South Africa vs Sri Lanka - Live in ICC Champions Trophy 2009

The opening match of ICC Champions Trophy is between two group B teams - Sri Lanka and the hosts South Africa. The two strong contenders for reaching the semis from this group which includes West Indies and New Zealand. Both the teams have a good record in initial stages of major tournaments. South Africa are considered the favorites but it will not be fair to rank Sri Lanka below them.

Match detail : South Africa vs Sri Lanka - Group B match of ICC Champions Trophy 2009
Date: Tue 22 September, 2009
Time: 12:30 GMT, 6:00 PM (India and Sri Lanka), 14:30 Local
Venue: Centurion (D/N)

Sri Lanka are in good form recently. Though they lost the Compaq cup final, they showed great performance in other matches. Sri Lanka won test series against New Zealand as well as both ODI and test series against Pakistan which shows they are in superb touch. Matthew, Thusara are really emerging along with Kulasekara who is the no.1 ODI bowler. South Africa on other hand are back after a long break. They haven't played a single international match after T20 World cup. Anyway, they are superb ODI sides.

Players to watch: Sanath Jayasuriya and Angelo Matthews for Sri Lanka,
Dale Steyn and Graeme Smith for South Africa

Pitch: Its said to be evenly balanced for both bat and ball. Being a day and night, batting first is a advantage but much not dependent on the pitch.

Weather: Its expected to be clear with mostly sunny in the daytime.

Watch SA vs SL live in Champions Trophy 2009:



On the internet : Click here for details.

Points table of ICC Champions Trophy 2009

The final day has arrived and ICC Champions Trophy begins from 22nd September 2009. Its undoubtedly one of the most awaited tournaments of 2009 featuring top 8 teams from the cricketing world. The Champions Trophy 2009 being held in South Africa will be viewed by about 1 billion people around the world via TV and other medias. We have listed some methods to get live action from the ICC Champions Trophy 2009:




On Internet : You can watch it on internet via different websites which broadcast in different countries. Most of the official websites of most of the TV channels listed above broadcast on internet in the country as well. Other paid sites include willow.tv. Here are some sites:
Pakistan(free): Go
UK (free) : Go
South Africa (free): Go
India and places where ESPNStar broadcast (paid) : Go

Live cricket scores and commentary: This is one of the best way to enjoy cricket on Internet. Live scorecards and commentary are available in different sites. Cricinfo, is one of them and probably the best of them.

3d Animation of the match: Along with live scores and commentary, you can enjoy ICC Champions trophy on the internet with 3D animation of each balls in the match. Cricinfo provides 3d cricket scorecard. click here to go.

Live Desktop scorecard: You can get live cricket scores on your desktop. You can download the scorecard from these websites. The main desktop scorecards are featured by cricinfo, espnstar .

Live audio commentary of ICC Champions Trophy (not in India and South Africa): You can get the live official commentary of ICC Champions trophy on your computer paying some amount. It costs nearly $10 for whole tournament and $2 per match if you want only some matches. It is availabe on ESPN. Click here.

Pakistan vs West Indies - Live in ICC Champions trophy 2009

Pakistan will face the weakened West Indies in the second match of ICC Champions trophy 2009. With most of the renowned players in strike, West Indies has almost the same squad which was clean swept by Bangladesh recently. Pakistan will miss their captain Younis Khan due to injury but has some players like Umar Akmal, Rana Naved and Umar Gul in superb touch. Shahid Afridi who will be an acting captain has too made a superb comeback.

ICC Champions Trophy 2009 - Group A Match
Pakistan vs West Indies at Johannesburg
Date: 23rd September 2009
Time: 5:30 PM (Pakistan), 6:00 PM (India), 14:30 (local),12:30(GMT)

Mohammad Asif is likely to make a comeback. The Pakistani pace attack which also includes Gul and Rana Naved is superb. Spin attack is great with Afridi and Ajmal. Pakistan may open with Imran Nazir and Akmal with Yousuf and Akmal in middle order.

Players to watch out: Umar Akmal and Rana Naved for Pakistan.
Darren Sammy for West Indies (probably the only world class player in squad)

Watch Pakistan Vs West Indies live in ICC Champions Trophy 2009:



The final day has arrived and ICC Champions Trophy begins from 22nd September 2009. Its undoubtedly one of the most awaited tournaments of 2009 featuring top 8 teams from the cricketing world. The Champions Trophy 2009 being held in South Africa will be viewed by about 1 billion people around the world via TV and other medias. We have listed some methods to get live action from the ICC Champions Trophy 2009:


On TV: The majority of Audience will be viewing the Champions Trophy 2009 in TV. Different TV channels have broadcasting rights in different countries. In India, ESPNstar has broadcasting rights and the series will be shown live on ESPN and Star Cricket. Along with this, Doordarsan will broadcast Indian matches as well as semis and finals. Others include : Star Sports in England, DircTv in USA, ATN in Canada, Fox Sports in Australia and so on. Find for other countries.


On Internet : You can watch it on internet via different websites which broadcast in different countries. Most of the official websites of most of the TV channels listed above broadcast on internet in the country as well. Other paid sites include willow.tv. Here are some sites:
Pakistan(free): Go
UK (free) : Go
South Africa (free): Go
India and places where ESPNStar broadcast (paid) : Go

Live cricket scores and commentary: This is one of the best way to enjoy cricket on Internet. Live scorecards and commentary are available in different sites. Cricinfo, is one of them and probably the best of them.

3d Animation of the match: Along with live scores and commentary, you can enjoy ICC Champions trophy on the internet with 3D animation of each balls in the match. Cricinfo provides 3d cricket scorecard. click here to go.

Live Desktop scorecard: You can get live cricket scores on your desktop. You can download the scorecard from these websites. The main desktop scorecards are featured by cricinfo, espnstar .

Live audio commentary of ICC Champions Trophy (not in India and South Africa): You can get the live official commentary of ICC Champions trophy on your computer paying some amount. It costs nearly $10 for whole tournament and $2 per match if you want only some matches. It is availabe on ESPN. Click here.

ICC Champions trophy warm-up matches 2009

ICC Champions trophy 2009 features 8 teams which are divided in two groups initially with 4 in each. 2 top teams advance to the semis and finally the final will be held between the winners of semi-finals. In group stage, 2 points are awarded for a win, 1 for draw and 0 for loss. Like other tournaments, Champions trophy will have provision of Net Run Rate in case of ties.

Here is the points table of ICC Champions Trophy 2009.

Group A

Teams	Mat	Won	Lost	Tied	N/R	Pts	Net RR	For	Against
Australia
India
Pakistan
West Indies

Group B

Teams	Mat	Won	Lost	Tied	N/R	Pts	Net RR	For	Against
Sri Lanka	1	1				2	+1.460	261/37.4	206/37.4
New Zealand
South Africa	1		1			0	-1.460	206/37.4	261/37.4
England

NET RUN RATE

Net Run Rate has been playing vital role in deciding the team advancing to next stage in competitions like World cup, T20 World cup, Indian premier league and so on. They are used in T20 and 50-over ODI cricket in the manner similar to goal difference in football(soccer). In simple words its the difference of run rate of a team and the run rate of the opposing team. If a team gets all out before batting for prescribed overs (20 overs in T20 or 50 over in ODI), then the run rate is calculated by dividing the runs scored by whole prescribed overs.

How is net run rate in cricket calculated ? Calculation of Net run rate step by step:

1) First of all get the total runs scored by the team. Wickets are never counted.
2) Get the total overs batted by the team. If teams bat all overs then all 50 or 20 overs are taken. If they are all out then still all 50 or 20 over is taken. In case team batting second, only the overs it batted is taken.
3) Divide the total runs scored by the overs.
4) Net Run Rate for a team is the difference of its total run rate and another teams total run rate in the match. In case of loss, its negative, 0 when a draw and positive when won.
5) In a series, net run rate is the average of rates of the team. Its equal to sum of run rates in each match divided by total matches.

In recent T20 World cup it has been a vital factor. In IPL 2009, Deccan Chargers qualified for the semis though they had same points as Punjab due to better net run rate.

India vs Pakistan in ICC Champions Trophy 2009

After a long gap of more than 14 months, we will see two arch rivals India and Pakistan face to face in international cricket. The group A match of ICC Champions trophy scheduled on 26th September is certainly one of the most awaited matches this year for cricket fans. With no hope of bilateral series for at least 2 years, India vs Pakistan matches will now be rare and these type of tournaments are only the hope of seeing them together.

India and Pakistan last played in Asia cup in June 2008. After Mumbai attacks, Pakistan's visit to India was canceled. So, this match is of great importance for every cricket fan. India - Pakistan matches are different from other cricket matches. Either its Ashes or India vs Australia, no match can surpass the excitement of India vs Pakistan.

I hope that the Champions trophy match will be a very close encounter. Either India wins or Pakistan, the match should not be one sided. It should be really exciting and thrilling. The 2007 World Twenty20 final is one of the most exciting matches I have ever seen and I feel it had every taste which India-Pakistan match is expected to have.

Note the date and time below and be glued to the TV to view India vs Pakistan in Champions Trophy 2009:

India v Pakistan, 6th Match, Group A, ICC Champions Trophy 2009
Date: 26th September 2009
Time: 12:30 GMT, 6:00 PM India and 5:50 PM in Pakistan

India vs New Zealand in Champions trophy warm-up match 2009 - live

Before the start of Champions Trophy, India plays an unofficial ODI match against New Zealand as a practice match. Its the final practice for the Indian team for Champions trophy in which they are regarded as one of the favorites. India had defeated New Zealand heavily in the recent encounter in tri-series. Though India plays a single warm-up match, New Zealand played against the Warriors in which it suffered a heavy defeat.

India vs New Zealand - Champions Trophy Warm-up match 2009
Date: 20th September. Time: 12:30 PM GMT , 6:00 PM Indian time

The match is supposed to be a exciting match. Regular Indian players from the 15-men squad will play in the match. Though its unofficial, it is supposed to provide the full excitement which a ODI match provides. But I don't think the match will be shown live on TV.

I have checked the schedule of Star cricket which broadcasts in India and Supersport which broadcast in South Africa but none are showing the warm-ups. The best way to get live action is from Live commentary and scorecards from the Internet. Just go to cricinfo for live action.