Pakistan rescued by Afridi, beat Canada by 46 runs

 COLOMBO: Shahid Afridi made up for Pakistan’s ragged performance with the bat by collecting his second five-wicket haul of the World Cup as the 1992 champions beat Canada by 46 runs on Thursday.

Canada looked as if they could produce the second shock of the tournament when they skittled Pakistan for 184 in just 43 overs and followed it up with some sensible batting from Zubin Surkari (27) and Jimmy Hansra to reach 104 for three.

But once leg-spinner Afridi (5-23) bowled Hansra for 43, the Canadians lost their way and were all out for 138, handing Pakistan their third successive win in Group A.

Afridi, who took five for 16 against Kenya last week, now tops the wicket-takers list with 14 scalps from three matches.

His stunning performance saved Pakistan’s blushes on Thursday as the Canadians were well ahead of the required run rate and with seven wickets in hand at the start of the 34th over.

However, once Saeed Ajmal trapped Surkari lbw, the Canadian challenge quickly unravelled as Afridi ran riot bowling his leg-spin at a faster pace which completely bamboozled the North American batsmen.

They lost their last seven wickets for 34 runs.

Despite the win, Pakistan skipper Afridi admitted his team cannot repeat such a scrappy display with the bat if they are to win a second title.

“We did not have good shot selection and I think it’s a very good wake-up call for us for the next game,” said man-of-the-match Afridi.

“Myself and coach Waqar Younis will definitely talk to the boys and this will not happen again.

“We needed some partnerships and that’s what we were missing and that’s what the coach was saying. Partnerships are very important.”

Winning the toss and taking first use of the pitch, Pakistan could not get their batting rhythm going and lost wickets at regular intervals.

They slumped to 67-4 before Misbah-ul-Haq (37) and top scorer Umar Akmal (48) posted the best partnership of the innings with 73 for the fifth wicket.

Once the stand was broken at 140, the rest of the Pakistan batting collapsed with the last five wickets tumbling for 19 runs unable to cope with the medium-pace and spin combination of Canada who had heavily lost their first two matches to Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe.

Canada lost their opening bowler Khurram Chohan who failed to complete his fourth over but he was not missed as the rest of the bowlers bowled a tight line and length.

Medium-pacer Harvir Baidwan was the pick of the attack with three for 35 while Rizwan Cheema, Balaji Rao and Jimmy Hansra shared six wickets among them.

Ireland beat England in Group B on Wednesday to create the first upset of this year’s event.

South Africa maul Netherlands in 231-run win

MOHALI: South Africa crushed the Netherlands by 231 runs in a lop-sided Group B match to record their second successive victory in the World Cup on Thursday.

Put into bat, Hashim Amla (113) and AB de Villiers (134) featured in a marathon 221-run third wicket stand while JP Duminy (40) chipped in with a 15-ball cameo to propel South Africa to a commanding 351-5 at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium.

South Africa showed the same business-like approach when they returned to defend the total, removing the Dutch top half by the time they reached the 100-mark and eventually bowling them out for 120 in 34.5 overs.

Only Wesley Barresi (44) provided some resistance with the bat while only four of his Dutch team mates managed double digit scores.

“It’s still early doors but it’s nice to get wins under the belt and keep the confidence going for later on in the tournament,” South African spinner Robin Peterson said.

“Every game has its different challenges, today it wasn’t easy for the batters out there but they showed that once they got stuck in they could churn out a good total.”

If Ireland’s sensational victory against England on Wednesday had rekindled Dutch hopes of pulling off a similar upset, South Africa mercilessly crushed it.

After they had slumped to 58-2 in the 16th over, de Villiers hit his second successive century in the tournament and Amla his eighth overall in the 50-overs format to bail them out.

Amla and his opening partner Graeme Smith (20) found boundaries were not easy to come by against the disciplined Dutch bowlers backed by their agile fielders and laboured to the 50-run mark in the 13th over.

Smith soon lost his leg stump to Bernard Loots while Ryan ten Doeschate (3-72) removed Jacques Kallis (2) cheaply before Amla and de Villiers joined hands to stem the rot.

Amla was content nudging the ball around, hitting eight fours in his 130-ball knock.

De Villiers was more fluent in his brisk 98-ball innings that included 13 fours and four sixes, including three in a row off Loots, before he ran himself out in the 46th over.

Duminy then provided the late flourish, hitting four sixes and a couple of fours, to an already imposing South African total.

Pakistan humbled by Canada, all out for 184 in 43

COLOMBO: Pakistan slumped to a well below-par 184 off 43 overs against the unfancied Canada in their World Cup Group A match on Thursday.

Winning the toss and taking first use of the pitch, Pakistan could not get their batting rhythm going and lost wickets at regular intervals.

They slumped to 67-4 before Misbah-ul-Haq (37) and top scorer Umar Akmal (48) posted the best partnership of the innings with 73 for the fifth wicket.

Once the stand was broken at 140, the rest of the Pakistan batting collapsed with the last five wickets tumbling for 19 runs unable to cope with the medium-pace and spin combination of Canada.

Pakistan bat first as Saeed Ajmal and Wahab Riaz return

COLOMBO: Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi won the toss and opted to bat against Canada in the World Cup Group A match at the R. Premadasa stadium on Thursday.

Pakistan replaced left-arm spinner Abdur Rehman, who has injured his abductor muscle, and rested paceman Shoaib Akhtar from the line-up that beat Sri Lanka in Colombo on Saturday.

Their places were taken by off-spinner Saeed Ajmal and paceman Wahab Riaz – both making their World Cup debuts.

Canada, who lost to Zimbabwe in their last match, dropped out-of-form opener John Davison and brought in paceman Henry Osinde.

Pakistan: Shahid Afridi (capt), Misbah-ul-Haq, Mohammad Hafeez, Kamran Akmal, Younis Khan, Umar Akmal, Abdul Razzaq, Saeed Ajmal, Umar Gul, Wahab Riaz, Ahmed Shahzad.

Canada: Ashish Bagai (capt), Rizwan Cheema, Harvir Baidwan, Nitish Kumar, Tyson Gordon, Henry Osinde, Ruvindu Gunasekera, Khurram Chohan, Jimmy Hansra, Zubin Surkari, Balaji Rao.

Umpires: Daryl Harper (AUS) and Nigel Llong (ENG)

TV umpire: Tony Hill (NZL)

Match referee: Chris Broad (ENG)

Pitch conditions: The pitch at the R. Premadasa stadium has a brownish look. It is likely to help seamers in the initial stages and to favour spinners later on.

Kevin O’Brien breaks World Cup fastest century record

BANGALORE: Ireland’s Kevin O’Brien smashed the fastest century in World Cup history on Wednesday when he reached the landmark off just 50 balls against England.

O’Brien beat Australian Matthew Hayden’s record of a century off 66 balls against South Africa at St Kitts in the 2007 tournament.

The 26-year-old O’Brien hit 13 boundaries and six sixes in his blistering century at the Chinnaswamy Stadium which was also the sixth fastest ODI ton of all time.

Chasing England’s 327-8, O’Brien shared a sixth-wicket partnership of 162 with Alex Cusack (47) as Ireland targeted a famous victory.

Pakistan’s Shahid Afridi hit the fastest century of all time off 37 balls against Sri Lanka in Kenya in 1996.

Ireland hails cricketers as new sporting heroes

DUBLIN: Ireland’s cricketers were hailed as the country’s latest sporting heroes on Wednesday after their astonishing three-wicket victory in the World Cup over England in Bangalore.

Prime-minister-in-waiting Enda Kenny said their historic victory “marks one of the finest days in Irish sport”.

“Ireland’s cricketers exemplified all the best qualities of our nation, playing with courage and pride and showing that seemingly insurmountable odds can be overcome.

“Their supreme effort will lift the spirits of every single Irish person, no matter where they are in the world.

“Ireland’s performance is truly inspiring demonstrating that, with self-belief, the apparently impossible can be made possible and real change can occur,” Kenny said.

Kevin O’Brien struck the fastest-ever World Cup hundred with a brilliant burst of power-hitting getting him to three figures in just 50 balls at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.

The last time Ireland hailed its cricketers was in 2007 they also caused an upset by beating Pakistan in a World Cup match.

The growing number of cricket fans in the Irish Republic will revel in success of the team that will build the profile the game.

Though the Irish Cricket Union is an all-Ireland body, Northern Ireland has been the stronghold for the game on the island and it is a minority sport in the Republic.

Traditionally a country of emigration until the economic boom of the 1990s began to attract immigrants, Ireland now has players from countries like New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, India and Pakistan.

Attitudes to the game also changed following the Northern Ireland peace process.

In the past, playing cricket had a political dimension. It was known as a “garrison” sport because it was associated with British army barracks around the country during colonisation.

It was brought to Ireland by the English and initially thrived when it also spread through landed estates.

The progress of the game was then hampered by two developments — “land wars” of the late 1800s against mainly Protestant British landlords and the 1884 founding of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) to nurture the native games of hurling and Gaelic football.

In 1890s the GAA brought in a ban on “foreign games” like cricket, hockey, rugby and soccer. The ban was not rescinded until 1971.

First World Cup upset as minnows Ireland beat England

BANGALORE: Kevin O’Brien struck the fastest-ever World Cup hundred as Ireland pulled off a sensational three-wicket win over England on Wednesday.

Ireland won with five balls to spare as they finished on 329 for seven after England, who had made 327 for eight, had been cruising when they reduced non-Test playing Ireland to 111 for five.

But a brilliant burst of power-hitting got O’Brien to three figures in just 50 balls at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.

That meant he’d obliterated former Australia opener Matthew Hayden’s previous fastest World Cup century record off 66 balls against South Africa at St Kitts in 2007.

O’Brien’s whirlwind innings of 113 off 63 balls, including six sixes and 13 fours, ended when he was run out by Stuart Broad’s throw to wicketkeeper Matt Prior.

Ireland’s target was down to three off the last over and victory was secured when John Mooney struck a four off James Anderson.

“I don’t think it’s quite sunk in,” said 26-year-old O’Brien, after another famous win to follow Ireland’s shock World Cup triumph over Pakistan in 2007.

“It’s probably the best innings I’ve ever played. I just hit the ball pretty well and got a bit of luck and things went my way. I just kept going and kept attacking.

“When we were 111-5 I said to myself we could have just pottered around and got 220 off 50 overs for eight or nine and the game would have been pretty boring to watch.

“But I just chanced my arm and said I was going to be as positive as I can and got a few away and didn’t look back.”

It was the highest successful run chase in World Cup history beating Sri Lanka’s 313 against Zimbabwe at New Plymouth in New Zealand in 1992

“It’s pretty amazing,” said Ireland batsman Alex Cusack, who made 47 in a decisive sixth-wicket partnership of 162 with O’Brien.

“I was just trying to knock it around for Kev. He’s got the power. That was my job and he was playing the big shots.”

England captain Andrew Strauss said: “We thought we’d done a reasonable job with the bat and we got Ireland at five down and things were looking pretty comfortable.

“But we weren’t reckoning on an outstanding innings from Kevin O’Brien. It was pretty brutal.”

Mooney struck several superb blows of his own on his way to 33 not out to complete a fine all-round display after he had claimed four wickets for 63 runs with his medium-pacers.

O’Brien went to fifty in 30 balls when he pulled Anderson for six.

He then lofted Anderson for an enormous six over midwicket, with television replays estimating the ball had carried for 102 metres, the longest of the tournament.

O’Brien did have a break on 91 when a huge skyer off Paul Collingwood was dropped by Strauss.

Ireland burst into life during the batting powerplay, scoring 62 runs in five overs.

It was the second-time in a matter of days the Chinnaswamy Stadium had served up a run-fest after Sunday’s extraordinary tie between India and England had seen the two teams make 676 runs between them.

Anderson, whose first overs yielded one wicket for 11 runs, finished with figures of one for 49 in 8.1 overs while Broad was pummelled for 73 runs in nine wicketless overs.

Earlier Jonathan Trott equalled the record for the fastest 1,000 runs in one-day internationals

Trott’s 92 was the centrepiece of England’s 327 for eight and when he made 64 he equalled West Indies great Vivian Richards and England team-mate Kevin Pietersen in taking just 21 innings to reach four figures in ODIs.

Ireland’s victory was all the more impressive as they lost captain William Porterfield to the first ball of their reply when he dragged on to Anderson.