Tuesday, 28 April 2015

Rajasthan Royals seek revenge against RCB tomorrow

In the earlier meeting between the two teams last week, RCB mauled Rajasthan Royals by nine wickets with 23 balls to spare after restricting the Shane Watson-led side to a paltry 130.
   
And come tomorrow, the crushing defeat would be high on the minds of Rajathan Royals players.
   
Rajasthan Royals are presently sitting atop the table with 11 points from eight games with five wins, two loses and one no result. RCB, on the other hand, are lying fourth with six points from as many games.
   
After registering five consecutive wins, Rajasthan Royals suffered two back-to-back defeats and would be keen to return to winning.
   
For Rajasthan Royals, Ajinkya Rahane, the leading run-getter this season, and Australian Steve Smith has been in fine form with the bat and the team would looking upon the duo to post a big total tomorrow.
   
To add to it, skipper Watson's all-round finesse and Deepak Hooda's blazing strike-rate (208.92) make Rajasthan Royals look a menacing outfit.

  

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CSK coach Stephen Fleming expecting a tough battle against KKR

"They are an excellent side. They have some good batters. We have played them last in couple of finals and in the recent Champions League. So, we have a very healthy respect of the KKR squad. They play a brand of cricket that is not not similar to us. We will identify a brand of cricket for the match," Fleming told reporters on eve of the game.
   
Super Kings have five wins from six games while Knight Riders have three wins from six games, having shared a point against Rajasthan Royals after a washout in Kolkata on Sunday.
    
There is suspense over participation of Knight Riders' premier spinner Sunil Narine, who is eligible to bowl in the coming matches despite being reported again for suspected illegal action.
    
Fleming said his team is not concerned about Narine's participation on Tuesday.
    
"The whole thing I find confusing. Let us wait and see. They (KKR) will obviously be concerned and no one likes to see a player put under pressure. To be honest, we have not given much thought whether he plays or not. It is not in our hands and our control but we deal with the day when he does play," said the former New Zealand captain.

  

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Inconsistent KKR face stiff CSK challenge

KKR are currently placed third on the points table with three wins, two losses and one abandoned match. CSK, on the other hand, have lost only one game in six outings and are steady on the second position.
   
The Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led side, dominating on home turf, is coming off a massive win over Kings XI Punjab in which they thrashed the team by 97 runs.
   
If the big names in Chennai's batting order, like Dwayne Smith, Brendon McCullum, Suresh Raina and Dhoni, has come good in trying times then the bowling has also risen to the challenge.
   
Led by Ashish Nehra and Ishwar Pandey, CSK's bowling arsenal has looked well equipped and delivered whenever required.
   
Even left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja, whose non-performance was under the scanner came good in the previous game to pick 3 Kings XI wickets and break the opposition back.
   
KKR, meanwhile, cooled their heels inside the dugout after rain forced abandonment of their clash against table-toppers Rajasthan Royals.
   
And before the abandoned game, KKR had lost to SunRisers Hyderabad, a game in which the team's batting frailties were thoroughly exposed by a struggling side fighting to stay afloat.
   
In fact, all their wins have come against teams which have turned out to be laggards of this season.
     

  
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DD skipper JP Duminy backs struggling Yuvraj Singh

Yuvraj, bought for Rs 16 crore, has scored 124 runs in seven innings at an average of 17.71 with just one half century to his name. The costliest player in the IPL managed 2 runs off 5 balls in Delhi's demoralising 10-wicket defeat to Royal Challengers Bangalore here on Sunday night.
   
Duminy feels it is not fair to single out a player in the team's inconsistent run, which has seen them lose four out of their seven games.
   
"It is easy to criticise him. He has not had great opportunities in the matches we have done well and I think he will be the first to admit that he would have loved to contribute but it is not because of one guy's performance that we are losing. He is a massive player for us and I have all the confidence that he is going to come good for us in the later parts of the tournament," said the South African, who has been in decent touch, scoring 222 runs at an average of 44.
   
While Yuvraj is yet to fire, another senior player Zaheer Khan is yet to take the field for Daredevils amid rising speculation over the fast bowler's fitness. Duminy said he would be available for the May 1 game against Kings XI Punjab.

  

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Tickets for KKR vs RR rained out game to be refunded

Patrons who have a valid priced purchased ticket for the cancelled game will be refunded by KKR," the franchise said in a release.

Refunds will be given from the KKR Ticket Box Office at Mohammedan Sporting Grounds between April 29 and May 5.

The franchise requested the fans to come with their original tickets in a non-mutilated condition.

  

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Friday, 24 April 2015

Lot of credit goes to Praveen Amre: DD batsman Shreyas Iyer

Iyer top-scored with a 56-ball 83, his innings laced with 7 fours and 5 sixes, to help DD put up an imposing total of 190 for four in 20 overs after being put into bat first. After a successful Ranji season with Mumbai, Iyer has accumulated 227 runs in six outings for DD in the cash-rich league. The 20-year-old was all praise for Amre, who is also the coach of Mumbai in Ranji Trophy.
   
"A lot of credit goes to him (Praveen Amre) because he really works hard on me before the game and we practice good technique and skills. Yesterday also we worked on my skills," said Iyer after DD's 37-run win at the Feroz Shah Kotla.
   
Iyer's 154-run second wicket stand with skipper Jean-Paul Duminy did the trick for DD after they lost an early wicket. The right-handed batsman enjoyed his stay with the South African veteran at the crease.
   
"He was just like, back yourself by taking charge of the bowling. If you have an experienced batsman at the other end, it is really good. We had decided that we should bat till the 15th over. We were sure that if we bat till the 15th over we could put up a good score on the board.
   
"He kept on rotating the strike, Even I wasn't getting the runs at certain moments and he took the charge at that time and I rotated the strike. So it was really nice to bat with each other," Iyer said.
   
The Mumbai-born player relished the challenged of playing against his home-based IPL side but was disappointed to miss out on a century.
   
"I was really excited to play against Mumbai Indians. Home team, definitely happy to score against them. They have a good bowling attack and to score against them is a great feelings" he said.


  

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We failed to capitalize on the good start: Rohit Sharma

Chasing a target of 191 runs, Parthiv Patel and West Indies batsman Lendl Simmons got the Mumbai side to a bit of a flyer as they were 35 for no loss after 4.1 overs.

But after losing Simmons in the very next delivery the batting crumbled and they finished at 153/9 in 20 overs, losing by 37 runs at the Feroz Shah Kotla stadium.

"Initially, Simmons and Parthiv got off to a good start, but we failed to capitalize on that," Rohit said at the post-match presentation ceremony.

The skipper, however, credited the Daredevils for putting such a formidable total on the score- board. "I think they played really well right from the start. To come out and post a total like that on that wicket was just great. We shouldn't have let them post that total, but we need to give them credit," Rohit said.

"They have a superb batting line-up and they batted to their strengths today. They bowled great line and lengths too," he said. Asked about the batting order which failed to even put up a threat to the Daredevil's score, Rohit who contributed 30 of 24 balls said,"The same batting line-up scored more than 200 in the last game. We wanted to have the same batting line-up, but we just couldn't do well today."

  

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Master blaster Sachin Tendulkar turns 42 today

Though the batting maestro has ended his on-field journey, he continues to attract attention with his insights and comments about the game that he adorned for nearly a quarter century.
   
Tendulkar, whose autobiography 'Playing It My Way' was released to tremendous response in November last year, was the Brand Ambassador of the ICC World Cup held in the Antipodes in February-March.
   
Now a co-owner of Indian Super League football franchise Kerala Blasters, cricket's most prolific run maker and compiler of a staggering 100 international hundreds will be in here tomorrow to celebrate his birthday, a day before MI's next home game against Sun Risers Hyderabad at the Wankhede Stadium.
    
Saturday's match has been earmarked for Reliance Foundation's Education For All initiative and is expected to be watched by Tendulkar and 28,000 children for whom the game has been earmarked.

  

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IPL 8: Delhi Daredevils beat Mumbai Indians by 37 runs

Chasing 191 for a win, Mumbai faltered against Delhi's smart catching and great spin force, ably led by Tahir (3-22), to manage only 153 for nine in 20 overs.

Earlier, big fifties from Duminy (78 not out) and Shreyas Iyer (83) helped DD set an imposing target of 190 for four.

Mumbai Opener Lendl Simmons (15) let go of a quick start to mis-hit a Domnic Muthuswami delivery as Duminy pulled off a sensational running catch.

Delhi captain pedalled back from mid on to take a behind-the-wicket catch as he ran, tumbled, dived and recovered to take a well-judged skier in the end.

The Delhi catching continued to impress the home crowd as Tahir then took a brilliant outfield catch to send Parthiv Patel (28) back in the dug-out off Angelo Mathews.

Patel, who had hit 4 fours and a six in his 19-ball blitz, pulled the ball over mid-wicket only to see Tahir cover good ground and take a sharp catch at deep square leg.

DD bowlers kept chipping in with wickets as leg-spinner Amit Mishra (2-32) got Delhi boy Unmukt Chand (14) stumped to make the MI task difficult.

Mishra was at it once again as he got Kieron Pollard (10) mistimed a slice to Shahbaz Nadeem at mid-on.

Captain Rohit Sharma (30) and Ambati Rayudu (30) then tried to get the chase on track, stitching a 49-run fifth wicket partnership.

  

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Pak cricketers demand increase in match fees in new contracts

A Board official told that the PCB had decided to give 10 percent raise to the players in their monthly retainers in the new contracts, but some senior players have demanded a raise in the match fess for Tests, ODIs and T20.
   
"They will get a 10 per cent raise but Misbah on behalf of the players has told the PCB it should also raise the match fees for Tests, ODIs and T20," said the official.
   
"Misbah has pointed out that the players needed to be given a substantial raise since in the last few years they have not got big raises in their match fees and also due to the rising inflation," the official said.
   
Chief selector Haroon Rasheed is heading the committee, which has finalised the list of cricketers to be given the new central contracts.
   
The official said it was highly unlikely that the players would get raises in their match fees since the performance of the team has not been up to the mark since last year.

  

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Injured Bengal cricketer Rahul Ghosh gradually improving

"His condition is much stable now, he is gradually improving. The blood clot too has reduced," said doctor Buddhadev Saha, who is attending Rahul.

Rahul has been on a liquid diet and according to Saha he would soon be given solid food to eat.

"He has been in a liquid diet, let's see we might give him something to eat today," added Saha. Rahul was given soup on Wednesday night and again on Thursday morning but he will still be kept under observation for the next few days and has to undergo a third magnetic resonance imaging scan.

Rahul was injured on the left side of his head after being hit by a ball in a Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) club league match, a day after former Bengal Under-19 team's captain Ankit Keshri died from the injuries sustained on Friday during a fielding collision in a CAB senior knockout tournament game.CAB has extended assistance to Ghosh stating that they will bear all expenses for his treatment.


  

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Friday, 17 April 2015

BCCI President keeps speculation alive of Ganguly coaching Indian cricket

 
"We have not made any decision, there has been nothing yet that is of significance. But we will take a decision very soon," said BCCI president Jagmohan Dalmiya.

Following media reports, speculation is rife that Ganguly, a joint secretary of the Cricket Association of Bengal, has expressed his desire to replace Duncan Fletcher, whose term as India coach ended after the World Cup. Ganguly, though, expressed surprise over the reports.

"I am hearing this for the first time," Ganguly said when asked if he was in the fray to be the next coach. "I don't want to say anything on this. Let's not speculate. Don't jump the gun," he said.

  

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Aaron Finch's replacement to be decided after CSK game: Rohit Sharma

"Yeah, he's out. Nothing has been decided whether we need an opener or a middle order batsman (as replacement).  We are playing an important game tomorrow. We wanted to focus on that. We will see about the replacement after this game," said Rohit at the pre-game media conference at the Wankhede Stadium here on Thursday.

Finch was ruled out of the T20 League after injuring his hamstring while going for a run during MI's match against Rajasthan Royals in Ahmedabad.

"We are thinking about it. We have come up with some names, but nothing has been confirmed yet. We thought we needed to look at a few more options. We  will check them and decide. But it has to be done quickly," Rohit added.

Rohit also said that Harbhajan Singh, who did not play the game against Royals due to a sore neck, is fit to play Friday's game.

"Harbhajan is looking very good," the MI skipper said. Asked whether West Indian Lendl Simmons would open in place of Finch, Rohit was non-committal.

"We will have a good training session and decide the best team combination for tomorrow." Rohit indicated as much that he will bat at No.4 against the Super Kings, a slot he went in at against Royals after opening with Finch in the first two games.

 

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Mumbai Cricket Association pays Rs 32 lakh dues to spot-fix tainted Ankit Chavan

MCA vice president Ravi Savant said that they had written to the BCCI in November 2014, seeking permission to give the player his dues but did not get any reply from the Board, so they went ahead with the payment.

It includes  match fees plus his share of the MCA's bonus amount that was given to all the team members for lifting the Ranji title in the 2012-13 season.

"We wrote to BCCI after his parents approached us, seeking the Board’s permission to give him his dues as those were due to him before his transgression and subsequent ban. But when we got no reply (from BCCI) till March, we proceeded to grant him his dues," Savant explained.

What action, if any, is taken by the changed ruling order in BCCI – with Jagmohan Dalmiya heading it – remains to be seen.

Chavan, S Sreesanth and Ajit Chandila were implicated in the spot-fix scam and arrested by the police. While the first two have been banned for life, the BCCI is yet to decide on the punishment on Chandila.


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Decision on Pakistan's Najam Sethi as ICC president in June

"The board accepted the resignation of former President Mustafa Kamal, effective from April 2 and confirmed that no replacement would be appointed for the remaining weeks of Kamal's term."The full council of the ICC will consider the appointment of Najam Sethi as ICC president when it meets in Barbados at the end of June," the international governing body of cricket said in a statement.

Sethi is currently the head of Pakistan Cricket Board's executive committee while Kamal is an ex-Bangladesh Cricket Board chief.The ICC also revised the procedures with bowlers reported with suspected illegal bowling action including provisions that shortened the turnaround time from a bowler being reported to the test results being announced (35 days reduced to 24 days).

"Shorten the turnaround time from a bowler being reported to the test results being announced (35 days reduced to 24 days); and enable the ICC to recognise suspensions from domestic competitions, as long as the bowler has been assessed by the Member using the ICC testing protocol at an ICC-accredited testing centre," said the statement.

 

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IPL-8 gets culinary support

From mocktails named after Gayle Storm, Rohit Rider and Maxwell Mist to dishes christened as Eden Platter, Royal Challenge and Chennai Super Express rice, pizza and kebab spreads are being offered as the main course in one such speciality restaurant.

"We have a lavish menu for the patrons who will be watching the proceedings on giant LED screen with replicas of bat, cricket gear and logos of team jerseys adorning the place," Nitish Saraf of Kuaizi N Kadai restaurant said.

Saraf explains that since each IPL team projects the image of the city it is based in and accordingly recruits local players, his restaurant has sought to add local flavor to each dish.

In Swissotel Kolkata, cricket addicts are relishing 'Eden garden Roll', 'Hyderabad Mirchi Bhajiya', 'Chicken Sun Riser', 'Pind da kukar' from different regions that reflect the diversity of India for which IPL stands for.

In our Maaya lounge bar 'IPL Celebration 2015’ starts from 5 PM to 9 PM on every match day," a spokesman said.      

 
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Tuesday, 14 April 2015

IPL 8, Match 8: SunRisers Hyderabad thrash Royal Challengers Bangalore by eight wickets

Trent Boult picked up three wickets in one over after AB de Villiers' enterprising 28-ball 46 as Royal Challengers Bangalore were all out for 166.

Tech News - Known to be under-performers despite boasting of devastating batsmen like Chris Gayle and AB De Villiers, the Virat Kohli-led team will look to capitalise on the home advantage in their next three games before they embark on away games.
   
Gayle, who created a storm with his match-winning innings of 96 against KKR, will be eager to be at his explosive best in front of home fans too.

In fact, the entire batting line-up of RCB is capable of striking fear into the opposition attack. In skipper Virat Kohli and South African swashbuckler AB de Villiers, RCB have the most destructive top-order on paper.

Dinesh Karthik is capable of lending the stability that the volatile line-up needs even though he failed in the opening match against KKR.
   
Karthik, who was bought for a whooping Rs 12.5 crore in the IPL 2015 auction, will be keen to prove his critics wrong with something special as he did when playing for Mumbai Indians previously.

 
 
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