Monday, May 26, 2008

Knight Riders snatch three-wicket win

KOLKATA, May 25: Skipper Sourav Ganguly led from the front with an unbeaten knock of 86 as the Kolkata Knight Riders snatched an unbelievable three-wicket win with two balls to spare against the formidable Kings XI Punjab to finish their below-par campaign in the Indian Premier League on a high here today.

Replying to the Kings XI's competitive score of 174 for 6, the Knight Riders reached their winning target of 175 losing seven wickets in 19.4 overs in a nail-biting finish before a crowd of 30,000 at the Eden Gardens.

Man of the match Umar Gul (24; 11 balls, 1x4, 3x6), who also shone with the ball with figures of 4/23, turned the game upside down during a hurricane 49-run seventh wicket stand with Ganguly after the Knight Riders seemed headed towards yet another defeat at 106 for 6.

As Irfan Pathan set out to bowl the last over, the hosts needed 15 runs, but Ganguly finished off the proceedings in a destructive manner, with a six, two, six and one to hand out the Kings XI their fourth defeat.

The Punjab side, already in the semi-finals, remained on 18 points after 13 games.
Brief scores: Kings XI Punjab 174/6 (Sangakkara 64, Marsh 40, Gul 23-4)
Kolkata Knight Riders 175/7 (Ganguly 86*, Gul 24)

Source: http://www.thestatesman.net
Posted by Jimmy at 12:13:22 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |

Royal Challengers beat Deccan Chargers by 5 wickets

Hyderabad (PTI): The top order of the Bangalore Royal Challengers clicked in unison as Rahul Dravid's men chalked out a five-wicket win with one over to spare against lowly Deccan Chargers in the Indian Premier League battle between the laggards here on Sunday.

With this win, the Bangalore side avoided the ignominy of finishing last in the IPL, while the Deccan Chargers could not avoid the wooden spoon.

Chasing 166 to win, Jacques Kallis (31), Misbah-ul-Haq (34), Dravid (31), Cameron White (31 not out) and B Akhil (27 not out) came up with timely cameos as the side reached 171 for five in 19 overs.

Akhil smashed three sixes in the 19th over, bowled by Chamara Silva, en route to his unbeaten 27 off just seven balls to seal the issue.

Earlier, Herschelle Gibbs (47) and Adam Gilchrist (47) gave a rollicking start but Deccan Chargers lost the plot towards the end and folded for 165 in exactly 20 overs.

Bangalore's reply got off to a poor start as Wasim Jaffer (5) fell early but Kallis and Misbah stemmed the rot, scoring at a lively rate. Misbah was more impressive of the two but like Kallis, who was run out, the Pakistani too could not convert the start and fell to Ravi Teja after a 28-ball 34 that included four boundaries and a six.

Next man in Dravid too looked in good nick as he went after the hosts bowlers and by the time he fell to Sanjay Bangar, the Bangalore captain had contributed 31 off 21 balls that kept the side right on course.

Down the order, White and Akhil completed the formality without much ado to carve out a win with one over to go.

Source: http://www.hindu.com
Posted by Jimmy at 12:05:53 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |

Friday, May 23, 2008

Cheergirls cry racial abuse, BCCI ready to probe

THE NEWS that two London-based cheergirls were subjected to racial abuse in one of the Indian Premier League (IPL) matches has come as a shock to both the league and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Two London-based cheerleaders have alleged on May 22 that they were racially abused a month ago.

A BCCI official said that the board would investigate into the matter only if a formal complaint was registered by them with the IPL.

BCCI joint secretary and IPL committee member, MP Pandove, said, “I am surprised why these cheergirls have taken over a month to speak out and that too in the media. As far as I know, no complaint has been lodged by them with the IPL.” He added that the IPL would probe the accusation if it was formally complained to the IPL commissioner by the alleged victims.

Actually, two London-based, dark-skinned cheerleaders were hired by the Kings XI Punjab team through Wizcraft International Entertainment (event management company). This week, the duo alleged that they were asked to stay back from performing before an IPL match, played on April 19 in Mohali, just because they were not white. This breaking news has created much flutter among cricket officials, fans as well as human rights activists.

Neil Maxwell, chief executive officer of Kings XI Punjab, has however, refused any such allegations that they were barred from entering into the public arena on the basis of their colour and called the allegations as fabricated.

Source: http://www.merinews.com
Posted by Jimmy at 13:18:01 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Daredevils keep IPL semi-final hopes alive

Bangalore, May 20 (IANS) Delhi Daredevils improved their chances of making it to the semi-finals of the Indian Premier League (IPL) by beating Bangalore Royals Challengers by five wickets at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium here Monday. Skipper Virender Sehwag scored a fiery 47 off just 19 deliveries and Gautam Gambhir made 39 as Daredevils easily achieved the target of 155 with 10 balls to spare.

Put to bat, Bangalore Royal Challengers posted a competitive total of 154 for seven in 20 overs, thanks mainly to 19-year-old debutant Sreevats Goswami’s flamboyant 52.It was also made possible by some big hits from Misbah-ul-Haq (47) in the last few overs. Goswami, the youngest player to get a half-century in the IPL, was adjudged Man of the Match despite being on the losing side.

With the win, Delhi Daredevils are still in the fifth place with six wins from 12 matches and will have to face a tough fight from fourth-placed Mumbai Indians for a place among the last four. Daredevils will now have to win both of their last two matches against Kolkata Knight Riders and Mumbai Indians.

Sehwag’s decision to bowl first after a drizzle before the start of the match paid off with his bowlers exploiting the moist conditions.Glenn McGrath and Farveez Maharoof were the only bowlers who survived Goswami’s onslaught as they didn’t give the batsmen any room and picked up two wickets each. McGrath conceded just 15 runs while Maharoof gave 13 from their four over spell.

But the duo didn’t get much support from fellow bowlers, especially Rajat Bhatia and Pradeep Sangwan, who were at the receiving end.Goswami hammered Sangwan for 20 runs in an over by hitting three boundaries and a huge six in five deliveries to lift the Royal Challengers spirit to salvage some pride. The debutant’s innings lasted 42 balls and he hit seven boundaries and a six.

Rajat Bhatia was also taken to task in the last over as Misbah hit him for 24 runs that included three sixes and a four.At a glance 155 looked like a target that could have put the Delhi team in a spot of bother. But Sehwag with his carefree batting style made things simple. He took time to free his hands, letting Gambhir start the run flow.

But after Sehwag took over, the Royal Challengers captain Rahul Dravid found it difficult to set a field for the Daredevils captain. The 90-run opening stand between Sehwag and Gambhir swung the balance in Daredevils’ favour.Sehwag departed in a flashy style in the seventh over after a brilliant diving catch by Bharat Chipli in the point, but not before hitting Parveen Kumar for three fours and a six in that over.

Gambhir fell in the ninth over but by then 100 runs were already on board. Tillakaratne Dilshan (4), Abraham De Villiers (21) and Dinesh Karthik (6) departed in quick succession to give a glimmer of hope to the Bangalore team.It was veteran Anil Kumble who brought back the hosts for a while when he picked up Dilshan and Karthik and gave away just 18 runs from his four overs.

But Shikhar Dhawan and Farveez Maharoof batted aggresively to see Daredevils romp home.

Source: http://www.thaindian.com
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Monday, May 19, 2008

IPL Cricket: Chennai Super Kings take home the victory, courtsey rain

Kolkata: Chennai Super Kings didn'''t have a very grand total to chase in the form of 150 runs, but they didn't even have to struggle to score that much, courtsey the rain showers. The match was declared through the Duckworth-Lewis method and Chennai was declared as the winner by 3 runs.


Not a big total to chase, the opening pair of Chennai Super Kings showed maturity and consistency in their inning. Of the two Fleming was more aggressive and Parthiv quiet subdued. They were scoring runs and hitting boundaries whenever they got the opportunity. They competed the partnership of 50 runs in the eighth over.Opening pair of Parthiv Patel and Stephen Fleming were on their hitting spree while getting on with thier run-chase of 150 runs against Kolkata till rain disrupted the match at the Eden Gardens. By this time Chennai were at a score of 55 runs at loss of none in eight overs.

Earlier, the Kolkata team till the 10th over failed to turn the advantage of winning the toss into their favor. They lost their opener Mohammad Hafeez (6) to Ntini in the third over, Gony took an easy catch on fine leg off.  The pacer came back in the fifth over to clean bowl skipper Sourav Ganguly (2).  After 10 overs the score was 61/2.

 

It was opener Salman Butt who stood firm on one end despite the regular fall of wickets. Posting his best score in T20 so far, he hit 10 fours and one six in his superb 73. He was dropped on 57 by Vidyut in the 15th over. Together with DB Das he added 86 runs to the third wicket.

 

The dangerous partnership between Das and Butt was broken by Ntini again as he double struck for Chennai. The first and second ball of Ntini’s fourth over, and innings 17th, took the leg and off stumps of DB Das (27) and David Hussey (0) respectively. It was the third hat-trick of the tournament. Ntini had scored it against Kolkata Knight Riders for his Chennai team.This was the turning point of the match as it stopped the momentum for Kolkata. Butt was next to go in the 18th over. Balaji caught him leg before. Three quick wickets were enough to put a full stop to the rising run rate. Shukla (13) and Saha (13) remained unbeaten. 

 

For Chennai Ntini and Gony made an impression taking 4 wickets for 21 runs and giving only 17 runs in 4 overs respectively. Muralitharan proved the costliest; in his 4 overs he gave away 41 runs without taking a wicket. Butt hit him for three consecutive fours in the 16th over. They gave away 13 in extras.

Source: http://www.mynews.in
Posted by Jimmy at 12:39:16 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |

Saturday, May 03, 2008

Daredevils beat Super Kings by 8 wickets

Delhi Daredevils put an end to the Chennai Super Kings victory wagon as they beat them by eight wickets in their IPL match at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.

Chennai Super Kings, who had a hundred per cent winning record in the tournament, were outdone by the Daredevils in all departments. However, they did not gift away the win and took the game till the end.

Delhi Daredevils openers Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir slammed half-centuries and gave a blazing start to their side.

The in-form Sehwag's romance with the MAC Stadium continued, as this is where he hit his second triple hundred against South Africa. He completed his fifty in no time and put Chennai under tremendous pressure and the bowlers felt the heat of his bat. He was unanimously adjudged as Man of the Match. Joginder Sharma finally struck and sent the dangerman back in the hut for 71 runs. But till then he had done his job to perfection.

His opening partner Gautam Gambhir continued with his form and hit a 37-ball fifty. He has now become the top scorer of the DLF Indian Premier League. Manpreet Gony, the highest wicket taker of the tournament, clean bowled the exhausted Gambhir.

AB de Villiers (26) and Shikhar Dhawan (19), at the end, happily took their side home.

Earlier, Chennai started off well after winning the toss but loss of S Viduyt and MS Dhoni shifted the fulcrum and brought Delhi back in the game. Delhi bowlers came back hard and restricted Super Kings for an attainable total of 169 runs in 20 overs.

Chennai Super Kings could not capitalize on the start given by the openers Stephen Fleming and Parthiv Patel. Sivaramakrishnan Viduyt (54) was a revelation as he hit an electrifying half-century before McGrath claimed his wicket. Mohd Asif got rid of Chennai skipper MS Dhoni, who went after scoring 32 runs.

While V Yo Mahesh bowled Fleming (13) out, Parthiv Patel (21) was deceived by Delhi captain Virender Sehwag and was caught by Mahesh at short third man region. Albie Morkel (28) and S Badrinath chipped some crucial runs towards the end of their innings.

Source:http://www.ndtv.com
Posted by Jimmy at 12:43:23 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |

Thursday, April 24, 2008

Scoreboard of Super Kings' innings against Mumbai Indians

Chennai, April 23 (IANS) The following is the scoreboard of Chennai Super Kings' innings against Mumbai Indians in the eighth match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) Twenty20 cricket tournament here Wednesday.

SCOREBOARD

Match No.8, Twenty20, Indian Premier League, Chennai Super Kings vs. Mumbai Indians, M.A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk, Chennai, April 23

Chennai Super Kings innings:

Parthiv Patel c Ronchi b Nehra 14

Matthew Hayden run out (Harbhajan Singh) 81

Mike Hussey b Kulkarni 5

Suresh Raina c Bravo b Khote 53

Mahendra Singh Dhoni c Bravo b Khote 30

Jacob Oram not out 5

Subraniam Badrinath not out 2

Extras (b 4, lb 3, w 9, nb 2) 18

Total (for five wickets in 20 overs) 208

Fall of wickets: 1-34 (Patel, 3.1 overs), 2-39 (Hussey, 4.4), 3-143 (Raina, 14.6), 4-194 (Hayden, 18.6), 5-206 (Dhoni, 19.5)

Bowling:

Shaun Pollock 3 0 32 0

Ashish Nehra 4 0 35 1

Dhawal Kulkarni 3 0 25 1

Harbhajan Singh 2 0 14

Dwayne Bravo 3 0 36 0

Vikrant Yeligati 1 0 16 0

Abhishek Nayar 1 0 14 0

Musavir Khote 3 0 29 2

Toss: Mumbai Indians, who chose to field first

Umpires: Daryl Harper (Australia) and G.A. Pratapkumar (India)

TV umpire: Billy Bowden (New Zealand)

Match referee: Farokh Engineer (India)

Source:http://in.news.yahoo.com

Posted by Jimmy at 12:16:36 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |