Taylor trumps McCullum in IPL cricket battle

Ross Taylor triumphed in the battle of the New Zealanders against Brendon McCullum Tuesday as Bangalore defeated Kolkata by six wickets in an Indian Premier League thriller.

McCullum struck an unbeaten 84 at Centurion Park as bottom team Knight Riders reached 173-4 from 20 overs only to be passed by Royal Challengers, who made 176-4 in 19.2 overs with unbeaten 81-run Taylor the hero.

Friend and foe praised Taylor after one of the most exciting finishes in the five-week Twenty20 tournament as teams chase a top-four finish and a place in the semi-finals next weekend.

"Ross was fantastic and took the game away from us after I thought our total would be good enough to secure victory," said McCullum of official man-of-the-match Taylor.

Bangalore and South Africa wicketkeeper Mark Boucher added: "The innings of Ross was as good as it gets. We were under a lot of pressure to win and he pulled us through."

Taylor said: "The innings was a relief as I have been struggling in the IPL this season. I desperately wanted to repay the faith shown in me by the coaching staff."

McCullum struck two sixes and 10 fours as he stayed at the crease from start to finish of a Kolkata innings that gathered momentum in the second half after labouring to 69-2 by the 10-over 'tactical break'.

The Kiwi also pulled off the catch of the tournament so far to send South African Jacques Kallis packing after his opening partnership with Kiwi Jesse Ryder had yielded 58 runs for Bangalore.

Ryder departed five runs later and after Bangalore were in run-rate trouble for several overs, Taylor let loose and his five sixes and seven fours steered the team home.

Victory lifted Bangalore two places to fifth on the eight-team standings, one point behind defending champions Rajasthan Royals with three round-robin fixtures to play.

[the article was originally published at http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5i-I_msWqBUYF9CCK6D_L93pRCnzA]

Will McCullum resign as captain of KKR ?

Will Brendon McCullum live up to the claim he made and resign as captain of the Kolkata Knight Riders in the DLF Indian Premier League? Well, that's what he was asked after yet another loss to Delhi Daredevils. here are his answers.

On resigning: At the moment, all that I am focusing on is the next few games. Trying to do whatever I can, try as hard as I well possibly can to get something going. I was proud of today's effort, I thought the guys tried worked real hard. Disappointing that we didn't win, but I thought the effort and intensity on the field with the ball was fantastic. So if we can get a score of around of 120 it was great too. I know I mentioned that a couple of games ago and that is something that I have got to look at. Work out with the coaching staff next year, what the goal is. But whatever happens I will be totally committed to Kolkata Knight Riders and helping to get us get some results in the future that we all are immensely proud of.

On whether it is bad luck or bad execution: (Brendon actually, you called him Brian, KKR Director of Cricket John Buchanan tells the journalist) Brilliant.. a bit of both. When things are going for you, you get the luck. Things obviously aren't going for us at the moment. And we are not getting the luck go our way. There are other areas that come into play. Tonight we were little bit unlucky to be three down early on. I think it was obviously frustrating to lose an early wicket, the manner in which it was lost. And I guess it put us on the back foot. Little things like that..nicks going between the slips, having the fielder at third slip rather than first slip. Just little things like that..that doesn't seem to go your way. When you are hoping that it would. I think we can play better, that's for sure. In terms of luck, it is certainly not going our way at the moment.

On why KKR have slipped this time: It's hard to put your finger (on any one thing). We haven't played well at all..I guess consistently well across the board during each game. We get our batting going well and our bowling and fielding lets us down. We get our bowling going well and our batting lets us down. We are not consistent across all the areas of the game. Certainly not because of lack of trying, guys out there trying as hard as we possibly can. Unfortunately things aren't going our way. But we have just got to stay up, stay as hopeful, and I guess be as committed and positive as what we can do. At some point it will swing, you don't stay down forever. You just got to keep getting up and, at some point, luck and results will swing our way. I guess hopefully that's sooner rather than later. But we have just got to stay buoyant throughout.

[read more at http://www.khabrein.info/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=22283&Itemid=60]

Gautam Gambhir scores sixth ton in IPL

Following are the statistical highlights from the game between Delhi Daredevils and Kolkata Knight Riders:

— The 58-run partnership between Morne van Wyk and Brendon McCullum was Kolkata's best for the opening wicket in the IPL 2009. The pair surpassed the 57-run partnership between Brendon McCullum and Chris Gayle against Kings XI Punjab at Durban.

— Kolkata raced to their hundred in 14.2 overs, which is their fastest in IPL 2009. They had taken 15.2 overs for their 100 against Rajasthan Royals at Cape Town and also against Mumbai Indians at East London.

— Morne van Wyk (74) posted the highest score by a Kolkata batsman in IPL 2009, beating Brad Hodge's 73 against Mumbai Indians at East London on May 1.

— The maiden by Amit Mishra was the first by a Delhi bowler in IPL 2009

— Kolkata Knight Riders (154-3) posted their highest total in the IPL 2009, just beating the 153-3 against Kings XI Punjab at Port Elizabeth on May 3.

— Delhi Daredevils kept intact their record of not losing a wicket in the very next over after the strategy-break.

— Gautam Gambhir (71 not out) made his highest score in IPL 2009 and his sixth fifty in all IPL games.

— Delhi Daredevils provided the third instance in IPL 2009 of a side winning a match by nine or more wickets.

[the article was originally published at http://cricketnext.in.com/news/stats-gambhir-scores-sixth-ton-in-ipl/40611-27.html]

IPL-II has warmed up nicely

The IPL-II has now warmed up nicely. At least six of the eight teams could have a real shot at the title and this implies suspense which is essential to any good sporting event.

The laggards are Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bangalore and unfortunately, both only have tougher days ahead.

Knight Riders would lose Chris Gayle on his national duty and that means the face of the team’s batting is gone.

Brendon McCullum hasn’t been the same free-spirited batsman since being the captain but then he is always looking over the shoulder to see how many hands are up for the challenge in his absence.
Inspirational leadership

Lightweight batting needs inspirational leadership, such as Shane Warne provides to his team regularly.

In bowling too, a lot has come to rest on Ishant Sharma who hasn’t been his normal self. There are tough days ahead for KKR.

Royal Challengers is licking its own wounds. Kevin Pietersen is criticised for its ills and that is understandable since he is the most expensive buy of the tournament.

Rahul Dravid and Jacques Kallis are alright but they need a Hulk Hogan of a striker in their ranks.

Of the rest, Mumbai Indians, Chennai Super Kings, Delhi Dardevils and Deccan Chargers inspire confidence.

All these four teams have an allround balance and that matters. Names such Sachin Tendulkar, Zaheer Khan, Harbahjan Singh, Suresh Raina, M.S. Dhoni, Rohit Sharma, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir and Pragyan Ojha figure in these teams and that is virtually India’s ODI line-up!

These men are worth their weight in gold.

Even their foreign buys are incredible: Sanath Jayasuriya and Lasith Malinga for Mumbai; Matthew Hayden and Muttiah Muralitharan for Chennai; A.B. de Villiers and Daniel Vettori for Delhi and Adam Gilchrist and Fidel Edwards for Hyderabad have been awesome.

All these teams have solid opening bowlers and batsmen and that tell us something about successful teams in this format.

With Andrew Symonds joining the Chargers ranks soon it will be one team to keep an eye on.
Dark horses

Punjab and Jaipur ought to be the dark horses. Punjab, for it has such incredible batting talent as well as two new ball bowlers who can take the best by surprise.

Yusuf Abdulla has no international reputation but try telling this to his domestic opponents in South Africa and they would vouch he is the best going around in T20 circuit.

Irfan Pathan doesn’t inspire fear but unfailingly picks up important wickets.

As for Jaipur, never write it off. It has this uncanny ability to throw up stars out of nowhere. Kamran Khan can be the fizz of this tournament.

The team will only look up when Graeme Smith starts flexing his muscles.

[the article was originally published at http://www.hindu.com/2009/04/26/stories/2009042651161800.htm]

Dada is a dude for Knight Riders says Shah Rukh

Sourav Ganguly may no longer be the captain of Kolkata Knight Riders, but team owner Shah Rukh Khan feels the former Indian skipper is still a "dude" and pivotal in the side's scheme of things in the on-going IPL.

"Dada is fantastic and there is no two ways about it. He does not need to prove it to anyone how great as a player he is. We know it in KKR. He's the main cog of our team. He's the guy the team centres around," Shah Rukh said in praise of Ganguly.

"(Brendon) McCullum, (Chris) Gayle, Brad (Hodge), David (Hussey), Ishant (Sharma), (Ashok) Dinda, Laxmi Ratan (Shukla) all feel the support from him, feel his intelligence, feel his winning ways. Dada is a dude," said the Bollywood superstar.

Shah Rukh also felt that Ganguly's two wickets for 24 runs tilted the match in his team's favour against Kings XI Punjab.

"Against Kings XI Punjab he was amazing with those couple of wickets. When Dada came on and got those two early wickets it changed the match in our favour and after that also he sort of kept them quiet and scared. I think that made a lot of difference," he was quoted as saying by IPL official website.

Shah Rukh said it was too early to start celebrating after his team posted its first win in two games by beating Kings XI Punjab.

"It's good for the team that it has started coming together. Our top-order whether it's Ishant Sharma (in bowling) or Sourav Ganguly, Brendon McCullum and Chris Gayle (batting) all are coming good together. We did not play too hot on the first day. I think the first match would be considered as a practice match and we are working on the mistakes committed on day one. The team is working together and that's what makes me feel a little more firm and good. But there is still a long way to go," he said.

Shah Rukh had a tough choice when asked who he thinks is bigger hitter between Chris Gayle or Brendon McCullum. "It is very difficult to say that. With Gayle we have a bet that he has to send one ball from South Africa to Kolkata and with McCullum we have that he has to send one back to New Zealand. We'll find out who is going to win. "I think both have their different strengths. Gayle has this timing and strength, McCullum has all timing and bliss.

McCullum is more like (Virender) Sehwag who times the ball whereas Gayle has got this strength like Yuvraj Singh. You can't really choose between them, they are both fantastic and when they both get going it is fantastic to watch."

[the article was originally published http://cricket.expressindia.com/news/Dada-is-a-dude-for-Knight-Riders--Shah-Rukh/450418/]

Rajasthan Royals look to strike form against a rejuvenated KKR

Defending champions Rajasthan Royals will look for a quick turnaround in their fortunes, while a rejuvenated Kolkata Knight Riders would aim to carry on the winning momentum when the two sides clash in an Indian Premier League match here on Thursday.

Without big stars in their ranks, the Royals have a tough task at hand after the thrashing in their campaign opener and second game against Mumbai Indians being washed out.

Shane Warne's side started its campaign by restricting Bangalore Royal Challengers to just 133 with the legendary spinner leading from the front but that total proved to be a mountain for the Royals as they were bundled out for just 58, the second lowest IPL total.

The Rajasthan youngsters failed to get the measure of another legendary figure in Anil Kumble who throttled them with a five-wicket haul.

In that match, the highest score by any Rajasthan batsman was 11 and they would be itching to leave behind that nightmare by coming good against Knight Riders who have also not done anything exceptional as yet.

Knight Riders, on the other hand, got over their first match disappointment, with a nine-wicket victory over Kings XI Punjab on Tuesday.

West Indian Chris Gayle exhibited his awesome batting prowess while Sourav Ganguly rolled his golden arm to great effect to compensate for his batting failure in the first match.

Warne would expect a better show from his batsmen as their opponents have a strong batting line-up.

"It is pretty disappointing. As champions we wanted to impose ourselves. We were exceptional in bowling and fielding but batsmen could not do well," Warne has said.

"Shot selection was really bad. I think the top 3-4 batsmen could have shown sensibility and played sensible shots. But I promise to come back strong," Warne had said after their first match defeat.

Knight Riders' captain Brendon McCullum, on the other hand, insisted that all was well in KKR camp after the captaincy row.

"It was a nice result after the first match defeat and we bounced back at the right time to gain some momentum. Sourav bowled exceptionally well. In Twenty20 one has to think quickly and I am happy that my decision to bowl him paid rich dividends," he had said.

More than the outcome of the match, it will be an intriguing contest between Warne and Gayle. Warne would also came face to face with old foe Ganguly and the fans could be in for a treat.

[the article was originally published at http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1249713]

Stability will be the key in IPL

John Buchanan and Sourav Ganguly’s distinctive personalities have collectively courted controversy with the multiple-captains theory and its subsequent evolution into the concept of a single captain and multiple strategists. And then there’s team owner Shah Rukh Khan.

As Kolkata Knight Riders struggles with individuals, the team will look to better its run from last year when the early promise shown wasn’t fulfilled.

Brendon McCullum’s pyrotechnics last year got the IPL off to a dream start. The New Zealander has looked in great touch in the just-concluded series against India. The explosive Chris Gayle will be available for part of the league, and should do the bulk of the scoring with McCullum and Ganguly.

Ishant Sharma, a supporter of Buchanan’s multiple-captains idea, is expected to be the side’s bowling mainstay. Ajantha Mendis’ impact in this format on South African wickets remains to be seen. “He’s only got four overs, so batsmen are going to have to take risks against him, which is an advantage bowlers like to have, especially slow bowlers if they are not reading them that well. Mendis is one of our lead bowlers and we’ll be relying on him through the tournament. It will be pretty exciting,” said Buchanan.

Knight Riders’ most effective weapon could be South African swing bowler Charl Langeveldt. Langeveldt’s knowledge of the conditions would help his team, especially in venues like Durban which aid swing bowling. “I was always impressed with him as an opening bowler for South Africa for a number of years. We were looking for a lead bowler and he knows South African conditions and has performed well domestically over here,” said Buchanan.

The side’s biggest challenge lies in stability. Conflicts over captaincy and strategies could prove disruptive. Twenty20 is a limited format with respect to time, and when quick decisions are called for, the side will require a single captain’s decisiveness.

[credit : http://www.sportstaronnet.com/stories/20090418501801300.htm]

Multiple Captians for KKR in IPL

Kolkata, Mar 25,2009 (PTI) : Sourav Ganguly will no longer be the "fixed" skipper of the Kolkata Knight Riders as the team has decided to rotate captaincy in the second season of the Indian Premier League starting April 18 in South Africa.
KKR coach John Buchanan said the decision to have multiple captains has nothing to do with Ganguly's performance or fitness and denied any rift in the team.

"The decision has got nothing to do with Sourav's performance. Chris Gayle (West Indies), Brendon McCullum (New Zealand) and Ganguly will all captain KKR. There will be a nominated captain for each game," he said.

Ganguly, on his part, said his focus was to perform on the field.

"He is the coach, he has views. My goal is to score runs and take wickets," responded the former Indian captain when asked whether he was disappointed with the KKR's move.

Even before Ganguly could finish his response, Buchanan intervened to say "He is the King of Kolkata." "If you (the media) is going to make a big deal about it, go ahead, we are not going to do it. The concept of multiple captains is new and we will have to see how it goes," he said.

Asked how the team would cope with the conditions in South Africa, where the IPL was shifted after failing to get security assurance from the Indian government, Ganguly said, "It will be different to play there. Wickets will have bounce but let's see."

[credit : http://www.ptinews.com/pti%5Cptisite.nsf/0/16F2E32F123F44B1652575840036EC08?OpenDocument ]