Pakistan’s historic win in the final of the T20 World Cup

KARACHI: Pakistan’s historic win in the final of the T20 World Cup against Sri Lanka at Lord’s sparked jubilation across the country and worldwide.

People took to the streets after the match in all major cities of the country including Lahore, Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Multan, Karachi, Peshawar and Quetta and expressed their joy in their own peculiar manner.

They distributed sweets and danced to the beat of drums to celebrate the much-needed victory. While some people resorted to aerial firing, others set off fireworks lighting up the night sky.

They also sang national songs and chanted slogans of ‘Pakistan Zindabad’. Large screens were installed in all major cities for people to watch the match.

Theses were the scenes witnessed not only in Pakistan but also in every corner of the world wherever Pakistanis are living. Whether it would be streets of US or grounds of Britain, Pakistani flag flying high conveying the message of peace and expressed that Pakistani nation is a peace loving nation and fond of healthy activities.

Shahid Afridi

Shahid Afridi stood tall with a mature 54 to guide Pakistan home © Getty Images

It wasn't the edge-of-the-seat final that would have signed off the ICC World Twenty20 in style, but that won't matter to Pakistan who gave their nation a something to savour amid troubled times. From the moment Tillakaratne Dilshan, the tournament's top-scorer, fell in the opening over Pakistan had a grip on the match. Shahid Afridi, who emerged as their trump card, guided his team home in the 19th over with an unbeaten 54, and it was left to Younis Khan to raise the trophy in what he later announced would be his final Twenty20 international, in front of a sea of delirious Pakistan supporters.

Umar Gul's best in Twenty20 internationals

Umar Gul's spell of 5 for 6 in three overs against New Zealand was the best in Twenty20 internationals © Getty Image

Shahid Afridi and Shoaib Malik celebrate Pakistan's eight-wicket win

Shahid Afridi and Shoaib Malik celebrate Pakistan's eight-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the final of the ICC World Twenty20 at Lord's © AFP

South Australia keep steady squad

Chris Duval has rejoined South Australia after four years with Tasmania © Getty Images

A year after giving their squad a significant overhaul, South Australia have kept a steady course for 2009-10 with few changes to their playing group. The fast bowlers Chris Duval and Matthew Weeks have been added to the senior squad, while the opening batsman Tom Plant has been axed.

Weeks, 26, returned to South Australia's starting line-up last summer after a three-year absence. Duval is the only addition from outside the state, returning to his original side having spent the past four seasons with Tasmania.

The Redbacks now have three Cricket Australia-contracted players with Graham Manou and Callum Ferguson joining Shaun Tait on the national list. That opened up places for James Smith and Jake Haberfield to be promoted from the state's rookie list and both now hold full deals.

The rookie list has taken on a new look with only Michael Cranmer, Cameron Francis and Kane Richardson named at this stage. Of last season's rookies, Jake Brown, Andy Delmont and Jason Donnelly have slipped out of the group.

None of the changes are major and it is a far cry from South Australia's off-field dealings last year, when they raided four players from New South Wales and Victoria in addition to signing Pakistan's Younis Khan. All states must finalise their round one offers by next Friday prior to the player transfer pool opening.

Fulton to lead New Zealand Emerging Players

Tim Southee and Peter Fulton are the two internationals in the squad © Getty Images

Peter Fulton will captain a New Zealand Emerging Players team set to take part in a quadrangular tournament in Australia in July. Fulton and Tim Southee are the only players in the 15-man squad with international experience.

The group includes two men who have not yet qualified for full New Zealand selection but will do so within the next two years. Colin de Grandhomme, 22, has previously represented Zimbabwe A but having settled in Auckland he had a productive season with the bat in 2008-09.

The left-arm fast-medium bowler Neil Wagner has also been given the nod following a strong domestic summer for Otago. Wagner, 23, was born in Pretoria and last year played for the South African Academy side.

Other men picked for their first taste of New Zealand representative cricket include the Auckland batsman Anaru Kitchen and the legspinner Tarun Nethula. The squad will be coached by John Wright and Matthew Horne, and will take on teams from Australia, India and South Africa in Brisbane.

Squad Peter Fulton (capt), Nick Beard, Hamish Bennett, Te Ahu Davis, Colin de Grandhomme, Anaru Kitchen, Tarun Nethula, Jeet Raval, Lance Shaw, Tim Southee, Neil Wagner, BJ Watling, Kane Williamson,

Younis happy to have Razzaq back

Younis Khan: "He (Razzaq) is a senior guy and his return will be good for Pakistan cricket. He would be in any team in the world" © AFP

Younis Khan, the Pakistan captain, has welcomed the return of allrounder Abdul Razzaq to the Pakistan side after a two-year exile caused by his decision to opt for the Indian Cricket League. Razzaq was fast-tracked into the national Twenty20 squad in England shortly after quitting the ICL, but his participation in the opening Super Eights match against Sri Lanka at Lord's today is highly unlikely as he arrives just hours before the game.

"This game is not possible but I think he will manage the last two games," Younis said on the eve of the game. "He is a good name in world cricket and in Twenty20 he is a fantastic allrounder.

"He is a senior guy and his return will be good for Pakistan cricket. He would be in any team in the world."

Razzaq was one of several former ICL players granted amnesty by the Pakistan Cricket Board a few weeks ago shortly after the Indian board took the initiative to allow players to return from the unofficial league. Razzaq was named in the original list of 30 probables the PCB had sent to the ICC in early April - before the BCCI announced the amnesty - but the board made a U-turn and scratched his name off because the ICC objected to his ICL status. However, when Razzaq confirmed that he had snapped ties with the ICL, the PCB named him as an emergency replacement for the injured seamer Yasir Arafat.

Razzaq is likely to play the next Super Eights match against New Zealand at The Oval on Saturday.

Younis also took the opportunity to clarify someunusual comments he had earlier made on Twenty20 cricket, comparing it to "WWF" and saying that it was better to take it easy and have fun in this format. He defended his comments and urged everyone not to take them too seriously.

"I am a simple guy. Sometimes people think I am wrong because when we lose I am still laughing," Younis said. "You must look forward, if you lose or win. This is life. Sometimes you have good days, sometimes you have bad days."

Bangladesh selector defends Twenty20 selections

Rafiqul Alam: "It boiled down to Mehrab and Raqibul and the former's poor fielding and unhealthy strike-rate played against him" © AFP

Rafiqul Alam, the Bangladesh chief selector, has defended the team selection for the ICC World Twenty20 where the side crashed out in the group stages. Alam's decision to pick batsman Raqibul Hasan was reportedly questioned before the team set out for England but Alam rushed to Raqibul's defence, saying he had the ability to stabilise the innings if the top order failed.

A rusty Bangladesh, returning from an international lay-off of nearly five months, lost both their group stage matches, including one to Ireland. Their only two wins on tour came during the warm-ups, against minnows Scotland and Netherlands. Raqibul managed only 29 runs in the two official games.

"Raqibul has been our best batsman internationally and he is a technically sound player," Alam told theDaily Star. "When selecting the team we had a choice between him, Mehrab Hossain jnr. and Ziaur Rahman. Zia was quite ordinary in this year's Premier League Twenty20 and 50-over version...

"It boiled down to Mehrab and Raqibul and the former's poor fielding and unhealthy strike-rate played against him. Also our top order is not very strong so we had players like Raqibul and Mushfiqur [Rahim] who can at least take the team to a respectable total if the top four batters fail."

Chris Gayle goes downtown,

Chris Gayle goes downtown, Australia v West Indies, ICC World Twenty20, The Oval, June 6, 2009

© Getty Images . This image may not be reproduced without specific consent from Getty Images

de Grooth leads Netherlands to famous win

Netherlands 163 for 6 (de Grooth 49, Borren 30, Anderson 3-23) beat England 162 for 5 (Wright 71, Bopara 46) by four wickets

How they were out

	Jeroen Smits leaps for joy as Netherlands celebrate their dramatic last-ball win ©

Cricket's rich history of thrilling upsets was given another chapter as Netherlands sensationally beat England by four wickets in the opening match of the ICC World Twenty20 at Lord's. Needing seven off the last over Ryan ten Doeschate and Edgar Schiferli ran for their lives and with two needed off the last delivery Stuart Broad missed a run-out from his follow through and the resulting overthrow set off wild scenes of celebration.

Tom de Grooth played the innings of his life to hit 49 off 30 balls and Netherlands paced their pursuit of 163 so expertly that they were always ahead of the Duckworth-Lewis when steady rain began to fall to add to the drama. But the game deserved to be played to a finish and crucially Netherlands had the experience of ten Doeschate, who plays professionally for Essex, up their sleeve as he didn't come in until No. 6.

Each time England nipped out a wicket the next Netherlands batsman held their nerve until the final-over equation with seven needed. England missed three chances off the first three balls as the fielding crumbled under pressure in the closing stages, with two run out opportunities and a dropped catch as ten Doeschate cracked a chance back to Broad.

Gayle and Fletcher blast past Australia

West Indies 172 for 3 (Gayle 88, Fletcher 53) beat Australia 169 for 7 (Warner 63, David Hussey 27, Bravo 2-31) by seven wickets

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details How they were out

	Chris Gayle hit perhaps the biggest six seen at The Oval, during his 50-ball 88 © Getty Images

Don't call this an upset. Twenty20 is where it is at for West Indies, by their captain's admission, and they have copped a fair amount of flak for that comment and their subsequent poor performances in more traditional forms of cricket. So there was a sense of anticipation over how they would fare in their "preferred" format. Come match day in the Group of Death, and West Indies, and Chris Gayle, turned up for the first time in two months. They fielded pathetically but that characteristic trait was sandwiched between superb opening bowling and explosive batting.

Australia ended the match as they entered it - yet to beat West Indies in this format. Their previous meeting was a similar comprehensive defeat, by seven wickets in Barbados. This, though, was a full 20-over contest on a belter of a pitch that was flat and fast. West Indies still had 4.1 overs to spare in the end.

The pace off the surface worked for both the West Indies bowlers and batsmen. While Jerome Taylor and Fidel Edwards used the briskness and clever variations to take early wickets, the ball traveled as fast off the bats of Gayle and Andre Fletcher as it came on to them.

West Indies took the lead right from the first over of the match, bowled by Taylor. That over had everything: the outswinger, the slower ball, the slower bouncer, sharp straight delivery, and two wickets. But for three wides Australia would have been 0 for 2.

Can Australia bounce back?

Australia have their work cut out recovering from the loss of Symonds © Getty Images

Related Links Player/Officials: Ricky Ponting | Andrew Symonds Series/Tournaments: ICC World Twenty20 Teams: Australia | England | India | New Zealand | Pakistan |South Africa | Sri Lanka

In trying to decide which teams might do well in the World Twenty20 tournament, the first question that leaps at you - apart from "Who was the psychiatrist who passed Andrew Symonds fit to resume his international career?" - is, "Can lightning strike twice for Ricky Ponting?"

In 2003, Ponting did a magnificent job of re-focusing the Australian team after Shane Warne was banned for a drug offence on the eve of the World Cup. This time the task of picking up the pieces will be more difficult because Ponting has fewer senior players in the squad.

The timing of Symonds' indiscretion couldn't have been worse. Australia already had a difficult enough task just trying to qualify for the semi-finals. With their loss against West Indies, it's now that much tougher for them to get past Sri Lanka and move on to a Super-Eight Group E that's loaded with talent.

With due respect to West Indies, the most likely scenario is a group that will include India, Australia and South Africa. That's the three best teams in the tournament, all in one Super Eight group. The lop-sided nature of the draw means that one of the big three will miss out on a semi-final berth. Following Symonds' demise, the chances that team will be Australia just rose like a sky rocket on New Year's Eve.

Because Twenty20 matches are brief there's very little time to recover from a setback. Therefore teams

ngland 185 for 5 (Pietersen 58, Wright 34, Ajmal 2-23) v Pakistan

England 185 for 5 (Pietersen 58, Wright 34, Ajmal 2-23) v Pakistan

Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details

	Kevin Pietersen was at his explosive best as he lifted England to a decent total © Getty Images

With England's place in the ICC World Twenty20 hanging by a thread, Kevin Pietersen returned to the side and hit 58 off 38 balls to help them reach 185 for 5 against Pakistan. Pietersen unleashed some memorable shots as England showed far more intent than against Netherlands and proved how crucial he is to the batting line-up, but if this total proves enough they will also have to thank some sloppy Pakistan fielding.

England's boundary count was more impressive with six sixes to go along side 18 fours and their best period of batting came as Pietersen and Owais Shah added 66 for the third wicket. Pakistan bowled well at the death, but they weren't supported by the fielding - a problem that so often hurts them. However, Saeed Ajmal - who put down a fierce return catch off Pietersen when he had 30 - claimed vital wickets and Umar Gul's pin-point yorkers meant no boundaries in the final over. The innings, though, ended with a little flourish as Dimitri Mascarenhas and James Foster added 29 in 19 balls.

The atmosphere when play got underway was electric with huge support for both teams and opening-over boundaries by Ravi Bopara and Luke Wright came either side of a direct hit from Shahid Afridi that almost ran-out Bopara as the decibel levels rose. If there had been a roof on the ground it would have come off when Shoaib Malik pulled off a good catch at backward point to remove Bopara, handing debutant Mohammad Aamer his first wicket.

That brought Pietersen to the crease early after his return to the side following the Achilles injury that ruled him out against Netherlands. Desperate times called for desperate measures, but the fact he started by dealing in quick singles suggested the problem wasn't causing too much concern.

NEWS UPDATE 08JUN09

Kevin Pietersen top edges the ball for six during his

58 off 38 balls at The Oval © Getty Images