In the Name of Cricket

23/04/2009

Chennai SuperKings mess up the chase

Image by mlcastle via Flickr

What can one say about a team that was in control of a chase yet manage to lose the match?

Chasing 189 on a sub-continental type of wicket, Chennai SuperKings (CSK) needing to score at the rate of 8 runs per over was cruising when the dreaded ‘strategy break’ struck.

From then on CSK lost control of the match. Dhoni and Flintoff came and left nary an impression. With the fall of Raina’s wicket, the boundaries became longer and the fielding team grew in number. The short- statured Warner grew wings, plucked seemingly powerful hits, and turned them into a catch. The inner ring became impenetrable and even normally safe singles turned into death traps. The much-touted Morkel heaved at the ball mightily only to earn meager returns.

By putting up a pedestrian effort, the Chennai SuperKings turned what should have been a stirring win into a demoralizing loss. With Deccan Chargers in an upswing and constant threat of the D/L method deciding the fate of a match, CSK has its work cut out.

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DLF IPL- Chennai Super Kings Vs. Delhi Daredevils

Today’s match up between Chennai Super Kings and Delhi Daredevils has all the markings of a high-voltage match.

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) though the initial tournament favourites, had their reputation dented when they lost the first match to Mumbai Indians. However, they have redeemed themselves with their facile win over Royal Challengers Bangalore.

The Delhi Daredevils (DD) have in fact enhanced their reputation when they beat Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) (though through the Duckworth & Lewis method). Imperious Sehwag and the rather timid looking but tigerish Gambhir appear to have created a fear psychosis among the bowlers.

Their reputation is such that the bowlers appear resigned and passively take the punishment.

This where experienced bowlers such as Muralitharan & Flintoff will prove their worth. Instead of opening the attack with Gony & gang, Dhoni should attack Sehwag & Gambhir with Murali & Flintoff. He should then continue with Morkel/Nitni & Gony.

If Murali & Flintoff get wickets in their initial spell then DD’s untested batsmen can be put under pressure.

As usual the toss will be crucial and decision to bat first may well decide CSK chances.

22/04/2009

IPL- 2 minute strategy breaks?

The 7.5 minutes break dubbed strategy breaks has not gone down well with the players and also the TV audience. It may go well with the spectators in the stadium for there will be quiet a few things going on around them.

However, one thing that has been noticed is that these strategy breaks have changed the course of the match proceedings, particularly it seem to affect the team that has an upper hand until then.

With Sachin voicing his displeasure, Modi may soon rethink on the duration. Modi himself has admitted that "the 'strategy breaks' in the ongoing second season have not gone down too well with a section of players but insisted that the experiment will continue."

Modi said he was aware of the issues raised by players and would consider the suggestions.

"Some players feel one way and others feel the other. We will evolve over the time. Some players want two-minute breaks like in America. We are going to test it out and see.

Startegy Break In IPL

IPL - Flintoff may return

According to the tabloid 'Daily Express' there is every chance that ECB will release Flintoff if Chennai Super Kings reaches the finals.

The tabloid speculates that the intricate and delicate politics of global cricket may force ECB to release Flintoff to the Chennai Super Kings dressing room in preference to the English one.

Readers note that this is a speculative report by 'Daily Express' and may still turn out to be true.

IPL- Why spin is king

According to Murali.

Albie Morkel was telling me that the pitches have been spinning all summer in South Africa so perhaps it has been a dry year. The fact that we are playing on tired squares at the end of the season may also be having an impact.

21/04/2009

Dhoni qualifies victory

Image by Michelle Brea via Flickr

In line with his image of one who maintains equanimity, Mahendra Singh Dhomi has attributed the victory over Royal Challengers to Hayden and Muralitharan.

In the same breath, he believes there is plenty of areas to work on for his side.

Well, he is the captain of Chennai Super Kings and needs to prevent complacency, whereas I do not need to. It was a clean all round victory and what the CSK needs to do is to replicate it in the other matches.

Do you think the team's performance against Royal Challengers needs improvement?

Chennai Super Kings flatten Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Chennai Super Kings defeated Royal Challengers Bangalore, by 92 runs, in their Indian Premier League match in St. George’s Park.

CSK’s victory was built around the performances of two veterans Mathew Hayden and Muthiah Muralidharan.

Hayden hit 9 fours and 2 sixes for a 35 ball 65. His innings effectively put the match beyond Royal Challengers grasp.

Murali then presided over the last rites taking 3 wickets in 4 over’s for 11 runs. Gony, Flintoff, Morkel and Sharma (Joginder) provided him with adequate support.

With this crushing victory, Chennai Super King’s quest for the DLF IPL Cup is back on track.

SCOREBOARD

Chennai Super Kings Batting:

Parthiv b Pietersen 30

M. Hayden (run out) 65

S. Raina c Kohli b Praveen 28

M.S. Dhoni c Bishnoi b Praveen 16

A. Flintoff (not out) 22

A. Morkel b Steyn 5

Extras (lb-5, w-8) 13.

Total 179 (five wickets; 20 overs)

Fall of wickets: 1-106, 2-106, 3- 144, 4-165, 5-179.

Royal Challengers Bangalore Bowling:

Praveen 4-0-37-2

Steyn 4-0-35-1,

J. Kallis 2-0-28-0

Vinay Kumar 1-0-12-0

Kohli 1-0-9-0

Kumble 4-0-26-0

Pietersen 3-0-14-1

Taylor 1-0-13-0.

Royal Challengers Bangalore Batting:

Praveen b Gony 0

R. Uthappa st Dhoni b Muralitharan 20

J. Kallis lbw b Morkel 24

R. Taylor c & b Flintoff 1

K. Pietersen lbw b Muralitharan 0

R. Dravid c Flintoff b Balaji 20

V. Kohli c Badrinath b Joginder 11

R. Bishnoi c Balaji b Muralitharan 0

Vinay Kumar c Hayden b Balaji 5

D. Steyn (run out) 0

A. Kumble (not out) 1

Extras (lb-1, w-4) 5.

Total – 87 (in 15.2 overs)

Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-40, 3-47, 4-49, 5-50, 6-66, 7-66, 8-74, 9-78.

Chennai Super Kings Bowling:

Gony 3-0-24-1

Balaji 2.2-0-18-2

A. Morkel 2-0-12-1

Flintoff 3-0-11-1

Muralitharan 4-1-11-3

Joginder 1-0-10-1.

20/04/2009

IPL TV Ban- Alipore inmates on hunger strike

500 inmates at the Alipore Central Jail in Kolkata are on strike after they were not allowed to watch Indian Premier League cricket matches.

Read the full story here.

Chennai Super Kings Vs Royal Challengers – Port Elizabeth

CSK must field the right combination

The Bangalore and Chennai teams head for Port Elizabeth. This match is crucial for both teams. For CSK (Chennai Super Kings) it is vital to win as two consecutive defeats will leave them trailing on the points table and as for the RC, they will have to feed on the surprising win against RR and build momentum.

The South African pitches (going by the ones we saw at Cape Town) are sporting. This means teams need to be multi-dimensional and are always in with a chance of swaying the match their way and hence the team composition is important.

The Chennai Super Kings failed to get the right combination for their first match against Mumbai Indians. In addition, they have to change the batting order. Badrinath should move up the order to provide more dynamism. He can destabilize the opposition with his quick singles, deft nudges and his calculated big hitting will complement Hayden & Flintoff’s powerhouse batting.

The CSK bowlers did a competent job against MI. However, Murali should play instead of Tushara and as he is lethal when playing under the lights. He is also capable of bowling with control when using a greasy ball.

In the last 4 matches (let us ignore the Delhi - Mohali match) the 7.5 minutes strategic break has altered the flow of the game. CSK have to prevent the match from slipping out of their hands as it did after the strategic break last time.

Despite the threat of rains (if any) Chennai Super Kings should bat first as Royal Challengers Bangalore are fragile lot. There is only one batsmen who is doughty, that is Dravid, but he appears overwrought by the negative vibes emanating from his team owner.

In short, Chennai Super Kings have an excellent opportunity to beat RC if they get their team composition right and bat first if they win the toss.

Don’t you think the right combination will do the trick?

19/04/2009

Chennai Super Kings - Drastic steps needed

If Chennai Super Kings is to reverse their fortunes, they have to replace Parthiv Patel with Suresh Raina or Badrinath.

He, Parthiv Patel, has done nothing of note and when Dhoni is in the squad there is no need for his wicket keeping skills.

Which brings me to the question, is Dhoni carrying an injury? If he is fit then he should kept wickets in the first match.

Similarly, CSK's batsmen and bowlers have to ramp up. Their performance in the opening match can be excused as rustiness, but this match that too against a keyed up opponent like Royal Challengers Bangalore they have to give more than a competent performance.

I would also select Muralitharan in the place of Tushara. He should be able to stem the flow of runs.

What do you guys think?

Chennai Super Kings trim squad

Chennai Super Kings sends back Vidyut Sivaramakrishnan, Srikkanth Anirudha, Suresh Kumar, Abhinav Mukund and Napoleon Einstein from their 28-man squad.

By axing batsmen Vidyut and Anirudha, it appears CSK is keen to have bowlers on their bench, a view expressed by Chandrasekhar the team manger.

However, if you look at the performances in the first game, then CSK needs bolster its batting.

What do you think, have they done the right thing?

Artballing by Michael Vaughan

There are many who believe Michael Vaughan's stroke play is pure artistry. Among them Michael Vaughan himself appears to believe so.

Undoubtedly, he has his retirement plans in place.

ICL appeal rejected

As expected, ICC rejected ICL's appeal for recognition on the ground that it did not meet its criteria for approval.

The already beleaguered owners of ICL, who are rumoured to be feeling the heat of global recession, may take this as an opportunity to close shop and cut their losses.

However, if they do so, the fate of the Indian players in particular, is sealed. For in its wisdom, the ICC has left the fate of the players to the individual boards. In essence it is an open invitation for churlish cricket boards like the BCCI to make an example of these players by ignoring them through out their career.

The ICC should have at least directed the cricket boards to consider those who aligned themselves with ICL sympathetically.

USA Cricket Association & New Zealand Cricket move closer

A proposed partnership between the USA Cricket Association (USACA) and New Zealand Cricket (NZC) that "covers activities ranging from the sharing of coaching and development resources through to the staging of international cricket fixtures involving the New Zealand BLACKCAPS in the United States, as well as other joint commercial ventures," was announced today.

To start the partnership NZC is offering USACA immediate assistance to prepare its national Under-19 team ahead of the ICC Under-19 World Cup in January 2010.

USA Cricket Association & New Zealand Cricket move closer

To start the partnership NZC is offering USACA immediate assistance to prepare its national Under-19 team ahead of the ICC Under-19 World Cup in January 2010.

So Mr. Mallya, what's your opinion about these test players now?

My friend Trideep, has grown up idolizing Sachin, Dravid, Kumble and gang. If I am not mistaken he has been more hurt by the calls for their retirement than the players themselves.

So it is unsurprising that he hits back at their detractors when he has the chance. Yesterday's game between RCB and RC where Dravid and Kumble put in an outstanding performance provides him with one another opportunity.

Unhesitatingly he targets their chief tormentor and asks "So Mr. Mallya, what's your opinion about these test players now?"

I join him in asking,Well, Mr. Mallya, what is your answer?

18/04/2009

Chennai Super Kings lose their first match

Image via Wikipedia

I expected this match to reveal where exactly the team CSK stood.However, their performance left me none the wiser.

Actually there was nothing in their performance that indicated a lag.Everything the team did was just enough. The bowlers did just enough and the batsmen followed suit. Yet,the team fell short by 19 runs leaving me wondering why they lost.

This ambivalence is also due to the fact that their opponents Mumbai Indians did not do anything special as they too put in a competent performance.

As a Chennai Super Kings fan I do not want to say this, but I am forced to say that the CSK look as if they are a bundle of cricketers who are yet to gel together. They look disjointed and lacked cohesion.

Let us hope the time together before their second outing will effect a positive change.

IPL lung-opener: Winning the toss will present a dilemma

Image via Wikipedia

If you are to go by the curator Avin Flint's assessment, the toss will be crucial. He has hinted that the pitch would be bereft of grass and playing under the lights will be a disadvantage.

Adding weight to his words is the fact that most of the pitches in South Africa are yet to recover from the pounding they received during the just concluded domestic cricket season. A tired pitch is sure to be low and slow during the second innings.

Then there is also the dubious dew factor. Sweaty fingers and greasy outfield is sure to make the life of the team bowling second miserable.

If they win the toss it presents Dhoni's CSK with a dilemma. Do they bat first in order to take advantage of the fresh pitch or bowl first to avoid an unresponsive one.

Or do they bowl first to take advantage of a lively pitch or bat second to avoid one.

It is that time of the year

Image by DΕΠΠΙS via Flickr

Regular readers may remember that this blog supported Chennai Super Kings during the last season. In fact a few complained that I was promoting CSK to the exclusion of other serious issues in cricket.

Well folks, it is that time of the year again and from now on at least till the end of Chennai Super Kings campaign this blog will become a CSK fan.

However, that does not mean I will ignore the weighty utterances of my friend Niranjan Shah.

Cricket News Online Live.com

Test cricket is the least popular format

An MCC survey has revealed that Test cricket format is the least popular.

MCC commissioned research in October 2009 into the reasons why attendances at Test cricket were declining in parts of the world.

Test attendances in Australia and England remain strong and so the initial research centred on cricket fans in three countries: India, New Zealand and South Africa.

The survey of 1,500 cricket fans in India, New Zealand and South Africa shows:

Strong support for a World Test Championship
Strong support for day/night Test cricket
T20 cricket has helped to diminish the following of Test cricket
ODI cricket is the most popular format in South Africa and New Zealand
Test cricket is comfortably the least popular format in all three countries
Slow over rates, drawn games and bland pitches are not major reasons why fans are not attending Test matches
Ticket prices are a major reason for non-attendance, particularly when games can be watched on television

Read more detailed analysis of each section of the research:

17/04/2009

Ganguly has to swallow his pride

Some clarity emerges on the dethroning of Ganguly. Buchanan wins round one against Ganguly: Cricket Next . However, if Buchanan is considering Laxmi Ratan Shukla as Captain, Ganguly will have to swallow his pride.

Ganguly will remain as Kolkata's icon player but will not be their captain, or only captain.

The captaincy will go first to Brendon McCullum, then to Chris Gayle for a couple of games and may be even to Ganguly for a bit and even perhaps to the little known all-rounder Laxmi Ratan Shukla.

Ganguly sacked?

In one way the speculation on the multi-captain proposal has been put to rest.
However, if one goes by this PTI report McCullum replaces Ganguly as KKR captain it appears Ganguly has been sacked as Captain.

After weeks of speculation, Sourav Ganguly has been replaced by New Zealand's Brendon McCullum as captain of the Kolkata Knight Riders team for the second Indian Premier League starting here tomorrow.
KKR's captaincy was a topic of much speculation after its Australian coach-cum-director John Buchanan came up with the idea of having multiple captains.

16/04/2009

Do you think you can build the best team with 2 million dollars?

Then CricketFantasies.com is the place for you.

CricketFantasies.com has created a riveting online fantasy cricket game that has been grabbing attention at a brisk pace.

As you all know, Fantasy cricket is about creating a virtual team with your favorite cricket players and competing against other similar teams, created by your friends or other fans on the website. The teams (a.k.a fantasy teams) earn points based on the performance of their cricket players in actual cricket games. The objective is to make a team that earns most points, by the end of the IPL season. With exciting prizes like Nintendo Wii and X-box to be given away to the winners, the fans are competing with that extra bit of fervor.

CricketFantasies.com is the first fantasy gaming site that allows its users to buy cricket players in an auction. The users are given 2 million dollars upon joining using which they bid for cricket players and build their teams until the actual cricket tournament starts. Once that happens they play one-on-one fantasy cricket matches with each others‘teams. When actual cricket games are in progress, the users can even trade their cricket players with each other in a fantasy stock market. Both one-on-one fantasy matches and fantasy trading market is the first of its kind innovation from CricketFantasies.com.

So, what are you waiting for? Go register now at htttp://www.cricketfantasies.com and start playing fantasy cricket !

Cricket News Online Live.com

NCA goes online

I have no issues with the NCA for launching their website with a simple function. It is the simple nature of the website that bothers me. Let us hope they go beyond mere reporting of NCA events and have more informative content soon.

The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : NCA’s website launched

After its initial formative steps in 2000, the National Cricket Academy made another leap forward as its website — www.nationalcricketacademy.in — was launched at a simple function here on Wednesday afternoon.

History of Sports & Sports entities

The Associated Press: Online rights headline Australian Senate inquiry

Sports leagues and the news organizations that cover them offered differing opinions Wednesday about their rights to publish online at an Australian Senate inquiry into how technology is changing sports coverage.

I have already made my stance clear on embargo between the news agencies and sports event organisers. My objection has nothing to do with the organsiers stance but it has everything to do with news agencies stance on copyright.

Leaving that side, in the same AP report, David Tomlin, The Associated Press' associate general counsel, put forward an interesting point.

He believes:

"Sports entities will be able in the long run to take over the reporting of the history of their sports and no one can be entrusted to tell their entire history by themselves," Tomlin said via telephone
link from the United States. "Their right to tell their story is the same as ours (the media) and all of us ought to have access equally."

Well, I for one, object to a uni-dimensional history of events, however his assertion that everyone have equal access to events rings hollow as these very same news agencies claim their reports of what are essentially public events, are subject to copyright laws.

What is your take?

15/04/2009

It is Flower/Cricket/Coach/England

As expected Andy Flower has been appointed as the new England cricket coach for a job which I believe had no other takers.

Andy Flower the 40-year-old former Zimbabwe and Essex batsman was unveiled as the man to lead England's bid to win The Ashes at a press conference at Lord's.

He was the overwhelming favourite to be given the job after stepping in as caretaker when Peter Moores was sacked in January.

As with anything to do with English cricket the focus is again on The Ashes tour. Now the question is will he survive beyond that.

ECB on Twitter, Facebook & YouTube

Will it work?

England teams up with Twitter, Facebook and YouTube ahead of Ashes summer | Sport | The Guardian

The ECB has launched official Twitter, Facebook and YouTube channels in an effort to promote the game beyond its normal fanbase. Twelfth Man, a "fan community", will act as a focal point for fixtures, ticket information and debate. A "Twelfth Man van" will tour grounds to record footage of fans to be broadcast online and on big screens. Pete Ackerley, head of development at the ECB, said the sport had learned the lessons of the summer of 2005, when the exploits of Andrew Flintoff, Kevin Pietersen and Michael Vaughan in regaining the Ashes helped the sport achieve a huge boost in popularity before there was a structure in place to fully exploit it.

France challenges England /Cricket/Olympics/

England faces century-old Olympic cricket challenge from former enemy France - Telegraph

The fixture could reopen the debate about the origins of the sport, which recent research suggests may have originated in continental Europe rather than Hampshire as generally believed.

The first, and only, Olympic medals for cricket were won at the Paris Games of 1900 when England beat France by 158 runs in a two-day final in the Vincennes velodrome. Cricket is no longer an Olympic sport.

Now the French national cricket association, France Cricket, has challenged England to a return game in Lille just before the London Olympics in 2012, according to the Independent newspaper.

14/04/2009

Another controversy dies/ SRK/Gavaskar/KKR/Multi-Captain

Image via Wikipedia

As expected,when it comes Indian cricket even the Khan of Bollywood has to accept defeat.

According to reports SRK will be addressing a press conference at approximately 10 PM IST.

Earlier SRK had said in a TV interview that he had also addressed an apology letter to Gavaskar if he felt offended by anything SRK said. In the interview, he reiterated that he had the greatest respect for Gavaskar and that if the latter asked him to walk on his head and run the team...

So no more excitement from the SRK- Gavaskar spat.

IPL – Will it be a success? / Cricket/ Twenty20/ South Africa

Image by Archie McPhee Seattle via Flickr

According to this report, IPL is once again using a clever mixture of the glitz of Bollywood with a promise of a spectacle to attract the South African’s.

In fact, they have planned to organize a The Miss Bollywood South Africa beauty pageant. The winner not only gets to visit a Bollywood set but also an opportunity to work with Shah Rukh Khan in his next movie.

The advertisement agencies have already kick- started campaigns using both traditional and digital media to position IPL as epitome of entertainment, Bollywood stars and modern India.

Even without the advertisement, the chance to see the Indian film stars, cricketers and some cricket is sure to attract the Indian expatriates.

However, will the high voltage advertisement campaign attract the native South African’s?

13/04/2009

American Premier League- A cricket revolution in America?

It appears that American Sports and Entertainment;Group (ASEG) is capitalising on the huge interest evoked by IPL in the US by planning to run a tournament called APL (American Premier League).

The inaugural series of the APL ,which will take place twice a year, will be played out in New York from October 6 to 26 and the next one in April 2010 in Fort Lauderdale,Florida.

Though it is purportedly modeled on IPL, it has also taken a leaf out of ICL and given national names to its teams. For instance, there is a Premium World Team, Premium India, Premium Bangladesh, Premium Pakistan,Premium Windies and a home team called Premium America.

There are news reports that Nicky Boje, Andrew Hall and Lance Klusener have been offered lucrative contracts to play for the Premium World team.

12/04/2009

Yuvraj wants to do it on the ground

Image by austinhk via Flickr

When asked to single out a favorite to win the DLF-IPL Season2, Yuvraj refused and instead insisted
"let us do it on the ground instead of talking".

We agree- henceforth let us all do it on the ground.

Close encounters of the terminal kind

Image via Wikipedia

After spending a decade and more in denial, our man naked, comes clean.

Afghans 3 wins away

Image by Undeleterious via Flickr

Another three wins will give Afghanistan a realistic chance of a top-four finish on the eight-nation standings and a place at the ODI World Cup.

Will they last the distance?

Bollywood is passe

Image via Wikipedia

Our special correspondent who is covering the IPL, reports that it is time for Bollywood to move over.

Read his exclusive report Move over Bollywood, its time for Hollywood at the IPL!

11/04/2009

DLF-IPL II schedule

The schedule:

April 18: Opening ceremony followed by Rajasthan Royals v Royal Challengers and Mumbai Indians v Chennai Super Kings (Newlands, Cape Town).

April 19: Kolkata Knight Riders v Deccan Chargers (Newlands, Cape Town); Delhi Daredevils vs Kings XI Punjab (Newlands, Cape Town).

April 20: Royal Challengers v Chennai Super Kings (St. George’s Park, Port Elizabeth)

April 21: Rajasthan Royals v Mumbai Indians (Kingsmead, Durban); Kolkata Knight Riders v Kings XI Punjab (Kingsmead, Durban).

April 22: Delhi Daredevils v Chennai Super Kings (Kingsmead, Durban); Royal Challengers v Deccan Chargers (Newlands, Cape Town).

April 23: Kolkata Knight Riders v Rajasthan Royals (St. George’s Park, Port Elizabeth).

April 24: Kings XI Punjab v Royal Challengers (Wanderers, Johannesburg).

April 25: Kolkata Knight Riders v Chennai Super Kings (Newlands, Cape Town); Deccan Chargers v Mumbai Indians (Kingsmead, Durban).

April 26: Rajasthan Royals v Kings XI Punjab (Newlands, Cape Town); Royal Challengers v Delhi Daredevils (St. George’s Park, Port Elizabeth).

April 27: Kolkata Knight Riders v Mumbai Indians (Newlands, Cape Town); Chennai Super Kings v Deccan Chargers (Kingsmead, Durban).

April 28: Delhi Daredevils v Rajasthan Royals (Supersport Park, Centurion, Pretoria).

April 29: Mumbai Indians v Kings XI Punjab (Kingsmead, Durban); Kolkata Knight Riders v Royal Challengers (Kingsmead, Durban).

April 30: Delhi Daredevils v Deccan Chargers (Supersport Park, Centurion, Pretoria); Rajasthan Royals v Chennai Super Kings (Supersport Park, Centurion, Pretoria);

May 1: Royal Challengers v Kings XI Punjab (Buffalo Park, East London); Mumbai Indians v Kolkata Knight Riders (Kingsmead, Durban).

May 2: Rajasthan Royals v Deccan Chargers (Wanderers, Johannesburg); Chennai Super Kings v Delhi Daredevils (St. George’s Park, Port Elizabeth).

May 3: Mumbai Indians v Royal Challengers (Kingsmead, Durban); Kings XI Punjab v Kolkata Knight Riders (Buffalo Park, East London).

May 4: Deccan Chargers v Chennai Super Kings (St. George’s Park, Port Elizabeth).

May 5: Delhi Daredevils v Kolkata Knight Riders (Kingsmead, Durban); Kings XI Punjab v Rajasthan Royals (Kingsmead, Durban).

May 6: Mumbai Indians v Deccan Chargers (Supersport Park, Centurion, Pretoria).

May 7: Kings XI Punjab v Chennai Super Kings (Supersport Park, Centurion, Pretoria); Royal Challengers v Rajasthan Royals (Supersport Park, Centurion, Pretoria).

May 8: Delhi Daredevils v Mumbai Indians (Buffalo Park, East London).

May 9: Deccan Chargers v Kings XI Punjab (Outsurance Park, Bloemfontein); Chennai Super Kings v Rajasthan Royals (St. George’s Park, Port Elizabeth).

May 10: Kolkata Knight Riders v Delhi Daredevils (Buffalo Park, East London); Royal Challengers v Mumbai Indians (Wanderers, Johannesburg).

May 11: Deccan Chargers vs Rajasthan Royals (Outsurance Park, Bloemfontein).

May 12: Royal Challengers vs Kolkata Knight Riders (Supersport Park, Centurion, Pretoria); Kings XI Punjab v Mumbai Indians (Supersport Park, Centurion, Pretoria).

May 13: Deccan Chargers v Delhi Daredevils (Kingsmead, Durban).

May 14: Mumbai Indians v Rajasthan Royals (Kingsmead, Durban); Chennai Super Kings v Royal Challengers (Kingsmead, Durban).

May 15: Kings XI Punjab v Delhi Daredevils (De Beers Diamond, Oval, Kimberley).

May 16: Chennai Super Kings v Mumbai Indians (Wanderers, Johannesburg); Deccan Chargers v Kolkata Knight Riders (St. George’s Park, Port Elizabeth).

May 17: Rajasthan Royals v Delhi Daredevils (De Beers Diamond Oval, Kimberley); Kings XI Punjab v Deccan Chargers (Wanderers, Johannesburg).

May 18: Chennai Super Kings v Kolkata Knight Riders (Supersport Park, Centurion, Pretoria).

May 19: Delhi Daredevils v Royal Challengers (Wanderers, Johannesburg).

May 20: Chennai Super Kings v Kings XI Punjab (Kingsmead, Durban); Rajasthan Royals v Kolkata Knight Riders (Kingsmead, Durban).

May 21: Deccan Chargers v Royal Challengers (Supersport Park, Centurion, Pretoria); Mumbai Indians v Delhi Daredevils (Supersport Park, Centurion, Pretoria).

May 22: Semifinal 1 at Supersport Park, Centurion, Pretoria.

May 23: Semifinal 2 at Wanderers, Johannesburg.

May 24: Closing ceremony followed by final (Wanderers, Johannesburg).

Pakistan to spin

In line with their assessment that the Australian batsmen struggle against spin, Pakistan is preparing to unleash all three, Shahid Afridi, Saeed Ajmal and Shoaib Malek at them.

Not only that, if what Tony Hemming, the curator at the Dubai Cricket Stadium, told Gulf News is true Pakistan as the host nations will decide on the nature of the pitch.

Undoubtedly, they will opt for a wicket that will spin and try to weave a web of spin around the Aussies.

Do you believe the Aussies are pushovers against spin?

Cricket News Online Live.com

10/04/2009

A good enough excuse

Image by infamecless via Flickr

As they say, a bad workman blames his tools.

The turbulent atmosphere in the England dressing room was partly to blame for Monty Panesar's downturn in form over the winter, according to spinner's county coach David Capel.
Panesar's perceived decline – he struggled in the two-Test series in India and was then dropped after the first Test in Jamaica – coincided with the feud between the former captain Kevin Pietersen and coach Peter Moores.

Yuvi speaks

If you had any doubts on IPL's success then this should dispel your fears.

It’s going to be bigger than last year for sure. The Indian fan base in South Africa is huge and we are expecting them to turn up and support their city teams. I am sure that the Punjabi community settled in South Africa will support us. Similarly, those originally from Mumbai would certainly come for Mumbai’s matches.

In an otherwise ringing endorsement of the IPL and his faith on the India diaspora, the fact that he ignored the potential of South Indians settled in SA is the lone sore point.

Benched players boil

Our close to the ground correspondent covering the New Zealand tour has unearthed a complaint:

"Factually speaking, it’s a shameless act of hijacking credits on Dhoni’s part while the whole world knows it was the four of us, who set the actual benchmarks. All we did in New Zealand was to warm the bench till there was obvious marks on it and here you have Dhoni making outrageous claims about setting the benchmark!"

Absolutely shameless of Dhoni to ignore these 'benchmarks' and claim complete credit.

Setting new benchmarks

News Agencies to cover Indian Premier League Cricket

Brinkmanship has its rewards. After threatening the organisers of the IPL with a blackout, the News Agencies and IPL have arrived at an understanding and will cover the second edition of IPL at South Africa.

The IPL and the News Media Coalition said on Thursday they had agreed terms of coverage for the forthcoming season, and the IPL said it would extend a deadline for media to apply to cover the event by 24 hours.

However, despite the news agencies changing their stance, I am still standing by mine.

08/04/2009

Yahoo V Cricinfo

Global internet portal Yahoo! signed a three-year deal with
International Cricket Council (ICC) recently. Yahoo! has created
www.iccevents.yahoo.com as the online destination for ICC tourneys, including
ICC Twenty20, ICC Cham-pions Trophy and ICC Cricket World Cup.

While Yahoo! is betting on exclusive content, the deal does
not stop rival online cricket-related brands such as Cricinfo from reporting on
major ICC events. Channel loyalty is very high for a digital content consumer
and hence Cricinfo has remained the favoured digital channel for the online
cricket consumer in India,”said Ramesh Kumar, commercial director, Cricinfo India. Sports broadcaster
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network (ESPN) owns Cricinfo.

Vaughan recalled

He has done nothing of note,
He is injury prone.
Then why is he recalled?
It is called clutching at straws.

The die has been cast for another doomed Ashes campaign.

Ashes hopes on a slippery slope

ICL- PCB as expected backtracks

The PCB pulls banned trio from Twenty20 Cup squad and comes up with the most original excuse for doing so.

"The factual position is that we have dropped these players as we are still waiting for a clear ruling from the International Cricket Council on the ICL players

As ICC's official stance on ICL was always unclear (their unofficual stance was to ignore the ICL per se.) this blogger is forced to ask why PCB chose these ICL players in the first instance?

[Backtracks]

Rubbish

Daniel Vettori had this to say after the 1-0 loss to India.

India obviously outplayed us in all departments, they obviously dominated the game. You can throw in Australia, South Africa and India, and they are the three best teams in the world. It's hard to distinguish between the three...

For the life of me I cannot accept that Australia and South Africa would have ever drawn a match from the position India was in at the end of the 3 rd day of the final test match of the series. Hence India is no where in comparison and its abject desire to draw is a shame for a team aspiring to the top spot.

The only reason Vettori compared India to the other two was to deflect criticism about New Zealand's poor showing.

07/04/2009

India completes a series win

As forecast rain had the final say on the 5 th day of 3rd Test between India and New Zealand. Zaheer Khan bowled just one delivery with the second new ball when rain forced the players off the field leaving the Indian cricket fans in a dilemma over whether to cheer a 1-0 win or to
be grumpy for not achieiving a 2-0 margin.

Dhoni could have sewn up this Test match too if he had declared earlier. He let the New Zealanders off the hook by some aimless batting on the 4 th day. Though one doubts whether an early declaration would have won us this match, it is the lack of enterprise that is galling. How glorious it would have been if the India had imposed itself by declaring on the 3 rd day and completed a series win?

Alternatively,one would not have entertained disappointment if the weather had intervened earlier,but to have taken 8 wickets with just 2 more to go, one certainly feels disgruntled at the 1-0 scoreline.

News agencies to boycott IPL

We are on familiar ground here. In fact the outcry from the news agencies are all too familiar.

If my information is correct, news agencies like The Associated Press,Reuters etc., do not pay but they are granted access to events like IPL or even the inaugural speech of the American President. They in turn disseminate information and here is the catch that rankles, this news is subject to copyright and we, meaning bloggers, can be sued if we use it in turn.

This defies logic, firstly why should we pay for information that is for want of a better word 'public'? Secondly, when someone asks them to pay up why do they they threaten to boycott which in effect is a black out, thus denying us information.

To me the stance of the news agencies is incomprehensible, just because they are asked to pay up like ordinary mortals, why are they threatening a boycott?

Can some one explain?

[Rigid stance]

06/04/2009

ICC cornered

Pakistan finally breaks ranks and includes three banned players from ICL in its preliminary 30-man squad for the World Twenty20 Championships to be held in England in June.

However, the participation of Abdul Razzaq,Rana Naved-ul Hasan and Imran Nazir will depend on ICC's approval.

Though the ICC is to discuss the ICL at their meeting in Dubai on April 16, this act by PCB is going to put the cat among the pigeons and ICC can no longer delay taking a decision on ICL.

[ICC cornered]

Longevity has its rewards

Setting a world record for the most number of catches by an outfielder is one of them.

Indian cricketer and former captain Rahul Dravid has broken the world record for the number of catches in Test matches by an outfielder.

When Dravid helped to dismiss the New Zealand batsman, Tim McIntosh, in Wellington, it was his 182nd catch in a Test career going back to 1996.

Dravid sets world record for most Test catches

05/04/2009

Can India win?

With the lead a healthy 531 and two more days to go this may appear a rhetorical question.

However, consider that the change in daylight saving time has cost 8.3 overs of play today. This combined with a rain forecast on the final day on Tuesday makes me ask this question.

What do you think, will India wrap up the Test match?

Cricket News Online Live

23/04/2009

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