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IPL T20 cricket team of the first round

April 7, 2012 by 1 Comment
Pune warriors captain Sourav Ganguly

 In the first round of IPL, Mumbai Indians, Chennai Super Kings and Delhi Daredevils played two matches each while other teams played one match each. Sourav Ganguly (Pune Warriors) emerged as the best captain in the first round. No team emerged as the hot favourite in this round. Pune surprised everyone by defeating Mumbai in Mumbai. KKR once again deceived fans with poor performance while Rajasthan impressed everyone with limited resources.  Best innings of the first round: Ajinkya Rahane (Rajasthan Royals). He performed well even in England but Indian team management failed to give him enough chances in International cricket. Most valuable player of 1st round: Kevon Cooper (Rajasthan Royals).  IPL T20 cricket team of 1st round: Captain of the team: AB De Villiers (Royal Challengers). My team has just 4 Indians. If rules do not allow to play with 7 foreign stars, I replace Muralidharan  and Smith with Ashwin/Ojha & Irfan Pathan respectively.  Batting: 1. Ajinkya Rahane (Rajasthan Royals): He might have missed the century but produced a classic innings. His well constructed innings (98 runs in 66 balls) is one of the best in IPL history. 2. Richard Levi (Mumbai Indians): Sensational innings on IPL debut against CSK but Murali Karthik brutally exposed him on a turning Wankhede pitch. He is too dangerous on his day. 3. Steven Smith (Pune Warriors): Good batting under difficult conditions against quality attack. He can bowl also.  4. AB de Villiers (Royal Challengers): What an innings against Delhi Daredevils! He is arguably the best batsmen in international … [Read more...]

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Shaun Marsh smashed Royal challengers

May 17, 2009 by 1 Comment

 Young Australians Shaun Marsh and Luke Pomersbach steered Punjab Kings Eleven to a comfortable victory over Bangalore Royal Challengers. Mohali IPL decimated Bangalore IPL by 9 wickets at PCA stadium in Mohali. These young cricketers destroyed famed Bangalore bowling attack with 4’s and 6’s especially South African fast bowler Dale Steyn who gave 33 runs in just 2 overs. This 34th match in Indian Premier League glorified weaknesses in Bangalore test squad. What will Vijay Mallya do after this humiliating defeat? He needed a coach like Tom Moody whose faith in Marsh and Pomersbach is vindicated. Both these young cricketers were banned from Western Australian team due to their late night drinking habits. But they wonderfully bounced back in the domestic tournament (PURA Cup). Shaun Marsh was selected as “Western Australia cricketer of the year” and was selected for 2008 West Indies tour of Australia.Image courtesy: Wellpitched.com IPL Statistic:1. Shaun Marsh: 5 matches; 295 runs; Average – 98.33. 2. Rahul Dravid is the highest scorer for Bangalore in IPL 2008. IPL T20 Score:Bangalore Challengers: 143/8 in 20 overs. Punjab Kings: 144/1 in 15.4 overs. Result: Mohali won the match by 9 wickets. Man of the match: Shaun Marsh – 74 not out. Best Shot: Misbah’s four in Sreesanth’s bowling.  Defining moments: 1. Misbah out hit wicket when he was playing sensational shots. 2. Shaun Marsh and Pomersbach scored 21 runs in a Dale Steyn’s over. Highlights of T20 Cricket match:1. Sreesanth once again bowled exceptionally well in the initial overs. Sreesanth performance improved after the “Slap gate” row. 2. Misbah-Ul-Haq batted superbly in … [Read more...]

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Amit Mishra destroyed Hyderabad hopes

May 16, 2008 by Leave a Comment

 Amit Mishra helped Delhi to beat Hyderabad by 12 runs in a high scoring IPL T20 thriller at Feroz Shah Kotla. Delhi batsmen set an imposing target of 195 runs but Hyderabad hard hitters fought valiantly till the last over. Amit Mishra single handily took the match away from Hyderabad with a hat-trick in the final over. Mishra earlier took the vital wickets of Gibbs and Afridi when Hyderabad was going strong. Weak bowling of Hyderabad cost them this match but Hyderabad batsmen impressed everyone with their never say die attitude. Delhi audience enjoyed a wonderful match and their team improved semi-final chances with this win. IPL Statistics and records:  1. Delhi leg spinner Amit Mishra took the second hat-trick in IPL. Balaji of Chennai Superkings took the first hat-trick in Indian Premier League. 2. Gautam Gambhir is leading the “Orange cap” race with 425 runs in 10 matches Dhoni and Rohit Sharma are in second and third places with 332 and 331 runs.   3. Shaun Marsh is leading averages with an unbelievable average of 98.33 from 5 matches.   4. Amit Mishra took 5 wickets for 17 runs in his 4 overs. Best figures by a spinner in Indian Premier League.   5. This is the first win for Delhi in the last 5 matches and Hyderabad is out of IPL Semi-final reckoning. Toss: Adam Gilchrist won the toss and elected to field first as batting is their strength. IPL T20 Score: Delhi Daredevils: 194/4 in 20 overs. Hyderabad Deccan Chargers: 182/9 in 20 overs. Man of the match: Amit Mishra. No spinner dominated the match in IPL as he did today. Marvellous performance from this leg spinner in a match where Legend McGrath went for 42 runs in his 4 overs.   IPL T20 match Review:   Highlights of … [Read more...]

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Sensational Jayasuriya stunned Chennai

May 15, 2008 by Leave a Comment

 Sensational century from Sanath Jayasuriya lifted Mumbai to 9 wicket victory over Chennai Superkings at Wankhede stadium in Mumbai. This is the best batting performance in Indian Premier League after superb knock from McCullum in the first IPL match. Jayasuriya scored this unforgettable century in just 45 balls with 10 sixers and 7 fours. He scored 26 runs in Kupugdera’s over to end the match in just 14 overs. This is the absolute assault by Jayasuriya who has an average tournament by his standards. Dhoni failed to utilise properly his in-form bowler Balaji and paid heavy price. Brilliant partnership between Badrinath and Dhoni set a reasonable target of 157 for Mumbai Indians. Sachin Tendulkar looked uncomfortable despite one superb six. He was completely eclipsed by Sanath Jayasuriya who smashed even good length balls to out of the ground. Chennai lost four quick wickets but recovered admirably thank to 95-run partnership between Badrinath and Dhoni. Toss: Sachin Tendulkar won the toss and elected to field first. IPL T20 Score:Chennai Superkings: 156/6 in 20 overs.Mumbai Indians: 158/1 in 13.5 overs.  Unbelievable statistics: 1. Mumbai won the match by 9 wickets with 37 balls to spare. Do you want more statistics? Mumbai sent strong signals to the opposition with this emphatic win. 2. Sanath Jayasuriya scored second fastest century in Indian Premier League. He hit 11 sixers and 9 fours. 3. Shaun Pollock gave just 9 runs in his 4 overs. What a contrasting statistic. Man of the match: Sanath Jayasuriya. This is the fifth successive man of the match award for a cricketer whose name starts with “S”. This is the second man of the match award for Sanath … [Read more...]

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Sensational Shoaib Akhtar!

May 14, 2008 by Leave a Comment

 Shoaib Akhtar and Eden Gardens are inseparable. Akhtar took four top order wickets of Delhi Daredevils in a sensational spell of 3 overs. This is the best bowling performance in an IPL T20 Cricket match. Kolkata Knight Riders won the match by 23 runs. Famed Delhi top order failed miserably against quality bowling of Shoaib Akhtar. Shoaib exposed weaknesses of Indian batsmen in facing quality fast bowling. Bowlers completely dominated the match from both sides. What a fielding from Kolkata Knight Riders! Kolkata IPL: Passionate captain, passionate owner and passionate crowds. Do you want more? Shoaib Akhtar bowled out Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar in 1999 in an Asian Test championship match to silence Eden Gardens crowds. Now he took 4 Delhi top order wickets in just 3 overs to send them into raptures. Of those 4 wickets, Sehwag and Gambhir are tournament leading scorers. Shoaib Akhtar bowled this sensational spell in a match in which Pakistan bowlers Mohammad Asif and Umar Gul failed to find place in their teams. Cricket needs this man. Toss: Sourav Ganguly won the toss and elected to bat first as expected on this shining pitch. IPL T20 cricket Score: Kolkata Knight Riders: 133/6 in 20 overs.Delhi Daredevils: 110 all out in 17.5 overs.Match Result: Kolkata Knight Riders won by 23 runs. Man of the match: Shoaib Akhtar. It is very difficult to describe his performance in words. When he is on song, watching his bowling is a treat to watch. We want more. IPL Statistics: 1. Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akthar made IPL debut. His fastest ball clocked at 151 kmph. Highlights of the match: Kolkata innings: 1. Gautam Gambhir dropped Aakash Chopra in McGrath’s over. I … [Read more...]

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Sourav Ganguly decimated Hyderabad IPL

May 11, 2008 by Leave a Comment

 Sourav Ganguly’s all-round performance enabled Kolkata Knight Riders to defeat patchy Hyderabad Deccan challengers at Uppal stadium in Hyderabad. Hyderabad lost all the home matches while Kolkata raised semi-final hopes with two consecutive wins. Venugopala Rao performance is the sole bright spot for Hyderabad IPL. They are sloppy in fielding and bowling. Sourav Ganguly was supported well by ever reliable David Hussey but Venugopal Rao found no support from other end. Ganguly surprised everyone by opting to bat after winning the toss. But he was right at the end partially due to Hyderabad’s poor bowling and fielding.       IPL Cricket score: Kolkata Knight Riders: 204/4 in 20 overs. Hyderabad Deccan Chargers: 181/7 in 20 overs. Match result: Kolkata won by 23 runs. Man of the match: Sourav Ganguly who scored 91 runs in just 57 balls with 11 fours and 5 sixers. This is one of the best innings in the recent IPL matches. He missed well deserved century. Ganguly also took two vital wickets by giving just 24 runs in his 4 overs. Venugopala Rao: Exceptional all-round performance. Bowling: 4 overs; 24 runs.  Batting: 71 runs in 42 balls – four 4’s and six 6’s. Verdict: Gregg Chappell is a brilliant talent spotter. He believed in Dhoni leadership and abilities of Suresh Raina and Venugopal Rao. He criticised “seniors” politics. Now he is in Rajasthan management team. Highlights of the match: Kolkata innings: 1. Sourav Ganguly played his best innings in the recent days. Except Vijay Kumar and Venugopala Rao, he destroyed all the bowlers with 4’s and 6’s. 2. I can’t understand why Kolkata picked … [Read more...]

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Chennai IPL clinched a last ball thriller

May 8, 2008 by Leave a Comment

 Chennai Super kings clinched a last ball thriller against Delhi Daredevils at Feroz Shah Kotla cricket ground in Delhi. Badrinath scored vital single in the last ball to stun home fans. Manpreet Gony is the unlikely hero with the bat by hitting six and four in the last over for Chennai IPL who registered their first win in the last 4 matches. This is the second successive loss for Delhi IPL. Chennai top order which failed in the recent matches played exceptionally well against top quality bowlers like McGrath and Asif. Indian selectors must pick Shikhar Dhawan when they select ODI squad. He is an exceptional talent. The way he builds up innings is a lesson even for experienced cricketers. If nurtured carefully, he will become “Michael Hussey of India”. I can’t find the logic behind Manoj Tiwary selection over Rajat Bhatia. Most of the teams are losing the matches due to selection mistakes and bad captaincy. Chennai won this match just due to good selection policies. They left out ineffective Joginder Sharma and Makhaya Ntini. But Delhi picked ineffective Shoaib Malik. Albie Morkel scored 3 consecutive sixers in the bowling of Virender Sehwag to change match course. Yo Mahesh took two crucial wickets in the penultimate over to turn the match in Delhi’s way but Shoaib Malik bowled carelessly in the last over to gift Chennai crucial win. Toss: Mahendra Singh Dhoni won the toss and elected to bowl first. IPL T20 Scores: Delhi Daredevils: 187/5 in 20 overs. Chennai Super Kings: 188/6 in 20 overs. Result: Chennai won by 4 wickets. Man of the match: Mahendra Singh Dhoni??? This is the second Man of the Match award for Dhoni. Gautam Gambhir scored 80 runs in 49 balls. Highlight of the match: 1. … [Read more...]

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KKR crushed RCB in IPL 2008

April 18, 2008 by Leave a Comment

  Kolkata IPL team crushed Bangalore Royal Challengers (test team) in a one sided twenty20 match at Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore. Kolkata defeated Bangalore by a big margin of 140 runs. Batting first, Kolkata IPL scored 222/3 in 20 overs thanks to magnificent 158 not out by Brendon McCullum. But Ricky Ponting and Sourav Ganguly failed to entertain the crowds. In response, Bangalore IPL was all out for 82 runs in 15.1 overs. Bangalore people may find it difficult to digest their team’s lack of fighting spirit. Except all-rounder Praveen kumar, not even a single Bangalore batsman has shown minimum fighting spirit and application in facing Kolkata Knight Riders. Shahrukh Khan is the happiest man on earth after seeing the wonderful all-round performance by his team. Kolkata IPL outclassed Bangalore IPL in batting, bowling and fielding.  Bangalore challengers started their innings in horrible way by losing 4 wickets for 24 runs in 6 overs. Test stars like Rahul Dravid, Jacques Kallis and Wasim Jaffer failed miserably along with Indian under-19 captain Virat Kohli. India young sensation, Ishant Sharma terrorised Dravid, Kallis and Jaffer in his initial overs. Even experienced hard hitter Mark Boucher fell cheaply to Kolkata captain Sourav Ganguly.  IPL started in a spectacular fashion at Chinnaswamy stadium which was well attended by famous cricket dignitaries. Music show by Shankar Mahadevan and Laser show enthralled the Bangalore crowds. But McCullum innings overshadowed all these things.  IPL Match analysis:       Toss: Bangalore Royal Challengers won the toss and elected to field.         Highlights of the match:  1. Brendon McCullum gave sensational start to this … [Read more...]

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