Virender Sehwag was in high spirits after his team snatched an unlikely win against Team Hyderabad on Wednesday. It was extremely relaxing for him to close in towards a semifinal berth and that was evident in what he said.
According to Sehwag, IPL is probably more demanding than international cricket and a win like this helps the team to relax quite a bit. "I feel the pressure in IPL is more than international cricket," the dashing batsman said without mincing any words.
"After a loss in the IPL, there are bound to be meetings with the franchisee owners where you have to explain where you went wrong. That is not at all easy," he explained what an international player in the IPL has to go through.
"It’s better we win more, so that we don’t have to face these meetings," the Team Delhi skipper added. Sehwag hasn’t played quite a few games due to an injury and that has helped him take a few days off. "I had been to the Sun City, relaxed a bit, and of course, bought some diamonds," he said sounding relaxed after the nerve-wracking match against Team Hyderabad.
According to Sehwag, what is helping Team Delhi win despite the tremendous pressure is their balance. "It’s all about the balance. If you see, it’s not just one person who is performing. There have been many players who have won man-of-the-match awards for us and that’s why we’re still on top," Sehwag added.
The 30-year-old however made it clear that the race for the semis was still wide open. "All the teams have talented players and the table is pretty wide open. We’re not taking anything for granted as yet," Sehwag said.
For Team Hyderabad though, it was a crushing defeat and their coach Darren Lehmann was clearly struggling to come to terms with it. "It’s an unfortunate loss. And it’s unpardonable to lose seven wickets for 12 runs," a hurt Lehmann said.
[the article was originally published at http://ipl.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/4531841.cms]
Friday, May 15, 2009
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]
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]
"Sticky Something' could be KKR Captain for IPL-3
The Fake IPL blog or FIP has an interesting quote in reference to the captainship of the team. The blog reads,” News from our camp is that Sticky Something has verbally confirmed his availability to Dildo for next season depending on certain conditions. The idea is to declare him captain in a few months, and then let him build his team and support staff.
Here, ‘Sticky Something’ is an indication towards the Australian Captain Ricky Ponting, who chose to stay away from the IPL this time, in order to give himself rest for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup and the Ashes in England.
Coach John Buchanan’s future in the Kolkata Knight Riders team also seems bleak. The FIP further says, “Director of Operations and Coach, who till 3 weeks ago were the most important designations in our squad, will now be part of the support staff. Sticky will also oversee a local talent scout after their tour of England later this year. Nobody knows Lordie's role next year.
Apart from the captaincy, the blog also puts an end on all the talk to SRK disinvesting his stake in the team. The mystery blogger tersely writes, “The team's not getting sold in a hurry, I can tell you this much.”
The Fake IPL Player blog’s popularity has soared to dizzying heights and the blog conducted an exclusive poll, wherein the readers were asked whether they wanted to have the identity of the anonymous blogger revealed. A large number of voters wanted the FIP to reveal his identity.
[the article was originally published at http://sports.in.msn.com/ipl/article.aspx?cp-documentid=3011020]
IPL 09 : Celebrity owners on a sticky wicket
There appears to be a strong inverse relationship between the celebrity status of the owner of an IPL team and its performance. Whether this relationship is also causal will be known after a few years.
However, as the table below suggests, the biggest celebrity without doubt is Mr Shah Rukh Khan. His team has the lowest score of three points.
Last year, in IPL-1, it was the Rajasthan team whose owner was not well known. It went on to win the tournament.
This year the team was taken over in part by Ms Shilpa Shetty who became a celebrity after her encounter with the late Jade Goody. Its performance has since declined.
The Bangalore team, which is as star-studded as a team can be, did badly last year but has improved its position this year. Mr Vijay Mallya, its owner, is known for his singular lifestyle, and is a global celebrity, not merely an Indian one. Mr Mallya’s Formula One team, Force India, is also near the bottom of the Grand Prix standings.
Mumbai stands somewhere in-between. Mr Mukesh Ambani, though as well known in urban India as Mr Barack Obama in the US, is not quite what can be properly described as a celebrity. His team has thus median points.
The Chennai team, on the other hand, is owned by the unassuming and unsung India Cements. It is at No 2 place with 13 points.
But it is really the Delhi team that proves the point beyond dispute. Its owner, GMR, is the least well known of all, and it has the highest number of points.
In 2008, after the 14 matches that lead to the semis, there was only one celebrity-owned team in the top four, Punjab. The bottom four had two celebrity-owned teams – Bangalore and Kolkata. Mumbai was in the middle like this time.
A former cricketer close to the current Indian team and also many of the players say that the key difference may lie in the interference factor. “You have to leave it to the coach and captain, you know, to decide things. The game is won mainly by on-field tactics, not off-field strategies.”
“I don’t think star status has much to do with it,” says Mr Anirban Das Blah of Globosport. “It comes down to the ability and focus of the owner which is not necessarily linked to being a star.”
In football, where there are not many celebrity owners, it is the reverse. Mr Silvio Berlusconi owns AC Milan, which is doing quite well. So is Manchester City, which is owned by a member of the Abu Dhabi royal family and member of the UAE’s Cabinet. Another celebrity is Mr Franz Beckenbauer, who is part-owner of Bayern Munich.
[the article was originally http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2009/05/15/stories/2009051552090100.htm]
However, as the table below suggests, the biggest celebrity without doubt is Mr Shah Rukh Khan. His team has the lowest score of three points.
Last year, in IPL-1, it was the Rajasthan team whose owner was not well known. It went on to win the tournament.
This year the team was taken over in part by Ms Shilpa Shetty who became a celebrity after her encounter with the late Jade Goody. Its performance has since declined.
The Bangalore team, which is as star-studded as a team can be, did badly last year but has improved its position this year. Mr Vijay Mallya, its owner, is known for his singular lifestyle, and is a global celebrity, not merely an Indian one. Mr Mallya’s Formula One team, Force India, is also near the bottom of the Grand Prix standings.
Mumbai stands somewhere in-between. Mr Mukesh Ambani, though as well known in urban India as Mr Barack Obama in the US, is not quite what can be properly described as a celebrity. His team has thus median points.
The Chennai team, on the other hand, is owned by the unassuming and unsung India Cements. It is at No 2 place with 13 points.
But it is really the Delhi team that proves the point beyond dispute. Its owner, GMR, is the least well known of all, and it has the highest number of points.
In 2008, after the 14 matches that lead to the semis, there was only one celebrity-owned team in the top four, Punjab. The bottom four had two celebrity-owned teams – Bangalore and Kolkata. Mumbai was in the middle like this time.
A former cricketer close to the current Indian team and also many of the players say that the key difference may lie in the interference factor. “You have to leave it to the coach and captain, you know, to decide things. The game is won mainly by on-field tactics, not off-field strategies.”
“I don’t think star status has much to do with it,” says Mr Anirban Das Blah of Globosport. “It comes down to the ability and focus of the owner which is not necessarily linked to being a star.”
In football, where there are not many celebrity owners, it is the reverse. Mr Silvio Berlusconi owns AC Milan, which is doing quite well. So is Manchester City, which is owned by a member of the Abu Dhabi royal family and member of the UAE’s Cabinet. Another celebrity is Mr Franz Beckenbauer, who is part-owner of Bayern Munich.
[the article was originally http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2009/05/15/stories/2009051552090100.htm]
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)