Chennai seek to cement semi-final berth

Big Picture

As the race for a place in the semi-finals intensifies, the entertainment value of the last few games has shot up drastically, with the audience treated to a series of last-over thrillers. Teams that began shakily have now emerged serious contenders while some that were resting easy at the top have been made to regret their slip-ups. But amid the unpredictability, there have been constants.

Kolkata Knight Riders have had a horrendous tournament and have been out of the running for some time but now they've even squandered the opportunity to determine who makes it to the top four, throwing away hard-won advantages to concede improbable victories. On the other hand, Chennai Super Kings have been highly consistent and now have their best chance of ending any mathematical possibility of not finishing in the 'safe zone'.

Chennai are currently placed second and will confirm their qualification for the semi-finals if they beat Kolkata. If they lose though, they'll face the frustrating prospect of having to rely on the outcome of their final league game against Kings XI Punjab, and possibly net run-rate to see where they finish. Kolkata have another chance to dent some hopes, but their torrid run combined with a recent tendency to be excessively generous to their opponents at the death means Chennai will have few fears.

Form guide (completed matches, most recent first)

Chennai - WLWWW
Chennai's march in the competition was boosted by a run of five-successive wins, ended by Royal Challengers Bangalore in Durban. However, a win over Mumbai Indians in their previous game made up for the blip, taking them to the brink of qualification. Their opening combination has been a worry. Matthew Hayden has been prolific, but has lacked support from the other end. The first-wicket has averaged 21.7 in the last six games, as M Vijay, Parthiv Patel and S Badrinath have struggled to bat long enough. Suresh Raina is Chennai's second-highest run getter but has managed one half-century in 11 games and 48 runs in his last three. Hayden's too far ahead to catch up, but Raina ought to make a greater impact at No.3. Their bowlers have proved reliable throughout, successfully defending targets in four of their last six games, and giving Bangalore a serious scare despite their batsmen posting just 129.

Kolkata - LLLLL
Of their last seven losses, four have been decided in the final over and the last two have been the most agonizing. Kolkata showed signs of revival, with their batsmen, especially the foreign recruits, stepping up. Brad Hodge, Morne van Wyk and David Hussey have each justified their induction and even their captain, Brendon McCullum, shrugged off his poor form, carting 84 against Bangalore in Centurion. But it was their fast bowlers who let them down badly after the spinners had put them in strong positions. Ajit Agarkar and Ishant Sharma fed Ross Taylor full tosses and he punished them to snatch an unlikely win for Bangalore. Bangladeshi fans desperately waiting for Mashrafe Mortaza's appearance were in for a nightmare. Their star player was unable to prevent Deccan Chargers from knocking off 21 required for a win in the final over and earned the dubious distinction of bowling the most expensive spell in the IPL this year.

Watch out for

MS Dhoni - His leadership has been impressive, and so has his batting. Dhoni has moved himself around considerably in the middle order, and backed up his two half-centuries with some cameos, proving effective at the death. With Hayden dominating the top order, Dhoni has been the stand-out player in the middle. He's been involved in four 50-plus partnerships in the last seven games, two each with Hayden and Raina, batting out till the end of the innings to string a favourable result each time.

David Hussey - Kolkata missed him for much of the IPL, but Hussey made an immediate impact upon his return from the UAE, providing the innings a major boost with two quickfire 40-plus contributions. He helped Kolkata almost double their score after the 15th over, clattering a 17-ball 43 against Deccan, and must ideally play a greater role with his offspinners, especially when the pace attack has proved his team's undoing.

Teams

Parthiv Patel opened for Chennai against Mumbai after sitting out for five matches, but suffered a first-ball duck. He could, yet again, make way for M Vijay, though Chennai may still give him another go. Jacob Oram has made just one significant contribution with the bat this IPL, and his average of 15.50 is disappointing. In eight matches, he's only bowled two full spells, and if his team wishes to strengthen its batting, George Bailey could be drafted in.

Chennai Super Kings: 1 Parthiv Patel/M Vijay, 2 Matthew Hayden, 3 Suresh Raina, 4 MS Dhoni, 5 S Badrinath, 6 Jacob Oram/George Bailey, 7 Albie Morkel, 8 Sudeep Tyagi, 9 Shadab Jakati, 10 Muttiah Muralitharan, 11 L Balaji.

Kolkata's predominant concern in their previous couple of games has been their bowling. Agarkar has been their most expensive bowler - among those who've played five or more games - conceding 9.73-an-over, and Kolkata may look to bring in Ashok Dinda in his place. Mortaza's hammering at the hands of Rohit Sharma, much to the disappointment of those who so eagerly awaited his IPL debut, could cost him his place, and the team may want to induct Charl Langeveldt, whose inclusion in the XI is long overdue.

Kolkata Knight Riders: 1 Brendon McCullum, 2 Sourav Ganguly, 3 Brad Hodge, 4 David Hussey, 5 Wriddhiman Saha, 6 Yashpal Singh, 7 Charl Langeveldt/Mashrafe Mortaza, 8 Murali Kartik, 9 Ajit Agarkar/Ashok Dinda, 10 Ishant Sharma, 11 Shoaib Shaikh.

Stats and Trivia

• Chennai have averaged 37.2 per wicket in the Powerplay, scoring at 8.45 runs per over. Kolkata haven't done as well, averaging 23.61 per wicket and scoring at 6.43 an over
• Balaji is the only bowler from the two teams in the list of the top ten wicket-takers in the competition, with 13 from 10 games at 18.92
• Hayden has struck 21 sixes in the competition, the second-highest in the IPL this year, after Adam Gilchrist. He's followed by Raina with 17

Head-to-head record

The previous game between the two teams was washed out in Cape Town. Chennai emerged victors in both contests last year, with Hayden and Dhoni combining to complete a nine-wicket win in the first. In the second, Makhaya Ntini took 4 for 21, including a hat-trick, and the Chennai openers did well enough before rain intervened to win the match by the D/L method.

[the article was originally published at http://content.cricinfo.com/ipl2009/content/story/404794.html]

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]

Turning up the IPL heat

After three weeks of frantic, non-stop cricket, the battle for semi-final spots in the 2009 Indian Premier League is starting to take shape and Wednesday's key clash between leaders Delhi Daredevils and the Deccan Chargers at Kingsmead (4.30pm) is going to be keenly contested.

After a week's break, it's Durban's turn again to host the IPL circus with Wednesday's match followed by a double-header on Thursday. The final double-header will take place in Durban on Wednesday next week, completing a grand total of 16 matches in Durban - the most held in any of the eight venues.

Victory for the Delhi franchise, who also have a game in hand, would go a long way to confirming their position in the top four but the top of the table is so congested that a win for the Chargers would take them level on points with their opponents.

In such a tightly contested competition only one of the eight franchises, the Kolkata Knight Riders, are out of contention for the semis.

Delhi opener Gautam Gambhir has been deputising, pretty successfully, as the team's captain in the absence of the injured Virender Sehwag. One of the points of interest for another big crowd at today's match is whether big-hitting opener Sehwag will be fit to return and, if he does, who will make way for him?

Up until now Australian David Warner has played the big-hitting role at the top of the order.

Another fascinating development is that Glenn McGrath, who, despite being valued at $350 000, has yet to play a game in this year's tournament - easy money for him although it is no doubt frustrating for the most economical fast bowler in world cricket.

Perhaps the lean, lanky paceman, who retired from international cricket after the 2007 World Cup, is being kept out of the side by his compatriot Dirk Nannes.

Durban fans will again be keen to see the prolific AB de Villiers who has struck 271 runs for his team at an average of 67.75, the best of the tournament.

By contrast the Deccan Chargers have had a topsy-turvy time, winning their first four matches and then losing four of the next five. They will be hoping to continue the form they showed in their last match when they thumped 2008 champions the Rajasthan Royals by 53 runs.

After a sizzling start Herschelle Gibbs has suffered a big slump in form and was dropped for the match against Rajasthan. He hopes to return to action at Kingsmead, one of his favourite run-making grounds.

On Thursday the double-header will feature the Royal Challengers Bangalore against the Chennai Super Kings in the early match, with the 4.30pm clash between the Mumbai Indians and the Rajasthan Royals.

The pitch for all three matches will be the Test strip which provided some high-scoring matches last week. Former Kingsmead groundsman Phil Russell, who is helping with pitch preparation, predicted the surface would be a "belter" although a little slow because of the weekend rain.

[the article was originally published at http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=6&click_id=4&art_id=vn20090513064429456C804418 by Patrick Compton]

Chennai Super Kings defeats Deccan Chargers

Splendid top order batting, combined with devastating bowling, helped Chennai Super Kings record its third win on the trot as it outclassed Deccan Chargers by 78 runs in an action-packed Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket match here on Monday.

Chennai Super Kings had posted an impressive 178 for three after opting to bat.

Deccan Chargers never recovered after a catastrophic start and was bundled out for 100 in 14.4 overs.
Counterattack

Had there not been a counter-attack by Dwayne Smith (49) and Rohit Sharma (21), Deccan Chargers would have slumped to a more humiliating defeat.

Deccan Chargers had no idea that a disastrous start was waiting for it as its top three batsmen — Adam Gilchirst (0), Herschelle Gibbs (0) and V.V.S. Laxman (0) — went back without bothering the scorer.

From here, Smith and Rohit revived the innings with a dramatic 72-run stroke-filled partnership, but could not finish it off for their side.

Shadab Jakati excelled for Chennai Super Kings, picking up four wickets, but it was the pace duo of Albie Morkel (two for 24) and Sudeep Tyagi (one for 9) who set the platform for an exciting win.

[the article was originally published at http://www.hindu.com/2009/05/06/stories/2009050656371900.htm]

IPL committee advises rehab for Kamran

The Indian Premier League (IPL) technical committee, on Sunday, recommended a two-week rehabilitation for Rajasthan Royals pacer Kamran Khan who has been reported for a suspect bowling action.

According to an IPL release, the technical committee, comprising Sunil Gavaskar, Ravi Shastri and Lalit Modi, met in Johannesburg on Sunday to review the left-arm pacer’s action (as reported in Monday’s Late City edition).

The committee was also joined by Anurag Thakur and Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi from India, via a conference call, after Rudi Koertzen and Gary Baxter reported Kamran for a suspect bowling action after the Chennai Super Kings and the Rajasthan Royals match at the Centurion on Thursday.

After the match was over, footage was obtained and examined by all the three umpires, including TV umpire Amish Saheba, and it was decided that further action was necessary under the Laws of Cricket, section 24/3, that governs the game. The matter was then referred by the IPL to the Rajasthan Royals team management and the technical committee, as per the Laws of Cricket, that govern the game.

Kamran, who has yet to play a first-class game, has been hailed by Royals captain Shane Warne as sensational.

[the article was originally published at http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090505/jsp/sports/story_10915629.jsp]

Jakati shines again for Chennai in IPL cricket

Left-arm spinner Shadab Jakati picked up 4-22 as Chennai Super Kings thumped Deccan Chargers by 78 runs for their third win on the trot in the Indian Premier League on Monday.

Jakati removed top-scorer Dwayne Smith (49) and Rohit Sharma in the space of four balls to help Chennai restrict Deccan to 100 all out in 14.4 overs in a one-sided contest at Buffalo Park here.

The 28-year-old unheralded bowler from Goa had also turned in a match-winning performance in Chennai's win against Delhi Daredevils on Saturday.

Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni earlier led the batting charge with an unbeaten 58 while tournament's leading run-getter Matthew Hayden slammed a 26-ball 43 to take Chennai to an imposing 178-3.

The win propelled Chennai to the top of the points table while Deccan slumped to their third defeat in a row.

Deccan's chase began on a disastrous note as they lost their explosive openers Adam Gilchrist and Herschelle Gibbs inside the first two overs.

Albie Morkel snapped up Gilchrist off the first ball of the innings when he trapped the Deccan skipper plumb in front while Suddep Tyagi accounted for Gibbs.

Morkel returned to dismiss Venkatsai Laxman (0) in his next over but was unlucky not to claim Smith whose easy skiers were dropped twice in a row by clumsy Chennai fielders.

Smith, who also survived a crazy mix-up at the crease, briefly sustained Deccan's hopes, putting on 72 runs for the fourth wicket with Sharma (21).

But Deccan's fate was sealed once Smith was trapped leg-before by Jakati. The West Indies' all-rounder slammed five sixes and two fours in his 23-ball knock.

[the article was originally published at http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gda0hEjtKC3zWR6MNQdM-GPL3fxw]

Super Kings will win IPL : Gony

He took 17 wickets from 16 matches in the inaugural Indian Premier League season. He belongs to the team that missed the IPL crown by a whisker last year. Strong-built, tall and a match-winner, he's none other than - Chennai Super Kings' Manpreet Gony.

The cash-rich twenty20 tournament gave him a platform to show his mettle to the cricket pundits and he finally, made his debut in Tri-Nation Series in Bangladesh in 2008.

CricketNDTV.com caught hold of him while he was rushing to the team party in Port Elizabeth and talked about Chennai's chances of winning the title this season and what he thinks of Andrew Flintoff's arrival in the side.

Were you satisfied with your performance in the opening match though Chennai lost it?
Yes, I am quite satisfied and I am feeling good about my performance. Winning and losing is just part of the game.

Last year your team was runner-up. What do you think are your prospects this season?
We will win the title this time.

Does the inclusion of Andrew Flintoff makes any difference to the side?
Definitely. He helps the boys in the fielding and bowling department. And especially, he gives me tips to improve my bowling.

If given a chance, what is that one thing you would want to change in the team so that it could fetch you the 2008 title?
Nothing really, it wasn't really in our destiny I guess but we will win it this time.

Do you think IPL can facilitate your selection for the Twenty20 World Cup squad?
Yes, certainly. I am working very hard for it.

What is team's greatest strength?
Our all-round performance.

[the article was originally published at http://cricket.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtvcricket/ipl09/news_story.aspx?ID=INTEN20090091984&keyword=interview]

IPL is still not a stunner

The second edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is in its first week and if one goes by the TV ratings the Twenty20 showpiece has failed to generate the kind of interest it did last year.

The IPL, which coincides with the general election in India, has opened with lower TV ratings as compared to last year.

A survey conducted by viewership rating agency Television Audience Measurement (TAM), revealed that the TRP ratings of the two matches on the opening day of the IPL II, was at lowly 5.55 and 5.54 percent, respectively, as compared to last year's figure of 8.21.

But what has added to the lower ratings have been boring finishes and the rain.

Unlike last year, matches have hardly been exciting due to low scores on bowler friendly South African pitches and the rain has also proved to be a dampner. Outcome of two matches have had to be decided by the Duckworth-Lewis Method while one match was washed out due to rain.

The only close match in the league so far has been the opener, where Mumbai Indians defeated last year's finalists Chennai Super Kings by just 19 runs.

The highest victory margin was Chennai Super Kings' 92-run win over Bangalore Royal Challengers Wednesday.

[the article was originally published at http://www.hindustantimes.com/highpl/storypage.aspx?id=66dec93e-6664-40a1-9950-7c996fa7ac47&category=Chunk-HT-UI-IPLSectionPage-TopStories]

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]

Tendulkar - I will not take anything for granted

Cape Town: They might have made a resounding start to their IPL campaign with a convincing win over last year's runners-up Chennai Super Kings, but Mumbai Indians skipper Sachin Tendulkar is not ready to take things for granted and wants to build on the good start.

Tendulkar, who scored an unbeaten 59 to script his team's victory in the opening match of the second edition of the Twenty20 extravaganza, said, "The start is good but it is still a long way to go. I won't take anything for granted."

Tendulkar, who was adjudged Man of the Match, said the initial overs were difficult for batting and lavished praise on Sanath Jayasuriya and Abhishek Nayar for adjusting well.

"When I lost the toss, I realised there was a dampness in the wicket. The first 6-7 overs were difficult and later on Abhishek Nayar came and played a terrific innings and my job basically was to just be there and play till the end and guys on the other end played their strokes," he said.

On being asked what could be a decent total on the South African wickets, Tendulkar said anything around 150 would make a good fight.

"Looking at about 145-150 would be a decent total. Don't look at 180 plus but if you can get into 150-160 then it could be a good total," he said.

[credit : http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/007200904182280.htm]

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]

IPL ideal for World T20 preparation: Yuvraj Singh

Mumbai : Flamboyant Indian batsman Yuvraj Singh sees the second edition of the Indian Premier League in South Africa as the perfect dress rehearsal for cricket playing nations ahead of the World Twenty20 Championship in England in June.

"The IPL has come at the right time to help all (countries) to prepare for the T20 World Cup. It will give all the players lot of practice as each team will play at least 14 matches.

It's going to get better, the World T20 Cup (because of IPL)," the left-hander told reporters here today.

Yuvraj, who is the captain of Kings XI Punjab, co-owned by Bollywood actress Preity Zinta, was here along with the latter to announce Emirates association with the Mohali-based outfit as its official team sponsor.

Yuvraj, who did not have a successful Test series in New Zealand which India won 1-0 to rewrite history in Kiwi soil after 41 years, said the Kings XI would play similar to what they dished out last year en route the semi-finals in the first edition of the cash-rich T20 league.

"We won 8-10 games (actually ten out of 14 before losing to Chennai Super Kings in the semi-finals on May 31,2008) last year. We will play in a similar fashion," he said.

He, however, refused to be drawn into a debate on the controversial multiple captaincy theory put forth by Kolkata Knight Riders coach John Buchanan.

[credit : http://sports.indiainfo.com/article/0904112026_sport_yuvraj/336559.html]