Astrologers predict India's win at Wankhede

After the exciting win in the World Cup semifinals, the Indian cricket team is all set for Saturday's final against Sri Lanka and astrologers say that luck favours the hosts, who will lift the trophy they first won in 1983.

"M.S. Dhoni's stars are shining bright. He is in his 30th year and is very lucky for him. Dhoni's 'lagna' (ascadent) is Virgo. Rahu, mercury are also in operation. Ketu 'dasa' entered on March 29. Ketu is yogakaraka or significator. Due to this he won against Pakistan. Same configuration will be there on April 2 too. His stars are better than Sangakara and it means India Will win. Match will be well-fought by both the teams," astrologer Ajay Bhambhi told IANS.

He added: "Sri Lanka will win the toss and will make a total of more than 300 runs, which will not be a difficult task for Indian team to chase."

Bejan Daruwalla, another renowned astrologer, said India has the capability to win the coveted trophy. "I am not god, but I feel India should win," he said.

Prem Kumar Sharma said: "We defeated Australian team, which is three time world champion. They were strong oponent as compared to Sri Lanka, so I feel India has the potential to win the world cup."

Sri Lanka and India made it to the final after beating New Zealand and Pakistan respectively in the semi-finals.

The final match will be played in Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium.

India and Sri Lanka have met seven times in World Cups. Sri Lanka leads the win-loss record 4-2, with one no-result.

Astro-mumerologist Anupam Kapil says that in terms of performance Sri Lanka will be stronger, "but the numerology suggests that as a nation India will win the cup."

"Middle order batsmen of team India might not play very well and Sachin Tendulkar and Virendra Sehwag will have to pull it off. Lasith Malinga's bowling will be a threat. It's a must for India should play all the 50 overs...," he added. —IANS

British, Oz media hail India; criticise Pakistan's fumbles

The British and Australian media marvelled at Sachin Tendulkar's astonishing luck and hailed India as deserving finalists of the cricket World Cup, saying Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men were way better than Pakistan in dealing with pressure during the engrossing semifinal. In a piece headlined, 'India retain grip to reach dream showpiece', 'Daily Telegraph' writer Derek Pringle said Pakistan didn't deserve to win after dropping Tendulkar, who top-scored with 85, four times during the match.

"The Great Game between these feuding neighbours failed to materialise after India won a faltering match to take their place on Saturday against Sri Lanka in the World Cup final. They were deserved winners, mostly because a team who squander five chances, as Pakistan did when India batted first, do not deserve to win anything let alone the semi-final of cricket's biggest tournament," the newspaper said.

"This is probably Tendulkar's last chance to win the World Cup so perhaps that, as well as having his hundredth international hundred hanging over him, added to the pressure of an already tense occasion. Yet, whatever it is that disrupts the little master's flow, it afflicted him yesterday and he should have been out on 27, 45, 71 and 81.

"Before those let-offs, he had also survived an lbw and a stumping, both of them adjudicated by TV replay, by a hair's breadth." The 'Herald Sun' in Australia also said that Pakistan lost the match because of the four dropped catches. "Pakistan drop their bundle," read the headline. "They say one moment can decide a match, but four moments sealed Pakistan's fate as they dropped batting wizard Sachin Tendulkar four times on their way to a World Cup semi-final loss to India."

'The Guardian' in England ridiculed the dropped catches and said, "to drop him once was unfortunate. To do it four times beggared belief." "Shahid Afridi, the Pakistan captain, seemed to go through all five of the stages of grief. Denial as he patted Misbah-ul-Haq on the bum after he dropped the ball at midwicket. Anger as he ran his fingers through his hair when Younus Khan fluffed one at extra cover. Bargaining with the umpires over those referrals.

"Depression when Kamran Akmal let an edge fly by his gloves, and finally meek acceptance when Umar Akmal spilled a final chance at mid-off. Finally Tendulkar hit the ball to Afridi who took the catch just in time to save his sanity."

Wide-selling British tabloid 'The Daily Mail' said "Tendulkar cashes in on missed catches as India enjoy a drop of luck to reach World Cup final." The paper was, however, critical of India's famed batting's performance. "They came into this World Cup semi-final under unbearable pressure, but India coped with the expectations of a nation and survived a stuttering batting performance to take their seemingly pre-ordained place in the final," it said.

On the dropped catches of Tendulkar, the paper said even the Indian maestro would have been embarrased to reach his 100th international ton after getting so many lives. "Pakistan's hapless fielders dropped the Little Master no fewer than four times and Tendulkar was also reprieved twice by technology," it said. —PTI

Team India winning moment against Pakistan

Team India made it to the final of World Cup for the third time as they beat Pakistan in the Semi-final. This is India’s fifth win to Pakistan in World Cup. Cherish these winning moments if you are an India fan.


In pic: Contrasting emotions from Shahid Afridi and Harbhajan Singh after the former's dismissal. © AFP

In pic: Shahid Afridi congratulates Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag after the hard-fought game. © Getty Images

In pic: Sachin Tendulkar, Suresh Raina and Munaf Patel celebrate after India ended up winners. © Getty Images

In pic: The celebrations begin after the victory is confirmed. © AFP

In pic: Sachin Tendulkar and MS Dhoni are thrilled after India's win. © AFP

In pic: Sachin Tendulkar celebrates India's win with an ecstatic leap. © Associated Press

In pic: Sachin Tendulkar and Yuvraj Singh are pleased to be in the World Cup final. © Associated Press

India scrap their way into World Cup final

India 260 for 9 (Tendulkar 85, Riaz 5-46) beat Pakistan 231 (Misbah 56) by 29 runs

	In pic: Sachin Tendulkar's 85 was the best score in the match, but he was dropped four times along the way © AFP

India's dream of a World Cup triumph at home is one step closer after their bowlers suffocated Pakistan's batsmen to set up a 29-run victory in the semi-final in Mohali. Saturday's decider will now be a battle of the hosts, and while Sri Lanka might have been surprised by the strength of India's bowling effort, they would also have taken note of a slightly lacklustre batting performance.

In the end, India's 260 for 9 was enough as their bowlers did a fine job, but had Pakistan helped themselves, the target could have been so much more gettable. Sachin Tendulkar was dropped four times in his 85, MS Dhoni was put down once and while Wahab Riaz was extremely impressive in collecting five wickets, Umar Gul had one of his most forgettable days, wilting under the pressure of a World Cup semi-final.

By contrast, India's display in the field was much more professional, and that was the difference in a match that lived up to the extreme pre-match hype. The decision to leave R Ashwin out to make room for Ashish Nehra was an odd choice on a pitch offering plenty of spin, but Nehra and his bowling colleagues built the pressure and gave Pakistan's batsmen little to attack after they made a promising start and reached 70 for 1.

The Indians didn't give away an extra until the 37th over of the innings, and the way they put together strings of dot balls and tight overs was key to their success. Munaf Patel picked up two victims and Yuvraj Singh made up for his golden duck with a pair of wickets, but the most important breakthrough came when Harbhajan Singh bowled Umar Akmal for 29.

Akmal had struck a pair of sixes off Yuvraj, driving him over the sight screen and pulling him over midwicket, and anything was possible while he was at the crease. But Dhoni called on Harbhajan to replace Yuvraj, and with the first ball of his spell he came around the wicket and pushed one across Akmal, taking the off stump when the batsman played for the spin.

Shahid Afridi also fell to Harbhajan when he skied a catch off a full toss, and the obdurate Misbah-ul-Haq was left to steer the chase. He found it difficult to lift his tempo and was the last man out, caught on the boundary for 56 in the final over, but he ate up 76 deliveries and had he shown some more intent earlier, Pakistan might have had a chance.

It was a disappointing end for Pakistan after their top order gave them hope. Mohammad Hafeez made an encouraging 43 before a string of eight dot balls from Munaf brought a brain-fade as Hafeez tried a premeditated paddle sweep from outside off stump and edged behind to Dhoni.

Soon after, the loss of Asad Shafiq brought the Mohali crowd to life, when he tried to cut a Yuvraj delivery that was much too full and straight, and the middle stump was knocked back. Shafiq had made 30 and had displayed a cool temperament until that point, but the required run-rate started to balloon, and Pakistan never recovered.

But while India have booked a place in the final, they must hope they haven't used all their good fortune too soon. Tendulkar might be the finest batsman of his generation, but today he was the luckiest, dropped on 27, 45, 70 and 81. It seemed as though he was going to bring up his 100th international century with one of his least convincing innings.

Misbah at midwicket was the first to put him down, before Younis Khan spilled a regulation chance at cover, both off the bowling of Afridi. The third opportunity came when Kamran Akmal didn't move his hands quickly enough to a thick edge, again off Afridi, and while that was a tough opportunity, a pull to Umar at mid-on from the offspin of Hafeez should have been taken.

Before he had any of those lives, Tendulkar had survived two very tight calls on 23: an lbw decision that was given out by Ian Gould but on review proved to be spinning down leg, and a near-stumping the next delivery when he just got his back foot down in time after losing his balance reaching outside off. When Tendulkar was finally taken at cover by Afridi off the bowling of Ajmal, Pakistan's relief was evident.

Soon after, a scratchy Dhoni, who was also dropped by Kamran, made the mistake of challenging Simon Taufel on an lbw decision. Dhoni had 25 when he missed a Riaz delivery that pitched just in line and was hitting the stumps. It was the second outstanding call by Taufel, who had given Virender Sehwag lbw in a similar fashion earlier, even though the left-armer's angle meant pitching outside leg was a possibility.

Riaz was the man who Afridi had to thank for keeping Pakistan in the contest after India made a strong start and reached 114 for 1 off their first 18 overs. After Gautam Gambhir was stumped wandering down the pitch against Hafeez, Riaz grabbed two wickets in two balls - Virat Kohli caught at backward point and Yuvraj bowled by a low full toss for a golden duck.

Nobody looked as fluent as the crease as Sehwag, who took 21 off Gul (0 for 69) from the third over of the innings. What looked like a 300-plus total in those early overs became 260 when Suresh Raina helped them recover from their middle-order failures.

It was enough, but India's batsmen will need to improve if they want to lift the trophy on Saturday. For now, they can dream of their first World Cup in 28 years. © ESPN EMEA Ltd.

Indian news channels given temporary access to ICC World Cup

The ICC today agreed to allow Indian TV channels to attend the high-voltage World Cup semifinals between India and Pakistan tomorrow following a request from Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni.

Soni today stepped in to resolve the ongoing tussle between the ICC and the electronic media, which was barred by ICC from covering tomorrow's semi-final clash. The minister had a meeting with the representatives of the News Broadcasters Association this morning and then wrote a letter to Pawar requesting him to allow the electronic media to cover the event.

She proposed a 24-hour 'truce' in a dispute created by Indian non-rights holders (NRH) breaching the terms and conditions they had agreed to follow when they were awarded accreditation for the World Cup.

"Ms Soni had written to ICC President Sharad Pawar and asked for the television channels be allowed access into the ground at Mohali for this important game," ICC Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat said.

"At the same time she agreed to convene a meeting at the Ministry on 31 March 2011 to address the dispute which has been caused by repeated and serious breaches of the terms and conditions which these organisations had signed up to." Giving a vivid outline of the facts, Lorgat said, "Firstly, the News Access Guidelines for Broadcasting the ICC Cricket World Cup were issued in January 2011 and all news broadcasters were reminded of these Guidelines in a letter from the ICC on 27 January.

"No objections to the guidelines were received and accreditations were issued to the NRH reporters and cameramen on condition that these guidelines were followed. "Sadly there have been many breaches and despite requests for such activity to cease the NRH stations continued to break the rules. "It was only as a last resort that the ICC withdrew the accreditation of these companies when they refused to sign an undertaking that they would desist from breaching the guidelines. It was not something done without very good reason," he added.

Lorgat, however, pledged to protect the rights of its broadcast and commercial partners. "It is also important to understand that the removal of the accreditation does not prevent these channels from reporting the ICC Cricket World Cup. It only prevents them from entering the stadium. Footage is provided to them from several agencies, including SNTV and Reuters, the ICC's official news providers," he said.

"I am grateful for the minister's intervention in calling a meeting but I must repeat that we are committed to protecting the rights and investments of our broadcast partners as well as the exclusivity of our commercial partners. "We will not allow that to be compromised and if the relevant members of the News Broadcasters Association are not willing to give the necessary undertakings we require, we will have no other option but to withdraw accreditation for the final in Mumbai," he added.

Earlier in the day, ICC had barred electronic media, who breached the media guidelines for covering the ongoing World Cup, access to the PCA stadium, depriving them of covering the pre-match press conferences. Last night too, the ICC had barred a large number of electronic media, mainly from India and Bangladesh from covering the remaining matches of the cricket World Cup for breaching the media guidelines.

ICC officials, armed with a list of banned channels, checked the media accreditations of all the journalists as they entered the stadium to cover the press conferences of Indian skipper Mahendra Singh and Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi.

Only those channels who were not in the banned list were permitted to enter the stadium while others had to report on World Cup related matters from outside the venue. As a result, there were hordes of reporters from the print media but only a handful of television cameras at the press conference. —PTI

Playing the pressure game

	Shahid Afridi and MS Dhoni pose for the cameras © AFP

MS Dhoni and Shahid Afridi are men of instinct, who refuse to bide by convention. Both stand out for their daring attitudes but are defensive leaders. On Wednesday it is they, and not their Prime Ministers, who will be the most important men in Mohali. Their decisions will influence a match that has gained hysterical proportions.

So on the eve of the semi-final, described by some propaganda-driven television channels as a mahayudh(great war), Dhoni and Afridi were cautious, concealing their nerves behind smiles and flashes of humour.

Afridi was on time for his interaction with the media. Dhoni had arrived late, not an uncommon occurrence in the World Cup, and something the Indian management has never been able to explain. So even as Dhoni was wrapping up, Afridi was already in the room exchanging pleasantries with the Pakistan media.

Afridi is a restless man, always on the lookout for something - mostly mischief. Even before Dhoni had stood up, Afridi was next to him, smiling but looking his opposite number in the eye. He shook hands and then put his arm over Dhoni's shoulder. The cameramen went berserk. A moment later Afridi sat down, hunched forward, in control and ready to take on the world. For the next 15 minutes Afridi answered the media's questions with the wit of a stand-up comedian. His responses were impromptu, abrupt, in short bursts and left everyone chuckling.

Asked if Pakistan's fast bowlers would employ the same strategy of bowling short as did the Australians in the quarterfinals, Afridi shot back: "And maar khaye unon ne (they got beaten)." Why were Pakistan not training today? "Why, you don't like it?" Afridi responded. Someone asked whether Pakistan, a team with a young average age, could handle the pressure of a big game in front of a partisan crowd. Afridi completely misunderstood the question initially, and it was asked again. His response was off target. "Age is less? You are saying that because of me? Average age bolo na, yaar (say you meant the average age). Average actually increasing is not such a big thing. It can increase any time. This is a match to increase averages."

Then Afridi put on his serious hat, admitting a positive result would have tremendous significance for Pakistan cricket, which had plunged into crisis after three players were indicted in a spot-fixing scandal during the England tour last year. "It is very important," Afridi said. "This World Cup matters a lot for us because we are trying to bring cricket back home."

Afridi said the most important thing his players needed to do was enjoy the game. He even thought Pakistan held an advantage. "The main thing is if you know how to handle the pressure, you don't need to panic in it.

"We are enjoying our cricket because we are not the most favourite team in this competition. India is the most favourite team. We have played above our expectations. So we are very confident."

While Afridi was at ease, Dhoni behaved as though he was walking a tightrope. The match had attracted extra attention, and will be attended by the premiers of India and Pakistan, other political heavy weights and celebrities. Was it difficult to stay immune to the hype? "It should not be affecting us really because we all know it is a big tournament and we have prepared a lot for it," Dhoni said. "We are playing the semi-finals. The most important thing is how you prepared yourself irrespective of what is happening around you. And that is what we have been doing in the past few days."

Wasn't there a danger of losing focus in such a climate? "It depends on what you actually mean by hype - the hype created by the media, the sponsors. We are not getting involved and that is what is important. You need to be aware of what we are expected to do and we are expected to play good cricket on the field. All these things have been part of the Indian cricket for a long time. Of course the biggest distinguished guests will be there to see the game but they are here to enjoy cricket, which means we will have to play well and we will prepare well and see how it goes."

Dhoni said his team was focussed and had become used to the attention. And it was not the first time the players were part of such an experience. "When you talk about hype, pressure etc., one thing is sure: whether you are thinking about it, or not thinking about it, I don't think it really helps you perform. So what is not helping you perform needs to be kept away."

The foreign media was more interested in whether cricket was playing the bridge in bringing two neighbours back to the mediation table after bilateral talks between India and Pakistan were fractured following the terrorist attack in Mumbai in 2008. Dhoni said he would prefer being a player to being a diplomat.

Neither Dhoni nor Afridi would readily admit that the pressure would be immense. Afridi acted as though he did not have a care in the world. Dhoni said the focus would remain on the match. When both walk into the din created by 28,000 fans, their nerves will face a tremendous test. © ESPN EMEA Ltd.

Sri Lanka survive jitters to reach World Cup final

Sri Lanka 220 for 5 (Dilshan 73, Sangakkara 54) beat New Zealand 217 (Styris 57, Mendis 3-35) by five wickets

	Tillakaratne Dilshan put Sri Lanka firmly on course for the final, before his dismissal sparked a late collapse © AFP

Sri Lanka overcame a serious bout of the jitters to book their place in Saturday's World Cup final in Mumbai, as New Zealand bowed out in the last four for the sixth time in ten campaigns, though with their pride fully intact after another fabulous never-say-die performance in Colombo.

In a strange amalgam of the one-sided thrashing that Sri Lanka handed out to England in their quarter-final on Saturday, and New Zealand's last-eight fightback against South Africa in Dhaka, the favourites duly progressed, and by a seemingly comfortable five-wicket margin. However, the closing stages were fraught in the extreme as a raucous home crowd was forced to postpone a party that had been in full swing for more than three-quarters of the contest.

Defending a mediocre total of 217 after a spirited batting effort had unravelled in a clatter of late wickets, New Zealand's lust for a scrap kicked in with a vengeance just when it seemed the match was finally out of their reach. At 160 for 1 in the 33rd over, with Tillakaratne Dilshan and Kumar Sangakkaraentrenched in a game-breaking partnership of 120, what little attention had been on this, the less glamorous of the two semi-finals, had already begun to drift towards Wednesday's epic match-up in Mohali.

But then Dilshan, cruising on 73 from 93 deliveries and seemingly destined for his second hundred in consecutive matches, slapped loosely at Tim Southee and picked out Jesse Ryder at point, whose second catch of the innings was a far less breathtaking affair than his earlier one-handed pluck off Sri Lanka's pace-setter, Upul Tharanga.

Three balls later, the new man Mahela Jayawardene was beaten in flight by a beautiful dipping delivery from Daniel Vettori and nailed plumb lbw for 1, whereupon Sangakkara's habitually cool head deserted him, as he attempted to steer the lively Andy McKay over the keeper for four, but ended up dollying a simple chance to Scott Styris at third man.

Sri Lanka had lost three wickets for eight runs in 22 deliveries, and just as had been the case in the throttling of South Africa, New Zealand's bowlers ramped up the aggro while maintaining supremely disciplined lines and lengths. On the same worn wicket that had been used for the England quarter-final, runs suddenly became excruciatingly hard to come by as Sri Lanka's untested middle order was fully exposed to the limelight.

Chamara Silva and Thilan Samaraweera scraped together nine runs in six overs as the asking-rate climbed to close to five, and it took a message from the dressing room, delivered with a drink from Dilhara Fernando, to persuade them out of their defensive mindset. Silva responded with two fours in consecutive deliveries as Ryder's seam-up was brought into the attack, but three balls later he tried to get aggressive against the extra pace of Southee and chopped onto his own stumps for 13.

Samaraweera, however, had the experience to see his team home. A short ball from Ryder was fetched over midwicket for four, before a wild throw from Oram gifted him another four as the ball sailed over the keeper's head. Another error lopped five more precious runs off the total as a McKay wide slipped through the keeper's grasp, and though McKay responded with a beauty to Angelo Mathews that was sent to be reviewed for caught-behind, the lack of Hot Spot meant there was no evidence available to reverse the on-field decision.

And with a smoking six off Southee in the next over, the game was finally relieved of its tension - even though it took two winning shots to seal it, after Mathew's initial carve through the covers was called a dead-ball due to a firework exploding right at the moment of delivery. Instead, Samaraweera nudged through third man to wrap up the game with 13 balls to spare.

Such a nerve-jangling finale could not have seemed further from the agenda while Sri Lanka's innings was in full flow. From the moment Tharanga launched his third ball, from Nathan McCullum, straight down the ground for six, Sri Lanka were always ahead of the asking-rate. His departure for 30 from 31 balls did change the tempo of the Sri Lankan innings, but neither Dilshan nor Sangakkara had any reason to rush towards a modest victory target.

Sangakkara had an early let-off when he edged Oram at a catchable height through the vacant slip cordon, while Dilshan - who had been so combative against England - took 28 deliveries to score the second boundary of his innings, and his 50th of the World Cup to date. But he went on to pass 400 runs for the tournament, en route to overtaking Jonathan Trott as the leading run-scorer, and as Sangakkara finally began to nail his trademark cover-drives, New Zealand looked to have run out of ideas.

In hindsight, the Kiwis will look back on the closing stages of their own innings with regret, for a late collapse of 5 for 13, including 4 for 4 in 12 balls, undermined much of the good work they had put into the early part of their innings. The bed-rock was provided by Scott Styris, a centurion against Sri Lanka in the 2007 World Cup, who ground out a responsible 57 from 76 balls. But when he was extracted lbw by the final delivery that Muttiah Muralitharan will ever bowl on home soil, Sri Lanka responded euphorically to scythe through the tail and leave seven precious deliveries unused.

Whether a 240 target would have made any difference will remain a matter for conjecture. Though they fared better than any other team in the tournament so far in taking 41 runs off Sri Lanka's bowlers in the batting Powerplay, they were ultimately undone by the depth and variety of their attack, with Lasith Malinga's yorkers scalping three key wickets at critical moments.

Too many of New Zealand's batsmen made starts without going on. Martin Guptill flicked Malinga's fifth delivery through midwicket in a 65-ball 39, only for Malinga to york him superbly when he returned for his second spell, while Brendon McCullum slog-swept Rangana Herath for six, only to be bowled for 13 playing the exact same stroke. Taylor, whose ferocious hitting could have been so valuable at the death, launched a Mendis long-hop straight to deep midwicket just when he looked ready to build on his 36 from 55 balls.

But as Vettori takes his leave of the New Zealand captaincy, he can reflect on yet another campaign in which his team rose to the challenge of the big event in precisely the manner that too many of their supposed betters - namely England and South Africa - consistently fail to do. Sangakkara and his men, meanwhile, march on to their second final in consecutive World Cups, where Muralitharan - his broken body notwithstanding - will attempt to complete his career on the highest high imaginable. © ESPN EMEA Ltd.

ICC bars electronic media from coverage of World Cup

The ICC tonight barred electronic media from covering the remaining matches of the cricket World Cup for breaching the media guidelines.



An ICC spokesman said that non-rights holders will no longer be allowed to cover the practice session or the press conferences related to World Cup for not adhering to the code of conduct and the media guidelines, which they had signed for accreditation. The spokesman said, this will be applicable to both the semifinals in Colombo and Mohali and the final in Mumbai.

ESPN-StarSports has the broadcast rights for the World Cup. The non-rights holder (NRH) were given time till tonight to give an undertaking that they will abide by the terms and conditions for media accrediatation, failing which they would be disallowed to cover the event.

An ICC source said there has been number of broadcast violations during the entire tournament and they have repeatedly brought it to the notice of the offenders but despite the warning they continued to breach the guidelines, promoting the game's governing body to take stern action.

The first semifinal of the WC between Sri Lanka and New Zealand will be held in Colombo tomorrow while the high-octane second semifinal between traditional rivals India and Pakistan is scheduled to be here on Wednesday. The final will be held in Mumbai on April 2.

Meanwhile, the Broadcast Editors' Association (BEA) and the National Broadcasters Association (NBA) have decided to approach the Information and Broadcasting (I&B) ministry on the matter. BEA President Shazi Zaman has termed the ICC move as arbitrary and an infringement of media rights. —PTI

Mismatch unless NZ can raise game

Match Facts

March 29, Colombo
Start time 1430 hours (0900 GMT)

Muttiah Muralitharan needed treatment during the quarter-final. Will he be fit enough to play the semi? © Getty Images

The Big Picture

In the months leading up to the World Cup, New Zealand had traipsed through the subcontinent, copping defeat after defeat: they failed to make the final of a tri-series in Sri Lanka, were hammered 5-0 in India, and between those two beatings they were humiliated in Bangladesh, where they lost 4-0. "We played like d****, really," Mark Greatbatch had fumed. They then lost a one-day series 3-2 at home to Pakistan. New Zealand were fortunate, it was said, to be pooled in Group A, from which qualification for the quarter-finals was straightforward. And after the hammerings they suffered against Australia and Sri Lanka, almost no one gave Daniel Vettori's working-class boys a chance in the first knockout against well-oiled, on-top-of-their-game South Africa.

Here they are, though, the only non-Asian team in the final four: a country with a population about a third of Mumbai's making the World Cup semi-finals for thesixth time, aiming to reach its maiden final. To get there, however, New Zealand will need to discover a higher gear than the one they used to upset South Africa. Their bowling will need to be as disciplined, their fielding as tenacious, their catching as game-changing, but their batsmen will have to do more. They laboured to 221 against South Africa. Sri Lanka possess cannier bowlers, experts at exploiting the home advantage, and their openers chased down England's 229, inside 40 overs. New Zealand have struggled against spin and they are unlikely to receive from Sri Lanka the generosity Pakistan showed in Pallekele. When New Zealand played their group match against Sri Lanka in Mumbai, they lost by 112 runs. That Wankhede pitch didn't turn that much either. Their batsmen will have to find a method to score more abundantly against a quality spin-heavy attack, and negotiate Lasith Malinga as well. The odds are heavily against them once again. Very few expect them to win. It is perhaps when New Zealand are most dangerous.

Sri Lanka will have prepared for the worst and hoped for the best. They would have prepared to face South Africa and hoped to play New Zealand instead. It is a semi-final, though, with no room for large errors, and having watched New Zealand intimidate and hustle South Africa out of the tournament, Sri Lanka will not expect anything less than all-out assault from their opponents. Mahela Jayawardene said as much.

On paper, Sri Lanka have this covered: a bowling attack with three specialist spinners and one part-timer (they bowled 35 overs against England), a fast bowler who is virtually unhittable when he bowls with the old ball, and an in-form top order. They, however, need to guard against two dangers. The openers, along with Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene, must ensure that the untested middle order doesn't have too much to do, and their fielding needs significant improvement. Sri Lanka uncharacteristically dropped three catches during their quarter-final. Perhaps it was the pressure, and there will be plenty of that on Tuesday.

Form guide

(completed matches, most recent first)

New Zealand WLWWW
Sri Lanka WWWWL

Watch out for...

New Zealand's fielding: Jacob Oram took a catch perhaps only he could have, and Martin Guptill ran out one of the fastest men in cricket, to swing the quarter-final against South Africa. New Zealand's fielders were incredible in that game, diving to cut off singles in the infield, chasing balls at furious pace, and performing tag-team saves on the boundary to allow two, where ordinarily there might have been three or four. They made their bowlers look better than they were. It's one discipline at which New Zealand will look to maximize their advantage over Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka's top order: Tillakaratne Dilshan has 394 runs in this World Cup. His opening partner Upul Tharanga has 363. So does Kumar Sangakkara. They are among the top five run-scorers of the tournament and have done most of the batting for Sri Lanka. Mahela Jayawardene, who bats at No. 4, has 200 runs. No one else has even a 100. That's how little the middle-order batsmen have had to do, largely because of a lack of substantial opportunity but also because it is Sri Lanka's biggest weakness. New Zealand will go extremely hard at the top four, for exposing the middle order early is their best chance of making the final.

Team news

Muttiah Muralitharan is striving to recover from two injuries. He hurt his knee during the group match against New Zealand on March 18 and strained his quadriceps in the quarter-final two days ago. If he is fit to play the semi-final, Sri Lanka will not think ahead to the final and rest him.

Sri Lanka (probable): 1 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 2 Upul Tharanga, 3 Kumar Sangakkara (capt & wk), 4 Mahela Jayawardene, 5 Chamara Silva, 6 Thilan Samaraweera, 7 Angelo Mathews, 8 Lasith Malinga, 9 Muttiah Muralitharan / Nuwan Kulasekara, 10 Rangana Herath, 11 Ajantha Mendis

New Zealand are mulling over their spinners. To play three or not to play three, because Sri Lanka are far more skilled at playing the slow men than South Africa were. If they decide to go with only two then Luke Woodcock will miss out, and one of Daryl Tuffey and Andy McKay would come into the XI. Or perhaps James Franklin, though his inclusion ahead of a specialist bowler would significantly weaken the attack.

New Zealand (probable): 1 Brendom McCullum (wk), 2 Martin Guptill, 3 Jesse Ryder, 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Scott Styris, 6 Kane Williamson, 7 Nathan McCullum, 8 Jacob Oram, 9 Daniel Vettori, 10 Tim Southee, 11 Luke Woodcock / Daryl Tuffey / Andy McKay

Try picking the XIs for tomorrow's game by playing Team Selector.

Pitch and conditions

Vettori was surprised and upset that the surface being used for the semi-final is the same one on which Sri Lanka and England played the quarter-final on March 26. The pitch played slow during that game and it's likely to getter slower and harder to score on with repeated use. Chasing under lights used to be difficult at the Premadasa but Sri Lanka beat England without the loss of a wicket. The weather forecast is fair, with only chances of light rain.

Stats and trivia

• New Zealand's batsmen played out 171 dot balls in the quarter-final against South Africa. They played out 120 dot balls in 35 overs during their group match against Sri Lanka.

• Sri Lanka have won their previous four World Cup games against New Zealand. The overall head-to-head record is 35-33 in New Zealand's favour but since 2000 it is 20-11 in Sri Lanka's favour. In Sri Lanka, since 2000, the head-to-head record is 6-1 against New Zealand.

• Ross Taylor has hit more sixes (14) in this World Cup than the entire Sri Lankan team (12).

Quotes

"We need to move on pretty quickly from the South Africa game. We are proud of our achievement but we have to concentrate on this game now."
Daniel Vettori is putting the quarter-final behind him and focusing on Sri Lanka.

"The expectations are always there, that's not something that we can control. What we really want to do is to make sure that when we go out, we stay in the moment and we concentrate on what we have to do and make sure our focus is 100%."
Kumar Sangakkara on how his team will approach the challenge. © ESPN EMEA Ltd.

Ross Taylor targets another upset

South Africa didn't play a bunch of dummies who had to just turn up in Dhaka and watch Graeme Smith's men crumble from a vantage point.

One of the undesirable fallouts of South Africa's exit from the World Cup, depressing as it was to their fans, is the focus on South Africa's choke. The talk all around the cricketing world has been how South Africa lived up to their record of not having won a single knockout game in World Cups, of their mental brittleness in big events, of what future holds for them, and the other team that won the match has been all but forgotten.

New Zealand played a game too, you know. Jesse Ryder showed a glimpse of how good a batsman he is before a charged-up New Zealand side, yelling, hollering, sledging, intimidating, pulled off the best fielding performance of the World Cup. They were a team possessed. They didn't want to go home, they wanted to settle a score with a ground that consigned them to their lowest low. They were not a bunch of dummies.

Quietly they have slipped into Sri Lanka, "warmer than Dhaka, not as hot as Mumbai", facing a far tougher task than the one they accomplished in Dhaka, that of beating a team much more naturally talented, much more varied, playing in home conditions, used to conditions warmer than Dhaka but not as hot as Mumbai.

And it's staying under the radar that they are hanging on to. "Most of the time New Zealand play we are underdogs," Ross Taylor, who has captained New Zealand in some of the games this World Cup, said two days before their sixth semi-final in 10 World Cups. "It's something we almost enjoy, and we expect when we play. I know a lot of teams expect to beat us, and we enjoy the underdog tag, and we expect to beat them as well.

	Ross Taylor: "We genuinely believe we can go one step further and make the final" © Getty Images

"I don't think too many other people gave us a chance, which probably made other teams take us a bit lighter than they normally would, which played into our hands, but you know it's going to be a tough game on Tuesday, one that we are looking forward to."

New Zealand have played Sri Lanka before in this tournament, and the result was not too encouraging, a defeat by 112 runs at a ground these teams will be fighting for the right to play at. Taylor sees having played Sri Lanka as an advantage, as an opportunity to have made the mistakes in a game not so big. "It's a new game," he said. "We are taking a lot of confidence from our last game against South Africa. We have got an advantage that we have played against Sri Lanka in the pool matches, and we did a few things wrong. Hopefully we can rectify that in the match on Tuesday."

New Zealand, in a way a team not too dissimilar to England who were demolished by Sri Lanka in the quarter-final, seek to learn from the way England played. "Watching parts of the game and analysing the way England played and where they went wrong and where Sri Lanka went wrong, but we have got a lot of momentum in our camp. We were happy with the way we fielded, and hopefully we can continue with that and put Sri Lanka under pressure."

Taylor said the side was desperate to translate the record of having made six semi-finals into something more significant. "We are proud of our history of making semi-finals, but looking at this team we want to make history and go one step further and make the final," he said. "We genuinely believe we can do that, and we want to show that on Tuesday." © ESPN EMEA Ltd.

Ponting hopes for a Tendulkar-sort rebirth

Australian captain Ricky Ponting is hoping for a "Tendulkar-sort rebirth" after his century against India in the World Cup quarterfinal in Ahmedabad last Thursday.


In pic: Ricky Ponting

"I guess with even making some runs in this last game that I've played and getting that really good feeling back about my batting again, hopefully it might be a bit of a kick-start for a Tendulkar-sort rebirth, if you like," Ponting told AAP today, on his arrival from India.

Tendulkar has scored 379 World Cup runs, the third highest aggregate of the tournament, at an average of 54. He averaged 81 in his most recent Test series against South Africa in a battle between the world's top two ranked nations. Amidst lot of critcism, the star batsmen who had led Australia to back-to-back World Cup triumphs feels that he still has a lot to contribute.

Ponting said the next couple of days would be crucial for him in determining the way forward for both himself and the team. "I see myself as a leader around the group, simple as that, whether I'm captain or not I still think I've got a lot to offer as far as leadership qualities go." Though heartened by the recent support of senior officials,

Ponting said he was "absolutely" prepared to drop down the order and not continue as captain, "if that's what they (Cricket Australia,) and I believe is the best way forward." He admitted the quantity of runs he scored in recent months had been "a lot shorter" than what he wanted. But Ponting stressed he had no imminent retirement date in mind. "I'll know the right time that it's time for me to not be playing any more and I haven't found that time just yet," Ponting said.

The skipper feels that the upcoming review of Australian cricket needed to examine the game from the bottom up. "Starting at grassroot level and junior cricket, right the way through the elite teams and their performances, we have to turn that upside down and inside out," Ponting said.

Questioned about Australia's reliance on the pace trio of Brett Lee, Shaun Tait and Mitchell Johnson at the World Cup, Ponting said pre-tournament injuries to spinners Nathan Hauritz and Xavier Doherty robbed him of alternatives. "You look at the other teams that are left in the tournament now, they are probably doing it a slightly different way than what we did," Ponting said.

"A lot of them are only playing their two quicks and having a lot of spinning options, but unfortunately for us we never had that luxury." He expected CA to send the strongest available side to Bangladesh for next month's three-match one-day series and said he definitely wanted to be part of that squad. Ponting said his injured finger was OK, despite taking another knock on it in the quarter-final. "I'll probably have it looked at again some time in the next few days before we depart for Bangladesh," Ponting said.

Tharanga and Dilshan crush England

Sri Lanka 231 for 0 (Dilshan 108*, Tharanga 102*) beat England 229 for 6 (Trott 86, Morgan 50) by ten wickets

	Tillakaratne Dilshan starred with bat and ball to put Sri Lanka into the World Cup semi-finals © Getty Images

Tillakaratne Dilshan and Upul Tharanga set an emphatic seal on Sri Lanka's place in their home semi-final against New Zealand next Tuesday, as England's chaotic World Cup campaign came to an abrupt and anticlimactic end under the floodlights at the Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.

Set a testing total of 230 at a venue where successful run-chases have been notoriously thin on the ground, Sri Lanka's openers set about proving that history is bunk as they sauntered to victory by 10 wickets and with a massive 63 balls to spare. After five months on the road for England's cricketers, and six consecutive nail-biters in the group stages of the tournament, they found they had nothing left to give as the first round of knock-out matches was concluded with an utter walloping.

Though several higher scores have been made in this tournament to date, England's total of 229 for 6 ought to have competitive in the conditions. Only eight times in 49 internationals at the venue had a team batting second chased 230 or more for victory, and the most recent occasion came back in 2004. However, Dilshan and Tharanga battled through a tricky start with a flurry of aggression, before settling back into an effortlessly accumulative tempo. For the second time in the campaign, following on from their crushing of Zimbabwe in Pallekele, both men brought up centuries in a massive and indomitable stand.

Such was Sri Lanka's dominance that the match was able to finish in comically contrived scenes, as Dilshan - who had already reached his landmark with a savage cut for four off Graeme Swann - set about shepherding his partner to his own hundred. With seven runs still needed and Tharanga on 98, Dilshan accidentally carved Swann clean through the covers, and was grimacing his apologies before the ball had crossed the rope. Dilshan responded with two of the most exaggerated forward defences he has ever played, the first to a rank long-hop that even Swann was able to smile about, and with both men rendered virtually immobile with cramp, Tharanga finished the game three balls into Chris Tremlett's subsequent over, with a flat-footed swipe through the off-side.

The statistics told a sorry tale for England. All told they managed 12 fours in the whole of their 50 overs, two of which were scored by Jonathan Trott, whose 86 from 115 balls was his fifth half-century in seven innings, as he became the first batsman to pass 400 runs in the current tournament. Eoin Morgan provided some impetus with a 55-ball 50, but the batting Powerplay once again scuppered their momentum, as they were restricted to 23 runs and two key wickets in their five overs of fielding restrictions. Sri Lanka by contrast clobbered 22 fours and three sixes in less than 40 overs. The final result was every bit as resounding as it had been when these two teams last met in a World Cup quarter-final, at Faisalabad 15 years ago, a match that was lit up by Sanath Jayasuriya's epoch-defining 82 from 44 balls.

The nature of England's campaign meant that everyone, players and spectators alike, was waiting for the inevitable twist in the narrative, a fightback of the sort that the bowlers had produced against South Africa and West Indies earlier in the tournament - two other occasions in which the openers had proven hard to dislodge. However, it simply never materialised.

England's bowling effort started promisingly enough. Tim Bresnan found good swing in a tidy first over, while Swann spun the ball sharply after being armed with the new ball. However, Tharanga quickly decided valour was the better part of discretion, and latched onto a modicum of width to crash his first four in Bresnan's second over, before using his feet expertly to deposit Swann back over his head for six.

Tremlett, retained in the team ahead of the experienced James Anderson, looked set to justify his place in a brilliant first over in which he beat Dilshan three balls in a row, including a massive nip-backer that shaved the leg bail on its way through to Prior. But his line and length became scrambled thereafter, and whereas England had managed just four boundaries in their first 25 overs, Dilshan cashed in with two in four balls, both crashed through the off side, as Sri Lanka reached 57 for 0 at the end of the first Powerplay.

The chances that England were able to create were too marginal to be capitalised upon. Early in his innings, Dilshan survived a miscued pull off Bresnan that looped over the head of short midwicket, while Ravi Bopara came within a whisker of bowling him in his first over, only for the ball to beat everyone and fizz away for four byes. The same fate awaited a beauty of a delivery from Swann, while James Tredwell, the hero of Chennai, was tidy but unthreatening in his first three overs, before Dilshan planted his front foot to drill him into the stands at long-off. Tremlett returned to create two half-chances as the ball was drilled hard back through his fingertips, but the game was as good as over long before then.

At the innings break, the scenario seemed to be very different. England looked nervous and leaden-footed against a Sri Lankan attack loaded with four front-line spinners, including the Man of the Match Dilshan, who took the new ball and scalped Andrew Strauss after a dreadful innings of 5 from 19 balls. But they endured and briefly, while Trott and Eoin Morgan were in harness, they thrived, adding 91 in 16 overs for the fourth wicket.

However, their ambitions of a formidable 240-plus total were scuppered by the dismissal of Morgan in the first over of the Powerplay. Until he drilled Lasith Malinga at deep cover for a 55-ball 50, he had lived a charmed life, with no fewer than four clear-cut chances going his way - three dropped catches, two of them extraordinarily easy, and an lbw appeal on 29 that would have proved stone-dead on review. His luck, however, ran out at an inopportune moment for England, and when Swann missed a switch hit to fall for a first-ball duck, England proved incapable of reaching the boundary while the field was up, with just 23 runs coming in the five overs of fielding restrictions, and 56 in the last 10 all told.

Trott's performance was that of a man who knew that if he batted through the innings, the runs would materialise somehow. He scored his first boundary from his 65th delivery, and eventually fell in pursuit of his third, as he swept Muttiah Muralitharan to deep backward square with nine balls of the innings remaining. Despite inevitable criticism of the tempo of his innings, his sang froid appeared to be well suited to the situation, as he backed himself to work the ones and twos in a boundary-less start to his innings, and at the same time he drew a gutsy response from Ravi Bopara, who was far less comfortable with the tempo, but knuckled down for 31 from 56 balls.

Murali, whose legendary career has now been extended by one more game at least, finished with 2 for 54 in nine overs before limping off with an apparent recurrence of his hamstring strain. However, that tally could have been higher but for an extraordinary sequence of events in his eighth over, when Morgan was dropped twice in consecutive deliveries. He had already survived one dolly of an opportunity on 16, when Thilan Samaraweera shelled a leading edge off Ajantha Mendis at point, but Murali couldn't contain his fury when, first, Angelo Mathews at extra cover fluffed a lofted drive, before Rangana Herath dived forward at point but failed to cling on.

If those moments were evidence that Sri Lanka were feeling the pressure of the big occasion, they were fleeting at best. The insolent ease of this performance means that New Zealand will arrive in Colombo with trepidation ahead of their sixth semi-final appearance in ten World Cups. They have never yet progressed beyond that stage, and four years ago in Jamaica, they were sent on their way by one of the best hundreds of Mahela Jayawardene's career. Today, however, Jayawardene's solitary contribution was a catch at deep square leg. Whereas England have been on their chinstraps all tournament long, Sri Lanka - it is clear -are a team with plenty still in reserve. © ESPN EMEA Ltd.