Alec Stewart 59 off 36 balls vs Sri Lanka in World Cup 1992

In the 23^rd Match of the Cricket World Cup 1992 at Ballarat, England batsman Alec Stewart scored 59 off 36 balls including 7 fours and 1 six. He smashed all Sri Lankan bowlers and scored the third fastest fifty of the tournament 50 off 332 balls, just behind Martin Crowe, fifty of 30 balls vs Zimbabwe and Inzamam ul Haq 50 off 31 balls vs New Zealand in the semi-final.

Let’s watch Alec Stewart's fastest fifty.

Winning and toss and electing to bat first, England scored 280 for 6 in 50 overs. Ian Botham scored 47, Graeme Hick 41, Neil Fairbrother 63 and Alec Stewart 59 were the major contributors. In reply Sri Lanka all out at 174 runs, and Arjuna Ranatunga scored 36 runs. Chris Lewis took 4 for 30 and was declared player of the match. England won the match by 106 runs and earned the 2 precious points.

India and Pakistan in Another Dreary Series 1960-61

India and Pakistan in Another Dreary Series, 1960–61. Pakistan, who won the toss and batted first in four of the five drawn Tests, scored 2,481 runs for 68 wickets in 1,101.5 overs at a rate of 2.25 runs per over. India, who had first use of the wicket in only the last Test, scored 2,178 runs off 1,014 overs at an average of 2.14. The difference is virtually negligible, but Pakistan on four occasions set the tempo. Furthermore, while they scored 140 for 3, 146 for 3 declared, and 59 for no loss in the second innings of the Kanpur, Calcutta, and Madras Tests, respectively, they were completely safe from defeat and were able to bat without a care in the world.

In only two Tests did India get a second innings. In Calcutta, they were in peril of losing the game when they batted a second time, and in the final Test, they went in when only ten minutes remained on the last day. In the first four Tests, one was tempted to condone India's rate of scoring because Pakistan took about two days to put up totals of between 300 and 350, and then it was not worth India's while to take risks and try and force a result in the remaining three days. But when it came to Contractor's turn to call the tune in the last Test on an unimpeachable wicket at Delhi, his outlook was no different from that of his rival. Just over a full day's play was lost in the whole series.

Rain took away four and a half hours from the third test at Calcutta. However, the fourth day's play in the Madras Test was curtailed by 20 minutes due to a fire breaking out in a section of the stands, and the start of the final test was delayed by an hour. After accounting for these curtailments, the two teams aggregated 4,669 runs for an average scoring rate of 194.54 runs per day (of five hours) and 38.85 runs per hour. The 200-mark was topped on only 11 of the 24 days, and on half of these occasions, it was on the last day, when a decisive result was out of the question.

But Pakistan must get credit for the highest number scored in a day. Ironically enough, it was on the opening day of the first Test that they made 241 for 1, with Hanif Muhammed batting in all his glory for the only time in his nine innings. The lowest mark was reached by India on the third day of the second Test, when they put on no more than 149. India, I thought, was the superior side, and it was dropping catches at crucial stages that prevented them from winning the Bombay Test. At Delhi, it was through chances for all three batsmen who made sizeable scores that India built up a huge total, and they let the match slip out of their fingers, dropping no less than five catches.

At Bombay, in the first Test, Pakistan were 300 for 1 at one stage. Then followed a collapse that was a virtual landslide, and they were all out for 350. The fear of a recurrence of such a debacle and Hanif Muhammed's loss of form after his magnificent century must have detracted considerably from their confidence, although Saeed Ahmed did more than take over the role of sheet-anchor in their batting. Increasingly Reliable As the series progressed, the middle of Pakistan's batting became increasingly reliable, but rarely did Pakistan in India exude the air of mastery. The only batsman on the Pakistan side who batted always with the demeanor of one in command was Saeed Ahmed.

Imtiaz Ahmed, who opened with Hanif, accumulated 375 runs for an average of 41.60, including a hectic century; at least the latter part of it was at Madras, but none of his big innings were free of chances. At number four in the batting order, Javed Burki looked like a cultured cricketer. He did not come off in the first Test because he joined the team only a couple of days before the game, having stayed back in Pakistan to appear for a public service examination.

But scoring 79 and 48 not out, he provided a backbone for both the Pakistan innings at Kanpur and in Calcutta; he twice topped the 40 mark. He played no small part in saving the final Test, scoring a valiant 61 in the first innings Half of this inning was played practically one-handed because he had been badly injured. Javed Burki could barely grip the bat in the second, but he kept the ball out of the clutches of five or six close fielders for 45 full minutes and aided Mushtaq-homed in halting a collapse.

Mushtaq Muhammed, at number six, proved as resourceful as Burki, more so when things were going against his side. At the start of the tour, he looked like a rabbit for leg spinners, but he dealt with them competently by stretching fully forward to smother the spin. For a small man, he drove with force on either side of the wicket and hooked and pulled without fear. He was struck more than once in trying to hook Desai's kicking deliveries, but it never stopped him from getting behind the line of the ball; his century, which snatched victory out of India's grasp at Delhi, was a valiant effort. He did not make many runs in the second inning, but without his long vigil, it might have again folded up quickly.

The tail-enders all took their turns at 45 to rise to the occasion. At Kanpur, Nasim-ul-Ghani, the Pakistanis' only left-hander, played an invaluable innings of 70, a real life-saver. At Calcutta, the hard-driving Intikhab Alam made 56 and enabled Pakistan to touch a respectable mark in the first inning. At Madras, the only Test in which Pakistan declared their first innings, no wagging of the tail was called for, and at Delhi, Mahmood Hussain frustrated India's hopes of a victory by saying Pakistan had a varied attack but not one with the potential to run through the Indian batting.

In a team of 17—too large a compliment for so short a tour—they brought out three fast-medium bowlers, Mahmood Hussain, Muhammed Farooq, who had never played for Pakistan before, and Muhammad Munaf, described before the team arrived as the quickest bowler on the other side of the border. Then came Fazal Mahmood, now bowling with a shortened run and a lower arm at just about medium pace. Among the spinners were off-spinner Haseeb Ahsan and left-arm Nasim-ul-Ghani, both found on the tour to the West Indies in early 1958. Leg-spin was served up by the stocky, swarthy all-rounder Intikhab Alam, who, with Richie Benaud as his model, turned out to be a better leg-spinner than we expected.

The terror of Pakistan's new ball attack was obviously on the wane. Mahmood Hussain had lost much of the speed and lift he had when he came here eight years earlier. Before the tour had advanced very far, the other two pace bowlers, Farooq and Muhammad Munaf, went on the invalid list, and Hussain had a lot of work to do. Fazal Mahmood pulled a muscle in the opening game of the tour, an injury that recurred in the match before the first test and again in the first test. As a run-saver, he was effective, bowling steadily at just short of a length, but only the softish, green wicket at Calcutta gave 46 Pakistani players in India the look of a match-winning bowler. This was one test captured at 5 for 26 in which he was a menace.

In the first Test, Mahmood Hussain and Fazal Muhammed were well supported by Muhammed Farooq, who took 4 for 139 in 46 overs. But he got his first three wickets and that of Roy, Baig Contractor, without much cost. An injured muscle after this Test allowed him only two smaller games, but he returned to the side in the fifth Test and once more bowled effectively, bringing the ball in nicely off the wicket. A bowler with a run-up reminiscent of Ray Lindwall, Muhammad Farooq, at 22, is Pakistan's young bowler of the future, provided, of course, he trains up his muscles to withstand the strain and hard work. Nari Contractor and Pankaj Roy opened for India in the first Test.

If Pankaj Roy did not play again in the series, it was because of his unsure fielding and not because he was not impressive while making 23 runs out of an opening stand of 56. Contractor, who aggregated 319 runs for an average of 53.17, was consistently personified, and contrary to the fears of many, his batting remained unaffected by the onus of captaincy. Pankaj Roy was replaced by M.L. Jaisimha, who made a laborious 99 in almost eight hours in the Kanpur Test and remained Nari Contractor's opening partner for the rest of the series. He never made another big score in four more innings, but he always stayed till the shine was off.

Never did he look anything but a batsman of Test match class. Jaisimha, however, does not enjoy opening the innings because it stifles his stroke play, which is as brilliant as that of any contemporary Indian batsman. Nothing was more unfortunate from the Indian angle than Baig's failure to get going. In contrast to his teammates, the little Oxford batsman sought runs from the very moment he arrived at the crease. He did not play even a full over at Bombay, but at Kanpur, he seemed to be seeing the ball very well and provided a few moments of delightful cricket while making 13.

At Calcutta, he started shakily against the spinners and was just settling down when he made an ill-advised pull and was bowled. Faultless Technique Manjrekar returned to the side for the first time since his knee gave way during the tour of England. Faultless technique makes him a sound and solid batsman despite his capless knee, but his stroke play has certainly been affected. Against Pakistan, he played his drives as handsomely as he always did, but less frequently. Umrigar had a most successful series, with his six innings yielding him 382 runs, including three centuries. Chandu Borde always batted in cavalier fashion, and he invariably changed the complexion of the innings.

He failed at Kanpur after a handsome innings of 41 at Bombay, and the selectors wanted his head. Had Milkha Singh not reported ill on the morning of the match, Chandu Borde would not have played at Calcutta, where he saved India with innings of 44 and 23 not out. When Haseeb Ahsan at Madras was threatening to mow down India for a paltry score after Pakistan had put up 448 for 8 declared, their highest total of the series, Chandu Borde played the longest innings of his career, 177 not out, and again proved himself the man for a crisis.

He played another useful inning in Delhi, but this time his touch was unsure. As I have said earlier, India played Surendra Nath in only two Tests, trying to make do with either Surti or Umrigar as the other opening bowler. A great burden therefore fell on Tiny' Desai, and bowling 215.5 overs, more than any other Indian bowler, he captured 21 wickets at an average of 29.76.

Sri Lanka all out for 55 runs against West Indies at Sharjah

As everyone knows, even when you have a good day, you may also have a bad day. It is also true that Sri Lankan teams have sometimes failed miserably. Sri Lanka played West Indies at Sharjah on 3rd Dec 1986 in the 5th Champions Trophy match. Against the strong West Indian bowling lineup, it was a difficult target to reach. In the end, that's what happened. Sri Lanka never looked comfortable at 22 for no wicket but steadied the partnership to reach 45 for 2. After that, Courtney Walsh was incredible with the ball, as they were all out for just 55 runs. During his spell, he picked up five wickets and gave up just one run. In the end, Sri Lanka lost by 193 runs in that match. Malcom Marshall picked up a single, while Roger Harper had two for eight. 

Earlier Sri Lanka won the toss and decided to bowl first. 132 runs were added for the first wicket by the West Indian openers. Thanks to a strong opening partnership, the West Indies scored 248/5 runs. With 8 fours and 1 six, Richie Richardson scored 109 runs off 120 balls. Gordon Greenidge, his opening partner, scored 67 runs off 83 balls, including 7 boundaries. It was a 193-run victory for the West Indies. The first one-day international hundred for Richardson came after he was dropped at 0, 6, and 35. Asantha de Mel and Rumesh Ratnake both took 1 wicket each for Asantha Ratnake, he took 3 wickets for 59 runs. The match is umpired by two English umpires, Dickie Bird and David Shepherd. Against South Africa at Paarl, Sri Lanka scored 43 runs in a day-night game. Let's take a look at the Sri Lankan innings.

Simon O'Donnell, a multi-talented cricketer

Simon O'Donnell, a multi-talented athlete, forsook a promising career in Australian Rules football in favor of cricket. He subsequently became an indispensable all-rounder for the Australian one-day team and was a member of the squad when it made a resurgent mark with an unexpected victory at the World Cup in 1987. O'Donnell is chiefly recalled for a series of explosive innings in the middle-lower order.

During the one-day side's tour of New Zealand in 1990, O'Donnell enjoyed a career-best performance, taking 5 for 13 against New Zealand at Christchurch in the Rothmans Cup and scoring 20 runs off 19 balls with the aid of 2 fours. Despite this superlative all-rounder performance, he was not named man of the match; instead, Dean Jones received the honor for scoring 107 runs off 143 balls. Australia won the match by a resounding 150 runs.

O'Donnell was elected international cricketer of the year in 1990–91. He recovered from injury to rejoin the Australian one-day team in the 1988–89 season and played 43 more limited-over matches until December 10, 1991, claiming 56 wickets and producing 5 match-winning 50-plus scores, including the fastest half-century in One Day Internationals (18 balls vs. Sri Lanka in Sharjah, 1990). O'Donnell maintained a highly impressive batting strike rate of 80.96 runs per 100 balls in ODIs, nearly double his scoring rate in Tests.

Between 1984 and 1993, O'Donnell played for Victoria in the Sheffield Shield as an all-rounder, scoring a century in his first match. He played 6 Test matches in 1985, 5 on the Ashes tour of England and one at home, but he was more successful in the shorter form of the game due to his low bowling strike rate in five and four-day cricket. He was viewed as a limited-overs specialist with clever medium-paced bowling and explosive lower-order hitting. He participated in 87 ODIs from 1985 to 1992, scoring 1242 runs and taking 108 wickets in his career. He played a significant role in Australia's victory in the 1987 World Cup Final, taking a large number of wickets and ending the tournament as Australia's most economical bowler. Shortly after, however, he began to experience severe pain and was diagnosed with cancer. O'Donnell made a strong recovery and returned to one-day international cricket from 1988-89.

His clean, powerful drives straight off the wicket and through mid-on were particularly effective. However, O'Donnell's intelligent fast-medium bowling often proved to be more pivotal in Australia's one-day fortunes. Since he retired from cricket, O'Donnell has joined the Nine Network's commentary team and is the regular host of The Cricket Show, which airs during the lunch breaks of Tests in Australia.

Brian Lara (50 for 23 Balls) and Wavel Hinds (50 from 24 balls) in Beast Mood

Brian Lara and Wavell Hinds are in the beast mood to destroy Canada Bowling. Brian Lara scored 50 from 23 balls; however, Wavell Hinds scored 50 from 24 Balls. This was the 24th Match, of the ICC World Cup 2003 played at Centurion, on February 23, 2003. Let’s watch the brief highlights of both innings.

Earlier in the match, John Davison scored a famous century in front of an 11,630-strong crowd, were entertained for 98 unbelievable minutes as Davison, the Canadian Gilchrist, blushed West Indies with a blistering 111 off 76-ball, the fastest World Cup century at that time.

At one stage Canada was 2 for 155 in 20.6 overs, but once John Davison was out, the rest of the Canadian team all out at 202 in 42.5 overs. In reply, the West Indies batsman also outplayed Canadian bowling to achieve the target in just 20.3 overs. Wavell Hinds scored 64 off 31 balls, Brian Lara 73 in 40 Balls, and Sarwan scored 42 in 32 balls. West Indies won the match by 7 wickets with 177 balls remaining. John Davison was declared man of the match. 

Richie Richardson - Destructive West Indies Batsman

Richie Richardson was a flamboyant batsman and superb player of fast bowling. Richie Richardson normally bats as Number Three for West Indies. In the fifth match of the ODI series against Australia at Georgetown in 1991, he smashed all Australian bowlers and scored a superb 94 runs off 88 balls in 112 minutes with the help of 11 fours and 1 six at the strike rate of 106.81. Richie Richardson's innings comes to an end by Merve Hughes, when Ian Healy took a stunning catch behind the wicket.

West Indies set the target of 251 in the allotted 50 overs. Australia chased the target in 48.3 overs and won the match by 6 wickets. Geoff Marsh scored 106 not out and was declared man of the match. Australia also won the 5-match ODI series by 4-1. This was ODI # 675. Let's watch short highlights of his innings. 

Asad Rauf Death, Age, Family, Profile, Stats,

 Former Pakistani umpire AsadRauf, who was a part of the ICC Elite Panel from 2006 to 2013, died after suffering a cardiac arrest in Lahore. He was 66. "Saddened to hear about the passing of Asad Rauf. Not only was he a good umpire but also had a wicked sense of humour. He always put a smile on my face and will continue to do so whenever I think about him. 

Many sympathies with his family for their loss," Pakistan Cricket Board chief Ramiz Raja tweeted. Rauf's brother Tahir put forth the development about the legendary umpire. Tahir said that the veteran was returning home after closing his clothing shop at Landa Bazaar in Lahore when he felt some sort of discomfort in his chest. The Punjab-born Rauf was taken to the hospital on an immediate basis, but he couldn't be revived.

His career as an umpire really started in 1998 when he made his first-class debut, and in 2000 he stood in his first ODI. He was elevated to the ODI panel in 2004 and officiated in his first Test the following year. Rauf umpired his first ODI in 2000 and his first Test in 2005. In 2006, he was named in ICC's Elite Panel, which he was a part of until 2013.

He was a popular figure on the circuit who, alongside Aleem Dar, improving the reputation of Pakistani umpires before the neutral umpires era. But his career came to an abrupt halt in 2013 when he was named as a "wanted accused" by Mumbai police in their investigation into the IPL spot-fixing scandal, where Rauf had been umpiring. Asad Rauf left India before the end of that IPL season and but was withdrawn from the Champions Trophy that followed by the ICC and later that year would be dropped from the ICC's elite panel, though the ICC insisted it wasn't because his name had come up in the investigations. 

Rauf protested his innocence throughout and said he would be happy to cooperate with the ACSU. In 2016, the BCCI banned Rauf for five years on four charges of corruption and misconduct.

Asad Rauf officiated 64 Tests, 139 ODIs, 28 T20Is and 11 women's T20Is as either umpire or TV umpire. He also officiated in 40 First Class matches, 26 List A matches and 89 T20s overall, including IPL matches. Asad Rauf was a right-hand batsman who enjoyed a solid but unglamorous career in the 1980s, which he has best season in 1986-87 when he made 672 runs at 35.36, including one hundred and five fifties. 

But he lost form the following season and played little first-class cricket thereafter. As a middle-order batsman, Asad Rauf played 71 First Class matches, scoring 3423 runs at an average of 28.76 including three hundred and 22 fifties and 29 catches. He played 40 List A matches, scoring 611 runs at 19.70 including 4 fifites and 16 catches. 

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Carl Hooper was a terrific middle order batsman and off spinner.

CarlHooper was a terrific middle order batsman and off-spinner, who was known for his lazy elegance with both bat and ball. 

Brendon Kuruppu Sri Lankan Dashing Opening Batsman

In the first match of Asia Cup 1984 at Sharjah on April 6, 1984, Sri Lanka stun Pakistan to win the match by 5 wickets. Brendon Kuruppu who was considered a slogger at that time. A prolific opening batsman scored useful 25 runs with help of three fours. He provides a useful start to the chase of 190 runs. In those times, Sri Lanka was considered minnows but they produced superb small innings to help Sri Lanka route Pakistan. Interestingly, despite scoring the slowest double century in First-Class cricket, Kuruppu was known more as a dasher with the bat in hand.

Rajan Madugalle - The Stylish Lad of Sri Lankan Cricket

In the 2^nd match of Rothmans Asia Cup on April 8, 1984, between India vs Sri Lanka. India won the toss and was elected to field first. The right-handed Rajan Madugalle was the only batsman, who resist the Indian seam bowling. He scored 38 runs off 76 balls with the help of 5 fours. The entire Sri Lanka team bowled out only for 96 runs in 41 overs.

Chetan Sharma picked 3 for 22, Manoj Prabhakar 2 for 16, Madan Lal 3 for 11, and Ravi Shastri 1 for 13.

Roger Binny and Kirti Azad didn’t have any wickets.

India reach the target in just 21.4 overs, as Surinder  Khanna scored 51 runs not out, and Ghulam Prakar 32 not out. Surinder Khanna won the match of the match award and was also a player of the series with 107 runs in the tournament. Ravi Shastri was the highest wicket-taker in the tournament picking 4 wickets in two matches.

Manoj Prabhakar made his ODI debut.

India won the match by 10 wickets.

Let's watch the Madugalle innings, who is currently a match referee from long long times.

The ODI # was 260, and the match was supervised by Dickie Bird and Shakoor Rana. 

Kapil Dev - The Finest All rounder India has Ever Produced

Kapil Dev is the finest all-rounder India has ever produced. His greatest feats were leading India in the 1983 world cup and winning in style.  Kapil Dev was outstanding in his accuracy and ability to swing the ball, usually away from right-handers. And he could hit a ball even more brilliantly than he bowled it, with uncomplicated flair. Kapil Dev was named by Wisden as the Indian Cricketer of the Century in 2002. 

Pakistan vs Sri Lanka 3rd Test at Kandy 1994

The Pakistan national cricket team toured Sri Lanka in August and September 1994. Those days it was considered outside the normal cricket season, for a three-match Test series and five Limited Over’s International matches. Pakistan won the Test series 2–0.

On the first day of the 3^rd Test match played at Asgiriya Stadium, Kandy in August 1994 (Test Match # 1267). Pakistan beat Sri Lanka with the super performance of Waqar Younis and Wasim Akram. Both bowled superbly and bowled out Sri Lanka just 71 runs without being unchanged. At one stage Sri Lanka was 48 for 9, but the last wicket added a few precious runs to reach the score of 71. This was the lowest Sri Lanka score at those times.

Pakistan wins the toss and is elected to field first on the tricky track. Sri Lanka handed Test cap to Chaminda Vaas, Ravindra Pushpakumara, Sanjeeva Ranatunga, while Kabir Khan made Test debut for Pakistan.

Waqar Younis declared Man of the Match of 6 for 34 and 5 for 85. He also made 20 useful Runs in the first innings. Waqar Younis dismissed Roshan Mahnama, Sanjeeva Ranatunga, Arjuna Ranatunga, Hashan Tillkaratne, Kumar Dharmasena, and Chaminda Vaas.

Sri Lanka Bowled bowled out 71 Runs in 28.2 overs. Wasim Akram 4 for 32, Waqar Younis 6 for 34.

Pakistan First Innings 357/9d Inzamam-ul-Haq 100, Aamer Sohail 74, Basit Ali 52, Saeed Anwar 31, and Captain Salim Malik 22.

Ravindra Pushpakumara 4 for 145 and Kumar Dharmasena 4 for 75.

Sri Lanka 2^nd innings 234 all out. (Hashan Tillekeratne 83 not out, Ruwan Kalpage 62 and Arjuna Ranatunga 32.

Waqar Younis 5 for 85, Mushtaq Ahmad 3 for 35, Wasim Akram 1 for 70, and Kabir Khan 1 for 39.

Pakistan won the match by an innings and 52 runs.

Pakistan also won the test series by 2-0.

The test match supervised by Sri Lankan B.C Coorey, and Ian Robinson of Zimbabwe., while T.V umpire was K.T Francis. Match Refree was Camie smith. 

Imran Khan - The Greatest Cricketer

Imran Khan is the greatest cricketer ever produced by Pakistan. A great leader, a Captain, and a true man make history to won the 1992 cricket world cup.