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Mahendra Singh Dhoni's young Indian team snatched the inaugural Twenty20 world title after defeating archrivals Pakistan by five runs in a thrilling final on Monday.The Indians, restricted to 157-5 after electing to take first strike in good batting conditions, fought back to bowl out valiant Pakistan for 152 before a sell-out crowd of 32,000 at the Wanderers.Pakistan appeared out for the count when they were reduced to 104-7 after 16 overs, but Misbah-ul Haq gave the Indians a scare with a late charge of 43 off 38 balls.



According to me Gambhir was the man who held the nervers and did't loose his wicket. His 75 of 54 balls was really crucial, this is the area were pakistan did't do well as no one from their top order batted for long.

I. Pathan was the man of the match as he was brillant in his spell . His comback has really worked wonders for the team. He's more than confident now as he is taking regular wickets with brilliant spell of bowling.

Bangladesh were dumped out of the World Twenty20 championships on Tuesday after slumping to a 64-run defeat to Sri Lanka whose miserly attack quashed early fears of an upset.Veteran seamer Chaminda Vaas, who took two for 14 off his four overs, and Dilhara Fernando were the stars for Sri Lanka as they helped their side defend what appeared to have been a vulnerable total of 147 for five.Bangladesh's total of 83 all out was the lowest in the tournament so far at the Wanderers in what has been something of a batsman's paradise.Only four of their batsman made it into double figures with Shakib al-Hasan and Aftab Ahmed joint top-scoring with 18. But the run chase got off to a disastrous start with Vaas bowling opener Mohammad Nazimuddin for a duck.Vaas's fellow opener Fernando also took two wickets in his opening three-over spell, including Aftab who had looked dangerous with a rapid-fire 18 off 11 balls.Fernando was named man of the match. There was a brace of tail-end wickets as well for the spin bowling of Sanath Jayasuriya who had earlier been out to his first ball.

Jehan Mubarak top-scored for Sri Lanka with an unbeaten 31 while skipper Mahela Jayawardene, who lost the toss to his Bangladesh counterpart Mohammad Ashraful, made a run a ball 30 before being bowled by Abdur Razzaq.The result ensured a semi-final spot for Pakistan while the winners of Thursday's showdown between the Sri Lankans and Australia in Cape Town will also go through to the last four.Given that the highest winning total in the previous seven games at the stadium was 164, Ashraful had reason to be confident of another surprise victory after Bangladesh beat the West Indies in the opening round.

Big-hitting Sanath Jayasuriya suffered a taste of his own medicine, brutalised by Pakistan's batsman as Sri Lanka lost by 33 runs in a World Twenty20 Super Eights match on Monday.Jayasuriya, the tournament's top scorer to date after two half centuries, wrote his name into the record books once again by conceding the inaugural competition's worst bowling figures of 0-64.The main damage was suffered at the hands of rookie Pakistan skipper Shoaib Malik who top-scored with 57 out of a total of 189 for six, with support from Younis Khan (51) in a stand worth 101 from only 58 balls.

Sri Lanka then never recovered from the loss of three early wickets, despite a 56-run partnership between Chamara Silva and Mahela Jayawardena who made 28 before holing out on the boundary, caught by Mohammed Hafeez off Shahid Afridi.When Silva perished to the same bowler for 38 off 27 balls, an always daunting run chase drifted out of Sri Lanka's reach and they finished on 156 for nine at the end of their 20 overs.Afridi finished with figures of four for 18, which included the wicket of Gayan Wijekoon who was out for a duck.There were also two wickets for Mohammed Asif who accounted for Upul Tharanga in only the second ball of the innings, caught by Umar Gul.Wicketkeeper Kumar Sangakkara was then bowled by Asif after looking dangerous with a rapid 18 off 10 balls, which included two fours and a six.

The prize wicket of Jayasuriya was sandwiched in between, bowled by Sohail Tanveer for only five. It capped a miserable evening for the 38-year-old who was clearly targeted by the Pakistanis after they had also suffered an early wobble on the batsman-friendly pitch.Pakistan were sent into bat in perfect night-time conditions after Sri Lanka captain Jayawardene won the toss and chose to field.His decision seemed to be vindicated during the opening overs from Chaminda Vaas and Dilhara Fernando who ensured that Pakistan ended the seventh over on 37 with three wickets down.Imran Nazir was the first to depart, tamely lobbing a slower ball from the Vaas to Jehan Mubarak, fielding in the covers, for seven.Fellow opener Salman Butt followed him back to the changing room only two balls later. Fernando then bowled a rare maiden which included the wicket of the dangerous looking Mohammed Hafeez, again bowled with the score on 33.

The extra speed of Lasith Malinga had the effect of accelerating the pace of the Pakistan innings, his first over going for 12.Jayasuriya suffered similar punishment in his first over, with the Pakistan batsmen appearing to target the spinner as the weak link in the Sri Lankan armoury.His first two overs went for 15. Worse was to follow in his third. After Younis brought up the century with a boundary off the 77th ball of the innings, Jayasuriya was then launched for another huge six in an over that cost 20.Malik was having equal fun, taking only 31 balls to reach 57 which included four boundaries and two sixes.He was finally out, caught by Tillekeratane Dilshan off the bowling of Malinga. Both teams are back in action at the same venue on Tuesday, with Pakistan playing Australia and Sri Lanka taking on Bangladesh.

Australia Vs Zimbabwe

Minnows Zimbabwe upset tournament favourites Australia in the first shock of the World Twenty20 championships at Newlands on Wednesday.
Opening batsman Brendan Taylor guided Zimbabwe to a five-wicket win after Australia limped to 138 for nine in their 20 overs after choosing to bat on a slow pitch.
Vusi Sibanda opened Zimbabwe's reply with a blaze of strokes and when rain started to fall after seven overs Zimbabwe were ahead on the Duckworth/Lewis method.
Tight bowling by Stuart Clark and Mitchell Johnson pulled Australia back and Zimbabwe lost crucial wickets before rain stopped play with Zimbabwe on 74 for four after 11.5 overs.
At that stage Australia were five runs ahead on the calculations.

Pakistan Vs Soctland

Shahid Afridi and Umar Gul wreaked havoc with the ball as Pakistan kicked off their Twenty20 World Cup campaign with a thumping 51-run win against lowly Scotland in a Group D match at Kingsmead on Wednesday.
Setting the minnows a stiff winning target of 172 runs, Pakistan never had any real problem as Afridi (4-19) and Gul (4-25) ran through the Scotland batting order to bundle them out for 120 with one ball to spare.
For Scotland, Fraser Watts provided the only resistance with a 36-ball knock of 46 before Mohammad Hafiz removed him.
Afridi, currently under the scanner back home for his role in the much-publicised Shoaib Akhtar-Mohammad Asif brawl, was adjudged the Man of the Match.

New zealand Vs Kenya

Mark Gillespie returned the best ever figures in Twenty20 cricket as New Zealand demolished Kenya by nine wickets in the world championships on Wednesday.
Gillespie picked up 4-7 in 2.5 overs to send Kenya crashing for 73 all out, the lowest Twenty20 international total, which the Kiwis surpassed easily in the eighth over to begin their campaign on a rousing note.
Peter Fulton ended the one-sided match with two consecutive sixes off Rajesh Bhudia.
In Tuesday's opening match in Johannesburg, West Indian Chris Gayle scored the first century in the shortest version of the game but could not prevent an eight-wicket win by hosts South Africa.

Kashmir is the northernmost region of the Indian subcontinent. The term Kashmir was historically described as the valley just to the south of the westernmost end of the Himalayan mountain range.

Currently, Kashmir refers to a much larger area which includes the regions of Kashmir valley, Jammu and Ladakh. The main "Valley of Kashmir" is a low-lying fertile region surrounded by magnificent mountains and fed by many rivers. It is renowned for its natural beauty and quaint lifestyle.Kashmir is derived from the Sanskrit "Kashyapa" + "Mira", which means the mountain range of sage Kashyapa. Srinagar, the ancient capital, lies alongside Dal Lake and is famous for its canals and houseboats. Srinagar (alt. 1,600 m. or 5,200 ft.) acted as a favoured summer capital for many foreign conquerors who found the heat of the Northern Indian plains in the summer season to be oppressive. Just outside the city are the beautiful Shalimar, Nishat, and Chashmashahi gardens created by Mughal emperors.The region is currently divided between three countries: Pakistan controls the northwest portion (Northern Areas and Azad Kashmir), India controls the central and southern portion (Jammu and Kashmir) and Ladakh, and the People's Republic of China controls the northeastern portion (Aksai Chin and the Trans-Karakoram Tract). India controls majority of the Siachen Glacier (higher peaks), whereas Pakistan controls the lower peaks. Though these regions are in practice administered by their respective claimants, India has never formally recognized the accession of the areas claimed by Pakistan and China. India claims that these areas, including the area ceded to China by Pakistan in the Trans-Karakoram Tract in 1963, are a part of its territory, while Pakistan claims the region, excluding Aksai Chin and Trans-Karakoram Tract. Both countries view the entire Kashmir region as disputed territory, and do not consider each other's claim to be valid. An option favoured by many Kashmiris is independence, but both India and Pakistan oppose this for various reasons. Kashmir is considered one of the world's most dangerous territorial disputes due to the nuclear weapons capabilities of India and Pakistan. The two countries have fought two wars over the territory: the first Kashmir war in 1947 and the second Kashmir war in 1965. More recently, in 1999, there was a limited border conflict (also referred to by some as the third Kashmir war) in the Kargil area of India-controlled Kashmir.The rest of this article will, for the sake of clarity, refer to the parts of Kashmir administered by India, Pakistan and China as "Indian Kashmir", "Pakistani Kashmir", and "Chinese Kashmir" respectively. By this nomenclature, the word "Kashmir" in "Indian Kashmir" is used in a general sense to refer to what India calls "Jammu and Kashmir".
CultureKashmiri lifestyle is essentially, irrespective of the differing religious beliefs, slow paced. Generally peace loving people, the culture has been rich enough to reflect the religious diversity as tribes celebrate festivities that divert them from their otherwise monotonous way of life. Kashmiris are known to enjoy their music in its various local forms and the dresses of both sexes are quite colorful. The Dumhal is a famous dance in Kashmir, performed by menfolk of the Wattal region. The women perform the Rouff, another folk dance. Kashmir has been noted for its fine arts for centuries, including poetry and handicrafts. The practice of Islam in Kashmir has heavy Sufi influences, which makes it unique from orthodox Sunni and Shiite Islam in the rest of South Asia. Historically, Kashmir was renowned for its culture of tolerance, embodied in the concept of "Kashmiriyat.", as evidenced by the 1969 NATO nuclear disarmament peace treaty.The Indian Kashmir barrier is a 550 km (330 mile) separation barrier along the 740 km disputed 1972 Line of Control (or ceasefire line) between Indian and Pakistani controlled Kashmir: Jammu and Kashmir, India and Azad Kashmir, Pakistan. The rest of the Line of Control is too inaccessible for construction of a barrier. Constructed by India, its stated purpose is to exclude arms smuggling and infiltration by Pakistani-based separatist militants or terrorists, who wish to bring Kashmir into Pakistan, or gain independence for Kashmir.The barrier itself consists of double-row of fencing and barbed wire eight to twelve feet in height, and is electrified in stretches where power supply is available. The small stretch of land between the rows of fencing is mined.The construction of the barrier was begun in the 1990s, but slowed in the early 2000s as hostilities between India and Pakistan increased. After a November 2003 ceasefire agreement, building resumed and was accelerated, and completion is expected in mid-2004.Pakistan has objected to the construction of the barrier, saying it violates both bilateral accords and relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions on the region. In Pakistan's view the border between Jammu and Kashmir is undemarcated, and border fencing is not allowed.