India win with bonus point, keep tri-series finals door open

Hobart: Chasing a stiff target of 321 in 40 overs to take the bonus point, India, powered by an outstanding century from Virat Kohli pulled off an incredible win at the Bellerive Oval on Tuesday to keep alive their hopes of making the CB Series finals.
Where their bowling had been decidedly lackluster in allowing Sri Lanka to post 320 with centuries to Tillakaratne Dilshan and Kumar Sangakkara, India’s batting was outstanding. Leading the way was Kohli with an unbeaten 133 off 86 balls – his ninth ODI century – and Gautam Gambhir, whose 64-ball 63 helped India raise 115 for the third wicket. When Gambhir was run out in the 28th over India were 120 runs away from their target, but up stepped Suresh Raina with his most significant contribution all series.

The night, however, belonged to Kohli who timed his innings to perfection. After pacing himself early on, through smart singles and brisk running, Kohli teed off with an array of shots that found the boundary with alarming regularity. His fifty took 44 balls but his next 83 needed just 42 balls as Kohli stunned Sri Lanka with a brilliant innings full of dazzling shots. He saved his best for the woeful Lasith Malinga, who he hit for 44 runs in 15 deliveries. Consecutive boundaries off Malinga in the 37th over sealed the most incredible of chases, meaning India will now await keenly the result of Australia’s clash with Sri Lanka on Friday. Should Australia win, they will face India in the best-of-three finals.
When they came out to bat after a disappointing display, the challenge ahead was monumental. But somehow the two out of form openers, Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar, rallied to give the team a stand of 54 in 38 balls. This despite a power failure at Bellerive Oval that took out one of the floodlight towers. Sehwag sped to 30 off 16 balls before miscuing a pull shot to mid-on, after which Tendulkar kept the tempo up with a stroke-filled 39 off 30 balls. His dismissal, out lbw walking across his stumps to Malinga in the 10th over, ushered in the partnership of the match.

Gambhir and Kohli worked the ball into the gaps expertly and even when boundaries weren’t available – India once played out 35 balls without a four - they ensured the asking rate didn’t escalate to unmanageable levels with deft placement and harried running between the wickets.
Gambhir worked away at the gaps on the leg side with trademark whips, offsetting the bowlers by shuffling around his crease. Kohli too preferred the leg side, but whenever the ball was pitched short he slapped it into the off-side gaps. The pair ticked along purposefully to reach their respective half-centuries by the mid-point of India’s innings.
When Gambhir was caught short of his crease coming back for the second, Sri Lanka were in with an opportunity. Raina had been a failure all series, and there were questions raised as to why MS Dhoni had not promoted himself. But Raina proved an able ally to Kohli, whipping away anything on the pads – and there was plenty – to give his partner confidence. One off-drive off Nuwan Kulasekara was stunning, and when Raina clipped Thissara Perera for six the momentum had truly been snatched from Sri Lanka.

Kohli, at the other end, was unstoppable. He took three consecutive boundaries off Kulasekara in the 31st over to reduce the target to 73 in nine overs, but was at his best against Malinga in the 35th over. In six deliveries, Kohli slammed 24 runs: a flick past midwicket for two brought him a century off 76 balls, the next ball was flicked for six, a lofted drive over extra-cover brought four, and the next three balls disappeared to the deep square leg fence as Malinga veered onto the pads.
Few could have envisioned this at the half-way mark of the match, after Sri Lanka posted a big total. Needing to keep Sri Lanka to an attainable total, India’s bowlers instead fed with them with loose deliveries and two former captains, Dilshan and Sangakkara, replied with superb centuries.
Dilshan overcame some early jitters to a career-best 160 not out off 165 balls, while Sangakkara shrugged off an indifferent run with 105 off 87 balls. The pair joined forces in the 12th over after Mahela Jayawardene (22) steered Ravindra Jadeja to Sehwag at slip, and immediately set into their paces.

Taking full toll of an insipid bowling performance, Dilshan and Sangakkara picked the gaps and ran brilliantly between the wickets. They made sure the bad balls were hammered away, with Dilshan taking a liking to Umesh Yadav who went for 56 in eight overs. With Jadeja and R Ashwin dropping short too often, the Sri Lankan pair was able to rock back and slice or pull the ball.
Dilshan raised three figures in the 41st over, and Sangakkara followed with his century off 84 balls. He was out soon after, bowled by Praveen Kumar, and even a brief collapse didn’t reflect much on the scorecard as Dilshan stuck around to the end.
Unfortunately for Sri Lanka, it wasn’t to be their day. Having batted so well, their bowlers turned in a terrible performance and the fielders fumbled and allowed too many boundaries. Malinga was the worst hit, conceding 96 runs in 7.4 overs, and the manner in which he was dismantled highlighted the desire burning inside India’s batsmen.



3rd T20: England beat Pakistan to clinch series

Abu Dhabi: England bowlers kept their nerves in the final overs to pull off a sensational five-run win over Pakistan in the third and final Twenty20 on Monday to take the series 2-1.
Set 130 to win Pakistan were going along nicely at 107/4 with 23 needed off the last three overs and 17 off the remaining two but Stuart Broad and Jade Dernbach did not lose courage and pulled off the win in the final over.
Broad dismissed a well set Umar Akmal (22) off the third ball of the penultimate over and gave away just four runs, leaving Jade Dernbach to defend 13 in the last, which he successfully did, removing Misbah-ul Haq (28) off the final delivery.
Dernbach finished with 2-24 and most importantly gave World Twenty20 champions an unexpected win.
Pakistan won the first match by eight runs while England won the second by 38 runs - both played in Dubai.

Pakistan had lost opener Mohammad Hafeez for a second nought of the series but Awais Zia (23) and Shafiq added 40 for the second wickets before Zia was trapped leg-before by Graeme Swann and Shafiq was run out.
Captain Misbah and Umar Akmal added 37 for the fourth wickets and when it looked as if that would help Pakistan cross the line England pulled back with remarkable resilience.
With 13 needed off the final over Shahid Afridi took a couple before he was run out while taking a second off the next. The next three balls produced singles and a wide and with six needed off the final ball, Misbah was bowled.
Earlier offspinner Saeed Ajmal finished with 4/23 - his third four wicket haul in the shortest form of the game - to restrict England to a modest 129/6 after they won the toss and batted.
Ajmal, who destroyed England in the preceding three-Test series with 24 wickets to help Pakistan to a 3-0 rout, put the brakes on his rival's progress.

Opener Kevin Pietersen top scored with 62 not out, keeping one end intact during his 52-ball knock for his seventh T20 fifty. He hit six boundaries and a six off the last ball of the innings.
Ajmal provided Pakistan with the breakthrough after England raced to 29 by the fifth over, dismissing Craig Kieswetter (17) off a lofted shot at long-on where Shoaib Malik took the catch.
Kieswetter had hit a four and six off paceman Umar Gul in the third over.
Pakistan had Ravi Bopara caught behind off paceman Aizaz Cheema for one and Eoin Morgan run out for nine before Ajmal accounted for Jonny Bairstow (three), Jos Butler (seven) and Samit Patel (16).
The match ended England's long tour of the United Arab Emirates where they lost the Tests but won the one-day series 4-0.



87-run defeat pushes India to the brink

Sydney: India's hopes of making it to the CB Series final are hanging by a thread after they suffered another massive defeat – by 87 runs – at the hands of Australia at the SCG on Sunday.
With four losses in seven games, India are at the bottom of the points table and they will not only have to win Tuesday’s encounter against Sri Lanka with a bonus point but also have to wait for the result of the last league match between Australia and Sri Lanka, which the latter should lose if India are to seal their progression.
It was another inexplicable batting display by India as they failed to chase down an Australian total of 253. None of their famed batsmen could get going as their innings finished at 165 in 39.3 overs. Australia, on the other hand, have qualified for the finals following the win.

As has been the case throughout the summer, Ben Hilfenhaus provided Australia the breakthrough by taking a return catch of Virender Sehwag (5), whose poor form with the bat continued. Sachin Tendulkar played some pretty shots before he fell prey to a moment of madness. The veteran batsman responded to a quick call for a single by Gautam Gambhir (23) but was well short of his crease at the striker's end and was run out for 14. Tendulkar showed his dismay as Brett Lee seemed to have obstructed his way by extending his follow through, but per the rules he had to walk back to the pavilion.
India's middle order then came a cropper. First it was Virat Kohli (21) who failed to keep his flick down and was caught at midwicket by Daniel Christian. Later it was Gambhir, who ended his painful 48-ball stay at the crease by playing on an away going delivery from Clint McKay. Suresh Raina and Ravindra Jadeja justified critics questioning their stay in the Indian playing XI. Both scored eight runs each before leaving India in a deep lurch.

MS Dhoni had consumed 49 balls for his 14 before being trapped in front by Hilfenhaus. R Ashwin (26) and Irfan Pathan (22) hit a few lusty blows, but it was always going to be well short of what was required.
Earlier, the Indian bowlers had done well to restrict Australia to 253 after they had been well placed to reach 300. Umesh Yadav, who gave away 20 runs in his first two overs, came back strongly in his second spell to take the important wickets of Matthew Wade (56) and David Hussey (54), who were both caught behind. The wicket of Wade came at the right time for the Indians as he and Hussey were taking the game away from them with a partnership of 94.
Praveen Kumar made a good return to the side, providing two early breakthroughs. First he had the stand-in Australian skipper Shane Watson (1) caught at mid-on, and followed it up with the wicket of an in-form Peter Forrest (7).

The fall of wickets at the other end hardly affected David Warner, who continued batting in his aggressive style. He punished the Indian bowlers and brought up the Australian 100, along with David Hussey who joined Warner after the wicket of his brother Michael (10).
The dismissal of Warner gave India an opening but the magnificent stand for the fifth wicket between David Hussey and Wade didn't allow them to claw their way back. After an injury to Irfan, who was involved in a terrible collision with Raina while trying to take Warner's catch, Dhoni opted for an unusual choice of Sehwag's offspin in death overs.
Dhoni's gamble paid off until the 50th over when he went for 13 runs. In spite of that, he was the most successful Indian bowler, taking three wickets for 43.



Eng beat Pak in 2nd T20 to level series 1-1

Dubai: Jonny Bairstow hit a maiden half-century and paceman Steven Finn took three wickets to guide England to a comfortable 38-run win in the second Twenty20 international against Pakistan on Saturday.
Bairstow's 60 off 46 balls, studded with two sixes and five boundaries, helped England recover from a precarious 79-4 to post a challenging 150-7 before Finn claimed 3-30 to bowl Pakistan out for 112 in 18.2 overs at Dubai Stadium.
England's victory levelled the Twenty20 series and set up an intriguing third and final match in Abu Dhabi on Monday.
Pakistan were off to a disastrous start as Finn had Mohammad Hafeez (nought) caught off the second ball of the innings and then removed a threatening Umar Akmal (19 off 12).
Pakistan were dealt further crucial blows when Awais Zia (six), Asad Shafiq (one) and Shoaib Malik (12) were out, leaving half the side back in the pavilion for just 50.

Shahid Afridi (25) lifted the tempo with two boundaries and a six off Samit Patel, taking 17 off the left-arm spinner's 12th over, but England hit back by dismissing Misbah-ul Haq (13) at the other end.
Hammad Azam (21 off 15 balls) hit a four and a six off Ravi Bopara as Pakistan accumulated 11 off the 14th over and then hit two boundaries off skipper Stuart Broad to reduce the target to 54 off the last five.
But Bopara dismissed Azam to once more peg Pakistan back at 98-7 and the task of getting 39 in the last two overs proved too much. Broad and Graeme Swann took two wickets apiece.
"We talked about the comeback and I think the guys showed a lot of character," said Broad. "To set 151 I think we were well set to win and then the bowlers did a wonderful job."
Pakistan captain Misbah blamed poor batting by his teammates.

"I think 151 was a gettable target because the wicket had nothing for the bowlers," said Misbah. "But we had a very poor start and then lost wickets regularly and you don't win matches after that."
Earlier Bairstow made an unbeaten 60 off 46 balls, studded with five boundaries and two sixes, to help England recover after Broad won the toss and opted to bat.
Bairstow, who made his debut last year, improved on his unbeaten 22 he made during England's eight-run defeat in the first match on Thursday, opened up with a four off Afridi and hit a six in the leg-spinner's next to lift the scoring rate.
Bairstow added 39 for the fifth wicket with Patel (13) and then hit Umar Gul for a six before the bowler finished with 2-31.
England got off to a flying start, making 35 by the fifth over before Pakistan hit back by dismissing Kevin Pietersen (17), Bopara (one) and Eoin Morgan (nine) in the space of 14 runs.
Bairstow and opener Craig Kieswetter (31) added 30 for the fourth wicket as Pakistan bowled well in the middle overs.



De Villiers ton powers SA to win over NZ

Wellington: South Africa captain A.B. de Villiers made 106 not out to steer his side to a comfortable six-wicket win over New Zealand in Saturday's opening one-day international.
De Villiers lifted South Africa after it had slumped to 17-2 and 35-3 in reply to New Zealand's moderate total of 253-9, and guided the visitors to victory with 28 balls to spare.
The skipper scored his 106 off the exact same number of balls. He shared a 90-run fourth wicket partnership with J.P. Duminy who overcame a difficult beginning to make 46 from 74 balls, and the pair stemmed the tide for South Africa after the loss of Hashim Amla for 8, Graeme Smith for 9 and Jacques Kallis for 13.
South Africa was 125-3 when Duminy was out and de Villiers then settled into a steady partnership with Far du Plessis which kept the visitors well ahead of the required run rate.
Du Plessis (66 from 49 balls) blasted nine fours and one six in an innings which forced New Zealand onto the defensive, reaching his half century with a six off Doug Bracewell immediately after de Villiers had reached his century.

While du Plessis went for the long ball, de Villiers aimed to accumulate steadily, hitting only three fours and four sixes while 51 of his runs came from singles. He continually found gaps in the New Zealand field, which left his Black Caps opposite Brendon McCullum with few options to halt the flow of runs.
"A solid performance by the boys," de Villiers said. "We did really well in the field to restrict them to 250-odd.
"They had a couple of partnerships going but they didn't extend it and that's where we won the game. We kept picking up wickets at the right times."
De Villliers said Duminy's steadying knock was vital, laying the foundation for the captain and du Plessis to chase down the runs.
"J.P. struggled a bit early on. He didn't hit the ball as sweetly as he wanted to but he played a vital knock to extend the innings and we didn't lose wickets at the wrong times.

"We left it late enough for Faf to come in and play an impact innings. He did extremely well, went better than a run a ball and supported me really well."
Earlier, McCullum took advantage of second and third chances to top score with 56 in his team's total of 253-9 from 50 overs.
McCullum was twice given out, including to the first ball of his innings, and twice had those decisions reversed by replays, allowing him to play a key role in New Zealand's low-key batting effort.
Coming in at first drop, McCullum was judged lbw first ball when he played no shot to a delivery from Lonwalu Tsotsobe (2-41) and was struck on the pad. He challenged the decision and television replays showed the ball bouncing over the stumps.
McCullum had moved on to 3 and New Zealand was 43-1 when he was given out caught by de Villiers, off the bowling of left-arm spinner Robin Peterson. McCullum called for the review and again replays proved he was not out.

McCullum went on to reach his 21st half century in one-day internationals from 62 balls and with two fours and two sixes. He put on 79 for New Zealand's third wicket with Kane Williamson before being caught by Peterson off the bowling of Kallis in the 30th over when New Zealand was 137-3.
Williamson (55) then became New Zealand most effective run-gatherer, givinge some impetus to an innings which was otherwise restricted by accurate and varied South African bowling.
He reached his half century from 59 balls with four four before fallingin the 41st over when New Zealand was 194-5.
"I thought 250 was competitive but we'd have to bowl exceptionally well and looking back in hindsight one of us needed to go on and get a hundred as AB did," McCullum said.
"It was a little bit short with the bat, probably. We had the foundation to be able to launch later on and get that 270-280 total and if we'd got that, taking those first three wickets in a hurry we were more than competitive."



Sri Lanka beat Australia by 3 wickets

Hobart: Mahela Jayawardene hit an aggressive half century to help set up Sri Lanka's thrilling three-wicket win over Australia in a limited-overs tri-series match on Friday.
Man of the match Jayawardene hit six boundaries and a six to make 85 off 81 balls, and Dinesh Chandimal brought up an assured 80 at Bellerive Oval as the Sri Lankans scored 283-7 to overhaul Australia's 280-6 with four balls to spare.
"It was one of those days when most of your shots went to the gaps," Jayawardene said.
Sri Lanka now leads the tri-series with 15 points, one more than Australia, ahead of the finals starting March 4.
"The youngsters are learning a lot from these games," Jayawardene said. "We are top of the table, but we still need to do a lot of hard work."
Sri Lanka's hopes of the win looked in doubt when Angelo Mathews miscued a Dan Christian (3-53) delivery with 14 runs required from nine balls, but Thisara Perera hit a four and a six off the next two balls, and Nuwan Kulasekara hit a four in the last over to seal the victory.

"Unfortunately we couldn't get over the line, but full credit to Sri Lanka," Australia captain Michael Clarke said. "Our execution with the ball wasn't good and the top four could do better."
Sri Lanka opener Tillekeratne Dilshan made just 3 before he was caught by Peter Forrest at deep square-leg off Ben Hilfenhaus in the eighth over.
Kumar Sangakkara edged a Christian ball to David Warner for 22, and Jayawardene was stumped by wicketkeeper Matthew Wade when he was beaten by a Xavier Doherty delivery.
Lahiru Thirimanne added 24 before becoming Christian's second victim, caught by Hilfenhaus.
Chandimal hit seven fours in his knock. He was trapped lbw by Ryan Harris and Farveez Maharoof had added just 5 when he lofted a ball to Harris off Hilfenhaus.
Forrest earlier scored 104 for his maiden international century in what appeared to be a challenging Australian total. His century was the first of the tri-series tournament, which also involves India.

Clarke made a quick-fire 72 off 79 balls in a 152-run, third-wicket stand with Forrest to steady Australia after an early collapse.
Australia made a poor start to the match after winning the toss and opting to bat when opener Matthew Wade was caught by Jayawardene at wide mid-off for 5 in just the second over.
Opening partner Warner was caught behind for 7 shortly after while defending a Maharoof delivery.
Perera claimed an athletic catch on the mid-wicket boundary to give Mathews (2-43) the valuable wicket of Australia captain Clarke.
Forrest had hit 10 boundaries and two sixes when he offered a simple catch to Maharoof off a slower Mathews ball.
Michael Hussey made 21 off 14 balls before being bowled by Lasith Malinga and Christian was stumped by wicketkeeper Sangakkara after he charged up the wicket at a Rangana Herath delivery.
David Hussey was unbeaten on 40 with Brett Lee on 20 at the end of the Australia innings.



Pakistan beat Eng by 8 runs to win 1st T20

Dubai: Umar Gul and Saeed Ajmal bowled superbly at the death to inspire Pakistan to an eight-run victory over England in the first Twenty20 international in Dubai on Thursday.
T20 World champions England looked to be cruising to a target of 145 following a quickfire 33 from the in-form Kevin Pietersen and Ravi Bopara's 39 but man-of-the-match Gul dismissed Jos Buttler and Samit Patel with successive deliveries in the 18th over to give Pakistan hope.
Ajmal then bowled a brilliant 19th over of the innings, conceding just four runs, to put Pakistan on the brink of victory with England needing 18 off the last six balls.
Jonny Bairstow and Graeme Swann were unable find the boundary off Junaid Khan's final over and managed just nine runs.
Pakistan, beaten 4-0 in the 50-over one-day series, would clinch the three-match Twenty20 series with victory in the second game in Dubai on Saturday.

England won the toss but Pakistan raced to 36 runs in the first three overs before losing wickets at regular intervals as the scoring rate slowed.
Captain Misbah-ul-Haq struck a huge six in his unbeaten 26 off 26 balls and Shoaib Malik made 39 but Swann completed figures of three for 13 from four miserly overs to restrict Pakistan to 144 for six.
Pietersen, confident following consecutive centuries in the one-day series, struck 13 runs off the first four balls of the England innings and raced to 33 off 21 deliveries before he was brilliantly caught on the leg-side boundary by Asad Shafiq trying to hit his second six.
Bopara made a fluent 39 to put England in control of their chase but Gul returned to dismiss him, Buttler and Patel in rapid succession.



SA edge NZ by 3 runs to clinch T20 series

Auckland: Marchant de Lange took two wickets in a final over on Wednesday that conceded only three runs as South Africa blunted New Zealand's run chase to win the third Twenty20 international by three runs and take the series 2-1.
New Zealand started the last over needing seven runs with five wickets in hand to overhaul South Africa's total of 165-7, but failed spectacularly to finish on 162-7 in one of its most embarrassing international defeats.
Even a no-ball by De Lange from the last delivery of the innings couldn't save New Zealand. When he overstepped, the New Zealanders needed a four from the last ball to win the match and series. But Tim Southee, newly at the crease and facing his first ball, played and missed outside off stump.
"When the pressure came on we were found wanting," New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum said. "Credit to South Africa, they kept the pressure on us and we didn't respond. Obviously we foundered at the end. That's not the way we want to play cricket. In pressure situations we want to play ruthlessly and to put other teams away, but we didn't do that tonight."

New Zealand had been coasting to victory when Jesse Ryder, recalled to its lineup for the first time since December after overcoming a calf injury, compiled a half-century from 37 balls.
Ryder hit five fours and two sixes after Rob Nicol (33) and Martin Guptill (26) had put on 65 for the first wicket in only six overs.
Brendon McCullum furthered the run chase, scoring 18 from 19 balls to reach 112-3, leaving New Zealand only 53 from the last eight overs.
When Nathan McCullum was out on the second ball of the 16th over, New Zealand was 142-4 and needing 24 runs from 28 balls.
But New Zealand began to lose its way from that point. Ryder was held scoreless for eight consecutive deliveries by tight South African bowling. He was out for 52, leaving New Zealand on 158-5 and needing eight to win with seven balls remaining.
Nothing from that point went to plan.

De Lange bowled a series of fast, short-pitched deliveries from which a succession of New Zealand batsmen were unable to score. The New Zealanders were bent on hitting boundaries and, as each ball passed without a run being scored, the match tipped in South Africa's favor with De Lange and offspinner Johan Botha maintaining an unrelenting pressure.
Ryder tried to reverse-sweep Botha and was caught by Morne Morkel at fine leg. Nathan McCullum top-edged another contrived shot and was caught by wicketkeeper AB de Villiers from the third ball of De lange's final over. A scoreless Doug Bracewell, hitting out, was caught by Hashim Amla two balls later.
James Franklin faced the prospect of hitting a six from the final ball of the innings to win the match but was reprieved when De Lange overstepped. New Zealand scrambled a single and Southee was left with the strike and a free hit, needing a four to win the match.
De Lange bowled a fast ball wide of off stump and Southee, anchored on the crease and swinging blindly, was unable to make contact.

Botha finished with 2-20 off four overs and De Lange with 2-36. Earlier, Nicol took two wickets, held two catches and effected a run out after New Zealand won the toss and bowled.
Nicol claimed 2-20 from three overs, and took a catch in the deep to dismiss dangerman Richard Levi for 11 when South Africa was 20-1.
Levi scored an unbeaten 117 — the fastest century in Twenty20 internationals, including a world record 13 sixes — to guide South Africa to an eight-wicket win in Sunday's second match after New Zealand had won the first by six wickets.
Nicol also caught Albie Morkel for 10 and completed a brilliant run out off his own bowling to dismiss the innings' top-scorer, JP Duminy, for 38.

KP hits another ton as England clean sweep Pakistan

Dubai: Kevin Pietersen scored his second century in as many matches as England beat Pakistan by four wickets on Tuesday to sweep the one-day international series 4-0.
Pietersen hit 130 off 153 balls, his highest ODI score, and he teamed up with Craig Kieswetter (43) for a 109-run partnership as England eclipsed Pakistan's total of 237 with four balls remaining at Dubai Sport City.
"It was probably the best innings I've played," said Pietersen, who scored 111 not out in the third ODI on Saturday. "I think you need experience and runs in order to keep the situation very simple and back your ability. When I saw they were playing 40 overs of spin I thought, 'Oh no.' But I've spent hours and hours with Mushy (England spin coach Mushtaq Ahmed) to sort out the issue.
"I thoroughly enjoyed this."
It was England's first whitewash against Pakistan in a limited-over series in 25 years. The result somewhat unexpected given Pakistan beat England 3-0 in the Test series and India beat England 5-0 in a recent ODI series.

"It was a really good comeback," England captain Alastair Cook said. "I said at the beginning of series that if we are going to turn this around, we need people to stand up and be counted. I think a number of us have done that in the side. Pakistan had won 14 out of 15 one-dayers in a row. For us to win 4-0 in subcontinent-like conditions is a fantastic achievement for us."
Earlier, Pakistan were bowled out for 237 on the final ball of the innings after Azhar Ali and Asad Shafiq hit half-centuries.
Ali (58) and Shafiq (65) put on 111 for the second wicket to give Pakistan a platform, but England's bowling attack stemmed the runs in the middle order.
Jade Dernbach took 4-45, while Danny Briggs, making his international debut, finished with 2-39.
Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq kept the innings intact with 46 from 52 balls but wickets kept falling around him.

Eoin Morgan made a diving catch at point for Ali to fall to Dernbach. Bresnan made another fine catch to remove Shahid Afridi on 9, before the batsman had time to rally Pakistan's tail.
In response, England made a dismal start when Cook was out lbw on review for 4. Cook, who has been added to the Twenty20 squad due to an injury to batsman Ravi Bopara, had scored centuries in first two matches and a half-century in the third.
But Pietersen and Kieswetter turned things around. England were also helped by allrounder Samit Patel hitting 17 runs not out.
Misbah praised England's batting but also blamed his team's top-order failures and fielding lapses for the whitewash.
"England really batted well after the test series and started playing the spinners well," Misbah said. "They got four centuries in four matches and that is the main difference between the two teams."


CB Series: Sri Lanka beat India by 51 runs

Brisbane: A spineless batting display which was preceded by some inexplicable moments on the field saw India crash to a 51-run defeat against Sri Lanka in match eight of the CB series at the Gabba on Tuesday.
Chasing 290 for victory, the Indian innings folded at 238 in 45.1 overs which saw them slump to their third defeat in six outings, and fall behind Australia and Sri Lanka in the points table.
While the Australians lead the points table with 14 points from five matches, the Lankans with the same number of matches lie second with 11 points, and India who have played an extra game find themselves at third place with 10 points.
The Indian innings got off to a shocker of a start, when stand-in captain Virender Sehwag lunged out to a wide delivery by Lasith Malinga off the very second ball; the result was a fine running catch by Nuwan Kulasekara at third man which sent Sehwag back in the hut for a duck.

Sachin Tendulkar - like so many times on the current tour - looked to be in imperious touch at the start of his innings. Some glorious shots on the off side followed by a delightful flick off the pads seemed to have set the tempo before he chopped one on to his stumps on 22, in an attempt to leave one from Kulasekara (38 for 2).
Gautam Gambhir who had struck four boundaries during his innings of 29, was the next to go. The left-hander - batting way outside his crease in an attempt to unsettle the bowler - only succeeded in unsettling himself as he played away from his body, and Thisara Perera at gully took a fine catch diving forward to give Kulasekara his second wicket.
Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina then put on 92 for the fourth wicket with the aid of Dinesh Chandimal fielding at deep midwicket, who dropped a couple of sitters to the relief of the Indians.

However, Farveez Maharoof provided his team with the all-important breakthrough by sending back a well-settled Raina. Raina made 32 off 55 balls before he guided a ball that bounced on him into the hands of Lahiru Thirimanne at short cover. Kohli, who had brought up his 20th ODI fifty, followed suit soon after for 66 when he perished to Perera, with Kulasekara at mid-on taking a simple catch off a mistimed pull shot.
It was an uphill task and a downhill battle for India from then on but Irfan Pathan with a few lusty blows down the order gave his side an outside chance of an unlikely victory. With wickets falling at the other end, Irfan soon ran out of options and was the last man to fall when he hit one straight back to Perera who finished with figures of 4 for 37 off 7.1 overs.
Earlier, Thirimanne struck his maiden half-century in his fifth ODI, and Tillakaratne Dilshan contributed with 51 as Sri Lanka finished with a highly competitive total of 289 for 6. Mahela Jayawardene and Dilshan put on 95 for the first wicket before Jayawardene fell for 45 to Irfan.
Wickets at regular intervals got the world champions back in the match before the Lankans added 94 runs in the last 11 overs as the Indian bowlers failed to come up with the goods. How helpless captain Sehwag felt in the middle was epitomised in the 50th over when Kohli was called up to bowl the last six deliveries which went for 14 runs.



South Africa ride on Levi ton to crush New Zealand

Hamilton: Richard Levi hit a record 13 sixes on his way to the fastest century in Twenty20 international history on Sunday to give South Africa an eight-wicket win over New Zealand and level their three-match series at 1-1.
Levi eclipsed Chris Gayle's previous record of 10 sixes in a Twenty20 international innings. He also got his century from 45 balls, beating the mark of 50 balls that Gayle shared with New Zealand's Brendon McCullum.
Levi finished 117 not out from 51 deliveries at a strike rate of 229 as South Africa reached 174-2 in 16 overs in reply to New Zealand's innings of 173-4.
The third and deciding match is at Auckland on Wednesday.
New Zealand's total always looked inadequate on a flat pitch and with the short and inviting boundaries at Hamilton's Seddon Park. But Levi made the winning target look insignificant as he atoned for South Africa's insipid six-wicket loss in Friday's opening match.

He hit a six from the first over bowled by off-spinner Nathan McCullum and two more in taking 16 runs from the second over bowled by Doug Bracewell. New Zealand's bowlers strayed to the leg side and Levi cashed in, hoisting the ball over the shortest boundaries on the ground to reach his 50 from only 25 balls with six sixes and two fours.
He lifted South Africa to 51-2 after five overs and to 105-2 after 10, scoring at more than two runs per ball.
Levi first matched then surpassed Gayle's record of 10 sixes — for the West Indies against South Africa — when he hit successive sixes off Bracewell in the 12th over, the first down the ground and the second over square leg.
At that stage he had scored 90 runs off 40 balls and he didn't break his stride as he went to 96 with his 11th six and to his century four balls later. He had scored 100 of South Africa's 140 runs at that point in only 54 minutes, from 45 balls and with three fours and 12 sixes.
South Africa captain AB de Villiers stayed with Levi for most of his innings, quietly compiling 39 from 36 balls which paled into insignificance in comparison to the effort of the right-handed opener.

"It was good fun," Levi said. "It seemed every shot I played seemed to come off. I can't believe the match is over, to be honest. The 20 overs seemed to go so fast.
"I didn't know about either of the records but it's just one of those things that happened and I hope I can do it again."
De Villiers was happy to be a spectator with a box seat to one of the best batting displays in international cricket.
"I tried to talk him into settling for 10 runs an over with a single off the last ball which was all we needed but he just kept hitting it out of the ground," de Villiers said.
"We're all very proud of Richard. He's done it before so I can't say it's a once in a lifetime innings. He's an amazing player and a great prospect for us."
New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum realized his team had fallen well short of a competitive total when it was held to 173 on a ground on which 190 to 200 runs is par in a Twenty20 match.

Opener Martin Guptill was out for 47 off 35 balls, falling just short of his seventh-straight half century in international innings. McCullum made 35 and James Franklin 28 from 10 balls with four sixes.
South Africa learned the lessons of its first match loss to New Zealand, taking a leaf from the Kiwis' book and opening the bowling with off-spinner Johan Botha who bowled his four overs at a cost of only 22 runs.
It also fielded more sharply than at Wellington and had the best of the pitch that quickened under the floodlights later in the evening.
"I would have liked 190 to 200 but when someone comes out and plays an innings like that, there's not much you can do," McCullum said.
"He wouldn't allow us to bowl well. I thought he played an absolutely unbelievable innings and there was nothing we could do to pull him back."



Australia maul India by 110 runs

Brisbane: Riding on Ben Hilfenhaus' maiden five-wicket haul in one-day internationals, Australia bundled out India for 178 to win the seventh match of the tri-series by 110 runs in Brisbane on Sunday. India's chase of 289 was over before it started when they failed to recover from three early strikes. Australia now have 14 points from five matches while India are second in the table with 10 points from five games.
It was again the batting which failed India, particularly the top order. From a scoreline of 36 for 4, only MS Dhoni stood out with a battling 56 as India were handed a heavy defeat. Hilfenhaus, returning to Australia's one-day side after a long gap, finished with career-best figures of 5 for 33 that included the wicket of Sachin Tendulkar (3).
After early wickets, there was no consolidation from the lower-order, other than the stand of 46 between Dhoni and Suresh Raina (28) for the fifth wicket. The Indian batsmen fell prey to some brilliant bowling by Hilfenhaus and Brett Lee (3 for 49) and never recovered from their new-ball strikes.

After electing to bat, Australia got off to a good start as David Warner (43) and Matthew Wade (45) added 70. Wade was dropped by Rohit Sharma on 0 off the second ball of the innings and made the Indians pay, while Michael Hussey enjoyed three reprieves during his game-changing 59 off 52 balls. India had done well to get rid of Warner and Ricky Ponting, but failed to go for the kill.
Wade and newcomer Peter Forrest played watchfully and kept the scoreboard ticking. MS Dhoni made the folly of continuing with fill-in spinners Suresh Raina and Rohit, and even Rohit's dismissal of Wade – who chipped a simple return catch back to the bowler – failed to stop Australia from posting a big total.

Michael Hussey's innings began in bizarre circumstances. On 1, he stretched forward to a delivery from Raina that beat the bat, and Dhoni took off the bails in a flash. The on-field umpires went upstairs, and after replays showed Hussey had dragged his back foot in, the third umpire Bruce Oxenford inexplicably pressed the 'out' button. This mistake was corrected immediately and the on-field umpires called Michael Hussey back.
Hussey was dropped on 13 by Rohit at short midwicket off Raina, and stamped his authority with a 100-run stand with Forrest. Irfan Pathan struck to remove both batsman in the 44th over, but David Hussey and Daniel Christian plundered 110 runs from the last 10 overs. In the 49th over Christian hit four consecutive boundaries off Vinay Kumar, and his unbeaten 30 off 18 balls took his team's score to 288.



NZ beat SA by 6 wickets in 1st T20

Wellington: Martin Guptill scored his sixth half century in successive innings as New Zealand beat South Africa by six wickets in the opening Twenty20 cricket international on Friday.
Guptill carried his bat for 78 as New Zealand, with 148-4, surpassed South Africa's 20-over total of 147-6 with four balls to spare.
Guptill's purple patch of form has seen him score half centuries in a test, three one-day internationals and a Twenty20 match against Zimbabwe and he continued the momentum into the first of New Zealand's three Twenty20s against South Africa. The second match is at Hamilton on Sunday.
JP Duminy made 41 and Justin Ontong 32 as South Africa's top scorers but its innings was poorly paced and it failed to hit a boundary from the fourth to the 14th overs.
New Zealand chose offspinner Nathan McCullum to open the bowling and used four spinners on a drop-in pitch which was often two-paced and which confounded South Africa's big hitters.

McCullum bowled his four overs at a cost of only 16 runs as South Africa got away to a slow start from which it struggled to recover.
Big-hitting Richard Levi made only 13 from 12 balls and Hashim Amla 19 from 15. Colin Ingram was out for a duck, stumped by Brendon McCullum off his brother's bowling, and South Africa captain AB de Villiers failed to break the shackles as he managed only 8 from 19 balls in an innings which lacked a boundary.
"We didn't start well, especially myself, and that put a lot of pressure on the rest of the boys," de Villiers said
"We came back reasonably well and I thought we fielded well but I made a couple of mistakes captaincy-wise.
"We weren't surprised New Zealand opened with a spinner — we expected something in that line from them and we should be professional enough to adapt."

Duminy made a slow start, lacking timing and placement, but he gradually grew in confidence and eventually took his 41 runs from 37 balls, batting into the 18th over.
Ontong survived a confident appeal for a caught behind when he was 7 and South Africa was 75 and when replays showed his attempted sweep off Kane Williamson skidded off the blade of his bat, onto his shoulder and to McCullum running back behind the stumps.
He shrugged off the incident to hit four straight sixes off Williamson and to give the South African innings its greatest impetus.
Guptill carefully measured New Zealand's run chase, working methodically through partnerships of 49 with Rob Nicol (13), 41 with Brendon McCullum (16) and 37 with Kane Williamson (24).
His innings included five fours and four sixes, including a massive six off Lonwabo Tsotsobe which pitched on the roof of the grandstand overhanging Westpac Stadium, almost 400 feet (120 meters) from the pitch and 100 feet (30 meters) off the ground.
A carefully paced run chase left New Zealand needing six runs from the last over and James Franklin casually knocked off those runs with a two and a four from the first two balls from Johan Botha.
"Martin Guptill is in the form of his life at the moment and he makes the job of chasing runs much easier for the rest of us," McCullum said.



Sri Lanka thrash Australia by 8 wickets for first win

Sydney: Mahela Jayawardene smashed an unbeaten half-century to lead Sri Lanka to a commanding eight-wicket win over Australia and back into limited-overs tri-series finals contention on Friday.
Australia were bowled out for just 158, their lowest ODI total at the Sydney Cricket Ground since 1997, after the match was reduced to 41-over innings due to a two-hour rain interruption.
Faced with an amended victory target of 152 after adjustments made under the Duckworth-Lewis Method, the Sri Lankans wasted no time in aggressively chasing down their first win of the tri-series.
Jayawardene carried his bat for 61 not out off 67 balls as the Sri Lankans reached the winning total in just the 25th over.
"We needed a start," Jayawardene said. "I have done opening before, and thankfully it worked today. We knew we had to win today."

India lead the series by a point from Australia, while Sri Lanka, with a bonus point, are only two behind the host side.
Jayawardene and Tillakaratne Dilshan shared an almost run-a-ball 74-run opening partnership as the Australia bowlers failed to make an impression.
Dilshan made 45 off 41 balls before Clint McKay (1-23) finally make a breakthrough when he had the opener caught at slip by David Hussey in the 12th over.
Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara then shared 59 runs until Sangakkara was caught by Xavier Doherty at mid-on off Brett Lee (1-42), leaving Sri Lanka requiring 21 runs with 20 overs remaining. Sangakkara had 30 off 29 balls, and became the 10th man to pass 10,000 ODI runs, and the third Sri Lankan.
David Hussey's aggressive 58 off 64 balls was the sole highlight for Australia's innings as the hosts were dismissed two balls short of their 41 overs.

Man of the Match Thisera Perera returned figures of 2-29, as well as being responsible for a run-out. Farveez Maharoof had 2-18 and took the important catch of opener David Warner.
"The pitch didn't have the sort of pace we thought it had, and their bowlers capitalized," stand-in captain Ricky Ponting said. "Full credit to Sri Lanka, they bowled and fielded really well, and played their shots in the chase."
Hussey shared a 49-run, ninth-wicket partnership with tailender Mitchell Starc (17) which saved Australia from total capitulation.
Warner made just 13 before being caught by Maharoof off Lasith Malinga (1-42) and Ponting faced just 10 balls before being caught and bowled by Maharoof for 2.
Wade was run out on 15 in the next over thanks to some athletic fielding from Perera at short-cover.
Michael Hussey was caught behind off Angelo Mathews (1-26) for 13, before Maharoof claimed his second wicket when he had Peter Forrest caught by Mathews for 16.
Perera trapped Dan Christian lbw for 6 to leave Australia at 81-6 when rain interrupted play.
Clint McKay faced just eight balls after the resumption of play before he was out lbw to Rangana Herath (1-12) for 3 and Brett Lee failed to score before he was run out.
Australia meet India on Sunday in Brisbane.