Teams look for a turnaround in fortunes

The Hindu Deccan Chargers' skipper Kumar Sangadkara, who is playing a game of football with teammates during training, will be keen to bounce back in the match against Kochi Tuskers Kerala. Photo: H. Vibhu

The race so far has been far more exciting than initially predicted. And technically, there is still a chance for each of the teams in the fray to get to the play-offs of this year's IPL. Only that they should stay focused on the task at hand in the remaining matches and play to their full potential.

Kochi Tuskers Kerala and Deccan Chargers come face to face at the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium here on Wednesday. Needless to say, the tie — the seventh for both — is crucial for both the teams as this provides them an opportunity to pitchfork back into contention.
 

Far from impressive

Both the teams had a far from impressive outing in the sixth round, with KTK allowing itself to be overhauled by Rajasthan Royals and DC having been overhauled by Sachin Tendulakr's Mumbai Indians.

The home team fans will definitely be hoping for a good all-round display by their team which, until its defeat a couple of days, had been placed as high as the third spot in the overall rankings, as a result of its stunning three-in-a-row wins over Mumbai Indians, Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders. The team under the seasoned Mahela Jayawardene was virtually on a rampage at that stage, backed by solid individual performances by Brendon McCullum, Brad Hodge, Ravindra Jadeja, Parthiv Patel, R.P. Singh besides the skipper himself. However, with McCullum out due to an unfortunate shoulder injury, the team just came a cropper against the spin wizardry of the ageless Shane Warne, away from home.

The priority for KTK would be nothing less than an outright win. However, this again would depend upon the availability of McCullum, who is now likely to undergo a fitness test on Wednesday morning, should he recover from his injury and report fit.
 

Key player

His absence would mean a certain void at the top, key as he is in providing a blazing start, whether KTK opts to bat first or chase.

On the other hand, DC finds itself at the bottom of the table with just two wins from six matches. The team having hit a rough patch due to the inability of its players to contribute to their side's cause as one unified outfit. Obviously the chips are down for the 2009 champion side and the match should be a real test for the team and its hopes of keeping its chances alive.

And crucial would be the display of its skipper Kumar Sangakkara and the rest of its batsmen, who oddly enough, are yet to find their touch. The lone exception to this is Shikhar Dhawan who has been in good form, attempting to keep the DC innings together on more occasions than one from his position at the top.

However, things could turn better if the skipper, Sunny Sohal and Bharat Chipli fire together with the bat and utility players like Daniel Christian chip in.

On the bowling front, the team looks to Dale Steyn, Manpreet Gony and Amit Mishra to deliver. Crucial too will be the form of Ishant Sharma, who is struggling at present.

With the sides all set to play out an exciting encounter, the only threat is the summer rain which has been lashing the city for the last few days. It had rained when KTK played against Chennai Super Kings last week, forcing the match to be reduced to 17 overs-a-side. One hopes the rain stays away.

PWI vs CSK live score: Chennai wins by eight wickets

Chennai Super Kings moved up to the 2nd spot in the point table after beating Pune Warriors India by eight wickets.


Subramaniam Badrinath slammed his second unbeaten half century of the tournament to power defending champions Chennai Super Kings to a comprehensive eight-wicket win over Pune Warriors in an Indian Premier League match at the D Y Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on Wednesday.

Badrinath, who scored a classy 71 not out for a losing cause against hosts Mumbai Indians on April 22, stroked his way to a fine 63 not out in 44 balls as CSK overhauled the Pune's modest score of 141 for six with three balls to spare.

The victory was the fourth for the holders in seven ties, and their first away from home. The win took CSK's tally to eight points and put them on the third spot on the table while the Warriors slid to their fourth straight defeat in six matches.


Pune vs Chennai: Live score & commentary

Pune skipper Yuvraj Singh played captaincy knock of unbeaten 62 runs to guide his side towards fighting total of 141/6 against Chennai.

Electing to bat first, Pune top batting order failed to perform before fiery spell of Doug Bollinger Nuwan Kulasekara and Tim Southee.

Pune lost four wickets for just 41 runs. However, skipper Yuvraj Singh and Robin Uthappa consolidated the innings but Uthappa was dismissed by R Ashwin for 31 runs.

Uthappa was looking in hurry when he went for another biggie after hitting a six off Ashwin. Yuvraj Singh scored 62 runs off 43. his innings was studded with three fours and four sixes.

For Chennai, Doug Bollinger scalped three wickets while Tim Southee, Kulasekara and Ashwin took one wicket each.

Pune Warriors India skipper Yuvraj Singh won the toss and decided to bat against Chennai Super Kings here at DY Patil stadium in Navi Mumbai.

Pune has made one change in the playing XI, Nathan McCullum is out and Mitchell Marsh has been making his IPL debut.

Yuvraj Singh, “160-170 runs target would be defendable at this track.”

On the other hand, Chennai has also made couple of chanmges. Albie Morkel is injured and Suraj Randiv has been left out. Tim Southee and Nuwan Kulasekera are in.

Teams:

PWI: Jesse Ryder, Manish Pandey, Mithun Manhas, Robin Uthappa, Yuvraj Singh, Mohnish Mishra, Murli Kartik, Rahul Sharma, Jerome Taylor, A Thomas, Mitchell Marsh

CSK: Murli Vijay, Mike Hussey, Suresh Raina, S Badrinath, MS Dhoni, S Anirudha, R Ashwin, Nuwan Kulasekara, Doug Bollinger, Shadab Jakati, Tim Southee.

Ahmed Shehzad stars in Pakistan’s win

Pakistan opener Ahmed Shehzad hit a confident 102 to lead Pakistan to a seven-wicket victory over West Indies on Monday for a 2-0 lead in the five-match, one-day international series.

The 19-year-old Shehzad struck seven fours and a six in 148 balls at Beausejour Stadium as Pakistan reached 223-3 to eclipse the hosts’ total of 220 with two overs remaining.

He shared half-century stands with Mohammad Hafeez, A sad Shafiq and Misbah-ul-Haq. Hafeez scored 32 off 51 balls, Shafiq contributed 23 off 37 while Misbah struck a run-a-ball 43.

“He’s a very, very talented guy,” Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi said of Shehzad. “In the World Cup, he didn’t perform well. But we gave him confidence from my side and the team management side and he showed himself that he is capable of performing. He took some time but it was OK since it was only a total of 220 (we were chasing).”

Earlier, Pakistan’s three spinners did the damage to the West Indies’ batting line-up. Saaed Ajmal claimed 2-23, Mohammad Hafeez claimed 2-38 and Afridi picked up 2-41, while left-arm seamer Wahab Riaz chipped in with 2-39.

Opener Lendl Simmons top-scored with 51 off 48 balls but the West Indies lost their way after a brisk start.

The hosts lost wickets at regular intervals throughout the innings with the highest partnership being 36 between Marlon Samuels and Dwayne Bravo for the fifth wicket.

Hafeez struck the first blow for Pakistan when he removed Devon Smith leg before wicket for the second time in the series at 24-1.

Simmons and Darren Bravo added 34 in quick time before Ajmal struck with his first delivery to remove Bravo, who edged low to slip.

Simmons continued to flourish before Afridi struck the killer blow, the Trinidadian opener slapping a drive straight to extra cover to make it 90-3.

Samuels, who scored only three runs in his first 36 balls, eventually contributed 29 but no other batsman could pass 25.

Fast bowler Kemar Roach beefed up the total with 24 off 40 balls in adding 27 for the last wicket with Anthony Martin to push the total past 200.

Shehzad and Hafeez started the Pakistani chase soundly, adding 66 off 110 balls for the first wicket. Devendra Bishoo broke the stand when Hafeez sliced a cut to backward point.

But Shehzad found another solid ally in Shafiq and they put on a further 66 for the second wicket. Shafiq fell to a run out at 133-2, but the West Indies never looked like causing an upset.

Shehzad had two half-chances during his innings. Captain Darren Sammy missed a run out opportunity when the teenager was 30, while Bishoo unable to haul in a difficult catch at deep midwicket off Roach when Shehzad was 76.

Shehzad finally departed with 28 still need, stumped by yards off Bishoo as he tried to finish off in style. But Misbah and Umar Akmal made sure with a flurry of boundaries towards the end.

Pakistan won by eight wickets on Saturday at the same venue. The next match is on Thursday at Bridgetown.

Hussey, Morkel star in Chennai win

http://livecricketsctore.blogspot.com/2011/04/hussey-morkel-star-in-chennai-win.html

Michael Hussey hit a half-century and Albie Morkel bagged three wickets to help Chennai Super Kings post a 25-run win over Pune Warriors in an Indian Premier League match yesterday.

Hussey made a 48-ball 61 and South African paceman Morkel took 3-29 as Chennai bowled and fielded impressively to restrict Pune to 9-117 after scoring 6-142 for their third win in six matches of the Twenty20 tournament.

Pune could never recover after being reduced to 4-40 in the opening six overs, with off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin and Morkel taking two wickets apiece. Australian paceman Doug Bollinger finished with 2-20.
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Skipper Yuvraj Singh top-scored with 34 for Pune, who suffered their third defeat in five matches. His 43-ball knock ended when Shadab Jakati held a superb diving catch in the covers off Morkel in the penultimate over.

Hussey earlier hit one six and six fours in his half-century to help Chennai reach a competitive total despite impressive bowling efforts from Pune pacemen Jerome Taylor (3-30) and Alfonso Thomas (2-29).

Losing the toss, Chennai made a solid start when Murali Vijay (31) and Hussey put on 64 for the opening wicket before Pune struck back with two quick wickets.

South African Thomas had Vijay caught by New Zealander Nathan McCullum at mid-wicket and then bowled Suresh Raina for two runs in the same over.

Hussey steadied the innings with a 52-run stand for the third wicket with skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (26) before West Indies paceman Taylor, playing his first IPL match, took three of the last four wickets.

Taylor struck in his third over when he removed Hussey, who fell to a well-judged catch at long-on boundary by Manish Pandey, before dismissing Morkel in the same over.

Rohit, Symonds star as Mumbai Indians extend Chargers' home woes

Mumbai Indians showcased their all-round abilities as they defeated Deccan Chargers by 37 runs at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium tonight in an IPL-4 match as the Hyderabad-based franchise extended their losing run at home. While this was the Chargers' fourth loss in six matches, Mumbai Indians strengthened their position at the top of the table with 10 points.

Rohit Sharma and Andrew Symonds's unbroken 102-run partnership in 65 balls for the fifth wicket helped Mumbai Indians score 172 for 4 after a mini-collapse saw them slip to 70 for 4 from 70 for 1 in the space of six balls. Sharma and Symonds, who were also team mates at the Chargers, then consolidated the innings before breaking loose in the last five overs.

Sharma and Symonds continued their good form in IPL-4 as they initially focussed on rotating the strike to keep the scoreboard ticking over even as they found the boundaries occasionally to get the faltering Mumbai Indians innings back on track. Sharma got the innings into overdrive when he hit two boundaries off Ishant Sharma and one off Dale Steyn after the second timeout before Symonds also joined the party. The burly former Australian all-rounder, who was lucky that his sliced shot off Amit Mishra's last delivery fell in no man's land, hit Steyn for two boundaries and a straight six in the 19th over. Sharma then took 24 runs off the last over of the innings bowled by Dan Christian (0-48) as he brought up his second half-century on the trot with a massive six over midwicket. The six with which Sharma brought up his half-century was one of the three he hit apart from a boundary off the last delivery of the innings in that Christian over as Mumbai Indians scored 70 runs in the last five overs. Sharma remained unbeaten on 56 (34 balls, five boundaries and three sixes), while Symonds hit four boundaries and a six in his 33-ball 44*.

Mumbai Indians skipper Sachin Tendulkar, who turned 38 today and played the match despite the death of his spiritual guru Sathya Sai Baba earlier in the day, and Davy Jacobs got their team off to a flier after they were asked to bat by Chargers' captain Kumar Sangakkara. Jacobs, who replaced James Franklin, hit five boundaries, including a reverse paddle and a six, was the first to be dismissed when he was well caught by Pragyan Ojha at mid on off Ishant (1-29) after he and Tendulkar had added 47 runs for the first wicket. Tendulkar (28), who has reclaimed the Orange Cap, and Rayudu then added 23 runs for the second wicket before Mishra dismissed both the batsmen in his second over and then Ojha had Kieron Pollard, promoted to No. 4, caught for a first-ball duck by Sangakkara as Mumbai Indians slipped to 70 for 4 in 9.1 overs before Sharma and Symonds rescued the visitors with their unbroken partnership. Mishra, who took 2-14 was the pick of the Chargers' bowlers; while Ojha (1-29) showed signs of coming back to his best.

The Chargers were never in the run chase as they lost wickets at regular intervals as Mumbai Indians' bowlers led by Lasith Malinga were backed up by some excellent fielding that saw them effect three run outs to add to the home team's woes. A good piece of fielding from Pollard at point gave Mumbai Indians their first breakthrough as Sunny Sohal was caught short of his ground and a direct hit from Malinga at mid off got rid of the struggling Cameron White. Malinga (3-9) also continued his good form with the ball in the tournament as he clean bowled Shikhar Dhawan with a trademark yorker before dismissing Sangakkara with a low full toss that crashed into the middle stump and then caught Ravi Teja off his own bowling with a slower ball. Bharat Chipli, who has had a decent run with the bat in IPL-4, failed in this match when he cut a short delivery from Pollard to R Sathish at backward point.

The highest partnership in the Chargers' run chase was 27 for the second wicket between Dhawan (25) and Sangakkara, who hit three boundaries in his 28-ball 34; and 27 for the eighth wicket between Mishra (25*) and Steyn, which just isn't good enough while chasing 173. Christian hit a six in his 18-ball 21 but he was beautifully stumped by Jacobs off Munaf Patel and that was the end of the Chargers' faint hopes as they could only score 135 for 8 in their 20 overs.

Chargers next play Kochi Tuskers Kerala in an away match on April 27, while Rajasthan Royals host Mumbai Indians in Jaipur on April 29.

Delhi thrash Punjab in high-scorer

That's all we have for you today. Hope you enjoyed our coverage of this high-scoring extravaganza. We have a double header tomorrow. Do join us back. Till then, this is Priyank Shah signing off. Cheers!

There were 23 sixes hit in total today with a total distance of 1844 meters. Shaun Marsh gets the maximum sixes award. Ryan Harris got the best catch award. David Warner is the Man of the Match for his blistering knock. By no means, the bowler's would love to remember this game.


"Fantastic Game. Good come back by DD. KXIP nearly got there. Both Teams played well. For the Fans over 400 runs. Fantastic. Love it." tweets Lalit Modi.
Aakash Chopra tweets, "What a display of some quality n a lot of brutal hitting in this game. While it's fun to watch 4s n 6s but too much of everything is bad!" He adds on an impressive Varun Aaron today, "What a display of some quality n a lot of brutal hitting in this game. While it's fun to watch 4s n 6s but too much of everything is bad! Needs to develop wicket-taking deliveries and be a bit more consistent. Good prospect but needs nurturing n grooming."


In the end, it wasn't a walk in the park for the Daredevils. The Kings gave them an early scare with the opening stand but runs on the board mattered. It was like always chasing something impossible but a fine game. Still, a comprehensive victory for Delhi but they have only lifted themselves in terms of confidence, they are still lying at the bottom of the points table.

Dhoni versus Sachin at master's bastion (Preview)

Dhoni versus Sachin at master's bastion (Preview)

Royal Challengers crush Knight Riders with Gayle ton

Chris Gayle made a sparkling debut in the fourth season of the Indian Premier League as his unbeaten century helped Royal Challengers Bangalore defeat Kolkata Knight Riders by wickets at the Eden Gardens today evening. The win also came at the right time for RCB as this was only their second victory in six matches with one match being rained out; while it was the second consecutive loss for KKR.

Gayle, who replaced the injured Dirk Nannes in the RCB squad, has been engaged in a heated debate with the West Indies Cricket Board over his decision to play in the IPL instead of being considered for selection in the West Indies squad for the ODI series against Pakistan with the southpaw saying he decided to be part of the lucrative Twenty20 league only after finding out he was dropped from the squad for the first two matches.

The former West Indies captain chose to take out his frustration and anger on the hapless KKR attack as the target of 172 was with nine wickets and 11 balls to spare as RCB got their tournament back on track with a comprehensive win. Gayle, who hit the winning runs brought up his maiden IPL century, and the second scored in this tournament, with a boundary over covers off a Shakib Al Hasan delivery, remained unbeaten on 102 (55 balls, 10 boundaries and seven massive sixes).

Such was Gayle's domination at the crease that even the normally aggressive Tillakaratne Dilshan took the back seat and enjoyed the view from the non-striker's end before he was clean bowled by one of the few decent deliveries Lakshmipathy Balaji (1-43) bowled in the match. Dilshan was out for 38 after he and Gayle had put on 123 runs for the first wicket in 12.1 overs. In between, Gayle reached his half-century in 29 balls with five boundaries and four sixes as he was hardly tested by the KKR bowling attack. Gayle and Virat Kohli (30*) then added 52 runs in 36 balls for the second wicket to seal the win.

None of the KKR bowlers were able to make an impression on Gayle, and Gambhir surprisingly gave the ball to Iqbal Abdulla only in the 16th over of the RCB innings on the slow Eden track.

Earlier, Yusuf Pathan defied a troublesome knee to bat at number four and played a 24-ball cameo as his big-hitting abilities helped KKR regain the impetus at a crucial time in the second half of their innings against RCB.

Pathan came into bat at the fall of Jacques Kallis's wicket with KKR 102 in 13.2 overs and the Baroda all-rounder made his intentions clear when he smashed J Syed Mohammad for a huge six over long on off just the sixth delivery he faced. He also hit sixes off RCB's skipper Daniel Vettori and Sreenath Aravind. Yusuf, who was clearly hampered by his knee while running, also hit two of his three boundaries off Aravind before the bowler had him caught by Virat Kohli in the last over of the KKR innings. Pathan's 46, Gambhir's 48 and Kallis (40) helped KKR score 171 for 5 even as RCB's new ball pair of Zaheer Khan and Aravind conceded 90 runs in the seven overs they bowled between themselves.

Zaheer (4-0-53-0) had a horrid time with the ball from the first ball of the match when Kallis got KKR's innings away with a boundary before adding two more hits to the fence in the same over. The Indian left-arm bowler didn't help his cause by bowling seven wides in the over, including a five-wide delivery as he conceded 19 runs in that over. Things went from bad to worse for RCB when Brad Haddin, playing in place of Brett Lee, hit a six and boundary off Aravind's first over as KKR raced away to 33 for 0 in two overs. The introduction of spin in the form of Syed Mohammad slowed down the scoring rate and the left-arm spinner, who conceded only two runs in his first two overs, got rid of Haddin (18) when he had him caught by Kohli at point after the KKR openers had added 44 for the first wicket.RCB's spin bowlers continued to keep the Knight Riders' batsmen in check on the slow Eden Gardens pitch even as Kallis found it difficult to keep the scoreboard ticking over after his fast start; fortunately for KKR, Gambhir took over the bulk of the run-scoring responsibilities and hit some sweetly timed boundaries in between as he also rotated the strike. Kallis was fortunate when AB de Villiers failed to stump him off Mohammad, but he was out soon after when Gayle, took a leaping catch at short extra cover to end the 58-run partnership between the South African and Gambhir. Aravind (2-37) then dismissed Gambhir when he had him caught by Dilshan at extra cover before Pathan hit him for a six and two boundaries in the same over.

Mohammad (1-20) and Vettori (1-28) were the pick of the RCB bowlers with Gayle, Dilshan and Kohli bowling four overs between themselves.

Fri, 22 Apr 2011 - IP Kolkata vs IP Bangalore, IPL 2011, 24th Match - Bulletin

Fri, 22 Apr 2011 - IP Kolkata vs IP Bangalore, IPL 2011, 24th Match - Bulletin

Royal Challengers Bangalore won by 6 wickets

Kochi Tuskers Kerala rode on a rollicking opening stand between Brendon McCullum and V.V.S. Laxman as they scored a challenging 161 for five against Royal Challengers Bangalore in their debut Indian Premier League match here on Saturday.

McCullum (45 off 32 balls) and Laxman (36 off 29 balls) gave KTK a blazing start with an 80-run stand from nine overs in their first IPL outing as the duo rained fours and sixes to take their side to 61 after the sixth over after their captain Mahela Jayawardene elected to bat.

The home side could not cash in on to the strong foundation laid by the openers as they lost wickets at regular intervals but still posted a challenging total.

All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja played a useful late cameo of 23 not out from 16 balls, which was studded with two fours and a six.