Mahendra Singh Dhoni

England brings interest back to ODIs

2011-03-18T01:55:00.000+08:00

Yes, England has certainly brought back interest to the ODI format due to their extraordinary performances (or should I say, poor performances) in the Cricket World Cup 2011.

It all started with Ryan Neil ten Doeschate scoring a century and England had to hold their breath to win their first match. It followed with a brilliant batting performance from England to chase down a huge total against India, only to lose their way at the end; but still ended up with a tie. Then, they lost their way against Ireland when Kevin O Brien brought up the fastest century in world cups; Ireland managed to beat England in the last over.

England scored just 171 runs. But, they put up a good bowling display that managed to beat South Africa by just six runs. Against Bangladesh, they could not break the 9th wicket partnership of 58 runs which eventually clinched the win for Bangladesh with 6 balls and 2 wickets remaining.

Today, they came to Chennai in a do-or-die match. They have to win to stay in the tournament. Three nations might had been praying for an England loss; a West Indies win here could have confirmed quarter-final berths for West Indies, India and Bangladesh. It looked as if thats going to happen when West Indies'7th wicket pair put on 72 runs. But, England's bowling proved its worth by removing the last 4 WI wickets for just 3 runs. England managed to win by 18 runs and kept their hopes alive for a quarter-final slot.

This means that group B is still wide open, with only South Africa qualified to the next stage. Which of the 3 teams from India, England, West Indies and Bangladesh will qualify? The question might be answered if South Africa beat Bangladesh. If not, we need to wait until the West Indies-India match, which incidentally is the last match in the qualifying rounds.

Certainly, England had brought life to ODI matches. All the six games they played had created extraordinary interest in the match and all of them led to nail-biting finishes. Well done England!

India's Chances in Cricket World Cup 2011

2011-03-15T11:29:00.001+08:00

Where do India go from here? They are still at the top of group B with 7 points. But, there is a small probability of them not making it to the quarterfinals. But, thats more of a theoretical calculation. But, I believe they should be through.

Why Dhoni is not giving Ashwin a chance? Can someone remind Dhoni that Ashwin is the bowler who helped him to win IPL3 and the Champions League for Chennai Super Kings? I am not discounting the performances of Bollinger or Murali, but Ashwin was the key; he was the surprise element in IPL. Why Dhoni always hesitates to use Ashwin for India in international matches?

Its time India gives Ashwin a chance in the last league game, that too at Chennai (Ashwin's home ground). I also would like to try Suresh Raina in place of Yusuf Pathan in the last match. My team for the game against West Indies would be:

Virender Sehwag
Sachin Tendulkar
Gautam Gambhir
Virat Kohli
Yuvraj Singh
Suresh Raina
Mahendra Singh Dhoni
Harbhajan Singh
R. Ashwin
Zaheer Khan
Munaf Patel

Let us do it boys; we have much more challenges awaiting in the knock out rounds.

Why India lost to South Africa/

2011-03-15T11:24:00.000+08:00

India lost to South Africa in the Cricket World Cup 2011 Group B match. South Africa prevailed in a match that went to the last over. While India failed during their last 10 overs of batting, South Africa held their nerves during their last 10 overs to finish the match in their favour.

India's loss could be attributed to two main reasons:

India's poor performance in the batting powerplay and the overs that followed: India took the powerplay in the 39th over, when they were comfortably placed at 267 for 1. Sachin and Gambhir had put together a 125 run partnership in less than 22 overs and they are well settled to accelerate. There were some criticism in the media on taking the powerplay at this stage. But, I have no complaints on that. India is perfectly positioned to take the powerplay and they could have just exploded. But, as happened in the Netherlands match, Sachin, Gambhir and Yusuf Pathan lost their wickets in very quick succession. Those who followed them never realized the situation and the importance of batting 50 overs. Only the captain Dhoni was willing to bat through. Nobody else was to be around. Nehra's expression after he was dismissed showed how guilty he felt in giving away the wicket. From 267 for 1, India finished at 296 all out. Four batsmen failed to open their account. What a wasted opportunity to beat South Africa? Once again, Tendulkar's century goes in vain, as it happes often.
The last over bowled by Nehra: I was not comfortable when Dhoni gave the ball to Nehra. I thought Harbhajan was bowling well and he could have been a better choice. But, cannot complain too much on Dhoni. Nehra is a frontline bowler and he should have handled it better against a No.9 batsman.

Champions League T20 2010: Group A Schedule

2010-09-14T08:01:00.004+08:00

Champions League Twenty20 2010 is being held in South Africa from 10 Sep 2010 to 26 Sep 2010. The top teams from each of the domestic Twenty20 competition will fight for the ultimate championship.

The ten teams are split into two groups, Group A and Group B. Group A consists of the following teams:

(1) Chennai Super Kings (India)
(2) Warriors (South Africa)
(3) Victorian Bushrangers (Australia)
(4) Wayamba Elevens (Sri Lanka)
(5) Central Stags(New Zealand)

The following is the schedule of round-robin matches in group A. In the round-robin league, each team will compete with every other team once.

11-Sep-10: Warriors vs Wayamba Elevens
11-Sep-10: Central Stags vs Chennai Super Kings
13-Sep-10: Warriors vs Victorian Bushrangers
15-Sep-10: Central Stags vs Victorian Bushrangers
15-Sep-10: Chennai Super Kings vs Wayamba Elevens
18-Sep-10: Central Stags vs Warriors
18-Sep-10: Chennai Super Kings vs Victorian Bushrangers
20-Sep-10: Victorian Bushrangers vs Wayamba Elevens
22-Sep-10: Central Stags vs Wayamba Elevens
22-Sep-10: Chennai Super Kings vs Warriors

Can Chennai beat Kings XI Punjab?

2010-04-18T11:52:00.005+08:00

IPL 2010 is coming to the final stages of the league matches. The competition has been so close that we still have three semi-final slots vacant with just three more games to go. Rather, should I so the quality of cricket is poor this time around? None of the teams had shown the consistency to reach the semi-finals comfortably; Mumbai Indians being the exception. Every team had lost crucial matches and failed to hold on to a comfortable lead.

With three more games to go (Punjab vs Chennai, Delhi vs Deccan & Mumbai vs Kolkata), we have the following teams fighting for a spot in the semi-finals:

(1) Royal Challengers Bangalore
(2) Delhi Daredevils
(3) Chennai Super Kings
(4) Deccan Chargers
(5) Kolkata Knight Riders

Mumbai had qualified and will be the table topper, while Kings XI Punjab and Rajasthan Royals are out of the tournament.

Chennai has a straightforward route; beat Kings XI Punjab and they will be through. It is as simple as that. The other teams need to find calculators and computers if Chennai wins.

So, what can Chennai do to win this match? They are fortunate to face a team that is out of the tournament. Or, will that work against them? I do not know. But, they should feel comfortable playing the team that is at the bottom of the table. Chennai has to get its combination right for this away game. Their resurgence had been due to the success at home. Can they do it one final time?

The turn-around in Chennai's fortunes happened since the arrival of Bollinger and the complete change of Murali Vijay. Chennai always had Hayden as the opener and the other opener was just adding to the numbers. But Vijay changed that very quickly. Let us not forget the other contributors, Suresh Raina and Ashwin. What is the best combination for Chennai? I would go with the following team:

1. Murali Vijay
2. Parthiv Patel
3. Suresh Raina
4. Mahendra Singh Dhoni
5. Albie Morkel
6. Justin Kemp/ Michael Hussey
7. Subramaniam Badrinath
8. R Ashwin
9. Shadab Jakati
10. Thilan Thushara
11. Doug Bollinger

It would be hard to drop Hayden. But, Chennai had to take the bold step. This is a match where you need to take the risk. Chennai has suffered due to the failure of seam bowlers. So, it would be good to bring in Thushara to support Bollinger. Albie Morkel would be the third seamer. Justin Kemp or Michael Hussey would fit into the final foreigner slot.

Let us go Chennai! Time to have the final push!

IPL 2010: Who will reach semi-finals?

2010-04-13T13:33:00.004+08:00

We are coming close to the end of group stage in IPL 2010. I should say this edition is a very close contest between the teams. Some teams started well, but lost their way. Contrastingly, some teams had a bad start, but overcame that later in the tournament. Only two teams maintained their status throughout the tournament; Mumbai Indians were the all-conquering team while Kings XI Punjab struggled for the most part of the tournament.

So, Mumbai Indians had qualified with 16 points to their credit. Kings XI Punjab was eliminated from the tournament for all practical purposes; though, still they have a improbable theoretical chance to make it to the semi-finals. But, realistically, six teams will be fighting hard for the remaining three semi-final spots.

Royal Challengers Bangalore looked the most consistent team of these six remaining teams. So, I would guess that they would go through to the next stage. So, who will grab the last two slots? Delhi Daredevils, Deccan Chargers, Chennai Super Kings, Kolkata Knight Riders or Rajasthan Royals? All these teams played brilliant one day and looked pretty ordinary another day. So, let us wait and watch as the drama unfolds.

IPL 2010: Player of the match (#11 to #20)

2010-04-08T08:49:00.005+08:00

The man of the match won by players for IPL 2010 matches #11 to #20 is listed below:

11	Delhi Daredevils vs Chennai Super Kings	Mathew Hayden (CSK)
12	Deccan Chargers vs Kings XI Punjab	Andrew Symonds (DC)
13	Rajasthan Royals vs Kolkata Knight Riders	Abhishek Jhunjhunwala (RR)
14	Mumbai Indians vs Royal Challengers Bangalore	Jacques Kallis (RCB)
15	Deccan Chargers vs Delhi Daredevils	Andrew Symonds (DC)
16	Chennai Super Kings vs Kings XI Punjab	Juan Theron (KXIP)
17	Mumbai Indians vs Kolkata Knight Riders	Sachin Tendulkar (MI)
18	Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Chennai Super Kings	Robin Uthappa (RCB)
19	Kings XI Punjab vs Rajasthan Royals	Adam Voges (RR)
20	Mumbai Indians vs Chennai Super Kings	Sachin Tendulkar (MI)

IPL 2010: Match 4 Highlights (RCB vs KKR)

2010-03-21T22:59:00.003+08:00

Indian Premier League (IPL) 2010
Match #4 played on 14 March 2010
Played between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kolkata Knight Riders

Royal Challengers Bangalore, once nicknamed as the Test team, had a golden run in 2009 finishing as the runners-up. Kumble's rise to the captaincy seems to be the turning point in Bangalore's success story. On the contrary, Kolkata Knight Riders had two poor seasons, IPL 2008 and IPL 2009. They confused themselves and everyone else by resorting to the multiple captains theory.

Will KKR turn it around this season? Will Bangalore continue its dream run again?

IPL 2010: Match 3 Highlights (KXIP vs DD)

2010-03-21T19:42:00.004+08:00

Indian Premier League (IPL) 2010
Match #3 played on March 13, 2010
Played between Kings XI Punjab and Delhi Daredevils

Delhi Daredevils was the best team on view last year until they were swept away by Adam Gilchrist in the semi-finals. Kings XI Punjab did not live up to the expectations and failed to reach the semi-finals stage in IPL 2009. Kumar Sangakkara has taken over the captaincy of Kings XI Punjab from Yuvraj Singh, while Gautam Gambhir took over the captaincy of Delhi Daredevils from Virender Sehwag.

Let us watch the game highlights right here in Youtube.

IPL 2010: Match 2 Highlights MI vs RR

2010-03-21T11:15:00.005+08:00

Indian Premier League (IPL) 2010
Match #2 played on March 13, 2010
Played between Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals

Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders are the only two teams who failed to qualify to the semi-finals stage in both IPL 2008 & IPL 2009. Mumbai Indians features players like Sachin Tendulkar, Sanath Jayasuriya, JP Duminy Lasith Malinga, Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan. So, it is hard to believe that they finished at the bottom half in both previous editions of IPL.

On the contrary, Rajasthan Royals surprised everyone by clinching the trophy at IPL 2008. They rode on the power of local youngsters and the brainpower of captain Shane Warne. But, in the second edition, things did not go as well. They could not finish in the top four.

Will these two teams get things going their way? Let us watch the highlights.

IPL 2010: Match 1 Highlights (DC vs KKR)

2010-03-20T12:15:00.004+08:00

The first match of IPL 2010 was played between the title defenders, Deccan Chargers, and IPL 2009's last placed team Kolkata Knight Riders. The match that had some excellent turns and twists. Kolkata Knight Riders started the match as badly as they can, by losing two wickets without a run on the board. Watch the highlights and see the brilliant performances of Angelo Mathews, Owais Shah and Adam Gilchrist. See which team triumphs in the end by watching the highlights of the match.

IPL 2010: Player of the match (#1 to #10)

2010-03-19T23:28:00.004+08:00

The following is the list of man of the match/ player of the match awards given for each game in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2010. The player of the match award recognizes mainly the player's contribution to the winning team. I personally feel that the man of the match award is lopsided and batsmen are the favourites to the award. The bowlers get the award only when they perform exceptionally well. This has been the case in most of the tournaments. Let us see how it goes in IPL 2010. Here is the list:

1	Deccan Chargers vs Kolkata Knight Riders	Angelo Mathews (KKR)
2	Mumbai Indians vs Rajasthan Royals	Yusuf Pathan (RR)
3	Kings XI Punjab vs Delhi Daredevils	Gautam Gambhir (DD)
4	Kolkata Knight Riders vs Royal Challengers Bangalore	Manoj Tiwary (KKR)
5	Chennai Super Kings vs Deccan Chargers	Chaminda Vaas (DC)
6	Rajasthan Royals vs Delhi Daredevils	Virender Sehwag (DD)
7	Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Kings XI Punjab	Jacques Kallis (RCB)
8	Kolkata Knight Riders vs Chennai Super Kings	Mahendra Singh Dhoni (CSK)
9	Delhi Daredevils vs Mumbai Indians	Sachin Tendulkar (MI)
10	Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Rajasthan Royals	Jacques Kallis (RCB)

Indian Men Failed; Women enter semifinals

2009-06-17T12:53:00.003+08:00

The semi-final line up is confirmed after the last two matches in the ICC World Twenty20 2009 tournament. India once again failed to rise its game and were handed their third defeat in as many games in the super eights stage. The first semi-finals will be played between winner of group E, South Africa, and second placed team in group F, Pakistan. Sri Lanka, winner of group F, will clash with West Indies from group E.

The schedule of semi-finals is as follows:

Jun 18: Pakistan vs South Africa
Jun 19: Sri Lanka vs West Indies

Interestingly, Pakistan is the only team to have reached the semi-finals stage of both the World T20 tournaments, in 2007 and 2009.

ICC Women's World Twenty20 2009
Nature has created men and women to complement each other. They have completely contrasting characters, beliefs and behaviour. This is completely reflected in the World Twenty20 tournament too. The countries that have qualified for the men's semi-finals have failed to reach the last four in women's tournament and vice-versa. South African men won all three matches to finish on top of the group while South African women lost all three matches to finish at bottom of the group.

While Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka and West Indies would be competing in the men's event, it is left to India, Australia, New Zealand and England in the women's tournament.

The schedule of women's semi-finals is as follows:

Jun 18: India vs New Zealand
Jun 19: England vs Australia

It could be much consolation for most of the countries, as at least one of their teams had qualified to the last four stage.

Good Bye England, Hello West Indies

2009-06-16T12:53:00.003+08:00

India have been eliminated from the World Twenty20 2009 tournament. It is a huge disappointment, no doubt, for the defending champions. But, the beauty of any sport is its unpredictability. If everyone can predict the result perfectly, then we would not be able to enjoy the game.

My Predictions went wrong
My predictions had gone wrong for the semi-finalists of the ICC World Twenty20 2009 tournament. I had predicted with confidence that South Africa, Sri Lanka and New Zealand to reach semi-finals. I have also thought the fourth spot would be a fight between India and West Indies and predicted India to edge out West Indies. But, it turns out that India had been eliminated. From the other group, either Sri Lanka or New Zealand will go through. Pakistan has surprised me completely by qualifying as the first team from group F. Sri Lanka is in a very similar situation to South Africa's position in 2007. That time, South Africa was the stronger team coming in undefeated for the last match of the super eights. India defeated them by a big margin and they were out of the tournament. Sri Lanka also comes undefeated, but they are in a must-win situation now due to their poor net run rate.

Is Dhoni to be blamed?
Everyone started to blame Dhoni for the elimination. Many of his decisions were questioned in hindsight. The decision to field first, the decision to drop Ojha and include Jadeja, sending Jadeja ahead of Yuvraj Singh and so on. It is easier said than done. I cannot but sympathize with Dhoni and Jadeja. Jadeja is a good player and he contributed in the bowling department. He picked two of the most valuable wickets, Kevin Pietersen and Ravi Bopara. Yes, he has consumed 35 deliveries for his 25. I should agree a 25 ball 25 would have been ideal. He has taken 10 extra deliveries, which could have been decisive in the end.

Jadeja at No. 4
I have to be honest. When I saw Ravindra Jadeja walking in at No. 4, I was quite happy. I thought the situation demanded some calm and cool play with good running between the wicket. Yuvraj Singh likes to be aggressive and if he fails earlier then India is gone. So, Jadeja is suited for the job and situation, but he failed to become the hero.

Instinctive Captain
Let us not forget that the margin of loss is just three runs, just one hit to the boundary. So, stop complaining and be with the team when they need you the most. We had seen Dhoni take several peculiar decisions earlier, which had paid off. Think about Joginder Sharma bowling the final over in ICC World Twenty20 2007 or bringing Piyush Chawla late in the VB series tournament in Australia. We all said Dhoni is a captain by instinct. Your instincts could fail on a day. This is one such day.

Bye Bye England, Hello West Indies
Let us forget it and move on. With the last match against South Africa today, we will bid good bye to England and start concentrating on the next series. Just ten days break before India takes on West Indies in the one-day series that begins on 26 June 2009.

Leading Wicket Takers: ICC WT20 2009

2009-06-12T13:32:00.005+08:00

The bowlers had been surprisingly effective in the shortest format of cricket. In the initial stages of Twenty20 cricket, the shortest format of cricket was believed to be a batsman's game and bowlers were just adding to the numbers. That belief is changing now and the bowlers are getting as much importance as the batsmen get. Particularly of interest is the success of spinners in T20 format. Every team is almost playing two spinners in their line-up, which was not even seen in the 50 overs format.

The following list provides the top five leading wicket takers in ICC World Twenty20 2009 tournament played in England. The list salutes the best bowlers in the tournament.

Bowler	Matches	Wickets	Average	Economy
Umar Gul Pakistan	5	12	9.16	6.28
Saeed Ajmal Pakistan	5	11	10.18	5.60
Lasith Malinga Sri Lanka	5	11	13.00	7.52
Ajantha Mendis Sri Lanka	5	10	10.00	5.55
Roelof van der Merwe South Africa	5	9	11.77	5.30

Updated on 17 June 2009 after the completion of Super Eights stage

12 June 2009: Take a look at the list. Spinners are occupying the top four slots, which shows clearly how the Twenty20 game is evolving. The spinners are among the wickets.

Leading Run Scorers: ICC WT20 2009

2009-06-11T09:30:00.006+08:00

ICC World Twenty20 2009 tournament moves into the second phase from today. The preliminary rounds are over and the super eight teams are identified. There were two upsets if we consider the team's seedings. Bangladesh, seeded No. 2 in group A, has been upset by Ireland. Australia, seeded No. 1 in group C, has been upset by West Indies.

With the tournament moving into the more competitive super eights, this article will update the top five leading run scorers of ICC World Twenty20 2009 for you. The batsman with most runs is normally considered as the best batsman of the tournament. So, here is the list of batsman with most runs in the tournament:

Batsman	Matches	Total Runs	Average	Strike Rate
Tillakaratne Dilshan Sri Lanka	5	221	44.20	140.76
AB de Villiers South Africa	5	185	46.25	160.86
Jacques Kallis South Africa	4	174	58.00	129.85
Dwayne Bravo West Indies	5	154	51.33	148.07
Kevin Pietersen England	4	154	38.50	152.47

Updated on 17 June 2009 after the completion of Super Eights stage

Schedule of Super Eights: ICC WT20

2009-06-10T10:48:00.002+08:00

Pakistan defeated Netherlands and completes the list of teams for the super eights stage in ICC World Twenty20 2009 cricket tournament held in England. The following is the schedule of matches showing the two groups in Super Eights stage:

Group E:
11 Jun: England vs South Africa
12 Jun: West Indies vs India
13 Jun: West Indies vs South Africa
14 Jun: England vs India
15 Jun: England vs West Indies
16 Jun: India vs South Africa

Group F:
11 Jun: Ireland vs New Zealand
12 Jun: Pakistan vs Sri Lanka
13 Jun: Pakistan vs New Zealand
14 Jun: Ireland vs Sri Lanka
15 Jun: Ireland vs Pakistan
16 Jun: New Zealand vs Sri Lanka

The schedule is very hectic with matches being played everyday. Teams like West Indies, England, Pakistan and Ireland have to play back to back matches with less than 24 hours between the matches.

Prediction for Semi-finals:
At this stage, I believe South Africa, Sri Lanka and New Zealand are favourites to make it to the semi-finals. The last spot may see a tough fight between India and West Indies, with India holding a slight edge over West Indies. So, my teams for the semi-finals would be South Africa, India, Sri Lanka and New Zealand. The semi-final is expected to feature South Africa-New Zealand and India-Sri Lanka.

Teams Qualified for Super Eights: WT20

2009-06-09T11:04:00.004+08:00

Update: Pakistan has qualified as the last team into the super eights after defeating Netherlands in their second group match.

The following teams have already qualified to the super eights stage of the ICC World Twenty20 2009 held in England. I have listed the qualified teams from each group with their respective seeding.

Qualifying Teams to Super Eights Stage
Group A: India (A1), Ireland (A2)
Group B: Pakistan ~~or Netherlands~~ (B1), England (B2)
Group C: West Indies (C1), Sri Lanka (C2)
Group D: New Zealand (D1), South Africa (D2)

So, seven teams have already qualified for the super eights stage. Today's match will decide the final team from group B. Pakistan is the number one seed in group B. But, if they don't beat Netherlands by a margin of at least 24 runs, they will be out of the tournament. Netherlands has a good chance to move into the super eights, but Pakistan still can come back if they get their act together.

There had been two upsets so far, one in group A and one in group C. Ireland has upset Bangladesh, the second seeded team in group A. So, Ireland takes over the seeding of Bangladesh and becomes team A2 for the super eights stage. Similarly, West Indies takes over the seeding of Australia in group C. Australia has been outplayed in both their matches, against West Indies and Sri Lanka. In fact, group C is a kind of "Group of Death" since they don't have an associate team in the group.

Super Eights stage Groups:
Group E: India (A1), England (B2), West Indies (C1), South Africa (D2)
Group F: Ireland (A2), Pakistan~~/ Netherlands~~ (B1), Sri Lanka (C2), New Zealand (D1)

It seems group E is tougher with teams like India and South Africa competing against West Indies and the hosts England. Group F looks easier. If Netherlands make it to the super eights stage, then there will be two associate nations in group F. At this moment it looks like Sri Lanka and New Zealand will make it to the semi-finals comfortably from group F.

Schedule of ICC World Twenty20 2009

2009-06-03T10:55:00.003+08:00

The following shows the schedule/ fixtures of the preliminary round cricket matches to be played in ICC World Twenty20 2009 tournament. The 12 cricket teams are split into four groups of three teams each. In the preliminary round, each team will play two matches and the top two teams from each group will qualify to the Super Eights stage.

Group A
1. June 06 - Bangladesh vs India
2. June 08 - Bangladesh vs Ireland
3. June 10 - India vs Ireland

Group B
1. June 05 - England vs Netherlands
2. June 07 - England vs Pakistan
3. June 09 - Netherlands vs Pakistan

Group C
1. June 06 - Australia vs West Indies
2. June 08 - Australia vs Sri Lanka
3. June 10 - Sri Lanka vs West Indies

Group D
1. June 06 - New Zealand vs Scotland
2. June 07 - Scotland vs South Africa
3. June 09 - New Zealand vs South Africa

ICC World Twenty20 2007: Leading Wicket Takers

2009-05-29T11:49:00.003+08:00

The bowlers have played a major role in IPL 2008 & IPL 2009. The winning teams on both occasions, Rajasthan Royals and Deccan Chargers, had in them the leading wicket takers. If Sohail Tanvir did it for Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2008, it was RP Singh for Deccan Chargers in IPL 2009. If this trend continues, then you would expect bowlers coming in handy in English conditions in ICC World Twenty20 2009.

In this article, we are going to see the best bowling performances in ICC World Twenty20 2007 held in South Africa. I am going to list the top five leading wicket takers, best bowling performances in an innings, bowlers with best bowling strike rates, bowlers who achieved best bowling averages and the most economical bowlers of the tournament.

Leading Wicket Takers
1. Umar Gul, Pakistan - 13 wickets
2. Stuart Clark, Australia - 12 wickets
3. RP Singh, India - 12 wickets
4. Shahid Afridi, Pakistan - 12 wickets
5. Daniel Vettori, New Zealand - 11 wickets

Bowlers with Best Bowling Performances
1. Mark Gillespie, New Zealand - 4 for 7 vs Kenya
2. RP Singh, India - 4 for 13 vs South Africa
3. Morne Morkel, South Africa - 4 for 17 vs New Zealand
4. Mohammad Asif, Pakistan - 4 for 18 vs India
5. Shahid Afridi, Pakistan - 4 for 19 vs Scotland

Bowlers with Best Bowling Strike Rates (Balls taken per wicket)
1. Elton Chigumbura, Zimbabwe - 6 balls
2. Darren Maddy, England - 6 balls
3. Ramnaresh Sarwan, West Indies - 6 balls
4. Hamilton Masakadza, Zimbabwe - 6 balls
5. Jimmy Kamande, Kenya - 8 balls

Bowlers with Best Bowling Averages (Runs given per wicket)
1. Ramnaresh Sarwan, West Indies - 5.00
2. Elton Chigumbura, Zimbabwe - 7.28
3. Darren Maddy, England - 8.66
4. Shaoib Malik, Pakistan - 9.00
5. Hamilton Masakadza, Zimbabwe - 9.00

Bowlers with Best Economy Rates (Runs per Over)
1. Ramnaresh Sarwan, West Indies - 5.00
2. Yusuf Pathan, India - 5.00
3. Daniel Vettori, New Zealand - 5.33
4. Chris Gayle, West Indies - 5.50
5. Chamara Silva, Sri Lanka - 5.50

Leading Run Scorers: ICC World Twenty20 2007

2009-05-28T07:57:00.003+08:00

ICC World Twenty20 was first held in South Africa in 2007. India entered the Twenty20 arena with not much background in the shorter format of cricket. They too went in with a new skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and a relatively youth team, that missed the experience of players like Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman and Anil Kumble. But they managed to lift the trophy beating off stiff competition from arch rivals Pakistan, who came very close twice but failed to overcome India.

In this article, I have compiled the list of best batsmen in the ICC World Twenty20 2007. The list includes the top five leading run scorers, highest individual scores in an innings, most sixes hit by batsmen, best batting strike rates and best batting averages.

Top Five Leading Run Scorers
1. Matthew Hayden, Australia - 265 runs
2. Gautam Gambhir, India - 227 runs
3. Misbah-Ul-Haq, Pakistan - 218 runs
4. Shaoib Malik, Pakistan - 195 runs
5. Kevin Pietersen, England - 178 runs

Highest Individual Scores
1. Chris Gayle, West Indies - 117 runs
2. Herschelle Gibbs, South Africa - 90 not out
3. Justin Kemp, South Africa - 89 not out
4. Sanath Jayasuriya, Sri Lanka - 88
5. Kevin Pietersen, England - 79

Best Batting Averages (Most Consistent Batsmen)
1. Brendon Taylor, Zimbabwe - 107.00
2. Matthew Hayden, Australia - 88.33
3. Justin Kemp, South Africa - 86.50
4. Zunaed Siddique, Bangladesh - 71.00
5. Chris Gayle, West Indies - 58.50

Best Batting Strike Rates (Quick Scorers)
1. Shahid Afridi, Pakistan - 197.83
2. Chris Gayle, West Indies - 195.00
3. Yuvraj Singh, India - 194.74
4. Mohammed Ashraful, Bangladesh - 181.25
5. Craig McMillan, New Zealand - 181.11

* Only Batsmen who have faced at least 25 deliveries in the tournament has been considered in the above list

Batsmen with Most Sixes (Most Aggressive Batsmen)
1. Craig McMillan, New Zealand - 13
2. Yuvraj Singh, India - 12
3. Matthew Hayden, Australia - 10
4. Justin Kemp, South Africa - 10
5. Imran Nazir, Pakistan - 10

Indian Squad for ICC World Twenty20 2009

2009-05-26T15:58:00.004+08:00

ICC World Twenty20 2009 (WT20) is going to be held in England, in about a week's time from now. The Indians are coming to the Twenty20 tournament fresh from the just concluded Indian Premier League (IPL 2009), which also belongs to the twenty overs a side format. Will they be fresh or tired? I am not sure. The results will show. I hope the match experience in South Africa would have prepared them well.

Below is the list of Indian players selected for the ICC World Twenty20 tournament:

1. Virender Sehwag (Vice captain)
2. Gautam Gambhir
3. Suresh Raina
4. Yuvraj Singh
5. Rohit Sharma
6. Yusuf Pathan
7. Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Captain & Wicket-keeper)
8. Irfan Pathan
9. Harbhajan Singh
10. Zaheer Khan
11. RP Singh
12. Ravindra Jadeja
13. Praveen Kumar
14. Pragyan Ojha
15. Ishant Sharma

Mahendra Singh Dhoni will be leading the team in the World Twenty20 for the second time, following his success in the first edition held in South Africa. Virender Sehwag will be his deputy.

Format of ICC World Twenty20 2009

2009-05-26T11:55:00.005+08:00

ICC World Twenty20 2009 cricket tournament feature 12 teams in the men's tournament and eight teams in the women's competition. The following is the grouping of teams in the men's event:

Men's Event Grouping
Group A: India (A1), Bangladesh (A2), Ireland
Group B: Pakistan (B1), England (B2), Netherlands
Group C: Australia (C1), Sri Lanka (C2), West Indies
Group D: New Zealand (D1), South Africa (D2), Scotland

The symbol within the brackets indicate the seeding of the respective team. A1 means India is ranked number one in Group A. Bangladesh is ranked second in group A, so it is A2. Teams like Ireland, Netherlands, West Indies and Scotland are unseeded.

Preliminary Stage
The teams will play each other within the group once and the top two teams from each group will qualify for the Super Eights stage. As such, each group will have three matches. At group stage, there will be 12 matches in all.

Irrespective of where the teams finish within the group, they will carry over their seeding. If an unseeded team enters the Super Eights stage, then they will take over the seeding of the team that is eliminated.

Super Eight Groups:
Group E: A1, B2, C1, D2
Group F: A2, B1, C2, D1

In the Super Eights stage, each team will play the other team within the group once and the top two teams from each group will clash in the semifinals. At the Super Eights stage, there will be 12 matches again.

Semi-finals:
1st Match: Winner of Group E (E1) vs Runner-up in Group F (F2)
2nd Match: Winner of Group F (F1) vs Runner-up in Group E (E2)

So, ICC World Twenty20 2009 Men's Event will have 27 matches, which will be played from 05 June 2009 with the finals on 21 June 2009.

Can Chennai Super Kings Reach Semifinals?

2009-05-20T13:16:00.003+08:00

Can Chennai Super Kings make it to the semi-finals of IPL 2009? The recent loss of Chennai Super Kings to Kolkata Knight Riders has prevented them to make it comfortably. But, in all likelihood, they should qualify. For them not to qualify from here, it needs almost everything go against them.

Current Standing:
Delhi Daredevils - 18 pts (Qualified for semi-finals)
Chennai Super Kings - 15 pts
Deccan Chargers - 14 pts
Royal Challengers Bangalore - 14 pts
Kings XI Punjab - 14 pts
Rajasthan Royals - 13 pts
Mumbai Indians - 11 pts (Out of contention for semi-finals)
Kolkata Knight Riders - 5 pts (Out of contention for semi-finals)

Five teams are competing for three available semi-final berths. All of them have a game each in hand.

Remaining Matches:
1. Kolkata Knight Riders vs Rajasthan Royals
2. Chennai Super Kings vs Kings XI Punjab
3. Delhi Daredevils vs Mumbai Indians (Only match in IPL that is to be played without any interest, as Delhi has already made it to the semis and Mumbai is already out of contention)
4. Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Deccan Chargers (Effectively, a quarter-final match. The winner is assured of a place in semi-finals)

So, that makes it three important matches in two days that will decide the remaining three semi-finalists.

How Chennai Super Kings can Qualify for semi-finals?
Theoretically, Chennai is yet to qualify. But, I believe that they made it. The best way to qualify is to beat Kings XI Punjab today and retain the second spot with 17 points. Let us look at the worst scenario for Chennai.

Match #1: Rajasthan wins
Match #2: Chennai loses
Match #3: Result Irrelevant
Match #4: Either Deccan wins or Bangalore wins

With this scenario, Kings XI Punjab will go through along with the winner of match #4, both teams on 16 points. Rajasthan and Chennai will be tied on 15 points and net run rate will decide. Currently, Chennai has a net run rate of +0.932 compared to Rajasthan Royals' -0.360. So, it needs a huge win by Rajasthan combined with huge loss by Chennai for Rajasthan to go up in terms of net run rate. Let me explain how big the win/ loss should be:

Let us say, Rajasthan bats first, scores 240 runs and restricts Kolkata to just 100 runs. Rajasthan wins by a margin of 140 runs. For discussion sake, let us say the reverse happens to Chennai. That means, Kings XI Punjab beats Chennai by a margin of 140 runs. With such huge margin in two games, Chennai will have a NRR of +0.317 and Rajasthan will still be behind with +0.216.

Chennai, in my opinion, should qualify without much fuss.

Chanderpaul Behind Lara in Test Matches

2009-05-18T11:23:00.003+08:00

Shivnarine Chanderpaul became the second highest run scorer in test matches for West Indies. Chanderpaul moved ahead of Sir Viv Richards to take the second spot in the list of most runs in test matches for West Indies. Chanderpaul has accumulated 8547 runs in 121 test matches. Viv Richards also took the same number of matches to score 8540 runs, but he needed only 182 innings compared to Chanderpaul's 206.

The following is the list of top five West Indies batsmen with most runs in test match cricket:

1. Brian Lara - 11912 runs
2. Shivnarine Chanderpaul - 8547 runs
3. Sir Viv Richards - 8540 runs
4. Sir Garry Sobers - 8032 runs
5. Gordon Greenidge - 7558 runs

Chanderpaul has been the mainstay and Mr. Dependable for West Indies for almost a decade now. He has scored 21 centuries and 52 half-centuries. Chanderpaul also holds the record for most number of half-centuries by West Indies batsman in test match cricket.

Gilchrist Individual Scores in IPL 2009

2009-05-13T22:10:00.006+08:00

Adam Gilchrist, the captain of Deccan Chargers, is an influential leader who brought a refreshing change to the approach of the last year's tailenders. His aggressive batting combined with brilliant wicket-keeping has always kept Australia in an advantageous position. Now, Deccan Chargers are the beneficiaries of his skills. Will he go on to lead the Deccan Chargers to the semi-finals? We are not sure yet. But, certainly, Gilly will do his best.

Here are the individual scores of Adam Gilchrist in IPL 2009, listed match by match:

1. vs Chennai Super Kings:	44 (19 balls)
2. vs Chennai Super Kings:	0 (1 ball)
3. vs Mumbai Indians:	35 (20 balls)
4. vs Mumbai Indians:	25 (29 balls)
5. vs Kolkata Knight Riders:	13 (11 balls)
6. vs Kolkata Knight Riders:	43 (31 balls)
7. vs Royal Challengers Bangalore:	71 (45 balls)
8. vs Royal Challengers Bangalore:	15 (18 balls)
9. vs Royal Challengers Bangalore (Final) :	0 (3 balls)
10. vs Delhi Daredevils:	8 (5 balls)
11. vs Delhi Daredevils:	64 (33 balls)
12. vs Delhi Daredevils (Semi-final):	85 (35 balls)
13. vs Rajasthan Royals:	39 (35 balls)
14. vs Rajasthan Royals:	10 (11 balls)
15. vs Kings XI Punjab:	20 (16 balls)
16. vs Kings XI Punjab:	23 (13 balls)

Adam Gilchrist finished as the second highest run scorer in IPL 2009, behind fellow Australian Matthew Hayden. Gilly is instrumental in taking the bottom-most team in IPL 2008 to win the trophy in IPL 2009. His powerful 85 from just 35 balls threw the favourites Delhi Daredevils out of the tournament in the first semi-finals. He was dismissed for no score in the finals, but that did not stop Deccan Chargers from winning the tournament.

Adam Gilchrist finished with 495 runs from 16 matches at an average of 30.93 and strike rate of 152.30. Gilchrist's strike rate is the best in IPL 2009 for players who have scored at least 250 runs in the tournament.

Sachin Tendulkar Scores in IPL 2009

2009-05-13T11:27:00.007+08:00

Sachin Tendulkar is the captain of Mumbai Indians team in Indian Premier League (IPL). The team depends a lot on Sachin Tendulkar to provide a solid and sound opening to the innings. The below list shows the runs scored by Sachin Tendulkar in each match of IPL 2009:

1. vs Chennai Super Kings:	59 not out (49 balls)
2. vs Rajasthan Royals:	Match abandoned
3. vs Deccan Chargers:	36 (27 balls)
4. vs Kolkata Knight Riders:	68 (45 balls)
5. vs Kings XI Punjab:	01 (06 balls)
6. vs Kolkata Knight Riders:	34 (30 balls)
7. vs Royal Challengers Bangalore:	11 (11 balls)
8. vs Deccan Chargers:	02 (04 balls)
9. vs Delhi Daredevils:	15 (14 balls)
10. vs Royal Challengers Bangalore:	00 (03 balls)
11. vs Kings XI Punjab:	41 (29 balls)
12. vs Rajasthan Royals:	40 (30 balls)
13. vs Chennai Super Kings:	11 (14 balls)
14. vs Delhi Daredevils:	46 (41 balls)

Currently (after 11 matches), he is the second highest scorer for Mumbai Indians, just behind South African sensation JP Duminy.

Sachin Tendulkar has overtaken JP Duminy to be the highest scorer for Mumbai Indians, with 307 runs (after 12 matches)

Final Update
Sachin Tendulkar finished with 364 runs, the second highest run scorer for Mumbai Indians, just behind JP Duminy's tally of 372 runs. Sachin's runs came at an average of 33.09 at a strike rate of 120.13.

Sachin would be very disappointed with the overall performance of Mumbai Indians, the team that promised too much at the beginning but disappeared near the end. Mumbai Indians, finishing seventh in the table, once again failed to make it to the semi-finals of IPL. The other team below Mumbai Indians, Kolkata Knight Riders, is the only other team that has failed to reach semi-finals stage in either of the two editions of IPL.

KKR Cannot Reach IPL 2009 Semifinals

2009-05-12T13:09:00.004+08:00

Can Kolkata Knight Riders still reach the semi-finals of IPL 2009? I don't think so. I think they have become the first team to be out of contention for the semi-finals. In my article yesterday, titled "Can Kolkata reach Semifinals?", I told that Deccan Chargers should lose all their remaining matches. But, in yesterday's match, Deccan Chargers beat Rajasthan Royals quite convincingly. And that win has eliminated Kolkata Knight Riders from the race for the semi-finals.

Current Points table
Delhi Daredevils - 14
Chennai Super Kings - 13
Deccan Chargers - 12
Rajasthan Royals - 11
Kings XI Punjab - 10
Mumbai Indians - 9
Royal Challengers Bangalore - 8
Kolkata Knight Riders - 3

Interesting arrangement as the top seven teams are separated by a single point each. The tournament is so competitive that any of the four teams from the top seven can qualify to the next stage.

Status of KKR
With just four games in hand, Kolkata can finish with 11 points at the most considering optimistically that they win all the remaining games. So, it is clear that they cannot challenge Delhi Daredevils, Chennai Super Kings and Deccan Chargers. So, the only way for them to qualify to the next stage is to move above the other four teams. It is not possible, even theoretically, now. Let me explain why.

Just consider two of the 16 remaining games,
Kings XI Punjab vs Mumbai Indians and
Rajasthan Royals vs Mumbai Indians.

Scenario #1:
Match #1: Kings XI Punjab beats Mumbai Indians - Kings XI will have 12 points and KKR are eliminated.
Other results are irrelevant to KKR

Scenario #2:
Match #2: Rajasthan Royals beats Mumbai Indians - Rajasthan will have 13 points and KKR eliminated.
Other results are irrelevant to KKR

Scenario #3:
Match #1: Mumbai Indians beats KXIP - MI will have 11 points.
Match #2: Mumbai Indians beats RR: MI will have 13 points and KKR eliminated.

Scenario #4:
Match #1: Washed out - MI - 10 points.
Match #2: If MI beats RR, MI will move up with 12 pts; If RR beats MI, RR will move up with 13 pts; KKR eliminated.

Scenario #5:
Match #2: Washed out - RR will move up with 12 points
Other results are irrelevant to KKR

So, it is clear that Kolkata Knight Riders had been knocked out of the tournament. Hope they put up a good show in the remaining matches and provide some interesting matches. Kolkata Knight Riders started off the season with controversy and finishes off the season silently. Better luck next time.

IPL 2009: Can Kolkata reach semifinals?

2009-05-11T13:05:00.004+08:00

Kolkata Knight Riders lost yet another match in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2009 held in South Africa. They lost their recent match to table leaders Delhi Daredevils. With just one win from 10 matches, can Kolkata Knight Riders still make it to the semi-finals stage? While it is highly unlikely, there is still hope, at least, theoretically.

Current Status of IPL teams:
Kolkata Knight Riders has gained two points from their win against Kings XI Punjab and one point from the rain-washed out game against Chennai Super Kings. That makes it three points for them and leaves them at the bottom of the table. Let us look at the points table, as of now:

Delhi Daredevils - 14
Chennai Super Kings -13
Rajasthan Royals - 11
Deccan Chargers - 10
Kings XI Punjab - 10
Mumbai Indians - 9
Royal Challengers Bangalore - 8
Kolkata Knight Riders - 3

Possible Scenario for KKR:
(1) The game between Deccan Chargers and Kings XI Punjab is washed out and they share a point each.
(2) Deccan Chargers and Kings XI Punjab lose all their remaining games.
(3) Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians do not win more than a game each.
(4) Kolkata Knight Riders win all the remaining 4 matches convincingly

If all these happens, it will leave four teams with 11 points each. Kolkata Knight Riders will qualify over the other three teams Deccan Chargers, Kings XI Punjab and Mumbai Indians by means of better net run rate.

All these happening together is highly impossible, particularly the first condition is in the hands of nature. There are other possible scenarios, which are much more unlikely.

Conclusion
So, effectively, Kolkata Knight Riders are out of the tournament unless few miracles happen from now on. In my opinion, the competition for semi-final spots have been reduced to just seven teams.

Chennai Team for Deccan Chargers Match

2009-05-04T13:18:00.003+08:00

Chennai Super Kings will be playing Deccan Chargers, the current leaders of IPL 2009, in today's match. Chennai Super Kings is upbeat from their comprehensive win against last year champion Rajasthan Royals and a close win against Delhi Daredevils. Deccan Chargers has been put off track a little from their two losses after four consecutive wins. Interestingly, the same two teams that lost to Chennai Super Kings have beaten Deccan Chargers recently. Yes, Deccan Chargers had lost to Delhi Daredevils and Rajasthan Royals.

Positive Changes for Chennai Super Kings
Chennai has made few changes in the last two matches to the team and the batting order that helped to restore some balance in the team.

1. Parthiv Patel was dropped and Murali Vijay replaced him as opener. Since Dhoni is wicket keeping, Vijay is a better option as opener. Sunil Gavaskar, in his commentary, said that Vijay is a test player. But, its fine for me if he can score 20 runs from 20 balls and gets out. Most importantly, he should be able to rotate strike with Hayden and score at not less than a run a ball.

2. Manpreet Gony was dropped and Tyagi came in his place. Tyagi bowled very well in the last two matches. His two wickets off two balls was crucial in Chennai taking an upper hand early in the match against Delhi Daredevils. The highlight is the first ball dismissal of AB de Villiers, the batsman who scored an unbeaten century the last time these two teams met.

3. Joginder Sharma was dropped finally and in came spinner Shadab Jakati in his place. What a match he had? He picked four wickets and set the match Chennai's way. He bowled a beauty to dismiss Tillakaratne Dilshan. The combination of Jakati and Murali should work well for Chennai Super Kings.

4. Badrinath was promoted to No.4 and he played exceptionally well in the last two matches. Badrinath was clueless when he came late in the innings, but he played crucial partnerships with Suresh Raina when he was promoted.

Team for Today's Match
It might look like Chennai has found the right combination and balance for the rest of the tournament. But, I still see their bowling a weak link in spite of their victories. I would prefer one more change to this line-up, bringing in Makhaya Ntini at the expense of Jacob Oram or Albie Morkel. Both these all-rounders have failed with the bat, but Albie Morkel bowled well in the last two matches. So, I would prefer to leave Jacob Oram for Ntini.

Remember that Deccan Chargers is heavily dependent on Adam Gilchrist and Herschelle Gibbs at the top. The way they went after Chennai bowlers has won the match for them in the first meeting between these two teams in IPL 2009. A bowler of the calibre of Ntini would be ideal to contain the explosive batsmen.

If the team management feels that bringing in Ntini will expose the tail too early, drop Albie Morkel and bring in hard hitting youngster George Bailey in his place. We just saw how Warner can take the match away from the opposition. Why not give George Bailey a chance? After all, Albie Morkel did not play well so far. George Bailey might provide the much needed support to the consistently failing middle order. Chennai should be able to handle the bowling well with Ntini and Tyagi opening, followed by Murali, Jakati, Raina and Balaji in the middle overs.

My team for today's match would be:

1. Matthew Hayden
2. Murali Vijay
3. Suresh Raina
4. Badrinath
5. Mahendra Singh Dhoni
6. Albie Morkel/ George Bailey
7. Shadab Jakati
8. L Balaji
9. Tyagi
10. Mutthiah Muralidaran
11. Makhaya Ntini

IPL 2009: Best Bowling Performances

2009-05-02T19:59:00.013+08:00

IPL 2009 proved that Twenty20 is not a pure batsman game. The bowlers have played equal part in the tournament so far. The contest between the bat and ball had produced some interesting and gripping contests in IPL 2009. The batsmen had to play good cricket to score runs. Naturally, experience had come in handy. So, experienced players like Hayden, Tendulkar, Gibbs and Gilchrist are among the leading run scorers in IPL 2009.

Below is the list of the top five best bowling performances in IPL 2009:

Anil Kumble (Royal Challengers Bangalore) - 5 for 5 vs Rajasthan Royals

Rohit Sharma (Deccan Chargers) - 4 for 6 vs Mumbai Indians

Rajat Bhatia (Delhi Daredevils) - 4 for 15 vs Deccan Chargers

Anil Kumble (Royal Challengers Bangalore) - 4 for 16 vs Deccan Chargers in Finals

Harbhajan Singh (Mumbai Indians) - 4 for 17 vs Delhi Daredevils

Why Joginder Sharma playing fo Chennai Super Kings?

2009-04-30T09:03:00.005+08:00

Why Joginder Sharma is playing for Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2009? I cannot understand the logic behind including Joginder Sharma if you are not going to allow him to bowl. I listed below the contributions of Joginder Sharma so far in the matches played by Chennai Super Kings:

Match #1 Vs Mumbai Indians:
Joginder Sharma's bowling figures 4-0-25-1. He is the most economical bowler of the five bowlers Chennai Super Kings used. Joginder Sharma scored 16 runs off 15 balls and remained unbeaten. I felt that the team management made a mistake of sending Joginder ahead of Thilan Thushara.

Match #2 Vs Bangalore Royal Challengers:
Did not bat. Bowled just one over, gave away 10 runs and accounted for the wicket of Virat Kohli.

Match #3 Vs Delhi Daredevils:
Bowled just one over and gave away 8 runs. Scored 4 runs off 3 balls.

Match #4 Vs Kolkata Knight Riders:
Match abandoned due to rain.

Match #5 Vs Deccan Chargers:
Did not bat. Bowled just one over that went for 14 runs.

Conclusion
It is clearly evident that Joginder Sharma is not in the team's scheme of things. He has bowled just one over in each of the last three matches. If he is not going to be used as a bowler, why should you pick him in the team? It is time for Chennai to sit down and make their strategy clear for the rest of the matches. Further time lost would mean Chennai Super Kings is just adding to the number of the teams. Will they come good against Shane Warne led Rajasthan Royals today?

World Cup 2011: India, SL and Bangladesh to host

2009-04-28T16:22:00.003+08:00

Cricket World Cup 2011 will be held in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. The one-day international tournament will not be co-hosted by Pakistan, following the terrorist attack on Sri Lankan cricketers in Lahore. Pakistan were due to co-host the prestigious event; but the uncertain security situation has forced ICC to strip the hosting rights.

The 14 matches originally scheduled in Pakistan has been re-allocated to India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. The re-allocation of matches to the three countries is as follows:

India - 29 matches (including the final, one semi-final and one quarter-final)
Sri Lanka - 12 matches (including one semi-final and one quarter-final)
Bangladesh - 8 matches (including two quarter-finals)

Flintoff's Injury: Good for CSK?

2009-04-27T11:48:00.004+08:00

Andrew Flintoff has been injured and will not be available for the rest of the IPL 2009 season for Chennai Super Kings. I read that it is a setback to Chennai Super Kings. Is it so? I don't believe it. Yes, Andrew Flintoff is a star; but, he failed miserably in the tournament so far. I personally feel that he did not live up to the expectations. He failed in the bowling department and did not contribute significantly in the batting department either.

Flintoff's Contribution in IPL 2009
In the match against Mumbai Indians, Flintoff returned with figures of 4-0-44-1. His economy rate of 11.0 is the worst among the Chennai Super Kings bowlers. He was sent at No. 4 to help in the chase, but he scored a mere 24 runs from 23 deliveries. Chennai Super Kings' loss can be attributed to one primary reason, Abishek Nayyar's cameo of 35 runs that included three sixes of one Andrew Flintoff over.

He did better in the match against Bangalore Royal Challengers, scoring 22 runs from 13 deliveries and returning bowling figures of 3-0-11-1. But, considering that Royal Challengers failure against almost all opposition, you cannot read much into those figures.

In the match against Delhi Daredevils, Flintoff again became the most expensive bowler from Chennai and finished with figures of 4-0-50-1. AB de Villiers tore him apart in the penultimate over, which produced 22 runs, with a couple of sixes and fours. When Flintoff walked into bat, Chennai Super Kings had a good chance of winning the match. But, his boring 16 runs off 17 balls did not help.

What can Chennai do?
Chennai should take the exit of Andrew Flintoff as positive and relook into their available resources. With Hayden, Albie Morkel and Murali almost secured their place, we need to select one foreign player from Jacob Oram, Makhaya Ntini, George Bailey and Thilan Thushara. It is easier to choose Jacob Oram in place of Flintoff, as he is a better all-rounder of the available four. But, that would weaken the bowling.

Dhoni should also drop Joginder Sharma, who is not really fitting into the scheme of things. With the middle order failing regularly, it would be better to bring in a regular batsman like Murali Vijay and include Makhaya Ntini as a bowler.

My team for today's match against Deccan Chargers would be:
1. Matthew Hayden
2. Parthiv Patel
3. Suresh Raina
4. Mahendra Singh Dhoni
5. Albie Morkel
6. S Badrinath
7. Murali Vijay
8. M Gony
9. L Balaji
10. Murali
11. Makhaya Ntini

IPL 2009: Most Sixes Batsmen List

2009-04-24T13:52:00.018+08:00

IPL 2009 is finally came to life with two exciting matches played yesterday. Chennai Super Kings had come very close to Delhi Daredevils' imposing total of 190 runs. Knocks from AB de Villiers, Dilshan, Hayden and Raina kept the stadium alive. The second match between Rajasthan Royals and Kolkata Knight Riders went one step ahead by producing the first tied match of IPL. Yusuf Pathan and Shane Warne's favourite bowler Kamran Khan earned Rajasthan Royals their first win during the "Super Over", which is used to break the tie between the teams.

Here, I am going to list the batsmen with most sixes in IPL 2009. It is an indication of the aggression from batsmen and this list gives you an idea of the most aggressive batsmen of IPL 2009. The list contains the top five leading batsmen in terms of number of sixes hit:

Adam Gilchrist (Deccan Chargers) - 24

Matthew Hayden (Chennai Super Kings) - 21

Suresh Raina (Chennai Super Kings) - 20

Rohit Sharma (Deccan Chargers) - 17

Yuvraj Singh (Kings XI Punjab) - 16

Results are updated until Match #52

IPL 2009: Player of the match list

2009-04-22T07:44:00.031+08:00

The following is the list of man of the match/ player of the match awards given for each game in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2009. The player of the match award recognizes mainly the player's contribution to the winning team. I personally feel that the man of the match award is lopsided and batsmen are the favourites to the award. The bowlers get the award only when they perform exceptionally well. Let us see how it goes in IPL 2009. Here is the list:

1	Chennai Super Kings vs Mumbai Indians	Sachin Tendulkar (MI)
2	Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Rajasthan Royals	Rahul Dravid (RCB)
3	Delhi Daredevils vs Kings XI Punjab	Daniel Vettori (DD)
4	Deccan Chargers vs Kolkata Knight Riders	RP Singh (DC)
5	Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Chennai Super Kings	Muthiah Muralitharan (CSK)
6	Kings XI Punjab vs Kolkata Knight Riders	Chris Gayle (KKR)
7	Mumbai Indians vs Rajasthan Royals	Match abandoned due to rain
8	Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Deccan Chargers	Adam Gilchrist (DC)
9	Delhi Daredevils vs Chennai Super Kings	AB de Villiers (DD)
10	Rajasthan Royals vs Kolkata Knight Riders	Yusuf Pathan (RR)
11	Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Kings XI Punjab	Ravi Bopara (KXIP)
12	Deccan Chargers vs Mumbai Indians	Pragyan Ojha (DC)
13	Chennai Super Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders	Match abandoned due to rain
14	Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Delhi Daredevils	Tillakaratne Dilshan (DD)
15	Kings XI Punjab vs Rajasthan Royals	Kumar Sangakkara (KXIP)
16	Chennai Super Kings vs Deccan Chargers	Herschelle Gibbs (DC)
17	Kolkata Knight Riders vs Mumbai Indians	Sachin Tendulkar (MI)
18	Delhi Daredevils vs Rajasthan Royals	Yusuf Pathan (RR)
19	Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Kolkata Knight Riders	Mark Boucher (RCB)
20	Kings XI Punjab vs Mumbai Indians	Kumar Sangakkara (KXIP)
21	Deccan Chargers vs Delhi Daredevils	Dirk Nannes (DD)
22	Chennai Super Kings vs Rajasthan Royals	Suresh Raina (CSK)
23	Kolkata Knight Riders vs Mumbai Indians	JP Duminy (MI)
24	Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Kings XI Punjab	Yuvraj Singh (KXIP)
25	Deccan Chargers vs Rajasthan Royals	Yusuf Pathan (RR)
26	Chennai Super Kings vs Delhi Daredevils	Shadab Jakati (CSK)
27	Kings XI Punjab vs Kolkata Knight Riders	Mahela Jayawardene (KXIP)
28	Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Mumbai Indians	Jacques Kallis (RCB)
29	Chennai Super Kings vs Deccan Chargers	Mahendra Singh Dhoni (CSK)
30	Kings XI Punjab vs Rajasthan Royals	Graeme Smith (RR)
31	Delhi Daredevils vs Kolkata Knight Riders	Gautam Gambhir (DD)
32	Deccan Chargers vs Mumbai Indians	Rohit Sharma (DC)
33	Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Rajasthan Royals	Amit Singh (RR)
34	Chennai Super Kings vs Kings XI Punjab	Matthew Hayden (CSK)
35	Delhi Daredevils vs Mumbai Indians	Ashish Nehra (DD)
36	Deccan Chargers vs Kings XI Punjab	Mahela Jayawardene (KXIP)
37	Chennai Super Kings vs Rajasthan Royals	S Badrinath (CSK)
38	Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Mumbai Indians	JP Duminy (MI)
39	Delhi Daredevils vs Kolkata Knight Riders	Amit Mishra (DD)
40	Deccan Chargers vs Rajasthan Royals	Dwayne Smith (DC)
41	Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Kolkata Knight Riders	Ross Taylor (RCB)
42	Kings XI Punjab vs Mumbai Indians	Harbhajan Singh (MI)
43	Deccan Chargers vs Delhi Daredevils	Rajat Bhatia (DD)
44	Chennai Super Kings vs Royal Challengers Bangalore	Ross Taylor (RCB)
45	Mumbai Indians vs Rajasthan Royals	Shane Warne (RR)
46	Delhi Daredevils vs Kings XI Punjab	Brett Lee (KXIP)
47	Chennai Super Kings vs Mumbai Indians	Matthew Hayden (CSK)
48	Deccan Chargers vs Kolkata Knight Riders	Rohit Sharma (DC)
49	Deccan Chargers vs Kings XI Punjab	Yuvraj Singh (KXIP)
50	Delhi Daredevils vs Rajasthan Royals	AB de Villiers (DD)
51	Chennai Super Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders	Brad Hodge (KKR)
52	Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Delhi Daredevils	Jacques Kallis (RCB)
53	Kolkata Knight Riders vs Rajasthan Royals
54	Chennai Super Kings vs Kings XI Punjab
55	Delhi Daredevils vs Mumbai Indians
56	Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Deccan Chargers

Update after Match #52:
Jacques Kallis became the eleventh player to win two man of the match awards so far in IPL 2009 tournament.

Update after Match #50:
Matthew Hayden, Rohit Sharma, Yuvraj Singh and AB de Villiers became the seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth player, repectively, in IPL 2009 to win two man of the match awards so far in the tournament. Yuvraj Singh also became the first player in IPL to record two hat-tricks of wickets. As he said himself in the match presentation, Yuvraj Singh may have to start bowling more than batting.

Update after Match #45:
Ross Taylor became the sixth player in IPL 2009 to win two man of the match awards so far in the tournament.

Update after Match #39:
Mahela Jayawardene and JP Duminy became the fourth and fifth player, respectively, in IPL 2009 to win two man of the match awards so far in the tournament.

Update after Match #32:
Rohit Sharma became the second player in IPL 2009 to pick a hat-trick of wickets. His spell of 4 for 6 and knock of 38 runs at almost a run a ball earned him the man of the match.

Graeme Smith also became the first player from Rajsthan Royals to win the man of the match award other than Yusuf Pathan. In all the three previous occasions, Yusuf Pathan was the man of the match from Rajasthan Royals side.

Update after Match #26:
Yusuf Pathan became the first player in IPL 2009 to win three man of the match awards so far in the tournament. Yusuf Pathan has won all the man of the match awards that went to Rajasthan Royals.

Update after Match #20:
Kumar Sangakkara became the third player in IPL 2009 to win two man of the match awards so far in the tournament.

Update after Match #18:
Yusuf Pathan follows Sachin Tendulkar to lift two man of the match awards in IPL 2009 for Rajasthan Royals.

Update after Match #17:
Sachin Tendulkar became the first player in IPL 2009 to win two player of the match awards.

IPL 2009: Highest Individual Scores

2009-04-21T14:59:00.027+08:00

The following is the list of top five individual scores in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2009. The short format of the game provides an opportunity for batsman to play match-winning knocks, like Brendon McCullum's 150+ score in the opening game of IPL 2008. While much have been said about the Twenty20 game as youngsters paradise, we had seen some solid performances from old warhorses, like Sachin Tendulkar, Matthew Hayden and Rahul Dravid. I will be updating this list regularly during the progress of IPL 2009.

105* - AB de Villiers, Delhi Daredevils against Chennai Super Kings

98 - Suresh Raina, Chennai Super Kings against Rajasthan Royals

89 - Matthew Hayden, Chennai Super Kings against Kings XI Punjab

84* - Brendon McCullum, Kolkata Knight Riders against Royal Challengers Bangalore

84 - Ravi Bopara, Kings XI Punjab against Royal Challengers Bangalore

Movements in the Top Five Individual Scores
Results are updated after Match #52: No further changes. With the tournament nearing the end, it looks like AB de Villiers will remain the only player with a century.

Results are updated after Match #45: No changes to the high individual scores list.

Results are updated after Match #43: Kolkata Knight Riders captain Brendon McCullum finally provided a good performance that puts him in the fourth position in the above list.

Results are updated after Match #40: No changes to the high individual scores list.

Results are updated after Match #39: Matthew Hayden moved into the top five scores with a brilliant knock of 89 against Kings XI Punjab. AB de Villiers still remains the lone centurion in IPL 2009.

Results are updated after Match #32: Graeme Smith has shown glimpses of getting back into form with a powerful 77 that ensured Rajasthan Royals post the first 200+ score in IPL 2009. On the other hand, Morne van Wyk's knock could not revive Kolkata Knight Riders fortune in IPL 2009.

Results are updated after Match #29: No changes to the high individual scores list.

Results are updated after Match #28: No changes to the high individual scores list. AB de Villiers still remains the only centurion in IPL 2009.

Results are updated after Match #26: No changes to the high individual scores list.

Results are updated after Match #24: Suresh Raina moves to the second spot after his match winning knock of 98 against Rajasthan Royals. Brad Hodge moves into the fourth spot with his 73 that almost pulled off a victory against Mumbai Indians.

Results are updated after Match #20: No changes to the high individual scores list.

Results are updated after Match #18: No changes to the high individual scores list.

Results are updated after Match #17: Herschelle Gibbs and Sachin Tendulkar stormed into the top five thanks to their match-winning knocks against Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders respectively. Tillakaratne Dilshan and Rahul Dravid falls out of the top scores list.

Results are updated after Match #15: Tillakaratne Dilshan moves into the top five after powering Delhi Daredevils to victory against Bangalore Royal Challengers. Three of the top four scores had come against the bottom placed Bangalore Royal Challengers. Matthew Hayden is out of the top five individual scores now.

Results are updated after Match #13: Ravi Bopara moves into the second position after his match winning knock of 84 against Bangalore Royal Challengers. Sachin Tendulkar is pushed out of the top five highest scores.

Results are updated after Match #10: AB de Villiers moves to the top of the leading individual scores with an unbeaten century against Chennai Super Kings. Rohit Sharma drops out of the top five leading scores.

Results are updated after Match #8: The match-winning knock by Deccan Chargers' skipper Adam Gilchrist moves him to the top of the individual scores in IPL 2009. Gilly's teammate Rohit Sharma also moved into the top five displacing Chris Gayle.

Results are updated after Match #7: Chris Gayle moved into the fourth position based on his match-winning performance against Kings XI Punjab. Herschelle Gibbs drops out from the top five individual scores. There are no changes to the top three scores yet.

IPL 2009: Leading Wicket Takers

2009-04-21T10:25:00.030+08:00

The following table shows the top five leading wicket takers in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2009 held in South Africa. I will update this list of best bowlers regularly as the IPL 2009 tournament progresses. As you all know, the leading wicket taker will be presented with a Purple cap, to signify that he is the best bowler of the IPL tournament. The purple cap will be passed on when the leader of the table changes. The current leading wicket-taker always wears the purple cap.

Bowler	Matches	Total Wickets	Average	Economy
R P Singh Deccan Chargers	16	23	18.13	6.98
Anil Kumble Royal Challengers Bangalore	16	21	16.52	5.86
Ashish Nehra Delhi Daredevils	13	19	18.21	6.78
Lasith Malinga Mumbai Indians	13	18	17.33	6.30
Pragyan Ojha Deccan Chargers	15	18	19.33	6.50

History of Purple Cap in IPL 2009:
Anil Kumble> RP Singh> Lasith Malinga> Yusuf Abulla> RP Singh> Lasith Malinga> RP Singh

Movements in the Top Five Bowlers

FINAL UPDATE: RP Singh won the purple cap with 23 wickets and like IPL 2008, the purple cap holder comes from the champion team. If it was Sohail Tanvir for Rajasthan Royals last year, it was RP Singh for Deccan Chargers this time.

Results are updated after Match #52: RP Singh is the purple cap holder, followed by Delhi's impressive Ashish Nehra. It looks like Lasith Malinga will not be able to finish with the purple cap, as Mumbai Indians has just one more game to play before they go home. Anil Kumble is also among wickets and has an impressive economy rate of 5.89 runs per over.

Results are updated after Match #45: Lasith Malinga is back at the top of the wicket-takers list and gets the purple cap from RP Singh. While RP Singh and Lasith Malinga are tied with 16 wickets each, the Sri Lankan has a better average and economy rate. Shane Warne, the master spinner, has also entered the best bowlers list with a three wicket haul against Mumbai Indians that fetched him his first man of the match in IPL 2009.

Results are updated after Match #43: RP Singh is still having the purple cap, but is closely followed by Lasith Malinga and Ashish Nehra. There is only one change in the list, Pragyan Ojha replacing L Balaji at the bottom of the table.

Results are updated after Match #40: RP Singh extended his lead at the top with another wicket in yesterday's match against Rajasthan Royals. No other change in the list.

Results are updated after Match #39: RP Singh remains at the top followed by Lasith Malinga, who is probably the most destructive bowler of IPL 2009. Ashish Nehra, Yusuf Abdulla and L Balaji are at third, fourth and fifth positions respectively.

Results are updated after Match #32: RP Singh turned in a good bowling performance against Mumbai Indians, which puts him on top of the bowlers list. He took the purple cap from Yusuf Abdulla and that makes it a wonderful week for RP Singh, as he was also included in the Indian squad for the T20 World cup to be held in England next month.

Results are updated after Match #29: Not much changes except that Balaji and Ojha swapped places since Balaji has a better average.

Results are updated after Match #28: Lasith Malinga went wicketless for the second consecutive match, which is clearly affecting the performance of Mumbai Indians. Yusuf Abdulla remains at the top and there are no changes to the top five bowlers list.

Results are updated after Match #26: RP Singh takes back the second spot while Yusuf Abdulla still holds on to the purple cap.

Results are updated after Match #24: Yusuf Abulla took the purple cap from Lasith Malinga, following his four wicket haul against Royal Challengers Bangalore. Lasith Malinga, for the first time in IPL 2009, went wicketless in a match. Balaji took the thir spot after his four-wicket haul against defending champions Rajasthan Royals.

Results are updated after Match #20: Lasith Malinga continues at the top, bowling almost unplayable spells. His bowling analysis in the tournament so far reads 14.2-1-57-11. Amazing right? He picks almost one wicket every over. His every wicket costs just 5.18 runs and his economy of 3.97 would have been respectable even in the ODI format. At the bottom of the table, Anil Kumble makes a comeback to the top five bowlers list.

Results are updated after Match #18: No changes to the top four bowlers in the above list. Munaf Patel enters into the top five replacing Chennai Super Kings' L. Balaji

Results are updated after Match #17: RP Singh finally lost the purple cap to Lasith Malinga. They are tied on 9 wickets each, but Malinga has a far better average and economy rate.

Results are updated after Match #15: RP Singh still remains at the top, with Yusuf Abdulla, Lasith Malinga, Pragyan Ojha and Daniel Vettori completing the top five bowlers list.

Results are updated after Match #10: RP Singh remains at the top, while Balaji and Vettori takes the second and third spot. Balaji was the only Chennai Super Kings bowler who came with his heads high in the match against Delhi Daredevils. Praveen Kumar and Murali are out of the top five.

Results are updated after Match #8: RP Singh moved up to the top and took the purple cap from Anil Kumble. RP's teammate Scott Styris also moved into the top five, thanks to his three wicket haul against Bangalore Royal Challengers. Lasith Malinga, having played only one match so far, drops out of the top five bowlers list.

IPL 2009: Leading Run Scorers

2009-04-21T08:11:00.024+08:00

The following table shows the top five leading run scorers in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2009 held in South Africa. I will update this list of best batsman regularly as the IPL 2009 tournament progresses. As you all know, the leading run scorer will be presented with an Orange cap, to signify that he is the best batsman of the IPL tournament.

Batsman	Matches	Total Runs	Average	Strike Rate
Mathew Hayden Chennai Super Kings	12	572	52.00	144.81
Adam Gilchrist Deccan Chargers	16	495	30.93	152.31
AB de Villiers Delhi Daredevils	15	465	51.66	130.99
Suresh Raina Chennai Super Kings	14	434	31.00	140.45
Tillakaratne Dilshan Delhi Daredevils	14	418	41.80	122.58

History of Orange Cap in IPL 2009:
Rahul Dravid> Matthew Hayden> Rahul Dravid> Matthew Hayden

Movements in the Top Five Batsmen
FINAL UPDATE: Matthew Hayden wins the orange cap after holding on to it for almost the entire tournament. He is the only batsman in IPL 2009 to score more than 500 runs. Adam Gilchrist, another Australian, led the Deccan Chargers to the championship and finished second in the table. The disappointing semi-final losers Delhi Daredevils and Chennai Super Kings have AB de Villiers, Suresh Raina and TM Dilshan in the top five list.

Results updated after Match #52:Matthew Hayden is still on top, in spite of not playing in the match against Kolkata Knight Riders, which Chennai Super Kings lost in the final delivery. AB de Villiers has reduced the gap between the first and second to around 100 runs. Gilchrist and Raina are just being AB. JP Duminy is on the fifth place, but he may not be able to hold on to that position for long as Mumbai Indians will be playing just one more match in the tournament.

Results updated after Match #45:Matthew Hayden is running away with the orange cap. Hayden currently has a lead of more than 150 runs over his nearest rival Adam Gilchrist. Suresh Raina moved up one place to the third position. At the bottom of the table, Sachin Tendulkar replaced team mate JP Duminy for the fifth position.

Results updated after Match #43: Adam Gilchrist and AB de Villiers moved into the second and third positions respectively. Adam Gilchrist's powerful hitting almost took Deccan Chargers to victory against the leaders Delhi Daredevils. After quite some time, Suresh Raina falls off the second spot. But, he can move up there if he puts up a commanding show in tonight's game against Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Results updated after Match #40:No changes to the list after this match between Deccan Chargers and Rajasthan Royals, which was won by Deccan Chargers rather convincingly.

Results updated after Match #39:Matthew Hayden is running away with the orange cap, with more than 100 runs ahead of the second placed Suresh Raina. JP Duminy of Mumbai Indians moves up one slot into the third position. Yuvraj Singh and AB de Villiers complete the list.

Results updated after Match #32: Not many changes in the list. JP Duminy of Mumbai Indians comes into the fourth position.

Results updated after Match #29: Matthew Hayden and Suresh Raina retain their top rankings as they led Chennai Super Kings to another convincing victory against Deccan Chargers.

Results updated after Match #28: Brad Hodge finished just 16 runs behind the leader Matthew Hayden, following his two knocks in the seventies. The pity is that Brad Hodge cannot ensure Kolkata win in spite of his valuable knocks. Jacques Kallis is playing consistently for the resurgent Royal Challengers Bangalore and he finishes at No. 4 in the list.

Results updated after Match #26: Mathew Hayden and Suresh Raina continue to remain at the top and their good show helped Chennai Super Kings to win their match against Delhi Daredevils.

Results updated after Match #24: Mathew Hayden and Suresh Raina, both from Chennai Super Kings occupy the top two slots. The next two spots are with Mumbai Indians, Sachin Tendulkar and JP Duminy.

Results updated after Match #20: Mathew Hayden, Herschelle Gibbs and AB de Villiers remain at the top. Kumar Sangakkara moves into the fourth spot pushing Sachin Tendulkar one spot below.

Results updated after Match #18: Mathew Hayden and Herschelle Gibbs remain at the top. AB de Villiers takes the third spot following a powerful half-century against Rajasthan Royals. Sachin Tendulkar and Adam Gilchrist moves down one spot. Rahul Dravid, out of action, is the player to miss out on the top five batsmen list.

Results updated after Match #17: Mathew Hayden still holds the orange cap. Rahul Dravid, who is back in India for personal reasons, has dropped down to fifth position. Herschelle Gibbs, Adam Gilchrist and Sachin Tendulkar moves up following their strong performances in the matches played yesterday.

Results updated after Match #15: Mathew Hayden, Rahul Dravid and Ravi Bopara remain in the top three positions. AB de Villiers and Kumar Sangakkara moves into the two remaining slots to complete the list of top five best batsmen of IPL 2009.

Results updated after Match #13: Mathew Hayden and Rahul Dravid still hold on to the first and second position respectively. Ravi Bopara, Adam Gilchrist and Herschelle Gibbs moves into the third, fourth and fifth position respectively.

Results updated after Match #10: Mathew Hayden took back the orange cap from Rahul Dravid, after a stunning half-century against Delhi Daredevils. AB De Villiers moved into the third position after scoring the first century of IPL 2009 that propelled Delhi Daredevils to an imposing total against Chennai Super Kings. Chris Gayle moves back to the fourth position pushing Rohit Sharma down one place. Adam Gilchrist and Virat Kohli drops out of the top five.

Results updated after Match #8: Rahul Dravid, thanks to his aggressive 48 against Deccan Chargers, moves to the top and takes back the orange cap from Mathew Hayden. Rohit Sharma, Adam Gilchrist and Virat Kohli moves into the top five replacing Sachin Tendulkar, Chris Gayle and Yuvraj Singh. All the three players scored scintillating half-centuries in the match.

Results updated after Match #7: Chris Gayle and Yuvraj Singh moves up the list and replaces Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Andrew Flintoff at No. 4 and No. 5. There are no changes to the top three yet.

Chennai Super Kings Team for Today's Match

2009-04-20T14:08:00.005+08:00

Chennai Super Kings team lost their opening match against Mumbai Indians by 19 runs. Today, they will be facing the upbeat Bangalore Royal Challengers, who are leading the points table.

Chennai Super Kings' Error in Judgement
In my opinion, Chennai Super Kings made the first major mistake by not playing spinner Mutthiah Muralidaran. Ashwin, selected as a spinner, did not get a single over to bowl. It is clearly evident that the spinners are playing vital roles in each team in IPL 2009. Harbhajan Singh, Anil Kumble, Daniel Vettori and Pragyan Ojha have all played match-winning/ match-turning performances in this tournament. Shane Warne, though in the losing team, bowled an inspiring spell against Bangalore Royal Challengers. So, Murali has to come in to the team, most probably replacing Ashwin, immediately.

Exclusion of South Africans
For reasons outside the game, it seems Albie Morkel could not be included in the first match. Another South African Makhaya Ntini was also not included. It is time to include one of them into the Chennai Super Kings team. Their experience and local knowledge should be handy.

Batting Order
I was not happy with the batting order. Andrew Flintoff was sent in at No. four. With due respects to Freddie, he is not suited to the role. He should be coming at No. 6 or No. 7. Dhoni should promote himself up the order, either at No. 3 or at No. 4. Chennai Super Kings also made the mistake of sending Joginder Sharma ahead of Thilan Thushara in the first match. Thushara is a better batsman and has good international exposure compared to Joginder Sharma. Thushara played some good knocks against the Indians in one day matches.

Openers
While Mathew Hayden is the key opening batsman, Parthiv Patel is a make-shift opener and his skill will be tested. The mode of his dismissal in the first match has to be looked at closely. Since Dhoni is not going to don the gloves, Parthiv Patel is a certainty in the team. Should he open the batting? Why not include and try a much better player like Murali Vijay?

Probable Team
I prefer to have the following team and batting order against Bangalore Royal Challengers:

1. Mathew Hayden
2. Murali Vijay
3. Suresh Raina
4. Mahendra Singh Dhoni
5. S. Badrinath
6. Andrew Flintoff
7. Albie Morkel
8. Parthiv Patel (Wicket-keeper)
9. Joginder Sharma
10. Manpreet Gony
11. Muthiah Muralidaran

Chennai Super Kings Trim Squad

2009-04-20T12:01:00.004+08:00

Chennai Super Kings have trimmed their original squad by sending back five players, mainly batsmen. The following is the list of players who will not be playing for Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2009:

1. Srikkanth Aniruddha
2. Napoleon Einstein
3. Vidyut Sivaramakrishnan
4. Suresh Kumar
5. Abhinav Mukund

By dropping Vidyut Sivaramakrishnan, it is clear that Chennai Super Kings is banking on Parthiv Patel as a permanent opener for IPL 2009. As Dhoni will unlikely be keeping in IPL, Parthiv Patel is almost a certainty in the team as wicket-keeper.

This follows the earlier decision by Rajasthan Royals to send back about six players. It seems the franchises are trying to keep their expenses as low as possible by trimming their squad, which is logical considering that the matches are now played in South Africa. The poor thing is some of the young Indians would be losing the valuable experience of mixing around with the established international players.

Chennai Super Kings: Leading Run Scorers

2009-04-18T10:35:00.004+08:00

Chennai Super Kings finished runners up in the 2008 edition of Indian Premier League (IPL). Their success was mainly due to their batting strength, which initially revolved around the Australians Matthew Hayden and Michael Hussey. Later on, Suresh Raina took over with notable contributions from players like Badrinath, Dhoni, Albie Morkel and Parthiv Patel.

The list of top five leading run scorers for Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2008 is as follows:

1. Suresh Raina - 421 runs, 16 matches, Average: 38.27
2. Mahendra Singh Dhoni - 414 runs, 16 matches, Average: 41.40
3. Parthiv Patel - 302 runs, 13 matches, Average: 27.45
4. Albie Morkel - 241 runs, 13 matches, Average: 34.42
5. Stephen Fleming - 196 runs, 10 matches, Average: 21.77

IPL Rajasthan Royals Team

2009-04-16T10:49:00.004+08:00

Rajasthan Royals, defending champions of Indian Premier League (IPL), once again exudes confidence ahead of IPL 2009. They have the advantage of having South African team captain Graeme Smith. Smith's experience and understanding of South African conditions might be a big asset. In addition, they have bowler Morne Morkel, another South African on their side.

The combination of Shane Warne, Morne Morkel and Shaun Tait gives them a formidable bowling attack. The unpredictable Munaf Patel could come in as the third seamer option. You have a solid opener in Graeme Smith. Add to this excellent all-rounders like Shane Watson, Yusuf Pathan and the upcoming Ravindra Jadeja. Rajasthan Royals certainly have a team for the big occasion.

The sad part is that Mohammad Kaif has to return back to India, as he was not included in the final squad. Kaif is one of the most under-achieved players from India, who was not able to raise his performances beyond a certain level. He is a consistent performer and a live wire in the field, but his batting is not electrifying.

The Rajasthan Royals squad for IPL 2009 is as follows:

Shane Warne (Captain of Rajasthan Royals), Australia
Graeme Smith, South Africa
Morne Morkel, South Africa
Tyron Henderson, South Africa
Justin Langer, Australia
Shane Watson, Australia
Shaun Tait, Australia
Lee Carseldine, Australia
Shane Harwood, Australia
Rob Quiney, Australia
Dimitri Mascarenhas, England
Munaf Patel
Yusuf Pathan
Ravindra Jadeja
Swapnil Asnodkar
Mahesh Rawat (Wicket-keeper)
Gajendra Singh
Raiphi Gomez
Kamran Khan
Mohammed Arif
Atul Sharma
Amit Singh
Paul Valthaty
Aditya Angle
Siddarth Chitnis
Parag More
Naman Ojha
Niraj Patel
Siddarth Trivedi
~~Mohammad Kaif~~
~~Dinesh Salunkhe~~
~~Paras Dogra~~
~~Anup Revandkar~~
~~Srideep Mangela~~
~~Ashraf Makda~~

Royal Challengers: Leading Run Scorers

2009-04-15T13:05:00.002+08:00

Rahul Dravid was blamed for the failure of Bangalore Royal Challengers in the inaugural edition of Indian Premier League (IPL 2008). Rahul Dravid took the blame in spite of the fact that he was the leading run scorer for Bangalore Royal Challengers.

The list of leading run scorers of Bangalore Royal Challengers in IPL 2008 is as follows:

1. Rahul Dravid - 371 runs, 14 matches, Average: 28.53
2. Mark Boucher - 225 runs, 10 matches, Average: 32.14
3. Jacques Kallis - 199 runs, 11 matches, Average: 18.09
4. Virat Kohli - 165 runs, 13 matches, Average: 15.00
5. Ross Taylor - 149 runs, 4 matches, Average: 37.25

Ross Taylor has the best average for the Royal Challengers at 37.25. The low averages of all the batsmen speaks volumes on why Royal Challengers failed to provide any challenge in IPL 2008. Every other team has at least one player with a batting average of more than 37.25

IPL 2008: Best Bowler

2009-04-15T11:03:00.004+08:00

Rajasthan Royals won the first edition of Indian Premier League (IPL 2008). It is clearly reflected in the leading wicket-takers list of IPL 2008. Sohail Tanvir of Rajasthan Royals leads the bowlers list followed by Shane Warne, Rajasthan Royals captain-cum-coach, and Sree Santh from Kings XI Punjab. Shane Watson with 17 wickets is not far behind in the list of leading wicket-takers.

Below is the list of the top five bowlers in IPL 2008, in terms of number of wickets captured:

1. 22 wickets: Sohail Tanvir (Rajasthan Royals)

2. 19 wickets: Shane Warne (Rajasthan Royals) & Sree Santh (Kings XI Punjab)

3. 17 wickets: Shane Watson (Rajasthan Royals), Piyush Chawla (Kings XI Punjab), Albie Morkel (Chennai Super Kings) & Manpreet Gony (Chennai Super Kings)

4. 16 wickets: Yo Mahesh (Delhi Daredevils)

5. 15 wickets: Farveez Maharoof (Delhi Daredevils), Irfan Pathan (Kings XI Punjab) & RP Singh (Deccan Chargers)

Sohail Tanvir has played only in 11 matches to secure the top spot while the second placed Shane Warne and Sree Santh took 15 matches for his 19 wickets.

Format of IPL 2009

2009-04-14T14:42:00.003+08:00

IPL 2009, similar to IPL 2008, involves the following eight teams:

1. Bangalore Royal Challengers
2. Chennai Super Kings
3. Deccan Chargers
4. Delhi Daredevils
5. Kings XI Punjab
6. Kolkata Knight Riders
7. Mumbai Indians
8. Rajasthan Royals.

Group Stages
In the group stages, each team will be playing 14 matches, meeting each opponent team twice. A win will fetch two points and a tie/ no result will fetch one point. At the end of the group stage, four top-placed teams will qualify for the next level.

Semi-finals/ Finals
The top four teams will meet in the semi-finals, which will be a knock-out match. The winners of the two semi-finals will proceed to the finals. The finals will decide the winner of the IPL 2009 tournament.

Number of Matches
Group stage: 56 matches (18 April 2009 to 21 May 2009)
Semi-finals: 2 matches (22 May 2009 and 23 May 2009)
Finals: 1 match (24 May 2009)

IPL 2008: Most Aggressive Batsman

2009-04-14T12:31:00.004+08:00

IPL 2008 started off with a big match in which Brendon McCullum plundered as many as 158 runs in the twenty overs and remained not out. He had been at his best in the match against Bangalore Royal Challengers. It was unfortunate that he could play only 4 matches in the entire IPL tournament.

The following is the list of aggressive batsmen in IPL 2008, based on their strike rate. Strike Rate is the number of runs scored per 100 balls. In preparing the list, I have selected only players who have scored at least 100 runs in the tournament. This criteria is included to ensure that the list contains players who consistently plays aggressively. For example, if some one plays just one delivery and scores a boundary or six, he would end up at the top of the list with a strike rate of 400.00 or 600.00, which would be meaningless.

1. Brendon McCullum, Kolkata Knight Riders - 188 runs, 92 balls, SR 204.34
2. Virender Sehwag, Delhi Daredevils - 406 runs, 220 balls, SR 184.54
3. Ross Taylor, Bangalore Royal Challengers - 149 runs, 81 balls, SR 183.95
4. Yusuf Pathan, Rajasthan Royals - 435 runs, 243 balls, SR 179.01
5. Michael Hussey, Chennai Super Kings - 168 runs, 100 balls, SR 168.00

In my opinion, I would give the "Most Aggressive Batsman of IPL 2008" title to Yusuf Pathan, because he has been able to keep his strike rate intact for 16 matches. Sehwag has played 14 matches while McCullum, Taylor and Hussey have each played only 4 matches.

Just for record, Umar Gul was the player with the highest strike rate in IPL 2008. Umar Gul scored 39 runs from 19 deliveries, amounting to a strike rate of 205.26.

IPL 2008: Best Batsman

2009-04-14T08:06:00.004+08:00

Australian Shaun Marsh, playing for Kings XI Punjab, was the leading run scorer in IPL 2008. Shaun Marsh, son of famous opening batsman Geoff Marsh, scored most runs in the IPL tournament in spite of playing only in 11 matches. Shaun Marsh was almost immediately rewarded as he got the call to join the Australian international team. Shaun Marsh led the overall runs list in IPL 2008 followed by Delhi Daredevils' opening batsman Gautam Gambhir.

The list of top five scorers in IPL 2008 is given below:

1. Shaun Marsh, Australia (Kings XI Punjab) - 616 runs
2. Gautam Gambhir, India (Delhi Daredevils) - 534 runs
3. Sanath Jayasuriya, Sri Lanka (Mumbai Indians) - 514 runs
4. Shane Watson, Australia (Rajasthan Royals) - 472 runs
5. Graeme Smith, South Africa (Rajasthan Royals) - 441 runs

Click here for IPL 2009: Best Batsman

IPL Matches Featuring Deccan Chargers

2009-04-13T14:02:00.004+08:00

Deccan Chargers was one of the highly expected teams to lift the trophy before IPL 2008 began. Deccan Chargers had some big hitters in Adam Gilchrist, Shahid Afridi, Andrew Symonds and Herschelle Gibbs. Add to that names like VVS Laxman, Rohit Sharma, Scott Styris and Chaminda Vaas. You have an excellent mix of international players. But, unfortunately, nothing worked well for the Deccan Chargers throughout the IPL 2008 season. They won just two games and finished last in the season ending points table.

Deccan Chargers have added Fidel Edwards and Dwayne Smith to their IPL 2009 list. They will hope to do better this time around and at least come up competitive in matches. The following is the list of IPL 2009 matches involving Deccan Chargers:

April 19: Kolkata Knight Riders v Deccan Chargers

April 22: Bangalore Royal Challengers v Deccan Chargers

April 25: Deccan Chargers v Mumbai Indians

April 27: Chennai Super Kings v Deccan Chargers

April 30: Delhi Daredevils v Deccan Chargers

May 02: Rajasthan Royals v Deccan Chargers

May 04: Deccan Chargers v Chennai Super Kings

May 06: Mumbai Indians v Deccan Chargers

May 09: Deccan Chargers v Kings XI Punjab

May 11: Deccan Chargers vs Rajasthan Royals

May 13: Deccan Chargers v Delhi Daredevils

May 16: Deccan Chargers v Kolkata Knight Riders

May 17: Kings XI Punjab v Deccan Chargers

May 21: Deccan Chargers v Bangalore Royal Challengers

IPL 2009 Matches Featuring Other Teams

Record for Most Runs in an Innings in Test Cricket

2009-04-12T12:05:00.003+08:00

Image by ravith88 via Flickr

Test match cricket provides the ultimate challenge for character, skill and patience in cricketers. If someone can claim that he had all those qualities, then it would certainly be Brian Lara. Lara currently holds the record for most runs in a test match innings. Lara is the only player to have touched the milestone of 400 runs in an innings. The West Indian also has a score of 375. Interestingly, his top two scores had come while playing against England.

The following is the list of players with scores of 350+ in test match innings:

1. Brian Lara, West Indies - 400 not out
2. Mathew Hayden, Australia - 380
3. Brian Lara, West Indies - 375
4. Mahela Jayawardene, Sri Lanka - 374
5. Gary Sobers, West Indies - 365 not out
6. Sir Leonard Hutton, England - 364

(Updated on: 12April 2009)

Record for Most Runs in Test Match Cricket

2009-04-11T20:09:00.003+08:00

Image via Wikipedia

Sachin Tendulkar, the little master from India, holds the record for most runs in test match cricket. Sachin Tendulkar has accumulated more than 12,000 runs in a career spanning for two decades. Sachin Tendulkar recently surpassed the record held by Brian Lara of West Indies. The close competitor to Sachin Tendulkar is Australian captain Ricky Ponting, who is closing in on 11,000 runs in test cricket.

The list of leading run scorers in test match cricket, who have collected at least 10,000 runs is given below

1. Sachin Tendulkar, India - 12,773 runs
2. Brian Lara, West Indies - 11,953 runs
3. Allan Border, Australia - 11,174 runs
4. Ricky Ponting, Australia- 10,960 runs
5. Steve Waugh, Australia - 10,927 runs
6. Rahul Dravid, India - 10,823 runs
7. Jacques Kallis, South Africa - 10,277 runs
8. Sunil Gavaskar, India - 10,122 runs

(Updated on: 11 April 2009)

IPL Chennai Super Kings Team

2009-04-10T13:40:00.007+08:00

Image via Wikipedia

Chennai Super Kings, the finalist of the first edition of Indian Premier League (IPL 2008), would like to better one place in IPL 2009. In their quest for the title, Chennai Super Kings have acquired England star all-rounder Andrew Flintoff into the squad for a hefty sum of US$ 1.55 million which is more than the price tag of Mahendra Singh Dhoni. The retirement of Australian Mathew Hayden from international cricket also means that he will be available for the entire season of IPL 2009. Sri Lankan bowler Thilan Thushara also comes into the Chennai Super Kings squad for IPL 2009.

On the bad note, Australian Michael Hussey has recently announced that he will not be playing in IPL 2009 for personal reasons. He offered to join the Chennai Super Kings team for the semi-finals and finals, if required. The position of New Zealand all-rounder Jacob Oram also seems to be in doubt. Jacob Oram was unable to play in the recently concluded India-New Zealand series due to his Achilles tendon injury.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the Indian team captain, will lead the Chennai Super Kings squad. New Zealander Stephen Fleming will be the player cum coach. The Chennai Super Kings team did not have much changes to their team that played in IPL 2008. The following is the list of the players in Chennai Super Kings squad for IPL 2009:

1. Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Captain)
2. Stephen Fleming, New Zealand (~~Player cum~~ Coach)
3. Jacob Oram, New Zealand
4. Andrew Flintoff, England
5. Matthew Hayden, Australia
6. Michael Hussey, Australia
7. George Bailey, Australia
8. Albie Morkel, South Africa
9. Makhaya Ntini, South Africa
10. Muttiah Muralitharan, Sri Lanka
11. Thilan Thushara, Sri Lanka
12. Suresh Raina
13. Parthiv Patel (Wicket keeper)
14. L. Balaji
15. S. Badrinath
16. Joginder Sharma
17. M. Vijay
18. Manpreet Gony
19. P. Amarnath
20. Vidyut Sivaramakrishnan
21. Srikkanth Aniruddha
22. R. Ashwin
~~23. Napoleon Einstein~~
24. Shadab Jakati
25. Viraj Kadbe
26. Arun Karthik
27. Suresh Kumar
28. Abhinav Mukund
29. Sudeep Tyagi

IPL Matches Featuring Kolkata Knight Riders

2009-04-09T10:25:00.004+08:00

Kolkata Knight Riders, led by Sourav Ganguly, finished sixth in the previous edition of IPL held in India. The Knight Riders got off to an unbelievable start by beating Bangalore Royal Challengers by a whopping 140 runs in the opening match of IPL 2008. The first twenty overs was a perfect screen raiser for a grand event like IPL. New Zealander Brendon McCullum, who opened the innings with Sourav Ganguly, went on to score 158 runs from just 73 deliveries. The unbeaten century included 10 fours and 13 sixes.

The performance that followed might have disappointed the franchise owners Shah Rukh Khan, Juhi Chawla and Jai Mehta. The team managed only 11 points from the remaining 13 games and failed to make it to the semi-finals stage.

IPL 2009 has already started in a controversial manner for Kolkata Knight Riders. The coach John Buchanan has proposed a new theory of using multiple captains, which did not go well with Sourav Ganguly. Finally, the franchise owners have to step in to alleviate any further damage by rephrasing "multiple captains" into "strategists". We need to wait and see how well Kolkata Knight Riders perform in South Africa. The following is the list of IPL 2009 matches involving Kolkata Knight Riders:

April 19: Kolkata Knight Riders v Deccan Chargers

April 21: Kolkata Knight Riders v Kings XI Punjab

April 23: Kolkata Knight Riders v Rajasthan Royals

April 25: Kolkata Knight Riders v Chennai Super Kings

April 27: Kolkata Knight Riders v Mumbai Indians

April 29: Kolkata Knight Riders v Bangalore Royal Challengers

May 01: Mumbai Indians v Kolkata Knight Riders

May 03: Kings XI Punjab v Kolkata Knight Riders

May 05: Delhi Daredevils v Kolkata Knight Riders

May 10: Kolkata Knight Riders v Delhi Daredevils

May 12: Bangalore Royal Challengers vs Kolkata Knight Riders

May 16: Deccan Chargers v Kolkata Knight Riders

May 18: Chennai Super Kings v Kolkata Knight Riders

May 20: Rajasthan Royals v Kolkata Knight Riders

IPL 2009 Matches Featuring Other Teams

IPL Matches Featuring Mumbai Indians

2009-04-07T11:40:00.004+08:00

Mumbai Indians have two veterans in one day internationals, Sachin Tendulkar and Sanath Jayasuriya. In spite of that, they could not qualify for the semi-finals of IPL 2008. They finished one point below Delhi Daredevils, the last team to qualify for the semi-finals. Mumbai Indians lost their first four matches, came back strongly to win six consecutive matches, but finally lost their way when they lost the next three matches.

Mumbai Indians has some big names in Sachin Tendulkar, Sanath Jayasuriya, Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan. The following is the list of IPL 2009 matches involving Mumbai Indians:

April 18: Mumbai Indians v Chennai Super Kings

April 21: Rajasthan Royals v Mumbai Indians

April 25: Deccan Chargers v Mumbai Indians

April 27: Kolkata Knight Riders v Mumbai Indians

April 29: Mumbai Indians v Kings XI Punjab

May 01: Mumbai Indians v Kolkata Knight Riders

May 03: Mumbai Indians v Bangalore Royal Challengers

May 06: Mumbai Indians v Deccan Chargers

May 08: Delhi Daredevils v Mumbai Indians

May 10: Bangalore Royal Challengers v Mumbai Indians

May 12: Kings XI Punjab v Mumbai Indians

May 14: Mumbai Indians v Rajasthan Royals

May 16: Chennai Super Kings v Mumbai Indians

May 21: Mumbai Indians v Delhi Daredevils

IPL 2009 Matches Featuring Other Teams

Dravid Records Most Catches in Test Matches

2009-04-06T13:19:00.000+08:00

India vs New Zealand, India in New Zealand, 2009 - 3rd Test
Date: 03-07 April 2009

Rahul Dravid broke the record for most number of catches in test matches. The career record of 181 catches was held by Australian Mark Waugh. In the second innings of the on-going third cricket test match between India and New Zealand, Rahul Dravid held on to a chance given by New Zealand opener McIntosh off the bowling of Zaheer Khan. With the catch of McIntosh, Rahul Dravid has completed 182 catches in test match cricket. When Jesse Ryder was dismissed later on, Rahul Dravid has added another catch to his tally.

The following is the list of the top five cricketers with most catches in test match cricket:

1. Rahul Dravid (India) - 183 catches
2. Mark Waugh (Australia) - 181 catches
3. Stephen Fleming (New Zealand) - 171 catches
4. Brian Lara (West Indies) - 164 catches
5. Mark Taylor (Australia) - 157 catches

Interestingly, all the cricketers in the above list have already retired from international cricket except Rahul Dravid.

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2009-04-06T13:18:00.002+08:00

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Dhoni's Record for Most Catches in Test Matches

2009-04-04T13:13:00.003+08:00

Image via Wikipedia

India vs New Zealand, India in New Zealand, 2009 - 3rd Test
Date: 03-07 April 2009

Dhoni took six catches during the first innings of the third test against New Zealand, which sets the record for most catches by an Indian player in an innings.

Dhoni also equalled Syed Kirmani's record for most dismissals in an innings by an Indian wicket-keeper. Syed Kirmani has effected 6 dismissals (5 catches and 1 stumping) against New Zealand in 1976. Dhoni now has equalled that record for most dismissals with 6 dismissals (all 6 catches) against New Zealand.

Dhoni has also moved up to third position in the all-time dismissals list by Indian wicket-keepers. With the six dismissals in the first innings of the current match, Dhoni has now been involved in 109 dismissals. With that, he has surpassed Nayan Mongia's record of 107 dismissals. Dhoni now trails the legendary Syed Kirmani and Kiran More in the all time dismissals by Indian wicket-keepers. The following is the list of top five Indian wicket-keepers, in terms of all-time dismissals in test matches:

Syed Kirmani - 198 dismissals
Kiran More - 130 dismissals
Mahendra Singh Dhoni - 109 dismissals
Nayan Mongia - 107 dismissals
Farokh Engineer - 82 dismissals

Dhoni also holds the record for most number of dismissals in an ODI innnings (six dismissals) by Indian wicket-keepers. This also is a world record, currently shared by players like Adam Gilchrist, Mark Boucher, Ridley Jacobs and Alec Stewart.

Harbhajan Singh Completes 325 Wickets in Test Matches

2009-04-04T10:32:00.002+08:00

Image via Wikipedia

Harbhajan Singh has claimed 325 wickets in test match cricket. In the ongoing test match between India and New Zealand in Wellington, Harbhajan Singh dismissed Ross Taylor and Franklin in the first innings. With those two wickets, Harbhajan Singh had become the 20th bowler in test match history to claim 325 wickets or more. He is only the third Indian to reach thus far, Anil Kumble and Kapil Dev were the other two.

Sri Lankan Muttiah Muralitharan leads the list of bowlers with most wickets in test match cricket, followed by retired spinners Shane Warne and Anil Kumble. The top five list is as follows:

1. Muttiah Muralitharan (Sri Lanka) - 770 wickets
2. Shane Warne (Australia) - 708 wickets
3. Anil Kumble (India) - 619 wickets
4. Glenn McGrath (Australia) - 563 wickets
5. Courtney Walsh (West Indies) - 519 wickets

We hope to see Harbhajan Singh up there in the top one day. All the best Bhajji, keep going!

IPL Matches Featuring Bangalore Royal Challengers

2009-04-03T11:52:00.007+08:00

Bangalore Royal Challengers, who won just four games in IPL 2008, would like to come back strongly in IPL 2009. The franchise owner, Vijay Mallya, did his part by spending huge money to get England all-rounder Kevin Pietersen. Rahul Dravid, who led the Royal Challengers in IPL 2008, will handover the captaincy to Pietersen. When Pietersen returns to England to fulfil his national duties, Jacques Kallis will take over the captain's role.

The following is the list of IPL matches involving Bangalore Royal Challengers:

April 18: Rajasthan Royals v Bangalore Royal Challengers

April 20: Bangalore Royal Challengers v Chennai Super Kings

April 22: Bangalore Royal Challengers v Deccan Chargers

April 24: Kings XI Punjab v Bangalore Royal Challengers

April 26: Bangalore Royal Challengers v Delhi Daredevils

April 29: Kolkata Knight Riders v Bangalore Royal Challengers

May 01: Bangalore Royal Challengers v Kings XI Punjab

May 03: Mumbai Indians v Bangalore Royal Challengers

May 07: Bangalore Royal Challengers v Rajasthan Royals

May 10: Bangalore Royal Challengers v Mumbai Indians

May 12: Bangalore Royal Challengers vs Kolkata Knight Riders

May 14: Chennai Super Kings v Bangalore Royal Challengers

May 19: Delhi Daredevils v Bangalore Royal Challengers

May 21: Deccan Chargers v Bangalore Royal Challengers

IPL 2009 Matches Featuring Other Teams

IPL Matches Featuring Chennai Super Kings

2009-04-02T19:38:00.005+08:00

Image by SJ Jagadeesh via Flickr

Chennai Super Kings finished as the second best team in IPL (Indian Premier League) 2008, the inaugural edition of the most successful cricket tournament. Chennai Super Kings, under the captaincy of Mahendra Singh Dhoni, was highly inconsistent. They started off in great fashion, but had to struggle in the end to reach the semi-finasl. Will they do better in IPL 2009, to be played in South Africa?

The following is the list of matches involving Chennai Super Kings, who will begin their campaign on the first day of the tournament:

April 18: Mumbai Indians v Chennai Super Kings

April 20: Bangalore Royal Challengers v Chennai Super Kings

April 22: Delhi Daredevils v Chennai Super Kings

April 25: Kolkata Knight Riders v Chennai Super Kings

April 27: Chennai Super Kings v Deccan Chargers

April 30: Rajasthan Royals v Chennai Super Kings

May 02: Chennai Super Kings v Delhi Daredevils

May 04: Deccan Chargers v Chennai Super Kings

May 07: Kings XI Punjab v Chennai Super Kings

May 09: Chennai Super Kings v Rajasthan Royals

May 14: Chennai Super Kings v Bangalore Royal Challengers

May 16: Chennai Super Kings v Mumbai Indians

May 18: Chennai Super Kings v Kolkata Knight Riders

May 20: Chennai Super Kings v Kings XI Punjab

IPL 2009 Matches Featuring Other Teams

IPL Matches Featuring Rajasthan Royals

2009-04-02T10:06:00.013+08:00

Image by rochakchauhan via Flickr

IPL (Indian Premier League) 2009, the much awaited cricket tournament will kick-off in South Africa on 18th April 2009. The tournament will feature eight teams, comprising of international cricketers all around the world and budding youngsters from India.

The following is the list of matches involving Rajasthan Royals, the winner of the first edition of IPL held in India last year:

April 18: Rajasthan Royals v Bangalore Royal Challengers

April 21: Rajasthan Royals v Mumbai Indians

April 23: Kolkata Knight Riders v Rajasthan Royals

April 26: Rajasthan Royals v Kings XI Punjab

April 28: Delhi Daredevils v Rajasthan Royals

April 30: Rajasthan Royals v Chennai Super Kings

May 02: Rajasthan Royals v Deccan Chargers

May 05: Kings XI Punjab v Rajasthan Royals

May 07: Bangalore Royal Challengers v Rajasthan Royals

May 09: Chennai Super Kings v Rajasthan Royals

May 11: Deccan Chargers vs Rajasthan Royals

May 14: Mumbai Indians v Rajasthan Royals

May 17: Rajasthan Royals v Delhi Daredevils

May 20: Rajasthan Royals v Kolkata Knight Riders

IPL 2009 Matches Featuring Other Teams

Bangalore Royal Challengers

Chennai Super Kings

Delhi Daredevils

Deccan Chargers

Kings XI Punjab

Kolkata Knight Riders

Mumbai Indians

Dhoni in Test Match #36

2009-03-24T08:54:00.004+08:00

India vs New Zealand, India in New Zealand, 2009 - 1st Test
Date: 18-21 March 2009

A Strong win by India

Another clinical display by the Indian cricket team under the captaincy of Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Winning might have become a regular habit for this Indian team. But, even for them, a victory after 33 years in New Zealand should have been a sweet achievement. A mystery finally resolved. This New Zealand might not have greats like Sir Richard Hadlee or Stephen Fleming, but they have promising youngsters under a captain, Daniel Vettori, who leads by example.

Dhoni, winning the toss, inserted New Zealand in. His bowlers did not diappoint him. Immediately, Zaheer Khan picked two wickets. Ishant Sharma followed almost immediately with three wickets. Munaf Patel, not to be left behind, picked one wicket. New Zealand were in deep trouble with the score card reading 60 for the loss of 6 wickets. Then, came the New Zealand resistance through their skipper Daniel Vettori and the in-form batsman Jesse Ryder. The two put on 186 runs for the seventh wicket, Vettori being the aggressive partner. Both Vettori and Ryder scored centuries and New Zealand were finally dismissed for a score of 279 runs.

India's reply did not have the best start after Virender Sehwag was run out for just 24 runs. But, Gambhir and Dravid collected the runs in a cool and composed partnership of 105 runs for the second wicket. At the dismissal of Gambhir, Sachin Tendulkar walked in and played an innings that reminded his early days. His knock of 160 runs was instrumental in India posting a big first innings total of 520 runs. Don't forget the contributions of Dhoni (47 runs) and Zaheer Khan (51 not out).

New Zealand started the second innings requiring 241 runs to avoid an innings defeat. Controversial dismissal of McIntosh off the third delivery from Zaheer Khan did not help them. Regular wickets by the Indians put New Zealand under pressure and the innings defeat looked on the cards when Daniel Vettori was dismissed and the score was 199 for 8. Then came a partnership of 76 runs between Brendon McCullum and Iain O'Brien that ensured India bat again. Harbhajan Singh bowled well for his six wickets.

India needed just 32 deliveries to knock off the 39 runs required for victory. The victory was achieved with a day to spare and with a margin of 10 wickets. History rewritten after 33 years!

1st Innings:
New Zealand 279 (Daniel Vettori 118, Jesse Ryder 102, Ishant Sharma 4 for 73, Munaf Patel 3 for 60)

India 520 (Sachin Tendulkar 160, Gautam Gambhir 72, Rahul Dravid 66, Zaheer Khan 51 not out, CS Martin 3 for 98, Iain O'Brien 3 for 103)

2nd Innings:
New Zealand 279 (Brendon McCullum 84, Flynn 67, Harbhajan Singh 6 for 63, Munaf Patel 2 for 60)
India 39 for no loss (Gambhir 30 not out, Dravid 8 not out)

Match Result: India won by 10 wickets

Man of the match: Sachin Tendulkar, for his 160

Dhoni's performance in the 1st innings:
Catches : 3 / Stumpings : 1
Batting: 47 runs (123 balls), 4s: 7/ 6s: 0

Dhoni's performance in the 2nd innings:
Catches : 1 / Stumpings : 0
Batting: Did Not Bat

New Zealand Cricket Team for Test Matches

2009-03-17T15:01:00.003+08:00

Yesterday, we saw the Indian Cricket team selected for the test matches against New Zealand. We also went through the probable line-up for the first test match. Today, I will give you the list of New Zealand team that is selected for the first test match. The New Zealand squad consists of 13 players, led by captain Daniel Vettori. The squad is as follows:

1. Daniel Vettori (Captain)
2. Jesse Ryder
3. Martin Guptill
4. Tim McIntosh
5. Kyle Mills
6. Brendon McCullum (Wicket-keeper)
7. Ross Taylor
8. Brent Arnel
9. James Franklin
10. Jeetan Patel
11. Chris Martin
12. Iain O'Brien
13. Daniel Flynn

In the Twenty20 tournament, New Zealand came victorious. But, that was quickly nullified by the Indian cricketers efforts in the ODI tournament. New Zealand was completely outplayed in the first four one-dayers, including the abandoned ODI. But, New Zealand came back strongly in the final ODI, just in time to keep the interest alive for the Test match series. Will this have an impact on the Test match series?

In my opinion, India still starts as favourites due to their experienced batting line-up. Sehwag and Tendulkar were blazing in the one day matches. If they bring forward some of that form to the test matches, New Zealand will always be chasing the Indians. Ishant Sharma and Zaheer Khan had been exceptional over the past one year or so, particularly in the test match arena. With helpful conditions, they may prosper further.

But, let us not completely discount New Zealand. They have the home advantage. Some of their players like Jesse Ryder, Brendon McCullum and Guptill are in good nick. Their bowlers might not have been executing the plans well, but they have the potential to do well in test match setup.

We are in for a good, gripping contest for the next five days.

Indian Cricket Team for Test Matches

2009-03-16T13:20:00.003+08:00

The teams will take a new look as shorter version of the game gives way to traditional test matches. The test matches had been interesting, of late, and had produced some excellent nail biting finishes. The recent India-Australia series, Australia-South Africa series and West Indies-England cricket series were really good. Going along these lines, we should have an interesting series ahead.

The Indian team for the test series will have some of the seniors coming back to replace one-day/ T20 specialists. The Indian team is as follows:

1. Virender Sehwag
2. Gautam Gambhir
3. Rahul Dravid
4. Sachin Tendulkar
5. VVS Laxman
6. Yuvraj Singh
7. Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Captain and wicket-keeper)
8. Harbhajan Singh
9. Zaheer Khan
10. Ishant Sharma
11. Munaf Patel

The Batsmen
It is certain that Sehwag and Gambhir will open the innings. The No. 3, 4 & 5 are assured places for Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman. Yuvraj Singh is most likely to fill in as the sixth batsman, unless Dhoni decides to play five specialist bowlers.

The Bowlers
Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma are three bowlers who will be automatic selections. The only place that might be up for discussion will the last bowler slot. It will be a fight between Munaf Patel, Dhawal Kulkarni, Lakshmipathy Balaji and Amit Mishra. It is unlikely that India will be playing two spinners in New Zealand. I personally feel that Munaf Patel might just make it, even though I prefer to try out Dhawal Kulkarni.

Reserve Players
The other players including M. Vijay (reserve opening batsman), Dinesh Karthik (reserve wicket-keeper) and Amit Mishra (reserve spinner) have to wait unless someone is not able to play.

The first test match is scheduled to be played from March 18 to March 22 at Hamilton.

Jayasuriya, Oldest Player to score an ODI hundred

2009-01-28T16:04:00.005+08:00

Jayasuriya scored yet another century against the Indian bowling attack. He loves the Indian bowlers and regularly feasts on them. Today is no different. He did not explode, as the slow nature of pitch did not allow that kind of free hitting. But, still, he made 107 runs off 114 deliveries at a healthy strike rate of 93.85. His knock included 10 fours and a six.

Jayasuriya also became the oldest cricket player to score an ODI hundred. He surpassed Geoffrey Boycott's record (!) that stood for close to 30 years. Boycott, playing for England, scored a century against Australia on 11 December 1979 in Sydney, during the Benson and Hedges World Series Cup. Boycott was aged 39 years and 51 days when he scored that century. Jayasuriya, at 39 years and 212 days, has become the oldest player to score an ODI hundred. This is Jayasuriya's 28th ODI hundred and his 7th ODI hundred against the Indians. His love for the Indian bowling continues.

Sri Lanka closed the innings at a healthy 246/7, thanks mainly to the hundred from Jayasuriya. Sangakkara scored 44 and Maharoof blasted through a quickfire 35 from just 27 deliveries. Ishant Sharma picked 3 wickets for 52 runs. Zaheer Khan picked 1 for 40 while Ojha had figures of 1 for 52.

Jayasuriya crosses 13000 runs in ODI cricket

2009-01-28T13:33:00.003+08:00

Sri Lankan opener Sanath Jayasuriya became the second cricketer to cross 13,000 runs in ODI cricket. Jayasuriya achieved the feat in the 14th over bowled by Ishant Sharma during the first ODI cricket match between India and Sri Lanka played at Rangiri Dambulla International stadium in Sri Lanka on 28 January 2009.

Indian opener Sachin Tendulkar is leading the ODI scorers list with 16,422 runs. It is good to see that both these greats are playing in this match. Sachin Tendulkar is playing in his 420th ODI while Jayasuriya is in his 428th ODI.

Jayasuriya has scored 27 centuries and 67 half-centuries before the commencement of the match. Jayasuriya is a real entertainer. Our salutes to him for the great achievement! Go on Sanath!

At the end of 15 overs, Sri Lanka are 59/1 with Jayasuriya on 38 (41 balls) and Sangakkara on 18 (47 balls). The current run rate is 3.93.

Jayasuriya on song

2009-01-28T13:21:00.004+08:00

The early dismissal of Dilshan did not stop Jayasuriya from being aggressive. It is no secret that Jayasuriya loves Indian cricket bowlers. Today is no exception. While Sangakkara is putting caution over aggression, Jayasuriya is in his style early in the innings. If he goes on further in the innings, India will face another Jayasuriya dominated defeat. While it is still too early in the match, it is such kind of effect normally Jayasuriya leaves on the Indians. Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma and Munaf Patel could not have any effect on Jayasuriya. Dhoni had been successful containing Sangakkara. But, how long can he be contained.

Will the Indian bowlers strike early? Sangakkara and Jayasuriya are kind of batsmen who cannot be allowed to bat longer. It looks India is going to chase a big total.

At the end of 12 overs, Sri Lanka are 42/1, with Jayasuriya on 32 (36 balls) and Sangakkara on 9 (34 balls). The current run rate is 3.50.

Dilshan falls early

2009-01-28T12:53:00.004+08:00

Dhoni won the toss and elected to field first in the first match of the cricket ODI series against Sri Lanka. Dhoni's luck with the coin still continues. With three seamers on the side and helping conditions early in the morning, Dhoni decided to field first.

As expected, India went in with the bowling combination of Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, Munaf Patel and spinner Pragyan Ojha. Unfortunately, India lost opener Virender Sehwag to injury. With Sehwag out of the game, Gautam Gambhir will open with Sachin Tendulkar. Rohit Sharma gets a chance and will most likely be batting at No. 3.

Zaheer Khan started with a tidy spell and sent down two maiden overs. In his first over, though, Dilshan was run out off the third delivery. India could not have expected a better start to the series. Dilshan was the best batsman in the recently concluded Pakistan cricket series and he won the man of the series. Zaheer Khan and Munaf Patel shared the new ball. With Dilshan gone, India has to face two batting stars in Sanath Jayasuriya and Kumar Sangakkara.

At the end of 6 overs, Sri Lanka were 17/1, with Jayasuriya on 15 and Sangakkara on 2.

Sri Lanka Cricket Tour Begins

2009-01-28T12:32:00.003+08:00

It is the start of Cricket action for Indians in the year 2009. With fairly successful 2008, they are now going into the New Year with a vision to move further up in the ladder. The Indians are currently ranked No. 3 in the ICC ODI rankings while Sri Lanka is placed much lower at No. 7. But, the difference in quality may not be much different with Sri Lanka holding home advantage.

Both India and Sri Lanka had been successful in their respective previous series against England and Pakistan. India beat England 5-0 before the ODI series was called off due to the terrorist attacks on Mumbai. Sri Lanka lost their first match to Pakistan, but came back strongly to take the series 2-1. Kevin Pietersen lost his England team captaincy after the Indian tour, while Shoaib Malik lost his captaincy following the Sri Lankan visit.

The previous ODI series between India and Sri Lanka was a very close fight with India taking the series 3-2, thanks largely to Dhoni's luck with the coin. The other key factor was the ability of Dhoni and Raina to handle Mendis.

This series again will be a test for the Indians ability to play Murali and Mendis. The Indian team looks settled, with the following likely combination:

1. Sachin Tendulkar
2. Virender Sehwag
3. Gautam Gambhir
4. Suresh Raina
5. Yuvraj Singh
6. Mahendra Singh Dhoni
7. Yusuf Pathan
8. Pragyan Ojha
9. Zaheer Khan
10. Ishant Sharma
11. Munaf Patel

The other players who could come into play later in the series include all-rounders Ravindra Jadeja and Irfan Pathan, Praveen Kumar and Rohit Sharma.

A good series is in the line. Recently, I don't like the ODI formats. They have been largely one-sided affairs, except a few good games here and there. Hope this series will provide tight finishes and keep the interest in the ODI games alive.

England Cricket Tour: Dhoni as captain

2008-12-09T12:54:00.005+08:00

Mahendra Singh Dhoni will be leading the Indian Test side for a full series for the first time. The doubts hanging over the England cricket tour has been cleared after Reg Dickason cleared Chennai for the first test match. The England cricket players had arrived in Chennai yesterday for the match commencing on 11 December 2008.

Full Strength England Cricket Team
It is satisfying to know that England has arrived in full strength, in spite of fears earlier that some players might opt out. You could not blame them if any of them have chosen not to visit India after the Mumbai terror attacks. But, the England cricket players have shown faith in the security arrangements by Indian authorities.

Hope all the doubts about security will be away from the minds of the cricket players and they will start to concentrate on the game of cricket. England had been outplayed in the ODI series 5-0, but they have to come back in the test match series.

Indian Cricket Team Selection
The following is the 15-member Indian squad for the test match:

Virender Sehwag,
Gautam Gambhir,
M Vijay,
Rahul Dravid,
Sachin Tendulkar,
VVS Laxman,
Yuvraj Singh,
S Badrinath,
Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain & wicket-keeper),
Harbhajan Singh,
Amit Mishra,
Pragyan Ojha,
Zaheer Khan,
Ishant Sharma,
Munaf Patel

Gambhir comes back after serving the one-match ban. Yuvraj Singh and Pragyan Ojha take the places of Sourav Ganguly and Anil Kumble, the veterans who retired after the Australia cricket series. It is a pity that Rohit Sharma could not find a place in the test squad. No one doubts his skills. But, he needs to show consistency that has failed him consistently. Two of Tamil Nadu batsmen, M Vijay and S Badrinath, find their names in the squad. They are unlikely to play in the test match unless someone else is injured. How great it would be for Vijay and Badri to play in front of their home crowd? Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma will be opening the bowling with Munaf Patel as the standby seamer. Harbhajan Singh and Amit Mishra are likely to play as spinners, with Pragyan Ojha as standby spinner.

Time for Cricket
Chennai is full of police and security had been taken very seriously. The climate is the only thing that could stop an entertainer in Chennai. It is rather gloomy conditions in Chennai for the past one month or so. But, the enthusiastic Chennai crowd is already clearing the tickets for the test match. Let us hope to see an entertaining cricket match with twists and turns that are purely associated with test matches.

England Cricket Tour to India

2008-12-04T12:45:00.003+08:00

England cricket tour is still hanging in the balance, even though the reactions suggest the tour might go ahead. The general feeling points that the security consultant Reg Dickason is comfortable with the arrangements in Chennai. Dickason is scheduled to visit Mohali later and he will also hold meetings with Hugh Morris, the managing director of England cricket, and Sean Morris, the chief executive of England's Professional Cricketers' Association (PCA).

I personally feel that the tour must go on. While I respect the individual cricket player's decision, I think no place is in the world is safe now. Is United States of America safe? The act of terrorism on twin towers, known as 911 now, is not forgotten yet. Is London safe? The serial bombings in the underground trains will put that conclusion to doubt. Is Chennai safe? It was considered to be a "Peace Park" until the former Primer Minister of India, Rajiv Gandhi, was assasinated by a suicide bomber.

I am not concluding that safety and security should be compromised. We should not give place to complacency. But, at the same time, we should not let the terrorists achieve what they want. The terrorists want to implant the seeds of fear and insecurity among the citizens. If we allow that to happen, we are completely lost.

The Indian Government and the Indian cricket board should ensure all necessary safety precautions are taken and nothing should be left unattended. If this is going to cause some inconvenience to the general public, they will understand it is for their own good. Let us all stand united in this effort to resurrect the image of India.

I appreciate Andrew Strauss, the England opener, for showing his faith and expressing openly that the England cricket tour must go on. If other England cricket players understand his feelings, probably they too will feel comfortable.

The Indian cricket team is expected to be chosen today. Mahendra Singh Dhoni will lead a full series for the first time. Yuvraj Singh is expected to come in place of the retired Sourav Ganguly. Gambhir is also expected to return to his opener's slot after serving out the one-match ban imposed during the Australia test match series.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni #1, Again

2008-12-03T13:11:00.004+08:00

Mahendra Singh Dhoni retained his top spot in the Reliance Mobile ICC ODI Championship Batting Rankings. Yuvraj Singh is the only other Indian batsman to be featured in the top ten list.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni with rating points of 779 leads the pack of ODI batsman, followed by Australia's Michael Hussey. Hussey trails Dhoni by just 3 points. Australians have three players in the top ten, followed by two each from India and West Indies, and one player each from South Africa, England and Pakistan.

Top Ten ODI Batmen
The top ten list is as follows:

1. Mahendra Singh Dhoni (India)
2. Michael Hussey (Australia)
3. Graeme Smith (South Africa)
4. Shivnarine Chanderpaul (West Indies)
5. Chris Gayle (West Indies)
6. Yuvraj Singh (India)
7. Ricky Ponting (Australia)
8. Kevin Pietersen (England)
9. Mohammad Yousuf (Pakistan)
10. Andrew Symonds (Australia)

Other Indians in the Top 100 ODI Batsmen list
The other Indian players to be featured in the top-100 list is as follows:

12. Sachin Tendulkar
21. Virender Sehwag
23. Gautam Gambhir
39. Suresh Raina
40. Rahul Dravid
64. Robin Uthappa
73. Rohit Sharma
85. Irfan Pathan
98. Virat Kohli

For the complete list, please refer to Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings

England Cricket Tour

2008-12-02T20:30:00.003+08:00

The recent England cricket tour was terminated half-way by the devastating act of terrorism in Mumbai. The England cricket players left India after the terrorists attack took India and the whole world by grief. The England cricketers were then playing the 7-match ODI series against India. When the worst struck Mumbai, the commercial capital of India, the Indian cricket team was well ahead in the series by taking an unassailable lead of 5-0 in the ODI series.

With terrorism taking front seat, sports had no relevance whatsoever in the whole picture. Rightly, the England cricket tour was suspended and the players returned back to England. As such, the last two one-day matches had been called off. The future of the test series was well in doubt.

BCCI propose Chennai and Mohali
It seems now that BCCI (Board of Cricket Control in India) has proposed alternate venues for the England Cricket Board to consider. Chennai and Mohali are proposed in place of Ahmedabad and Mumbai. The test matches are expected to be played during Dec 11-15 and Dec 19-23 respectively.

Will England send a strong cricket squad?
England might send a weakened squad if players are not convinced of the security situation in India. Steve Harmison expressed his horror thinking about the rooms he stayed in Mumbai, the restaurant he took food and the corridor where he was freely walking just 10 days before the terrorists attack. If what Steve Harmison said has to be taken as a sample, you would feel that England will be a second-string side if the tour goes ahead.

Security is of topmost priority and cricket can wait. India should take a step forward and ensure the safety of the citizens and foreigners. We will support her in the efforts to ensure a No-No to terrorism.

Yuvraj Singh loves England

2008-11-20T13:24:00.001+08:00

It is surprising to note that some of the cricket players like certain opponents. They choose to hog the limelight in a particular series, and then go into hiding, only to come back strongly against the same opponents. It is nothing to do with the strength of the opposition. You call it luck, coincidence or by whatever name. But, there is enough proof of such interesting occurrences in the game of cricket.

Mystery Players
Players like Sachin and Dravid have performed consistently well against almost all the countries. It is known to everyone how much VVS Laxman loves Australia. He reserves his best for the Australians. The same kind of mystery had been exhibited by Shivnarine Chanderpaul against India. In recent times, we witnessed how Misbah-ul-Haq loved playing against the Indians. Yuvraj Singh shows a similar liking for England.

Emerging Yuvraj
Nobody would forget the match-winning partnership between Yuvraj Singh and Kaif in the Natwest Series 2002 in England. India was chasing a huge target of 326 runs to win the Natwest trophy. Yuvraj Singh scored 69 runs, Kaif made 87 not out and were featured in a partnership of 121 runs. It was a day when a new team of youngsters came into the fore under the aggressive captaincy of Sourav Ganguly. The match is remembered for Sourav Ganguly’s theatrical skills, removing his shirt in celebration of the victory.

Majestic Yuvraj
Yuvraj Singh’s six sixes off Stuart Broad in the Twenty20 World cup, held in South Africa, will ever be remembered for brute force. It also landed him the Twenty20 International Performance of the Year Award.

Current Form
The two hundreds in the first two matches of the ongoing India-England series further highlight his liking for the opposition. It is no wonder he won the player of the award on both occasions. In the second match, he even topped the bowling honours.

Conquering England
His batting average of 55.78 against England stands far ahead of his overall average of 37.19 in ODIs. His bowling average of 30.17 also stands better than the overall average of 39.41.

Hope he continues his form in the series and India will clinch the series comfortably. Kevin Pietersen, skipper of England cricket team, has to find a way to stop Yuvraj Singh if they like to pose any real challenge in this series.

ECB Rejects BCCI's Request

2008-11-19T13:07:00.007+08:00

A couple of days ago, BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) made a request to ECB (England and Wales Cricket Board) to postpone the first Test match between England and India by a day. The first test is scheduled to commence on 11 December 2008, following the ongoing seven match ODI-series.

Why did BCCI request to postpone the match?
The reason for the postponement is to give sufficient time for Mahendra Singh Dhoni to fly from Chennai to Ahmedabad. Dhoni, captain of Chennai Super Kings in IPL (Indian Premier League), will play in the Champions Twenty20 League 2008 from 3 Dec to 10 Dec. If Chennai Super Kings reaches the final to be played on 10 December, Dhoni will not be able to play either the Champions League final on 10 Dec or the first test match commencing on 11 Dec.

Interestingly, Dhoni is the only player to be affected from either sides playing the test match. The Champions Twenty20 league involves eight teams namely, Chennai Super Kings, Dolphins, Middlesex, Rajasthan Royals, Sialkot Stallions, Titans, Victoria and Western Australia.

Well done, ECB!
It is understood that ECB has rejected BCCI's request. I am glad that ECB had not given into BCCI. How crazy on the part of BCCI to request to change a match which is just three weeks away? What will happen to the travel plans of thousands of fans, journalists, commentators and officials? Why not just drop Dhoni from the Champions League final, if Chennai Super Kings reaches the final? Alternatively, why not let someone else lead the team in the first test match? At least Dhoni will get a well deserved break from cricket.

Why so much cricket? Give me a break man!
It is such a pity that BCCI could not plan its schedule ahead. It is not just about maximizing the schedule. The planning of the calendar should involve sufficient rest for players and enough time for fans to get some interest in the upcoming series. There was just three days between the end of Australia series and the beginning of England series. I wrote about this many times, but cannot stop myself complaining. Every series needs some hype, excitement and expectations before full commencement of the series. This will keep the interest of the game as well as the well-being of the cricketers intact.

Test Cricket beats ODI

2008-11-18T12:03:00.004+08:00

I have written sometime ago that Cricket is boring. In fact, I should rewrite that article that ODI cricket is boring. If the recent test series against Australia and the first two ODI matches against England are any indication, then I can conclude that Test cricket is here to stay. And ODI format will make way for Twenty20 format.

Test Cricket is Interesting
Just recall the four test matches between India and Australia. We saw gripping contest between two teams, one that could not accept defeat and another one fighting to go on top of the table. Every match had its own twists and turns, that made each day of the test match interesting to watch. The first match went to the last day and Indians forced a draw. The second match saw how clinically a victory could be achieved against the World Champions. The third match saw a see-saw battle and ended in a draw. The final match once again stretched to the last day and probably India won the match as Australia decided to go for the kill on the last day. Interesting twenty days of cricket.

ODI is Boring
Just look at the two ODIs so far concluded against England. The first match was a no-contest once Yuvraj Singh and Sehwag hammered the bowlers. The match was all but over at mid-stage. Its merely a formality to be completed for Dhoni's men. Eventually they bowled out England for 229 runs and won the contest by a whopping margin of 158 runs. If anyone expected a better contest in the second ODI, it all lasted only for the first ten overs. From then on, it was India's way all along. England fell short again, this time by a margin of 54 runs. Will we able to see a better contest in the coming matches?

Future of Cricket
ICC is trying everything to bring back interest to the ODI format. Supersub rule, changes to powerplays, mandatory ball changes, ... Nothing seem to work so far. If nothing happens drastically in favour of ODIs, I expect Twenty20 to take over as the preferred shorter version. With the successful emergence of IPL and other Twenty20 leagues everywhere, it is only logical to conclude that Test Cricket and Twenty20 will see the end of ODIs. The format that ruled the game of cricket for close to 25 years might come to an end soon.

Dhoni and Captaincy, Made For Each Other

2008-11-13T12:58:00.004+08:00

Captaincy is not all about success. Captaincy is not all about technical skills. Captaincy is not all about knowledge. Yes, you need all of those in a certain mix. But, more importantly, leadership and man management takes precedence.

Good leaders have become great captains. On the contrary, great players have failed to be good captains. Sachin Tendulkar is one glaring example. Great captains lead by example, take criticism in stride and protect their team when needed. Dhoni has taken the right step in the captaincy mode. If success is the yardstick, then there is enough proof of his leadership skills; ICC Twenty20 World cup, CB series triumph in Australia and his three-out-of-three test match wins against South Africa and Australia. But, I am not going to discuss about that here. I am going to highlight simple gestures from Dhoni that would have touched many hearts.

#1: Fitting Farewell to Sourav Ganguly
During the final moments of the Nagpur test against Australia, Dhoni invited Ganguly to take over the captaincy for some time. It was an extraordinary gesture from Mahendra Singh Dhoni. With Ganguly playing his final test match, how proud he would have felt. Can any one else give a better farewell to a wonderful player and a revolutionary captain himself?

#2: Apt Reward for an Achiever
Another moment that caught my eyes happened just after India’s victory in the second test match against Australia. India has just completed a resounding win against the World Champions. It is a great moment of achievement for the team as they played absolutely attacking cricket throughout the match. Everybody rushed to grab a stump as a souvenir. Ganguly, a centurion in the first innings and playing his last test series, could not get one for himself. Dhoni gave Ganguly the stump he had taken for himself.

#3: Recognize Budding Talents
One more significant moment came during the presentation ceremony of Commonwealth Bank Series 2008. India has just outplayed Australia in the finals and defeated them 2-0 in the best of three finals. Dhoni invited Piyush Chawla, the youngest in the Indian team, to hold the trophy when the team assembled on the podium to pose with the CB Series trophy. How proud Chawla would have been?

It is very hard to believe that Dhoni made his debut just less than four years ago. These moments might be forgotten down the years. But, Sourav Ganguly and Piyush Chawla will remember those precious little moments for ages. After all, captaincy is not all about hogging the limelight yourself. It seems Dhoni has understood that clearly. Well done Dhoni.

Dhoni in Test Match #30

2008-10-14T14:42:00.005+08:00

India vs Australia, Australia in India, 2008 - 1st Test
Date: 9-13 October 2008

India manages draw on the final day

Australia won the toss and elected to bat on a pitch that was expected to aid spinners later on. Ricky Ponting led from the front by scoring his first century in India. Zaheer Khan removed Hayden off the very first over, thanks to an error from the umpire. In spite of good bowling spells from Zaheer and Ishant Sharma, Ricky Ponting and Simon Katich started to build a careful and controlled partnership. Ricky Ponting's century and his 166 run partnership was the highlight of the day. The Indians had come back later in the day by removing Michael Clarke cheaply. Australians ended the day on 254/4 with Michael Hussey on 46.

On the second day, Zaheer struck immediately by removing Shane Watson. But, a 91-run partnership between Hussey and Brad Haddin ensured that India could not capitalize. The Indians frustration grew further as Brett Lee combined with Hussey to post an useful 59 run partnership for the 8th wicket. The tail rallied around the brilliance of Hussey. When Hussey was last man out for 146, the score has swelled to 430. Zaheer picked 5 wickets, Ishant Sharma had 4 wickets and Harbhajan Singh accounted for one. India's captain and leading wicket-taker Kumble was disappointing, sending down 43 overs without a wicket. The Indians replied strongly and the openers were unseparated by the end of the day at 68/0.

The third day morning saw the Indians failing miserably and suddenly the scoreline read 106/4. A half-century from Dravid and 47 from Ganguly provided some respect to the total. But, the Indians had much to cheer later on when Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan combined brilliantly to post an 80 run partnership for the eighth wicket. When Harbhajan was dismissed late in the day, he had already helped India to avoid the follow-on. He also scored a half century. Indians ended the day on 313/8.

If the third day had not frustrated the Australians, then certainly the fourth day would have done it. Zaheer Khan went on to score a half-century and in the company of Kumble and Ishant took the score to 360. The Indians fell short of the Australian score by a mere 70 runs. Australia looked shaky in the second innings, losing 5 wickets for the addition of 128 runs. But, Haddin and Watson have put on an unbeaten 65 runs partnership for the sixth wicket. Once again, Kumble was disappointing.

The final day was set absolutely for a stern test for the Indians. Ricky Ponting declared the innings after playing only 5 overs, during which they added another 35 runs. The target for the Indians is tempting enough, 299 runs in 83 overs. But, quick dismissals of Sehwag and Dravid stopped any such calculations to continue. It was up to the Indians to play out time and overs. The feat was achieved wonderfully by Gambhir, Sachin, Laxman and Ganguly. They played sensibly under pressure and ensured that Indians do not lose another match on the final day. Sachin fell one short of a well-deserved half century and within touching distance of Lara's all-time record.

1st Innings:
Australia 430 (Michael Hussey 146, Ricky Ponting 123, Zaheer Khan 5 for 91, Ishant Sharma 4 for 77)
India 360 (Zaheer Khan 57 not out, Harbhajan Singh 54, Johnson 4 for 70, Watson 3 for 45)

2nd Innings:
Australia 228/6 declared (Shane Watson 41, Haddin 35 not out, Ishant Sharma 3 for 40, Harbhajan Singh 2 for 76)
India 177/4 (Tendulkar 49, Laxman 42 not out, Clark 1 for 12, Johnson 1 for 23)

Match Result: Draw

Man of the match: Zaheer Khan, for his 6 wickets and 57 not out

Dhoni's performance in the 1st innings:
Catches : 2 / Stumpings : 0
Batting: 9 runs (51 balls), 4s: 0/ 6s: 0

Dhoni's performance in the 2nd innings:
Catches : 0 / Stumpings : 0
Batting: Did Not Bat

Player of the Series Awards for Dhoni in ODI

2008-09-19T13:28:00.010+08:00

In the last discussion, we saw the man of the match (player of the match) awards won by Mahendra Singh Dhoni in One Day Internationals. In this article, let us see the series awards, which is a fair indication of consistent performance throughout the entire series.

Awards in 2005
(1) Sri Lanka in India: In 7 matches, Dhoni scored 346 runs at an average of 115.33. This includes the unforgettable knock of 183* (15 fours and 10 sixes) at Nagpur which helped India to chase down a stiff target of 299 with ease. He also held 6 catches and effected 3 stumpings during this series. India won the series emphatically by a margin of 6-1.

Awards in 2006
Dhoni did not receive any "Player of the Series" awards in the year 2006.

Awards in 2007
(2) India in Bangladesh: The series was reduced to just two matches, after the last match was abandoned without a ball being bowled. In the two matches, Dhoni scored 127 runs with a top score of 91*. He held 1 catch and effected 2 stumpings. India won the series 2-0.

Awards in 2008
(3) India in Sri Lanka: Dhoni scored 193 runs from 5 matches with a high score of 76 and an average of 38.60. He held 3 catches and effected a stumping. India bounced back from 0-1 down to win the series 3-2. Dhoni's resolute batting helped India to counter the spin mystery of Ajantha Mendis. Dhoni was also lucky with the coin, as he called right on the first four occasions, which proved decisive.

Awards in 2009
(4) India in West Indies: Dhoni scored 182 runs from 4 matches with a high score of 95. He had an average of 91.00 in this series. Dhoni had to prove himself following the exit of Indian team from World Twenty20 2009 without even a single win in the Super Eights stage. He played crucial knocks in all the three matches in the series to help India register a 2-1 series win, with the last match being abandoned due to rain. He held 4 catches and stumped 2 batsmen out. He is once again lucky with the toss, winning on all the four occasions. His scores of 41, 95 and 46* took his batting average in ODIs to 50.18.

Man of the Match Awards for Dhoni in ODI

2008-09-19T13:28:00.009+08:00

Mahendra Singh Dhoni has been a consistent performer in ODI matches for India. He could effortlessly change gears to suit the situation. He proved his attacking skills early in his career and his two innings, 148 against Pakistan and 183* against Sri Lanka, are proof of his aggression. Later, with more responsibility, he changed his style to a calm and cool aggregator. He could rotate his strike and open up during the end overs.

In this post, I have summarized the man of the match awards received by Dhoni in ODI matches. So far, he has received 9 awards from 120 matches played.

Awards in 2005
(1) ODI # 05, 05 Apr 05: vs Pakistan, 148 runs & 2 catches

(2) ODI # 22, 31 Oct 05: vs Sri Lanka, 183* runs & 1 catch

Awards in 2006
(3) ODI # 33, 13 Feb 06: vs Pakistan, 72* runs & 3 catches

Awards in 2007
(4) ODI # 70, 10 May 07: vs Bangladesh, 91* runs & 1 stumping

(5) ODI # 74, 10 Jun 07: vs Africa XI, 139* runs & 3 stumpings

(6) ODI # 88, 08 Oct 07: vs Australia, 50* runs & 2 stumpings

(7) ODI # 92, 05 Nov 07: vs Pakistan, 63 runs & 1 stumping

Awards in 2008
(8) ODI #114, 03 Jul 08: vs Sri Lanka, 67 runs & 2 catches

(9) ODI #118, 24 Aug 08: vs Sri Lanka, 76 runs & 2 catches

Awards in 2009
(10) ODI #131, 03 Mar 09: vs New Zealand, 84* runs, 1 catch, 1 stumping & effected a run-out

(11) ODI #138, 03 Jul 09: vs West Indies, 46* runs, 2 catches, 1 stumping and combined with Gautam Gambhir to effect a run-out

McGain will be in India

2008-09-15T14:39:00.004+08:00

Australia has confirmed the 15-member test team for the Indian tour commencing on September 27, with a two-day tour game against Rajasthan Cricket Association's Centre of Excellence. The Australians will play four test matches in India. The first match is scheduled to be played between Oct 9 and Oct 13 at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore.

The Australian squad will be as follows:

Ricky Ponting (Captain)
Matthew Hayden
Phil Jaques
Michael Hussey
Michael Clarke
Simon Katich
Shane Watson
Brad Haddin (Wicket keeper)
Brett Lee
Jason Krejza
Mitchell Johnson
Peter Siddle
Bryce McGain
Stuart Clark
Doug Bollinger

Andrew Symonds Out
The notable omission from the squad is Andrew Symonds. Symonds was a central figure in the race row that surrounded Harbhajan Singh when India toured Australia in January. He was also a victim of crowd abuse during the previous one-day tour of India.

Shane Watson In
Shane Watson makes it to the test squad. Shane Watson will hope to repeat his success in India, when he was part of the Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League. In fact, his all-round performance in IPL is the key factor in his return to the Australian team.

Bowling Department
Jason John Krejza, right arm off-break bowler and Bryce McGain will look for some help from the expected spinner-friendly tracks. One of them would play alongside the pace trio of Brett Lee, Stuart Clark and Mitchell Johnson. Peter Siddle or Doug Bollinger might be in the squad if Australia decides to go in with five bowlers.

Probably, this is one of the less experienced squads from Australia to visit India. They have only four players who have played in India before. The Indians would be smiling at the absence of Symonds, as he is a good player of spin and has tormented the Indians on more than one occasion.

Dhoni clinches LG ICC ODI Player of the Year Award

2008-09-12T12:41:00.006+08:00

Mahendra Singh Dhoni has won the ODI Player of the year award at the LG ICC awards ceremony held in Dubai on 10 Sep 2008. This year’s LG ICC Awards included eight individual prizes, including a new one for the Twenty20 International Performance of the Year that went to Yuvraj Singh for his amazing six sixes off Stuart Broad.

Nominees for the award
India's one-day and Twenty20 International captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has been nominated for the award along with Sachin Tendulkar, Mohammad Yousuf and Nathan Bracken. The award was given based on the players performance during the period between August 9, 2007 and August 12, 2008. Let us take a look at the comparison of the four players’ performance during the above period.

Analysis of the performances
The table below lists the performance of the four players during the mentioned period. The players include one bowler, two specialist batsmen and one wicket-keeper batsman.

It is very clear that everyone has performed well and it is difficult to prefer one above the other. During the period under consideration, Dhoni won three man of the match awards, Sachin too had three, Yousuf had two and Bracken was content with one. Yousuf had won the player of the series award for the South Africa series at home while Bracken clinched the series award for his performance during CB series in Australia.

Why the award went to Dhoni?
I believe Dhoni inched ahead of the others due to his wicket-keeping skills and his able captaincy. During this period, he has led the Indian team in 31 matches. The result is in favour of Dhoni with 16 wins, 12 losses and 3 matches with no result. Dhoni’s achievements, as captain, include a series victory over Pakistan at home, CB series triumph in Australia, finals appearance in Kitply cup and Asia cup. His batting average also shoots up to 59.10 while playing as a captain.

Milestone
Dhoni becomes the first Indian to win the ODI player of the year award. The last four awards went to England twice (Flintoff and Pietersen) and Australia twice (Hayden and Michael Hussey).

Other Awards

Cricketer of the year: Shivnarine Chanderpaul (West Indies)

Test Player of the year: Dale Steyn (South Africa)

Twenty20 International Performance: Yuvraj Singh (India)

Emerging Player of the year: Ajantha Mendis (Sri Lanka)

Captain of the year: Ricky Ponting (Australia)

Umpire of the year: Simon Taufel (Australia)

Associate Player of the year: Ryan ten Doeschate (Netherlands)

Women’s Cricketer of the year: Charlotte Edwards (England)

Spirit of Cricket award: Sri Lanka team

Dhoni’s Scores by Batting Position

2008-08-29T13:05:00.007+08:00

Dhoni is consistently changing his batting position in the ODI team. He likes to keep himself floating around in the middle order to accommodate others around. He displays a true leader’s quality in helping others to perform ahead of him. But, where should he bat? Which is the best position for him? With these questions in mind, I did an analysis of his previous 118 matches, of which he went in to bat 105 times. The analysis includes all matches until 24 Aug 2008, including the third ODI recently completed against Sri Lanka.

Batting Positions
When he started playing for India, he was considered to act as a bridge between the batsmen and the bowlers. This is where, normally, most of the wicket-keepers fit in. So, in his first series against Bangladesh, he came in at No. 7. Things changed in the immediate next series against Pakistan. In the second match of the series, he was asked to bat at No. 3. He responded with an aggressive knock of 148, his first ODI hundred.

In the next series, Indian Oil Cup involving Sri Lanka and West Indies, he opened the innings with Sehwag in the first match against Sri Lanka. That’s a rare occasion. He has opened the innings for India only twice, against England being the other one. Since then, he was tossed around the batting order, anywhere from #3 to #8. But, the majority of the innings were at #4 to #7.

In the last five matches he played, all of them against Sri Lanka, he came in at #4, #5, #6, #5 and #6. In the Kitply cup final against Pakistan, he batted at #7. Dhoni himself admitted that it was a mistake and he would prefer to come in early. Now, let us look at the statistics.

Runs Scored By Batting Position
The following graph shows the number of runs scored by Dhoni at the various batting positions.

As you can see, he has been there up from #2 to all the way down at #8. His main contribution comes from #6 at a total of 1218 runs. His scores at #3, #4 and #7 are very close to each other and are hovering around the 600 runs mark. Dhoni’s contribution at #5 is also not far behind that mark. Certainly, #2 and #8 do not look good. If you look at the number of innings he has played at each position, then it becomes clear that he has played most of his innings at #6. That explains the reason for the spike at #6.

Career Averages and Strike Rates
To put things in perspective, let us look at the following graphs depicting the career averages and strike rates.

Interestingly, he has a phenomenal average of 94.00 at #4. This coincides with an astounding strike rate of 112.67. He has scored a century and 7 half-centuries during his 11 innings at #4 position. His statistics at #3 also looks very healthy with 2 centuries and 2 half-centuries. He has an average of 42.00 at #6, which is better than #5 and #7. Interestingly, he has a century to his name at #7. But, that came when he was batting for Asia XI against Africa XI.

Data Used
The complete data used for the analysis above is listed below in a tabular format.

Conclusion
I feel that Dhoni should bat at #4, which looks like his favourite position. But, until the Indian youngsters start to play their role to perfection, Dhoni will be a floater in the batting line-up. He likes it and enjoys it. Let us see what else is in store for us!

Murali and Mendis mesmerize Indians

2008-08-18T15:48:00.003+08:00

India vs Sri Lanka, India in Sri Lanka ODI Series (2008) - 1st ODI
Date: 18 Aug 2008

Murali and Mendis once again did not allow any room for the Indians to escape. The end was delayed thanks to Mahela's approach to hold back Mendis. Finally when he was introduced again, the innings was over.

If you see the scorecard progress from over 25 to over 30, you will understand how dominant the two spinners were. All the five overs were maidens bowled by Mendis and Murali. During this period, Mendis dismissed Dhoni and Murali accounted for Irfan Pathan. The last hope of Pathan rallying with the tail was cut short by an umpiring error. He was given out lbw even though TV replays showed an inside edge. The score of 87/5 at 24.5 overs read 88/7 at the end of 30 overs.

It was upto the tail from over number 30 to 45. They managed to bring the score to 146, thanks to 20-run partnership between Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan and a 29-run partnership for the last wicket between Munaf Patel and Pragyan Ojha. In one over by Murali that cost 14 runs, Ojha hit a four and Munaf Patel cleared the field for a six. But, all those were too little too late.

You cannot expect much when the highest individual score is 23 (by Yuvraj) and the highest partnership is 37 (between Yuvraj and Rohit Sharma). Mendis finished with figures of 3-21 and Murali's bowling analysis read 3-37. It seems the Mendis' mystery is yet to be resolved. Until India finds a way to handle Mendis, they cannot make any impression here in Sri Lanka.

Let us wait and see whether the Indian bowlers can restore some sort of confidence back in the team before the next ODI.

Indian top half is back in the pavilion

2008-08-18T14:20:00.002+08:00

India vs Sri Lanka, India in Sri Lanka ODI Series (2008) - 1st ODI
Date: 18 Aug 2008

You cannot have a worst start to a series than this. The top half of the team is back in the pavilion even before the end of 21st over. India is certainly looking at one of the lowest scores in ODI if the bottom half and the skipper Dhoni does not contribute handsomely.

Yuvraj Singh and Rohit Sharma were trying to steady the ship after the fall of Suresh Raina for just 17 runs. The pair came together at the score of 36/3 and helped only to double the score. The introduction of Ajantha Mendis in the last over of the powerplay, 20th over, immediately had rewards for Sri Lanka. Yuvraj Singh survived an lbw appeal in the second delivery of the over. Yuvraj responded with a huge six in the next delivery. As we had seen, Mendis does not wait too long to strike. In the next delivery, fourth delivery of his first over, he bowled Yuvraj Singh for 23. Thushara accounted for Rohit Sharma in the next over. Sharma contributed 19 runs to the total with a four and a six.

Now, it is upto Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Irfan Pathan to salvage some pride for the Indians. At the half-way mark, the Indians were restricted to 87 for 5, with Dhoni on 6 and Pathan on 7.

Kulasekara removes Kohli

2008-08-18T13:23:00.002+08:00

India vs Sri Lanka, India in Sri Lanka ODI Series (2008) - 1st ODI
Date: 18 Aug 2008

The Indians are struggling against good pace bowling. They lost the debutant Virat Kohli for just 12 runs. At the end of 10 overs, Indians were precariously placed at 29 for the loss of both the openers. The scenario could have been worse if Jayawardane held the chance offered by Yuvraj Singh off the last delivery of the tenth over.

At the end of ten overs, Suresh Raina is unbeaten on 11 from 27 deliveries and Yuvraj Singh is playing with 5 runs off 9 balls. Much is expected from Yuvraj Singh in the lines of his explosive 172 in the tour game. Will he do it and bail India out?

All these happening even before Ajantha Mendis has bowled a single delivery! (Interesting!!!)

Gambhir falls early, India in trouble

2008-08-18T12:52:00.003+08:00

India vs Sri Lanka, India in Sri Lanka ODI Series (2008) - 1st ODI
Date: 18 Aug 2008

Gambhir was dimissed off the second delviery of the match bowled by Chaminda Vaas. Gambhir became Vaas' 399th victim and Chaminda is just one short of the prestigious 400-wickets club. The Indians had a blow early on when Sehwag was ruled out of the match. Much was expected from Gambhir in the absence of Sehwag, as the openers were the only batsmen who scored consistently in the recent test series.

Vaas and Kulasekara are bowling with good line and length and the Indians are struggling. The first three overs brought in just one run each. The next two overs contributed three runs each. At the end of five overs, the Indians are pathetically placed at 9/1. Virat Kohli is unbeaten on 6 from 11 deliveries, while Suresh Raina is playing with 2 runs from 17 deliveries.

Virat Kohli makes ODI debut

2008-08-18T12:25:00.005+08:00

India vs Sri Lanka, India in Sri Lanka ODI Series (2008) - 1st ODI
Date: 18 Aug 2008

The India-Sri Lanka ODI series kicks off in a few minutes from now with the first match at Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium. The Indians start as underdogs after their surrender to Ajantha Mendis in the Asia Cup final and the debacle in the recently concluded test series.

The Indians have further bad news as in-form Virender Sehwag will not be playing in the first match due to injury. But, that's good news for at least Virat Kohli. Virat Kohli, the successful under-19 captain, makes his ODI debut against Sri Lanka as an opener. Will he deliver? Let us wait and see.

India has won the toss and Dhoni opted to bat first. A good decision. Dambulla stadium has been known for its low scores. The highest score here of 282 is by the home team against India in 2004. Sangakkara and Jayawardene were fabulous in that match, posting a 100+ partnership in about 15 overs. In that match, India chased the match and made 270/8, thanks to good knocks from Rahul Dravid and Yuvraj Singh.

The outcome will depend on how well the Indians play Murali and Mendis, popularly known as M&M now. The Indian team for the match is as follows:

1 Gautam Gambhir
2 Virat Kohli
3 Suresh Raina
4 Yuvraj Singh
5 Mahendra Singh Dhoni
6 Rohit Sharma
7 Irfan Pathan
8 Pragyan Ojha
9 Harbhajan Singh
10 Zaheer Khan
11 Munaf Patel

Dhoni in ODI #115

2008-07-07T15:57:00.001+08:00

India vs Sri Lanka, Asia Cup 2008, Final
Date: 06 Jul 2008

Catches: 2 / Stumpings: 0
Batting: 49 runs (74 balls), 4s: 4/ 6s: 0

India had the upper hand at the beginning of both the innings, but brilliant performances from Sanath Jayasuriya and Ajantha Mendis sealed a comprehensive victory for the Sri Lankans. The Sri Lankans were 66 for 4 after put in to bat, but were rescued by a 131 run partnership between Jayasuriya and Dilshan. Jayasuriya’s brilliant 125 took only 114 deliveries and helped the Lankans to put up a decent total of 273.

Sehwag’s stroke play indicated that 273 were not going to be enough. But, it lasted only until the 9th over when Ajantha Mendis was introduced into the attack as a gamble to restrict the scoring and take wickets. At that stage, India was well placed at 76 for the loss of Gautam Gambhir. Mendis was certainly the talk of the town before the match. But, his performance turned out to be a magical one, might be one of the best bowling performances in ODI history.

Mendis accounted for Sehwag in his second delivery of the innings and the Indians surrendered to him without any resistance whatsoever. The exception being Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who compiled a cool and responsible 49. At the end of the day, Mendis’ figures read 8-1-13-6. Unbelievable!

The Indians need not worry too much about the result in the finals. They did perform extremely well in the series. They were surprised by a rare bowling talent in the finals. But, Dhoni and his boys have come together well in this series. The bowling department needs some strengthening; probably the return of Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh might help.

Result: 273 all out in 49.5 overs(Jayasuriya 125, Dilshan 56, Ishant Sharma 3 for 52, RP Singh 3 for 67) beat India 173 all out in 39.3 overs(Sehwag 60, Dhoni 49, Mendis 6 for 13) by 100 runs.

Sri Lanka has won the Asia Cup 2008.

Man of the match & Man of the Series: Ajantha Mendis (Sri Lanka)

Happy Birthday, Dhoni

2008-07-07T09:29:00.002+08:00

This blog is happy to wish Mahendra Singh Dhoni a year filled with success, prosperity and happiness. Dhoni turns 27 today. He was born on July 7, 1981 at Ranchi in the Indian state of Bihar.

He is one of the most entertaining cricketer in the world today. He has already played 29 test matches and 115 One Day Internationals. Keep going Dhoni! We expect more from you. Show us your swashbuckling batting style once in a while.

Happy Birthday and Many More Happy Returns of The Day!

No Excitement in India-Pakistan Clashes

2008-07-02T13:50:00.000+08:00

The cricket matches between the archrivals India and Pakistan had always been exciting and entertaining. It all started with one great day at Sharjah. On April 18, 1986, Javed Miandad held his nerves till the end to clinch the Austral-Asia Cup. It was a match in which Miandad smashed a full toss from Chetan Sharma out of the ground for a huge six. It was off the last ball of the innings.

I still remember that day when the future of India-Pakistan cricket matches had been rewritten. Pakistan took a vital lead and confidence booster from that last-ball six and went on to dominate the Indians for at least a decade. The Indians did their best to counter that morale-sapping blow. As a result, the matches got more interesting and the spectators were the real winners. How many good matches you would have seen between these two teams since then?

Do you feel the scenario has changed?
I feel yes. The India-Pakistan match does not give me sleepless nights any more. Too many clashes between these two teams with too little time in between have crushed the interest of the followers. Another reason is that the match-winners are gone. You won’t see the greatness of the players like Imran Khan, Wasim Akram, Javed Miandad, Abdul Qadir, Kapil Dev, Kris Srikanth, Maninder Singh… While India has the likes of Dhoni, Sehwag and Yuvraj who could make the game interesting, Pakistan certainly lacks one. Shahid Afridi, who could do it for Pakistan, is struggling to put bat to ball recently.

Another hard-fought match, close to the Kitply cup final, might reignite the fire in the India-Pakistan clashes. Until then, it is yet another clash!

Cricket is Boring

2008-06-27T14:06:00.003+08:00

Do you love cricket? I do love cricket. I could sacrifice my food and rest to watch cricket matches. But, recently, I feel that cricket is not that attractive or entertaining as it was. Cricket is going to be killed by the way it is being handled by the administrators and the cricket boards. Take a look at some of the recent results in the ODIs:

Bangladesh beat UAE by 96 runs
Pakistan beat Hong Kong by 155 runs
Sri Lanka beat Bangladesh by 131 runs
India beat Hong Kong by 256 runs
India beat Pakistan by 6 wickets (with 47 balls remaining)
Sri Lanka beat UAE by 142 runs

Boring and Meaningless Games
There was not even a single competitive game. In about three of those games, the opponent team is unable to score even half of the target set by the team batting first. Hong Kong managed less than one-third of what India scored. Why do we need such games? To boast the records of better teams?

Non-Stop Action
Ridiculous! The players do not get any break between tournaments. The spectators are getting matches every day. A two-month long IPL festival completed. Within two weeks, the Kitply Cup was over. Less than two weeks from that, we have completed the preliminary stage of the so-called Asia cup.

The matches are being cramped in between tight schedules. There used to be a time when we had a rest day during test matches. It is gone forever. The ODIs schdule used to have at least 2 days in between consecutive games. Then came a time when just a single day was sufficient. Now, it seems that teams have to work 9 to 5 everyday. India met Hong Kong and Pakistan on consecutive days. In the Super 4s stage, they have to meet Pakistan and Sri Lanka on consecutive days. Will this not put the Indian team at a disadvantage as they have to play two best teams without any break?

The effect on players
Think about players like Mahendra Singh Dhoni. He is such a gifted player, wonderful to watch. How long is he going to survive this onslaught? He was part of the IPL Twenty20 as the captain of Chennai Super Kings team that went all the way to the finals. He was the captain of the Indian ODI team that lost in the finals of the Kitply cup. He is again the ODI captain for the Asia cup team. Add to this, his wicket-keeping duties. I really pity Dhoni.

He is such a good player and has become a regular member of the test team, ODI team and the Twenty20 team. If tournaments and series are going to be played without any break, then players like Dhoni will break down. That is not good for cricket.

Proper planning and adequate rest for players and spectators will let cricket survive. Hope everybody understands this in the interest of the game.

Asia Cup 2008: Will the Indian team sparkle?

2008-06-24T13:47:00.002+08:00

Yet another cricket tournament! Yes, the ninth edition of the Asia Cup is about to commence today with two day-night matches. Pakistan will take on Hong Kong in a Group B match while Bangladesh meets United Arab Emirates (UAE) in Group A.

Sri Lanka is featured in the Group A along with Bangladesh and UAE. India is the third team in Group B along with Pakistan and Hong Kong. The three teams will meet each other once in group matches and the top two teams from each group will progress to the next stage. The four teams will again meet each other once, with the top two teams qualifying for the finals to be played on 6th July 2008.

The Indians had so far won the Asia cup four times; Sri Lanka lifted it thrice and Pakistan once. India’s last triumph was 13 years back in the year 1995. The tournament has a history that dates back to 1984 when the first tournament was launched in UAE.

India plays Hong Kong tomorrow in a day-night encounter. Interesting news is that Dhoni will bat up the order. I would prefer Dhoni to come in at No. 5, with Rohit Sharma and Yuvraj Singh occupying the No.3 and No. 4 slots. Gambhir and Sehwag would open the batting. Praveen Kumar, Ishant Sharma and Piyush Chawla are certain to be in the bowling line-up. That leaves a slot for a batsman, an all-rounder and a bowler. I would love to have Yusuf Pathan as an all-rounder and Manpreet Gony to fill the bowler slot. The last batsman slot should go either to Robin Uthappa or Suresh Raina. I am happy with the approach of both these batsmen. The only problem is that both these batsmen get good starts, but do not go on to make a big score.

A good performance from Dhoni’s men could light up the tournament, which otherwise looks to be a dull encounter.

I Will Be Out Of Action

2008-05-24T12:46:00.000+08:00

I will be out of action for the next three weeks, as I am going back to India on a holiday trip. There may not be any posts coming up for the next one month. Please bear with me and I will be back in action as soon as possible.

Just in time to see the two most important matches, Chennai Super Kings vs Rajasthan Royals and Delhi Daredevils vs Mumabi Indians. As you all would expect, I will be supporting Mahendra Singh Dhoni's team. Chennai Super Kings is my home team too. It would be great to see the action in the semi-finals and finals in India. Hope I will not be distracted by other appointments during the matches.

Kings XI Punjab secures second semi-final spot

2008-05-23T12:42:00.000+08:00

The game between Delhi Daredevils and Kolkata Knight Riders, in the Indian Premier League (IPL), was washed out yesterday due to persistent rain in Delhi. The game has to be abandoned without a ball being bowled.

Yuvi qualifies and Dada eliminated
As a result, Kings XI Punjab became the second team to progress to the semi-finals stage of IPL after the leaders Rajasthan Royals. The bad news is that Kolkata Knight Riders were knocked out of the tournament. Kolkata becomes the third team to be knocked out after Hyderabad Deccan Chargers and Bangalore Royal Challengers. Sourav Ganguly and Shah Rukh Khan should be disappointed after two of their last three games were decided by rain.

That leaves Chennai Super Kings, Delhi Daredevils and Mumbai Indians as the contenders for the remaining two semi-final slots. Interestingly, various scenarios emerge and any two of these three teams can still qualify.

Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings
If Chennai wins any one of their matches against Rajasthan Royals and Hyderabad Deccan Chargers, they will qualify irrespective of other results. They need not worry about other games and have to just concentrate on the games in hand.

Sehwag’s Delhi Daredevils
Delhi must win their only remaining game against Mumbai. In addition to this, either Chennai should lose two games or Mumbai should lose one more game.

Tendulkar’s Mumbai Indians
The game between Mumbai and Delhi is very important for all the three teams. All they have to do is just beat Delhi Daredevils. If Mumbai beats Delhi, then Chennai and Mumbai will go through to the semi-finals. If they lose the game against Delhi, they can still qualify by winning the two remaining games against Rajasthan Royals and Bangalore Royal Challengers. They could still qualify with just one win. But, for that to happen, Chennai must lose two games and then Net Run Rate (NRR) will come into play.

As you can see, Chennai and Mumbai have the option to write their own script. All these permutations and combinations come into play only if rain does not play any further hand in this tournament.

Coming Soon
Meanwhile, the first inconsequential match comes up in the IPL tournament. Kings XI Punjab, already in the semi-final, meets Hyderabad Deccan Chargers, already eliminated from the tournament. It is a practice game for Punjab and it is some pride resurrection for Deccan Chargers.

In fact, the two most important games are up for tomorrow. Chennai meets Rajasthan Royals and Delhi clashes with Mumbai. Fine, the final two slots may well be decided tomorrow.

Inconsistent Chennai Super Kings

2008-05-23T10:08:00.001+08:00

Chennai Super Kings were consistently inconsistent throughout this tournament. They started off as the favourites to win this tournament when Mathew Hayden, Michael Hussey and Jacob Oram helped them to post 4 consecutive victories. Since the departure of these three, Chennai has just managed 3 wins out of 8 games.

Disappointing Royal Challengers
Rahul Dravid won the toss and elected to bat first, a decision that raised eyebrows. The Chennai Super Kings’ opening bowlers, Makhaya Ntini and Gony, bowled excellent line and length to trouble the Royal Challengers. Dravid’s team was immediately in trouble and they were reduced to a meagre score of 41 for 4 at the end of 10 overs. Responsible and intelligent batting by Rahul Dravid, Mark Boucher and Praveen Kumar helped them to reach a paltry score of 126 for 8 in the allotted 20 overs.

Sleepy Chennai Super Kings
The match seemed to have been sealed even before the Chennai team went out to bat. The score was so low and not even thought to be competitive. The opening pair proved everyone right. They raced to 40 runs in the first four overs. Chennai were already celebrating their victory and this is where they lost the game. The scoring was slowed down by clever bowling from Anil Kumble. At the end of 11 overs, Chennai were 65 for 2. Only 25 runs were added in 7 overs, from over number 5 to 11. A casual shot from Dhoni ended in the hands of Kumble. The slide started in the 14th over when Fleming was dismissed. Raina stayed until the end but cannot do anything. The last over, bowled by Praveen Kumar, fetched just one run.

Where do we go from here?
Finally, Bangalore Royal Challengers won a match and they had all reasons to smile and celebrate. They have earned their victory here. Well done Dravid and Kumble! Kumble was declared the man of the match, for his three wickets spell. Chennai made its path to semi-finals much tougher. They have a game against the leaders Rajasthan Royals and a game against the bottom of the table Deccan Chargers. If they could win at least one of them, they should be able to go through to the next stage. Can they do it?

Their record of the 12 games shows Win-Win-Win-Win-Loss-Loss-Loss-Win-Win-Loss-Win-Loss. You can see how inconsistent they were. Even the three wins were secured out of tight finishes. They beat Delhi Daredevils off the last delivery of the innings. A good partnership between Badrinath and Dhoni helped them to win against Kings XI Punjab. They were marginally ahead on the Duckworth-Lewis chart against the Kolkata Knight Riders.

In the next article, we will the result of the game between Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Daredevils.

Kings XI Punjab gets closer to a semi-final spot

2008-05-22T09:56:00.002+08:00

Kings XI Punjab defeated Mumbai Indians by a solitary run, in one of the most exciting matches played in the Indian Premier League. Such tense, intensely fought matches would increase the spectators’ interest in the Twenty20 format.

Marsh and Pomersbach sizzle
Sachin Tendulkar won the toss and decided to bowl first. It looked like a good decision when Shaun Pollock removed James Hopes in just the third delivery of the match. But, the Mumbai Indians had to wait until the 15th over for the second wicket. During this period, the Australians Shaun Marsh and Luke Pomersbach played some exciting cricket. They put together an emphatic partnership that yielded 133 runs in just 86 deliveries. Shaun Marsh was dismissed for 81 runs from 56 deliveries, but Luke Pomersbach continued and remained unbeaten on 79 from 50 deliveries. Kings XI Punjab completed the innings with a challenging total of 189 for 4.

So Near, Yet So Far
Mumbai Indians started the chase in a splendid fashion. Sree Santh helped the scoreboard by starting off with three wide deliveries. Runs started to flow from the bat of Sanath Jayasuriya. When he was dismissed by Sree Santh, Mumbai Indians were off to a flying start with 36 runs on the board from just 16 deliveries. Dwayne Smith came in at No. 3 and continued from Jayasuriya left. With Tendulkar too getting into the act, this pair put on 45 runs from 35 deliveries. Smith’s departure did not change the way the Mumbai Indians were progressing. Nayar came in next and continued attacking the bowling. The third wicket partnership was worth 46 runs from just 28 deliveries.

By the end of 16 overs, the Mumbai Indians were comfortably placed at 156 for 3. With Sachin batting fluently and Robin Uthappa for company, 34 runs from the last 4 overs should have been an easy target. But, the next two overs changed it all. Sachin Tendulkar was run out in the 17th over and Yuvraj Singh accounted for Shaun Pollock and Robin Uthappa in the 18th over. But, the drama was not over yet. With 19 runs required off the last over bowled by VRV Singh, Chritnis hit a six off a no-ball and a four off the next delivery. 8 runs required from 5 deliveries. What followed? Three run-outs in five deliveries and the Mumbai Indians fell short of the target by just one run.

Sachin, Why?
Since the match went so close, several questions were raised about Sachin Tendulkar’s captaincy. Why did he choose Nehra to bowl the last over while Shaun Pollock had still one over left? Why did he not give Jayasuriya a chance to bowl? In fact, Yuvraj Singh picked two wickets for 12 runs in two overs. Mumbai Indians lost a match which they should have won comfortably in the end.

Where do we go from here?
That ends the six-match winning streak of the Mumbai Indians. Punjab, now, has 16 points and is very close to securing a semi-final spot. We will discuss about the match between Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings and Dravid’s Bangalore Royal Challengers in the next article.

Rajasthan Royals in semi-finals

2008-05-21T10:51:00.001+08:00

Rajasthan Royals stormed into the semi-finals after another emphatic win over Kolkata Knight Riders. Shane Warne can be proud as his team remains the most consistent team of the Indian Premier League (IPL). They have lost just two games, once outplayed by the batting power of Delhi Daredevils and once by the bowling power of Mumbai Indians.

Rajasthan Royals have played together as an excellent team. When the tournament started, I did not give them any chance. They did not have a real star player in my opinion. But, players like Graeme Smith, Asnodkar, Yusuf Pathan and Mohammad Kaif stood up to the challenge. Shane Watson was outstanding so far, as an all rounder. The bowling department was excellent with contributions from Sohail Tanvir, Munaf Patel and the captain Shane Warne.

Kolkata Knight Riders have been up and down the wave in the IPL league so far. By losing yesterday, they are almost at the brink of elimination here. But, theoretically they still have a chance. For them to qualify from here, they would expect Rajasthan Royals to win their three remaining games. Kolkata have to beat the Delhi Daredevils and Kings XI Punjab. They would also expect the results of other matches to be in their favour. A tough ask, but not impossible. Let us give some hope to Kolkata Knight Riders.

Tendulkar's Mumbai Indians meet Yuvraj Singh's Kings XI Punjab today, another important clash that would go a long way in deciding the semi-finalists. The Mumbai Indians are on a roll here, winning six consecutive games after a disastrous start to the tournament when they lost the first four games. They would love to continue their winning streak. Can you doubt them after their convincing wins recently? Kings XI Punjab has been one of the consistent teams in the tournament and they would prefer to win today, which would most likely seal a semi-final berth for them. So, we have an interesting game at hand. Look out for big hits from the two left handers in view, Sanath Jayasuriya and Yuvraj Singh.

Bangalore and Hyderabad are knocked out of IPL

2008-05-20T17:35:00.001+08:00

With Bangalore Royal Challengers losing to Delhi Daredevils yesterday, their dream of making an impression in the first version of IPL league has gone down the drain. With Bangalore and Hyderabad crashing out, it leaves only Chennai as the lone South Indian team still in the fray.

While two teams had been knocked out convincingly, the rest of the teams are still fighting for the top four slots to reach the semi-finals. Even though Rajasthan Royals are slightly ahead of the race, a semi-final birth is yet to be confirmed. May be, today’s match between Rajasthan Royals and Kolkata Knight Riders might seal the deal for Rajasthan.

It is good to see the intense competition between the teams. Just 13 more league matches are left and we are yet to find a semi-final contestant. Hope the tournament will go to the wire and throw some interesting matches.

The only disappointment seems to be Hyderabad Deccan Chargers. With the initial start-up being made of players like Adam Gilchrist, Andrew Symonds, Rohit Sharma and Shahid Afridi, I didn’t expect this team to be at the bottom of the table.

Anyway, let us look forward for a tight finish to the successful launch of the Indian Premier League.

Indian Premier League (IPL) Format

2008-05-13T07:01:00.003+08:00

The inaugural version of the Indian Premier League (IPL) has taken off with flying colours. The 2008 edition is half way through. The doubts are over and the tournament is certainly a success and a hit among the cricket-crazy Indian fans.

The IPL Teams
There are, in all, eight teams fighting it out for the glory in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The teams in the IPL are as follows:

Bangalore Royal Challengers, led by Rahul Dravid
Chennai Super Kings, led by Mahendra Singh Dhoni
Delhi Daredevils, led by Virender Sehwag
Hyderabad Deccan Chargers, led by Adam Gilchrist
Kings XI Punjab, led by Yuvraj Singh
Kolkata Knight Riders, led by Sourav Ganguly
Mumbai Indians, led by Shaun Pollock
Rajasthan Royals, led by Shane Warne

The IPL Format
Every team will meet the other team in the IPL league twice, once at home and once away. So, each team will play 14 matches in total. The whole tournament will have 56 matches. The top four teams will qualify for the semi-finals stage. The winners from the semi-finals will clash in the finals.

What can be changed in the IPL?
With each team playing a substantial number of league matches, I do not see any point in having a knock-out stage in the later half of the tournament. The most consistent team should win the IPL tournament. This can be ensured only by rewarding the top team in the league stage. At the knock-out stage, even a poor team could go on to win the tournament, if they can have two good days. The best team could go home empty handed.

I can understand the IPL organizers thinking as they want a big stage to finish off the tournament. But, at the end of the day, if consistent teams do not win then the tournament would lose its shine. Since this is the first edition of Indian Premier League (IPL), few more changes could be made in the following years. If the knock-out part can be knocked out of the tournament, then it would be great.

Whatever happens, it is very clear that the Indian Premier League (IPL) is going to be a super-hit for many years to come. Wishing all the best to IPL teams. Special support to Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings, who are almost certain to make it to the semi-finals stage at this moment.