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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