Chennai Super Kings win by 92 runs against Royal Challengers

After facing defeat in their IPL opener, Chennai Super Kings bounced back in style as they beat Royal Challengers by 92 runs in their IPL T20 match at Port Elizabeth.

Electing to bat first, Chennai Super Kings made 179 at the loss of 5 wickets with the help of quickfire knock of 65 runs from the blade of Matthew Hayden. In reply, Bangalore were bundled for just 87 runs in 15.2 overs with Dravid falling as the last man for 20 runs.

Defending the total, Chennai Super Kings bowler MS Dhoni struck in the first over to dismiss Royal Challengers opener Praveen Kumar for a duck. A slower delivery that followed two bouncers, had the leg-stump uprooted.

Jacques Kallis did some repairing work but his outing did not last long and he fell prey to his compatriot Albie Morkel for 24 runs. He caught him plumb with a delivery that was straight and full.

Ross Taylor, who was struggling to break free, threw away his wicket in frustration as a he lofted a ball from 'Freddie' Flintoff and the all-rounder caught him off his own bowling for just 1 run.

Muttiah Muralitharn struck twice in his same over to get rid of the Bangalore skipper Kevin Pietersen and Robin Uthappa. While he trapped KP in line for a naught, Uthappa was foxed by a beauty and was stumped by keeper Dhoni for 20 runs.

Virat Kohli was looking good when Dhoni's safe bet Joginder Sharma struck to send him back for 11 runs. He was caught by S Badrinath. Two balls later, Murali claimed Rajesh Bishnoi with his 'doosra' as his third victim. A flighted delivery had the debutant play it. He went for the shot but could not execute it properly and was taken by L Balaji at long-on.

Balaji soon rewarded himself with the wicket of Vinay Kumar, with the luck surely swung in his favour. Vinay wasted a fulltoss from Balaji as he chipped it directly to Hayden at midwicket. Balaji also had Dravid as the last Bangalore wicket. Dravid was looking to clear the square leg fence but found Flintoff in the deep.

Muralitharan, who dug the grave for Challengers, claimed Dale Steyn as his fourth wicket and walked away with the 'Man of the Match' trophy.

Earlier, the Chennai openers Hayden and Parthiv Patel gave a flying start to their side and added 106 runs for the first wicket with Patel contributing 30 runs. The duo looked to continue the slaughter, but soon after the strategy break after 10 overs captain Kevin Pietersen introduced himself to break the deadly partnership.

KP bowled a fuller and straighter delivery that crashed into the stumps as Patel failed to get behind the line of the ball. The petite batsman from Gujarat struck two fours and a six.

Hayden went the next delivery as he fell short of his crease while responding to Suresh Raina's call. Dravid collected the ball quickly and uprooted the stumps with a good throw.

The former Australian giant slammed a 22-ball fifty, which was his third of the IPL tournament with the help of nine boundaries and two sixes.

Chennai skipper MS Dhoni then joined Raina in the middle and added 38 runs for the third wicket. He was on 16 runs when a leg-cutter from Praveen Kumar did him in. He failed to connect it correctly as the ball took a thick edge of his bat and R Bishnoi took a simple catch at long-off.

Raina fell as Praveen's second victim as he lofted a slower delivery from his UP teammate and was taken successfully by Kohli at long-on for 28 runs.

Albie Morkel, the fifth Chennai batsman, fell to his compatriot Dale Steyn for just 5 runs off the last ball. Morkel tried to make a room to play a quick and fuller delivery from Steyn was his reaction was slower than the ball as his bat hit ground after the ball crashed into the stumps. Flintoff remained unbeaten on 22 runs.

[the article was originaly published at http://cricket.ndtv.com/cricket/ndtvcricket/storypage/ndtv/id/spoen20090091315/story.html]

Durban's sumptuous IPL buffet

While all the glitz, glamour and the razzmatazz may have been reserved for Sahara Park Newlands at the weekend for the official opening of the 2009 edition of the lucrative Indian Premier League (IPL), South Africa's version of Mumbai-Durban - is eagerly awaiting its turn as the action switches to Sahara Stadium Kingsmead on Tuesday.

It's going to be sizzling and very entertaining (even though rain is forecast) according to Cassim Docrat, chief executive of KwaZulu-Natal Cricket, whose venue is being used by the megabuck-loaded Board of Control for Cricket in India for a competition that has turned the cricket world upside down and inside out.

The purists may be squirming and spewing because Twenty20 cricket has taken over the limelight from what had first been traditionally reserved for Test cricket, then the one-day 50-overs game.

But they were the same people who despised the 50-overs game when it hit the scene, thanks to the Kerry Packer circus in the early days.

Now they will need to take it in their stride because the Twenty20 format is here to stay and the officials of the IPL will be dishing out entertainment that has rarely been seen in the world of cricket.

"It's going to be magic," Docrat said. "While the entertainment side of the circus is a key element - it's important because it creates the hype - the cricket is the main part of the whole exercise. All I can say is that one has to be there to enjoy it and soak up what the IPL stands for."

The Kings XI Punjab meet the Kolkata Knight Riders at 12.30pm followed by the defending champions Rajasthan Royals and the Mumbai Indians at 4.30pm. Yuvraj Singh was the man who blasted England's Stuart Broad for six sixes in one over, while posting an unbeaten 58 off just 14 balls at Sahara Stadium Kingsmead in the 2007 ICC World Twenty20.

Also in the Kings XI Punjab are Kumar Sangakkara, an exciting and very polished Twenty20 batsman, Ravi Bopara, the England star who has excelled in the short format lately, and Nashua Dolphins Yusuf Abdulla, who signed a contract just recently and will be a great help in the local conditions for the Punjab outfit

Then there's Sourav Ganguly, who may have retired from the international scene but is still a larger-than-life role player in the Kolkata Knight Riders outfit which also includes Brendon McCullum, bought for $700 000 in the auction in 2008 and who smashed a sizzling 158 not out in the opening game at the 100 000 packed Eden Gardens last year.

West Indian Chris Gale, who on his day can be devastating once he gets into the mood, Australian David Hussey, who excels in this form of the game, and South Africa's "swinging" specialist, Charl Langeveldt.

The Mumbai Indians come along with Sanath Jayasuriya who smashed the most sixes last year - 31 in total and had a strike rate of 121.82 in the inaugural tournament, plus the world's batting legend, Sachin Tendulkar, left-arm seamer Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh, who returns after being banned last year for slapping Sri Shreeshanth of the Kings XI Punjab - all from the rejuvenated Indian national squad.

The other internationals in their side are the rising star JP Duminy, who was bought for almost $1-million in the 2009 auction, Sri Lanka's Dilhara Fernando, Lasith Malinga, West Indian Dwayne Bravo, Kyle Mills of New Zealand and Bangladesh's Muhammad Ashraful.

The defending champions, Rajasthan Royals, may not have the best outfit of all, but their leader - Shane Warne, the former Australian star - has made the mediocre squad believe in themselves and his way of captaining the team has worked wonders.

The players to look forward to are Yusuf Pathan, an all-rounder of class, Tyron Henderson, who comes into the squad at a hefty R675 000 price tag, Dimitri Mascarenhas of England, India's Munaf Patel, Justin Langer of Australia, South African captain Graeme Smith, and the man who surprised all with his inspirational performances, Siddharth Trivedi.

The Kings XI Punjab v Kolkata Knight Riders and the Rajasthan Royals v Mumbai Indians matches are just for starters, but the Sahara Stadium Kingsmead buffet for the remainder of the week is spectacularly sumptuous.

On Thursday, the Chennai Super Kings, runner-up last year, arrive with South Africa's Albie Morkel, the flavour of the month in limited overs cricket, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Andrew Flintoff, Matthew Hayden, Muttiah Muralitharan, Suresh Raina and Michael Hussey.

Their opponents, Delhi Daredevils move into Durban with the star cast which includes Virender Sehwag, Paul Collingwood and Gautam Gambhir, who reigned supreme in New Zealand for India in the Test and One-Day International arena. And on Friday the man whom everyone in South Africa loves to hate, Kevin Pietersen, arrives with the Bangalore Royal Challenge and will be in toe with the likes of Jacques Kallis, Dale Steyn, Mark Boucher, Roelof van der Merwe - all South Africans - and Rahul Dravid, Praveen Kumar and the exciting Virat Kholi.


[The article was published at http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=6&click_id=17&art_id=vn20090420111920762C660975 by Iqbal Khan]

Chennai Super Kings - A sure shot to the semis

A powerful side with multi-dimensional cricketers, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will seek to exorcise the ghosts of IPL-I.

CSK finished at the wrong end of a humdinger against Rajasthan Royals in the final. Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s men have the ingredients to make a serious bid for the title again.

Dhoni is an inspirational captain and leader; he remains calm during tense moments without any dip in his levels of intensity. He can get his men to rally around him or hold the lower order together with a blend of determination and flair.

The expensive acquisition of Andrew Flintoff — the formidable all-rounder was bought at a whopping $1.55 million — will make the side stronger. With his natural bounce from a high-arm action and sizzling yorkers, Flintoff will provide the bowling cutting edge.

He can impose himself on the game — in any format — with his speed, control and movement and is a telling striker of the ball. Flintoff, however, will not be available for the last and crucial stretch of the competition.

While someone such as Flintoff is impossible to replace, the captain and coach of the team Stephen Fleming are not short of depth in the ranks.

Albie Morkel, among the biggest strikers of the ball in contemporary cricket and a bustling fast medium bowler, can be influential in this format. And he would comprehend the conditions in South Africa well.

If fully fit, Jacob Oram’s heavy-hitting and handy seam bowling will add to the side. Given its wealth of talent, CSK could face difficulties in selecting only four overseas players for a game.

Off-spinning wizard Muttiah Muralitharan will be hard to leave out of the eleven even for matches on seamer-friendly conditions. Home boy Makhaya Ntini can be effective with his cut and bounce even if his pace has dropped by a notch or two.

Matthew Hayden, an outstanding success last season, has since retired from international cricket. Yet, given his levels of motivation and commitment, it would be hard to bet against him at the top of the order.

Michael Hussey has pulled out of the league phase but CSK has plenty of meat in its batting. The left-handed Suresh Raina, who used IPL as a platform to resurrect his international career, is a busy batsman with a fine range of strokes. George Baily, an aggressive batsman from down under, is another option for the side. S. Badrinath contributed usefully last season.

Sri Lankan left-arm paceman Thilan Thushara provides variety to the attack. M.S. Gony, a success story in IPL-I, and Lakshmipathy Balaji could be effective in the South African conditions.

CSK appears a certainty for the last four stage. The final steps will test the side’s resolve.

[credit : http://www.sportstaronnet.com/stories/20090418501200900.htm]