IPL Twenty20 Cricket 2010 Live Coverage

Warne describes Yusuf’s whirlwind knock the best ever

2010-03-16T23:51:00.000-07:00

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

The third edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) came alight with a magnificent 37-ball century from Yusuf Pathan of Rajasthan Royals against the star-studded Mumbai Indians, featuring two of the most lethal fast bowlers of the world, at the Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai, on March 13.

It went to the credit of Mumbai Indians, captained by Sachin Tendulkar, to have still managed to win the game despite the crack Yusuf had at their bowlers.

Yusuf’s superb knock was acknowledged by his skipper Shane Warne who described it as the best innings he's seen in his 21-year career.

"I have played cricket for 21 years and I have seen Sachin Tendulkar as the best batsman against whom I have played as he has murdered attacks and hit them all over the park. But today was the best innings I have ever seen," Warne, the greatest spin bowler of all-time, observed.

All About Latest Sports Action: Warne describes Yusuf’s whirlwind knock the best ever

All About Latest Sports Action: Salman Khan may or may not own an IPL team

2009-08-29T12:22:00.000-07:00

There are contradicting reports whether the Bollywood icon, Salman Khan, is going to own a team in the future editions of the Indian Premier League (IPL) or his recent meeting with the IPL Commissioner, Lalit Modi, was nothing more than a courtesy call.

It was reported the other day that Salman Khan had shown interest in buying a franchise in the IPL but brother Sohail Khan denied the news.

"It's not true. Salman is not buying any IPL team. Yesterday when he was shooting for Dus Ka Dum I called up bhai and asked him whether it was true and he denied it," brother Sohail was quoted as saying.

All About Latest Sports Action: Salman Khan may or may not own an IPL team

All About Latest Sports Action: MCG repeated at Lord’s

2009-06-22T04:16:00.000-07:00

Quite a few scenes witnessed at Lord’s on June 21, 2009 resembled to the ones at the Melbourne Cricket ground (MCG) on March 25, 1992. There was only a change of personnel besides the venue of course.

It was Imran Khan whose team had staged a comeback from nowhere to win the World Cup against all odds in 1992 and now it was the side captained by Younis Khan having exceeded all expectations by annexing the Twenty20 crown.
Younis had been talking of Imran from the moment he was handed over the leadership earlier this year. The enterprising right-handed batsman has tried himself to model on the legendary all-rounder who’s also considered the greatest-ever captain produced by the country.

But even Younis, an optimist of the highest order, himself had never spoken of claiming the World Twenty20 title in England in the summer of 2009. His cherished goal remained winning the World Cup in 2011.
All About Latest Sports Action: MCG repeated at Lord’s

All About Latest Sports Action: South Africa choke again to let Pakistan enter final

2009-06-19T04:10:00.000-07:00

History repeated itself at Trent Bridge on June 18 when South Africa crashed in the semifinals of the ICC World Twenty20 and Pakistan lived to the reputation of bringing about the downfall of the team of the moment.

South Africa, with their terrific all-round performance, had proved themselves the team of the tournament. They had remained undefeated and there was very little chance of them biting the dust as far as this event was concerned.

All About Latest Sports Action: South Africa choke again to let Pakistan enter final

All About Latest Sports Action: Dismal India squander yet another opportunity

2009-06-17T00:57:00.000-07:00

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

It’s very difficult to describe or assess India’s dismal performance in the ICC World Twenty20 2009. The tournament will conclude with the final on June 21 but it’s all over for the defending champions who couldn’t even find their way into the semifinals.

It’s beyond my comprehension how the free-flowing Indian batsmen got so much entangled against the South African spinners while chasing a low score of 130. It should have been a cakewalk win for the Indians, particularly after the brilliant start provided by the opening pair of Gautam Gambhir and Rohit Sharma.

All About Latest Sports Action: Dismal India squander yet another opportunity

All About Latest Sports Action: India knock themselves out

2009-06-14T22:59:00.000-07:00

"Curse the excessive betting, blame the infighting or hold the board officials responsible it can’t hide the fact that the strongest outfit to have entered the competition has been knocked out in an unceremonious manner.

India stood head and shoulders above any other side in the shortest version of the game and probably it was a combination of too many factors that prompted their early exit against the run of play.

It was not for the first time that the Indians have been knocked over far too earlier than anticipated. They have perished this way more often than not whenever they were installed as the favourites or billed as the most potent side."
All About Latest Sports Action: India knock themselves out:

All About Latest Sports Action: Pakistan, India jolted

2009-06-13T06:47:00.000-07:00

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

Pakistan and India, the finalists of the inaugural ICC World Twenty20 in 2007, had to bite the dust in their opening Super Eight fixtures at Lord’s on June 12. The weather and the settings were about perfect but both the sub-continental teams jeopardized their chances of making into the semifinals by crashing to defeat after being in dominating position for sometime.

India, the defending champions and the hot favourites, were brought down to earth by the West Indies while Pakistan, the runners-up in South Africa, were laid low by the rampaging Sri Lanka.

All About Latest Sports Action: Pakistan, India jolted#links#links

All About Latest Sports Action: New Zealand, South Africa off to flyer

2009-06-12T04:41:00.000-07:00

Both New Zealand and South Africa got off to a flying start to their Super Eight campaign in the ICC World Twenty20 2009 crushing Ireland and England respectively at Trent Bridge on June 11.

The victory in the opening Super Eight game provides the much needed insurance to New Zealand and South Africa ahead of the knockout stage of the competition. They can still force their way into the semifinals if they lose one of their next two games.
All About Latest Sports Action: New Zealand, South Africa off to flyer

Match Preview: India vs Ireland

2009-06-10T04:24:00.000-07:00

Ground reality and Pitch

The Trent Bridge cricket ground is home to the Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club. The stadium is considered to be one of the best grounds in the world to watch a cricket match due to the excellent facilities available here. Trent Bridge also features in Indian history with the cricketing great Sachin Tendulkar passing the 11,000 mark in test cricket at this ground. The pitch at Trent Bridge is tilted more in favour of the batsmen with an even bounce on offer.

Temperatures: Min - 8 C Max - 15 C | Conditions: Showers expected

Team updates - India: The sub-continent team has the batting prowess to erect a mountain of runs or scale down any challenging total even in the absence of their explosive opener Virender Sehwag, who has been injured. But their bowling - both at start and at death - is a cause of concern as they have conceded too many runs in the in the first six overs, with field restrictions in place, and also proved uneconomic towards the close. With a berth in the Super Eight Stage already in their pocket, defending champions India will look to sort out their bowling woes when they take on fellow qualifiers Ireland in the final Group A league match in the World Twenty20 Championships at Trent Bridge.

Team updates - Ireland: The Irish cricket team have been known for their surprises ever since their stunning win against Pakistan in the 2007 World Cup at the Caribbean. In a group that provided the team the best chance to qualify to the next round, Ireland made good use of it, beating their fellow minnow Bangladesh and making it to the super 8 stage. The O'Brien brothers showed their skills with the bat against Bangladesh with a combination of the hard hits and subtle strokes. Ireland would hope for the brothers to fire again against a formidable Indian bowling line-up. Although it is an inconsequential match, the Irish would have to play their best cricket against a strong Indian outfit.

X Factor:
Bat - Rohit Sharma and the O'Briens: Rohit Sharma displayed his class against the Bangladesh team and also against Pakistan during India's warm-up clash with their arch rivals. Looking in good touch, India would look at the youngster to fire in the absence of Virender Sehwag. Meanwhile, Niall O'Brien and Kevin O'Brien were in the league of their own during the Irish match against Bangladesh. Their efforts with the bat led to the Bangladeshis being shown the doors. Ireland would bank on the O'Brien brothers to fire again and put up a good show going into the super 8's.

Ball - Pragyan Ojha and Trent Johnston: The talened left-arm spinner made his mark with brilliant bowling for Hyderabad during the IPL. He carried on his form with a career best of 4/21 on his T20 debut match against Bangladesh. He would play a pivotal role for India during their super 8 campaigns. Trent Johnston looked good with the ball against the Bangladeshis, picking up wickets for Ireland up-front. He would play an important role with the ball for the Irish team during their super 8 encounters.

Numbers game:
4: The number of sixers by Yuvraj Singh during India's first match against Bangladesh. Only Chris Gayle and AB de Villiers have scored more sixers in the tournament than Yuvraj, having 6 sixers each in their tally.
6.0: With figures of 4/21 against Bangladesh, Pragyan Ojha holds the best bowling strike rate of 6.0 in the current edition of the World T20.
Sound Bytes:
He is a good batsman - that I can say - but all of a sudden comparing him to Yuvraj Singh, there is a big gap in the middle. We all know Yuvraj has proved himself. He is one of the biggest hitters and hits sixes quite consistently. He [O'Brien] is a talented cricketer but he is well below Yuvraj when it comes to hitting big sixes in this format: Indian captain MS Dhoni commenting on the hard-hitting Kevin O'Brien.

Teams:
India (From): Gautam Gambhir, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Mahendra Singh Dhoni(w/c), Ravindra Jadeja, Yusuf Pathan, Irfan Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, Praveen Kumar, Rudra Pratap Singh, Pragyan Ojha

Ireland (From): William Porterfield(c), Jeremy Bray, Niall Obrien(w), Gary Wilson, John Mooney, Kevin Obrien, Trent Johnston, Kyle McCallan, Regan West, Alex Cusack, Andre Botha, Boyd Rankin, Peter Connell, Paul Stirling, Andrew White

Match Preview: Sri Lanka vs West Indies

2009-06-10T04:21:00.000-07:00

Ground Reality
Trent Bridge has been a good wicket so far in the tournament, with a slight bias towards batsmen. A safe score here would have to be one in excess of 170-175. As is usual in England, rain and thunder are forecast for the day, but so far the tournament has been fortunate to not be too affected by the rains. If this match does get affected, it would be less harmful than would have been expected since both teams are already through to the next stage.

The Teams They were both expected to fight it out for the second qualifying spot in the 'Group of Death', but due to their superb displays against Australia, they have the luxury of treating this match as a warm-up/practice match and trying out new combinations and players. Both teams will make the Super Eights, and the result of this match is immaterial.

Sri Lanka: They put up a thoroughly professional performance to outclass the Australians, and they'll be well pleased with the form of Dilshan and Sangakkara. The heartening aspect for them is that Jayawardene has recovered from his injury in the IPL. The trio are the lynch-pins of the Lankan batting, and much will depend on how they fire. Their bowling is amongst the best in the tournament, and they will be pleased that Ajantha Mendis showed his class in the match against Australia. It showed the value of handling a world-class bowler in the correct fashion - something the Kolkata Knight Riders might want to keep in mind.

West Indies: Although they won convincingly against Australia, too much of their success depends on Chris Gayle. Ideally, they might want to consider not playing him in this match, to give the opportunity for some others to stand up and take the pressure. In the Super Eights, there will surely be a match where Gayle might fail, and then if the remaining players have already had a taste of what it is like to bat in the absence of Gayle, they will be better suited to handling the pressure in a match that is more important. None of their bowlers were particularly impressive against Australia, and they should look at ways for their bowlers to hit their stride before the second phase.

1 - Sanath Jayasuriya's ranking for Sri Lanka in T20 Internationals on the following parameters: Most Runs (343), Highest Strike Rate (150.43 for a minimum of 50 runs scored), and Highest Score made (88). The old warhorse may not be in the best touch, but his value to his side is undisputed.

2.1 - The ratio of the number of runs Chris Gayle has in T20 Internationals against the second highest scorer for the West Indies - Dwayne Smith. Gayle has 349 runs, while Smith has 166. Ironically enough, Smith has not even been picked in the West Indian squad.

Soundbytes:
"The pressure will no doubt be a bit less. But international cricket is serious business, there is no question of taking it easy" - Kumar Sangakkara on the West Indies match.
"Once I can clear the boundary I am satisfied with that, it doesn't matter how far it goes." - Chris Gayle

Teams:
West Indies (From): Chris Gayle(c), Xavier Marshall, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Dwayne Bravo, Keiron Pollard, Denesh Ramdin(w), Darren Sammy, Lionel Baker, Sulieman Benn, Fidel Edwards, David Bernard, Andre Fletcher, Lendl Simmons, Jerome Taylor

Sri Lanka (From): Sanath Jayasuriya, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara(w/c), Mahela Jayawardene, Jehan Mubarak, Angelo Mathews, Thilan Thushara, Isuru Udana, Muttiah Muralitharan, Ajantha Mendis, Lasith Malinga, Indika de Saram, Farveez Maharoof, Nuwan Kulasekara, Chamara Silva

All About Latest Sports Action: Pakistan’s Super Eight entry threatens fancied teams

2009-06-09T23:53:00.000-07:00

There were a lot of discussions and debates on whether or not Pakistan would be able to force their way into the Super Eight, after having succumbed to a humiliating defeat at the hands of hosts England in their opening game.

My reply to all the queries in this regard was simple and straightforward. I told everyone, on and off the record, that I would be surprised if Pakistan didn’t accomplish their goal. The assessment was not based on any cricketing knowledge or anything like that. It had to do something with history and past record.

All About Latest Sports Action: Pakistan’s Super Eight entry threatens fancied teams

Match Preview: Newzealand vs South Africa

2009-06-09T09:14:00.000-07:00

New Zealand (Playing XI): Brendon McCullum(c), Martin Guptill, Neil Broom, Ross Taylor, Scott Styris, Jacob Oram, Peter McGlashan(w), Nathan McCullum, Kyle Mills, Brendon Diamanti, Ian Butler

South Africa (Playing XI): Graeme Smith(c), Jacques Kallis, Herschelle Gibbs, AB de Villiers, Jean-Paul Duminy, Mark Boucher(w), Albie Morkel, Roelof van der Merwe, Johan Botha, Wayne Parnell, Dale Steyn

Team Information: Diamanti, Broom and Mills come in for New Zealand while Ryder, O'Brien and Franklin miss out due to injuries. South Africa have fielded the same eleven.
New Zealand have won the toss and elected to field
Ground Reality and Pitch:

Named after its founder Thomas Lord, the Lord's cricket ground also known as 'The Mecca of World Cricket', is owned by the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is home of the ECB. The three T20 World Cup matches played in the ground so far has seen the teams batting first score in excess of 160. Once again, the pitch is expected to favour the batsmen.

Temperatures: Min - 12 C Max - 16 C Conditions: Showers expected

Team Updates:
South Africa: The Proteas have by far been one of the best sides in the tournament. They began from winning all their warm-up matches and carried on to drub the Scottish team in their first match of the tournament. With a wide range of players at disposal, the South Africans are spoilt for choice with their team selection. Graeme Smith and Kallis looked in good touch during the match against Scotland while de Villiers, coming in the middle order, displayed his class with a splendid fifty. South Africa would count on their batsmen to produce a similar effort against the Kiwis and count on the likes of Dale Steyn, Botha and van De Merwe to fire with the ball.
New Zealand: The Kiwis had a truncated encounter against Scotland with their match being reduced to a 7 overs a side affair. They survived a scare after coming close to losing the match against the Scots. While their bowling was average, The likes of Jesse Ryder, Brendon McCullum and Ross Taylor shined with the bat. New Zealand would count on these three and the likes of Martin Guptill and Jacob Oram to fire with the bat. With the Kiwi captain Daniel Vettori likely to be out of the match due to a shoulder injury, the bowling department should pull their socks up and display a determined approach against the formidable batting line-up of the Proteas.
Numbers game:
2-1: South Africa have 2 victories against New Zealand in T20 Internationals while the Kiwis have managed one victory against the Proteas.
111.11: Graeme Smith's batting strike rate vs New Zealand in T20 games.

Pakistan handle Netherlands scare, stay alive

2009-06-09T09:12:00.000-07:00

It was a comprehensive routing of a hapless Netherlands outfit, Pakistan were superior in all departments and notched up a crushing win to knock the Dutch out of the tournament. Still it was quite a pleasure to see the Orange brigade in action and they will be better off for the experience gained.

Kamran Akmal:T20 is a fun game. Very happy with the keeping and I worked very hard with the fielding coach on my keeping.

Younis Khan: It was all about the partnerships, everybody thought we will field first but we batted. We were positive all the way.

Smits: We did not play that well today, Afridi was outstanding today. We should have restricted them to 150. Batting did not come off today, congrats to Pakistan. It is a privilege to be here and we managed to make an impact in the tournament.

Kamran Akmal is the Man of the Match for his all-round performance today

Sloppy Pakistan face litmus test

2009-06-09T02:29:00.000-07:00

Who'd have thunk it, that Pakistan and Netherlands would be taking on each other in a group game in which Pakistan might do and still die? Such has been the way with this strangest of groups but clarity has now emerged. Netherlands, to progress and thus consign Pakistan to a fate they seem worryingly resigned to, can afford to lose, but by no more than 24 runs. If Pakistan chase, then they must do so with roughly three overs to spare.

The problems are Pakistan's. Not for a moment since they landed in England have they looked like a team that is playing in a World Cup. Younis Khan's bizarre, careless dismissal of the format and the tournament seems to have filtered through to the side. Anyway you'd think, given their lack of international games recently, that Pakistan would be itching to rip through a Ramadan 20/20 night tournament in Karachi's Pakistan Chowk, let alone a World Cup. The attitude is, however, only the most overarching concern: on the field, they are the worst fielding side, have an unsettled batting order and are rusty with the ball. Beyond that, they're fine.

Netherlands, on the other hand, have accorded this tournament the respect it deserves and have shown, with that fabulous opening win, just why the format is celebrated. As well as skill, the Netherlands will remind one and all, Twenty20 rewards discipline, hard work and bravery. The problem for them, of course, is to recreate the intensity of Friday, something which often proves beyond associate nations and lower-ranked sides.

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All About Latest Sports Action: Ireland throw Bangladesh out of competition

2009-06-09T01:19:00.000-07:00

Ireland had stunned everyone by making it to the Super Eight of the 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean and they have done it again in the shortest version of the game.

What a great start they have made in the ICC World Twenty20 2009, hammering Bangladesh by six wickets with 10 deliveries remaining. They have progressed to the next round of the competition, alongwith the defending champions India, from Group A.

All About Latest Sports Action: Ireland throw Bangladesh out of competition

Sri Lanka eliminate Australia from World Twenty20

2009-06-08T22:46:00.000-07:00

NOTTINGHAM: Skipper Kumar Sangakkara and Tillakaratne Dilshan hit robust half-centuries as Sri Lanka sent Australia packing from the World Twenty20 with a six-wicket win on Monday.

Australia, asked to bat by Sangakkara in his first match as captain, managed only 159-9 in good batting conditions as mystery spinner Ajantha Mendis and fast bowler Lasith Malinga claimed three wickets each, AFP reports.

Opener Dilshan then plundered 53 off 32 balls and left-handed Sangakkara made an unbeaten 55 to fire Sri Lanka home with six deliveries to spare.

Jehan Mubarak hit 21 not out to keep his captain company till the end, which came when Mitchell Johnson sent down a wide off the first delivery of the final over.

Ricky Ponting’s men, beaten by the West Indies in their first match, bowed out of the tournament with their fifth successive Twenty20 defeat and ample time in hand to prepare for next month’s Ashes series.

Sri Lanka and the West Indies, who take the two Super Eights places from the group, play each other in the inconsequential last league match on Wednesday.

‘It’s disappointing to go out of the tournament and I can’t explain why,’ said Ponting.

‘The training was spot-on and there was a good attitude in the group. But in the big moments we haven’t been able to play and we made too many mistakes.

‘We knew that it would be a huge challenge against their spinners. We knew we had to play them well. We didn’t do that and Sri Lanka deserved to win the game.

‘Now we have to move on as quickly as possible and focus on the Ashes.’

Sangakkara said it was crucial to have confidence they could win.

‘It was a great performance. When you play against Australia the key is to believe you can win,’ he said.

‘Our strength has always been spin bowling and we played two guys whom the Australians haven’t seen much of. So their batsmen couldn’t really target one single bowler.

‘Now we want to beat the West Indies in the final group match. We can’t afford to be complacent.’

Mendis, who turns the ball both ways without a visible change in his bowling action, wrecked the top order in a match Australia had to win to stay in the competition.

Slinger Malinga took care of the lower order as Australia collapsed to 94-6 in the 15th over, before David Hussey and Johnson led a late revival.

The pair put on 41 off 21 balls for the seventh wicket with Hussey hitting 28 off 22 balls and Johnson smashing 38 off 13 with two fours and as many sixes.

Sri Lanka were playing their first international match since the terror attack on their team bus in Lahore on March 3 which left seven players injured and killed eight Pakistani security-men.

Sangakkara’s team was greeted to Trent Bridge by some 100 people waving banners in protest against what they claimed was killing of innocent Tamils by the Sri Lankan armed forces in the war against the Tamil Tigers.

Ireland upset Bangladesh to reach Super Eights

2009-06-08T22:44:00.000-07:00

NOTTINGHAM: Ireland sealed a place in the Twenty20 World Cup Super Eights when Kevin O’Brien’s unbeaten 39 from 17 deliveries helped them to a six-wicket win over Bangladesh on Monday.

The result means Bangladesh, who were beaten by India in their opening game, have no chance of progressing from Group A, Reuters reports.

Ireland, a non-Test playing nation who also made it through the opening stage of the one-day World Cup in 2007, restricted Bangladesh to 137 for eight in their 20 overs at Trent Bridge.

‘We didn’t make anywhere near enough runs,’ Bangladesh’s Australian coach Jamie Siddons told reporters. ‘The par score on that flat wicket was 170. The cooler heads prevailed and under pressure our guys weren’t up to it.’

Ireland reached 138 for four with 10 balls remaining following an aggressive exhibition of hitting from O’Brien. He struck four fours and two sixes after coming in with the match closely poised.

Man of the match Niall O’Brien, Kevin’s brother, had laid the foundations for Ireland’s victory with an innings of 40 from 25 balls, including three sixes.

‘It’s always nice to bat well when there are 10-15,000 people cheering you on,’ said Niall O’Brien.

‘It doesn’t feel like an upset to us as we came here expecting to beat Bangladesh and we have done it again.’

Australian-born Trent Johnston earlier claimed three for 20 that helped to limit Bangladesh in their innings.

Bangladesh’s total might have been even lower had it not been for the 20 runs that Mashrafe Mortaza struck from the last over, bowled by Alex Cusack.

Twenty20 nothing serious: Younus

2009-06-08T06:51:00.001-07:00

LONDON:Pakistan captain Younus Khan was left struggling to explain his side's lack luster display after their comprehensive 48-run loss to England in the ICC World Twenty20.

Sloppy fielding by the 2007 finalists helped England to a competitive 185 for five at the Oval on Sunday, featuring 58 from Kevin Pietersen, while the Pakistan reply never got going.

Three wickets in the power play left Pakistan well behind the run-rate and Younus, who finished unbeaten on 46, could only watch from the other end as a succession of batsmen came and went.

‘I would never had thought we would end up chasing 185,’ Younus told reporters.

‘Our fielding was bad and we easily gave away 20-25 runs.

‘This is a matter of concern for us. I have no idea why our fielders are unable to field properly. It is not as if we are not working hard butwe are not just getting it right for reasons unknown to me.’

Pakistan,whose homeland has become a virtual no-go zone for the rest of world cricket following the armed attack on the Sri Lanka team bus in Lahore in March, have been starved of international competition in recent months.

And now they must not only beat the Netherlands, shock four-wicket winners over England in Friday's tournament opener, they must do so by a large margin at Lord's on Tuesday if they are to join the hosts in the Super Eights.

We will have to do it because if we don't we will be out of the competition,’ said Younus of the need for a big win against the Dutch.

‘Hopefully the senior guys will come forward and do a job for our team.

It's the only chance we have. The onus lies on the senior guys like Shahid Afridi, Misbah-ul-Haq, Shoaib Malik and myself.’

Butwhile the rest of the world's leading sides treat Twenty20 almost asseriously as nearly all other international cricket, Younus wasconscious of the founding principle behind its creation as aprofessional sport.

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All About Latest Sports Action: England get lifeline as Pakistan’s batters collapse

2009-06-08T06:04:00.000-07:00

By Syed Khalid Mahmood
Pakistan’s batsmen were found wanting once more in the conditions that were not ideal for batting. The extra bounce of the Kennigton Oval pitch undid the stroke-makers who are more comfortable in doing the business on the placid sub-continental pitches where they take things for granted.

No matter how batting friendly the pitches may be in England the ball is always going to do something in the air and the bounce can vary. The Pakistan batsmen have often struggled whenever the ball has moved and what happened on June 7 was reflective of their mindset.

All About Latest Sports Action: England get lifeline as Pakistan’s batters collapse

All About Latest Sports Action: Yuvraj, Ojha prevent catastrophe of 2007

2009-06-08T03:32:00.000-07:00

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

Bangladesh may be a soft opposition for other teams but they have always been a formidable opponent for India, who have had the knack of failing against the weakest of outfits.

Bangladesh had spoiled India’s party in the 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean and Rahul Dravid’s team, rated as one of the favourites to lift the trophy, was back home even before the second round.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s lads are the firm favourites to annex the ICC World Twenty20 title for the second time running and there are very few people who’ll dispute India being the strongest team to have taken the field in the competition.

All About Latest Sports Action: Yuvraj, Ojha prevent catastrophe of 2007: "Bangladesh may be a soft opposition for other teams but they have always been a formidable opponent for India, who have had the knack of failing against the weakest of outfits."

Eng stay alive, transfer scare on Pak

2009-06-08T02:23:00.001-07:00

That was a lousy effort from Pakistan to say the least. Pakistan gave away far too many runs due to some misfields and the dropped chances didn't help either. When they came out to bat, they had no plans at all and it all went haywire. They never really got going and that has cost them big here. They have a very bad net run rate and now they have to beat Netherlands by a big margin to ensure a place in the next round.

Luke Wright: The way we performed today was exceptional. It was a tough day on Saturday, we took a few things to notice, and I think we came out very well tonight. The guys really did very well and we are happy to have won big here.
Luke Wright is the Man of the Match

Paul Collingwood: The way the boys came out and batted was commendable. We really did well. Today, we came out very strongly. (On Mascarenhas opening the bowling) we will see how the conditions go through the tournament and then decide how to go about giving him the new ball.

Younis Khan: I think chasing 185 is always difficult and we lost early wickets. We dropped too many catches and we need to work on our fielding a lot. We are looking to do well against Netherlands as we need to win well against them to have a good net run rate.

Desperate England face unpredictable Pakistan today

2009-06-07T09:04:00.000-07:00

Ground reality and Pitch:
Home to the Surrey County Cricket Club, Kennington Oval was the first ground in Britan and the second in the world after the MCG to host a test match. The Oval holds the record for the largest playing test area in England. The pitch here has traditionally assisted the seamers during the initial phase. However, diligent batting has seen teams post good totals on this ground.

Temperatures: Min - 08 C Max - 17 C Conditions: Partly cloudy

Team Updates:
England: A stunning loss to the minnows Netherlands puts England in a must win situation against Pakistan. Though the England openers Bopara and Luke Wright put on a hundred partnership against the Dutch, The English middle order failed miserably as England ended up with a score of 162/5. Even their bowling and fielding was below average during the match with Stuart Broad being the main culprit. They would have to pull their socks and put up a determined show in order to stay in the tournament.

Pakistan: Having lost two matches in the warm-up games against South Africa and arch-rivals India, Pakistan would be coming into the match trying to put up a better show. They would have to fire in all departments against an English side who would be looking to come back hard after their loss to the minnows. The 17 year old Ahmed Shehzad and the wicket-keeper Kamran Akmal look to be in good form. However the middle order as well as the Pakistan bowling have scope for improvement.

Numbers game:
2: England's losses to minnows in the Twenty20 World Cup. While they lost to the Dutch in the 2009 edition, Zimbabwe had beaten the team during 2007.
1: The number of T20 wins for Pakistan against England. England and Pakistan have faced each other only once in the 20 over format of cricket.

Sound Bytes:
We're still in the tournament, we have 24 hours to get our heads around it and we have to play a hell of a lot better on Sunday. Pakistan are obviously a very good side. They got to the final of the last Twenty20 World Cup, they're very skillful and we're going to have to be at our very, very best to beat that side: England captain Paul Collingwood

Teams:
England (From): Ravinder Bopara, Luke Wright, Kevin Pietersen, Owais Shah, Paul Collingwood(c), Eoin Morgan, James Foster(w), Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann, James Anderson, Ryan Sidebottom, Robert Key, Dimitri Mascarenhas, Graham Napier, Adil Rashid
Pakistan (From): Salman Butt, Ahmed Shehzad, Kamran Akmal(w), Younis Khan(c), Shoaib Malik, Misbah Ul-Haq, Shahid Afridi, Yasir Arafat, Sohail Tanvir, Umar Gul, Rao Iftikhar, Fawad Alam, Saeed Ajmal, Mohammad Aamer, Shahzaib H

Match #4 Preview: India vs Bangladesh

2009-06-06T09:22:00.000-07:00

Ground Reality and Pitch:
The Trent Bridge cricket ground is home to the Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club. The stadium is considered to be one of the best grounds in the world to watch a cricket match due to the excellent facilities available here. Trent Bridge also features in Indian history with the cricketing great Sachin Tendulkar passing the 11,000 mark in test cricket at this ground. The pitch at Trent Bridge is tilted more in favour of the batsmen with an even bounce on offer.
Temperatures: Min - 8 C Max - 14 C Conditions: Showers expected

Team Updates:
India: A close knit unit led by an intelligent captain MS Dhoni, the men in blue are a formidable bunch of boys setting new standards for India in world cricket. With Gambhir and Sehwag at the top and the Pathan brothers in the lower middle order, batting has always remained the strength for the sub-continent team. The likes of Raina, Rohit Sharma and Yuvraj Singh along with the 'Mr Cool' captain MS Dhoni, lend a steady hand in the middle order. To add to that, the bowling department has the likes of RP Singh, Praveen Kumar, Harbhajan and Ojha, whose traits with the ball can trouble the best of batsmen. Over all, India seems to have the most balanced line-up coming into the T20 World Cup.

Bangladesh: The main strength of the team lies in their ability to surprise the opposition. Always the under-dogs, Bangladesh are known to upset the major teams. Led by a young captain Mohammad Ashraful, Bangladesh has a unit of young players like Shakib Al Hasan, Junaid Siddique and Raqibul Hasan, who have the ability to post big scores on their own. The bowling department has the likes of Mashrafe Mortaza, Rubel Hossain and Abdur Razzak who have the ability to put the opposition batsmen in a spot of bother.

X Factor:
Raina, Rohit Sharma: Suresh Raina and Rohit Sharma have been good form during their stint with their respective franchisees in the IPL. Apart from their batting, the duo have shown their ability to perform tricks with the ball. Constantly knocking on the doors of test cricket, the pair have the ideal opportunity to showcase their talent during the World T20 Championships.

Numbers game:
0: India and Bangladesh have never faced each other in a T20 encounter.
194.73: Yuvraj Singh's strike rate during the 2007 edition of the World T20.
7: The number of wickets taken by Abdur Razzak during the World T20 2007.

Sound Bytes:
As we prepare for the World Twenty20, we are a superbly unified team. The team spirit is good as it has ever been, with each individual supporting each other, both on and off the field. Recent reports in the Indian media of a rift between myself and Sehwag amount to nothing but false and irresponsible media: MS Dhoni reading out a press statement after there were reports of a rift between him and Sehwag.

Teams:
India (From): Gautam Gambhir, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Mahendra Singh Dhoni(w/c), Yusuf Pathan, Irfan Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Praveen Kumar, Rudra Pratap Singh, Ishant Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, Pragyan Ojha, Zaheer Khan, Virender Sehwag
Bangladesh (From): Tamim Iqbal, Naeem Islam, Mohammad Ashraful(c), Junaid Siddique, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim(w), Mohammad Mahmudullah, Mashrafe Mortaza, Abdur Razzak, Shahadat Hossain, Syed Rasel, Rubel Hossain, Raqibul Hasan, Mithun Ali, Shamsur Rahman

Match #3 Preview: West Indies vs Australia

2009-06-06T06:18:00.000-07:00

Officially known as the Kennington Oval, the stadium is home to the Surrey County Cricket Club. The Oval was the first ground in Britain and the second in the world after MCG to host a test match. The pitch at the Oval has traditionally assisted the seamers during the initial phase. However, diligent batting has seen teams post good totals on this ground.
Temperatures: Min - 11 C Max - 15 C Conditions: Showers expected
Team Updates:

Australia: In the T20 format, where the line between the genius and the merely talented often gets blurred, Australia form a formidable opposition for any team. With a batting order comprising Ponting, Clarke, Haddin, the Husseys and Warner - they have a potential match-turner at every position from 1 to 7. Also, Brett Lee has made a successful return, while Nathan Bracken is amongst the most miserly bowlers around. Australia have the necessary fire power to leave out the likes of Symonds.

West Indies: They have the power hitting of Chris Gayle, the smoothness of Sarwan and the reliability of Chanderpaul while batting, and the raw pace and aggression of Fidel Edwards and Jerome Taylor while bowling. They will also be carrying a lesser weight of expectation than the other major teams, and thus be under comparatively lesser pressure. The Twenty20 format also plays to their strengths, since of late, they have been better in short bursts than for sustained durations of play.

Players to watch:
David Warner: The explosive Australian made his mark with the Delhi side during the IPL 2009. With the ability to explode with the bat and clear boundaries at will as well as produce a moment of genius on the field and manufacture a wicket with his fielding ability alone, David Warner would play a key role for the Austrailan side.

NZ scrape home after a scare

2009-06-06T06:16:00.000-07:00

A rather easy victory in the end for New Zealand as they cantered home by 7 wickets. It was a good batting display by Scotland when they were sent in by McCullum, as they posted a good total of 89 in this truncated match. New Zealand started the chase well and with Ryder and the skipper in full flow and a late onslaught by Taylor they achieve the target with an over to spare.

Butler: We were just trying to restrict the boundaries. The next game is a massive one for us.
McCullum: At half time we were obviously pretty nervous. Full credit to the way they batted. When you're chasing a total that big, you haven't got anytime to get yourselves in. Jesse hit the ball incredibly well. We saw how dangerous our batting can be.
Gavin Hamilton: We weren't upto it in the field. We had a plan in terms of coming out in the second half but we didn't put it together. I'm not going to criticize our bowlers.
Ian Butler is the Man of the Match

Minnows Netherlands upset the hosts

2009-06-06T06:00:00.000-07:00

It was a breathtaking display by Netherlands to notch up one of the biggest upsets in the tournament. England have only themselves to blame for their loss as atleast 6 lives were given to ten Doeschate alone. ten Doeschate survived them all and took Netherlands to a famous win.

Broad had 3 clear chances to hit the stumps in the final over, amazingly he fluffed them all. If you field as England did today, then you are bound to lose and that is what has happened.

What a magnificent start to the World cup, the rank minnows Netherlands winning against a sloppy England. It was a match to remember for the ages as the fortunes fluctuated from one side to the other. Reekers blazed away at the start and Tom de Grooth notched up a cameo to keep the Dutch in the hunt. Then Schiferli and ten Doeschate finished it off in a heartbreaking last over.

Tom de Grooth: You just play your game and luckily it came off. We set out a few months ago to achieve a few things..we wanted to beat a big nation and we did that.

Jeroen Smits: This is something special. I think I can sleep well tonight. I think after the first 10 overs we fought back quite well. We played with our heart, we had some luck and we deserved to win. We were always ahead of the D/L score and we were in control. Those two last overs...it was difficult... we did well. We're looking forward to the final, it's on the 21st of June, my birthday, I"m looking forward to it.

Collingwood: I give a lot of credit to Holland, they played exceptionally well. We were expected to win today, Holland came out and put in a major performance. We struggled to hit the big shots, Holland played with no fear and they were better than us today. We have to pick ourselves off the floor and be ready for the game against Pakistan.

Tom de Grooth is the Man of the Match for his innings of 49

Match #1 Preview: England vs Netherlands

2009-06-05T08:10:00.000-07:00

Ground Reality and Pitch:

Named after its founder Thomas Lord, the Lord's cricket ground is owned by the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is home of the ECB. Known as 'The Mecca of World Cricket', Lord's would play host to 8 matches during the World Twenty20. The pitch is expected to have a consistent bounce, assisting the batsmen and the bowlers in equal proportion. However, the cloudy conditions at the ground might provide assistance to the faster bowlers during the initial period.

Team Updates:

England: The hosts England open the ICC World Twenty20 against Netherlands at Lord's. England head into this tournament without star all-rounder Andrew Flintoff. However, Ravi Bopara's form and Kevin Pietersen's recent outings in the middle are encouraging signs for the English side. With home conditions on offer, the bowling line-up consisting the likes of Stuart Broad and James Anderson would hope to get amongst the wickets. Never having won a major ODI tournament, England would look for a convincing win to start their campaign.

Netherlands: The Dutch have the services of the talented all-rounder Ryan ten Doeschate, who impressed all with his show during the Intercontinental cup. Another star in the line-up is the left-arm pacer Dirk Nannes who made his mark in the IPL 2009 with his impeccable line and length, forcing Delhi to leave out the experienced McGrath from the side. The minnows would hope for a good show from the duo as they attempt an upset against England.

Numbers game:

1: The number of wins for England during the first edition of the World T20.

0: The number of T20 games played by England against Netherlands.

42: Ryan ten Doeschate's batting average in T20 games.

4/11: Dirk Nannes' best figures in Twenty20.

Sound Bytes:

The belief and the freedom to go out there and express yourself is important in this form of the game so hopefully that gives the boys a bit more of a licence: Paul Collingwood

Twenty20 is a funny game, all it takes is for a couple of us to fire and we will be challenging the big boys: Dirk Nannes

Teams:

England (From): Ravinder Bopara, Luke Wright, Owais Shah, Kevin Pietersen, Paul Collingwood(c), Eoin Morgan, James Foster(w), Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann, Ryan Sidebottom, James Anderson, Robert Key, Dimitri Mascarenhas, Graham Napier, Adil Rashid

Netherlands (From): Darron Reekers, Alexei Kervezee, Bas Zuiderent, Ryan ten Doeschate, Jeroen Smits(w/c), Daan van Bunge, Tom de Grooth, Mudassar Bukhari, Dirk Nannes, Edgar Schiferli, Pieter Seelaar, Peter Borren, Maurits Jonkman, Eric Szwarczynski, Ruud Nijma

ICC World Twenty20 2009: Team Preview: South Africa

2009-06-04T07:44:00.001-07:00

Many feel South Africa were robbed of a rightful semi-final berth in the inaugural edition. To recap, they played five matches and won four of them. Their only loss came against India, but it was enough to deprive them of a semi-final spot on net run-rate. Ironically, they ended the tournament with a better winning percentage than any other team, including India. With a history littered with so-near-yet-so-far stories, South Africa will be hoping that their recent resurgence continues into this World Cup too.

Strenghts: The team as a whole has been in terrific form recently, and the players' confidence will be very high. Their winning spree has also inculcated a self-belief and a 'can do' attitude in the side. Their team seems to blend its different parts seamlessly together, living out the maxim 'the whole is greater than the sum of the parts'. Their side is packed with all-rounders - some of them of exceptional quality, some of the bits-and-pieces variety - but all effective in their own domains. So they have Kallis to play anchor and support bowler, Albie Morkel for explosive finishes and flexible bowling, van der Merwe for lower order support and spin, Ontong for bits-and-pieces batting and bowling and Boucher as an excellent wicket-keeper batsman. To top it all, JP Duminy has been coming on nicely as a bowler and Botha has shown that he's no rabbit with bat in hand.

Weaknesses: They have a reputation for 'losing it' in the big moments, and choking during big matches. Even though the current side has not displayed that tendency so far, their history is littered with matches where even some of their greatest players failed to seize the day that counted.

Their most potent bowler is Dale Steyn, and although nobody will be taking him lightly, he is yet to prove as effective in Twenty20 cricket as he has been in Test matches and ODIs. Every team that has serious ambitions of lifting the trophy, will look to have in its ranks at least one bowler who can guarantee four spotless overs alongwith being a wicket-taking option. India have Zaheer Khan, Sri Lanka have Malinga, Australia have Brett Lee, Pakistan have Sohail Tanveer - but Steyn, though he has undoubted class, hasn't yet developped into that kind of a T20 bowler.

Opportunities: Their growing stature in world cricket was slightly dented with their home series loss to Australia, and they were brought rudely back to earth after the heady Australian tour. This is the perfect opportunity to get back some of the lost lustre. Some of the young guns have not yet established themselves as certainties in the squad and this could be the stepping stone they want. A good performance here will almost certainly guarantee that they come into the selectors' radar for ODIs at the very least.

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Symonds sent home in disgrace after incident involving alcohol

2009-06-04T07:41:00.001-07:00

LONDON: Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds is being sent home from the World Twenty20 tournament in England for disciplinary reasons, Cricket Australia (CA) said on Thursday.

CA chief executive James Sutherland told a hastily-arranged news conference in Melbourne broadcast on national television that Symonds had been ordered home for alcohol related issues.

‘The decision has been made after Andrew, in the last 24 to 48 hours, has broken a number of team rules,’ Sutherland said.

‘In isolation those breaches are not significant but in the context of the commitment that Andrew has made to his team mates and Cricket Australia over the last six to 12 months they are the final straw.’

Symonds was a notable absentee from Australia training at The Oval in London where captain Ricky Ponting held a news conference.

‘He has let himself down, his team mates down and Cricket Australia down,’ Ponting said. ‘There is no doubting his credentials as a player but there are a number of his own commitments that he has broken over the last 24 or 48 hours.

‘This decision is all about the bigger picture, all about having the best team we can possibly have and bringing on the next generation of Australian players.’

CA said it was seeking clarification from the International Cricket Council about whether they can name a replacement for Symonds in their Twenty20 squad.

Sutherland said Symonds was expected to fly back to Australia immediately and his international career remains in doubt with his contract due to expire at the end of this month.

Symonds had been offered a new deal but Sutherland said that was now under review.

ICC WT20 Warm Up Matches Results

2009-06-04T07:05:00.000-07:00

June 2009
Date	Time (GMT)	Match Details	Venue
Mon 01	12:30	Australia v Bangladesh, 1st warm-up match, ICC World Twenty20 Warm-up Matches, 2009 Australia won by 38 runs	Nottingham
Mon 01	12:30	Ireland v Netherlands, 2nd warm-up match, ICC World Twenty20 Warm-up Matches, 2009 Match tied (Ireland won by super over)	London
Mon 01	16:30	India v New Zealand, 3rd warm-up match, ICC World Twenty20 Warm-up Matches, 2009 New Zealand won by 9 runs	London (D/N)
Mon 01	16:30	Pakistan v South Africa, 4th warm-up match, ICC World Twenty20 Warm-up Matches, 2009 South Africa won by 59 runs	Nottingham (D/N)
Tue 02	12:30	Ireland v West Indies, 5th warm-up match, ICC World Twenty20 Warm-up Matches, 2009 West Indies won by 9 wkts	London
Tue 02	12:30	Bangladesh v Sri Lanka, 6th warm-up match, ICC World Twenty20 Warm-up Matches, 2009 Sri Lanka won by 4 wkts	Nottingham
Tue 02	16:30	Australia v New Zealand, 7th warm-up match, ICC World Twenty20 Warm-up Matches, 2009 Australia won by 7 wkts	London (D/N)
Tue 02	16:30	England v Scotland, 8th warm-up match, ICC World Twenty20 Warm-up Matches, 2009 England won by 6 wkts	Nottingham (D/N)
Wed 03	12:30	Netherlands v Scotland, 10th warm-up match, ICC World Twenty20 Warm-up Matches, 2009 Netherlands won by 7 wkts	London
Wed 03	12:30	South Africa v Sri Lanka, 9th warm-up match, ICC World Twenty20 Warm-up Matches, 2009 South Africa won by 6 wkts	London
Wed 03	16:30	India v Pakistan, 12th warm-up match, ICC World Twenty20 Warm-up Matches, 2009 India won by 9 wkts	London (D/N)
Wed 03	16:30	England v West Indies, 11th warm-up match, ICC World Twenty20 Warm-up Matches, 2009 England won by 9 wkts	London (D/N)

Complete Schedule of ICC World Twenty20, 2009

2009-06-04T06:57:00.000-07:00

Date	Time (GMT)	Match Details	Venue
Fri 05	16:30	England v Netherlands, 1st Match, Group B, ICC World Twenty20, 2009	London (D/N)
Sat 06	09:00	New Zealand v Scotland, 2nd Match, Group D, ICC World Twenty20, 2009	London
Sat 06	12:30	Australia v West Indies, 3rd Match, Group C, ICC World Twenty20, 2009	London
Sat 06	16:30	India v Bangladesh, 4th Match, Group A, ICC World Twenty20, 2009	Nottingham (D/N)
Sun 07	12:30	South Africa v Scotland, 5th Match, Group D, ICC World Twenty20, 2009	London
Sun 07	16:30	England v Pakistan, 6th Match, Group B, ICC World Twenty20, 2009	London (D/N)
Mon 08	12:30	Bangladesh v Ireland, 7th Match, Group A, ICC World Twenty20, 2009	Nottingham
Mon 08	16:30	Australia v Sri Lanka, 8th Match, Group C, ICC World Twenty20, 2009	Nottingham (D/N)
Tue 09	12:30	Pakistan v Netherlands, 9th Match, Group B, ICC World Twenty20, 2009	London
Tue 09	16:30	New Zealand v South Africa, 10th Match, Group D, ICC World Twenty20, 2009	London (D/N)
Wed 10	12:30	Sri Lanka v West Indies, 11th Match, Group C, ICC World Twenty20, 2009	Nottingham
Wed 10	16:30	India v Ireland, 12th Match, Group A, ICC World Twenty20, 2009	Nottingham (D/N)
Thu 11	12:30	D1 v A2, 13th Match, Group F, ICC World Twenty20, 2009	Nottingham
Thu 11	16:30	B2 v D2, 14th Match, Group E, ICC World Twenty20, 2009	Nottingham (D/N)
Fri 12	12:30	B1 v C2, 15th Match, Group F, ICC World Twenty20, 2009	London
Fri 12	16:30	A1 v C1, 16th Match, Group E, ICC World Twenty20, 2009	London (D/N)
Sat 13	12:30	C1 v D2, 17th Match, Group E, ICC World Twenty20, 2009	London
Sat 13	16:30	D1 v B1, 18th Match, Group F, ICC World Twenty20, 2009	London (D/N)
Sun 14	12:30	A2 v C2, 19th Match, Group F, ICC World Twenty20, 2009	London
Sun 14	16:30	A1 v B2, 20th Match, Group E, ICC World Twenty20, 2009	London (D/N)
Mon 15	12:30	B2 v C1, 21st Match, Group E, ICC World Twenty20, 2009	London
Mon 15	16:30	B1 v A2, 22nd Match, Group F, ICC World Twenty20, 2009	London (D/N)
Tue 16	12:30	D1 v C2, 23rd Match, Group F, ICC World Twenty20, 2009	Nottingham
Tue 16	16:30	D2 v A1, 24th Match, Group E, ICC World Twenty20, 2009	Nottingham (D/N)
Thu 18	16:30	1st Semi-Final, ICC World Twenty20, 2009	Nottingham
Fri 19	16:30	2nd Semi-Final, ICC World Twenty20, 2009	London (D/N)
Sun 21	14:00	Final, ICC World Twenty20, 2009	London

Fake IPL Player Blogpost: Awards Night and Farewell

2009-05-25T01:28:00.000-07:00

While the IPL closing ceremony is on, I am pleased to share with you an exciting piece of news. IPL's FIP Reader's Choice Awards will be given in a glittering function at the Buckingham Palace Lawns on 4th June. The Queen and the Prince have declined their presence because of prior engagements. However, the rest of the glitterati are expected to attend the event in full splendour.

True to his style Saala Slimeball has already ordered for a gold coloured Shamiana studded with all sorts of stones. The brief is to make something more hideous than the trophy itself, which will take some doing I tell you. The Shamiana vala is currently busy slapping all the sponsors' logos on gold sheets. All speeches at the event are sponsored by Sprite, which automatically disqualifies Slimeball from giving this customary Thank You speech. Kishen Kanhaiyya lost the job as soon as he said "I will be there like a tracer bullet". And Nanny Horrible-son was, at the time, trying out his latest stunt of lifting 4 cheerleaders on his shoulders and 2 on his lap, and couldn't muster up a good enough reply. The show will now be anchored by all Set Max anchors. Doesn't get straighter than this as they know all TVs would in any case be on Mute.

As readers of this blog, you have the privilege of knowing all the winners well in advance because, well, you guys have picked them anyway.

IPL FIP's READER'S CHOICE AWARDS

Pair pe kulhaadi Award:
Appam Chutiya for his marathon run after claiming wicket of Cool Dude and ruining own prospects in Indian team.
Contributed by Vimmmie

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Champ Chargers charge from bottom to top

2009-05-24T22:58:00.000-07:00

What a tournament it was. After all the drama of 59 matches in 37 matches which included 3 hat-tricks, 2 centuries, plenty of controversies, Fake IPL player it was the bottom placed team of last year the Deccan Chargers that triumphed as the champions this year.

Gilchrist: It could have gone either way. Would like to acknowledge RCB on an outstanding series and to turn it around after the disappointments of last season is a real credit to them and their whole franchise. Pragyan Ojha did a wonderful job and two wickets in two balls that really starts to eat away at a team when they are chasing. In a final it is always a good position to have runs on the board. Harmeet took an amazing catch, amazingly he played in 7 games and we did not lose one of them. Maybe we should have played him in all 15 or 16. Would like to thank SA, and the sponsors. Also thank the owners, it was a tough year last year, but thanks for having faith on us. Also would like to say HI to everyone in Hyderabad, I know it is almost like a Diwali over there.

Anil Kumble: Congrats to Deccan Chargers, the way both teams finished last year and I would like to thank all my team members for their support. I think chasing 144 on this wicket was not a big task, but the wickets of Rahul, Rossco and Virat probably put the brakes on and then the run-rate shot up. Whenever the situation was tough I had to put my hand up and it worked well. I would like to thank everyone who has prayed and wished us back home. Also would like to thank Mallya and team for their support.

Rohit Sharma: Always South Africa has been lucky as we won the World cup so I was happy it was staged here. For the first few games the it was not easy to bat on, but as it progressed I really enjoyed my batting as it suits my style. I just kept it simple and backed myself.

Adam Gilchrist is named the Golden Player of the League.
RP Singh wins the Purple Cap for being the leading wicket taker in this season of the IPL. He picked up 23 wickets.
Orange Cap stays firmly on Matthew Hayden's head.
Rohit Sharma bags the Under-23 Success of the Tournament award.
Anil Kumble is the Man of the Match

Kumble heroics not enough as Deccan win IPL

2009-05-24T22:54:00.000-07:00

Runs on the board proved the key, Deccan Chargers captain Adam Gilchrist said after his team beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by six runs in the Indian Premier League final at Wanderers Stadium Sunday.

Even though Deccan were restricted to 143 for six - mainly due to a superb bowling performance by Bangalore captain Anil Kumble - it was just enough as a slow pitch, a lack of substantial partnerships and the pressure of a final combined against Challengers, who could manage only 137 for nine.

"It could have gone either way," admitted Gilchrist, who was named player of the tournament.

Deccan finished last in the first IPL in India in 2008, with Bangalore second from the bottom.

"Bangalore felt the same disappointments last year as we felt," said Gilchrist. "To see them turn it around and to put up such a great final is a credit to their franchise."

Gilchrist said left-arm spinner Praghan Ojha, who took three for 28, did a "wonderful job" for Deccan.

"As they say, in finals to have runs on the board is always a good position to be in."

Kumble, named man of the match for taking four for 18, said he was proud of his team for winning five games in a row to reach the final.

"On this wicket, chasing 144 was not a big task."

He said the loss of Ross Taylor and Virat Kohli off succcessive balls from Andrew Symonds, soon after the departure of batting mainstay Rahul Dravid, put the brakes on his team's challenge.

"In spite of that we were one hit away from victory."

Leg-spinner Kumble opened the bowling after sending Deccan in and dismissed danger man Gilchrist with his third ball.

Fresh from his match-winning innings of 85 off 35 balls against Delhi Daredevils in the semi-final on Friday, Gilchrist showed impatience after failing to score off the first two deliveries from Kumble.

He charged down the pitch to the third ball but failed to read a googly which went past his bat into the stumps.

Mission accomplished, Kumble took himself off, but came back into the attack in the ninth over and ended a promising innings by Symonds, who hit 33 off 21 balls.

Once again Kumble took himself off, with figures of two for five from two overs.

He returned to dismiss Rohit Sharma, who was named Indian under-23 player of the tournament, and Venugopal Rao.

But Herschelle Gibbs batted through the innings to make an unbeaten 53. Gibbs was unable to dominate the bowling and did not get enough of the strike, facing only 48 of the 120 balls of the innings. But his innings proved crucial. At the mid-innings break he had scored only 13 off 22 balls.

Bangalore made a cautious start but Roelof van der Merwe, sent in as a pinch hitter at number three, gave the innings impetus with a typical mixture of wild swings and solid hits.

He hit two sixes off Ryan Harris and another off Symonds before he was stumped off Ojha for 32 off 21 balls.

Despite the loss of Dravid, bowled by Harmeet Singh when he tried to flick the ball to leg, Bangalore looked to be cruising to victory until Taylor and Kohli fell off successive balls.

Taylor top-edged a pull to long leg and Kohli was superbly stumped down the leg side by Gilchrist.

Mark Boucher cut Harmeet Singh to South African team-mate Gibbs at backward point and suddenly Bangalore needed 37 off 25 balls with only three wickets left.

It proved too many.

Gilchrist: Inspiring Generations

2009-05-24T01:37:00.001-07:00

by Goutham Chakravarthi

Bang! Four! Bang! Bang! Bang! Six! Six! Six! Delhi hardly knew what hit them; Gilchrist had swept them off their feet. It was like watching a golfer practise. Gilchrist just teed off and hit six after six, each longer and higher than the previous. We have seen him do it for well over a decade, but still each time he demolishes an opposition, and once more in a big game, you wonder how he does it.

Boycott once said that he played himself in on his walk to the middle from the pavilion. I don't think he bothers about gauging the opposition and the wicket, he just goes for it. Such belief in himself! He destroyed Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka in the '99, '03 and '07 world cup finals respectively. He has got to be among the greatest big-match players of his time.

He plays the Aussie way in the effect he goes after the opposition. If anything, he really targets the opposition's best bowler. Yet he became a walker in the latter part of his career. The Aussies believe in letting the umpires do their job and they never contemplate walking. The standing joke was that the Aussies never walked unless they were perhaps bowled. And that too, only if it was not a windy day!

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The blooming of Pandey

2009-05-24T01:34:00.000-07:00

Manish Pandey’s unbeaten 114 at the SuperSport Park in Centurion on Thursday night, might seem to be the story of an ‘unknown Indian’ enjoying his sudden success. However for those who know him well, the innings has vindicated his enormous talent.

At the National Cricket Academy, there is joy amidst the coaching staff. Pandey often spends his entire day at the academy. “Before leaving for South Africa, we had dinner at a Chinese restaurant and he had said that he will make a mark. Right from our director Dav Whatmore, all are happy,” said an academy official.
Talented lad

Until now Pandey was a talented lad who played for India under-19 and Karnataka. On his Ranji Trophy debut against Railways last November, Pandey scored a 64 before getting a blob in the second innings. The up-and-down ride continued through the season in which he scored 193 runs.

The 19-year old in an earlier interview with The Hindu summed up his batting style. “I am an orthodox batsman who prefers to settle down initially. I like to get those singles and then play my shots. But if the situation demands I can play big shots as well,” he had then said. The shots were evident on Thursday night.
Natural cricketer

Pandey’s uncluttered mind is the key to his success, said Vijay Bharadwaj, who coached Karnataka, last season. “Pandey is a natural cricketer and he is so focused on his own game that other factors don’t affect him. He is talented and needs to be consistent. Having Anil Kumble as the Royal Challengers’ skipper has also helped Pandey,” said Bharadwaj.

Pandey’s story has been that of travel all over India thanks to a father, who is an army officer juggling with transfers. However Pandey’s love for cricket, forced him to strike roots in Bangalore though his father has moved to Rajasthan.

His exploits in the local league helped him secure a berth in the State under-19 team and eventually he was part of the India under-19 squads that toured Sri Lanka, South Africa and eventually won the junior World Cup at Malaysia in 2008.

The spotlight is now on Pandey and Bharadwaj added a note of caution: “There will be expectations but people should give him space. He is not yet a finished product and he needs guidance.”

The final no one expected

2009-05-24T01:29:00.001-07:00

Chennai committed the same mistake as Delhi Daredevils on Saturday, slowing down after the strategy break. No wonder then that they met with the same fate. Bangalore Royals Challengers knocked last year's runners-up out with a six-wicket win to set up the unlikeliest of title clashes against the Deccan Chargers on Sunday.

Chasing 147 after the bowlers had done superb job, Rahul Dravid and Manish Pandey anchored the innings with 72-run stand for the third wicket before Ross Taylor and Virat Kohli completed the rout with seven balls to spare.

Manish Pandey, who hit a century in the last game, started the chase off in style, hitting Albie Morkel past cover and then square-driving him with great finesse. At the other end, Jacques Kallis smashed two consecutive fours past point off Manpreet Gony to get them underway.

Kallis and Roelof van der Merwe fell early, leaving Bangalore at a precarious 22-2, but Chennai's new-ball bowlers couldn't keep Pandey quiet.
With the pacers disappointing, Dhoni turned to Shadab Jakati's left-arm spin in the fifth over, but Dravid proved up to the challenge as they maintained a run-rate just under 10-an-over. As a last throw of the dice, Dhoni introduced Murali in the 10th over, but while there were two big appeals, nothing went Chennai's way as Bangalore got to the break at 82/2.

Earlier in the evening, Mathew Hayden and Parthiv Patel gave Chennai an enterprising start after being put into bat. Parthiv often outscored Hayden as the duo added 61 runs for the first wicket before Vinay Kumar got rid of the Aussie.

Bangalore realised the need to take the pace off the ball as Dhoni, who walked in at number 3, and Raina, one of their leading run-scorers, couldn't keep the momentum going.

Kumble kept the pressure on the Chennai batting, rotating his bowlers smartly, and Chennai kept losing wickets at regular intervals. Only a few big hits from Morkel took them to a respectable total.

Anyone's game: Bangalore, Deccan eye IPL gold

2009-05-24T01:27:00.000-07:00

After brushing aside two of the strongest teams in the IPL, Deccan Chargers and Bangalore Royal Challengers have reversed the fortunes they endured last year.

After finising last and second last respectively last season, the two sides have come roaring back in the IPL, which makes the clash even more unpredictable. Who would bring its best game to the table?

Deccan Chargers: Winners of the wooden spoon in 2008, Deccan Chargers contest the top spot this time. They changed their captain to Adam Gilchrist, and so did their fortunes. They won their first four games in a row, before slumping to a string of defeats during the middle of the competition. But their form players came to the fore to ensure a spot in the last four.

One more win will be nice: Anil Kumble

2009-05-24T01:25:00.000-07:00

Bangalore Royal Challengers' skipper Anil Kumble was not willing to celebrate after the team's six-wicket victory over Chennai Super Kings at the New Wanderers here on Saturday propelled it into Sunday's final of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Former India captain Kumble, who took over the reins from an unimpressive Kevin Pietersen midway through the league, said the party will start with one more win - the final, that is.

"One more win will be nice," said Kumble after Saturday's second semi-final that set up Challengers' date with Deccan Chargers in the final.

Kumble lauded both his batsmen and bowlers for the confidence boosting win over last year's runners-up Super Kings.

The bowlers restricted Super Kings to 146 for five in 20 overs and then 19-year-old Man of the Match Manish Pandey (48) and the veteran Rahul Dravid (44) played some solid knocks as Royal Challengers achieved the target with seven balls to spare.

"Their score was not even a par score. Our batsmen backed themselves to clear the boundary. I thought Praveen and Vinay bowled very well at the end," Kumble said.

Pandey thanked Kumble for allowing him to go after Super Kings bowling.

"Today, I got the license from Anil bhai to hit. I didn't want to get out to Murali and wanted to give Rahul the strike," he said.

Super Kings' skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni felt his team was 15 runs short of a winning total.

"The wicket was a bit slow but they (Royal Challengers) played better cricket. We were looking for a 160 score but we lost wickets at the wrong time. They outplayed us. Our bowling was a bit fragile, but we could have made it tougher for them," he said.

Pandey has left his coach shell-shocked

2009-05-24T01:24:00.001-07:00

Royal Challengers’ Manish Pandey has taken the cricketing world by storm and his coach at the Karnataka Institute of Cricket and Jawans Club Irfan Sait is shell-shocked at the way the youngster tore the Deccan Chargers’ attack to become the only Indian to score a century in the on-going IPL and then played sensible to guide his team to victory over Chennai Super Kings in the semi-finals on Saturday.

"Manish has left everyone speechless with his attacking and match-winning knocks. And all of us are proud of him. I have known him to be a very stub-born customer while batting and rarely throws away a chance to score big runs.

"But what has surprised me is his maturity to tackle bowlers like Muttiah Muralitharan, Rudra Pratap Singh and Abiel Morkel. He just went after them as if he has been playing them since his schooldays," Irfan Sait told Cricketnext.com on Sunday.

Dravid and Pandey carry Bangalore to finals

2009-05-24T01:08:00.000-07:00

Dhoni probably missed a trick by not bringing on Muralitharan earlier on. The body language of the CSK was not upto the mark as RCB raced away to the finish. It is the 5th win on the trot for RCB and they have all the momentum going into the final tomorrow.

It was a stunning performance from the RCB side as they outplayed the CSK. Manish Pandey carried on from his previous innings as he played a blinder to set it up for RCB. Dravid brought all his experience to the fore as he complemented Pandey stroke for stroke. Then Ross Taylor and Virat Kohli finished it off magnificently.

Which Indian cricketer said this - "I never thought that being fat was a negative point, I dont want to lose weight for the sake of it, to look like a model"?
And in a rather surprising turnaround, the two bottom-placed teams from IPL 2008, Bangalore and Hyderabad are the finalists this year. Who would have thought?
Mallya is ecstatic, the RCB squad members run out onto the field as a dejected MS Dhoni walks away!

Manish Pandey: This is my second game I am performing and really happy for that. The pitch was stopping a little bit, but Anil Bhai gave me the license to go out there and play my natural game.The game plan against Murali was to work it around and give Rahul Bhai the strike. Waiting for the final tomorrow and hopefully we will win.

Anil Kumble: One more win will be nice tomorrow. We regrouped after the strategy break when they were 75/1. 146 on this wicket was not even a par score, we really bowled well. Manish batted brilliantly, that is the way the current youngsters bat, they back themselves to go out there and clear the boundary. To give away only 3 boundaries in the last 7 overs against such a batting line-up is brilliant.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni: They played better cricket than us. We were looking for a score around 160, but me and Raina got out at the wrong time. We were short by 15 runs. Overall disappointed, but they outplayed us. Our bowling department was a bit fragile right through the tournament.

Manish Pandey is the Man of the Match for the second consecutive time for his blinder at the top.

2nd Semi Final Preview: Chennai Super King vs Royal Challengers Bangalore

2009-05-23T05:08:00.000-07:00

Nicknamed the 'Bullring', Wanderers is situated south of Sandton in Illovo and is home to the Highveld Lions. While Chennai have played just one match on this ground, Bangalore have played two matches and have a 100% record here. The combination of high scores and low scores over the past few matches have shown that the pitch provides equal assistance to both the batsmen and the bowlers.
Temperatures: Min - 46F Max - 69F | Conditions: Clear skies
Team updates:

Bangalore: After restoring their pride in season-II, Royal Challengers Bangalore will look to stretch their dream run when they clash with Chennai Super Kings in their Indian Premier League semifinal match. Having turned around things for themselves under the inspiring leadership of Anil Kumble, Bangalore look capable of shattering Chennai's IPL dreams. But for that to happen Bangalore bowlers have to produce something extraordinary against the formidable batting line-up of Chennai. Ross Taylor has played a significant role in re-shaping the Bangalore campaign and the Kiwi batsman will have to shoulder the burden yet again though Manish Pandey has been a revelation of sorts for them. However, Bangalore top-order has been inconsistent and it has to fire in the semi-final clash.

Chennai: Chennai dominated in the first-half of the league stage before suffering some close defeats towards the latter part of the tournament. Chennai would bank on the batting troika of Matthew Hayden, Suresh Raina and skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni to fire in the match against Bangalore. Hayden has treated the bowlers with utter disdain in the tournament and with his powerful batting while Dhoni with his midas touch, has also found his rhythm, shrugging off the initial lean patch. To add to that is the diminutive Raina who is a precious asset for the team with his all round abilities. The bowling department is secure in the hands of Muralitharan and co. However, Chennai have to lift themselves in the fielding aspect if they look to pursue their IPL goal.

Key Partnerships:
Kallis and Taylor: The Protea has been a consistent performer for Bangalore having scored 337 runs including 3 fifties. His Kiwi partner had a dull start but made it up with two vital knocks towards the end. Bangalore would count on the duo to secure the batting department and help Bangalore's cause.

Hayden and Raina: The bulky Australian has been the batsman of the tournament, having scored 546 runs in this edition of the IPL. He has the ideal partner in the talented Raina, who has been a revelation for Chennai with both the bat and the ball. Chennai would bank on the duo to fire in the semi-finals.

Numbers game:
6: The number of fifties scored by the Bangalore batsmen in this edition of the IPL.
58: The number of fours scored by Hayden in IPL 2009, putting him on the top of the list of boundary hitters.

Fake IPL Player Blog Post: Rest in Pieces

2009-05-23T05:04:00.000-07:00

It ain’t over till it’s over folks. I was all set to rest in peace after my ‘don’t tell all’ video, but the ferocity of comments has shattered my rest to pieces and compelled me to return for this one last post for this IPL season. I can take anything you guys hurl at me, but the line needs to be drawn somewhere. You can call me anything you want and I won’t mind a bit, but one particular anonymous commenter simply crossed the final frontier of my tolerance by calling me Bishen Singh Bedi. Even the guy who called me Himesh had some sense level of decency, although how he recognised Himesh without a mike held at a precise 47.5 degree angle is a little hard to understand.

If you are still reading this post after my obituary, I assume that you are amongst the 37% of readers who have enjoyed the blog in the right spirit, have contributed to the quality of the blog with your intelligent, witty comments and constructive criticism. I hope I am safe to assume that all the Mr. Anonymous’ and Ms Anonymous’ who started and continued inane & immature discussions in the comments section won’t find this blog interesting enough after the last video post.

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We didn't miss McGrath: Sehwag

2009-05-23T04:59:00.000-07:00

A legend he might be but Glenn McGrath was not missed by Delhi Daredevils as the Australian pace great was not in form, insists skipper Virender Sehwag.
"I don't think we missed McGrath because he hasn't played in the last one year. He was not in that kind of form the way he bowled last year. (Dirk) Nannes was fantastic right through the tournament," Sehwag said after the crushing six-wicket loss to Deccan Chargers in the semifinal.

Asked whether McGrath's experience would have come in handy when Adam Gilchrist went berserk last night to take the game away from Delhi, Sehwag said no bowler could have stopped the rampaging Aussie.

"I think he batted extremely well. I don't think anyone could have stopped him. It was Gilchrist's day," he said.

However, his opposite number Gilchrist said he was surprised by Delhi's decision of not playing McGrath.

"I am very surprised that Glenn McGrath didn't get a chance to bowl in the tournament. But you can't be too critical. They had set the benchmark during the entire tournament. They were the team who were at the top and the other teams were chasing them. Their overseas players have served them really well.

"I was surprised that McGrath didn't get an opportunity but that does not means that they needed him to play today. Considering the fact that Dirk Nannes and other overseas players have done well, it is hard to leave out international guys out of the playing XI," Gilchrist said

How Gilly predicted Delhi’s fall

2009-05-23T04:54:00.000-07:00

Much before he scripted Delhi’s fall with a blistering 35-ball 85, Adam Gilchirst had penned down the result of the match on a piece of paper: a six-wicket win for Deccan Chargers. “I don’t know if anyone will believe me but before coming to the ground, I actually wrote on a piece of paper what the result of the game would be,” said Gilchrist showing the piece to everyone.

Gilchrist also admitted that this was one his best T20 innings. “I scored a 100 last year but it wasn’t a semi-final. We hadn’t beaten Delhi in two years and it’s nice to get that monkey off the back.

“I was really upset getting out a ball before the strategy break. You expect people to learn from experience but 15 years at the top doesn’t seem to have done me any good.” Virender Sehwag, who ended up on the wrong side of a semi-final result yet again, felt there was little a team could do when Gilchrist got going. “I tried everything, bowled every bowler, including myself but he finished the match in 10 overs.” Despite the hammering, or perhaps because of it, Sehwag said he was backing Chennai to win the IPL.

Gilchrist blitz inspires Deccan to crushing win

2009-05-23T04:34:00.000-07:00

DD again fall at the semi-final hurdle. But to be fair to them no attack in the world can stop a player like Gilly when he is playing like that. Remember Gilchrist comes up trumps on all the big matches, he has scores of over 50 in three World cup finals including a hundred against SL in 2007. So Cometh the hour, cometh the man. Gibbs departed early, but Gilly was on another planet as he plundered everyone to all corners of the ground. By the time he left only 52 were needed. Then after the break, Symonds also smashed a cameo to put the result beyond doubt. Then Suman and Rohit applied the finishing touches.

Gilchrist just came out like some super natural power had invaded his body and tore apart the Delhi side. The opening over set the tone as he crashed 5 consecutive boundaries off Dirk Nannes. It was a deliberate strategy to target Nannes as he was the most potent weapon of the Daredevils attack. It was just one of the most exhilarating experiences if you are a Cricket fan. Even Harsha Bhogle said that he will remember the Gilchrist innings until he lives. It was pure joy to see such batting from a champion cricketer.

Gilchrist: Amazing what a little bit of freshness does right, in response to Ravi Shastri's question of not playing for a year and then to play like this. I have had plenty of hits since I have been here. It has been a great experience to comeback after a year off. Our game plan was to be ahead of the run rate, put a little bit of pressure on them. Our plan worked really well tonight. The guys did a great job to keep them to 153. We started the tournament with a lot of energy and enthusiasm and hopefully finish out the same way. 20-20 we know the reality of it, we are in a better position than we were last year. It is a two way horse and hopefully we can win.

Sehwag: It was not our day. The way Gilly batted today, there was no clue. The bowlers tried everything, yorkers, good length, full toss, short pitch but everything went for four and a six. I thought 153 was defendable, but the way Gilly batted we could not do anything. I tried everything, including myself, but today is Gilly's day, you cant stop him. Thank the BCCI for organising the IPL and hopefully the Indian players will do well.

There is not an iota of doubt as to who the Man of the Match is. Gilchrist it is.

Delhi favourites in first semi-final

2009-05-22T00:51:00.000-07:00

The Conditions After the way the two matches went yesterday on this ground, teams will be backing themselves to chase high totals if fielding first, and will look to post in excess of 170-180 if batting first. However, the pitch should have some wear and tear after two matches and the spinners could come into play towards the later part of the innings. The forecast for today is the same as yesterday: partly cloudy.

The Teams Hyderabad has lost both its league matches to Delhi, but the second one was a heart-stopping affair, that Rajat Bhatia stole from Hyderabad with his accurate bowling. However, now that it's come down to a one day perish or perform scenario, Delhi will not be taking any comfort from their previous two wins.

Deccan Chargers: They are the only team who have not won their last match going into the semi-finals. However, from this stage on it is a matter of stringing together two good performances is what they'll be telling themselves. And in Gilchrist, Gibbs, Rohit Sharma and Andrew Symonds they have the firepower to be able to deliver two knock-out punches in a row to any team. What has stood out in their losses though is the inability of more than 2 of these powerful hitters to fire together.

Delhi Daredevils: The timely return to form of Sehwag and Gambhir, makes Delhi look formidable once again. They had lost that aura, when the two dashing batsmen failed repeatedly, but now they are looking very dangerous. Their batting is comprised of Sehwag, Gambhir, AB de Villiers, Dilshan and Karthik - enough to post or chase any total. Their bowling has Nehra, Mishra, Nannes and the canny Bhatia - a nice mixture of attacking and containing bowlers. And with fielders like AB de Villiers, Dilshan and a reliable keeper in Karthik, they do look like the complete package. While Sehwag has always been a batsman who is one innings away from regaining form, the knock by Gambhir would have pleased Delhi more. Gambhir, as he has shown last year, is a batsman who keeps going once he is in good touch, and against Mumbai, Gambhir showed enough glimpses of his best form to worry all future opposition.

Contest to Watch

Dirk Nannes vs Adam Gilchrist - Nannes will be playing for the Netherlands in the World T20 Cup, but he'd like to remind the Australian selectors just what they've missed by not picking him, and there is no better batsman than Gilchrist for that. If Nannes can get the better of a marauding Gilchrist, he would have made his point.

Numbers Game:

3 - The number of batsmen Hyderabad have who have scored 300+ runs in the tournament. They are Gilchrist, Gibbs and Rohit Sharma. The only other team who has an equal number is Chennai. No other team has more than 2 such batsmen.

1 - The number of batsmen from the non semi-final making teams who make it to the top 10, in the list of the tournament's highest strike rates (min. 100 runs). The batsman in question is Yusuf Pathan who comes in at no. 10. Of the rest, Hyderabad have 3, and the Bangalore, Chennai and Delhi have 2 each.

Trivia:

Even though Virender Sehwag hasn't scored as many runs as he would have liked, whatever he's scored has been as fast as one would expect him to. He is his team's top batsman in terms of strike rate, and the third overall in the tournament (min. 100 runs)

Teams:

Delhi Daredevils (From): Virender Sehwag(c), Gautam Gambhir, AB de Villiers, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Dinesh Karthik(w), Mithun Manhas, Rajat Bhatia, Daniel Vettori, Dirk Nannes, Pradeep Sangwan, Ashish Nehra, Manoj Kumar Tiwary, Aavishkar Salvi, Vijaykumar Yo Mahesh, Glenn McGrath, Amit Mishra, Andrew McDonald, David Warner, Farveez Maharoof, Owais Shah, Paul Collingwood, Tejashwi Yadav, Umesh Yadav, Yogesh Nagar

Deccan Chargers (From): Adam Gilchrist(w/c), Herschelle Gibbs, Tirumalsetti Suman, Andrew Symonds, Rohit Sharma, Venugopal Rao, Azhar Bilakhia, Ryan Harris, Jaskaran Singh, Rudra Pratap Singh, Pragyan Ojha, Dwaraka Ravi Teja, VVS Laxman, Scott Styris, Harmeet Singh, Abhinav Kumar, Arjun Yadav, Chamara Silva, Chaminda Vaas, Doddapaneni Kalyankrishna, Dwayne Smith, Halhadar Das, Manvinder Bisla, Nuwan Zoysa, Paidikalva Vijaykumar, Sarvesh Kumar, Shoaib Ahmed

Bangalore victorious after Deccan collapse

2009-05-22T00:01:00.000-07:00

A comfortable victory for Bangalore in the end then. Gilchrist and Gibbs started off in great fashion with the Chargers nicely placed at 85/2 at the halfway stage. Symonds and Gibbs seemed to have things in control before Gibbs' wicket sparked off the collapse that ultimately cost Deccan the match. This win has lifted Bangalore to third place on the table.

Manish Pandey: I got a chance to open the batting today and wanted to make the most of it, that is what I did. The wicket was nice to bat on, the ball came on nicely. I'll go back and see the replay. Importantly, we are into the Semis now, it's going to be an important day and we are looking forward to play well.

Kumble: It's a great thing for us, we started off well, string of bad losses and then we came back strongly, all credit to the boys, the way they responded has been fabulous. Brilliant hundred, Manish never really got an opportunity, so we thought of promoting him. Defending this total was brilliant. We're really happy to get into the Semis, we will back ourselves and try to play like we have done for quite sometime now.

Gilchrist: I think it was bad luck, mate. We weren't as sharp as we would have liked to be, we were outplayed. It would have been great to go into the Semis with a win but then, we need to freshen up for tomorrow. Anyone can beat anyone else on a given night, that is how the tournament has been, it can be one person doing well, it can be the whole unit. It all comes down to how you play on that particular day.

Manish Pandey is the Man of the Match for his brilliant hundred.

Interestingly, in their last 3 games, Bangalore have beaten the other three semi-finalists.

With today's victory RCB have won their last 4 games while DC have lost their last 2 games in a row.

Semi-final line up: Delhi v Deccan on Friday (22nd May), Bangalore v Chennai on Saturday (23rd May)

All About Latest Sports Action: Yuvraj’s self-destruction hurts Kings XI Punjab

2009-05-20T23:19:00.000-07:00

The sequence of unexpected results continued as the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2009 entered in the final phase of its league matches. Both the games on May 20, the penultimate day of the first round, followed unusual patterns and produced amusing results.

The pitch at the Kingsmead in Durban was not very conducive to stroke-play and the conditions were indeed tough for batting. Yet one expected more number of runs to be scored since it was a Twenty20 contest and the participating teams had quite a few masters in their folds. Such has been the trend in the tournament that anything cannot be taken for granted and the unlikeliest of things could happen any moment.

All About Latest Sports Action: Yuvraj’s self-destruction hurts Kings XI Punjab

Mumbai to play for pride, Delhi for momentum

2009-05-20T23:05:00.000-07:00

The Conditions The ground has seen consistently good battles between bat and ball, and is expected to be the same for the final league matches too. The forecast is for a partly sunny, partly cloudy day, and the seam bowlers will be hoping the clouds come on when they're bowling as it would make the conditions slightly more favourable to them.

The Teams After what seems like an eternity, we have an inconsequential match in the tournament, in the sense that the result of this match will neither affect Delhi's standing at the top of the table, nor give Mumbai any chance of qualifying for the semi-finals.

Mumbai Indians: Even though they're out of the semi-finals, they would want to win here so that they go above Rajasthan in the final points tally. They will be ruing their missed chances in a few close games, which has left them with no hope of a semis berth. Their problem has been that they have rarely fired as a team, and rode on individual performances to get their victories. Their exit must hurt them, because before the tournament they had looked amongst the best balanced teams on paper, but sadly that strength stayed on paper. Their bowling has suffered in Zaheer's absence and it doesn't look likely that he will play this match, and risk worsening his injury before the World T20 cup. Overall, a disappointing outing for them, which they would like to redeem with a win against the league leaders.

Delhi Daredevils: They would be eager to get back to their winning ways after the reverses against Punjab and Bangalore. However, that will not happen on a consistent basis unless Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag find their form and do it fast. It is unreasonable to expect de Villiers, Dilshan and Dinesh Karthik to bail Delhi out of trouble in every single match. Delhi can thank their stars that they have done it so far, but they need a more wholesome contribution from their openers. Glenn McGrath has still not got a game, and with this being the last league game, and Delhi giving chances to those on the bench, he might hope to finally make the playing eleven. If he doesn't, it will be a very strange decision indeed, and one which Virender Sehwag ought to perhaps explain.

Contest to Watch

Lasith Malinga versus T Dilshan - The Sri Lankan team-mates have been stand-out performers for their respective teams, but Dilshan has been part of a successful outfit, while Malinga has lost more often than he has won. However, their individual performances have been top-class, and if the two do face-off in the middle, it will be an intriguing contest.

Contest that fans would wish to watch

Glenn McGrath versus Sachin Tendulkar - Every fan who has watched cricket from the mid-nineties to the mid-200s, will want to watch what used to be amongst the most classic contests in all cricket - be it Test matches, ODIs or even if these two stalwarts ever came face to face in club cricket or a 'galli' match! One more time, one last time - we want to see them go at each other.

Numbers Game:

85 - The number of runs by which AB de Villiers has outscored the combined totals of Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag. de Villiers has 429 runs while the opening duo have 348 (Gambhir 239 and Sehwag 109).

1 - JP Duminy's rank in the 'Best Economy Rate' charts for the Mumbai Indians. He is also by far their leading run scorer in the tournament, and has proved to be worth every dollar of the massive 950,000 shelled out for him.

Teams:

Delhi Daredevils (From): Virender Sehwag(c), Gautam Gambhir, AB de Villiers, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Dinesh Karthik(w), Andrew McDonald, Rajat Bhatia, Amit Mishra, Pradeep Sangwan, Ashish Nehra, Dirk Nannes, Daniel Vettori, Mithun Manhas, Aavishkar Salvi, Vijaykumar Yo Mahesh, Glenn McGrath, Manoj Kumar Tiwary, David Warner, Farveez Maharoof, Owais Shah, Paul Collingwood, Tejashwi Yadav, Umesh Yadav, Yogesh Nagar

Mumbai Indians (From): Sachin Tendulkar(c), Sanath Jayasuriya, Ajinkya Rahane, Jean-Paul Duminy, Abhishek Nayar, Ryan McLaren, Yogesh Takawale(w), Harbhajan Singh, Chetanya Nanda, Dhawal Kulkarni, Lasith Malinga, Rohan Raje, Shikhar Dhawan, Zaheer Khan, Pinal Shah, Dilhara Fernando, Graham Napier, Jaydev Shah, Kyle Mills, Luke Ronchi, Mohammad Ashraful, Rahil Shaikh, Saurabh Tiwary

CSK send Punjab almost out of contention

2009-05-20T23:00:00.000-07:00

That's it Punjab choked under pressure. It was a must win game for them and they flunked it big time. They were under no pressure as it was a low target, but the spinners did it for CSK. The spinners bowled a total of 12 overs for 38 runs and took 6 wickets. That is where the Punjab side lost it. Now they need Bangalore to lose heavily against Hyderabad tomorrow to go through to the semi-finals. They are virtually tetering on the brink.

Muralitharan: Dhoni asked me to bowl early on today, I stuck to the right line and length and got wickets. The other bowlers maintained the pressure and that helped. Raina has done a good job for us in so many matches. Semi-Finals are big games, the one who performs well will win, it's that kind of a contest.

Dhoni: Well, ofcourse, the bowlers were brilliant. We picked Ashwin for the first time, he was shuffled a lot but he still managed to bowl well. Murali was outstanding and so was Raina. The pacers managed it well too. Battingwise, we are a good side, it was just one of those days when we didn't click. We were a couple of batsmen short, Haydos wasn't there and Albie has injured himself. Once they get back, it should be good for us.

Yuvraj: Yeah, we're pretty disappointed, we needed to win to go into the Semi-Finals, unfortunately we couldn't do it. I think we had a decent start, we just didn't get a partnership, none of our batsmen got a 40 or 50. Well, we have had a lot of injuries coming into this tournament, everyone has performed the role assigned to them. It has been a bits and pieces tournament for us, when you are in a good position, one needs to nail the opposition. We couldn't do it.

Muttiah Muralitharan is the Man of the Match for his spell of 2/8 in 4 overs.

Today's win by CSK keeps their unbeaten record against Punjab intact. CSK have now won all the 5 matches against Punjab in the IPL.

Match #54 Preview: Chennai Super King vs Kings XI Punjab

2009-05-20T03:21:00.000-07:00

Ground Reality and Pitch:

Having witnessed 14 matches played so far at the Kingsmead, the players would be familiar with the pitch and the ground conditions. Although it is not a easy scoring pitch, intelligent batting have helped the batsmen prosper at this ground. With the pitch offering consistent bounce, it would be an even contest between bat and ball.

Temperatures: Min - 60F Max - 74F Conditions: Partly Cloudy

Team Updates:

Chennai: With a semifinal berth at stake, Chennai Super Kings, smarting from a stunning defeat to tournament-laggards Kolkata Knight Riders, take on Kings XI Punjab in a do-or-die encounter. Chennai are currently placed second with 15 points after notching up seven wins from 13 matches. Even without their run-machine Matthew Hayden, Chennai posted 188 against the Kolkata team but couldn't defend the total, due to poor bowling. For Chennai, orange cap winner Hayden has done the bulk of scoring and Dhoni would desperately want him back in the squad. Skipper Dhoni would hope his team shrugs off the disappointment of the loss to Kolkata and comes out firing all cylinders against Punjab.

Punjab: Currently placed fifth on the points table, Punjab is battling inconsistent batting form of the top order. Sri Lankan import Kumar Sangakkara is doing the bulk of scoring while their opening pair of Sunny Sohal and Simon Katich and Yuvraj Singh in the middle order have failed to provide the impetus. Punjab has depended more on their bowlers to defend low totals, with all-rounder Irfan Pathan leading the pack with 15 wickets and Yusuf Abdulla and Piyush Chawla bagging 14 and 11 wickets respectively. A part-time spinner, Yuvraj himself has been in ominous form with the ball, picking up two hat-tricks so far in IPL II and he would hope to continue with the good work.

Contest to watch:

Hayden vs. Sreesanth: The maverick seamer has had a tough couple of matches while beginnings his IPL campaign, though he has come back well during the matches against Delhi and and Hyderabad. His first encounter with Hayden saw the bulky Australian score heavily against him. Sreesanth would hope to extract his revenge while Punjab face-off Chennai at Durban.

Numbers game:

3: The number of sixers hit by Hayden off Sreesanth during Chennai's previous encounter with Punjab.

8.89: Sreesanth's economy rate during this season of the IPL.

Sound Bytes:

It is disappointing to lose the match. We had (enough) runs on the board (to defend) but they (Kolkata) had some brilliant batting and on the other hand we had one of the worst bowling performance in the IPL: MS Dhoni after the team's loss to Kolkata

Teams:

Chennai Super Kings (From): Matthew Hayden, Parthiv Patel, Suresh Raina, Mahendra Singh Dhoni(w/c), Subramaniam Badrinath, Albie Morkel, Jacob Oram, Sudeep Tyagi, Shadab Jakati, Laxmipathy Balaji, Muttiah Muralitharan, Joginder Sharma, Manpreet Gony, Arun Karthik, George Bailey, Makhaya Ntini, Mike Hussey, Murali Vijay, Palani Amarnath, Ravichandran Ashwin, Thilan Thushara, Viraj Kadbe

Match #51 Preview : Kolkata Knight Riders vs Chennai Super Kings

2009-05-18T04:14:00.000-07:00

Ground Reality: Most of the matches played here have seen an even contest between bat and ball, and more of the same is expected today. With light winds, and sunny weather forecasted, the day should be fine for cricket.

The Teams: It seems like an unequal battle on the face of it, with one team looking formidable, and the other looking forlorn. This will be the first meeting between the teams, since their previous match was rained out.

Kolkata Knight Riders: They must now be firmly convinced that they are cursed or that someone has put a spell on them. No matter what they do, they just can't seem to win a match, often being extremely unlucky or being at the receiving end of some brilliant innings. It is highly commendable that McCullum has still managed to put on a brave face and not lost his smile, since a lesser man would have wilted long ago beneath the pressure. However, being tough does is not the only quality that goes into making a good captain, and Kolkata would be wondering if Buchanan's orchestrated removal of Ganguly has not hampered them largely. It is tempting and easy to think that had Ganguly been leading, a lot of the close matches would have fallen the Knight Riders' way.

Chennai Super Kings: Even though they have almost sealed their semi-final spot, they will not relax an inch against Kolkata. For one, they would want to keep their winning momentum, and for another, with the table still so close, no one knows how one loss will affect teams later. However, the batting is still too dependant on Hayden - which is a worrying sign for a side that has players like Dhoni, Badrinath and Raina. They are all in the mix for being regulars in the Indian team, but they need to take more responsibility. Makhaya Ntini could get his first game today instead of Jacob Oram.

X Factor:

Brendon McCullum - The Kolkata skipper has looked like getting back into his best form for the past few matches, and if he does explode, then there is little the opposition can do. Just ask Bangalore.

Shadab Jakati - He has arrived with a big splash, but the key to being successsful is maintaining his initial form, after the opposition has had time to study and sort him out. He looks capable of doing it, and against a team that is struggling, should be looking to make a good contribution.

Numbers Game:

7 - The number of matches that Chennai has won this year, which is equal to the total number of matches Kolkata has won last year and this year.

2 - The position on Kolkata's run charts of its much maligned skipper Brendon McCullum. It says a lot about the team, that even though he has struggled for a large part of the tournament, McCullum is still its second highest run scorer.

Teams:

Chennai Super Kings (From): Matthew Hayden, Parthiv Patel, Suresh Raina, Mahendra Singh Dhoni(w/c), Subramaniam Badrinath, Jacob Oram, Albie Morkel, Sudeep Tyagi, Laxmipathy Balaji, Shadab Jakati, Muttiah Muralitharan, Joginder Sharma, Manpreet Gony, Arun Karthik, George Bailey, Makhaya Ntini, Mike Hussey, Murali Vijay, Palani Amarnath, Ravichandran Ashwin, Thilan Thushara, Viraj Kadbe

Kolkata Knight Riders (From): Brendon McCullum(c), Saurav Ganguly, Bradley Hodge, David Hussey, Wriddhiman Saha(w), Yashpal Singh, Ajit Agarkar, Mashrafe Mortaza, Murali Kartik, Ishant Sharma, Shoaib Shaikh, Laxmi Shukla, Ajantha Mendis, Charl Langeveldt, Aditya Dole, Ameya Shrikhande, Abhisek Banerjee, Angelo Mathews, Moises Henriques, Anureet Singh, Anustup Majumdar, Arindam Ghosh, Ashok Dinda, Avik Chowdhury, Bhavik Thaker, Chetan Suryavanshi, Debabrata Das, Dhiran Salvi, Gaurav Chabra, Gnaneswara Rao, Iqbal Abdulla, Ishwar Choudhary, Kshemal Waingankar, Mark Cameron, Mohammad Sanuth, Mohnish Parmar, Murtuza Hussain, Natraj Behera, Rajesh Verma, Ranadeb Bose, Rohan Banerjee, Sachin Rana, Sanjay Bangar, Sanjib Sanyal, Saurasish Lahiri, Shatrunjay Gaekwad, Sheldon Jackson, Siddarth Kaul, Sourav Sarkar, Sunny Singh, Vinit Indulkar, Morne van Wyk

Clinical Delhi roll over rusty Royals

2009-05-18T04:12:00.000-07:00

A rather comfortable victory for Delhi, something's that's been rare over the past few days. Rajasthan started poorly but Botha and Jadeja put on a good stand to keep them in hunt. They fell at crucial junctures and with Yusuf failing to fire, the Royals fell apart in quick time.

de Villiers: Pretty tough upfront with the new ball and then after I got to 30 scored freely after that. My plan was to get in for the 20 balls and then score. Our coach mentioned before the game it is a big field and run well, it worked well in the end. I thought 140 was a decent score on this. Expecting Viru and GG to come through in the important part of the tournament, Sky is the limit if they do.

Sehwag: AB and Dilshan are in good form and they did a fantastic job after me and Gauti did not click. I thought 150 was a good score on this wicket as we have a good bowling side. Our plan was to bat out the 20 overs and later Karthik, Manhas can hit the ball. I am looking forward to getting some runs in the next couple of games.

Warne: I thought it was a par score, we did not play well upfront, that's where we have struggled in the whole tournament. 150 I thought was a gettable score, unfortunately none of the top order batsmen put their hand up. Hopefully we can win our last game against KKR and you never know we can still make it to the semifinals.

AB de Villiers is the Man of the Match for his brilliant innings of 79*

Kings XI Punjab will have to perform or perish

2009-05-17T02:05:00.000-07:00

Having revived its semifinal hopes with a morale-boosting six-wicket win over table topper Delhi Daredevils, Kings XI Punjab will look to continue its winning form against Deccan Chargers in its must-win Indian Premier League match here on Sunday.

With 12 points from 12 matches and only one match left after this, Punjab will have to beat Deccan Chargers, which has 12 points too — but with a match in hand — if it has to be in the running for the remaining three semifinal spots; Daredevils has already reserved its place in the last four.

Inconsistent so far

Kings XI has not been a consistent side in this year’s IPL, having failed to establish a winning momentum but its win over Daredevils on Friday has shown that it can beat any team in the tournament on its day.

Yuvraj Singh’s side will have the psychological advantage going into the match as it had beaten Adam Gilchrist’s men by three wickets in their earlier meeting.

What will boost Kings XI’s confidence further is the return to form of fit-again Australian fast bowler Brett Lee, whose man-of-the-match winning three for 15 against Delhi kept its semifinal hopes alive.

Welcome return

Lee has added sting to the Kings XI bowling department which also has tough competition within, with South African Yusuf Abdulla warming the bench. Lee bowled with fire and penetration to make life difficult for Delhi batsmen. He also got ample support from S. Sreesanth and Irfan Pathan.

In the spin department, Piyush Chawla has been doing a decent job of choking the run flow though without much luck with wickets.

Among the batsmen, Kumar Sangakkara has been in consistent form and Yuvraj has been among the top run-getters though he has not exactly set South Africa on fire so far. Irfan has been chipping in with useful runs in the lower order.

Mahela Jayawardene, who is suffering from a hamstring injury is unlikely to return to the side, as indicated by Yuvraj after the match against Delhi.

Deccan Chargers will have to get over what Glichrist called “cricket suicide” against Delhi. The middle order will have to stop gifting away wickets and focus on finishing strongly. The side will also have to show improvement in the fielding department.

Rohit Sharma, who has failed in his last three outings, is due a big score while Gilchrist could be tempted to bring back Herschelle Gibbs at the top and push T. Suman down the order after Luke Pomersbach failed against Delhi.

Sri Lankan veteran Chaminda Vaas’s impressive form after sitting out in the early part of the event would in come handy for Gilchrist while Pragyan Ojha has been consistent in the spin department.

R.P. Singh, though, will have to return to his wicket-taking ways to create trouble in the Kings XI top order.

Match #49 Preview: Kings XI Punjab vs Deccan Chargers

2009-05-17T01:36:00.000-07:00

The Conditions The conditions have shown themselves to be conducive to batting in the previous matches, and the teams will look to take advantage of them, especially in the powerplay overs. The weather is forecast to be mainly sunny, so it should be a fine day's cricket.

The Teams The importance of this match for both teams cannot be stressed enough. A win will set them firmly on the path to the semi-finals, and a loss will set them firmly on the path to the travel agent for flight tickets home. Well not quite, but a loss will hurt their chances immeasurably.

Deccan Chargers: They have the two points more than Punjab, in as many number of games played. After their whirlwind start, they have tapered off a bit, winning just 2 of their next 7 games. However quite a few of their losses have been in extremely tight games that could have gone either way, so they can take heart from the fact that they have been in the running for 99% of the games. But ultimately it's winning games that will get them further in the tournament and they have to learn to close out tight games. If they do win, it will have to be their batting that will do it, since it is by far their most potent weapon.

Kings Eleven Punjab: They have also had an up-and-down campaign, but will take a lot of heart from their win against table-toppers Delhi. They put in a top-notch bowling performance and never let Delhi's powerful line-up find its feet. Up against a similarly powerful line-up in Hyderabad, they would hope for a repeat of the last match. Their batting would have looked solid had Jayawardene been available, but Luke Pomerersbach has not been an adequate replacement so far. However he is capable of hitting it big, and Punjab would be hoping that the fact that he's due for a big one comes good for them in this match.

Contests to Watch

Brett Lee vs Adam Gilchrist and Andrew symonds - It's always a great sight when players who are team-mates take on each other, but it's all the more enticing when the players in question happen to be in great form. Lee and Symonds are both coming back after layoffs, while Gilchrist is retired, but to see them perform you'd never guess it.

Pragyan Ojha vs Yuvraj Singh - Ojha has had a wondeful tournament so far, and against a player known to have a weakness for spin, he should be licking his lips. Yuvraj generally comes in at 4 or 5, while Ojha will bowl the middle overs, so there is a good chance of this contest materializing.

Numbers Game:

1 - The number of bowlers on each side (min. 8 overs) who have an economy rate of under 6. for Punjab it's Brett Lee with 5.33, while for Hyderabad it's Rohit Sharma with 5.86

6 - The most number of balls that Punjab have had left, while successfully chasing a target. They have never successfully chased a target with more than 6 balls to spare.

Trivia: Rohit Sharma's strike rate has been the second least amongst Hyderabad's specialist batsmen. Though he is second on the run scorers list, Symonds, Smith, Gilchrist, Suman and Gibbs have all scored their runs at a faster pace than him. Only Venugopal Rao has a lower strike rate than him.

Teams:

Deccan Chargers (From): Adam Gilchrist(w/c), Herschelle Gibbs, Tirumalsetti Suman, Rohit Sharma, Andrew Symonds, Venugopal Rao, Dwaraka Ravi Teja, Ryan Harris, Harmeet Singh, Rudra Pratap Singh, Pragyan Ojha, VVS Laxman, Scott Styris, Abhinav Kumar, Arjun Yadav, Chamara Silva, Chaminda Vaas, Doddapaneni Kalyankrishna, Dwayne Smith, Halhadar Das, Jaskaran Singh, Manvinder Bisla, Nuwan Zoysa, Paidikalva Vijaykumar, Sarvesh Kumar, Shoaib Ahmed, Azhar Bilakhia

Kings XI Punjab (From): Sunny Sohal, Simon Katich, Kumar Sangakkara(w), Yuvraj Singh(c), Mahela Jayawardene, Irfan Pathan, Wilkin Mota, Brett Lee, Piyush Chawla, Ramesh Powar, S Sreesanth, Karan Goel, Taruwar Kohli, Yusuf Abdullah, Vikram RV Singh, Ajitesh Argal, Amanpreet Singh, Burt Cockley, Luke Pomersbach, Ranadeb Bose, Ravikant Shukla, Ryan Ninan, Sahil Kukreja, Tanmay Srivastava, Uday Kaul, Vikramjeet Malik

Unbelievable Rohit wins a lost cause for DC

2009-05-17T01:01:00.000-07:00

With this win DC move one step closer to the semis, while for KKR this is their 9th defeat in a row.

Spare a thought for McCullum, he has done everything that he could and still KKR dont seem to finish it off. This is a heartbreaking loss for them and especially after that loss to RCB in the previous game. It seems KKR are not destined to win a game as cruelly victory is snatched from their grasp for the second game in a row.

What an unbelievable match it was. KKR did everything but win. Mortaza had 21 runs in his kitty but still could not win it in the end. Tempers flared after the no-ball was called in the final over, and then KKR as a whole lost it. The momentum swung decisively towards DC as Rohit slammed home the advantage.

DC started off well with Gilly and Gibbs getting quick runs. Then KKR pulled things back thanks to a lovely spell from Karthik and Hodge. Symonds was run out when 34 was needed and it seemed that was game over for DC.

Rohit Sharma: Definitely there was pressure, but I thought if both of us bat six balls we can get any target. The wicket was coming on nicely. After hitting a boundary of the no-ball, I thought 16 of 6 was gettable on this surface. The bowling is coming out well, and it is clicking and very happy to contribute to the team.

Gilchrist: I thought we burned another one. Rao was fantastic, he held his nerve and backed himself. Not pleased with the way we are finishing with the ball. Glad to drag 2 points from this one. Their spinners did a very good job. It is a difficult ground to defend on. I thought Symo was the one, but Rohit played some great innings last year and to stand up at the crucial time was very pleasing. All was not lost if we missed out today, we will be back in 12 hours tomorrow and hopefully fresh enough to be up for that.

McCullum: First of all I want to apologise for the actions out there. It was just pure passion and emotion, and something I am not proud of. We are disappointed as a team, we tried our hearts out today and things have not gone our way. We just got to stay positive and confident. We got to keep getting up and come back. I guess the decision will be debated long and hard over a couple of beers over the night and over the next few weeks. But we have got a committed bunch and we are completely dedicated to turning this around.

Rohit Sharma is the Man of the Match for his blitzkreig in the end.

Deccan pummel Royals into submission

2009-05-12T03:01:00.000-07:00

It was a thoroughly inept performance from RR as they chased down 167. Smith did not fire as he was sent packing by a dodgy decision from Dharmasena. Then the asking rate got out of hand as Yusuf succumbed to the pressure. Rohit and Ojha wiped out the late middle order as DC won by 53 runs.

Dwayne Smith: All I needed to do is get to the end overs before having a real blast. I got a lot of help from the players and coaches, I am happy with my performance. I hope we continue winning like this and perform well till the end.
Gilchrist: I think Dwayne played beautifully towards the end, the bowling was clinical. Selection was a headache but thankfully Dwayne and Vaas did justice. Rohit has started to feature in the purple cap more than the orange cap list. Flexibility is the key.
Warne: Yeah, it was a really disappointing day today. All credit to Dwayne Smith for the way he played today, we did well for 14-15 overs but the last 5 overs went to them completely. Bowling and fielding have always been our strength but it let us down today. We were just not there, we will have to regroup and come back strong.
Now DC swap places with RR. DC are 3rd on the table while RR slip one spot down to 4th.
Dwayne Smith is the Man of the Match for his all-round show

Fake IPL Players Blog: It's decision time folks

2009-05-10T03:21:00.000-07:00

Yet another intense fielding session. And not surprisingly, hardly any dropped catches during practice. Looks like we always save our best for the real thing

2-3 changes are expected in the side for this game. But, it's almost sure that that Lordie's playing. Don't know whether Skipper pushed it through, or a late night call from Dildo did the trick, or the "warning" comments on this blog made the decision, but Lordie's in. Skipper and Lordie chatted for a longish period during training. Skipper has asked Lordie if he'd like to open today. Bhookha was opposed to the idea till yesterday, but speculation is rife that Bhookha may play along thinking that this is a better way to get rid of him than not letting him bat at all.

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Match Preview: Chennai Super King vs Rajasthan Royals

2009-05-09T03:06:00.000-07:00

Ground reality and pitch:
Formerly known as the Kimberly Country Club, the De Beers Oval is home to the Grinqualand West cricket team. With a seating capacity 11,000, the De Beers Oval was specially designed for the ODI format. The wicket at the De Beers is an ideally designed ODI pitch inclined to favour the batsmen.

Temperatures: Min - 45F Max - 70F | Humidity: 91% | Conditions: Sunny

Team Updates:
Chennai: Chennai have had a good outing recently, with four consecutive wins. The batting has been firing all along with the retired Australian Matthew Hayden leading the charge and Suresh Raina and Dhoni in good form. In bowling department, Laxmipathi Balaji has been in fine touch with 11 wickets from seven matches while veteran Muttiah Muralitharan and little known Shadab Jakati have been doing wonders for Chennai in the spin department. One area of concern for Chennai has been the fielding. Dhoni was understandably angry with the shoddy fielding of his side during the last match. He would expect his team-mates to pull up their socks as Chennai aim at notching up their fifth win.

Rajasthan: Rajasthan had a huge blow when Shane Watson was ruled out of the IPL after suffering a groin injury. With their two bowlers Kamran Khan and Amit Singh reported for suspect action, Rajsthan would count on the likes of Munaf Patel and their captain Shane Warne to come up with good spells while bowling against the formidable batting line-up of Chennai. Rajasthan's batting has looked good with their stroke-makers Graeme Smith, Naman Ojha, Yusuf Pathan and Ravindra Jadeja being amongst runs. Shane Warne would look for a good performance from his side as they are looking to avenge their defeat in the last match against Chennai.

Contests to watch:
Dhoni vs. Warne: The explosive Indian captain has looked in good touch during the recent games. Kimberly would be witness to a mouthwatering clash when MS Dhoni and the Australian Spin Wizard Shane Warne face-off.
Pathan vs. Muralitharan: Yusuf has been a revelation in the shortest form of cricket. However, his ability to power the ball out of the stadium would be put to test when he faces the Sri Lankan Maestro Muralitharan.

Trivia:
Besides having the same points (11), Chennai and Rajasthan have the same number of wins (five), losses (three) and no results (one) after playing 9 games each, so far in the 2009 edition of the IPL.

Which cricketer has the best bowling figures in a innings on ODI debut? Answer and win KF Air tickets

Teams:
Chennai Super Kings (From): Matthew Hayden, Subramaniam Badrinath, Suresh Raina, Mahendra Singh Dhoni(w/c), Albie Morkel, George Bailey, Shadab Jakati, Sudeep Tyagi, Laxmipathy Balaji, Manpreet Gony, Muttiah Muralitharan, Joginder Sharma, Arun Karthik, Parthiv Patel, Jacob Oram, Makhaya Ntini, Mike Hussey, Murali Vijay, Palani Amarnath, Ravichandran Ashwin, Thilan Thushara, Viraj Kadbe

Rajasthan Royals (From): Graeme Smith, Naman Ojha(w), Lee Carseldine, Yusuf Pathan, Ravindra Jadeja, Niraj Patel, Abhishek Raut, Shane Warne(c), Morne Morkel, Amit Singh, Munaf Patel, Dimitri Mascarenhas, Tyron Henderson, Mahesh Rawat, Kamran Khan, Aditya Angle, Swapnil Asnodkar, Atul Sharma, Gajendra Singh, Mohammad Arif, Parag More, Paul Valthaty, Raiphi Gomez, Rob Quiney, Shane Watson, Shane Harwood, Shaun Tait, Siddharth Trivedi, Siddharth Chitnis, Sumit Khatri

All About Latest Sports Action: Shadab Jakati spins Chennai Super Kings to top

2009-05-05T02:20:00.000-07:00

The spinners continue to dominate the second edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) being held in South Africa and it was the turn of the left-armer Shadab Jakati to steal the limelight for the second time running in a matter of three days.

He has spun Chennai Super Kings to the top of the points table, having returned his second successive four-wicket haul, something that’s rather unusual in the shortest version of the game. He had earlier engineered the victory for his team over Delhi Daredevils with the magnificent figures of 4 for 24.

All About Latest Sports Action: Shadab Jakati spins Chennai Super Kings to top

Match Preview: Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Mumbai Indians

2009-05-03T05:56:00.000-07:00

Ground Reality and pitch: Situated south of Sandton in Illovo, Wanderers nicknamed 'The Bullring' is the home of the Highveld Lions. This ground goes down in history as hosting one of the greatest ODI matches when South Africa chased down a colossal target of 434 runs set by Australia. Wanderers posts a hard wicket providing assistance to the seamers. The bounce is also favoured by the batsmen because the ball comes on to the bat quicker enabling better strokes.

Humidity: 88% | Chances of Rain: Showers expected

Team Updates:

Bangalore: Gradually finding its feet in the Indian Premier League, Royal Challengers Bangalore will aim to spring another surprise when it takes on the in-form Mumbai Indians for the first time in the tournament's second edition. Back to back wins over Kolkata Knight Riders and Kings XI Punjab in the last two matches has not just lifted the Royal Challengers' spirit but has also helped the team rise from the bottom to fifth in the points table. The side's regular skipper USD 1.55 million buy, Kevin Pietersen, has left for national duty after leading it to the win over Knight Riders but it didn't seem to have affected the side much the other night when it stunned fourth-placed Punjab.

Mumbai: The Mumbai team is in good form. After the narrow defeat against Kings XI, the Sachin Tendulkar-led outfit bounced back to beat the struggling Knight Riders. The team is currently third on the points table with three wins from six matches, one of which was washed out. J P Duminy, who was subdued in the early part of the tournament, is now also among the runs after notching two half centuries in as many matches against Punjab and Kolkata. Mumbai's explosive batting gives it a slight edge over Royal Challengers.
Contest to watch:

Tendulkar vs. Kumble: One is a master batsman while the other is a wily craftsman in the art of spin bowling. The old war horses of Indian cricket would face-off at the 'Bullring' much to the delight of the cricket fans around the world.

Numbers game:
11: The number of wickets taken by Lasit Malinga in the IPL 2009
7: The number of catches taken by Virat Kohli in this edition of IPL
8.50: Jesse Ryder's batting average in the IPL 2009
About whom did Fred Trueman say this: "I sometimes used to wonder, in his playing days, if he realised just how great a bowler he was. When he was really spinning the ball, you could actually hear the fingers click as he delivered. He really was a prodigious finger spinner". Answer and win KF Airtickets

Teams:

Mumbai Indians (From): Sachin Tendulkar(c), Sanath Jayasuriya, Ajinkya Rahane, Jean-Paul Duminy, Abhishek Nayar, Graham Napier, Saurabh Tiwary, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Pinal Shah(w), Lasith Malinga, Rohan Raje, Dwayne Bravo, Shikhar Dhawan, Chetanya Nanda, Dhawal Kulkarni, Dilhara Fernando, Jaydev Shah, Kyle Mills, Luke Ronchi, Mohammad Ashraful, Rahil Shaikh, Ryan McLaren, Yogesh Takawale

Bangalore Royal Challengers (From): Jesse Ryder, Shreevats Goswami, Jacques Kallis, Rajesh Bishnoi, Robin Uthappa, Virat Kohli, Mark Boucher(w), Roelof van der Merwe, Praveen Kumar, Anil Kumble(c), KP Appanna, Balachandra Akhil, Vinay Kumar, Dale Steyn, Abhmanyu Mithun, Bharat Chipli, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Cameron White, Devraj Patil, Dillon du Preez, Gaurav Dhiman, Ishank Jaggi, Jagadeesh Arunkumar, Jitendra Patil, Karan Sharma, Kedar Jadhav, Manish Pandey, Muralidharen Gautam, Nathan Bracken, Pankaj Singh, Raju Bhatkal, Rohit Sabharwal, Ross Taylor, Saurabh Bandekar, Sreenath Aravind, Sunil Joshi, Tinu Yohannan, Udit Patel, Wasim Jaffer

Match Preview: King's Eleven Punjab vs Kolkata Knight Riders

2009-05-03T00:09:00.000-07:00

Preview by Saurabh Somani

Ground Reality: The ground has hosted four matches already, though all have not been played on the same pitch. There have been some big totals scored, and one of the boundaries is short, which both teams would look to exploit. The weather forecast is for clear skies, so there should be a good day's cricket to look forward to.

The Teams: In my preview for the teams before their first match, I had written that Punjab have one advantage over Kolkata because their boat hasn't quite sunk as low yet. That gap has only widened, with Punjab stringing together some good victories, while Kolkata can't seem to do anything right - on and off the field.

Kolkata Knight Riders: They desperately need to manufacture a victory from somewhere, and get back the belief in the side. Had they had self-belief, they might well have pulled off a victory against Mumbai in their return match. Their one explosive batsman who looked to be in some kind of form is gone, and with Gayle's departure the pressure on McCullum to find his form is immense. The silver lining for them is that Hodge looks to have found some touch, while the bowlers put up an improved showing in their last match.

King's Eleven Punjab: Even though they lost to Kolkata the last time through Duckworth-Lewis, they'll go in this match as firm favourites. They have uncovered a good bowler in Yusuf Abdullah, while Irfan Pathan has got his outswinger going again, making him a difficult proposition to face. Sangakkara has been their rock in the middle order, and with Yuvraj too finding form in the last match, they seem to be settling down into a workable combination.
Contests to Watch:

Ishant Sharma vs Yuvraj Singh - They've played with each many times, and know each others games pretty well. It would be interesting to see if Ishant can exploit Yuvraj's initial hesitancy at the crease, or whether Yuvraj can come out swinging against Ishant.
Ajantha Mendis vs Sangakkara and Jayawardene - The young prodigy against his mentors - the current Sri Lannkan captain and the former one. Can Mendis use his variations to good effect against the men who've overseen his baptism in international cricket?

Numbers Game:
1 - The number of innings out of 11 that Shaun Marsh failed to cross 20, while playing for Punjab in IPL 2008. No wonder they miss him up the order.
3 - The number of 50+ partnerships that Kolkata has had this year. Only Mumbai has fewer (2) but they have the bowling to withstand that, while Kolkata doesn't.
Trivia:
Yuvraj Singh in-form has been one of the most outstanding Twenty20 batsmen, but he has under-performed while playing for Punjab. His average for them across all matches last year and this year is 24.72, while his average in other Twenty20 matches is 28, and in Twenty20 internationals it is 32.75. If he hadn't scored a 50 in his last match, the difference would have been even more stark.
Teams:

Kings XI Punjab (From): Karan Goel, Yuvraj Singh(c), Simon Katich, Kumar Sangakkara(w), Mahela Jayawardene, Irfan Pathan, Taruwar Kohli, Piyush Chawla, Yusuf Abdullah, Ramesh Powar, Vikramjeet Malik, Luke Pomersbach, Vikram RV Singh, Ajitesh Argal, Amanpreet Singh, Burt Cockley, Ranadeb Bose, Ravikant Shukla, Ryan Ninan, Sahil Kukreja, Sunny Sohal, Tanmay Srivastava, Uday Kaul, Wilkin Mota

Kolkata Knight Riders (From): Brendon McCullum(c), Chris Gayle, Saurav Ganguly, Bradley Hodge, Morne van Wyk(w), Wriddhiman Saha, Laxmi Shukla, Ajit Agarkar, Murali Kartik, Ashok Dinda, Ishant Sharma, Ajantha Mendis, Charl Langeveldt, Aditya Dole, Ameya Shrikhande, Abhisek Banerjee, Angelo Mathews, Moises Henriques, Anureet Singh, Anustup Majumdar, Arindam Ghosh, Avik Chowdhury, Bhavik Thaker, Chetan Suryavanshi, Debabrata Das, Dhiran Salvi, Gaurav Chabra, Gnaneswara Rao, Iqbal Abdulla, Ishwar Choudhary, Kshemal Waingankar, Mark Cameron, Mashrafe Mortaza, Mohammad Sanuth, Mohnish Parmar, Murtuza Hussain, Natraj Behera, Rajesh Verma, Ranadeb Bose, Rohan Banerjee, Sachin Rana, Sanjay Bangar, Sanjib Sanyal, Saurasish Lahiri, Shatrunjay Gaekwad, Sheldon Jackson, Siddarth Kaul, Sourav Sarkar, Sunny Singh, Vinit Indulkar, Yashpal Singh

Chennai win opens up the league

2009-05-03T00:04:00.000-07:00

It was a disastrous start for the DareDevils as they lost Gambhir and de Viliers off consecutive balls and Dilshan was quick to follow them back into the dug-out. Just when Delhi was being written off, Warner and Karthik got together to treat us with some high quality batting, fireworks all around as they carted the bowlers to every possible corner of the park.

Both of them got to their fifties and looked good to seal the game for Delhi too but just then Jakati spun his side back into the contest. He removed the two key men and since then it was a landslide and by that time we knew Delhi stood no chance. Well, one positive thing that comes out of this Delhi defeat is that the tournament has heated up further with the points table looking a lot more competitive than it was sometime before. What a wonderful contest this is panning out to be. You just blink and you miss it!

Jakati: I was just waiting for my chance. I knew the wickets are quite helpful now. I have been working hard in the nets with Venky and Fleming. I just wanted to bowl wicket to wicket. Vary my pace, the straighter ones with the quicker ones and the slower ones.

Dhoni: Of course it is nice to win games, especially back to back. Suresh Raina and Badri batted superbly. I, Oram and Albie failed to capitalise on the start. We did not hit a single big hit. Tyagi got us a couple of crucial wickets and then everyone chipped in. Jakati was brilliant in the nets, Joginder was not bowling well so we picked Jakati. Even if it is a good flat track, left arm spinners can definitely have an impact on the game.

Gambhir: 160 was a very chaseable total on this track. This is the kind of a tournament where all the sides are very close to each other. We cant afford to be complacent. It will be great to have Sehwag back at the top of the order. Fantastic to see David Warner get runs, got his opportunity and he grabbed it with both hands. First IPL match, first fifty, fantastic achievement.

Shadab Jakati is the Man of the Match for his match winning spell of 4/24.

Rajasthan sneak through in thriller

2009-05-02T23:57:00.000-07:00

It was a battle within a battle - a battle of two captains. Both members of an all-conquering Australian team, both legitimate contenders for an all-time eleven, both retired now but leading their respective teams in the IPL. Most importantly perhaps, both known to respect the other's skill, but not best friends off the field. They would both be going in with extra determination in this contest, irrespective of the state of the tournament or the points table.

As it happened, this was an important match in any case. Rajasthan had to win to not fall back and make it that much harder to reach the semis, while Hyderabad had to win to get back the winning momentum after the loss to Delhi.

Rajasthan were without new find Kamran Khan who had injured himself in the previous match against Chennai.

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Match Preview: Chennai Super Kings vs Delhi Daredevils

2009-05-02T04:10:00.000-07:00

Ground Reality and pitch:

Situated south of Sandton in Illovo, Wanderers nicknamed 'The Bullring' is the home of the Highveld Lions. Host of the 2003 cricket world cup finals, this ground goes down in history as hosting one of the greatest ODI matches when South Africa chased down a colossal target of 434 runs set by Australia. Wanderers also hosted the first match and the finals of the 2007 Twenty20 World Cup. Known as a typical South African wicket, Wanderers posts a hard wicket providing assistance to the seamers. The bounce is also favoured by the batsmen because the ball comes on to the bat quicker enabling better strokes.

Temperatures: Min - 51F Max - 66F | Humidity: 63% | Chances of Rain: Light showers expected

Team Updates:
Chennai: The team is on a come-back trail after having lost 3 matches. The team's strenghts lie in the inclusion of legends like Hayden and Muralitharan. However, Parthiv's form at the top and the inconsistency of the bowlers is the worrying factor for the Superkings. Currently placed in the sixth position, Chennai would look at more wins under their belt to move up the points table.
Delhi: Delhi have by far been one of the best teams in the current edition of the IPL. Having lost only one match so far, Delhi look to be one of the favourites to win the tournament. While the batting of Dilshan and de Villiers have been Delhi strenghts, Sehwag and Gambhir's performance at the top of the order has been a concern. The opening duo would look to have a good outing against Chennai and get amongst the runs.

Captains' form guide:
Dhoni: The Superkings captain has got off to good starts in the tournament by not been able to convert them to big scores. Dhoni would look to lead by example and hope for his bat to rule the show.
Sehwag: The 'Nawab of Najafgarh' has had a roller-coaster IPL 2009. Having been good only in patches, Sehwag would hope for a big score against the Chennai Superkings and put his critics to rest.

Head to Head:
The teams have faced each other 3 times (including IPL 2008). Delhi leads Chennai 2-1.

Teams:
Chennai Super Kings (From): Matthew Hayden, Parthiv Patel, Suresh Raina, Subramaniam Badrinath, Mahendra Singh Dhoni(w/c), Jacob Oram, Albie Morkel, Shadab Jakati, Laxmipathy Balaji, Sudeep Tyagi, Muttiah Muralitharan, Joginder Sharma, Manpreet Gony, Arun Karthik, George Bailey, Makhaya Ntini, Mike Hussey, Murali Vijay, Palani Amarnath, Ravichandran Ashwin, Thilan Thushara, Viraj Kadbe

Delhi Daredevils (From): Virender Sehwag(c), Gautam Gambhir, AB de Villiers, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Dinesh Karthik(w), Mithun Manhas, Daniel Vettori, Amit Mishra, Pradeep Sangwan, Dirk Nannes, Ashish Nehra, Manoj Kumar Tiwary, Aavishkar Salvi, Vijaykumar Yo Mahesh, Glenn McGrath, Andrew McDonald, David Warner, Farveez Maharoof, Owais Shah, Paul Collingwood, Rajat Bhatia, Tejashwi Yadav, Umesh Yadav, Yogesh Nagar

Yuvi’s Hat-trick & 50 Couldn’t save KXIP

2009-05-02T04:07:00.000-07:00

What a exiting match with superb climax, Bangalore Royal Challengers beat Kings XI Punjab by 8 runs to win a thrilling match of IPL at Durban.

After Kevin Petersen left for country game, Kumble the new Captain of Royal Challengers shown that he also lead the team to smashing victory with his classic experience .

Chasing a victory target of 146 runs, Punjab managed 137/7 as Bangalore bowlers held their nerves till the end to win a cliffhanger.

Yuvraj Singh was adjudged the Man of the Match for taking a hat-trick and slamming a half-century.

Anil Kumble, Roelof van der Merwe and Praveen Kumar took 2 wickets each as Bangalore won their second match in a row.
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Dilshan puts an end to Deccan juggernaut

2009-04-30T08:07:00.000-07:00

It was a fine game of cricket. There were too many things happening, too many twists, too many turns. Chargers started off poorly and looked down and out but they got back on track after the Strategy Break. However, just when it looked that they might get more than what they got, they lost a few wickets and were restrcited. When Delhi started the run chase, they lost their way and looked off track. But Dilshan and Karthik stitched a good partnership together and finished the match with a lot of comfort.

Dirk Nannes: Actually was a bit worried with the spot in the side as I have just taken one wicket before today. I was constantly looking over my shoulder. I dont really try to swing it in the 20-20 games. Probably my pace is surprising a lot of people late in the innings. Today I was pretty happy with Gilly's dismissal.

Sehwag: Pretty happy with the performance. Restricting them to under 150 is a great achievement on this wicket. Dirk Nannes is the fastest I have ever faced. Especially since he is left arm he is very hard to face. The hand is fine just the 5 stitches. The boundaries are short on one side and I am playing with 2 spinners, that is why I choose to field first. We are just telling our boys to go and play the 20 overs and if one of the batsmen stays there till the end he will finish it off.

Gilchrist: A bit frustrating today we did not post enough, we were always scrambling to defend. Most of the teams have got dynamic opening combinations. Probably 20 runs short atleast. The wicket played well all day, it played quite a few tricks later on. I have played in a couple of World cups for Australia where we went through undefeated. It does not have to happen. It has happened today and that is reality. We have got to take stock of that.
Dirk Nannes is the Man of the Match

Match Preview: Chennai Superkings vs Rajasthan Royals

2009-04-30T04:17:00.000-07:00

Ground Reality:
Home to the Titans cricket team, The SuperSport Park, Centurion is known for having the best 'Player facilities' around the world. The ground also witnessed the test debut of Shaun Pollock in November 1995 against England. The pitch is known to assist the seamers during the initial part of the game.
Temperatures: Min - 55F Max - 79F | Humidity: 65% | Chances of Rain: Low

Team Updates:
Chennai Superkings: Although their batting has been good through out the IPL, the bowlers have not come to the party, especially during the middle overs. A frustrated MS Dhoni had mentioned that the bowlers had let the team down during the tournament. They haven't had the best of luck too, with nearly every loss being a close or fairly close one and also their game against the weakest side, the Kolkata Knight Riders, being washed out. Having won only one game so far, The Chennai team would have to bounce back with more victories if they are hoping to qualify among the top four.

Rajasthan Royals: The Rajasthan team are on a comeback trail after a bad start, all thanks to the efforts of Yusuf Pathan. With two wins and two losses so far, the team is placed fifth on the points table. Their bowling has been ranging from good to brilliant throughout, but it's their batting - particularly the top-order, that needs to be worked on. If Yusuf Pathan has a bad game, there is no go-to person for Warne to fall back on. Rajasthan would like to continue their winning streak when they take on the Chennai team.
Contests to watch:

Hayden vs. Warne: These former Australian cricketers have seen each other in close quarters. They know each other's game, their strengths and their weaknesses. An interesting contest would be in place when Hayden's blade comes face to face with the guiles of Warne.

Pathan vs. Muralitharan: One is the highest wicket taker in tests and ODIs. The other is a demolition man who has no mercy for the bowlers. The face-off between a 'Hard-hitting' Yusuf pathan and the 'Spin Maestro' Muralitharan would be a treat for the cricket fans.

Numbers Game:
0: The number of matches won by Chennai against Rajasthan.
8: The number of sixers by Yusuf Pathan during the IPL 2009.
4.90: Muralitharan's economy rate in this edition of the IPL.

Sound Bytes:
This match has turned every match before us into do-or-die affairs: MS Dhoni referring to the loss against Deccan Chargers.
It is important to have a good leader and Shane Warne is always in the thick of things: Graeme Smith referring to Warne's leadership.

Kings XI Punjab stun Mumbai Indians by 3 runs

2009-04-29T16:03:00.000-07:00

BY: iplkarmayudh.com
Kings XI Punjab beat Mumbai Indians by 3 runs to win the 20th match of the second edition of the Indian Premier League at Kingsmead.

Barring Sangakkara, none of the Kings XI Punjab batsmen could make their presence felt. Sangakkara waged a grim battle with a 44-ball 45 on a day when only three of his teammates returned double digit scores.Yuvraj Singh’s decision to bat first backfired and by the first strategy break, the Punjab side crawled to 50 in 10 overs with three top order batsmen, including the skipper himself, cooling their heels in the hut.

Openers Karan Goel (12) and Ravi Bopara (6) just could not get going and the first three overs yielded only 10 runs.The subdued start would have pleased any rival captain but not Sachin Tendulkar who tossed the ball to Harbhajan Singh in the fourth over and the offie struck with his third delivery.Goel, having slog-swept the spinner for a six in the previous delivery, stepped out to court peril and return stumped after completely misreading the line.Dwayne Bravo followed in Harbhajan’s footsteps and struck in his first over, removing Bopara.

A lot was expected of Yuvraj (10) but the left-hander let down once again, leaving his team in dire straits.Tendulkar pressed Sanath Jayasuriya into service and the wily Sri Lankan responded by removing Mahela Jayawardene (7).To make it worse Irfan Pathan’s (7) was a brief stay, cut short by Zaheer Khan, and Lasith Malinga then castled Wilkin Mota and Piyush Chawla off successive balls to dash hopes of Punjab’s rearguard defiance.

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Match Preview : Kings XI Punjab vs Mumbai Indians

2009-04-29T04:06:00.000-07:00

Ground Reality:
Having witnessed a a show of batsmanship in the last two matches played by the Deccans here, Kingsmead Durban is all set to play host to a double header for the 29th April. In a day-night affair, the Kings XI Punjab would take on the Mighty Mumbai Indians. The batsmen seem to have taken a liking for the Durban pitch. The previous two matches have seen the teams batting first, scoring in excess of 160. The pitch would have an ideal bounce assisting the bowlers and batsmen alike.
Temperatures: 74F to 80F Humidity:65% Chances of Rain: Low

Team Updates:
Kings XI Punjab: After losing two rain curtailed games, the team from Punjab have fought back and won two games in a row. While their English recruit Bopara and the Sri Lankan wicket keeper look to be in fine touch with the bat, The Punjab team's skipper, Yuvraj Singh is due for runs. The bowling has looked good for the team with Irfan Pathan and Yusuf Abdullah being amongst the wickets. The Kings XI team would for look an allround performance today in order to extend their winning streak.

Mumbai Indians: Having the best opening combination in the world is always a boon. And when both are firing all cylinders, the opposition bowlers can only pray. So was seen in the match against Kolkata when Jayasuriya and Tendulkar played the role of 'The Un-stoppables'. Mumbai would hope that the pair launches a similar performance in their match against Punjab. With Malinga and Bravo bowling well, the Mumbai team would have an upper hand going into the match.
Captains' Form Guide:

Yuvraj Singh: A poor 2009 has continued for the Punjab captain. The gifted left-hander has not been amongst the runs from a very long time. Hoping for a change of fortunes, Yuvraj Singh would look to find his feet quickly and play a captain's knock.

Sachin Tendulkar: The Mumbai team captain has looked his best coming into the IPL. With two fifties and two man-of-the-match awards in just three games, Sachin Tendulkar reminds everybody that T20 is not just a youngster's game.

Numbers Game:
38: Yuvraj Singh's highest score in the IPL 2009.
7: Yusuf Abdullah's strike rate so far in the second edition of the IPL.
6: The number of sixers by Sachin Tendulkar in the IPL 2009.
Sound Bytes:
I don't know who says that it's a young man's game. Clearly, he doesn't know much about cricket: Sachin Tendulkar on people commenting that T20 is a youngster's game.
We have got a great energy and great buzz going in the team: Kumar Sangakkara after winning the man-of-the-match award for his match winning batting display against Rajasthan.

Yusuf fireworks blow Delhi away

2009-04-29T04:02:00.000-07:00

Delhi came back strongly with early wickets. Royals looked like they will slide to another defeat afer half the side were gone for 64. Shane Warne surprisingly kept his big hitters Yusuf and Dimitri for the later part off the innings. That strategy paid off as Yusuf the Bulldozer Pathan came in and simply bludgeoned the hapless Delhi bowlers to all parts of the ground. It was simply the Yusuf show as he blasted Vettori out of the attack. Greame Smith finally came good today as he played the sheet anchor role to perfection. It was a must win game for Royals and they came good on the day.

It was a splendid match right from the start. Delhi did not get off to a good start as they lost Gouti and Viru early. Then as usual ABD played well to help Delhi to 143. It was a par score on a wicket that was playing two paced.

Yusuf: Today was my day. I was hitting them quite well. I didn't target any bowler, I just back my strengths and that is exactly what Smith said to me all the time. Targetting the shorter boundaries was a conscious tactic. I appreciate Warne for planning things so well. A lot of credit goes to him and Smith.

Warne: We thought that Yusuf down the order would be of great help. We wanted someone at the top to stay till the end, Smith used all his experience and that helped us a lot. Yusuf strikes the ball well and he is in good touch too, I always felt that he could do it for us. The ploy worked.

Sehwag: I can't complain about that knock from Yusuf. We dropped a vital catch and when you drop catches, it hurts you a lot. Yusuf Pathan was in good form today and even one of our better bowlers Vettori was hit. We were in control but when Yusuf came in, he hit them very clean and hit them long too. On being commented by Ravi Shastri that even he hits them like this on his day, he said that "I know and that is why I am smiling."

Yusuf Pathan is the Man of the Match for his hurricane knock of 62 from 30 balls.

Mighty Delhi take on fragile Rajasthan

2009-04-28T06:14:00.000-07:00

Preview by Saurabh Somani

The Conditions
For the first time, the action moves away from Durban, Port Elizabeth and Cape Town to Centurion. The conditions, therefore, are more of an unknown quantity than for the other venues. History suggests, that the wicket should be even paced, with an equal contest between bat and ball.

Indian fans would remember this as the venue where Sachin Tendulkar composed one of his classic one-day knocks - a fierce 98 off just 75 balls against a Pakistani attack comprising Akram, Younis and Akhtar in the 2003 World Cup.
It has a seating capacity of 22,000.

The Teams
Both teams have lived up to the pre-tournament billing. Delhi has gotten off to a flyer, with a 100% win record, while Rajasthan has struggled, with some key players missing.

Delhi Daredevils: Have won all 3 matches played so far, without a major contribution from Gautam Gambhir and with just one cameo from Sehwag. With AB de Villiers and Dilshan in cracking form, Delhi has been able to afford the poor scores from its opening batsmen. However, it is just a matter of time before they fire, and when they do, Delhi will be hard to stop. The continuing mystery of the tournament has been their reluctance to play Glenn McGrath. His replacement, Dirk Nannes, has picked up a solitary wicket in 3 matches at an economy rate of 7.27 - hardly the figures that would prompt inclusion ahead of McGrath.

Rajasthan Royals: The team is under fire, and it hasn't helped that Graeme Smith has been out of sorts so far. He is the one man capable of taking the game by the scruff of the neck, but his lack of form is hurting Rajasthan badly. With only Yusuf Pathan hitting some form, Rajasthan need to beef up their batting. Their bowling has looked good, but even Kamran Khan and Shane Warne cannot do much if the batsmen fail to put up a decent score.
Contests to Watch

Virender Sehwag vs Shane Warne - If Viru is there at the crease when Warne comes on to bowl, it should be a fascinating contest. Will he emulate his idol Sachin Tendulkar in dismantling Warne? Or will Warnie prove once again, that old is gold?
Kamran Khan vs the Delhi top order - The young man playing the part of Cinderella in his fairytale will face a sterner test than any he has so far, when he takes on the mighty Delhi top order. If he proves equal to the task, then it might just herald the arrival of India's search for a third seamer.

Numbers Game:
131 - the difference in the number of runs scored so far by the Dilshan and AB de Villiers and Sehwag and Gambhir, after the first 3 matches in the IPL. AB and Dilshan have scored 243 runs between them, while Viru and Gauti have just 82 so far.
3 - the number of bowlers (minimum 10 overs) who have an economy rate of less than 5.0 in this year's tournament. Kamran Khan is joint second on the list with 4.90.
Trivia:
Kamran Khan has not played in any first class match before being picked for the Rajasthan Royals. In fact, most of the matches he played were with a tennis ball.

No stopping Deccan Chargers in IPL

2009-04-27T09:23:00.000-07:00

Adam Gilchrist and Herschelle Gibbs clobbered the Chennai Super Kings attack to hand Deccan Chargers their fourth successive win in the Indian Premier League on Monday.

The Australian-South African duo hammered 67 off 34 balls in a spectacular opening stand as the Chargers surpassed Chennai's competitive 165-6 with six wickets and three balls to spare in the Twenty20 clash at the Kingsmead here.

The 37-year-old Gilchrist, leading the Deccan Chargers after retiring from international cricket last year, blazed 44 off 19 balls with five boundaries and three sixes.

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Fake IPL Player Blog: Hats Off to Bhookha Naan

2009-04-27T03:15:00.000-07:00

It's very early in the morning here. Couldn't sleep well the whole night. We are missing a few members of our family who have gone back home. It's always painful to see some of your own being culled and I am not in any mood for humour.

But, I am in a very respectful mood. I have new found respect for Bhookha Naan and his coterie of ill advisors. I mean, their insight into the game is par excellence. They can see things that us mortals just can't. To begin with they select Shakespeare and Ganji Hanger for a T20 tournament. That itself was genius. And then they sack them after just one inning each. Being the ignorant fool that I am, I thought they played just as all of us had always expected them too.
But, I think Bhookha must have seen something that we couldn't and suddenly realised that they do not fit in. I wish I could fall at their feet and pray for enlightenment. Tell me, Oh my Master, what did you see in those 2 innings that you hadn't known all along? What startling revelation was caught by only your eyes and nobody else's? Tell me, please tell me, your enlightened soul, how do I see things beyond what is obvious?

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Match Preview : Deccan Chargers vs Chennai Super Kings

2009-04-27T02:52:00.000-07:00

Preview by Saurabh Somani
The Conditions:
With the weather holding good for the past two days, the fans at Durban can hope to get in yet another game unaffected by the rains. As the past matches have shown, the pitch has runs in it for batsmen who take their chances well, i.e. if you're going to clear your front leg and swing across the line, expect your stumps to take a walk, but if you're going to watch the length and hit cleanly and straight, watch the ball sail over the boundary.

The Teams:
Even though one team has a 100% win record, and the other has a 25% win record in the tournament, both would approach this game in a positive frame of mind, aware that if they play to potential, they both have a chance of winning this match.

Deccan Chargers: Currently sitting pretty at the top of the table, the first season blues seem to have been completely forgotten. The batting top order has clicked and how! Gilchrist is batting as if he's in an extended World Cup Final '07 mode, Gibbs has rediscovered his magic touch and Rohit Sharma is again looking like the young man everyone was sure would be India's future No.4 in all forms of the game. Their West Indian imports have also done well with Dwayne Smith and Fidel Edwards making vital contributions. They would hope that RP Singh's bowling continues its upswing, and the superb Pragyan Ojha continues to mesmerize batsmen. And though both of them haven't yet encountered the entity known as Matthew Hayden, the Chargers would be confident of their wards performing.

Chennai Super Kings: Chennai have been dealt rather harsh cards through the tournament and despite having one of the strongest teams on paper, have only 1 win from 4 matches, with one being washed out, and the other two being close losses. They've lost Flintoff, but on current form that won't be too big a blow, with both Oram and Ntini available as replacements. They would hope for a change in fortunes, since with a little luck they might easily have been sitting at 4 wins out of 4 matches right now. The bowling needs to fire more consistently, and picking Ntini over Oram might be a good move.
Contests to Watch:

RP Singh, Fidel Edwards, Pragyan Ojha against Matthew Hayden, MS Dhoni and Albie Morkel - One of each troika is bound to bowl an extended spell against the other, and the result would be fascinating. Am waiting to see if Hayden can hit RP out of the attack, if Albie can negate Ojha's dip and turn by hitting him out of the park, if Dhoni can blunt Edwards' pace with those intelligent hoicks and placements...
Gony and Balaji versus Gibbs and Gilchrist - for the two India hopeful seamers, this would prove just how good or bad they are when bowling to proven international class batsmen. If they can acquit themselves well against Gibbs and Gilchrist, they would have done their cases a world of good, come selection time.

Numbers Game:
18 - Number of innings VVS Laxman went without a century after his epic 281 at the Eden Gardens.
42 - The highest score Dwayne Smith has managed after hitting 105 not out in his second test innings.

Trivia:
So far, the Chennai Super Kings have a winning percentage of only 50% across all the matches in the IPL ('08 and '09). They have played 20, won 10, lost 9 and 1 has been washed out.

Teams:

Chennai Super Kings (From): Matthew Hayden, Parthiv Patel, Suresh Raina, Mahendra Singh Dhoni(w/c), Subramaniam Badrinath, Albie Morkel, Jacob Oram, Joginder Sharma, Laxmipathy Balaji, Manpreet Gony, Muttiah Muralitharan, Arun Karthik, George Bailey, Makhaya Ntini, Mike Hussey, Murali Vijay, Palani Amarnath, Ravichandran Ashwin, Shadab Jakati, Sudeep Tyagi, Thilan Thushara, Viraj Kadbe

Deccan Chargers (From): Adam Gilchrist(w/c), Herschelle Gibbs, Dwayne Smith, VVS Laxman, Rohit Sharma, Venugopal Rao, Dwaraka Ravi Teja, Rudra Pratap Singh, Pragyan Ojha, Fidel Edwards, Harmeet Singh, Scott Styris, Abhinav Kumar, Arjun Yadav, Chamara Silva, Chaminda Vaas, Doddapaneni Kalyankrishna, Halhadar Das, Jaskaran Singh, Manvinder Bisla, Nuwan Zoysa, Paidikalva Vijaykumar, Ryan Harris, Sarvesh Kumar, Shoaib Ahmed, Tirumalsetti Suman

Battle of Pathan brothers, Bollywood queens

2009-04-26T21:32:00.000-07:00

The 15th match of the DLF Indian Premier League 2009 at the Newlands, Cape Town, featuring Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab had a couple of additional flavours besides offering the usual glamour and entertainment.

It brought head-t-head in the field two of the most talented all-round cricketers of the world who were brothers. Irfan Khan Pathan was playing for Kings XI Punjab while Yousuf Khan Pathan was doing duties for Rajasthan Royals.

Off the field it was a one-to-one contest between the two Bollywood queens, Preity Zinta and Shilpa Shetty, the owners of Kings XI Punjab and Rajasthan Royals respectively. The third Bollywood personality owning a team in the IPL is the legendary Shah Rukh Khan, who is right there in South Africa to support his Kolkata Knight Riders
All About Latest Sports Action: Battle of Pathan brothers, Bollywood queens

Dazzling Dilshan blows Bangalore away

2009-04-26T08:15:00.000-07:00

Port Elizabeth was set to play host to a key match for Bangalore taking on the Daredevils from Delhi. The Challengers captain Pietersen won the toss and he chose to bat first. While Dravid was away on a paternity leave, Bangalore included Boucher, Appanna and Akhil in the team. Delhi also made two changes in the team. Mithun Manhas and Amit Mishra were included in the playing eleven.

Bangalore again got off to a shaky start after losing the openers Kallis and Uthappa in quick succession. While Kallis was out for a duck in the first over of Nannes, Uthappa was dismissed by Nehra in the second over. The Bangalore captain Pietersen was joined by Taylor and together they started the rescue work. While Taylor was taking time to settle in, Pietersen looked in good touch, hitting the balls from the middle of his bat.

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Match Preview of Kings XI Punjab & Rajasthan Royals

2009-04-26T07:44:00.000-07:00

Ground Reality and pitch:
Following a rain dominated day, Newlands plays host to another T20 day-nighter of the Indian Premier League. After the Chennai-Kolkata match was abandoned due to rain, cricket fans would hope for clear skies when The Kings XI Punjab face the mighty Rajasthan Royals.
Having rained all day on Saturday, the moisture in the pitch would provide assistance for the seamers. However, the recent games played here have also seen the batsmen scoring well, getting their teams to totals in excess of 150. A interesting contest between bat and ball is in store at the Newlands.
Team Updates:
Kings XI Punjab: Beaming with confidence after their first victory against Bangalore, the Punjab team would look to extend their good form when they face Rajasthan. A line-up without the top performer of 2008 - Shaun Marsh and the lightning fast Brett Lee, Punjab would hope for the in-form Bopara to fire again while banking on the likes of Sangakkara and Jayawardene to be amongst runs when battling Rajasthan.
Rajasthan Royals: Upbeat about their 'Super Over' performance and their ability to maintain cool in the death, Rajasthan would look at more wins in their kitty to reestablish their position as champions. Though the batsmen and bowlers of Rajasthan have not had great starts in the recent matches, The 'Spin Wizard' Warne's confidence in the team's young blood paid off when Yusuf Pathan and Kamran Khan pulled off a victory from the brink of defeat. More performances such as these would take Rajasthan to the top half of the points table.
Contests to watch:
Pathan vs. Pathan: The brothers from Baroda would draw swords against each other in today's match, much to the delight of the Newlands crowd. While the older Pathan, Yusuf is carrying the tag of a 'Super Over Hero' to the match, Irfan's three wicket haul against Bangalore helps him match up to his brother. The allround skills of both brothers would be put to test when they face-off at the 'Lords' of South Africa.
Yuvraj vs Warne: After a spate of failures with the bat, Yuvraj hit form at the right time. Having scored the winning runs against Bangalore, Yuvraj would hope for another successful stint with the bat. However, he has to excercise extra caution while facing the 'King of Spin'. Meanwhile, the wily Warne would have his numerous tricks up his sleeve while bowling to Yuvraj, who is known to be an average player of spin.
Numbers Game:
100: The six hit by Yuvraj against Bangalore took the IPL tally of sixers to 100.
18: The number of runs hit by Yusuf Pathan during the 'Super Over'
Sound Bytes:
The first 'Super Over' had to happen to spice up the tournament - Warne commenting on the 'Super Over'.
We decided not to lose a wicket to Kumble so it was just a question of slamming it at the end - Bopara after winning the man of the match.

Hilarious Interview with Kol-Kanta Kite Riders "Johnnie Pukanon"

2009-04-26T04:28:00.000-07:00

In a world far far away.

Interviewer: Today we have an exclusive. An interview with the universe - famous coach of the Kol-Kanta Kite Riders "Johnnie Pukanon" and the owner of the team known simply as "The Bad Shah". Also sitting nearby is the Kite Rider's associate coach Mr. Pukanon (Junior), the Kite Rider's assistant coach (Mr. Pukanon's friend), the associate assistant coach (Mr. Pukanon's cousin thrice removed ) and mm...this other gentleman here whose name I didn't quite catch.

Mr. Pukanon (coach) [turns towards interviewer]: Frankly, I have no idea as to who that guy is.

The Bad Shah: [Hushed whisper] What do you mean you do not know who that guy is? I have been paying him $500,000 for the last two seasons. I always thought he was someone from your side of the baraat.

Mr. P: [Ignoring the Bad Shah]: Yes

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Match Preview of Bangalore Royal Challenger vs Delhi Daredevils'

2009-04-26T03:19:00.000-07:00

Ryder has surprisingly been left out while Praveen Kumar who had sprained his ankle in the last game also has been dropped.

Bangalore Royal Challengers (Playing XI): Robin Uthappa, Jacques Kallis, Ross Taylor, Kevin Pietersen(c), Virat Kohli, Balachandra Akhil, Mark Boucher(w), Vinay Kumar, Pankaj Singh, KP Appanna, Anil Kumble

Delhi Daredevils (Playing XI): Virender Sehwag(c), Gautam Gambhir, AB de Villiers, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Mithun Manhas, Dinesh Karthik(w), Daniel Vettori, Pradeep Sangwan, Ashish Nehra, Dirk Nannes, Amit Mishra

Rahul Dravid will not be playing today. He has returned home on paternity leave as his wife is expecting their second child. Its unlikely that he should return to the tournament.

Team changes: Bangalore have made three changes. Akhil, Appanna and Mark Boucher come in to the side. While Delhi have left out Tiwary and Salvi, Mithun Manhas and Amit Mishra come in.

Bangalore Royal Challengers have won the toss and decided to bat first
Pitch: Danny Morrison and Kepler Wessels think it is one of the best surfaces in the whole tournament so far. Should be a run feast. So expect loads of entertainment.

The Conditions
Port Elizabeth has hosted only one match so far in the tournament, and that was won comprehensively by Chennai when they thrashed a hapless Bangalore.
The pitch might have some assistance for the bowlers, but only at the start. As the day progresses, expect it to ease out.
The captain who wins the toss would probably look to bat first.

Match Preview of Chennai Superkings & Kolkata Knight Riders

2009-04-25T05:37:00.000-07:00

Preview by Gokul Gopal
After a scintillating double header on Thursday in which Delhi and Rajasthan emerged victorious, the losing sides Chennai and Kolkata would battle it out in a day-nighter at Newlands, Cape Town.
The Newlands pich seemed to have eased out after the intial assistance for the bowlers during the earlier matches. With both the teams packed with powerful batsmen, a run feast may be in store for the day.
Team Updates:
Chennai Superkings: Despite their losses, the Chennai team seem to be in good form. While their batters have been amongst the runs, their bowlers seem to have lost the edge. MS Dhoni would look at the bowlers to hit form and be amongst the wickets. After Flintoff's return home, Chennai team would bank on the bulky Matthew Hayden to fire again with the batting and hope for the Sri Lankan Maestro Muralitharan to unleash his bag of tricks with the ball.
Kolkata Knight Riders: "So close yet so far." After coming very close to a victory, the Kolkata team blew it away, by taking the game to a 'Super Over'. However, they would look to put that aside when they take on Chennai. Throughout the tournament the bowlers and batters of the Kolkata team have been good, but only in patches. With Ganguly coming to the party and Gayle looking in good form, the Kolkata team would hope for both the bowling and their batting to fire in the match against the Superkings.
Contests to watch:
Hayden vs. Ishant: Both have seen and played against each other on numerous occasions. While the fast bowler has broken through the defences of Hayden in the recent past, he also has given away runs to the explosive batsman. An interesting contest is in store when the mighty Hayden faces the tall and furious Ishant Sharma.
Gayle vs. Ntini: While Gayle seems to be in good form, he has his work cut-out when he faces the South African 'Storm' called Makhaya Ntini. Though he has not played a game in this season of IPL, Ntini is expected to feature in the match against Kolkata due to Flintoff's exit. Gayle's lightning blade against Ntini's lethal pace would be a treat for the spectators.
Numbers game:
34 - The number of runs required by Hayden to bring up his 200 in the IPL 2009.
4 - The number of catches taken by Flintoff during the second season of IPL.
9 - The number of sixers hit by Chris Gayle in the IPL 2009.
Trivia:
Suresh Raina holds the record for the most catches in IPL 2008 with 10 catches.
Albie Morkel holds the record for hitting the biggest six in the DLF Indian Premier League - 128 metres.
Laxmi Ratan Shukla was the bowler with the best strike rate in IPL 2008 when he picked 3 wickets off just 5 balls against Delhi.

Super over better than Bowl Out

2009-04-24T05:26:00.000-07:00

To broaden the excitement in t20 cricket, the Super overs rule has been introduced. Though test and ODI match can end up in draw, super over prevents twenty20 matches from ending in draw. It has replaced the bowl out rule in which only the bowler had a part to play.

Rules of super over in 20-20 cricket:
1. Each team decides a bowler to bowl and three batsmen to bad during one over named as the super over. The same ball used in the match will be used in super over.
2. The team batting second in the match will bat first in the super over.
3. Team A will score some runs in the first over and team B needs to chase it successfully to win the match. In case, it is unable to chase, team A wins.
3. In case scores are level, the team hitting maximum sixes in the match will win. If its also same, the teams with maximum fours win the match.

It has been brought to twenty20 cricket from Standford twenty20. The first international twenty20 in which tie was ended with a super over was New Zealand vs West Indies. In IPL match between Rajasthan Royals and Kolkata Knight riders, this rule as implemented after with Rajasthan won Kolkata.

Happy Birthday to Sachin Tendulkar

2009-04-24T05:10:00.001-07:00

Sachin Tendulkar turns 36 today. The master batsman has scaled every summit in the game - except for one. He has not yet been part of a World Cup winning team. But come 2011, the master blaster is all set to change that, when the World Cup is held on the subcontinent.

When asked at a recent function what his dreams were, he laughed off the question saying, "You only dream when you are asleep." But then he added, "I want to win the World Cup for India."

The captain of the Mumbai Indians got a surprise from his team when he found that they had organized a surprise birthday party at the team hotel.

Speaking to reporters, the always humble Sachin said, "It is the good wishes and blessings that count a lot. My family is joining me tomorrow, so am really looking forward to it."

Match Preview : Bangalore Royal Challengers vs Kings XI Punjab

2009-04-24T05:04:00.000-07:00

Preview by Saurabh Somani
Ground Reality and Pitch:
After a gloomy start, Durban has at last seen the rains keep away. With the sun coming out, conditions for batting have improved, although with a night match, bowlers won't be completely out of the equation. The previous matches showed that those who have batting depth and power could post good totals, while those who didn't, struggled.
Team News:
Bangalore Royal Challengers: Their early form seems to have deserted them, with only one thing being constant - Rahul Dravid is rolling back the years, and batting like a dream. Their star signings - Pietersen, Ryder and Taylor - have not done anything of note, and unless they fire, it will be hard for Bangalore to post or chase a decent total. On paper, their bowling attack is a good one, but as Gilchrist showed, reputations on paper count for nothing, once a good batsman gets going.

King's Eleven Punjab: They have looked like the weakest team in the tournament, and with good reason. A depleted bowling attack and a batting lineup that hasn't fired, are the main problems that the Mohali team faces. Yuvraj Singh has not looked the part of a leader, seeming bereft of ideas. Although he has a seriously weakened team, the format of Twenty20 is such that 4-5 good overs can change the game, and the King's Eleven have the players with the ability to do that. Now if only the ability translates into performance!
Players to Watch:
Rahul Dravid - Has been in prime form, since the New Zealand tour. Nobody expected him to be the mainstay of the batting for Bangalore, but that's exactly what he's been. Looks determined to prove his critics wrong, and is doing a darn good job of it.
Yuvraj Singh - Has to realize that looking good while batting is not enough, and translate his form into big runs for his side. With the team in trouble, the leader has to show the way. This is as good a chance as any for Yuvraj to show the world that he has the mental toughness that everyone believes he lacks.
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Yusuf steals the show in the super over

2009-04-24T05:00:00.000-07:00

Unbelievable match. Really astounding. Incredible scenes at the end. Finally the IPL has come alive. Kolkata were well on course when Gayle was firing on all cylinders. Then enter the magician Warne, he nips out Gayle. Ganguly played an amazing innings as he silenced all his critics. Yashpal Singh opened the door for Royals with a poor stroke. Kamran Khan bowled a splendid final over. It was 2 from 2 when Ganguly edged one to the keeper. Ishant strode in and looked to have won it for KKR with a firm drive, enter Warne again with a diving stop. Kamran Khan kept his nerve to relay the ball back to the keeper to run out Ishant.

Fast forward to the super over - Gayle blasted 15 off the super over from Kamran Khan. Then a major blunder by McCullum to give the ball to Mendis when Yusuf was on strike. Yusuf goes on and seals a terrific match with a couple of massive hits. Yusuf was mobbed by his team mates as Shilpa Shetty went wild alongwith her sister.
Yusuf Pathan is the Man of the Match.

Too many Ifs and Buts have already come to the surface. Who's at fault? Was it Yashpal Singh who made him look stupid by doing something out of the box, even when his senior partner in the form of Ganguly warned him umpteen number of times not to do so. Ganguly will take his share of flak too, when you take your side into the final moments of the game, you're the man expected to finish it off. And then why bowl Mendis and not Gayle who is expected to be more efficient and street-smart?

Yusuf: I know it was the most important innings from me and my team. I learnt a lot of things when i got out in the first innings against Mendis. I expected him to bowl in the same areas and I was ready to play my shot.

Warne: The crowd was fantastic. In those situations, both sides would have looked back and said we would've done that. For Yusuf Pathan to just walk out there and club a few sixes like that, well done to him, it was fantastic. (On choosing Kamran Khan for the last over): I thought about Yusuf. Kamran gave 6 runs off that last over, I thought he did it well. If you can bowl such a good last over, you can bowl the super over.

McCullum: Yeah it's pretty disappointing obviously. We thought we were going to get ourselves across the line and even in the Super over we thought we had a reasonable score but the way Yusuf came out and played... He just blew us away. Sourav did incredibly well to get us back into the game. It's incredibly disappointing but we've got a game in two days time so we've got to try and rebound. (For the super over) I think Ishant was an option but in the end Mendis, he's an incredible bowler. Things could have gone differently if we had that catch taken (on the second ball) who knows how it would have unfolded.

Rajasthan Royals Vs Kolkata Knight Rider : Match Preview

2009-04-23T07:12:00.000-07:00

Ground Reality and Pitch:
On a day when rain is foreseen, the 2008 champions Rajasthan Royals battle the Kolkata Knight Riders at Newlands which is also known to be the Lord's of South Africa. This is the home town of the Cape Cobras, who defeated the Rajasthan Royals in the warm-up match.
The pitch, over the past few games, has largely assisted the bowlers. Spinners like Warne, Kumble, Vettori and Ojha have played major roles in leading their teams to victories. Once again, batsmen have to play diligently and cut down the lavish strokes.
Team News:
Rajasthan Royals: After a humiliating defeat in the first match against Bangalore and the second match against Mumbai being rained out, the Royals would look for a turnaround of fortunes. Although they have been good in the bowling department, the batsmen have not come to the party when required. Shane Warne would look at Rajasthan's key batsmen like Smith, Asnodkar and Pathan to fire in the match against Kolkata.
Kolkata: The Knight Riders have been in the news for all sorts of reasons. Starting with John Buchanan's 'Multiple-Captain' theory, their loss against Hyderabad in the first match and the recent blogs by an alleged Knight Riders player, Kolkata never seemed to have things under control. However, the victory against the Punjab team would boost the confidence of the players. Banking on their big players to perform, Kolkata would look to extend their IPL victories.
Due for runs:
Sourav Ganguly: After two batting failures, the former India captain is due to showcase his batting prowess at South Africa. Although he has come good with the ball, Kolkata would expect their 'Prince' to hit form and get to watch the beautiful cover drives flow freely from his bat.
Graeme Smith: The South African captain has not been in his best during the recent times. Being a member of the Cape Cobras in the past, the conditions at Newlands would not be something new to Smith. With a South African crowd to cheer for him, this exciting left-hander would hope to be amongst the runs in the IPL.
Numbers Game:
3:2 - Ratio of IPL 2009 wins at Newlands for the teams batting first over the teams batting second.
16 - The number of wickets taken by spinners in the 5 IPL matches played at Newlands.
Sound Bytes:
Whatever they throw at us, we at Kolkata Knight Riders will be ready for them - Chris Gayle on facing Rajasthan
We were exceptional in our bowling and fielding, but our batsmen could not do well - Warne on the loss to Bangalore
Trivia:
The Kolkata Knight Riders have never won a match against the Rajasthan team.

De Villiers hits first IPL century for Delhi

2009-04-23T06:37:00.000-07:00

A brilliant maiden century in the Indian Premier League from AB De Villiers steered the Delhi Daredevils to 189-5 after an early collapse against the Chennai Super Kings on Thursday.

The 25-year-old South African faced 54 balls in a blistering innings in which he hit five fours and six sixes. He took the attack to the Chennai bowlers, who included Sri Lankan spin ace Muttiah Muralitharan and England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff, easily finding runs through the covers and down field.

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Pre Match Preview - RR vs KKR Newlands, Cape Town

2009-04-23T06:28:00.000-07:00

Rajasthan Royals (RR) is back at Newlands and after a disappointing opening game at the ground RR will be looking to set things straight. Pitted against them is the in-form Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) who won their previous encounter against the Kings XI Punjab by the D/L method. The way the top order smashed the bowling all over the park in Durban should ring warning bells for the RR bowlers who will be prepared for the KKR blitzkrieg under Shane Warne’s able guidance.

Being in Newlands, RR does have an advantage over KKR. For starters, it is the home ground of South African captain, Graeme Smith. If anyone knows Newlands, it is Smith, and his experience at the ground will come in handy for the team. Says Warne “We are very lucky to have Smith by our side. He knows how to handle Newlands pitches better than anyone else and that makes him a crucial part of the team”. Tyron Henderson has a fair bit of experience at the ground as well and his experience will also come in handy for the team.

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Deccan Chargers victory against Royal Challengers

2009-04-23T05:36:00.000-07:00

Deccan Chargers won their second match of the Indian Premier League against Bangalore Royal Challengers by 24 runs at the Newlands stadium in Cape Town on Wednesday, now they are leading the point table!! , also they gets highest total of 184 till now in IPL 2009.

Bangalore Royal Challengers could muster 160/8 in 20 overs as Deccan Chargers won their second tie to lead the points tally. Team Bangalore made a poor start in reply to Deccan Chargers’ 184 as Jesse Ryder was dismissed on the first ball of the innings by Fidel Edwards. Soon, Jacques Kallis was dismissed by RP Singh as he gave an easy catch to Rohit Sharma. At the end of 5 overs, Bangalore Royal Challengers were struggling at 25/2. Robin Uthappa was out after a stunning catch by Ravi Teja who dived to his left to take it. Uthappa made 12 runs. Kevin Pietersen too departed without any spark as he was stumped by Adam Gilchrist on Pragyan Ojha’s delivery. A late charge by Rahul Dravid lifted the Bangalore innings for a while but he too was dismissed when he was playing on 48. Virat Kohli and Praveen Kumar though fought till the end to take the Bangalore Royal Challengers close to a win. While Virat Kohli made 50 runs, Praveen Kumar added 14 runs with the help of 2 sixes.

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Shah Rukh Needs to learn manners

2009-04-22T06:14:00.000-07:00

Here is what SRK told NDTV about Sourav Ganguly :

“I want him to be the Player of the Tournament this year. Whoever feels he is not given importance in the team, let me tell you that for me, he is the greatest Knight Riders player. He and (Chris) Gayle will compete for the ‘Player of the Tournament’ award”

Whatever he meant by that , I am sure that he did not mean it .Shah Rukh is the king of bollywood and and excellent actor. He has a knack for making totally stupid statements and then following them up with insipid actions and making more stupid statements after that . Like saying that Gavaskar should go and buy his own team and eating his own words after that . Like saying that Sourav is the captain of KKR and then knocking him off captaincy and then this statement . What are you doing Shah Rukh ? Are you mad ?

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Match Preview : Deccan Charges vs Bangalore Royal Challengers

2009-04-22T05:50:00.000-07:00

Ground Reality and Pitch:
This will be the fifth match played at Newlands, and the ground remains a delight for players and spectators alike - provided the rains don't come down. The overcast conditions that have prevailed in South Africa have helped bowlers emerge from their role in the previous IPL, which was roughly that of a mechanized bowling machine, and Newlands has been no exception.
The pitch has something in it for the bowlers, but as many batsmen have shown, with the correct application and technique (or with the outrageous skill of a Sehwag or a Gayle), runs can be made.

Team News:
Bangalore Royal Challengers: Two matches, one stunning victory followed by one thumping defeat. The Royal Challengers would be hoping the cycle stays true for the next match at least. The decision to drop Ryder in favour of Taylor in the last match was surprising, given that Ryder is handy with the ball, but he should win back his place in the side now. Bangalore have made a tactically sound decision to make Uthappa keep wickets, as this frees a place in the side. But the most heartening thing for their fans would be the performances of old war horses and hometown heroes Rahul Dravid and Anil Kumble, who have been the best batsman and bowler for their side so far.

Deccan Chargers: After just one match in IPL 2009, the Chargers already look like they would better their sorry performance last year. The best thing they have going for them is that Herschelle Gibbs is in prime form after a lackluster IPL 2008. His electric fielding at point, and his popularity with the South African crowds ensures that there is considerable support for the Chargers. Their bowling options still look thin, although if Fidel Edwards can repeat his performance against Kolkata and Pragyan Ojha continues to impress, they'll have an adequate - if not threatening - attack. However, with at least one quality bowler short, they are looking at 4 potentially expensive overs during some part of their innings.
Players to Watch:
Jesse Ryder: Being dropped for the last match should give him extra determination to do well in this one, if he gets picked as expected. Has shown that he can belt the leather off the ball against the best of bowlers, and he would be looking to cement his reputation here.
Herschelle Gibbs: He will be the man the opposition wants to get out early - even though his opening partner is Gilchrist. Gibbs has looked the more fluent and dangerous of the two.

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CSK look to maintain winning momentum against Daredevils

2009-04-22T05:39:00.000-07:00

Chennai Super Kings had a shaky start when they lost to Mumbai Indians in the IPL opener but Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men bounced back in the next match drubbing the Bangalore Royal Challengers by 92 runs.

With orange rpt orange cap wearer Australian Matthew Hayden in great touch even after his retirement, CSK have no less a batting firepower than the formidable looking batting line-up of the Daredevils and cracker of a match is on the cards tomorrow.

Hayden, the current leading scorer, smashed the second fastest fifty in IPL en route to his 35-ball 65 and in company with Parthiv Patel plundered 106 runs for the opening wicket against Bangalore.

Chennai have some fine all-rounders in England's Andrew Flintoff and South African Albie Morkel and with left-hander Suresh Raina also finding his form with a valuable 28 against Bangalore, there doesn't seem to be any major chink in their batting resources.

The Gayle Force Does It Again

2009-04-22T05:34:00.000-07:00

On yet another overcast day in South Africa, two teams who were being written off after their first matches, squared off against each other with each hoping desperately to avoid defeat. Both teams would have been aware that this was a match they had to win to regain credibility with their supporters.

Brendom McCullum won the toss, and opted to field. For Kolkata, there was still no Mendis in the playing eleven, although they made one change - dropping Agarkar for rookie Yashpal Singh. Punjab retained the same eleven that played against Delhi.

Kolkatta started off well, with Ishant Sharma finding his rhythm and getting Karan Goel caught in the slips by Chris Gayle in his first over. That brought Irfan Pathan to the crease, who was promoted to No.3. Irfan swung his bat lustily and was looking ominous, when Sourav Ganguly turned things around for his team with a superb first over that saw him pick up two wickets and beat Yuvraj's bat a couple of times.

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All About Latest Sports Action: Spinners make their mark in IPL 2

2009-04-22T04:00:00.000-07:00

There was a time when the spinners were considered a luxury for the limited-overs games and the sides usually packed themselves with fast bowlers and medium-pacers as the emphasis was on containment.

It was the mindset of the 1960s and 1970s when the one-day matches were mostly held in England where the overcast conditions helped the seam bowlers considerably. Even the famous quartet of Indian spinners having engineered quite a few historic conquests in Test cricket were not rated highly for the one-dayers.

There was hardly a change of heart among the captains even when the version of the game was spread to other countries. They were unwilling to take the risk of tossing the ball to the slow bowlers, relying on the medium-pacers even when the surfaces they were playing on were dry and offered some purchase to the spinners.
All About Latest Sports Action: Spinners make their mark in IPL 2

Shilpa and Preity fight it out

2009-04-21T05:13:00.000-07:00

Preity Zinta loves her team and what she can do, no one else can! Well, we are not saying this. The one-liner comes from Preity Zinta.

But what made the peppy girl and co-owner of Kings XI say this? That's because Shilpa Shetty reportedly took a dig at Preity by saying she will never run to the ground and hug her team.

Well, Shilpa we say, right now you should worry more about the team's mood than your own mood. Encourage them and give them a jaadu ki jhappi. After all that is what Preity has done in the past! She has made sure her team is in a pepped-up mood before every match. But then you don't agree with Preity at all, isn't it?

This is what Preity told a leading film magazine, "What I can do, no one else can. The way I do things is different and have always been different from everybody else. My team is like my family."

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Innovative value creation - lessons from the IPL

2009-04-20T05:50:00.003-07:00

Sitting here watching the opening Indian Premier League [IPL] games this weekend made me realise how smart those guys and girls [that developed it] actually are. They have innovated to create something that is unleashing immense value.

iplWhat have they done? Think about it for a minute - there are some excellent lessons about value here for us. Here’s what stands out to me:

Blending a mixture of old and new to innovate

The Age-old game of cricket [about 400 years old]

+ professional sports marketing [fairly established]

+ a new exciting format [20/20 games - only a few years old]

= a brand new product

Very simple in theory, but it hadn’t been done before like this. They weren’t afraid to try it.

Sharing what they’ve created

Political instability in India meant that the IPL could not be held in India this year. So what did they do - simply move it to South Africa. They were not afraid to share the benefits of what they’ve created with another country - smartly realising that they would gain more by letting go than by cancelling the IPL season because they refuse to share the financial benefits.

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IPL-2 on the verge of a bubble burst (www.merinews.com)

2009-04-20T05:38:00.000-07:00

Peripheral entertainment at core and destroying the basic fabric of the game seems to be the short-sightedness of IPL-2 commissioner Lalit Modi. If things go like this then dooms day is not far for the overvalued IPL bubble to burst..

THE SELF proclaimed messiah of world cricket, Lalit Modi, seems to have taken too many liberties with the brand ‘cricket India’; resulting in heartache for IPL broadcaster-Sony, IPL sponsors and advertisers; not to forget the most important constituent - the cricket fans of the country. This time round Modi and his coterie of franchisees felt that moneybags gave them the final say in terms of what was best for the game ridiculing cricketers, legends and the basic ethos of cricket.

The first problem arose when an arrogant Modi called his product recession proof and bullied his broadcaster to cough out an extra Rs 400 Crores, completely ignoring the market conditions. Sony took the bait of Modi’s proposed product modifications (forced mid innings break); ignoring consumer requirements as well as player considerations.

Fans, experts and cricketers (none less than Shane Warne, Sachin Tendulkar and Harbhajan Singh) have been unanimous in their protest against the marketing gimmick that has affected the sport product adversely. The coaches have no say in the timing of the break that makes it a poor cousin of the original time-out concept adopted by sporting disciplines such as basketball and volley-ball.

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Tendulkar, Dravid set tone in IPL 2

2009-04-20T05:21:00.000-07:00

As they say form is temporary and class is permanent. Not surprisingly the limelight on the opening day of the second edition of the high-profile Indian Premier League (IPL) was stolen by two of the greatest batsmen the world of cricket ever has seen.

Yes it were Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid who engineered the triumphs for their respective sides. It was Twenty20 cricket but it went down to the skills and technique in conditions not ideal for batting.

Tendulkar and Dravid don’t feature in the scheme of things for India in Twenty20 Internationals, having given way to the young master blasters, but their knocks for Mumbai Indians and Bangalore Royal Challengers respectively could bring them back in contention.All About Latest Sports Action: Tendulkar, Dravid set tone in IPL 2

Royal Challengers take on Chennai Super Kings

2009-04-20T04:06:00.000-07:00

Rampaging Bangalore Royal Challengers will look to continue their winning momentum while Chennai Super Kings, having lost the opening match, will be hoping to register their maiden points on the table when both take on each other in the fifth match of the Indian Premier League season 2 at Port Elizabeth.

With the inaugural IPL proving to be a hard nut to crack, Challengers look confident with their approach in this season after a thumping 75-run victory against the defending champions Rajasthan Royals. While, Chennai's defeat in their first match against Mumbai Indians would only pump their spirits up to come back hard at the Pietersen's gang.

With likes of Dravid, Kumble and Jesse Ryder in form, Challengers surely have a solid line-up to fire against the opposition. On the other hand, Muttiah Muralitharan and Albie Morkel's inclusion might make a difference to Kings.