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*Official* Champions Trophy Discussion Thread

Mr Mxyzptlk

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Quiet confidence in Bangladesh camp

Despite losing all three of their matches in the Pepsi Asian Series, Bangladesh are confident of stirring waves at the upcoming Champions Trophy. Captain Habibul Bashar alludes to the many positives in what was a passionate campaign by the Tigers. The selectors have shown faith in that combination and pose an unchanged squad.

Bangladesh:
Habibul Bashar (c), Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Shahriar Nafees, Abdur Razzak, Aftab Ahmed, Javed Omar, Mashrafe Mortaza, Mohammad Ashraful, Mohammad Rafique, Rajin Saleh, Saqibul Hasan, Shahadat Hossain, Syed Rasel, Tamim Iqbal, Farhad Reza.
 

Mr Mxyzptlk

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Powar recalled to Indian setup

Ramesh Powar will rejoin the Indian team, though it is a familiar side that will compete at the Champions Trophy. Still boasting strength in batting, the bowling will be tested. Rahul Dravid leads the side, but no one has been named as his deputy.

India:
R Dravid (c), MS Dhoni (wk), SC Ganguly, V Sehwag, SR Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, M Kaif, RR Powar, Harbhajan Singh, Z Khan, IK Pathan, Sreesanth, AB Agarkar, MM Patel, AR Uthappa.
 

Mr Mxyzptlk

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Young Zimbabwe turn out

With the departure of Anthony Ireland and Brendan Taylor from Zimbabwean cricket, an extremely inexperienced team will participate in the Champions Trophy. Uncapped Tinashe Hove has been included in the squad, while Gregory Strydom has been recalled. Friday Kasteni will do the wicketkeeping duties.

Zimbabwe:
P Utseya (c), F Kasteni (wk), GB Brent, E Chigumbura, KM Dabengwa, T Duffin, T Hove, CJ Chibhabha, H Masakadza, S Matsikenyeri, SC Williams, GM Strydon, T Mupariwa, EC Rainsford, CB Mpofu.
 

Mr Mxyzptlk

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Modi back for Kenya

Hitesh Modi returns for Kenya, but the squad composition poses no surprises otherwise. Steve Tikolo continues as captain, and Thomas Odoyo will serve as his deputy.

Kenya:
SO Tikolo (c), T Odoyo (vc), MA Ouma (wk), DO Oboya (wk), RD Shah, CO Obuya, T Mishra, RV Bhudia, N Odhiambo, PJC Ongondo, JK Kamande, AO Suji, ML Patel, HA Varaiya, HS Modi.
 

Mr Mxyzptlk

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West Indies vs India

West Indies
CH Gayle
S Chanderpaul
DS Smith
RR Sarwan (c)
MN Samuels
DJJ Bravo
DR Smith
D Ramdin (wk)
D Mohammed
DB Powell
JE Taylor

India
V Sehwag
SC Ganguly
R Dravid (c)
SR Tendulkar
Yuvraj Singh
M Kaif
MS Dhoni (wk)
RR Powar
AB Agarkar
Sreesanth
MM Patel

Bangladesh vs Zimbabwe

Bangladesh
Tamim Iqbal
Farhad Reza
Habibul Bashar (c)
Mohammad Ashraful
Aftab Ahmed
Saqibul Hasan
Mushfiqur Rahim (wk)
Mashrafe Mortaza
Abdur Razzak
Syed Rasel
Shahadat Hossain

Zimbabwe
T Duffin
T Hove
F Kasteni (wk)
CJ Chibhabha
SC Williams
H Masakadza
E Chigumbura
T Mupariwa
GB Brent
P Utseya
CB Mpofu

England vs Kenya

England
ME Trescothick
MP Vaughan (c)
AJ Strauss
KP Pietersen
PD Collingwood
A Flintoff
PA Nixon (wk)
LE Plunkett
SI Mahmood
MS Panesar
JM Anderson

Kenya
MA Ouma
DO Obuya
RD Shah
SO Tikolo (c)
T Mishra
HS Modi
CO Obuya
TM Odoyo
JM Kamande
HA Varaiya
L Onyango
 

Mr Mxyzptlk

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India thrash sorry Windies
Warmup Fixture: West Indies v India

Scorecard
Ball by Ball

It was a dismal showing from the West Indies that greeted the small turnout at Chandigarth, as India won their warmup fixture by a comfortable 95 runs. Sourav Ganguly (98) and Sachin Tendulkar (67) were huge forces in a challenging total of 295-7 in pleasant batting conditions. None of the fast bowlers found help on the dry surface, and the spinners suffered even worse. Dwayne Bravo was the best of the bowlers, mixing his pace in taking 2 for 48 from his 10.

The West Indian reply never truly gained momentum. Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan scored 28 apiece in promising starts, but Ganguly's medium pace tore through the middle order and set the West Indies reeling at 122-8. Dwayne Smith could not find his timing, but impressively resisted the press of frustration, and he and Daren Powell added 66 runs for the 9th wicket to tug back some pride into the West Indian court.

India 295-7 (50 overs)
SC Ganguly 98, SR Tendulkar 67, V Sehwag 33
DJJ Bravo 2-48, DR Smith 2-50

West Indies 200 all out (42.3 overs)
DR Smith 45, DB Powell 39, S Chanderpaul/RR Sarwan 28
SC Ganguly 3-30

India won by 95 runs.
Man of the Match: SC Ganguly
 

Mr Mxyzptlk

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Trescothick boosts unconvincing England
Warmup Fixture: England v Kenya

Scorecard
Ball by Ball

A Marcus Trescothick century was a welcome sight for England fans and the definite highlight of a mixed performance in victory over Kenya. The margin for England was 57 runs, but the bowling was found to be flawed in the process. Trescothick mixed patience with brutal aggression and claimed 129 runs from the 150 balls he faced. He provided the foundation of the innings after Michael Vaughan and Andrew Strauss perished early. Playing freely and extraordinarily around Trescothick were Kevin Pietersen (63 from 46 balls) and Paul Collingwood (79 from 65). Both batsmen were in superb touch and paced their innings perfectly in contributing to an eventual 308-6.

James Anderson struck early with the wicket of David Obuya for 7, but Maurice Ouma (76) and Ravi Shah (88) proved frustrating in adding 146 for the second wicket. Steve Tikolo then contributed 35 at a run-a-ball, but Kenya was too far out of contention to mount a serious challenge on the England total. Still, Kenya will take great heart in a score of 251-7. Andrew Flintoff took 3-54 from his 10 overs, and Anderson was excellent with 2-36, but Liam Plunkett and Saj Mahmood worryingly combined for 16-0-94-0 and Monty Panesar managed only 1-44. England face some difficult selection choices heading into their opening fixture tomorrow.

England 308-6 (50 overs)
ME Trescothick 129, PD Collingwood 79, KP Pietersen 63
L Onyango 2-48

Kenya 251-7 (50 overs)
RD Shah 88, MA Ouma 76, SO Tikolo 35
A Flintoff 3-54, JM Anderson 2-36

England won by 57 runs.
Man of the Match: ME Trescothick
 

Perm

Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
Disapppointed that Ganguly couldn't quite make it a century, the West Indies were woeful. Not a bad effort from Kenya though, just a pity they let Pietersen score so quickly.
 

Mr Mxyzptlk

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Bangladesh humbled, but spin a victory
Warmup Match: Zimbabwe v Bangladesh

Scorecard
Ball by Ball

Mohammad Ashraful and Mushfiqur Rahim scored crucial half-centuries, as an arrogant batting performance by Bangladesh was quickly derailed by a spirited Zimbabwe. Ashraful and Rahim scored 70 and 50 respectively and added 105 for the sixth wicket, after the top order failed in a collapse to 80-5. Tawanda Mupariwa finished with 4 wickets and Bangladesh managed only 229 all out.

Uncapped Tinashe Hove played well at the top of the order, and he and Terrence Duffin saw Zimbabwe off to a solid start with an 83-run stand. Duffin top-scored with 79, but Zimbabwe could not maintain a scoring rate to truly challenge their Asian opposition. The Bangladeshi left-arm spin trio of Razzak, Rafique and Saqib contributed 27 overs and claimed 3 for 91. Zimbabwe closed the 50th over at 195-7.

Bangladesh 229 all out (46.1 overs)
Mohammad Ashraful 70, Mushfiqur Rahim 50
T Mupariwa 4-36, GB Brent 2-31

Zimbabwe 195-7 (50 overs)
T Duffin 79, T Hove 41, CJ Chibhabha 26
Syed Rasel 2-44, Mashrafe Mortaza 2-52

Bangladesh won by 34 runs.
Man of the Match: T Mupariwa
 

Perm

Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
Good stuff by Bangladesh, they'll need to pick up their batting if they want to do well in this tournament.
 

Mr Mxyzptlk

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Champions Trophy Coverage

'Ganguly the key'
Dravid confident ahead of Bangladesh clash

Indian captain Rahul Dravid is brimming with confidence ahead of his team's clash with Bangladesh as the opening fixture of the Champions Trophy. India beat Bangladesh in the recently concluded Pepsi Asian Series, but neither team reached the final of the event. However, Dravid reviewed the positives of recent performances.

"We went into Sri Lanka and won 5-2 a couple months ago," said Dravid, "The batting has been pretty consistent and effective, and the bowlers put in an excellent showing against the West Indies." India beat the West Indies in their warmup fixture by a clear margin of 95 runs.

Dravid noted that Sourav Ganguly will be key with both bat and ball. "He (Ganguly) is in great form right now and is really a force at the top of the order and mixing things up with the ball," he said.

Bangladesh captain Habibul Bashar did not want to reveal much ahead of the match, but he suggested that Bangladesh would play the same XI that bowed out of the Pepsi Asian Series against India. In that game, Bangladesh collapsed from 103-0 to 191 all out and lost by 5 wickets.

"We're pretty happy with the combination," he commented briefly. Bangladesh will look to the spin trio of Rafique, Razzak and Saqib to tie down India and enforce any winning strategy.

Teams (probable):

India
1. V Sehwag 2. SC Ganguly 3. R Dravid (c) 4. SR Tendulkar 5. Yuvraj Singh 6. M Kaif 7. MS Dhoni (wk) 8. AB Agarkar 9. Harbhajan Singh 10. Z Khan 11. MM Patel

Bangladesh
1. Shahriar Nafees 2. Tamim Iqbal 3. Habibul Bashar (c) 4. Saqibul Hasan 5. Mohammad Ashraful 6. Aftab Ahmed 7. Mushfiqur Rahim 8. Mashrafe Mortaza 9. Mohammad Rafique 10. Abdur Razzak 11. Syed Rasel
 

Magrat Garlick

Rather Mad Witch
India v Bangladesh
at Chandigarh

Scorecard
Commentary

Bangladesh' slide continued with another disappointing effort by the specialist batsmen, this time against India in Chandigarh, as India almost secured a spot in the main round with the very first game of the tournament. Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar ensured they'll stay in the side for a while with massive scores and a partnership of 126 - five more than Bangladesh' managed for their first six wickets.

Ajit Agarkar and Zaheer Khan both used the new ball well, gaining surprising amount of movement in humid conditions, and all too much for the Bangladeshi batsmen. Tamim nicked an outswinger and Bashar an inswinger, and Agarkar emerged with creditable three for 31 in his first spell.

Harbhajan Singh continued the slide. Ashraful reverse swept him to Yuvraj for 18, and with Munaf Patel bowling good wicket-to-wicket stuff at the other end, the batsmen were forced to milk Harbhajan. It worked to an extent - his economy rate was never below five - but four wickets fell during his bowling, including all recognised batsmen. Mashrafe Mortaza, never known for patient rebuilding, saw himself forced to leave a number of shots against Sehwag and Harbhajan, and the tactic worked surprisingly well, as the two put on 47 for the eighth wicket, making a somewhat competitive target.

India went about chasing the total in a professional and surprisingly patient manner, though Sehwag once again gave his wicket away early, as if asking for the drop. When Razzak had Dhoni stumped just as he was attempted to cut loose, there looked to be a glimmer of hope for Bangladesh, but Ganguly and Tendulkar settled into an excellent groove as they clipped past 100 in the 23rd over. The near-desperate reintroduction of Mortaza in the 31st over brought no results, except for a half-hearted lbw appeal, and it was Rasel who eventually got the breakthrough - after being responsible for Ganguly's century earlier on in the over. Ganguly touched a ball on a good length and was out for 102, a well-paced innings, and India required just 21 to win off 13 overs.

Even with Rahul Dravid as the new batsman, that target was a breeze. Tendulkar drove Rafique for a one-bounce four to win the game. It was the strike of a confident batsman, giving the home fans something to dream about in this tournament yet.

Bangladesh 213 for nine (50 overs)
Mashrafe Mortaza 42, Mohammad Rafique 34*; AB Agarkar 3/37, Harbhajan Singh 3/56, MM Patel 2/35, Z Khan 0/30

India 214 for three (41.1 overs)
SC Ganguly 102, SR Tendulkar 63*; Syed Rasel 2/38, Abdur Razzak 1/35 [6]
 
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Perm

Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
Nice innings from Mashrafe but other than that it was pretty disappointing for the Bangladesh batting lineup. Some very steady bowling from Syed Rasel, nice ton to Ganguly.
 

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