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...]
Amit Mishra destroyed Hyderabad hopes
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...]
Sensational Jayasuriya stunned Chennai
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...]
Sensational Shoaib Akhtar!
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...]
Sourav Ganguly decimated Hyderabad IPL
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...]
Chennai IPL clinched a last ball thriller
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...]
Top 10 T20 Cricket stars of IPL in first week
Indian Premier League grabbed the attention of Indian cricket lovers in the first week itself. Brendon McCullum and Mike Hussey helped to raise awareness about IPL with fine centuries. IPL grabbed more TRP ratings than family soaps in the prime time, according to latest TV ratings. Whether cricket purists like it or not, IPL is here to stay and will expand to new cities. More International players will play in the coming years and may announce retirements if ICC will not accomodate IPL in the futire calendar. Twenty20 cricket is mainly a batsmen game. So my top 10 cricket stars list mostly comprising of batsmen. Bangalore showed strong bounce back after a demoralising loss against Kolkata in the initial match. Kolkata won the both matches and is showing fine all-round performance. Foreign players (Australian and South African cricketers) shined in the first week of IPL T20 cricket tournament. Keepers like Brendon McCullum and Mark Boucher played match winning knocks in the first week. Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Rohit Sharma are big disappointments in the first week. Despite Yuvraj’s brilliant batting, Mohali lost both matches. First week IPL stats: 1. Happiest man: Shahrukh Khan. 2. Top team: Kolkata Knight Riders. 3. Best batsman: Brendon McCullum. 4. Innings of character: David Hussey. 5. Best brothers: Michael Hussey & David Hussey. 6. Worst pitch: Eden Gardens. 7. Big disappointment: Ricky Ponting and MS Dhoni. 8. Some things never change: McGrath’s accurate bowling and Sreesanth’s way ward bowling. 9. Worst organisation: Cricket Association of Bengal. 10. No. Of Man of the match awards won by Indian Cricketers: Zero. Top 10 T20 Cricket Stars in the first week: 1. Brendon McCullum: … [Read more...]
Bangalore IPL team is looking like a solid test team but not like a fearsome twenty20 team. Bangalore has one of the best bowling attacks among the Indian Premier League teams but left with a weak batting lineup. I can’t understand the rationale behind the purchase of players like Chanderpaul and Wasim Jaffer. Bangalore franchise miserably failed to pick a good batting team in the Indian Premier League auction which was recently held in Mumbai. Rahul Dravid as an icon became a big burden for this franchise. Like Laxman, Dravid should have sacrificed his iconic status just for the sake of his team. Bangalore franchise missed to buy their young icon “Robin Uthappa”. Unlike his business deals, Vijay Mallya failed to create magic at the auction. Vijay Mallya bought Bangalore franchise for 111.6 million American dollars. IPL Bangalore team review: Rating: 3/5. Franchise: Vijay Mallya of UB group. Coach: Money spent on players: Rs. 15.2 crore. Strong points: 1. Good wicket-keeper- Mark Boucher. 2. Anil Kumble spin on Indian pitches. 3. Very good bowling attack. 4. Fearsome Dale Steyn. Weak points: 1. Too many accumulators- What will they do in 20-20 cricket matches? 2. Aged players like Dravid, Kallis and Chanderpaul. IPL Bangalore team: 1. Rahul Dravid- Captain and Icon.2. Jacques Kallis- South Africa- 3.6 crore.3. Wasim Jaffer- India- 0.6 crore4. Shivnarine Chanderpaul- West Indies- 0.8 crore.5. Mark Boucher- South Africa- 1.8 crore.6. Cameron White- Australia- 2 crore7. Zaheer Khan- India- 1.8 crore.8. Nathan Bracken- Australia- 1.3 crore.9. Dale Stein- … [Read more...]
2008 IPL Team analysis: Punjab Kings
Mohali boasts of best stadium and one of the fastest pitches in India. This franchise failed to buy its local hero, Harbhajan Singh, which will spoil its fortunes in crucial matches. Brett Lee and Irfan Pathan are crucial to the fortunes of Mohali team. Preity Zinta bagged most eye balls on the eve of Indian Premier League auction with her innocent look and good costumes. Will Mohali IPL team succeed like its owner? It needs to rope in big hitters among young recruits to increase its odds to win inagural Indian Premier League ywenty20 tournament. Mohali IPL cricket Team review: Rating: 3.5/5Franchise: Preity Zinta and Nes Wadia Coach: Tom Moody (Australia). Money spent on players: 18.4 crore. Strong points: 1. Strong middle order batting. 2. Yuvraj Singh- World class twenty20 batsman. 3. Simon Katich is a good strategist in the Australian domestic league. 4. Brett Lee-World best fast bowler. 5. Irfan Pathan- Reliable all-rounder. 6. Good coach. Weak points: 1. Who will open the innings? 2. Sreesanth is not a reliable option. Mohali IPL cricket team: 1. Yuvraj Singh – Captain and Icon. 2. Kumara Sangakkara- Sri Lanka- 2.8 crore. 3. Mahela Jayawardene- Sri Lanka- 1.9 crore. 4. Ramnaresh Sarwan- West Indies- 0.9 crore. 5. Simon Katich- Australia- 0.8 crore. 6. Irfan Pathan- India- 3.7 crore- Most crucial player. 7. Brett Lee- Australia- 3.6 crore- wise investment.8. Piyush Chawla- India- 1.6 crore. 9. Romesh Powar- India- 0.65 crore. Verdict: Mohali IPL team may reach semi-finals and this team may surprise favourites as most … [Read more...]
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