Australia commenced their dessert tour of UAE with two wins in two games as they comprehensively beat Pakistan in an one-off T20I match and in the 1st ODI during the 1st Week of October. MS Dhoni secured another trophy as he led his IPL franchisee Chennai Super Kings to their 2nd CLT20 championship which also happened during the same week.
Steven Smith’s century gives Australia the lead in the ODI series
Steve Smith cracked his maiden 50-over century as Australia routed Pakistan in 36.3 overs to secure a comprehensive 93-run victory in the first One Day International on 7th October.
The right-hander’s 101 in Sharjah was the backbone of Australia’s 255 for 8, which set up a comprehensive 93-run victory in the opening match of the series against Pakistan. The hosts were eventually bowled out for 162 with Umar Akmal top-scoring with 46 runs while Mitchell Johnson captured 3 scalps.
Spinners sink Pakistan in one-off T20I
Off-spinner Glenn Maxwell polished off Pakistan’s top order with the new ball and opening batsman David Warner anchored the run chase with an unbeaten 54 as Australia comfortably won the one-off Twenty20 match by six wickets on 5th of October.
Maxwell finished with 3 for 13 after removing opening batsman Awais Zia for 3 while Umar Amin and Sohaib Maqsood fell without scoring. Newcomer Saad Nasim hit 25 to stabilize the innings but Pakistan finished on an uncompetitive 96 for 9 after Shahid Afridi won the toss in his comeback match as captain and opted to bat first. Australia wobbled at first, reduced to 56 for 4, before Warner cut loose and Australia reached 98 for 4 with six overs to spare.
Marlon Samuels 126 anchors West Indies to a massive win over India
West Indies beat India by 124 runs in the first ODI in Kochi to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series on 8th October. Chasing a target of 322, India was bowled out for 197 in 41 overs. Middle-order batsman Marlon Samuels smashed a superb 126 in 116 balls cracking 11 fours and 4 sixes in his comeback game for the Caribbean ODI team.
Ramdin continued his dominant ODI run scoring 61 runs. He and Samuels ran the Indian bowling ragged during a record fourth wicket stand of 165. Mohammed Shami returned best figures of 4 for 66. In the Indian innings, Dhawan top-scored with 68 and Jadeja remained unbeaten on 33 but lost wickets at regular intervals.
Chennai Super Kings win the CLT20 tournament 2014
Suresh Raina hit a blistering century knocking out Kolkata Knight Riders into submission as Chennai Super Kings clinched the Champions League T20 in style with an eight-wicket victory in a thoroughly one-sided final.
Chasing a competitive total of 181, Raina smashed the daylights out of a depleted KKR attack without Sunil Narine, scoring a breathtaking 109 off 62 balls with the help of six fours and eight sixes. His century came off only 59 balls.
Earlier, unheralded left-arm spinner Pawan Negi’s bowled brilliantly for his maiden five-for as Chennai Super Kings restricted Kolkata Knight Riders to 180 for six even as skipper Gautam Gambhir smashed a 52-ball-80. This CSK’s first trophy in three years having last won the IPL and CLT20 in South Africa, back in 2011. CSK lost IPL final to KKR in 2012 and also lost twice in IPL this year.
Sri Lanka win gold at Incheon Asian Games
Sri Lanka crushed Afghanistan by 68 runs to win the gold medal in the men’s Twenty20 cricket event at the Asian Games on 3rd of October.
With a strong squad featuring three members of the team that won this year’s Twenty20 World Cup, Sri Lanka was too experienced and streetwise for their Afghan opponents. Although they struggled with the bat, losing their last 9 wickets for just 54 runs to be dismissed for 133 in their last over, Sri Lanka’s bowlers had no problems on a lively pitch. They ripped through the opposition batting lineup in less than 18 overs, as Afghanistan crumbled to be all out for just 65.
Junaid Khan and Mohammed Hafeez to miss Australia tour of UAE
Pakistan all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez was ruled out of the entire Australia series’ due to a hand injury. Fast bowler Junaid Khan will also return home from the United Arab Emirates having suffered a knee injury in practice
Sohag Gazi and Prosper Utseya suspended from bowling by ICC
Bangladesh’s Sohag Gazi and Zimbabwe’s Prosper Utseya have been suspended from bowling in international cricket with immediate effect for “illegal” bowling actions.
“The International Cricket Council confirmed that an independent analysis has found the bowling actions of Gazi and Utseya to be illegal and, as such, both off-spinners have been suspended from bowling in international cricket with immediate effect,” the ICC said in a statement. “The analysis revealed that all of their deliveries exceeded the 15 degrees level of tolerance permitted under the regulations,” it said.
New Zealand name Test squad for the Pakistan series
All-rounder Doug Bracewell has earned a recall to the New Zealand Test squad for their series against Pakistan in the UAE after being dumped from the team for disciplinary issues earlier this year.
The team will travel to the UAE for their series that includes three Tests, five one-day internationals and two Twenty20 matches against Pakistan, with the first Test starting on November 9th. The series concludes on December 19th with the 5th ODI match.
Full Squad: Brendon McCullum (captain), Corey Anderson, Trent Boult, Doug Bracewell, Mark Craig, Tom Latham, James Neesham, Luke Ronchi, Hamish Rutherford, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, Neil Wagner, BJ Watling, Kane Williamson
