WORLD RECORD FIRST WICKET PARTNERSHIP
Openers Tillakaratne Dilshan and Upul Tharanga hit centuries during a record World Cup opening 282 run stand to lift Sri Lanka to 327-6 against hapless Zimbabwe.
Tillakaratne Dilshan hit 144 and then took four wickets - including two in as many balls - as Sri Lanka beat Zimbabwe by 139 runs in their Cricket World Cup game in Pallekele to qualify for the quarter-finals.Zimbabwe were dismissed for 188 runs.
SACHIN TENDULKAR'S ANOTHER RECORD
Openers Tillakaratne Dilshan and Upul Tharanga hit centuries during a record World Cup opening 282 run stand to lift Sri Lanka to 327-6 against hapless Zimbabwe.
Tillakaratne Dilshan hit 144 and then took four wickets - including two in as many balls - as Sri Lanka beat Zimbabwe by 139 runs in their Cricket World Cup game in Pallekele to qualify for the quarter-finals.Zimbabwe were dismissed for 188 runs.
SACHIN TENDULKAR'S ANOTHER RECORDSachin Tendulkar accomplished yet another milestone on Wednesday as he completed 2000 runs in World Cup matches.
Sachin, who is already the highest scorer in World Cups, smashed a boundary of the last ball of a Ryan ten Doeschate over to reach the feat.
The 37-year-old, who came into his 40th World Cup match with 1982 runs to his name, first played at cricket's showpiece tournament in 1992.
New Zealand End Pakistan's Unbeaten World Cup Run
Birthday boy Ross Taylor's unbeaten century helped New Zealand defeat Pakistan by 110 runs in a Group A match. Taylor celebrated his 27th birthday in grand style as he hit eight boundaries and seven huge sixes en route to his fourth one-day century as New Zealand amassed 302-7 in a Group A match against Pakistan at the new Pallekele Stadium.
Pakistan needed a positive start in their run chase, but Tim Southee and Kyle Mills ensured Shahid Afridi's team were never in the contest and reduced them to 45 for 5 inside 15 overs. Southee dismissed Mohammad Hafeez, who lost a review when he challenged a LBW decision, Kamran Akmal (who had a match to forget) and Misbah-ul-Haq; while Mills accounted for Ahmed Shehzad and Younis Khan. Jacob Oram then got into the act and clean bowled captain Shahid Afridi to leave Pakistan tottering at 66 for 6.Umar Akmal showed glimpses of his immense potential in his 38, but just when he was looking comfortable at the crease, Nathan McCullum had him caught by Oram at deep midwicket. And, when Abdur Rehman, was also trapped in front by Nathan McCullum with Pakistan 125 for 8, it looked as though New Zealand could bowl out Afridi's team for less than Taylor's 131 not out. But, Abdul Razzaq (62) and Umar Gul (34*) gave Pakistan supporters something to cheer about with their 66-run partnership for the ninth wicket. During his innings, Razzaq became only the fourth player after Sanath Jayasuriya, Jacques Kallis and Shahid Afridi to complete the double of 5000 runs and 250 wickets in ODIs.
While Razzaq and Gul were in the middle, Pakistan may have harboured hopes of an improbable win, but Scott Styris dismissed the veteran all-rounder and Shoaib Akhtar in the space of three balls as Pakistan was bowled out for 192. Southee (3-25) was the most successful New Zealand bowler, while Mills, Styris and Nathan McCullum took two wickets each as Pakistan slumped to their second heaviest defeat in the World Cup.
The win lifted New Zealand to the top of Group B with six points from four matches and a Net Run Rate of +1.848; while Pakistan, despite having the same points from as many matches are second with a NRR of +0.760.
Earlier, Taylor had two reprieves in the 14th over bowled by Akhtar when Pakistan wicket-keeper Kamran Akmal failed to attempt a catch and then made matters worse by dropping a sitter in the same over. At the time, Taylor was on zero and eight respectively, and he made Pakistan pay dearly for the "birthday gifts" as he picked up the pace in the last five overs of New Zealand's innings.
At one stage, New Zealand appeared to be on course to score around 240-250, especially after the batting power play taken in the 42nd over saw the Black Caps score 37 runs for the loss of two wickets. But, Taylor, who had largely been kept in check until that point broke the shackles and took the Pakistani bowlers to the cleaners.
Taylor started the carnage in the 47th over, which was ironically bowled by Akhtar. He hit two boundaries and three massive sixes, two of those over deep midwicket, as Akhtar was hit out of the attack after conceding 28 runs. The third of those sixes brought up Taylor's century off 117 balls, and his first since October 2008. Taylor struggled early on in his innings, but was determined to see off the storm, and did so even if it meant appearing "ugly" at the crease. But, as he gained in confidence, Taylor started to look the world-class cricketer he is, and once he reached his half-century off 78 balls, the New Zealand vice-captain played more freely, the fruit of which was seen in the last four of the Black Caps' innings.
Taylor, who scored a career-best 131 not out off only 124 balls (his last 62 runs came in 16 balls), then hit three sixes and two fours in the 49th over bowled by Razzaq, which cost Pakistan 30 runs. Left-arm spin bowler Rehman (1-60), who shared the new ball with Akhtar and impressed in his first two spells, was taken to the cleaners by Oram, and conceded 34 runs in his ninth and 10th overs, as New Zealand scored 92 runs in the last four overs. Taylor and Oram (25 in 9 balls) added 85 runs in only 22 balls as the pair sapped the spirit and fight out of the Pakistani players.
Pakistan, though, had the ideal start to the match when Akhtar clean bowled Brendon McCullum in the fourth ball of the match after being hit for a six off the previous delivery, which happened to be one of the three front foot no-balls the 'Rawalpindi Express' bowled in his first spell. Jamie How, who replaced the unwell Jesse Ryder, found the going tough and scratched around for a 29-ball 4, before the impressive Gul trapped him plumb in front. Martin Guptill (57), who scored his second consecutive half-century and Taylor then repaired the early damage by putting on a 57-run partnership for the third wicket, but took more than 16 overs to do so, as Pakistan's bowlers controlled the flow of runs with commendable help from the fielders. Hafeez then trapped James Franklin plumb in front, which the batsman reviewed, but then had to walk back to the dressing room when the TV umpire upheld on-field umpire Daryl Harper's initial decision as NZ slipped to 113 for 4 in the 30th over.
Styris, who was also dropped by Kamran off Afridi and Taylor then added 62 runs for the fifth wicket with the veteran all-rounder scoring 27 before he was trapped in front by Gul, who also clean bowled Nathan McCullum after being hit for a six with New Zealand 210-6 in the 46th over. It was to be all downhill though for Pakistan from here on as Taylor and Oram had fun at the bowlers' expense.
Gul (3-32) was the pick of Pakistan's bowlers by a long mile; and while Afridi took his 15th wicket of the 2011 World Cup when he clean bowled Guptill conceded 55 runs. Akhtar (9-0-70-1) and Razzaq (4-0-49-0) had a match to forget with the ball.
Yuvraj makes World Cup record
Yuvraj Singh's all-round performance against Ireland not only powered India to a 5-wicket win Bangalore but also made him the first ever bowler in the history of World Cup to take a five-wicket haul and score a half-century in a single match.
Yuvraj's brilliant bowling figures of 5 for 31 are his best ever in ODIs - his first five-wicket instance. He is also the first left-arm spinner to capture five wickets in the World Cup, obliterating his own figures of four for six against Namibia at Pietermaritzburg on February 23, 2003.
His aforesaid figures are the fifth best by a left-armer in the World Cup - the top four performances are six for 14 by Gary Gilmour for Australia against England at Leeds on June 18, 1975; 6 for 23 by Ashish Nehra for India against England at Durban on February 26, 2003, 6 for 25 by Chaminda Vaas for Sri Lanka against Bangladesh at Pietermaritzburg on February 14, 2003 and 5 for 28 by Wasim Akram for Pakistan against Namibia at Kimberley on February 16, 2003.
The Indian southpaw has scored 47 half-centuries in ODIs and out of them, 35 have come for winning cause. He averages exactly 50.00 in India's victories. He has so far scored 5301 runs at a strike rate of 93.88, including nine centuries and 35 fifties in 153 matches.
The Punjab dasher has become the first Indian bowler and the fifth to capture five or more wickets in an innings in the present edition of the World Cup, joining Kemar Roach (West Indies), Lasith Malinga (Sri Lanka), Shahid Afridi (Pakistan - twice) and Tim Bresnan (England). His figures (5/31) are the fourth best by a left-arm spinner for India in ODIs - the best three are Murali Kartik - 6 for 27 against Australia at Mumbai on October 17, 2007; Sunil Joshi - 5 for 6 against South Africa at Nairobi (Gym.) on September 26, 1999 and 5 for 15 by Ravi Shastri against Australia at Perth on December 8, 1991.
The flamboyant Indian cricketer became the first bowler to take five wickets in an innings against Ireland at the World Cup, surpassing the 4 for 19 by Muttiah Muralitharan for Sri Lanka at St. George's on April 18, 2007. Yuvraj's performance is the second best by any bowler against Ireland in ODIs - the best being five for 14 by James Hopes for Australia at Dublin on June 17, 2010.
Kevin Pietersen out of the World Cup
The ECB has asked to replace him with Eoin Morgan as the England squad depart India for Chittagong for their next game, against Bangladesh, which takes place on Friday.
England have applied to the International Cricket Council (ICC) to request a replacement. Morgan of Middlesex has been preferred to Craig Kieswetter, who is with the England Lions in the Caribbean.
The ECB said on Saturday that Pietersen would undergo surgery after the World Cup but he complained of soreness after the game against South Africa. Pietersen scored only two runs, continuing his disappointing form with the bat at the World Cup, but then bowled eight overs in the victory in Chennai. He had intended to manage his hernia injury through the tournament and sounded confident on Saturday of doing so but his discomfort has led to the conclusion that the 31-year-old cannot continue.
His departure will force England to find a new opening partner for the captain, Andrew Strauss. Among the existing squad, Ian Bell and Matt Prior have been tried in that role but with limited success.
Kieswetter would have been an option to take the role if he had been brought in from his duties with the Lions. He did well as an opener in England's one-day series in Bangladesh last year.
Morgan, however, is the ECB's choice, though not as an opener. The batsman was ruled out of the initial World Cup squad because of a broken finger sustained in Australia but said last month that it did not require surgery and that he "will be back sooner than expected". He has been a valuable part of England's one-day team and his availability would be a boost as England look to progress in the tournament.
Hernia surgery after the World Cup would have ruled Pietersen out of the Indian Premier League, in which he has a contract with the Deccan Chargers. If he has the operation this week he may be able to play some part in the IPL, although he could opt to extend his rehabilitation period in preparation for England's summer Tests against India and Sri Lanka.
BANGLADESH SKITTLED FOR 58
Two-time champions West Indies lost one wicket but needed just 12.2 overs to reach the target, making it one of the shortest chases in ODI history.
Suleiman Benn led Bangladesh's swift capitulation, taking 4-18 in 5.5 overs. Fast bowler Kemar Roach had 3-19 while skipper Darren Sammy had 3-21.
It was the fourth lowest total in World Cup history after Canada (36) against Sri Lanka in 2003, Canada again (45) against England in Manchester in 1979 and Namibia (45) against Australia in 2003.
Roach dismissed Tamim Iqbal in the first over after which Bangladesh lost wickets steadily.
Fans inside the 25,000-capacity ground reacted angrily to their team's capitulation by throwing placards onto the pitch.
World Cup co-hosts Bangladesh lost their first match of the World Cup by 87 runs to India before hitting back to see off Ireland by 27 runs.
Irish Kevin O’Brien hits fastest World Cup hundred
Ireland's Kevin O'Brien, who plays his cricket for the Railway Union Club, on Wednesday stood head and shoulders above some of the sport's greatest names after guiding his country to one of the biggest World Cup shocks with victory over the old enemy England.Although he was out for 113 shortly before Ireland's moment of glory, their first win over England, by then the damage had been done and his team mates passed the massive 328 target with three wickets and five balls to spare.
No team has ever scored more to win a World Cup match batting second.
It will be long savoured by the scattering of Irish -- and even English -- fans privileged to witness it as one of the finest one-day innings of all time, never mind the 36-year-old World Cup.
It was a rare spot of bright news for the Irish, who last week kicked out their government over its role in the country's economic decline. Many Irish have never seen a cricket match, but that did not stop them celebrating.
O'Brien, who played a year's cricket with Nottinghamshire before returning to play full-time for the Railway Union Cricket Club in Dublin, had reached the crease when his team were all but finished as a threat to an England team chasing their second win of this year's tournament.
As he explained later, at 111-5 and still a distant 217 runs from their target with almost half their 50 overs used up, there was only one thing for it for this brawny mid-order batsman and that was to start slogging.
So he did, to all parts of the ground with none of the English bowlers, who had so recently frightened the daylights out of Australia in Ashes, spared from the onslaught.
He brought up his century with no less than six sixes including one 102-metre smite over long on and 13 fours.
KEVIN'S PERFORMANCE
Roach hat-trick romps Netherlands
Kemar Roach hat-trick West indies beat Netherlands by 215 runs: Kemar Roach took a game-ending hat-trick as West Indies romped to a crushing victory over Netherlands by 215 runs at the World Cup on Monday. Roach dismissed Pieter Seelaar, Bernard Loots and Berend Westdijk off successive balls at the start of the 32nd over to bowl the Dutch out for 115 in the Group B match. Fast bowler Roach finished with 6-27 in the latest lop-sided contest in the 2011 tournament.
West indies beat Netherlands by 215 runs
Dutch captain Peter Borren’s decision to put West Indies in to bat led to Gayle, Kieron Pollard and Devon Smith hitting half-centuries, steering their side to a daunting 330-8 in 50 overs at the Feroz Shah Kotla stadium. Gayle made 80, and shared a 100-run opening partnership with Devon Smith (53), and Pollard smashed 60 off 27 balls toward the end. Roach’s dramatic finish confirmed West Indies’ first victory of the tournament following a seven-wicket loss to South Africa in its opener. He had Seelaar and Loots both lbw and then clean-bowled Westdijk for just a sixth hat-trick at World Cups.
Facing a huge total to win, Netherlands lost Wesley Barresi in the second over, caught at slip for Roach’s first wicket, and never looked like coming close to challenging West Indies’ score after that. Tom Cooper provided the sole resistance with 55 not out, but his teammates crumbled around him as West Indies’ bowlers completed the dominant performance started by the batsmen. Spinner Sulieman Benn took 3-28 to back up Roach as Netherlands slumped to 56-6 and then lost its last four wickets for a mere two runs.
West Indies’ opening batsman Gayle plundered seven fours and two sixes in his 110-ball innings, suddenly bursting into life from the 10th over with five fours in the space of nine balls. Smith had begun with three fours off Mudassar Bukhari in the first over of the match and continued to stroke boundaries with ease to reach a half-century off just 45 balls. He fell trying to play a cut shot to a ball from Bernard Loots that cramped him for space and he was caught off a thin edge by wicketkeeper Barresi.
Darren Bravo made a breezy 30 in a rapid 68-run partnership with Gayle, who was finally out when he lofted a straight drive to Kervezee in the outfield with the score on 196. He was dismissed one run short of becoming the fourth West Indian to reach 8,000 ODI runs.
Promoted to No. 5, big-hitting Indian Premier League player Pollard effortlessly flicked his second ball over the bowler’s head for six, serving warning to the struggling Dutch bowlers of things to come. He sent a flurry of fours flying through the offside before lashing another towering six straight down the ground and high into the stands. Pollard passed 50 off just 23 balls, just three balls slower than the fastest half-century in World Cups, and added one final boundary before holing out to Ten Doeschate at long-on off Bukhari in the 48th.
His influence had taken West Indies from 196 to 312 in a little over 11 overs and a commanding position from where his side was never likely to lose.
India and England tie up
The World Cup caught fire on Sunday when co-hosts India and England shared a tie in one of the most thrilling matches ever seen after a record- breaking 676-run slug-fest went down to the last ball.
It was not a game for the faint-hearted and those Indian fans who left the stadium early thinking their team was doomed three-quarters of the way through will surely kick themselves forever after missing a truly classic finale.
On an evening that simply beggared belief, England tied with India in an incredible finale in Bangalore. Andrew Strauss was England's inspiration, producing an extraordinary 158 from 145 balls, the highest score by an English batsman in World Cup history, as England threatened the unthinkable, and set off in full pursuit of India's seemingly unobtainable total of 338 - a score that had been made possible by a brilliant 120 from Sachin Tendulkar.
Such was the clarity of Strauss's strokeplay and the passivity of India's attack, at 280 for 2 in the 43rd over, England were cruising towards an extraordinary triumph. However a late intervention, sparked by a reverse-swinging Zaheer Khan, left them clawing for breath as a silenced Chinnaswamy stadium rediscovered its roar, and when the requirement shot up beyond two runs a ball, there seemed no way back into the contest. However, a ballsy volley of sixes from England's lower order hauled them back from the brink, and with two runs needed from the final delivery of the match, Graeme Swann drilled Munaf Patel to cover to salvage a share of the spoils.
The breathless finale was entirely in keeping with a contest that twisted and turned like an insomniac in a mosquito-pit. From the first over of the match, in which Virender Sehwag might have been dismissed three times in five balls, through the sumptuous strokeplay of first Tendulkar and later Strauss, and on through a pair of batting collapses - one apiece for the lower order of both teams - there was scarcely a moment in which normal service was permitted. Tim Bresnan, with 5 for 48 in ten unrelentingly composed overs, was the unsung star of a day that deserves to be remembered as the finest World Cup contest since that semi-final in 1999.
For the first 39 overs of the match, and again for the last seven, the Bangalore crowd was as raucous as a monsoon wedding, as Tendulkar ignited India's first home fixture of the World Cup with his 47th ODI century, before Zaheer Khan hauled them back from the brink of ignominy with 3 for 11 in his final three-over spell. But in between whiles, the game belonged to England, as India shipped their last seven wickets in 25 balls to let their opponents regain a toe-hold in the contest, before turning the stage over to Strauss and his magnum opus.
A positive start was a pre-requisite as England embarked on their second daunting chase in as many matches, and just as Strauss had soothed his team's anxieties with 88 from 83 balls after their flirtation with humiliation against the Dutch, he was once again in the thick of things right from the start of the innings. Zaheer, who was as poor with the new ball as he was devastating with the old, bowled both sides of the wicket to gift two boundaries in six balls, and Strauss was up and running. He barely dipped below a run a ball at any subsequent stage of his innings.
He required some moments of luck, particularly on 17 when TV replays suggested he had nicked a drive against Zaheer that the Indian fielders were unable to hear against the din of the crowd, but for the most part he was rewarded for his intent and aggression, and a common-sense approach to the three key partnerships that propelled England's challenge. By the end of the batting Powerplay, England were 19 runs to the good, on 77 for 1 compared to India's 10-over total of 58 for 1, and with a stream of easy singles to offset the intermittent boundary balls, they never looked like blinking until the summit was within sight.
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Bell, England's best player of spin, was beaten twice in his first two balls as Chawla ripped first his googly then his legspinner to perfection, but his hairiest moment came on 17, when Yuvraj Singh referred an appeal for lbw that Hawkeye suggested met all the criteria for an overturned decision. However, umpire Billy Bowden, applying the letter of the law even if it meant contravening the evidence on a billion TV screens, reprieved Bell on the grounds that he had advanced more than 2.5 metres down the pitch, and that the technology's prediction could not be deemed conclusive.
The despondency of the crowd was reflected in India's subsequent bowling, as Strauss motored through to his sixth ODI century, from 99 balls, and on towards his third in excess of 150. Liberated by the match situation, he launched Yuvraj for one of the biggest sixes of his career, straight down the ground, to bring up the hundred partnership, and Bell did likewise to Chawla to rush through to his fifty from 45 balls.
It was England's decision to take the batting Powerplay, at 280 for 2 in the 43rd over, that triggered the devastating late reversal of momentum. India's last chance appeared to have gone begging when Bell, on 68, was dropped by Virat Kohli at slip off Chawla, but Kohli made amends 10 balls later, when Bell miscued a tired slog off Zaheer to extra cover. With the crowd alive to the contest once again, Zaheer then put himself on a hat-trick with an unplayable late-swinging yorker that crushed Strauss's toe in front of leg stump.
With the pressure proving smothering and Chawla's variations now illegible to the new batsmen, Paul Collingwood missed a wipe across the line to be bowled for 1 from five balls, before Prior gave up all hope of threading the gaps and took a huge top-edged heave at Harbhajan to be caught for 4 from 8. Michael Yardy chipped and chivvied before dinking an attempted boundary shot straight to Sehwag at short backward square, but it was Swann's flat six off Chawla, with 29 needed from two overs, that reawakened England's challenge. Three balls later, Bresnan also put Chawla into the stands, and though he was bowled having a mow in the same over, Ajmal Shahzad sent his first ball, from Patel, in the same direction, to set up the grandstand finish.
If England felt that they'd let a golden opportunity go, then at least it could be said that they proved themselves equal to one of the best performances of a legendary career. Even by Tendulkar's matchless standards, his was a vintage performance, and a masterful example of how to pace an innings. He was a casual bystander in the day's opening exchanges, while Sehwag ran amok, before picking up his tempo throughout a second-wicket stand of 134 with Gautam Gambhir, without ever needing to take risks to make his mark. The high point of his innings came when he belted consecutive sixes at the start of Swann's second spell, a calculated show of class that undermined England's trump bowler, and left Strauss floundering for alternatives as his tactics were picked apart.
In all Tendulkar stroked 10 fours and five sixes in what was, somewhat curiously, his first one-day hundred against England for nine years. By the time he was dismissed with 11 overs of the innings remaining, caught off a leading edge at cover (to give James Anderson his first one-day wicket in India for 53 overs dating back to 2006, on a day in which he conceded the most expensive analysis in England's World Cup history), India's total stood at an imposing 236 for 3, and it was a measure both of Tendulkar's brilliance and of England's dogged refusal to give in, that Yuvraj and MS Dhoni were unable to cut loose to quite the extent they might have expected.
The omens for England had not been exactly positive going into the start of this match. Eleven defeats in their last 12 away matches against India underlined their status of underdogs, as did the two team's respective performances in their opening fixtures of the tournament - England's laboured victory over the Netherlands compared distinctly unfavourably to India's crunching win against Bangladesh in Dhaka, and when Stuart Broad, their best and most aggressive seamer, was ruled out with a stomach complaint before the start of the match, a vast swathe of England's gameplan went down with him. Nevertheless, they thought on their feet and showed precisely the pluck that was in stasis throughout their one-day campaign in Australia. Two of the best teams in the world were on show in Bangalore, and what a show they produced
SEHWAG WILL PLAY ON SUNDAY
Zumba Fitness Total Body Transformation System DVD Set
India team manager Ranjib Biswal says there are no injury worries for batsmen Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh after they were hit by deliveries during practice sessions ahead of Sunday's Group B match against England at the World Cup.
Zumba Fitness Total Body Transformation System DVD Set
India team manager Ranjib Biswal says there are no injury worries for batsmen Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh after they were hit by deliveries during practice sessions ahead of Sunday's Group B match against England at the World Cup.
Indian police attack fans as tempers flare after England game sells out in Bangalore
Fans queueing to buy tickets for England's World Cup match against India have clashed with police in Bangalore.
Local television in India has broadcast footage of policemen hitting fans on their legs and backs.
The BBC said that many fans have been waiting since Wednesday night and the violence was sparked by a shortage of tickets.
It was later confirmed he has suffered only very minor bruising and is expected to be fit to play on Sunday.
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| An Indian policeman uses a bamboo stick in an attempt to control fans outside the stadium |
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Delivering the bad news: A sign was put up on one of the ticket booths in Bangalore |
Bangalore is the venue for Sunday's game between England and India.
Only a few thousand tickets have been put on general sale because the bulk of them have been given to sponsors and commercial partners, according to the BBC.
Stadium security officer Ratnakar Salunke explained the force used by police is not unusual in India.
'The crowd was so huge that there was not a sufficient number of tickets,' he said.
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| Ugly scenes: Police and security officers try to keep the fans back after all the tickets were sold |
'When the tickets ran out, they didn't believe it. So that's when some of them tried to get in themselves.
'It is usual that crowds are dispersed like this with a small amount of force.'
Asked about the reports of hospital admissions, Mr Salunke added: 'After all the queueing, there was maybe some exhaustion, and the health of certain persons may not be that good for standing in the sunlight for all that time. It is not for any other reason. I was told by the police that one or two of them were not comfortable.'
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| Sole destroying: Some fans ended up leaving without their shoes after the stampede for just 4,000 tickets |
Extra security is being laid on for England’s World Cup game against India in Bangalore to help avoid a repeat of the bomb blasts that marred an Indian Premier League match here last year.
As fans queuing outside the M Chinnaswamy Stadium for tickets ahead of Sunday’s showdown were charged by baton-wielding police, it emerged that an exclusion zone of 500 metres will be imposed around the ground on the day of the match.
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| Iron fist: Crowds queuing to buy tickets for England's match with India are beaten by police |
Last April, 14 people were injured here when two low-grade bombs went off shortly before the start of
an IPL game involving Kevin Pietersen. But 1,000 police will be on duty outside the ground this
time, plus 800 inside, for the most eagerly anticipated match of the tournament so far.
The security measures should also prevent a repeat of Thursday's chaotic crush, when fans scrambled to buy the 7,000 tickets available to the public from 8.30am at the 38,400-capacity venue.
Tickets sold out in two hours, but when the crowd — many of whom had queued through the night — failed to disperse, the police waded in with lathi, the large bamboo sticks which have long been a staple of crowd control in India.
Two men were taken to hospital, although officials insisted they were victims of sunstroke. The Karnataka State Cricket Association’s head of security, Ratnakar Salunke, said: ‘The moment the tickets were sold out, they were unhappy and started demanding more tickets. They tried to get in, so the police had to disperse the people forcibly. It is normal practice, anywhere in India.’
Tickets were supposed to have been limited to one per person, but an eyewitness claimed he saw
a policeman holding 10 — a discrepancy that typifies the shambolic nature of the ticket distribution at this early stage of the competition.
Only 4,000 were made available to the public for the final at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium, which seats 33,000, while the tournament website selling tickets for the semi-finals and final crashed within 10 minutes of going live. Commercial partners of the ICC have complained of not receiving their allocation.
The situation in Bangalore has not been helped by the late arrival of many of the tickets from Kolkata, where this game was due to be staged until the iconic Eden Gardens venue fell behind with
refurbishments.
The enthusiasm of local fans at least promises to turn Sunday’s encounter into the noisiest since
India took on Bangladesh in Dhaka on the opening day of the World Cup.
But England batsman Ravi Bopara insisted he would relish the atmosphere — assuming he is preferred to spinner Mike Yardy once more following his crucial unbeaten 30 from 20 balls during
Tuesday’s six-wicket win over Holland.
‘It definitely won’t intimidate me,’ said Bopara. ‘I’ve played in this atmosphere before, in the IPL and last time we were here with England. It’s very noisy. You can’t have a conversation with the players on the pitch. It’s all hand signals. But it’s fine.
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| Looking forward: England's Ravi Bopara at a press conference on Thursday |
‘If the crowd are enjoying it, it pumps you up as well. We know the game against India will be one of our toughest challenges in this tournament.
‘These last two or three years England have been excellent in one-day cricket. I’m used to winning with England and that's what we've done so far.'
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