1926, but has picked only Tamim Iqbal, Eoin Morgan, Chris Read and Jonathan Trott this time.

M Amir is reported to be the name omitted from the traditional five.
Amir, fellow paceman M Asif and former captain S butt were suspended by an ICC tribunal in February, a day after the Crown Prosecution Service announced that they would face criminal charges, along with agent with Mazhar Majeed.

  Wisden editor Scyld Berry did not confirm that Amir was the player omitted from the list, but told BBC Radio 5 live : "I thought that one of three players did very well for them {pakistan} last summer in England.

"But once they had banned by ICC for a minimum of five years that rather disqualified them from entering our hall of fame."

"It was difficult decision but a stance has to be taken and you can't have somebody entering he hall of fame tainted by allegation of corruption and also on trial." 

The ICC suspended the trio of players for their part in spot-fixing during the fourth Test at Lord's between England and Pakistan in August 2010.

Sri Lanka in England 2011

SRI LANKA IN ENGLAND

May
14-16 v Middlesex, Uxbridge
Play starts at 1100 BST
19-22 v England Lions, Derby
Play starts at 1100 BST

26-30 1st Test, Cardiff
Play starts at 1100 BST
June
3-7 2nd Test, Lord's
Play starts at 1100 BST
10-12 v Essex, Chelmsford
Play starts at 1100 BST
16-20 3rd Test, Rose Bowl
Play starts at 1100 BST
22 v Worcestershire, Worcester
Play starts at 1045 BST
25 Twenty20 international, Bristol
Play starts at 1430 BST
28 1st ODI, The Oval (d/n)
Play starts at 1300 BST
July
1 2nd ODI, Headingley
Play starts at 1045 BST
3 3rd ODI, Lord's
Play starts at 1045 BST
[moved from Chester-le-Street]
6 4th ODI, Trent Bridge (d/n)
Play starts at 1400 BST
9 5th ODI, Old Trafford
Play starts at 1045 BST

 

 

ODI TRI-SERIES IN EDINBURGH

11 ODI: Ireland v Sri Lanka, Edinburgh
Play starts at 1045 BST
12 ODI: Scotland v Ireland, Edinburgh
Play starts at 1045 BST
13 ODI: Scotland v Sri Lanka, Edinburgh
Play starts at 1045 BST

Australia in Bangladesh 2011

April
7 v Bangladesh Cricket Board XI, Fatullah
Australia won by 90 runs
 
9 1st ODI, Mirpur
AUS won by 60 runs
 
11 2nd ODI, Mirpur
Play starts at 0430 BST



13 3rd ODI, Mirpur (d/n)

Play starts at 0900 BST

Pakistan in West Indies 2011

April
18 v University of West Indies Vice Chancellor's XI, St Lucia
Play starts at 1500 BST
21 Twenty20 international, St Lucia
Play starts at 1900 BST
23 1st ODI, St Lucia
Play starts at 1430 BST
25 2nd ODI, St Lucia
Play starts at 1430 BST
28 3rd ODI, Barbados
Play starts at 1430 BST
May
1 4th ODI, Barbados
Play starts at 1430 BST
5 5th ODI, Guyana (Providence Stadium)
Play starts at 1430 BST
8-9 opponents TBC, Guyana (Bourda)
Play starts at 1500 BST
12-16 1st Test, Guyana (Providence Stadium)
Play starts at 1500 BST
20-24 2nd Test, St Kitts
Play starts at 1500 BST

Michael Clarke hits century as Aussies beat Bangaldesh.

One-day international, Mirpur:Australia 270-7 (50 overs) beat Bangladesh 210-5 ( 50 overs) by 60 runs.

Michael Clarke marked his debut as Australia's permanent captain with a century as they beat Bangladesh by 60 runs in a one-day match at Mirpur.

    Clarke, who took over as test and 50-over skipper from Ricky ponting after the world cup, hit 101 off 111 balls.

    It enabled  his side to post a total of 270-7 and they took a firm grip on the game by reducing Bangladesh to 49-3.

Tamim Iqbal (62) and Shakib Al Hasan (51) gave home fans something to cheer but they finished well short on 210-5.

Ponting, now freed from the cares of leadership, made 34 off 31 balls before being run out and Shane Watson  (37) and also made useful contributions in support of Clarke, Whose sixth one-day century featured two sixes and six fours.

Bangladesh's hopes of chasing down their target disappeared as I Kayes, S Nafees and R Hasan fell to the seamers, forcing Tamim to rein in his aggressive instincts to try and rebuild the innings.

"We did not play well at the World cup and we want to win every game here," Clarke said afterwards.

New Zealand's Daniel Vettori considers one-day future

"Vettori"

New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori has announced his retirement from Twenty20 internationals and is considering his future in one-day internationals.

Vettori said after his side's World Cup semi-final defeat by Sri Lanka on Tuesday that he will stand down as captain in all forms of the game.
However, the 32-year-old added that he will continue as a Test player.
"I've played my last Twenty20 but it's six months to the next ODI so I have time to think about it," he said.
"Tests are a big part of why I play the game, for the team and myself, because there is no better feeling than winning a Test."
New Zealand are not scheduled to play again until they tour Zimbabwe in October.
It was recently announced that their two-Test tour of Bangladesh, scheduled for May and June this year, would be postponed until 2012 to avoid the extremely hot and humid weather in Bangladesh in those months.
Vettori announced his decision to relinquish the captaincy before New Zealand's departure for the World Cup. New Zealand Cricket has yet to appoint a successor but batsman and vice-captain Ross Taylor is expected to take over.
Vettori has played in 105 Tests and 272 one-dayers since making his international debut in 1997 at the age of 18. He has featured in 28 Twenty20 internationals.
Sri Lanka beat the Black Caps by five wickets in Colombo to set up a final against either India or Pakistan.

Michael Clarke to replace Ponting as Australia captain

Batsman Michael Clarke has been named as Australia's new Test and one-day international captain following Ricky Ponting's decision to stand down.

Cameron White will continue as Twenty20 captain, with Shane Watson as vice-captain in all forms of the game.
Clarke, who was Ponting's regular deputy, recently led Australia in their 6-1 one-day series win against England.
He said: "It's a great honour but at the same time a great surprise as I wasn't expecting Ricky to stand down."
Cricket Australia chairman Jack Clarke said the 29-year-old had shown himself an able skipper when standing in for Ponting in the past, having already led the team in 24 one-day internationals.
"Michael has shown himself to be excellent with his on field tactics when heading the national side," he said.
Clarke, who plays for New South Wales, made his highest Test score in January 2010 when he hit 168 against New Zealand.
He was Australia's player of the 2009 Ashes series and is his country's 43rd Test captain after leading them in the final Test against England in January after Ponting was sidelined with a finger injury.
"I have always respected those who have come before me in this role and humbled to think of my name being mentioned alongside theirs," Clarke said.
"I am grateful to Ricky Ponting for what I have learned from him, to the selectors and Cricket Australia for this opportunity, and am looking forward to the challenges ahead."
Vice-captain Watson, 29, said he was looking forward to working closely with Clarke and Twenty20 skipper White.
"Playing cricket for Australia has been a great honour for me and to now be appointed vice-captain is really exciting," the all-rounder said.
"I look forward to doing what I can to help and support Michael Clarke in the Test and ODI teams, and Cameron White with the Twenty20 group.
"There are challenges ahead but also opportunity and I look forward to being part of the leadership group as we work together to grasp that opportunity."
Despite stepping down from the captaincy, 36-year-old Ponting has been named in the 14-man Australia squad to play Bangladesh in three one-dayers in Mirpur in April.
Left-arm spinner Xavier Doherty is also included after recovering from the back injury that kept him out of the World Cup, while there is also a place for uncapped seamer James Pattinson.
Paceman Shaun Tait, who has retired from 50-over cricket, and batsman David Hussey, who misses the tour as he awaits the birth of his first child, are the only names missing from the World Cup squad.
Australia begin the tour with a warm-up match on 7 April ahead of three ODIs on 9, 11 and 13 April.

---

Australia squad for one-day series in Bangladesh: Michael Clarke (capt), Shane Watson (vice-capt), Xavier Doherty, Callum Ferguson, Brad Haddin (wk), John Hastings, Mike Hussey, Mitchell Johnson, Brett Lee, Tim Paine (wk), James Pattinson, Ricky Ponting, Steve Smith, Cameron White.

Cricket World Cup: Tillakaratne Dilshan column

The team had high hopes of winning the World Cup but it is very sad that we lost to India in the final.

I have only taken part in two World Cups, but it is sad - really a very bad feeling - that Sri Lanka were runners-up on both occasions.
Full credit to India. India played better cricket, they outplayed us in all three areas - batting, bowling and fielding.

I would have been happy with my performance had I stayed in for 10 more overs and built a better partnership with captain Kumar Sangakkara.

After Upul Tharanga went early, as a result of Zaheer Khan's superb bowling, I was forced to take a step back and made sure I stayed in. If I had stuck with my natural game and played aggressive shots, there was a danger of India taking my wicket.

I think it was the most unfortunate occasion I got out during the tournament. The ball did not touch the bat - it hit my armguard, my pad and then hit the stumps.

I am sure had I stayed in a bit longer, we would have scored more than 300 which in turn might have changed the final result.

I don't know what exactly happened, but according to Sangakkara, they did not hear it as the thousands of fans started cheering.

Sangakkara usually calls 'heads' and he did the same for the final, but Dhoni and the match referee Jeff Crowe did not hear it.

We made four changes to the team that played the semi-final against New Zealand. Angelo Mathews was injured, but we made all the changes in good faith in order to win the game.
It was a collective decision, the whole team discussed the changes on Friday, and the responsibility is shared by all the members of the team.

Had we won the World Cup, many would have praised those changes but it is natural that some are now questioning them.
We had to select Thisara Perera and Nuwan Kulasekara to replace Mathews, who is a very strong batsman in the lower middle order, as losing Mathews was a big blow.
Kulasekara built a very important partnership with Mahela Jayawardene, and Suraj Randiv bowled well but unfortunately could not get a wicket.
In my opinion everything, including the changes, went well apart from the fact that we did not play to our full potential, and India simply did not give us any opportunity.
Getting their openers Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulakar out early gave us the advantage, but Gautam Gambhir built two strong partnerships with Virat Kohli and Dhoni - and these were the turning points in the game.
After about 30 overs, the pitch did not offer any support to the bowlers as the dew began to appear.
Some have been asking why we did not change the bowlers as Kulasekara was hammered by the Indian batsmen in the last overs.

Kulasekara bowled well in previous matches during the batting powerplay and overall, our bowlers have performed really well throughout the tournament.

CRICKET WORLD CUP: Indians dedicate win to Tendulkar

India's Cricketers have dedicated their World Cup final victory over Sri Lanka to legendary batsman Sachin Tendulkar.

 Co-hosts India were magnificent as they beat Sri Lanka by six wickets, with Tendulkar - who scored 18 - winning the World cup at his sixth attempt.
 
"This is the proudest moment of my life,"said Tendulkar, 37. "This is the ultimate and I'm experiencing it."

Paying tribute ,batsman V kohli said: " Sachin carried the burden of a nation for 21 years so he deserves it."

Fellow batsman G Gambhir, Who scored a superb 97, added: "The guys must have thought [ the World cup in] 2007 was a nightmare and this is a dream. Congratulation to sachin, all credit goes to him and this victory is for him."

He failed to score his 100th international century - he has 51 in test matches and 48 in one-day internationals - in the game, but India successfully reached their target of 275 with six wickets in hand and 10 balls to spare

Tendulkar, who finally got his hands on the World cup trophy after missing out in 1992, 1996 ,1999,2003 and 2007, paid tribute to his team-mates and the Indian coaching staff as the country won the sport's biggest one-day prize for the first time since 1983.



Tendulkar also admitted he had shed a few tears in the aftermath of India's win: "they are happy tears, so I don't mind crying."

India power past Sri Lanka to Cricket World cup triumph

India beat Sri Lanka by six wickets in a pulsating final to deliver World Cup glory to their cricket-mad population for the first time since 1983.

   Sri Lanka smashed 91 from their last 10 overs to post 274-6 in mumbai, M jayawardene making a superb 103.

     India lost V sehwag and  S Tendulkar early on but G Gambhir and MS Dhoni rebuilt the innings.

Gambhir was out for 97, but captain Dhoni's brilliant unbeaten 91 led India to a famous win with 10 balls to spare.

The skipper, struggling for form throughout the tournament,played the innings of his life and sealed the victory with a phenomenal straight six that sailed high into the stands, providing the catalyst for euphoric celebrations in the wankhede stadium.

Tendulkar's early dismissal for 18 ensured there was to be no fairytale 100th international century for mumbai's son.

But wonderful innings from Gambhir and Dhoni ensured the ''Little Master'' can finally get his hands on the sport's ultimate prize at the sixth attempt as India became the first host nation to win the Tournament, While jayawardene became the first player to score a hundred in the final and finish on the losing side.

Meanwhile, it was a sad end to the incredible career of Sri Lanka off-spinner M Muralitharan who having battled injuries throughout the event, failed to take a wicket in his last international match. 

K Sangakkara's decision to give Malinga a fourth over with the new ball proved a masterstroke as the paceman tempted Tendulkar into a swipe outside off stump and a thick edge was taken low by the captain himself behind the stumps. 

Gambhir and Kohli would have been forgiven for going into their shell but the due remained positive in seeing India to 105-2 off 20 overs. 

When the action began, India settled the faster with seamer Zaheer Kahn getting straight into rhythm. 

But although the late flurry propelled Sri Lanka to a healthy total, Gambhir and Dhoni ensured it was India who joined AUSTRALIA and the WEST INDIES as the only sides to win the World Cup more than once.

sdPAST WORLD CUP WINNERS
. 1975:      WEST INDIES
. 1979:      WEST INDIES
. 1983:            INDIA        
. 1987:        AUSTRALIA
. 1992:        PAKISTAN    
. 1996:         SRI LANKA
. 1999:         AUSTRALIA
. 2003:        AUSTRALIA
. 2007:        AUSTRALIA
 adfssd 

Cricket World Cup:Indian and Sri lankan media reaction

India's newspapers delighted in the national team's victory over Sri Lanka in the World Cup final on Saturday , heaping praise on their players.


"Windia!" screamed the Indian Express, while the mail today ran the headline "Cup of Joy" over a picture of the team being soaked in champagne.

     The Time of India said: The players had "the World at their Feet".

   The Hindustan Times Covered its front page with a photo of the joyous players besides a banner stating "Champions".

      India beat Sri Lanka by six wickets in Mumbai, becoming the first team to win the World Cup on home soil after chasing down the highest-ever total in a final.
                                                                 It was the cricket-mad nation's first World Cup victory since 1983.

"Men who make history defy all the odds,"the Hindustan Times said. The win was "a resounding announcement of India's official coronation as the World's best team."

India president Pratibha patil also praised the team, saying it "deserved the thanks  of a billion plus Indians."

   Several papers reserved the highest praise for Dhoni, who clinched the win with a massive six into the stands to finish 91 not out.

There were also plenty of column inches dedicated to Sachin Tendulkar , the legendary India batsman who finally crowned his career with World cup success at the sixth attempt.

     Tendulkar, who only scored 18 runs with the bat, shed tears of joy after the victory was sealed in his home city.


Not surprisingly, Sri Lankan press reaction struck a different chord, with several papers questioning the wisdom of making four changes for the final, Only one of which was enforced by injury.

"Who picked the final XI of the Sri Lankan team for the World Cup final against India?" the state-run Sunday Observer asked.

It questioned the wisdom of dropping Ajantha Mendis in favor of fellow off-spinner S Randiv, who had only joined the squad the previous day as an injury replacement, and playing veteran Muttiah Muralitharan, who had been struggling throughout the tournament with injuries.

"was it advisable playing a half-fit Muralitharan?"the Observer added. "Winning the mega final is much more important than giving a farewell tribute to even a great cricketer of Muralitharan's magnitude."

   The privately-run Sunday Times of Colombo said the World Cup loss should prompt a clean-up of the game's administration in Sri Lanka.

The Nation was more sympathetic towards the players, running with the front-page headline "Lost, but not shamed!"

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka paceman  L Malinga told state-run TV that his World Cup career is over.

The 27-year-old, who removed both India openers cheaply to give Sri Lanka hope, Said: " I hope to be service to my team as long as I can,but I won't be able to play in the next World Cup in 2015.

"I have been carrying injuries for the past few weeks and with little rest. I ask the youngsters to play well in the next World Cup."