'Sehwag's absence a big loss'

Admitting that losing captain Virender Sehwag is a big blow for the struggling Delhi Daredevils, coach Greg Shipperd said they face an uphill task as they take on a formidable Chennai Super Kings in an Indian Premier League match on Thursday.

While Delhi struggled for a major part of the tournament, whatever little they achieved was due to Sehwag's brilliance, and the big-hitting opener's absence would surely be felt.

"Viru's absence will be a huge loss for us as he is the holder of Orange cap. He fired in each of the matches that we won. He would be missed both as a captain and a key player," said Shipperd in a pre-match media conference on Wednesday.

"It is going to be a very tough assignment for us to beat the Super Kings in their home ground. We know that they have got special skills in all three departments of the game. It would be tough for us to raise our game and play best cricket against a side, which is in great form at the moment. They will surely pose a big threat to us," he added.

The former Aussie player, however, said that James Hopes, who has been appointed captain after Sehwag suffered a shoulder injury for which he is set to undergo surgery in London, was an experienced campaigner.

"James Hopes is the new captain and he is an experienced campaigner. Behind the scenes we do not have a captain but we have a range of people who have been given leadership opportunities in making sure that we move as a squad. Hopes has got lot of experience. His determination and abilities could help us finish the tournament as well as we can."

He also said that the team still have plenty of options to choose from. "We have plenty of options. Next three games are very important for us. And we will have to figure out which players can handle the pressure well and accordingly be included in the side," said Shipperd.

Insisting that first six overs in a match would be crucial, irrespective of whether the Daredevils bat or bowl, Shipperd said it was important to lay a strong foundation.

"We must be able to lay a strong foundation whether it be with the bat or ball in the first six overs. This is an area where we have been lagging, particularly with the bat. We had difficulties with the bat against Mumbai Indians the other day but the team could still manage to register nearly 150 runs. "We have been a quite reactive team but we need to be proactive in the next three games," he said.

© PTI

Shahrukh bowls googly in cola deal

MUMBAI: After making Shahrukh Khan croon "Yehi hai right choice baby" for the last ten years, Pepsi decided to let go of the Bollywood superstar recently.

However, while doing so, they did announce that the company would like to be associated with Khan's IPL team Kolkata Knight Riders.

The actor, however, seems to have other plans. KKR has now gone ahead and tied up with Coca Cola - brand Sprite to be specific - for the coming two years.

TOI has reliably learnt that Sprite will now be one of the team sponsors, which seems to be a clear case of Pepsi's loss being Coke's gain. The Coke spokesperson was unavailable for comment.

The deal is expected to involve sponsorship of merchandise, aligning with the team as a beverage partner and serving beverages in home stadiums.

In fact, Coke has also signed up with the Delhi Daredevils and leading India cricketer Gautam Gambhir.

However, the association between Coke, the team and the player isn't brand-specific as yet.

Reacting to Pepsi's disassociation after almost a decade, Khan told TOI that he is "now perhaps too old for Pepsi."

Recently, Mumbai-based market research firm AC Neilsen had revealed that Sprite has gone past Pepsi as the number two soft drink in India behind market leader Thums Up.

"They have thrown me out and I'm jobless," Khan had said after Pepsi dropped him as the brand ambassador when the contract ended in 2008. The actor did admit that he was looking forward to a renewed deal. He underwent a surgery at a Mumbai hospital on Monday and was unavailable for further comment.

Recently, Pepsi had also dropped Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly as brand ambassadors. Ganguly, incidentally, is also the captain of the team owned by Khan.

Sources suggest that these men do not fit Pepsi's bill as the company is now targeting the younger generation.

http://ipl.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/4146425.cms

A high-octane contest between two well-balanced teams is on the cards when table toppers Rajasthan Royals take on a confident Delhi Daredevils in the first semi-final of the Indian Premier League in Mumbai on Friday.

The teams, which finished first and fourth in the preliminary 56-game phase of the Twenty20 tournament, appear evenly matched ahead of what promises top-drawer stuff in front of a capacity crowd at the Wankhede stadium.

The team that holds its nerve better and grabs the chances that come its way will go through to the summit clash against the winners of the second semi-final, on May 31, between Punjab Kings Eleven and Chennai Super Kings.

The second semi-final will also be held at the Wankhede, while the final, on June 1, will be played at the D Y Patil stadium, which has a bigger crowd capacity.

The Shane Warne-led Rajasthan Royals, impregnable at home in Jaipur, had only three losses in their 14 preliminary phase outings and have a 1-1 head-to-head record against the Virender Sehwag-led Daredevils, who got into the last four after seven wins and 15 points to their credit.
Both lost their matches when Mumbai Indians hosted them at the D Y Patil, and must be hoping that a change in venue for the knock-out round will bring happy tidings.

While both teams depended on their top-orders to fire and pile big totals, their middle orders looked a bit under-prepared when the chips were down.

Tracks at the Wankhede for the IPL have helped the seam bowlers, providing lateral movement and extra bounce, and bowlers of the calibre of Delhi Daredevils' Glenn McGrath should relish rolling his arm over.

The battle between McGrath, with support from Sri Lankan Farveez Maharoof and V Yo Mahesh, and Rajasthan's successful innings launchers, Graeme (416 runs) and Swapnil Asnodkar, could be crucial to the game's outcome.

The same applies to the Sohail Tanvir-Shane Watson-Munaf Patel combine, which will be up against the marauding Delhi opening pair of Gautam Gambhir (523) and Sehwag (403), as well as another in-form batsman at number three, Shikhar Dhawan.

Tanvir, with his extra quick bowling arm action, similar to that of his Pakistani countryman Wasim Akram, is the revelation in the IPL. He was hardly collared by any batting line-up, as indicated by his superb haul of 21 wickets at just 10 runs per victim.

The left armer was outstanding, both in the beginning and at the death, and is a major threat that needs to be negotiated well by the Delhi batsmen, who did not play him in the previous two clashes.

Rajasthan possess a better spin attack in the great Warne and his understudies, Yousuf Pathan and Dinesh Salunkhe, while Delhi depend on Amit Mishra for the most part, with Sehwag chipping in with his off breaks. But seam bowlers are expected to play a bigger role at the Wankhede.

Delhi had a sizeable break of five days going into the semi-final while Rajasthan, without a few key players, including Warne, were outclassed by Punjab King's XI on Wednesday.

Winning the toss and fielding first has become the order of the day for matches that commence at 2000 IST and the trend is likely to continue on Friday.

Barring light drizzles, Mumbai has been largely rain-free and the IPL authorities must be hoping that the weather remains clear over the next few days. The high prevailing humidity though is an indicator that rain is around the corner.

Teams (from):

Delhi Daredevils: Virender (c), Gautam Gambhir, Shikhar Dhawan, Rajat Bhatia, A b de Villiers, Tillakratne Dilshan, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Brett Geeves, Glenn McGrath, Farveez Maharoof, V Yo Mahesh, Mithun Manhas, Amit Mishra, Pradeep Sangwan, Mayank Tehlan, Manoj Tiwary.

Rajasthan Royals: Shane Warne (c), Graeme Smith, Swapnil Asnodkar, Kamran Akmal, Yousuf Pathan, Mohd. Kaif, Shane Watson, Ravindra Jadeja, Niraj Patel, Sohail Tanvir, Siddharth Trivedi, Pankaj Singh, Munaf Patel, Mahesh Rawat, Dinesh Salunkhe, Morne Morkel, Taruwar Kohli.

Umpires: Rudi Koerzen and Billy Bowden

Third umpire: Billy Doctrove

Match referee: J Srinath.


Source: http://www.rediff.com/cricket/2008/may/29semis.htm

Wet blanket on key IPL match

IANS Thursday, May 22, 2008 2:03:03 PM
The unseasonal rain continued Thursday, putting a big question mark on the Delhi Daredevils versus Kolkata Knight Riders IPL match scheduled in the capital Thursday evening. The match is crucial to both teams who are fighting for the last spot in the semi-finals.

A senior official of the Delhi Daredevils team said Thursday morning the match was unlikely unless the rain stopped and the sun came out 'at least for a few hours' as the outfield was wet.The teams will get a point apiece if the match is washed out, which will do neither any good. Delhi Daredevils are in the fifth spot on the eight-team league table, while Kolkata Knight Riders are sixth. Mumbai Indians, in fourth place now, will be the beneficiary of a washout.Though water logging led to the usual traffic jams in the capital, flights were on time, said an airports official.On Thursday morning, meteorologists held out little hope for a break in the weather. Their forecast warned of thunder squalls and hail storms all over north India for the rest of the week, thanks to a mini-cyclone that was sitting over the India-Pakistan border.

To add to that, 'a fresh western disturbance is likely to affect western Himalayan region and adjoining plains of northwest India from Friday', said a met official.Thunder squalls and hail storms have also been forecast over the east and northeast of the country.

Meteorologists expect a low pressure area to form over southeast Arabian Sea around Friday. They have forecast rain or thundershowers at a few places over Kerala, Lakshadweep and south coastal Karnataka.

Source: http://in.sports.yahoo.com/cricket/ipl/news/news_20080522_454.html

It's 'do or die' situation for Knight Riders and Daredevils

IANS Thursday, May 22, 2008 2:23:57 PM

Delhi Daredevils have their nose ahead of Kolkata Knight Riders in the race for a berth in the Indian Premier League (IPL) semi-finals.The two play their penultimate matches in the league phase here Thursday. However, both teams will be looking over their shoulders how the Mumbai Indians are faring in their remaining matches as they look good to join Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab in the semi-finals with Chennai Kings almost getting there. Punjab are as good as through after their exciting one-run victory against Mumbai Indians Wednesday.

Chennai Kings are better placed to make it, leaving Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata to battle it out for the fourth spot in the semis.Knight Riders, after their loss to Rajasthan Royals Tuesday night, now need a miracle to help them qualify for the semi-finals as they not only have to win their last two games by big margins, but also hope the lowly-placed and the top two teams produce unexpected results.Both Knight Riders and Daredevils have played 12 matches each. Knight Riders have won five while the Daredevils six. Daredevils have an edge over the Knight Riders after their comfortable five-wicket win over Bangalore Royal Challengers Monday.

The Knight Riders are in troubled water as they have lost three-consecutive matches and the rumours of a rift between team owner Shah Rukh Khan and captain Sourav Ganguly have not done any good to their morale before a crucial away game.In the first meeting between the two sides in Kolkata, the Knight Riders' Pakistani speedster Shoaib Akhtar laid the Daredevils low, rattling their top-order batting. The Pakistani missed Tuesday's match as he was not match-fit, but onThursday Sourav will be pinning his hopes on Shoaib to recreate the Eden Gardens magic and keep the side in the hunt.

The Daredevils, too, will be charged up to get full points from this match, and they are depending on captain Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir to continue their splendid batting upfront.Daredevils' bowling also fared better than the Knight Riders', with Australian Glenn McGrath spearheading the attack. The legendry fast bowler has also shepherded the bunch of young fast bowlers to get the best out of them.

Teams: Kolkata Knight Riders: Sourav Ganguly (captain), Aakash Chopra, Ajit Agarkar, Ashok Dinda, Brad Hodge, David Hussey, Debabrata Das, Iqbal Abdulla, Ishant Sharma, Laxmi Shukla, Mohammad Hafeez, Murali Kartik, Salman Butt, Siddarth Kaul, Shoaib Akhtar, Tatenda Taibu, Umar Gul, Wriddhiman Prasanta Saha (wicket-keeper).

Delhi Daredevils: Virender Sehwag (captain), Rajat Bhatia, AB de Villiers, Shikhar Dhawan, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Pradeep Sangwan, Daniel Vettori, Gautam Gambhir, Brett Geeves, Dinesh Karthik, Glenn McGrath, Farveez Maharoof, Shoaib Malik, Tejashwi Yadav, Yo Mahesh, Mithun Manhas, Amit Mishra, Mohammad Asif, Yogesh Nagar, Manoj Tiwary, Mayank Tehlan

Source: http://in.sports.yahoo.com/cricket/ipl/news/news_20080522_458.html

Teams have to think on their feet

Kris Srikkanth Saturday, May 10, 2008

Teams have to think on their feetThe IPL schedule leaves no time for thought. Teams have to rework strategies quickly as otherwise their approach will become so well known that opponents will be better prepared with counter-strategies. Chennai Super Kings were forced to rethink their tactics after three successive losses and they came up with a winning formula in New Delhi in a thriller. It is pretty obvious that a flying start is a necessity in the format. But teams hitting from both ends have found themselves in a hole because they have lost too many wickets in too short a space. S. Vidyut, who has shaped a fantastic limited-overs career for himself, was the fire starter while Fleming played the foil superbly against the Daredevils. Vidyut gave Chennai the confidence that the chase was on after Gautam Gambhir had given the Daredevils a better than average total. Full credit to Dhoni for taking some hard decisions in what was a crunch match for Chennai by winning which they have returned to the top of the table. The skipper was not afraid to put people on the bench. The tactic of chasing also worked because you can expect a Kotla pitch to play the same way in the entire duration of a match. Two or three hitters in the top five or six are sufficient. If they are kept apart in the order, they seem to exert more pressure as Albie Morkel took over Vidyut's role when Dhoni himself was struggling to get the ball away. One great over of Morkel's hitting was enough to close the gap after which Dhoni played smart cricket by ensuring his side would have batsmen left to fight to the end. Morkel's assault put so much pressure on Sehwag that he seemed to stop thinking and so messed up his end overs strategy. He had to virtually toss a coin to decide whether he would bowl the last over or ask Shoaib Malik to handle it. Actually, neither of them should have been bowling that over which should have gone to a seamer. Saturday's clash between the Chennai Super Kings and Punjab Kings XI becomes crucial for both teams. The winners can expect to get away from the bunch towards a semi-final slot. The key to Chennai's strategy would be to take on Sreesanth and Irfan Pathan without losing too many wickets in looking for a flying start. Not to charge at both bowlers would be the best way to go about it. The key to Chennai staying at the top is the team does not push the panic button. This confidence seems to flow from the skipper who is never hassled. With the race for the semi-finals hotting up now after the halfway mark, the table leaders will know that their being at the top will put pressure on the others. Chennai Super Kings, Rajasthan Royals and Punjab Kings XI have the early mover advantage.

Source: http://in.sports.yahoo.com/cricket/ipl/columns/columns_20080510_2.html

Delhi thrash Bangalore

May 19, 2008 23:17 ISTLast Updated: May 20, 2008 00:46 IST
Delhi Daredevils beat Bangalore Royal Challengers by five wickets in their Indian Premier League match at the Chinnaswamy Stadium on Monday.

It was Delhi's sixth win in 12 matches and kept alive their chances of reaching the last four. For Bangalore, who are already out of the race, it was their ninth defeat in 11 matches.
Chasing a target of 155, Delhi began aggressively with captain Virender Sehwag (47) and Gautam Gambhir (39) putting on 90 runs for the opening wicket in just seven overs.
Sehwag was in a belligerent mood as he smashed nine boundaries and a six in his 19-ball knock. He was particularly severe on Praveen Kumar.

The latter had the final word though, taking the prized scalp, thanks to a splendid catch by Bharat Chipli.
Two overs later and after the addition of 10 more runs, Gambhir, who had earlier become the first batsman in the tournament to surpass 500 runs, was run out by Cameron White.
And then there was a wobble.

Tillekeratne Dilshan (4), AB de Villiers (21) and Dinesh Karthik (6) were dismissed in a space of 11 runs (rather, 11 balls) as Anil Kumble (two for 18) and Dale Steyn (one for 26) did most of the damage.

However, the total was never going to be enough and Shikar Dhawan (unbeaten 16) and Ferveez Maharoof (13 not out) ensured Delhi reached their target without further damage and with 10 balls left.

Earlier, Shreevats Goswami's debut half century (52) and Misbah-ul-Haq's (47) late charge resurrected Bangalore Royal Challengers from a wobbly start to carry their team to a modest 154 for 7.
After Sehwag won the toss and asked the opposition to bat in their crucial match at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, Delhi Daredevils kept the home team under a tight lease.

Except for Goswami taking the visiting bowlers head on and Misbah scoring a 25-ball 47 (2X4; 4X6) towards the close to take the score past 150, Rahul Dravid-led side were never dominating with Glenn McGrath (2/25 from 4 overs) and Farveez Maharoof (2/13 from 4) bowling with immaculate line and length, and wickets falling at regular intervals.
Goswami, who was part of India's recent U-19 World Cup triumph, top-scored with 52 from 42 balls which he made with the help of seven fours and a huge six.

He hit a six and three fours off Pradeep Sangwan in the eighth over to collect 18 runs from that over to stand tall among ruins. He was out in the 16th over off Maharoof while trying to accelerate the innings only to hole out at point to Tillekaratne Dilshan.

McGrath began with his miserly self giving away just one run in the opening over and claiming the wicket of Bharat Chipli for two, caught by Rajat Bhatia in the fifth over.
The retired Australian gave away just three and five overs in his next two overs to tie down Bangalore Royal Challengers to 35 for one in the first five overs.

Sehwag, who got the flak for some of his questionable decisions in earlier matches, made some intelligent shuffling of his bowlers who got immediate success each time.

For the home team, it was the familiar top order wobble with struggling Jacques Kallis (25) edging a consistent Sri Lankan Maharoof delivery for wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik to make a brilliant catch diving to his right in the seventh over.
Kallis, promoted to open the innings, made his 25 from 21 balls with the help of three fours and a huge six off Sangwan in the second over.

Dravid himself could not carry forward his fine form of the last match and lost his timbers to Dilshan in the 11th over for nine while trying to accelerate the dipping run rate after his side could just gather 70 runs from 10 overs and 102 for after the end of 15th.
It was left to debutant Goswami who came one down to make a match out of it and the young wicketkeeper did a brilliant job before Misbah complemented him with a cameo which included two fours and four sixes.

Delhi keep alive semi-final hopes with win

Delhi Daredevils beat Bangalore Royal Challengers by five wickets in their Indian Premier League match at the Chinnaswamy Stadium on Monday.

It was Delhi’s sixth win in 12 matches and kept alive their chances of reaching the last four. For Bangalore, who are already out of the race, it was their ninth defeat in 11 matches.

Chasing a target of 155, Delhi began aggressively with captain Virender Sehwag(47) and Gautam Gambhir (39) putting on 90 runs for the opening wicket in just seven overs.

Sehwag was in a belligerent mood as he smashed nine boundaries and a six in his 19-ball knock. He was particularly severe on Praveen Kumar.

The latter had the final word though, taking the prized scalp, thanks to a splendid catch by Bharat Chipli.

Two overs later and after the addition of 10 more runs, Gambhir, who had earlier become the first batsman in the tournament to surpass 500 runs, was run out by Cameron White.
And then there was a wobble.

Tillekeratne Dilshan (4), AB de Villiers (21) and Dinesh Karthik (6) were dismissed in a space of 11 runs (rather, 11 balls) as Anil Kumble (two for 18) and Dale Steyn (one for 26) did most of the damage.

However, the total was never going to be enough and Shikar Dhawan (unbeaten 16) and Ferveez Maharoof (13 not out) ensured Delhi reached their target without further damage and with 10 balls left.

Earlier, Shreevats Goswami’s debut half century (52) and Misbah-ul-Haq’s (47) late charge resurrected Bangalore Royal Challengers from a wobbly start to carry their team to a modest 154 for 7.

After Sehwag won the toss and asked the opposition to bat in their crucial match at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, Delhi Daredevils kept the home team under a tight lease.

Except for Goswami taking the visiting bowlers head on and Misbah scoring a 25-ball 47 (2X4; 4X6) towards the close to take the score past 150, Rahul Dravid-led side were never dominating with Glenn McGrath (2/25 from 4 overs) and Farveez Maharoof (2/13 from 4) bowling with immaculate line and length, and wickets falling at regular intervals.

Goswami, who was part of India’s recent U-19 World Cup triumph, top-scored with 52 from 42 balls which he made with the help of seven fours and a huge six.

He hit a six and three fours off Pradeep Sangwan in the eighth over to collect 18 runs from that over to stand tall among ruins. He was out in the 16th over off Maharoof while trying to accelerate the innings only to hole out at point to Tillekaratne Dilshan.

McGrath began with his miserly self giving away just one run in the opening over and claiming the wicket of Bharat Chipli for two, caught by Rajat Bhatia in the fifth over.

The retired Australian gave away just three and five overs in his next two overs to tie down Bangalore Royal Challengers to 35 for one in the first five overs.

Sehwag, who got the flak for some of his questionable decisions in earlier matches, made some intelligent shuffling of his bowlers who got immediate success each time.

For the home team, it was the familiar top order wobble with struggling Jacques Kallis (25) edging a consistent Sri Lankan Maharoof delivery for wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik to make a brilliant catch diving to his right in the seventh over.

Kallis, promoted to open the innings, made his 25 from 21 balls with the help of three fours and a huge six off Sangwan in the second over.

Dravid himself could not carry forward his fine form of the last match and lost his timbers to Dilshan in the 11th over for nine while trying to accelerate the dipping run rate after his side could just gather 70 runs from 10 overs and 102 for after the end of 15th.

It was left to debutant Goswami who came one down to make a match out of it and the young wicketkeeper did a brilliant job before Misbah complemented him with a cameo which included two fours and four sixes.

Source: http://premierleaguecricket.in/news/delhi-keep-alive-semi-final-hopes-with-win/

Delhi keep alive semi-final hopes with win

Delhi Daredevils beat Bangalore Royal Challengers by five wickets in their Indian Premier League match at the Chinnaswamy Stadium on Monday.

It was Delhi’s sixth win in 12 matches and kept alive their chances of reaching the last four. For Bangalore, who are already out of the race, it was their ninth defeat in 11 matches.

Chasing a target of 155, Delhi began aggressively with captain Virender Sehwag(47) and Gautam Gambhir (39) putting on 90 runs for the opening wicket in just seven overs.

Sehwag was in a belligerent mood as he smashed nine boundaries and a six in his 19-ball knock. He was particularly severe on Praveen Kumar.

The latter had the final word though, taking the prized scalp, thanks to a splendid catch by Bharat Chipli.

Two overs later and after the addition of 10 more runs, Gambhir, who had earlier become the first batsman in the tournament to surpass 500 runs, was run out by Cameron White.
And then there was a wobble.

Tillekeratne Dilshan (4), AB de Villiers (21) and Dinesh Karthik (6) were dismissed in a space of 11 runs (rather, 11 balls) as Anil Kumble (two for 18) and Dale Steyn (one for 26) did most of the damage.

However, the total was never going to be enough and Shikar Dhawan (unbeaten 16) and Ferveez Maharoof (13 not out) ensured Delhi reached their target without further damage and with 10 balls left.

Earlier, Shreevats Goswami’s debut half century (52) and Misbah-ul-Haq’s (47) late charge resurrected Bangalore Royal Challengers from a wobbly start to carry their team to a modest 154 for 7.

After Sehwag won the toss and asked the opposition to bat in their crucial match at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, Delhi Daredevils kept the home team under a tight lease.

Except for Goswami taking the visiting bowlers head on and Misbah scoring a 25-ball 47 (2X4; 4X6) towards the close to take the score past 150, Rahul Dravid-led side were never dominating with Glenn McGrath (2/25 from 4 overs) and Farveez Maharoof (2/13 from 4) bowling with immaculate line and length, and wickets falling at regular intervals.

Goswami, who was part of India’s recent U-19 World Cup triumph, top-scored with 52 from 42 balls which he made with the help of seven fours and a huge six.

He hit a six and three fours off Pradeep Sangwan in the eighth over to collect 18 runs from that over to stand tall among ruins. He was out in the 16th over off Maharoof while trying to accelerate the innings only to hole out at point to Tillekaratne Dilshan.

McGrath began with his miserly self giving away just one run in the opening over and claiming the wicket of Bharat Chipli for two, caught by Rajat Bhatia in the fifth over.

The retired Australian gave away just three and five overs in his next two overs to tie down Bangalore Royal Challengers to 35 for one in the first five overs.

Sehwag, who got the flak for some of his questionable decisions in earlier matches, made some intelligent shuffling of his bowlers who got immediate success each time.

For the home team, it was the familiar top order wobble with struggling Jacques Kallis (25) edging a consistent Sri Lankan Maharoof delivery for wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik to make a brilliant catch diving to his right in the seventh over.

Kallis, promoted to open the innings, made his 25 from 21 balls with the help of three fours and a huge six off Sangwan in the second over.

Dravid himself could not carry forward his fine form of the last match and lost his timbers to Dilshan in the 11th over for nine while trying to accelerate the dipping run rate after his side could just gather 70 runs from 10 overs and 102 for after the end of 15th.

It was left to debutant Goswami who came one down to make a match out of it and the young wicketkeeper did a brilliant job before Misbah complemented him with a cameo which included two fours and four sixes.

Source: http://premierleaguecricket.in/news/delhi-keep-alive-semi-final-hopes-with-win/

Knight Riders win by 23 runs

Shoaib Akhtar made a dramatic IPL debut taking four wickets in a blistering new-ball spell to condemn the Delhi Daredevils to their fourth straight defeat. In what could be a key match in the scramble for a spot in the semi-finals, the Kolkata Knight Riders batting fizzled and posted only 133 but Shoaib and an inspired fielding effort vindicated captain Sourav Ganguly’s decision to bat first and saw them through to a 23-run win, their third successive triumph.

Unable to break the shackles put by the Delhi Daredevils’ battery of medium-pacers, the Kolkata Knight Riders’ batsmen posted only 133 on a good batting pitch. Kolkata’s batting has been their weakness through the tournament and it failed again with only Salman Butt and David Hussey making more than 13.

In what could be a key match in the scramble for a spot in the semi-finals, Kolkata opted to bat first backing their formidable bowling line-up to defend the runs. Their attack was bolstered by Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar, who made his IPL debut after his five-year ban was suspended for one month, coming in place of Umar Gul.

Glenn McGrath was typically miserly with the new ball and Pradeep Sangwan also didn’t offer too many loose balls as Kolkata struggled to inject momentum to their batting. Aakash Chopra’s troubles with the bat continued and he managed only 13, despite being reprieved early on by Gautam Gambhir at wide slip.

His dismissal was greeted with a roar by the Eden Gardens crowd as Kolkata’s captain Sourav Ganguly strode out. They had more to cheer as he imperiously slammed his second ball, a free hit, over the bowler’s head for six, but were silenced two deliveries later when he was bowled by Yo Mahesh after his attempted pull failed to make contact with the ball.

With Kolkata at 47 for 2 after seven, Salman Butt and David Hussey tried to rebuild and while they strung together a 40-run stand, they were unable to provide the acceleration the innings desperately needed. Besides Butt’s two powerful drives through cover off Mahesh, there weren’t too many boundaries and the runs came mainly in the form of singles. Just as they were giving Kolkata a platform from which they could take off, Butt perished for 48, slicing a Mahesh delivery to McGrath at mid-off.

Hussey then had to play his by-now-familiar role of trying to rescue Kolkata from the top order’s failings. He is the world’s leading six-hitter in Twenty20s but even he failed to provide the necessary fireworks; there were a couple of huge sixes on the leg side but he fell attempting another for a run-a-ball 31, lobbing a catch to midwicket.

Three of Delhi’s big wins have come chasing, and they will fancy their chances of getting their campaign back on track after three consecutive losses saw them slipping from first to fifth. The silver lining for Kolkata is that their total is above-par, given that the average batting first at the Eden Gardens so far is 125.

Source: http://premierleaguecricket.in/news/knight-riders-win-by-23-runs/

Gambhir and McGrath do the star turn for Delhi Daredevils

Gambhir and McGrath do the star turn for Delhi Daredevils
Vijay Lokapally

NEW DELHI: Gautam Gambhir’s exuberance and Glenn McGrath’s experience propelled Delhi Daredevils to a 10–run victory over Royal Challengers in the DLF-Indian Premier League here on Wednesday.
This was Challengers’ fourth defeat in five outings, while Delhi was winning its third match in four.
Delhi Daredevils rode on Gambhir’s brilliant innings to present Royal Challengers with a target of 192 but the Bangalore team came a cropper. McGrath, with three wickets in his first spell of three overs, effectively ended the match as a contest.

Man of the Match McGrath finished with four wickets even as Jacques Kallis (54, 44 balls, 6 x 4, 1x6) offered some resistance to reduce the margin.

Gambhir slammed 86 off 54 balls with 11 fours and a six and his 98-run partnership with Shikhar Dhawan meant that Royal Challengers, which opted to field, had a task on hand.Sensational assault
The ambience was electric and Sehwag matched it with a sensational assault that fitted his image as Royal Challengers was shattered in the span of a mere five overs at the Ferozeshah Kotla.
The start was delayed by 11 minutes due to the official broadcaster losing satellite link. The cheer girls were also withdrawn by the franchisee even as the Royal Challengers paraded its Washington Red Skin cheerleaders along the boundary.

On a night when almost every seat at the arena was occupied even before the first ball had been bowled, Gambhir showed the way with a calculated attack that actually inspired Sehwag.
Gambhir was unsparing even as Dale Styen bowled quick. The ball travelled faster and in all directions too as Gambhir tore the South African fast bowler with a flurry of shots. He picked the line early enough to scatter the field, leaving Rahul Dravid a frustrated man.
Sehwag took over from Gambhir and mauled Zaheer Khan by smashing him clinically for two sixes and two fours, as effortless as ever.

Zaheer had reason to feel bitter because he had not bowled bad deliveries. Sehwag was looking ominous when he was run out for 24 off 12 balls.
Gambhir was outstanding. His form was reflected in the ease with which he found the gaps. Like Sehwag, he too picked on Zaheer when the latter came on for his second spell.
It was tough to set a field for Gambhir who was not averse to taking the aerial route and his job was made easy by the fast outfield.

There was no respite for the Bangalore bowlers. Dhawan took over with a flourish that marks his style, caning the bowlers with some disdainful strikes square of the wicket. In the company of Gambhir, he grew in confidence to play some daring shots all around.Dhawan’s effort
Dhawan’s blazing effort matched Gambhir in terms of quality. He hit the ball harder and longer, his 50 coming off 32 balls, four less than Gambhir.
It took a grand effort from Dravid to end Dhawan’s innings (four fours and three sixes) when the Challengers’ skipper took a low catch at midwicket.

The scores:
Delhi Daredevils: G. Gambhir c Praveen b Zaheer 86, V. Sehwag (run out) 24, S. Dhawan c Dravid b Kallis 50, S. Malik b Styen 6, D. Karthik b Kallis 2, M. Tiwari (not out) 11, R. Bhatia (not out) 8; Extras (lb-2, nb-1, w-1) 4; Total (for five wkts. in 20 overs) 191.
Fall of wickets: 1-53, 2-151, 3-159, 4-167, 5-179.
Royal Challengers: Styen 4-0-29-1, Zaheer 4-0-42-1, Praveen 4-0-24-0, Vinay 2-0-25-0, Kallis 4-0-39-2, Kohli 1-0-11-0, Joshi 1-0-19-0.

Royal Challengers: Praveen Kumar c Dhawan b McGrath 6, W. Jaffer c Yomahesh b McGrath 10, R. Taylor c Dhawan b McGrath 29, J. Kallis b Vettori 54, R. Dravid c Sehwag b McGrath 38, M. Boucher (not out) 31, V. Kohli (not out) 1; Extras (b-1, lb-10, nb-1) 12; Total (for five wkts. in 20 overs) 181.
Fall of wickets: 1-6, 2-46, 3-48, 4-135, 5-162.
Delhi Daredevils bowling: McGrath 4-0-29-4, Asif 4-0-42-0, Yomahesh 4-0-28-0, Vettori 4-0-19-1, Bhatia 1-0-14-0, Malik 1-0-8-0, Sehwag 2-0-30-0.

ABOUT Indian Premier League (IPL) IPL 20:20

The BCCI launched the Indian Premier League (IPL) on the lines of football’s English Premier League and the National Basketball League (NBA) of the US.

The IPL is a professional Twenty20 cricket league created and promoted by the BCCI and backed by the ICC. The Twenty20 league is set to debut in April 2008, with eight teams comprising a minimum of 16 players each. The league will last for 44 days and will involve 59 matches.

The IPL works on a franchise-system based on the American style of hiring players and transfers. These franchises were put for auction, where the highest bidder won the rights to own the team, representing each city.

The auction for the same took place on January 24, 2008 and the total base price for the auction was $400 million. The auction went on to fetch $723.59 million.

The Mumbai franchise owned by Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) was the most expensive franchise - fetching $111.9 million closely followed by Vijay Mallya’s United Breweries which paid $111.6 million for the Bangalore franchise .

Media house Deccan Chronicle won the Hyderabad chapter of the IPL for $107 million, while India Cements’ Chennai franchise cost $91 million.

Bollywood also made its presence felt with two of its leading stars bagging the ownership of their respective teams - Shah Rukh Khan and Juhi Chawla’s Red Chillies Entertainment buying out Kolkata for $75.09, while Preity Zinta and her beau Ness Wadia bought the Mohali team for $76 million.

GMR , the infrastructure development group which who are involved in a project for revamping the Delhi airport, bagged the ownership of the Delhi team for $84 million and the Emerging Media , consisting of its CEO Fraser Castellino, Manoj Badale and Lachlan Murdoch and other investors won the rights for the Jaipur franczhise for $67 million.

IPL Teams:

1) Bangalore Royal Challengers: The Bangalore team was bought by Vijay Mallya’s UB Group for $111.6 million to own the team for 10 years. ‘Icon player’ Rahul Dravid is the captain of Bangalore Royal Challengers. Team India’s bowling coach, Venkatesh Prasad is the coach of the team.

2) Kings XI Punjab: The Mohali team was bought by Bollywood diva Preity Zinta, her industrialist beau Ness Wadia, along with renowned industrialists Karan Paul and Mohit Burman for $76 million for a period of 10 years. ‘Icon player’ Yuvraj Singh is the captain of Kings XI Punjab. Australia’s Tom Moddy is the coach of the team.

3) Chennai Super Kings: The Chennai team was bought by India Cements for $91 million to own the team for 10 years. Team India ODI and T20 skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni is the captain of Chennai Super Kings. Former South Africa cricket team captain Kepler Wessels is the coach of the team.

4) Kolkata Knight Riders: The Kolkata team is owned by Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan, actress Juhi Chawla and her husband Jay Mehta for $75.09 million for a 10-year period. ‘Icon player’ Sourav Ganguly is the captain of Kolkata Knight Riders. Australia’s John Buchanan is the coach of the team.

5) Deccan Chargers: The Hyderabad team was bought by Deccan Chronicle, a media house, for $107 million for a 10-year period. Team India’s Test player VVS Laxman is the captain of Deccan Chargers. India’s fielding coach, Robin Singh is the coach of the team.

6) Mumbai Indians: The Mumbai team is owned by Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Limited for $111.9 million for a period of 10 years. ‘Icon player’ Sachin Tendulkar is the captain of Mumbai Indians. Former Team India manager, Lalchand Rajput is the coach of the team.

7) Delhi Daredevils: The Delhi team is owned by GMR Holdings for $84 million for a period of 10 years. ‘Icon player’ Virender Sehwag is the captain of Delhi Daredevils. Australia’s Greg Shipperd is the coach of the team.
Rajasthan Royals: The Jaipur team was bought by UK-based company Emerging Media for $67 million to own the team for a period of 10 years. Former Australian spin bowler Shane Warne is both the captain and coach of Rajasthan Royals.

More on IPL:

* Title Sponsorship Rights: On February 13 2008, Indian real estate developer DLF Universal secured exclusive rights to the IPL title sponsorship worth Rs 200 crore (over $50 million) for five years.

* Television Rights: On January 14 2008, it was announced that a consortium consisting of India’s Sony Television network and Singapore-based World Sports Group secured the rights of the IPL. The record deal has a duration of ten years at a cost of $1.026 billion.

* On February 20 2008 , the auction of 77 players took place in Mumbai. Team India ODI and Twenty20 skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds emerged the costliest Indian and overseas players respectively.

* Each team will play the other seven teams home and away, the top four teams at the end of the group stages will proceed through to the semi-finals. The first match is slated for April 18 between Team Bangalore and Team Kolkata.

* Team Composition: All teams must have at least four players from their respective Catchment Areas and four Under-22 players. The players from Catchment Areas could be an iconic player, a Ranji player or an U-22 player.

Each team can buy a maximum of eight overseas players but only four would be able to take the field in a match.

Source: http://premierleaguecricket.in/about/