Confederations Cup 2013: Italy Snatch Third Place From Penalties

Penalties would ultimately decide the Third Place for the Confederations Cup, and following a goalkeeping masterclass by Gianlugi Buffon, Italy would prevail over the South Americans.
 

It was a great starter in the evening dish of Confederations Cup latter stages with the final between World champions and hosts Spain and Brazil.

David Astori slotted in for the Italians to give them a deserved lead and then wanted boy Edinson Cavani equalised, his first of the night. Alessandro Diamanti curled a spectacular free kick in after  heavy Uruguayan pressure in which Suarez, Pereira and Forlan all tested Buffon with strikes. With twelve minutes remaining, and Italy on course for a third place finish, Cavani coolly smashed in a free kick to take the game to extra time.
 

Ricardo Montolivo was sent off during extra time for a second yellow card after a foul on Luis Suarez and the Uruguayan crowd erupted, the initiative was there for the taking. Suarez and co, though could not muster a winning goal and so it went to penalties.

Diego Forlan, Martin Caceres and Walter Gargano all had their spot kicks saved in a shootout masterclass from one of the world’s toughest ‘keepers to beat from 12 yards and Alberto Aquilani, Stephan El Shaarawy and Emanuele Giaccherini scored their spot-kicks to spare the blushes of  Mattia De Sciglio who missed but the result is all that mattered in the end.

Italy now claim Third Place in the Confederations Cup. A bigger question however, who will be first place?

F1: Rosberg Stuns Silverstone Spectators

Nico Rosberg claimed a shock victory in a dramatic British Grand Prix at Silverstone after beating Mark Webber from Red Bull while Fernando Alonso also claimed a place on the podium. 

 Rosberg’s Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton had taken the pole in qualifying in his first home race since joining from McLaren. Current champion Sebastien Vettel had lead the race but was forced to retire and his rival Alonso’s 3rd place finish cuts the gap to 21 points.

Lewis Hamilton started in pole position, but combined with a tyre failure, he did well to fight back for a fourth place finish ahead of the impressive Kimi Raikonnen who is 11 points off Alonso and 32 behind Championship leader Vettel.

Rosberg was leading with the Aussie Webber in fifth and the Red Bull driver stormed past Daniel Ricciardo, Adrian Sutil and Raikonnen to put the pressure on Rosberg but missed out by 0.7 seconds.

“Fantastic, a very special day. What makes it more special is that our factory is so close,” said Rosberg. “We’re progressing all the time. We’re massively quick in qualifying, and we had the fastest car in this race.
“With Lewis, I feel sorry for all the British fans. It’s always a massive disappointment but that’s racing. Sebastian stopped, I won’t lie, I wasn’t disappointed by that one.”

Eleven races remain for the title contenders Vettel, Alonso and Raikonnen and Vettel will be racing in his home country in the German Grand Prix at the Nurburgring with the race on the 7th July.

ICC Champions Trophy 2013: The Final – England vs. India

India stood triumphant in the last ever ICC Champions Trophy following a 5-run win in a rain-stricken 20 Over thriller at Edgbaston.

Rain delayed play for numerous hours before play began and reduced the match to 20 over innings, it also halted India’s innings momentarily.

The best batting performance for India came from Virat Kohli who scored 43 runs as a part of India’s final total of 129.

England found themselves chasing a very possible score of 130 to be crowned Champions Trophy winners, however they found themselves slightly behind the run rate.

As the game moved further towards a climax, England began to really get going and were on course for a win.

Then there was the turning point.

All set for the win chasing 20 runs of 16 balls, Ravi Bopara and Eoin Morgan were showing solidarity on the crease before Morgan was dismissed for 33, followed by a complete collapse for England.

The 8 balls that followed were disastrous for England, who only scored three runs – but conceded four wickets.

Unnecessary shot selections from Morgan and Bopara had dropped two wickets that were vital.

Courtesy of Ishant Sharma – the true hero for India as his over of spectacular bowling had turned the game completely on it’s head.

Third Umpire Bruce Oxenford was particularly busy in the closing overs of the game with numerous third umpire decisions from run outs and catches.

James Tredwell had an opportunity to strike a six that would win the tournament, but was unable to do so and England finished the 20 Overs at 124 – 8.

Edgbaston witnesses a nail-biting thriller to conclude a very entertaining Champions Trophy tournament.

India triumph and become the team to win the last ever Champions Trophy, coming off successes with the 2011 World Cup.

Captain MS Dhoni has once again captained his side to success, and India continue their spectacular form with absolute dominance in the Champions Trophy winning all their 5 games.

And it is over. An amazing Champions Trophy comes to an end, with India in glory and proving their youthful team with experience is the way forward in cricket.

Your Last Ever Champions Trophy Winners, India.
Triumphant – again.

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NBA Finals: HEAT, Spurs End An Amazing Season In An Amazing Way

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Talk about high stakes.
 

Miami HEAT and San Antonio Spurs had produced a back-and-forth enthralling NBA Finals, and it would all epitomize in emphatic fashion, Game 7 of the NBA Finals.

Legacies will be made. Legacies will be tarnished. #Game7
— ESPN (@espn) June 21, 2013

With the eyes of the World upon the AmericanAirlines Arena in Miami, Florida, the objective of the HEAT and Spurs was simple – win the game and you become the NBA Champions. But that achieving that objective would not be easy at all, because the passion and desire to become Champion was on full display as the NBA season culminated in an amazing way.

Both teams played with intensity in the first quarter but the low scoring end was a result of poor shooting and turnovers.
Dwyane Wade came out aggressive for Miami, and Tim Duncan’s desire to further solidify his legacy was on full display in the first quarter. Duncan had an unusual-but-impressive play, when he managed to steal the ball and hit a fast break – or slow break, as some would say.

Meanwhile Manu Ginobili found himself in some foul trouble as he picked up two fouls in the first quarter, however coach Greg Popovich invested trust in the veteran allowing him to play out the last 3 minutes of the quarter.
Miami gained an all-important threshold on the quarter when they took the lead for the first time following an  8 – 0 run, to finish the quarter two points ahead, leading 18 – 16.

First Quarter Shot Chart via HEAT.com shows the poor shooting by both teams in the opening 12 minutes.

Maybe pressure could explain the poor shooting…
Some poor shooting would continue in the second quarter, a combination of nerves and of course fatigue from that grueling Game 6 thriller on Tuesday which set up for the Game 7.
Chris Bosh picked up his third foul as he struggled to contain The Big Fundamental Tim Duncan, resulting in Bosh getting a third foul less than halfway through the quarter. Hot shooting from beyond-the-arc by Shane Battier

Shane Battier has ALREADY set an NBA Finals Game 7 record with three 3-pointers.
— Numbers Never Lie (@ESPN_Numbers) June 21, 2013

Dwyane Wade was on some excellent form with 14 points better than his Game 6 performance. An aggressive performance by Wade in particular had a significant impact.
Meanwhile his counterpart Manu Ginobili had glimpses of his best with his shooting, layups and assists. Bosh would remain quiet with 0 points in the first half. This is the first time in the postseason where he has had a scoreless first half.
LeBron’s 15 points was important to keep the HEAT tipping ahead, including picking up some points in great fashion (see video above).

2nd Quarter Shot Chart via HEAT.com

 
A first half that started with poor shooting and turnovers, but the pace picked up and a good game has come out of it. Spurs may be thankful to the free-throws for keeping them in it, but good work to stay with the HEAT nonetheless. LeBron and Wade with a combined 29 points meanwhile the Spurs also got it done, as Tim Duncan scored 15 points and picked up three rebounds and Kawhi Leonard had 10 rebounds, an incredible amount for the first half.

With business now picked up, who would go on to become the NBA Champions?

Kawhi Leonard picked up an early double-double in the third quarter with 11 points and 11 rebounds, this was score was to increase with the NBA Championship hanging in the balance.
Miami pulled off a magnificent play when Miller threw it to LeBron who dished it out to Dwyane Wade for the dunk. Spectacular.

However things were not looking quite as good for man of the moment Danny Green…

Danny Green has hit just 1 shot in his last 14 attempts. He’s 0-7 tonight.
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) June 21, 2013

But then he hit the three to give the Spurs a 1 point lead, would this be the start of another three-point frenzy?

LeBron James 5th three pointer had HEAT leading, and also broke a record in the NBA Finals, with the most ever three-pointers in Game 7 of the NBA Finals.
Even Diaw got into the mix when his shot from downtown gave the Spurs a 1-point edge before a timeout.
Back and forth they went, and it set up the quarter for a one-point game.

Third Quarter Shot Chart via HEAT.com

The HEAT went in with just a 1-point lead courtesy of Shane Battier (who hit his 4th 3-pointer) and then Chalmers took the roof of the AmercianAirlines Arena when he drilled a Three-Pointer on the buzzer.

The stage was set. Miami were leading 72 – 71, with one quarter left of the NBA season…

Tim Duncan joined Kawhi Leonard as he got a double-double in the fourth quarter. Miami got on a run to get a lead, but there was still a lot to play for. The pressure was high on the officials as numerous video reviews occurred to ensure that there would be no refereeing errors that possibly would decide the outcome of such an important game.
With 5:37 remaining in the final quarter, San Antonio called a much needed timeout as they trailed 83 – 77 to Miami, following LeBron’s mid-range jumper and Ginobili had been costly with his mistakes in the fourth quarter. Pressure was mounting, would this get out of the Spurs’ control?

Just as many began to write off the Spurs, they fought back to within three points, after back and fourth enthralling action which saw Duncan on the boards, Battier hit another three and Ginobili get back to his usual by sinking a three (maybe too costly however). With three minutes remaining, the clock was ticking, the Championships were waiting..

Chris Bosh had a chance to seal the game with 90 seconds left, but buckled under pressure and missed both free throws. 2 points were the difference.

The NBA Championship is going to come down to one possession. Unreal.
— ESPN (@espn) June 21, 2013

Less than a minute to go, Duncan missed an opportunity to even the game, this was TENSE.

LeBron took it home for Miami in the final minute, following another field goal he found himself at the free throw line after intercepting the Spurs pass in the paint and being fouled.

And with that, the NBA season was secured.

Spurs fall short, they have had a great season but could not beat the HEAT this time round. Spurs can leave with their heads held high.

Miami HEAT defeated the Spurs 95 – 88 after an incredible season. Spectacular NBA Finals and Miami are NBA Champions.

A fitting culmination to an amazing season to watch and experience. 

Your NBA Champions, Miami HEAT.

Published by Nisar Khan Follow @iNisarKhan, founder of TheSportMatrix.com
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ICC Champions Trophy 2013: India vs. Sri Lanka

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India secured their place in the Final of the ICC Champions Trophy following an emphatic 8-wicket win when they outclassed Sri Lanka in Cardiff.

Dhoni will captain India in the Final when they head to Edgbaston to face England in the last tournament of it’s kind.

Sri Lanka and India were declared joint-winners of the Champions Trophy Final in 2002, when 110 Overs of cricket ended in no result following heavy rain.

However, there was to be no draw this time round, in fact far from it as India dominated the Sri Lankans.

Batting first were Sri Lanka, who collated a score of 181 runs within 50 Overs, but the batsmen they were relying on had far too mediocre performances.

Captain Angelo Mathews was an influential part in Sri Lanka’s final performance as he hit 51 runs. But his fellow batsmen were simply not good enough to put up a challenging score for the Indians.

When Sri Lanka found themselves 41 – 3 following Sangakkara’s dismissal, many were expectant of a collapse to commence. Sri Lanka found their rhythm though and as they dragged on too 199 – 3 before Jayawardene fell to another wicket.

Some batting of significance for Sri Lanka but it was not enough, and India found themselves in a very comfortable position on the chase.

India only conceded two wickets as they stormed their way to 182 runs in 35 overs. 68 runs by Dahwan and 58 scored by Kohli allowed India to cruise to a comfortable win.

The Captain’s spoke of the game from their perspective:

“The bowlers have done really well but still there are a few areas where we’d like to improve. It was still doing a bit and we had to keep a few overs for the fast bowlers at the death, so the only two (seam-bowling) options were Virat and me. It went pretty well, which meant we could keep Ashwin for later when they had lots of a left-handers.”
– MS Dhoni, India Captain

“We didn’t play well but credit should go the Indian bowlers – they bowled really well. All our younger guys need to take responsibility. We choked in the semi-finals but the credit should go to the whole team for the character they showed after (we lost) the first game.”
– Angele Mathews, Sri Lanka Captain

 Sri Lanka under-perform in the Semi-Finals and they crash out hard to India.

The Indians look on some fine form in this tournament, but so do their opponents on Sunday, England.

Can India with the combination of experience and rising stars get their hands on the Champions Trophy?

It is going to be one spectacular final. England vs India in the ICC Champions Trophy Final, this Sunday.

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ICC Champions Trophy 2013: Semi Final 1 – England vs. South Africa

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England secured their place in the ICC Champions Trophy Final following a dominant 7-wicket win over South Africa at The Oval.

Some fine bowling by James Anderson and James Tredwell had South Africa in some deep trouble, taking 5 wickets together in total and only conceding 33 runs.

South Africa’s David Miller and Rory Kleinveldt made sure it was not as easy a task for England, as their 95-run partnership got South Africa to 175.

Once again, Jonathon Trott was on-point with his batting, as he scored 82 not out from 84 balls – yet another consistent innings of supremacy and intelligence utilizing the bat going along with scores of 43 and 76 earlier on in the Champions Trophy.

In what has been quite a challenging tournament for England, following the ball-tampering allegations, mild batting and injuries to Swann and Pietersen, England have made a bold statement paving their way to the final in emphatic fashion.

Captain Alistair Cook described Sunday’s final as a dream-come-true for him when he walks out to the pitch at Edgbaston.

The South Africans again slip up on high stakes, with under performing in the semi-finals. Just as they looked like they had some potential, they eventually suffered another downfall in a 50-over ODI.

Despite the openers falling early, England’s chase was a very comfortable one, as they found themselves well ahead of the required run rate and had plenty of overs to face before pressure even crept in.
 
England storm through the ICC Champions Trophy final where they will face either India or Sri Lanka at Edgbaston on Sunday.

Can England go all the way in the last Champions Trophy of it’s kind?

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ICC Champions Trophy 2013: Pakistan vs. West Indies

South Africa prevailed at the Oval by a 2-wicket win over Pakistan in the second day of the Champions Trophy in a low-scoring game.

Only two of Pakistan’s batsmen scored more than 6 runs, and those two were Misbah ul-Haq who fell short of a century for 96 not out, and Jamshed who got 50 runs.

Their effort was not enough for the win because of a poor batting performance by their teammates.

West Indies were stunned early when they found themselves at 15 – 2, but managed to drive forward with an intent to win the game.
An unexpected contest emerged following a very small amount of runs but it did end up being a relatively close game.

A game of fast bowing and high action, but a game of which Pakistan fall short.

South Africa prevail in the 2nd Game of the Champions Trophy and put Pakistan in an uncomfortable start to the tournament.

TheSportMatrix.com is your destination for Champions Trophy Coverage
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Confederations Cup 2013: Group Stage Week One round-up

The Confederations Cup 2013 kicked off with Brazil taking on Japan on Saturday. Below, we review the first week of the tournament.

Brazil 3 : 0 Japan



A spectacular third minute goal by Barcelona new-boy Neymar set the tone for Brazil to romp to an easy victory over a Japan side featuring Shinji Kagawa and Keisuke Honda. Dani Alves crossed for Paulinho and Jo was sent clear by Oscar to add the finishing touches.

With less than a year to go until Brazil hosts the World Cup finals, this is a tournament that will act as a dress rehearsal for the South Americans – on and off the pitch with protests taking place in Brazil recently.

Japan had a few chances of their own with Honda and substitute Ryoichi Maeda but the result was never in doubt for the hosts. 

 
Italy 2 : 1 Mexico



Andrea Pirlo’s 100th cap was marked with the perfect start to the Confederations Cup in the Azurri’s first win over Mexico in 20 years. 

Pirlo himself got on the scoresheet after he smashed in a typical free-kick in the 27th minute. Javier Hernandez equalized for the Mexicans with a penalty seven minutes later but, unlike Hernandez, it was Mario Balotelli who took the headlines as he coolly fired in the winner in the 78th minute and was subsequently booked for removing his shirt in the celebration.

Uruguay 1 : 2 Spain



World and European champions Spain kicked off their Confederations Cup tournament with a masterclass win over Uruguay which was much more one sided than the scoreline suggests.

Cesc Fabregas struck the post before a deflected Pedro shot bobbled in after 20 minutes. Fabregas then set up Roberto Soldado to slot home with a magical pass before Liverpool striker Luis Suarez floated in a wonderful free-kick as a consolation for the fans in Recife.

Spain largely dominated the match with 92% possession after nine minutes gone and Suarez’s goal at the end was the only piece of quality that the Copa America 2011 winners showed.

Tahiti 1 : 6 Nigeria




Nigeria may have outclassed Tahiti on the field, but the South Pacific islanders were celebrating a historic goal scored by defender John Tehau.

Nigeria sprinted into a 3-0 lead with less than half an hour gone, Tahiti captain Nicolas Vallar scoring an own goal and Nnamdi Oduamadi grabbed a couple. The result was no doubt settled before a ball was even kicked as Tahiti, ranked 138th, made their Confederations Cup debut marked with a goal. John Tehau nodded in from a corner and it sparked wild celebrations in Tahiti and in the stadium for the fans. Oduamadi grabbed his third before Tehau scored at the other end and Echiejile added the sixth.

ICC Champions Trophy 2013: Australia v Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka beat Australia by 20 runs to clinsh the final semi-final spot and knock out Australia and New Zealand. 

The World Cup runners up had a decent time with the bat, reaching a score of 125-3 in 30 overs. Mahela Jayawardene was the star of the show for the Lankans, reaching 11000 ODI runs and becoming the eighth man to do so top scoring with a blistering 84 from 81 balls in an innings including eleven fours. The main threat with ball in hand for the Aussies was none other than Mitchell Johnson, taking figures of 3-48 while Mckay, Faulkner and Doherty also took a wicket each as Sri Lanka reached 253-8 meaning that Australia would need to make their target of 254 within 29.1 overs to go through on net run rate.

Australia started their chase with all guns blazing and were on track with a total of 41-1 after just 5 overs. Such big-hitting was needed to get the Aussies in the mix for the semis and it never arrived, Shane Watson got out early for 5, Glenn Maxwell only got 32 and Mitchell Marsh was bowled by Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews for 4 and soon the innings was tumbling at 168-8 but it was clear for sometime that they were never going to reach the target in such a small amount of time. Wickets were evenly shared among the Sri Lanka bowlers but Kulasekara took a trebly and Malinga a couple. The notable batting performance came from Adam Voges who fell one short of a half-century. Last wicket pair Clint Mckay and Xavier Doherty showed immense resistance to the Sri Lanka attack with a stand of 41 and would have won it for Australia with plenty of overs left but Dilshan took the wicket of Mckay and the rest, as we know, is history.

Sri Lanka head on to face India in the Semi-Finals meanwhile England battle South Africa. Stay Tuned with TSM for Champions Trophy Coverage.

ICC Champions Trophy 2013: England vs. Sri Lanka

Sangakkara’s century dampened England’s Champions Trophy hopes after Sri Lanka defeated England by 7 wickets at The Oval.

An unbeaten 134 runs by Sangakaara – aided by good innings by Jayawardene, Kulasekera and Dilshan – was enough to see of earlier half-centuries by Cook, Trott and Root.

With the impressive batting performances by both teams, the bowlers suffered with many going for expensive totals.

Ravi Bopara stepped up to the mark with 33* from 13 but alas in vein as England suffered the loss.

Sri Lanka opened up the opportunity to progress if they defeat Australia in the upcoming match.

A great team batting effort by Sri Lanka allowed them to have such a good win despite an England side with good strengths.

Sri Lanka revive their hopes in the tournament, and leave the upcoming games being pivotal.

Excellent batting performance by Sri Lanka that gives them a triumphant victory, and Sangakaara is the influential batsmen with an inspired century.

Stay tuned with TheSportMatrix.com for Champions Trophy Coverage
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