Bangalore RC, Rajasthan Royals earn thrilling wins in IPL

It was a royal special at Kingsmead as Bangalore Royal Challengers and Rajasthan Royals pulled off thrilling wins in the Indian Premier League on Thursday.

Bangalore beat Chennai Super Kings by two wickets to move into joint fourth position with Deccan Chargers and revive their hopes of reaching the semifinals next week.

Rajasthan cut it even closer in the second match, clipping Mumbai Indians by 2 runs when Mumbai needed four runs from the final over with three wickets in hand.

Rajasthan, the defending champion, rose to third in the eight-team table, while Mumbai slipped to sixth.

Delhi Daredevils lead the Twenty20 tournament with 16 points, followed by Chennai and Rajasthan on 13, but with Chennai enjoying a better run rate.

Mumbai looked like climbing to third with a victory when it needed four runs from the last over to over to overhaul Rajasthan's 145-7. But Mumbai, at 142-7 was all for 143 with a ball to spare.

"All credit to the guys," Rajasthan captain Shane Warne said. "It is these last games that show the spirit of your group. We just wanted to put up a good performance and not worry about winning or losing. But the guys came and showed the desperation and spirit in the side."

Warne, with 3-24 in four overs, was named man of the match, but pace bowler Munaf Patel led the attack in the last over.

He trapped Dhawal Kularni for 1 on the second ball, and Chetanya Nanda was run out for a duck on the third by a throw from Yusuf Pathan to make it 142-9. Harbhajan Singh came in and scored a single, leaving Mumbai needing three runs off the last two balls.

Lasith Malinga played on the off side and set off for a single, but Warne scooped it up and threw to Patel to run him out at the non-striker's end to end the drama.

"I felt towards the end there was a bit of panic and that cost us the game," said Mumbai captain Sachin Tendulkar, who was trapped by Warne for a 30-ball 40.

Bangalore's Vinay Kumar hit the wininng runs in their game with two balls to spare. Set a relatively easy target after bowling out Chennai for 129, Ross Taylor hit 46, sharing a 56-run fourth wicket stand with Virat Kohli (38 off 35 balls) to set up Bangalore nicely after a slow start.

Taylor fell with five runs needed off the last five balls and two wickets in hand.

Kumar then guided his team home in a nervous finish, benefiting from a misfield that allowed a boundary.

"It was a great effort," said Bangalore captain Anil Kumble, who took 2-12. "The bowlers were brilliant and the fielding was brilliant but we struggled a bit at the end. (Jacques) Kallis was brilliant up front .. .everyone contributed."

South Africa allrounder Kallis took 2-18 in four overs including a maiden. Kumar claimed 2-30 in three. The IPL's leading runscorer Matthew Hayden topscored for Chennai with 60.

Today, Kings XI Punjab plays Delhi.

[the article was originally published at http://www.etaiwannews.com/etn/news_content.php?id=949564&lang=eng_news]

T20 has nothing to do with age says Tendulkar

DURBAN: Old pros have certainly put up some of the best performances of the IPL so far and Sachin Tendulkar believes that Twenty20 format has nothing to do with age as it is thought to be by many.

Tendulkar has himself led the way for Mumbai Indians along with Sanath Jayasurya while the performance of Matthew Hayden, Adam Gilchrist, Anil Kumble, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly in the IPL have given further strentgh to the batting maestro's claim.

''I don't know who says that it's a young man's game.

Clearly, he doesn't know much about cricket. It's a cricketers' game so it really doesn't matter whether you are young or old.

It is a cricketer's match,'' Tendulkar told the official IPL website (iplt20.com).

Both Tendulkar and Jayasuriya, who is pushing 40, handed out a stern lesson to one and all in Mumbai Indians' win against Kolkata Knight Riders.

Both the batsmen also put up the highest opening partnership of the tournament. Just earlier in the day the other senior pros, Matthew Hayden, Adam Gilchrist and Herschelle Gibbs showed just why they are still feared.

Tendulkar showed the way to Mumbai Indians in their last match with a match-winning 68 against Knight Riders which included a lot of power hitting and innovation as well.

The cheeky shot that he played off Chris Gayle certainly showed that age has nothing to do with this format. He scooped the ball from close to the short third man and got himself a boundary.

''That was an innovative stroke. I wouldn't say it is the most innovative one ever that I have played. But it was something different,'' said Tendulkar.

He shared a stand worth 127 with Jayasuriya and was all praise for his old comrade.

''It's fantastic, even last year I enjoyed batting at the other end and it was fantastic. He has got excellent hand-eye co-ordination, very quick feet, very quick hands. Needless to say that he is one of the best strikers in the world.

The rate at which the master blaster was going against the Knight Riders, a century was very much on the cards but the Mumbaikar does not have any regrets.

''I am not playing for 100s, I am playing for the team.

And, if I score a hundred even better for the team. The idea is not to chase a 100. If it comes my way it's fine.
''As long as my contribution is there for the team, that is what matters. If it has helped us to get to a good total, I am a happy person.''

[the article was originally published at http://www.sakaaltimes.com/2009/04/29135911/T20-has-nothing-to-do-with-age.html]

IPL turns the tables

The going up to now in the IPL has been great. This year the points table seems to be absolutely reversed. Deccan Chargers who were at the bottom of the table last year have climbed up the tables and are heading the list with 4 points. Though these are early days the indications for the Deccan Chargers seem to be good.

Rajathan Royal is finding the going a bit tough as they rely too much on Indian players. These Indian players are not familiar with South African pitches.

The less said about Bangalore’s Royal Challengers the better. Delhi and Chennai are doing well as expected. Kolkata seems to have too many lose ends and their internal fights seem to bring them down.

Mumbai Indians with veterans like Sachin Tendulkar and Jayasurya are tipped to be the surprise favorites. Though nothing can be said with confidence, one thing is for sure, and that is a tough fight is on among the best teams in IPL2.

[the article was originally published at http://andhracafe.com/index.php?m=show&id=38505]

Tendulkar can make it happen for the Mumbai Indians in IPL-2

Indians will be looking to a fully-fit, in-form Sachin Tendulkar to make them serious contenders in the second edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), beginning here Saturday. They will take on Chennai Super Kings in the first match.
The most expensive of IPL teams, owned by business tycoon Mukesh Ambani, missed iconic Tendulkar in the first seven matches of the inaugural edition due to a groin injury. But his timely presence was inspiring for the team to recover remarkably from a disastrous beginning and reach within striking distance of the semi-final.

Mumbai Indians lost the first four matches under the captaincy of Harbhajan Singh, who was banned for the rest of the IPL for slapping teammate S.Sreesanth. They bounced back to win six matches in a row with Shaun Pollock leading from the front.

The star firepower of Sanath Jayasuriya, Pollock and Dwayne Bravo lifted the team from the dumps. Youngsters Abhishek Nayar and Dhawal Kulkarni, too, played a crucial role in reviving the team’s fortunes.

Mathera marauder Jayasuriya will be a month shy of 40, making him the most aged player in the tournament, but he will be as dangerous as ever. Last year he sprang back to form, scoring 514 runs to become the second highest scorer in the tournament.

This year, he will have a fulltime partner in Tendulkar and seeing the two open the batting will be one of the highlight of the tournament.

Pollock will be doing the job behind the scene as a coach. Former India player Praveen Amre and Jonty Rhodes are the other two coaches of the team.

Zaheer Khan, who was exchanged with Bangalore Royal Challengers’ Robin Uthappa, will be a big bonus to the team. He will lead the attack with fiery Sri Lankan slinger Lasith Malinga.

Mumbai Indians made a smart buy in South Africa’s latest batting sensation J.P Duminy at the auction. Duminy was bought for a whopping US$950,000. They also got Bangladesh batsman Mohammad Ashraful and New Zealand fast bowler Kyle Mills besides trading Ashish Nehra for Shikhar Dhawan from Delhi Daredevils.

They will count on a strong line-up of allrounders in Bravo, Ryan McLaren, Duminy and Essex’s Graham Napier, who hit a world record 16 sixes, cracking 152 against Sussex in a T20 match.

Squad: Sachin Tendulkar (captain), Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Sanath Jayasuriya, Dilhara Fernando, Dwayne Bravo, Luke Ronchi, Saurabh Tiwary, Rohan Raje, Ajinkya Rahane, Pinal Shah, Abhishek Nayar, Dhawal Kulkarni, Yogesh Takawale, Lasith Malinga, Jean-Paul Duminy, Kyle Mills, Mohammad Ashraful, Graham Napier, Jaydev Shah, Ryan Mc Laren, Shikar Dhawan, Chetnya Nanda, Raheel Shaikh, Jude Singh.

[credit : http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/world-news/in-form-tendulkar-can-make-it-happen-for-mumbai-indians-in-ipl-2-profile_100180588.html]