Showing posts with label JOHANNESBURG. Show all posts
Showing posts with label JOHANNESBURG. Show all posts

JOHANNESBURG: Chennai Super Kings added the Champions League Twenty20 title to their Indian Premier League crown Sunday, underlining their status as the best club team in the world in cricket's shortest format.

Chennai produced a dominant performance to beat South Africa's Warriors by eight wickets in the Champions League final at the Wanderers in Johannesburg and collect the $2.5 million prize.
The Indian team cruised to 132-2, and a convincing win, after restricting the home favorites to 128-7.
Spinners Muttiah Muralitharan and man-of-the-tournament Ravichandran Ashwin combined for five wickets, and openers Murali Vijay and Mike Hussey made half-centuries in a near-perfect, all-around performance from Chennai in the decider.
''Winning the IPL and now the Champions League, it's a very emotional moment for us,'' Chennai captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said.
''The senior players have really done a good job. The environment has been superb ... it can't get any better than this.''
Muralitharan's superb 3-16 and Ashwin's 2-16 killed off the Warriors' hopes of posting a competitive total.
Vijay hit 58 to become competition's highest run-scorer and put on a 103-run opening partnership with Hussey, who made 51 not out. It was the Indian team's second win over the Warriors at the tournament.
Dhoni fired a four down to long-on for the winning runs.
''We're disappointed,'' Warriors skipper Davy Jacobs said. ''They beat us twice in the competition and they deserve to win it. We couldn't get over the line but we're still happy.''
Chennai swept the awards as Ashwin's two wickets ensured he topped the wicket-takers, with 13 in six matches. He finished ahead of teammates Muralitharan (12) and Doug Bollinger (9).
''There's nothing more special than finishing the tournament with a victory,'' Ashwin said.
The offspinner's victims in the final included Jacobs for 34. The Warriors skipper finished second in the run list behind Vijay.
Jacobs hit eight fours in a rapid start but was out lbw to Ashwin. Muralitharan then grabbed two wickets in an over, dismissing Mark Boucher and Justin Kreusch in the 14th as the Warriors fell away.
Craig Thyssen made 25 from 18 balls before he was out to Muralitharan as the Port Elizabeth-based team limped to 128-7.
Chennai waited until the 13th over before the first six of its innings, from Vijay, as it cantered rather than raced to the victory target.
Vijay overtook Jacobs as overall top run-scorer when he reached 51. He was finally caught on the long-off boundary by Kreusch off spinner Nick Boogie, to finish with 296 runs in six innings _ at an average of 49.00.
''After we limited them to 120-odd, we just wanted to go out there and play our natural game,'' Vijay said. ''Hussey and I just tried to play naturally and we did it.
I've been working hard and it's a great tournament to be part of.''
Suresh Raina also fell attempting a big hit for the Warriors' second wicket, but Dhoni ended the encounter with a six and two fours in the 19th over as Chennai powered home for its second major Twenty20 prize in 2010.
The game was also South African umpire Rudi Koertzen's last major appearance. The 61-year-old Koertzen, who retired from international cricket in July, stood in 108 tests, 209 ODIs and 14 T20 internationals in an 18-year career.


JOHANNESBURG: Hosts South Africa almost got a dream start to their World Cup finals campaign on Friday before being held to a 1-1 draw by Mexico in the opening match after Barcelona midfielder Rafael Marquez struck with a late equaliser for the Mexicans.

South Africa had looked to be on course for a surprise win thanks to Siphiwe Tshabalala’s superb 55th minute strike but it was cancelled out by Marquez.

The hosts, though, went agonisingly close to regaining the lead in the Group A clash and taking the three points right at the death when striker Katlego Mphela hit the post after outpacing two defenders.

After a nervy opening half in front of 84,490 fans at Soccer City, South Africa finally found their rhythm to take the lead as Mexico failed to make their first-half domination count.

The Bafana Bafana were lucky to go into the half-time break at 0-0 after Mexico dominated the opening 45 minutes, but Carlos Vela’s 38th minute effort was ruled offside.

South Africa had a let off after just four minutes when Mexico captain Gerardo Torrado whipped in a cross which goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune fumbled into the path of Giovani Dos Santos, but his shot was blocked.

Galatasaray’s Dos Santos was a constant threat in the opening stages as the Mexicans attacked relentlessly.

Mexican midfielder Efrain Juarez was shown the tournament’s first yellow card on 18 minutes, but South African play-maker Steven Pienaar sent the free-kick sailing over the crossbar.

Bafana Bafana midfielder Kagisho Dikgacoi was then shown a yellow card for the hosts after fouling Dos Santos on 27 minutes, but Marquez fired the free-kick high.

After the break, a perfectly-timed through ball from Pienaar split the Mexican defence and put Tshabalala into acres of space for the Kaizer Chiefs’

star to slam home his shot giving Mexican goalkeeper Oscar Perez no chance.

With 20 minutes left, Mexico coach Javier Aguirre made some changes to push his side forward and they were rewarded with Marquez’s goal.

Marquez was left unmarked at the far post and he wasted no time in drilling his shot past Khune.

South Africa now face Uruguay in Pretoria on June 16, while Mexico take on France in Polokwane on June 17.

France and Uruguay meet each other later on Friday in Cape Town.


JOHANNESBURG: South Africa whipped itself into a World Cup frenzy on Wednesday as the national side paraded through Johannesburg and holders Italy flew in to defend their crown, two days before the kick-off.Tens of thousands lined the streets of the Sandton business district to hail the Bafana Bafana national team, draping themselves in flags and honking the ear-splitting vuvuzela trumpets as the team came past on an open-top bus.There were similar scenes throughout Johannesburg’s northern suburbs, as office workers left their buildings and lined the streets to blow vuvuzelas and wave South African flags, as passing cars tooted their horns.Some wore clown wigs in national colours, and others had makarapas — hard hats carved and painted into the shape of footballers and flags. Schoolchildren were dismissed at midday for a special month-long World Cup holiday, bringing many youngsters on to the sidewalk with their parents for the festivities.The noise from the plastic vuvuzela horns, set to become one of the main talking points of the tournament, drowned out all conversation — including attempts by television journalists to deliver two-way reports to their studio.Thousands also poured into the streets of Cape Town to answer a call on the radio to blow their vuvuzelas at lunchtime. Zanele Ntuli, communication and events officer at a Cape Town NGO, joined workers who spilled out of offices around parliament, wearing a green fake fur Alice band with two South African flags sticking out the top.“It was a national call to have a vuvuzela moment,” he said. “Never in my life did I think this would come to Africa, let alone South Africa.” As the government urged fans to be on their best behaviour for the hundreds of thousands of foreign visitors, South Africans also delighted in the prospect that their icon, Nelson Mandela, would be among the crowds at Friday’s opener.The front-page of The Sowetan proclaimed the event would now be the “Mandela Show” while a headline in The Star read “Deafening Noise Can’t Curb Kick-off Fever”, as it described final rehearsals for a World Cup concert on Thursday.The sense of anticipation has been heightened by an unexpected upturn in the form of Bafana Bafana, who go into Friday’s opening match against Mexico on the back of a 12-match unbeaten run.

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