Hi
Dear all
I like YUVI 20/20 cricket shots, its always looks, good to watch his
latest improved batting style. Hope his team members & all the
Owmers,sponcers,& crowed to give him a great support through out the
tournament to WIN the CUP.
Thanks
K.S.RAJU
The talented Hyderabad Deccan chargers had to face their third defeat
in a row when Shane Warne smashed the last-but-one ball for a SIX. The
entire team must be scratching their heads figuring out how they lost
even after Symonds scored the fastest hundred so far in the IPL
tournament.
I’ve been watching the matches, and I can’t find anything really wrong
with the team or its strategy. But if I had to nitpick, I’d say the
big-name batting lineup is somewhat shaken. Gilchrist, Laxman and
Afridi (and before this match Symonds too) have all failed to get big
scores. They’re coming in and scoring quick 10s and 20s, but that is
not enough. The bowling department has done OK too, but no one bowler
has impressed the way Warne or McGrath have done for their respective
teams.
And I think that is the key to why they’re loosing. All the players are
doing OK, but not great. Twenty20 is not a game of mediocre cricketers.
It would be a mistake for the Hyderabad Deccan Chargers to go to the
dressing room after the match and try to see “where they went wrong”.
That is the wrong question to ask. They should be asking “Why can’t we
do great things instead of OK OK?”.
Preity Zinta, who is currently stationed in Mohali with her Indian
Premier League (IPL) team - Kings XI Punjab, is aghast to hear stories
that some of the players of the team were shabbily treated and asked to
move out of the Taj hotel to a less opulent place. When contacted,
Preity told IANS: "There's no discrimination. We are in fact, trying to
keep the game as much free of glitches as possible. Such negative
stories aren't helping our efforts at all." Preity intends to be
totally immersed in Mohali team's activities for the next couple of
months.
In a major development over the raging debate on the cheerleaders in
DLF Indian Premier League (IPL) matches, Navi Mumbai Police chief have
refused to ban them.
The Police official said that no cheerleader can be arrested. However,
he made it clear that the organisers will be booked if the cheerleaders
are obscenely dressed. The Navi Mumbai police chief also said that the
dancers will not be allowed to perform in 'obscene dress'.
On Thursday, the Maharashtra government had said that it was
considering a ban on cheerleaders in the DLF IPL matches in Mumbai.
However Organisers will have to face music if cheerleaders` found
vulgar. "The girls are merely artistes who perform as per the
instructions of organisers," said Mr Wagh
The clamour for ban on skimpily-clad cheerleaders in IPL cricket
matches spread to West Bengal on Friday after Maharashtra set the tone
while they have been allowed to perform in Mumbai if there is no vulgar
display. With he US-style cheergirls coming under the scanner for any
obscenity they however had something to cheer when Union Information
and Broadcasting minister PR Dasmunshi and Maharashtra Chief Minister
Vilasrao Deshmukh played down the raging controversy over their shows.
Deshmukh said the matter is being blown out of proportion. Police said
the dancing beauties will not be banned in Mumbai but cannot wear
obscene dress and warned of action against the organisers if their
shows are found to be vulgar. Any wardrobe malfunction will be also
death with sternly, it said. Navi Mumbai will host a IPL match on April
27.
Andrew
Symonds’ powerpacked century went in vain as Deccan Chargers lost their
third IPL game to Rajasthan Royals by three wickets at the Rajiv Gandhi
Stadium here on Thursday.
The aggressive Australian belted 11 boundaries and seven soaring
sixes in his 53-ball 117 not out to propel the home side to an imposing
214 for 5 in 20 overs. But a spirited 61 from Yusuf Pathan and a
stylish 71 from Graeme Smith saw the visitors overhaul the target with
one ball to spare.
Needing 17 runs in the last over, Royals captain Shane Warne hit Symonds for a boundary and two sixes to seal the win.
An inspired spell of 3 for 27 by Shahid Afridi had brought the
Chargers back into the match after the Royals threatened to run away
with the game, notching up 112 for the loss of one wicket in 9.3 overs.
Bowling deceptive legbreaks, Afridi broke the Royals’ back by
sending back Kaif (34) and Smith (71) in the 18th over to provide the
twist in the terrific tale. He would have got a hat-trick had Kalyan
Krishna pouched a skier off Ravindra Jadeja. Seamer R.P. Singh
shattered Jadeja’s stumps with a yorker and combined with captain
V.V.S. Laxman next ball to run Dinesh Salunkhe out to pile the pressure
on Royals, who had slipped to 198 for 7 with one over left.
Earlier, Symonds lived up to his tag of being the highest paid
overseas player in the IPL with some belligerent hitting that had the
crowd on its feet.
Walking into the middle at the fall of the second wicket at 32 in
the third over, Symmo pummelled opposition with firebrand strokeplay.
He was severe on his former Australian mates Shane Warne and Shane
Watson, swatting them like flies as the ball flew into the stands with
delightful regularity.
The fashionable allrounder kept increasing the tempo as the spectators in the stands danced in gay abandon.
A ripping Symonds went past the milestones in style, whacking Warne
to reach half-century before lifting him into the stands to bring up
his century in 47 balls, the fastest ton in the IPL competition,
beating Mike Hussey’s 50-ball hundred for Chennai Super Kings against
Kings XI Punjab.
Rohit Sharma (36) played perfect second fiddle to Symonds raising 111 runs for the fourth wicket with the Australian.
P
oliticians in Maharashtra have found a new issue for their party
manifesto — cheerleaders. The moral police in the state is planning to
ban cheerleaders from dancing and rooting for teams during IPL matches.
Politicians in Maharashtra feel that the “scantily clad” cheer girls
flown down for IPL matches are demeaning our culture with their
“obscene dances”, and this is not in tune with “Indian sensibilities,
culture and ethos”.
City IPL fans, however, beg to differ.
The advent of IPL took cricket to a global level. “It’s no longer
about cricket alone, but a whole lot of entertainment, glitz and
glamour. No one should be allowed to mess with this fun,” says Nupur
Gupta, a choreographer who is a self-confessed fan of the Deccan
Chargers’ cheer girls.
While Hyderabadis are proud of the laid-back and “broad-minded”
attitude of their city when it comes to such issues, cricket lovers are
not in accord with the whole idea of banning cheerleaders even if it’s
in Mumbai.
They find the cheerleaders as exciting as the matches. Sunny
Khandelwal, the emcee of Deccan Chargers, says, “People will take some
time to get accustomed to this new concept. But banning the
cheerleaders is not a good idea as they add to the excitement.” The
concept of using cheerleaders to boost the morale of the players has
always existed in western countries and is slowly entering our grounds
too. Says Sameer Kanth, an employee at Genpact, “I don’t think the
cheerleaders’ dancing vulgar at all. When we don’t have any objections
to item numbers in movies, why is the moral brigade suddenly targeting
the cheer girls?” Swetha Reddy, a student of IIPM, finds it’s a part of
entertainment for the audience and the way the girls dress and dance is
perfectly fine.” Aditya Rajan, a student, who went to see an IPL match
at Rajiv Gandhi Stadium says, “I like the cheer girls of Deccan
Chargers. As they dance and sing slogans, the whole atmosphere gets
charged up. They add to zing to the game.”
Chennai
Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders have had a similar passage thus
far in the IPL and the two unbeaten sides lock horns in a
keenlycontested clash in the city on Saturday.
Chennai have managed to keep their mistakes down till now, as also
Kolkata. Both sides have had one easy match and one close shave and
hence there is very little to choose between them, although Kolkata’s
better balanced attack may give them a slight edge.
The IPL is becoming increasingly a batsmen’s game. Teams with the
ability to strike the new ball will have a definite advantage as it has
been seen that it is near impossible to check momentum once a team has
it.
Chennai owe it to Mathew Hayden and fellow Aussie Mike Hussey for
providing them totals that even their fragile attack has been able to
defend. Jacob Oram has been the biggest disappointment so far, bowling
on either side of the track while also offering length.
Luckily for Chennai, Amarnath and Muralitharan held their nerves in
the first game while Manpreet Gony and Joginder Sharma bowled to a plan
against Mumbai at the business end.
Left-arm spinner S. Jakati is likely to come in place of Amarnath who had an ordinary outing against Mumbai.
Joginder who bowled the team to a win in the final over was close to
being dropped for that game before Dhoni’s confidence in his last over
specialist saw him drafted at the last minute.
Dhoni and coach Kepler Wessels have accepted the fact that bowling
is their weak link and they have to work around with what they have in
hand.
In
Twenty20 cricket there seems to be no winning total. Deccan Chargers
learnt this bitter truth to their utter discomfort as Rajasthan Royals
scored a three-wicket victory with a ball to spare in a nail-biting
finish at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium here on Thursday.
After a double strike by Shahid Afridi had put the Chargers back in
the game, Royals needed 17 runs in the final over with three wickets in
hand. Pankaj Singh took a brace and a single off Andrew Symonds and
then skipper Shane Warne did the rest with some clean hitting. He
struck a straight four, then a six over midwicket and finished the job
with a six over long off.
Desperate for a win, the raging bulls came out firing on all
cylinders. Symonds led the onslaught with the fastest century of the
tournament as he slaughtered the rival bowling. Symonds’ unbeaten 117
off just 53 balls with 11 fours and seven huge sixes helped Chargers
reach a formidable 214 for five.
But the visitors had other ideas as Yusuf Pathan, coming in after Kamran Akmal’s fall, launched a frontal attack.
In a brutal assault, Pathan decimated the rivals with a 28ball 61
which contained four boundaries and six huge hits over it. Pathan and
Graeme Smith were involved in a 98run partnership that came off just 44
balls and set the tone for the Royals’ reply.
Though Shane Watson fell cheaply, Smith and Mohammed Kaif kept the
momentum going with a 60-run partnership. Kaif, who has struggled in
the previous games, played some scintillating strokes to show that he
is capable of turning on the heat.
When it looked as if Royals were on way to a win, Shahid Afridi
struck a double blow by getting rid of Kaif and the tired looking Smith
in the 18th over. He almost got the third but Kalyankrishna, who had
held Smith, dropped a sitter by Ravindra Jadeja. R.P.
Singh cleaned up Jadeja but Warne took the visitors to victory.
Earlier, Chargers skipper VVS Laxman took the gamble of opening the
innings with vice-captain Adam Gilchrist, who came out all guns
blazing. The southpaw took upon himself to give the Chargers innings
the much needed momentum as he toyed with Munaf Patel. Gilchrist hit
the medium pacer for three fours to set the tone.
Laxman responded admirably as he flicked a Shane Watson delivery to
the fine leg fence and then played a straight drive to the fence.
Royals captain Shane Warne replaced Patel with off-spinner Pathan
and the change turned the tide. Pathan had the dangerous Gilchrist
stumped by an alert Akmal with his second ball.
In strode Afridi and took Pathan to the cleaners. He essayed a
ferocious cut past point for a boundary and then swung him over the
square leg fence for a six. But Afridi seemed in a tearing hurry and
failed to time the fourth ball well. The resultant skier was well held
by Jadeja at mid on.
In the matter of six balls, Royals were back in the game and
Chargers were left rebuilding the innings. However, Symonds didn't let
the double blow deter his strokeplay. The Australian made the batting
look easy as he struck the ball to all parts of the ground.
With Laxman playing the sheet anchor to perfection, Chargers were on
a roll. The duo added 43 for the third wicket off 33 balls before Warne
spun his magic to get rid of the Chargers skipper.
Bowling the ninth over, Warne tasted success when Laxman tried to
drive him without moving his feet and gave the bowler the easiest of
catches. But Symonds was in no mood to relent. He went after all the
bowlers hitting them with utter contempt.
A
ggressive. Ruthless. Intimidating. These are some of the words that
come to your mind when you see Andrew Symonds’ raw energy on the field,
especially if he’s taking on a team that you are rooting for. But off
the pitch, the man has everything it takes to make one go weak in the
knees.
Sans his fierce expression, cold gaze and menacing grin that makes
the bravest of hearts flutter when he runs forward to bowl his
delivery, Symonds comes across as endearing if you are lucky to catch
him in a more chilled out mood.
“Well, when I am on the field to play, I am a very competitive
person. I go all out to win. Perhaps that winning streak in me comes
across as aggressive. But otherwise, I am a chilled out guy. I like to
go fishing, camping or horse riding and I stay pretty much relaxed,” he
quips, flashing that rare smile which softens his entire face and
exposes the mischievous glint in his deep green eyes.
Tell him that girls find his brooding looks and easy smile very hot
and he almost blushes, obliging by smiling once more, this time
brighter. “Sadly, there are not too many humourous situations on the
field,” he quips.
Symonds finds India intriguing and the new IPL format interesting.
“It gives you a chance to get to know the other players well,” he
says, adding, “I have been playing with V.V.S. Laxman ever since I was
17 or 19, and it’s only now that I got to know him better.” Symonds
says it’s unfortunate that he has to move on to play for Australia
after two more matches with the Deccan Chargers. “But I hope the
nucleus of the team remains the same and I can come back to play some
good games for Hyderabad. The city seems really charged up about the
fact that they own a team. And I love the energy.” Hyderabad loves him
too. Hopefully he’ll leave us with some more of the Symonds’ magic
before he heads back home with his local loot of “Hyderabadi pearls and
Pashmina.”
Kumar
Sangakkara’s confident 94-run knock coupled with disciplined bowling
fashioned Kings XI Punjab’s 66-run victory over Mumbai Indians in their
Indian Premier League match here on Friday. Sangakkara missed out on a
well deserved century, but propelled his team to a competitive 182,
after being sent to bat by the rival skipper.
The hosts then restricted their opponents to 116 for 9 in their
quota of 20 overs with Chawla coming up with a brilliant four-over
spell, in which he claimed two wickets conceding just 16 runs.
Brett Lee also produced exceptional figures of 40-9-1, while Irfan
chipped in with two wickets in his team’s first victory in the
tournament.
Mumbai Indians’ run chase was far from ideal with both the openers
making an early exit courtesy brilliance of Australian paceman Lee.
The fast bowler removed dangerous Sanath Jayasuriya (1) with a
superb catch off his own bowling and then effected Luke Ronchi’s run
out with an athletic fielding in the third over.
West Indian Dwayne Bravo (23) and Robin Uthappa (21) then did the
spade work, lifting the visitors with a 47-run third-wicket partnership.
But the duo went back to the pavillion in a gap of four runs, dealing severe blows to the hopes of the Mumbai team.
Rookie Piyush Chawla clean bowled Bravo and local boy VRV Singh had
Uthappa caught at short mid-wicket to give another blow to visitors
hopes.
The visitors paid the price of not building partnerships as batsmen
succumbed to pressure of soaring run-rate and plunged to their third
successive defeat.
The Mumbai team, playing without injured captain Sachin Tendulkar,
soon found itself in a spot of bother with half of the team back in the
pavillion with the scorecard reading just 91 Shaun Pollock put up good
resistance with his 22-run knock before being undone by a stunning
one-handed catch by Yuvraj Singh off S Sreesanth.
Chennai:
In an effort to bolster the team's batting strength, former New Zealand
captain Stephen Fleming will replace Anirudha Srikkanth in the
16-member Chennai Super King squad for Saturday's Indian Premier League
match against Kolkata Knight Riders..
"We
have decided to bring in Stephen Fleming in place of local lad Anirudha
Srikkanth in the 16-member squad for the match against Kolkata. Any
changes in the playing eleven would be finalised tomorrow," Kepler
Wessels, coach of the Chennai side, said.
Wessels felt the bowlers too needed to put up a better show, especially while bowling at death.
"Hopefully, our bowling will improve at the death," he said.
Talking
about the road ahead, Wessels said, "Each of the 14 league matches in
the preliminary stage is crucial for us. It is too early to say whether
this is a big match, but for us each game is crucial. They are all big
and tough encounters."
The side would
be without the Australian duo of Matthew Hayden and Mike Hussey, who
would return home on national duties, but Wessels said he had adequate
replacements.
"They will be available
for our game against Bangalore Royal Challengers next week. Anyway,
their absence would be sufficiently filled up with the arrival of South
Africans Makhaya Ntini and Albie Morkel."
Middle
order batsmen Subramaniam Badrinath, who was present with Wessels at
the press conference, said the team should strive to post 200-plus runs
in their allotted 20 overs.
"It is
tough to chase a target about 200 runs and that I think is the minimum
one must score if one hopes to win a game in the IPL," Badrinath said.
On
his facing Ishant Sharma, the young Knight Riders fast bowler who has
been in top form, Badrinath said, "He can bowl only four overs and I
will be playing my natural game."
The
27-year-old's 14-ball 31 not out in the opening game against Kings XI
Punjab at Mohali helped the Super Kings post 240, the tournament's
highest total so far, and it underlined his value to the team.
"I
have put in a lot of efforts in my batting and have been trying out
difficult shots. I hope to improve further," Badrinath said.
Chennai Super Kings 16-member:
Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Captain), Matthew Hayden, Parthiv Patel, Mike
Hussey, Stephen Fleming, Jacob Oram, Suresh Raina, Muttiah
Muralitharan, Joginder Shrama, Subramaniam Badrinath, Joginder Sharma,
Palani Amarnath, R.Ashwin, Manpreet Singh Gony, Shadab Jakati and KB
Arun Karthik.
Mohali: S.
Sreesanth cried tears of joy and relief as Kings XI Punjab, so
desperately hard-pressed for points, finally notched up a win over
Mumbai Indians by 66 runs here.
Chasing Mohali's 182, Mumbai were restricted to a pathetic 116 for nine, and are still without any points.
Brett
Lee bowled a sensational first spell for the Mohali team, while Piyush
Chawla had a spell of 2-16 off four overs to settle the issue for
Mohali.
Dwayne Bravo scored 23 for the Mumbai side and Shaun Pollock 22, but it was never going to be enough.
Sri Lankan star Kumar Sangakkara scored a brilliant 94 as Kings XI Punjab scored 182 in their 20 overs against Mumbai Indians.
The
Mohali side would have expected one of their other batsmen to share a
stand with Sangakkara, but no one stayed on long enough and Mumbai
skipper Harbhajan Singh would be satisfied with the performance on the
field.
Harbhajan himself was the leading wicket-taker for the Mumbai team with three scalps.
Mumbai
Indians once again went in with Sachin Tendulkar as their captain is
still not fit, putting them in quite a situation as they go into the
game desperately needing a win. Harbhajan Singh once again won the
toss, and again like the previous games decided to field first.
Kings
XI Punjab are also in a pretty desperate situation in the India Premier
League, and they too would be hoping to turn around with a win. They
are at the bottom of the table, without any points to their name, while
Mumbai are just a shade better, that too only because of their run-rate.
The
Mumbai squad brought in Saurabh Tiwary to replace offie Vikrant
Yaligati, while Yuvraj Singh decided to drop James Hopes and replace
him with VRV Singh.
The
Knight Riders travel to Chennai today for another stern test against
the Chennai Super Kings in what promises to be a high voltage
encounter. With both teams yet to lose a match in the IPL, the stakes
are pretty high.
Sourav Ganguly's team is at the top of the
table, thanks largely to the demolition of the Bangalore Royal
Challengers in the first game of the tournament. But Chennai, too, has
won both its matches, and looks in ominous form.
With Michael
Hussey and Matthew Hayden having big scores under their belts, and
others like Suresh Raina, S.Badrinath and skipper M.S.Dhoni
contributing usefully, the Super Kings are perhaps the most balanced
looking batting outfit in the tournament.
However, Chennai's
batsmen are yet to face a pace attack that has performed as well as the
Knight Riders' line-up of Ishant Sharma, Ajit Agarkar and Ashok Dinda.
With Murali Kartik and Mohammed Hafeez providing spin options, Dhoni's
men will have their task cut out.
Thanks to the
near-impossible batting conditions at the Eden Gardens, the Knight
Riders perhaps don't have as high scores against their names as some of
the batsmen from other teams. But the fact remains that they
successfully chased a total on the tournament's diciest wicket - no
mean achievement and one that may stand them in good stead when batting
in easier conditions. Brendon McCullum and his teammates will relish
batting at Chepauk, on a pitch that promises plenty of runs. Ricky
Ponting is due a big one, and Sourav Ganguly will look forward to
taking on old foe Muttiah Muralitharan.
The match should also
feature a tantalising battle of wits between Ganguly and Dhoni -
pitching India's most successful skipper against the current incumbent.
They're both astute, bold and innovative leaders - and they could be
the key factor in their respective teams' fortunes.
The IPL
has already thrown up some fantastic, exciting cricket. Tonight's game
could easily be another classic, and could provide an early clue as to
which team will be champions, come the 1st of June.
The Mumbai Indians went into their second match at the DLF Indian
Premier League without skipper and star batsman Sachin Tendulkar, who
was still recovering from the groin injury that kept him out for most
part of the Test series against South Africa. The Master Blaster who
celebrates his birthday today could wish for no bigger gift than a
victory, but his side returned second best yet again, but not before
putting up a brave fight.
When the Mumbai Indians took the field, faced with a target of 209, few
expected them to win. But with the strong quartet of Jayasuriya,
Uthappa, Pollock and Bravo, ‘hope’ was not lost. Athough wickets fell
at regular intervals, contributions by the experienced quartet made
sure they were still in the hunt, and set the stage for a final
onslaught.
With Abhishek Nayar and Harbhajan Singh at the crease, hope may have
dwindled, but like they say in cricket, the match ain’t over till the
last ball is bowled. Nayar and Bhajji exemplified that, as they went
about achieving the near impossible.
Some lusty blows by Harbhajan and Abhishek gave the Chennai Super
Kings' captain MS Dhoni a scare. But Harbhajan (28 of 14 balls) was
scalped by Muralidaran. Nayar (45 of 20) made himself a household name
by almost chasing down the 19 required of the last over. But Joginder
Sharma’s calm under pressure, just like he did in the final of the ICC
World Twenty20; and Ashish Nehra’s inexperience with the bat meant
another loss for the Mumbai Indians.
All teams have played two matches each in the IPL and Mumbai are one of
the teams yet to register a win in the 45-day tournament. However among
the two other teams that have not yet registered a point in the league
(Kings XI Punjab and Deccan Chargers), Mumbai look the formidable team.
Although they’ve lost both their matches, both matches have gone down
to the wire.
Sanath Jayasuriya has provided promising starts in both games; the team
has failed to build on them. Uthappa has looked dangerous, and Abhishek
Nayar has made useful contributions. The main worry though will be the
fitness of skipper Sachin Tendulkar. His injury woes meant he missed
the first two games and there haven't been any indications yet if he
would be fit in time for Mumbai's third game against the Deccan
Chargers on the 27th April.
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