ICC CHAMPIONS TROPHY 2006 - UPDATE

rahul_parab2006 · Oct 30, 2006

ICC CHAMPIONS TROPHY - MATCH 17

England v WI, Sardar Patel Stadium, Ahmedabad

England 276 for 7 (Pietersen 90*, Bell 50, Strauss 50) beat West Indies 272 for 4 (Gayle 101, Bravo 112*) by 3 wickets

England win at last as Pietersen gatecrashes Gayle's party

Kevin Pietersen ruined Chris Gayle's party with an explosive 90 not out as England stunned the West Indies by three wickets in the Champions Trophy.

The big-hitting batsman's 10th half-century under pressure helped England surpass the West Indies' challenging total of 272-4 with nine balls to spare in a day-night match neither team feared to lose.

The West Indies had already qualified for the semi-finals with two wins in as many matches in the four-team group, while England were out of contention after losing their first two games against India and Australia.

South Africa and New Zealand are the other sides in the last four.

The last semi-finalists will be decided after the India-Australia game at Mohali on Sunday.

The West Indies will take on Group B winners South Africa in the second semi-final at Jaipur on November 2.

England owed their consolation win ahead of next month's Ashes series to Pietersen, who smashed one six and nine fours off 86 balls in a stunning display of aggressive batting.

Pietersen upstaged man-of-the-match Gayle, who hammered a solid 101 for his 14th century to help his team set a stiff target and then grabbed three big wickets with his off-spin.

Chris Gayle celebrates after scoring 100 against England during an ICC Champions Trophy 2006 match in Ahmedabad
Gayle also added 174 for the second wicket with Dwayne Bravo, who remained unbeaten with 112 for his maiden century. Gayle hit 10 fours and one six and Bravo one six and 14 fours.

Pietersen posed the main threat to the West Indies' total after left-handed opener Andrew Strauss had given England a blazing start with a 47-ball 50.

England raced to 82 in less than 12 overs, thanks to Strauss and Ian Bell (50) before Pietersen finished the job in style under lights.

England's early flourish had ended after Gayle was pressed into the attack as the off-spinner bowled Strauss with his third delivery before dismissing skipper Andrew Flintoff (25) and Paul Collingwood in the space of three balls.

Flintoff, who earlier returned as a bowler in one-day internationals for the first time in six months, had been looking dangerous before he holed out to Jerome Taylor at the long-on boundary while attempting a big shot.

All-rounder Collingwood fell for a first-ball duck, caught by Bravo in the slips before Pietersen steered to his team to victory.

The afternoon belonged to Gayle and Bravo as they never looked under pressure against England's pace-spin combination on a good batting wicket.

The 23-year-old Bravo initially outscored Gayle, reaching his half-century off 60 balls with 10 fours before his senior partner dominated the England attack with handsome shots on both sides of the wicket.

Gayle, 27, curbed his strokes in the first part of his knock as he completed his half-century off 80 balls. He exploded with a flurry of boundaries immediately after reaching his fifty.

He took 47 more balls to complete his second hundred of the tournament after having made an unbeaten 104 against Bangladesh at Jaipur in the qualifying round.

rahul_parab2006 · Oct 30, 2006

ICC CHAMPIONS TROPHY - MATCH 18

India v Australia, PCA Stadium, Mohali
October 29, 2006

Australia 252 for 4 (Martyn 73*, Ponting 58, Watson 50) beat India 249 for 8 (Sehwag 75, Dravid 52) by 6 wickets

OOH, AAH, OUCH INDIA

Mohali: India suffered the ignominy of an early exit from the ICC Champions Trophy after a six-wicket thrashing at the hands of Australia who romped into the semi-finals without much fuss here.

The Indians managed to score 249 for eight on a good batting strip with Virender Sehwag (65) and Rahul Dravid (52) being the top scorers but the bowling lacked the sting to stop the awesome Australians from cantering to a facile victory with 4.2 overs to spare in the floodlit contest.

It was a painful knock-out punch for the home team who were expected to at least make it to the semi-finals since they were playing at home but the party will now carry on without the hosts.

The world champions had the game in control right through with useful contributions coming from captain Ricky Ponting (58), Shane Watson (50) and Damien Martyn (73 not out) which helped the team to overhaul the target with more than four overs to spare.

The victory ensured that Australia moved into the semi-finals as the champion team from Group 'A' and will now take on New Zealand in the first semi-final here on Nov 1.

South Africa, who emerged as the champion team in Group 'B', will clash with West Indies in the second semi-final in Jaipur on November 2.

The final is scheduled to be held in Mumbai on Nov 5.

The Australians, who have never won the Champions Trophy, not only put themselves on course for breaking the jinx but also ensured that India's agonising sequence of flops continied to haunt them.

Required to score at five runs an over, the Australian innings got off to a flying start as the dangerous Adam Gilchrist and Shane Watson launched a blistering assault on the Indian pacemen who again were guilty of erring in line and length.

Irfan Pathan, who has been in woeful form in recent times, was again taken to the cleaners while the other new ball operator Munaf Patel was no less expensive.

A hushed silence descended in the fully-packed Mohali stadium as the two Australian openers quickly took the game under control with a barrage of strokes and raced to 61 in no time before the hosts had something to cheer about.

Paceman S sreesanth, coming into the team for an injured Ajit Agarkar, provided the breakthrough by scalping the rampaging Gilchrist with Suresh Raina bringing off a spectacular catch.

Gilchrist's knock of 23 came off just 24 balls and contained four boundaries.

Watson, who was bothered by cramps, and captain Ricky Ponting kept the good work going as the pair put on 52 runs for the second wicket which took the Australian total beyond the 100 mark.

Dinesh Mongia accounted for the dismissal of Watson with umpire Steve Bucknor ruling him leg before wicket much to the dismay of the batsman.

Ponting, who had not scored too many runs in the two earlier league matches, made amends by scoring a half century before falling prey to Sreesanth with Tendulkar snapping up the catch at slips.

But Ponting had by that time put the world champions on the road to victory alongwith Damien Martyn who produced some exhilirating strokes during his stay at the crease. Earlier, electing to bat, the Indian batsmen put up an improved performance to score 249 for eight but it was not sufficient in the end.

Sehwag notched up his 24th ODI half century while Rahul Dravid (52) and Mohammad Kaif (30) were the other notable contributors for the home team on a track which appeared a little more conducive for strokeplay.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni provided the sparks in the slog overs with a cameo 28 to leave the Australians an asking rate of five to win the floodlit contest.

India for a change got off to a decent start as the openers Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar did not play too many risky strokes in the initial stages of the innings.

Sehwag was the more belligerent of the two batsmen and singled out the fiery Brett Lee for special treatment clobbering him for two consecutive boundaries in his third over.

Lee was plundered for as many as 27 runs in his first three overs forcing Australian captain Ricky Ponting to introduce the left-handed Nathan Bracken into the attack.

Glenn McGrath, who opened the bowling after being brought on first change in the earlier match, was highly economical at the end relying on his trademark line and length stuff.

McGrath provided the breakthrough by claiming the prized scalp of Tendulkar (10) with a controlled outgoing delivery. The star batsman got a nick and Adam Gilchrist latched on to a smart catch to complete his 400th one-day dismissal. After persisting with Irfan Pathan in the number three slot for a number of matches, the Indian team management did not take any chance in this crucial game and sent in Dinesh Mongia in that position.

The left handed Mongia, playing his first match in the high-profile tournament, made his intentions clear pulling McGrath to the fence to open his account in style.

The run rate dropped slightly as both the Aussie pacemen Bracken and Mitchell Johnson bowled tidy spells in the third power play but Sehwag went into the assault mode by spanking Johnson for two consecutive boundaries.

The second wicket pair added 43 runs before Shane Watson got rid of Mongia whoedged an outside the off stump delivery to Damien Martyn in the slips. His knock of 18 came off 30 balls and contained three hits to the fence.

Captain Dravid, appearing in his 300th one-day international, immediately got into the act by hammering two boundaries off Brett Lee who seemed to struggle for rhythm on a bouncy track.

The home team suffered a big jolt in the 29th ver when Sehwag's innings came to an end, trapped in front of the wicket with Johnson accounting for the important scalp.

How they were out

India

Sachin Tendulkar c Gilchrist b McGrath 10 (46 for 1)
Nicked one perfectly pitched in the corridor

Dinesh Mongia c Hussey b Watson 18 (89 for 2)
Slightly short and angling away, guided to slip

Virender Sehwag lbw 65 (126 for 3)
Superb delivery which pitched on middle and straightened

Rahul Dravid c Clarke b Lee 52 (186 for 4)
Chipped to short midwicket

Mohammad Kaif b Lee 30 (197 for 5)
Inside-edged a drive on to his stump

Suresh Raina c Watson b Bracken 13 (224 for 6)
Full toss slogged to long-on

Irfan Pathan c Martyn b McGrath 10 (239 for 7)
Cross-batted hoick to deep midwicket

Mahendra Singh Dhoni lbw b Bracken 28 (249 for 8)
Shocking decision by umpire Bowden as Dhoni got a huge inside-edge

Australia

Adam Gilchrist c Raina b Sreesanth 23 (61 for 1)
Slashed hard but straight to point

Watson lbw b Mongia 50 (111 for 2)
Hit on the back pad, but ball would have spun past off

Ricky Ponting c Tendulkar b Sreesanth 58 (185 for 3)
Superb catch diving low to his left at slip

Andrew Symonds b Pathan 20 (230 for 4)
Made room to carve through the off side and missed

RESULT - AUSTRALIA WON BY 6 WICKETS WITH 26 BALLS TO SPARE

MAN OF THE MATCH - DAMIEN MARTYN (73*)

rahul_parab2006 · Nov 2, 2006

ICC CHAMPONS TROPHY, MATCH 19 (SEMI-FINAL 1)

Australia v New Zealand, 1st semi-final, PCA Stadium, Mohali
November 1, 2006

Australia 240 for 9 (Ponting 58, Symonds 58, Mills 4-38) beat New Zealand 206 (Vettori 79, Oram 43, McGrath 3-22) by 34 runs

Australia storm into final

Mohali: Australia romped into the final of the Champions Trophy for the first time with a hard-fought 34-run victory over a spirited New Zealand who came back from the dead to very nearly scuttle the champion team's title hunt.

After recovering from early jolts to post a respectable 240 for nine, the world champions fluctuated from the sublime to the ordinary before stopping the Kiwis at 206 with four overs to spare in what turned out to be a relatively close contest under lights at the PCA stadium.

The Aussies, who have never won the Champions Trophy, looked like pocketing the match within 25 overs but allowed things to drift a little as their trans-Tasman rivals staged a spirited fight back through a defiant 103-run partnership between Jacob Oram (43) and Daniel Vettori (79).

Pace spearhead Glenn McGrath (3/22) did the bulk of the damage to leave the Kiwis gasping at 35 for six before Vettori and Oram not only performed the salvage job but took the chase tantalisingly close in the end.

Australia will now take on the winner of the second semi-final between South Africa and title holders West Indies in the final to be held in Mumbai on November 5.

Captain Ricky Ponting (58) and Andrew Symonds (58) were the top scorers for Australia while a useful knock by Michael Hussey (35) steered the team out of early trouble after a dramatic over by Kyle Mills saw them lose both their openers in the space of three deliveries.

Requiring to score at less than five runs an over, the New Zealand openers played out the first five overs without any damage but the innings disintegrated completely after the fall of Lou Vincent. McGrath showed he had lost none of his wicket-taking abilities as he bowled a probing line outside the off stump to trouble all the Kiwis batsmen on a sporting track.
The lanky paceman started the Kiwi slide by first scalping Vincent with a gem of a delivery with Ponting taking the catch at second slip.

Brett Lee, who also looked equally devastating at the other end, accounted for Nathan Astle (0) to leave New Zealand tottering at 20 for two.

Hamish Marshall (5) and Peter Fulton (2) also fell victims to the experienced McGrath but it was the dismissal of captain Stephen Fleming (15) which was the biggest blow for the Kiwis.

Fleming edged an outgoing delivery off Nathan Bracken to Ponting at second slip and from then on, it was only a matter of time before the innings folded up.

Oram and Vettori delayed the end for some time with a 103-run partnership which helped New Zealand to surpass their lowest ODI total of 64.

Earlier, put in to bat, the Australian innings plunged into trouble straightaway with Mills snaring up the two openers Adam Gilchrist (3) and Shane Watson (0) in his second over to reduce the world champions to a precarious four for two.

Both Mills and Bond extracted a lot of movement in the early overs to trouble the batsmen with speed and swing. Watson, who struck a half century in the crucial game against India on Sunday, was the first to return to the pavilion when he mistimed his pull and offered a catch to Peter Fulton at the mid off region.

One ball later, Mills got rid of the dangerous Gilchrist who also mistimed his stroke to be caught at squareleg by Oram.

Both captain Ponting and the in-form Martyn, who joined forces after the early setbacks, faced a torrid time in negotiating the charged up Kiwi pacemen who worked up a good pace to beat the batsmen often.

The two experienced batsmen however saw through that spell and gradually got their eye in. They mixed caution with aggression to slowly bail the team out of the early mess.

After Mills and Bond had gone through their opening spells, Ponting opened up and executed some glorious shots on both sides of the wicket while Martyn was also severe on the loose deliveries.

The experienced duo stitched 66 runs for the third wicket before left arm spinner Daniel Vettori brought about Martyn's downfall, trapping the batsman leg before to leave Australia on 70 for three. Martyn's 54-ball knock of 26 contained five hits to the boundary. Mills was brought into the attack for his second spell and the move paid immediate dividends as he removed Ponting shortly after he had notched up his 55th ODI half century. His 58 came off 80 balls and was studded with nine boundaries.

Hussey and Symonds then got a partnership going to ensure that there were no further setbacks.

The lanky Symonds was the more aggressive of the two batsmen by playing some flourishing shots and singled out Vettori for special treatment, lifting him for a mighty six.

The two brought about the 50-run partnership in just 47 balls to give some impetus to the innings in the later stages of the floodlit contest.

The 65-run partnership however came to an end soon after when Hussey (35) offered a simple catch to Hamish Marshall at the point region.

How they were out

Australia

Shane Watson c Fulton b Mills 0 (3 for 1)
Fetched one from outside off and top-edged a pull to mid-off

Adam Gilchrist c Oram b Mills 3 (4 for 2)
Lobbed a flick to square leg

Damien Martyn lbw b Vettori 26 (70 for 3)
Missed a sweep and trapped plumb in front

Ricky Ponting c Vettori b Mills 58 (123 for 4)
Miscued a pull to mid-on

Michael Hussey c Marshall b Franklin 35 (188 for 5)
Short ball cut straight to point

Andrew Symonds b Bond 58 (211 for 6)
Shuffled too far across; leg stump pushed back

Michael Clarke c Vettori b Mills 14 (220 for 7)
Slogged to third man

Brett Lee b Bond 5 (223 for 8)
Made room to flay and missed

Mitchell Johnson run out 3 (236 for 9)
Direct hit by the bowler at the non-striker's end

New Zealand

Lou Vincent c Ponting b McGrath 1 (16 for 1)
In the corridor, edged to second slip

Nathan Astle b Lee 0 (20 for 2)
Perfect indipper, crashed between bat and pad into middle stump

Hamish Marshall c Gilchrist b McGrath 5 (30 for 3)
Tried to cut, and edged to the keeper

Stephen Fleming c Ponting b Bracken 15 (30 for 4)
Full delivery swinging away, edged to second slip

Peter Fulton b McGrath 2 (34 for 5)
Shouldered arms to a straight ball on off stump

Brendon McCullum c Martyn b Bracken 1 (35 for 6)
Inside-edged a flick to mid-on

Jacob Oram st Gilchrist b Symonds 43 (138 for 7)
Beaten by the turn, and smartly stumped

Daniel Vettori b Johnson 79 (180 for 9)
Bowled off the pads as he moved away to leg

Kyle Mills c Gilchrist b Lee 21 (206 all out)
Top-edged a slash to the wicketkeeper

RESULT - AUSTRALIA WON BY 34 RUNS

MAN OF THE MATCH - GLENN McGRATH (3/22)

rahul_parab2006 · Nov 3, 2006

ICC CHAMPIONS TROPHY, MATCH 20 (SEMI-FINAL 2)

West Indies v South Africa, 2nd Semi-final, Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur
November 2, 2006

West Indies 262 for 4 (Gayle 133*) beat South Africa 258 for 8 (Gibbs 77) by 6 wickets

Gayle storm takes defending champions to finals

Jaipur: Holders West Indies rode on the sheer brilliance of centurion Chris Gayle to pull off an upset six-wicket win over South Africa and stride into the final of the ICC Champions Trophy cricket tournament here.

West Indies, who registered their third semi-final victory over the South Africans after wins in the 1998 and 2004 editions, will now meet world champions Australia in the title clash in Mumbai on November 5.

The Caribbeans owed their victory to Gayle who made a mockery of the seemingly competitive target with his breathtaking display of aggressive batting during his unbeaten knock of 133 that came off just 135 balls and contained 17 fours and three sixes.

It was only apt that Gayle hit the winning runs, a powerful four off Robin Peterson, to bring cheers in the West Indies dressing room.

The 27-year-old opener in fact thrashed the daylights out of all the other South African bowlers as West Indies overhauled the South African total of 258 for 8 with as many as six overs to spare in a completely one-sided contest at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium.

Gayle, playing his 150th ODI, also stitched the highest partnernship of the tournament so far with Shivnarine Chanderpaul of 154 runs before the latter retired hurt with leg cramps on 57.

Also making merry on the sporting, easy-paced track were Ramnaresh Sarwan who chipped in with a run a ball 27, rendering the South African attack stingless. The pyrotechnics of the cavalier West Indies' batsmen put to shade the effort of Herschelle Gibbs (77) who shrugged off a form slump and controversy over his first appearance in India in six years owing to match-fixing related allegations and put on 92 runs for the fourth wicket with AB de Villiers (46), the only other notable contributor to the total.

West Indies were off to a flier with the in-form Gayle and Chanderpaul unleashing a flurry of boundaries to dent the confidence of the South African new-ball bowlers who had enjoyed early success in the previous two matches.

In fact, Makhaya Ntini had to be forced off the attack after just three overs which cost a whopping 23 runs and the usually accurate Shaun Pollock also ended up conceding 34 runs in his first spell of five overs.

Gayle, who completed 1000 runs in 2006 when he reached 10, hoisted Pollock over long off for a huge six as West Indies raced to 76 runs in 10 overs.

Chanderpaul on the other end was no less aggressive, his improvised six off Andre Nel to fine leg boundary underlining the dominance of the West Indies' batsmen.

Frustrated by the failure of his fast bowlers to effect a breakthrough, skipper Graeme Smith introduced himself into the attack but only to be smashed for two fours on the trot by Gayle who raced to his 29th ODI 50 off just 48 balls with help of seven fours and a six.

Jacques Kallis was also meted out similar treatment as he was smashed over the midwicket fence and then hit by a four by Gayle off the first and second balls of the 18th over, the scoreboard reading 116 for no loss.

Chanderpaul also duly completed his 50, the 42nd of his career, with the help of four fours and a six and off 57 balls before retiring hurt due to leg cramps on 57.

Sarwan wasted no time in taking the baton from Chanderpaul and struck six fours before being trapped leg before by Ntini, the first success for the hapless South African bowlers.

Gayle continued to bat with flourish and ensured he hit the winning runs.

Earlier, the 32-year-old Gibbs stitched a crucial partnership off 108 balls with de Villiers to put the innings back on track after they had lost their first three wickets with 96 runs on the board.

With rest of the South African batsmen failing to make much of a mark despite the largely lacklustre West Indies attack, credit should go to Gibbs and de Villiers for ensuring a fighting total was put on the board.

Gibbs, touring India for the first time after his name figured in the match fixing scandal of 2000, anchored the innings for most part before being dismissed in the last over by Dwayne Bravo (2/41). His 90-ball knock contained four fours and a six.

How they were out

South Africa

Graeme Smith b Taylor 19 (27 for 1)
Beaten by one which nipped back and bowled off the pads

Jacques Kallis c Sarwan b Bravo 16 (65 for 2)
Top-edged a heave to third man

Loots Bosman c Gayle b Samuels 39 (96 for 3)
Flicked too early, leading edge to cover

AB de Villiers run out (Lara) 46 (188 for 4)
Direct hit from short mid-on

Justin Kemp b Bradshaw 3 (195 for 5)
Played down the wrong line and inside-edged on to his stumps

Mark Boucher c Sarwan b Samuels 16 (219 for 6)
Good catch running backwards from extra cover to snaffle a mistimed slog

Shaun Pollock b Taylor 4 (227 for 7)
Made room and missed a straight ball

Herschelle Gibbs c Lara b Bravo 77 (256 for 8)
Mistimed one to short midwicket

West Indies

Ramnaresh Sarwan lbw b Ntini 27 (196 for 1)
Trapped in front by a full delivery angling towards the pads

Dwayne Bravo run out (Smith) 15 (226 for 2)
Beaten by the turn, ball went off the pad to slip, who threw down the stumps

Brian Lara c & b Smith 9 (243 for 3)
Loose drive back to the bowler

Runako Morton c de Villiers b Peterson 0 (244 for 4)
Mistimed a slog to short midwicket

RESULT - WEST INDIES WON BY 6 WICKETS WITH 6 OWERS TO SPARE

MAN OF THE MATCH - CHRIS GAYLE (133*)

rahul_parab2006 · Nov 6, 2006

ICC CHAMPONS TROPHY, MATCH 21 (FINAL)

West Indies v Australia, Brabourne Stadium, CCI, Mumbai
November 5, 2006

Australia 116 for 2 in 28.1 overs (Watson 57*, Martyn 47*) beat West Indies 138 (Gayle 37, Bracken 3-22) by the Duckworth-Lewis method

Australia clinch Champions Trophy for first time

Mumbai: Australia reaffirmed their status as the undisputed champions in world cricket by breaking the Champions Trophy jinx with an emphatic eight-wicket victory over title holders West Indies in a rain-marred summit showdown here.

The Australians skittled out the Caribbeans for a paltry 138 in just 30.4 overs before overhauling the revised target of 116 with 6.5 overs to spare to clinch the only silverware that had eluded them till now.

The world champions gave an awesome exhibition of their skills as they exploited the difficult track at the Brabourne stadium to the hilt to shatter the Caribbean hopes of retaining the title in a low-scoring floodlit tussle.

The lanky Nathan Bracken (3/22) was the pick of the Australian bowlers while the experienced Glenn McGrath and Shane Watson chipped in with two wickets each to rip through the West Indies batting which caved in meekly after a fine start by the in-from Chris Gayle (37) and Shivnarine Chanderpaul (27).

The world champions were 45 for two when a thunderstorm interrupted the game for two and a quarter hours, resulting in the target being revised to 116 in 35 overs.

Opener Shane Watson (57 not out) and Damien Martyn (47 not out) did not take too many risks as they went about collecting the runs with ease to steer the team to a memorable title triumph.

Watson brought about the winning run by taking a single off Ramnaresh Sarwan, triggering off wild celebrations in the Australian dressing room.

Australia's run-chase was halted after ten overs by sharp thundershowers that left the ground in a puddle and play commenced after two hours and 15 minutes. The batsmen out in the Australian innings before the rains fell were opener Adam Gilchrist (2) and skipper Ricky Ponting for a duck, the wickets being shared by speedsters Jerome Taylor and Ian Bradshaw, which left the world champions at a difficult 13 for two.

Watson and Martyn put on 103 for the unbroken third wicket to take Australia easily to the target.

They thus emerged deserving winners of the world's second-most important one-day tournament and pocketed the winners' purse of USD 300,000 while the West Indies took home USD 125,000.

This was the only major silverware missing from the two-time World Cup winners' overflowing cupboard and they added it in style by overwhelming the West Indies, who lifted the crown unexpectedly in the last edition held in England.

Watson was named the man of the match while West Indian opener Chris Gayle was declared the man of the tournament.

But the final, which promised a lot, proved to be a damp squib after it looked an encore was on the cards when West Indies commenced the match on a rousing note after their captain Brian Lara won the toss and elected to bat.

The West Indies innings got off to a rousing start with Gayle and Chanderpaul smashing the Australian new ball bowlers all over the park. The left-handed Gayle bludgeoned the formidable Aussie pace attack, in particular the great Glenn McGrath, with total disdain in his 27-ball 37, that included two huge sixes and four fours, before Nathan Bracken castled him with a splendid ball to bring some sense of parity to the proceedings.

Gayle appeared to put the world champions on the ropes with his cameo knock after West Indies opted to bat first on winning the toss on a very humid afternoon.

But once the 27-year-old batsman was dismissed in the 10th over when the score was 80, the wily Australian bowlers struck blows at regular intervals as the West Indian middle order collapsed in a heap. The last nine wickets fell for the addition of only 89 runs in 25 overs.

After an opening partnership of 49 in only 5.1 overs, the remaining wickets fell like a pack of cards, leaving almost 20 overs unutilised.

Australia would need to score at just 2.78 runs an over on a good batting surface to win the tournament for the first time.

The total was West Indies' seventh lowest in their clashes with Australia, but when the inning began in a whirlwind fashion, none would have anticipated what was in store.

It was the left-handed Bracken again who applied the brakes by sending back one-down Ramnaresh Sarwan at 65 when the batsman played a leg-side flick shot too early and the ball hit the back of the bat before ballooning to mid on fielder Brad Hogg. Sarwan made 7. Gayle, who was the more subdued partner in his stand with Chanderpaul, started to belt the ball with utter contempt and was particularly severe on McGrath, coming in as first change for Lee who was taken off the attack after three overs.

Gayle started with a splendidly timed flick shot for a six over mid-wicket off the veteran fast bowler. He then took McGrath to the rafters in the bowler's second over with another six off a pull shot over mid wicket followed by a slap shot to mid on and a glorious off drive.

After taking 14 off McGrath, Gayle was dismissed by Bracken with a beautiful ball that swung away just a bit and crashed on to the stumps as the batsman lunged forward defensively.

This was the crucial breakthrough for Australia as Gayle, with three centuries to his credit in the tournament including an unbeaten 133 that flattened South Africa in the semifinal at Jaipur, looked all set to put on a repeat display and take the final away with his bat.

Things became quieter after the departure of the power-hitter. McGrath was back to dominating the batsmen with his impeccable line and length against new batsmen Dwayne Bravo and West Indies skipper Brian Lara, who commenced the innings needing only 54 runs to become the fifth player in the game to cross 10,000 runs in the limited over form of the game.

How they were out

West Indies

Shivnarine Chanderpaul b Bracken 27 (49 for 1)
Chopped on while going for the expansive cut

Ramnaresh Sarwan c Hogg b Bracken 7 (65 for 2)
Too early into the shot, leading edge to mid-on

Chris Gayle b Bracken 37 (80 for 3)
Squared up by a beautiful delivery that pitched on middle and moved away to take off stump

Brian Lara c Gilchrist b McGrath 2 (88 for 4)
Shade of away movement, edge taken brilliantly low to the left

Runako Morton c Gilchrist b McGrath 2 (94 for 5)
Played well away from the body, undone by some away movement

Marlon Samuels c Ponting b Watson 7 (113 for 6)
Full delivery on the legs, clipped straight to midwicket

Carlton Baugh lbw Watson 9 (125 for 7)
Trapped in front while shuffling across

Dwayne Bravo lbw Hogg 21 (125 for 8)
Couldn't read the one that came in with the arm. Offered no shot

Ian Bradshaw b Lee 7 (136 for 9)
Inside-edged a full delivery onto the stumps

Corey Collymore run out (Symonds) 0 (138 all out)
Sent back while attempting a single, no mistake with the throw from short midwicket

Australia

Adam Gilchrist c Gayle b Bradshaw 2 (12 for 1)
Indecisive dart at one outside off stump, edged to slip

Ricky Ponting lbw Taylor 0 (13 for 2)
Walked across, and plumb in front to a full delivery

RESULT - AUSTRALIA WON BY 8 WICKETS WITH 6.5 OWERS TO SPARE BY DUCKWORTH-LUIS [D/L] METHOD

MAN OF THE MATCH - SHANE WATSON (57* & 2/11)

:SugarwareZ-191:

MAN OF THE TOURNAMENT -

CHRIS GAYLE (WEST INDIES)

BATTING :-
MATCHES - 8
INNINGS - 8
RUNS - 474
BATTING AVERAGE - 79.00
HIGHEST SCORE - 133*
STRIKE RATE - 92.94
NOT OUTS - 2
100'S - 3
50'S - 0

BOWLING :-
MATCHES - 8
WICKETS - 8
OWERS - 46.1
MAIDENS - 2
RUNS - 185
BOWLING AVERAGE - 23.12
STRIKE RATE - 34.6
BEST BOWLING - 3/3
ECONOMY RATE - 4.00

FIELDING :-
CATCHES - 4
STUMPINGS - 0

djdelson · Nov 6, 2006

man ...west indies played welll durin d tournament but d aussies were jus 2 much ....

ICC CHAMPIONS TROPHY 2006 - UPDATE

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Rahul Parab

rahul_parab2006

Rahul Parab

rahul_parab2006

Rahul Parab

djdelson

New member