Adam Gilchrist and his never-say-die Deccan Chargers teammates pipped Royal Challengers Bangalore by six runs in a humdinger to be crowned the second Indian Premier League champions here on Sunday.
Chasing a modest 144 for win, Bangalore rode on cameos from Roelof van der Merwe (32) and Ross Taylor (27) to come near the mark but eventually halted at 137 for nine in the final match.
Put into bat, the Chargers had earlier found their nemesis in Anil Kumble (4/16) and it took Herschelle Gibbs’ unbeaten 48-ball 53 and Andrew Symonds’ brisk 33 to reach 143 for six.
Despite the defeat, Kumble’s was a towering presence on Sunday. The Bangalore captain won the toss, made the right decisions, struck with the ball whenever the tie threatened to slip through fingers but still found himself at the wrong end of the contest.
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Posted on May 25th, 2009 by admin
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The government of Pakistan has urged the International Cricket Council to reconsider its decision of taking way the co-hosting rights of the 2011 World Cup from the country and has instructed the PCB to pursue the matter closely. Pakistan’s Sports Minister Pir Aftan Shah Jillani met ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat in Dubai this week and asked for reconsideration of the ICC’s decision.
“I conveyed to Lorgat that if the ICC reconsiders it decision to move the World Cup matches from Pakistan, our government would be willing to offer all cooperation and work with the PCB and ICC to ensure top security arrangements for the visiting teams,” Jillani said.
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Posted on April 30th, 2009 by admin
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After a string of defeats suffered by Kolkata Knight Riders, team owner and Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan has decided not to go back to South Africa unless KKR starts winning.The actor, who flew down to the city to cast his vote in the general elections, said that he will stay put in Mumbai as he doesn’t want to be a part of the “sadness” which follows every defeat.
“If they are doing well, I will go back otherwise, I don’t like going back and feeling sad for the boys because there is a lot of talent in the team and a lot of hard work,” said a demoralised Shah Rukh.
The Kolkata Knight Riders have played fives matches out of which they managed to win only one match in the second season of Indian Premiere League.
“I feel very bad when we are not winning. I don’t want to participate in that sadness with them,” Shah Rukh said. His team has been dogged by controversies since the very beginning, be it the multiple-captaincy issue, or a clash with cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar, or the tell-all blog written by an alleged team insider.
Shah Rukh’s latest comments are quite contrary to the sentiments expressed by him in his official blog, titled ‘Keep the Faith’ a few days ago.
“I don’t know if the path we have chosen is correct or not…It’s just a path we the Knight Riders have chosen to walk on and will stick to it, till the very end,” Shah Rukh had said in his blog.
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Posted on April 30th, 2009 by admin
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England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff is expected to be fit for June’s World Twenty20 event after he underwent keyhole surgery on his right knee, the England and Wales Cricket (Board) said on Tuesday.The fast bowler and hard-hitting batsman tore the meniscus in his right knee while playing in the Indian Premier League in South Africa.
Hugh Morris, the England cricket managing director, said: “The surgeon has informed the ECB chief medical officer Nick Peirce the operation went extremely smoothly. I am grateful to the ECB medical team, the surgeon and radiologists as well as the Chennai Super Kings (Flintoff’s IPL team) for keeping the England team management and me informed about Andrew’s injury and the subsequent operation.”
An ECB statement added: “It is expected that Flintoff will make a normal recovery and should be available for the ICC World Twenty20 which will be held in England in June.”
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Posted on April 30th, 2009 by admin
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With twenty-twenty cricket becoming a big hit, sports broadcaster ESPN Star Sports is understood to have hiked the advertisement rates by up to 50 per cent for the upcoming ICC World Cup for the shortest form of the game, asking over Rs 5 lakh for a 10-second spot.According to industry sources, ESPN Star, which was earlier selling spots at Rs 3-3.25 lakh, is now asking for more than Rs 5 lakh for a 10-second spot and is aiming at revenues of over Rs 240 crore from the ICC T20 World Cup.
The tournament, to be held in England, begins on June 5 and ends on June 21.
“This increase stems from the fact that the broadcaster is already sitting pretty with more than 90 per cent of the inventory sold with more than a month left for ICC World T20 to commence,” a source said.
When contacted, Sanjay Kailash, Executive VP (Advertising Sales and New Media), ESPN Software Pvt Ltd, said, “Though I cannot talk specifics, we are indeed selling the balance inventory at a premium; we feel that the event demands such a premium given the popularity of T20.” The broadcaster has signed up more than 30 clients for the telecast related to the tournament, including 10 sponsors.
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Posted on April 30th, 2009 by admin
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Sachin Tendulkar and Sanath Jayasuriya turned on their charm and made mockery of Twenty20 cricket being a young man’s game as both posted breezy half-centuries to guide Mumbai Indians to a 92-run win over Kolkata Knight Riders in their Indian Premier League match.The 36-year-old Tendulkar’s 45-ball 68 was laced with six boundaries and four sixes, including one that went over the park.
His opening partner, the 39-year-old Jayasuriya scored 52 off 32 balls with four sixes and two boundaries as the Mumbai Indians raced to 187 for six at St George’s Park.
Knight Riders opening pair of Chris Gayle and Brendon McCullum needed to match the veteran duo but disappointed as the Shah Rukh Khan-owned side capitulated for 95.
Former India skipper Sourav Ganguly and Australian Brad Hodge staged a brief fightback but once their 54-run partnership was brought to an end by Abhishek Nayar, it was one way traffic as Lasith Malinga ripped through the tail.
Ganguly topscored for the Knight Riders, with a 30-ball 34, hitting a six and three fours while Hodge scored 24 off 22 balls with the help of three boundaries.
Earlier, it was the right-left combination of Tendulkar and Jayasuriya that did all the damage.
Brief score:
Mumbai Indians: 187 for 6 in 20 overs (Sachin Tendulkar 68, Sanath Jayasuriya 52; Laxmi Ratan Shukla 3/25)
Kolkata Knight Riders: 95 in 15.2 overs (Sourav Ganguly 34, Brad Hodge 24; Lasith Malinga 3/11, Abhishek Nayar 3/13).
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Posted on April 30th, 2009 by admin
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Those who consider Twenty20 a young man’s game don’t know much about cricket, says Indian batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar, insisting that age has got nothing to do with a player’s performance in the shortest format of the sport.”I don’t know who says that it’s a young man’s game. Clearly, he doesn’t know much about cricket. It’s a cricketers’ game so it really doesn’t matter whether you are young or old. It is a cricketer’s match,” Tendulkar told the Indian Premier League’s official website.
The 36-year-old skipper of the Mumbai Indians team has been in sparkling form in the IPL having scored 163 runs at an average of over 80 in three matches. He is currently fourth on the leading IPL-II scorers’ list.
Tendulkar said opening the Mumbai innings with Sri Lanka’s ageless swashbuckler Sanath Jayasuriya has been a fantastic experience so far.
“… even last year I enjoyed batting at the other end and it was fantastic. He has got excellent hand-eye co-ordination, very quick feet, very quick hands. Needless to say that he is one of the best strikers in the world,” said Tendulkar.
The right-hander said he is not chasing hundreds in the event and remains focussed on ensuring wins for his team.
“I am not playing for 100s, I am playing for the team. And, if I score a hundred even better for the team. The idea is not to chase a 100. If it comes my way it’s fine.
“As long as my contribution is there for the team, that is what matters. If it has helped us to get to a good total, I am a happy person,” he said.
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Posted on April 30th, 2009 by admin
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Mumbai Indians captain Sachin Tendulkar and his Deccan Chargers counterpart Adam Gilchrist were slapped a fine of USD 20,000 each for slow over rate in the Indian Premier League match.”A decision in this regard was taken by match referee Devdas Govindjee from South Africa,” the IPL authorities said in a statement.
Deccan Chargers defeated Mumbai Indians by 12 runs yesterday.
The Delhi Daredevils were also penalised for a similar slow over rate in their April 23 match against Chennai Super Kings at the same venue.
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Posted on April 30th, 2009 by admin
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Hosting FIFA’s Confederations Cup in June and Indian Premier League cricket on short notice gives South African officials confidence the 2010 FIFA World Cup will be staged without major problems. South Africa’s US ambassador Welile Nhlapo said on Monday that past cricket and rugby World Cup successes together with the ongoing cricket matches moved from India for security reasons will allow for greater testing of security measures. “These events will give us the chance to deal with all sorts of situations, give us time to correct anything that might be needed and provide a secure World Cup,” Nhlapo said.
“By the time we host we will be ready.” Exactly 15 years to the day since Nelson Mandela won the first democratic election in South Africa to mark an end to apartheid, Nhalpo said economic woes have not been a setback to South Africa delivering a successful 2010 World Cup.
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Posted on April 30th, 2009 by admin
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High on confidence after two successive victories, Delhi Daredevils will strive to continue with the winning momentum while a struggling Royal Challengers Bangalore will try to recapture the lost sheen they started with when the two teams lock horns in an Indian Premier League match in Port Elizabeth on Sunday.
The Delhi team, by virtue of their back-to-back wins against Kings XI Punjab and last year’s runner-up Chennai Super Kings, is comfortably placed second in the points tally.
In contrast, the Vijay Mallya-owned Bangalore team tamed defending champions Rajasthan Royals in their campaign-opener comprehensively but since then lacking the consistency and languishing on the seventh slot in the tally after losing three encounters on the trot.
The Delhi side will surely count upon their formidable batting line-up with skipper Virender Sehwag joining hands with his Team India opening partner Gautam Gambhir to start the innings, followed by South Africa batsman AB de Villers.
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Posted on April 25th, 2009 by admin
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