First victory for Mumbai Indians

Finally, Mumbai Indians tasted victory in the DLF-Indian Premier League.

Without Sachin Tendulkar and making three changes, Mumbai Indians showed better motivation and had a better game plan as it chalked up its seven-wicket victory over the Sourav Ganguly-led Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens here on Tuesday.

Mumbai Indians’ batting was in complete contrast to that of Knight Riders, which chose to bat first. Despite losing three early wickets, Mumbai Indians’ fourth-wicket pair of Robin Uthappa and Dwayne Bravo mixed controlled aggression with caution to completely take the match away from the home side.

IPL Dhoni inspires Super Kings to victory

The Mexican waves vanished in a jiffy as Chennai Super Kings went past Royal Challengers Bangalore’s initial charge, to script a 13-run victory in a DLF-Indian Premier League match at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on Monday night.

Chennai Super Kings now has an all-win record in its four matches and has eight points, while Royal Challengers stays at two from four.

Chasing Chennai Super Kings’ 178, on a day when the rain stayed away, Royal Challengers struck an early vein of aggression through Wasim Jaffer (50, 33b, 5x4, 2x6).

Jaffer along with Ross Taylor (53, 34b, 3x4, 3x6) crafted an 89-run second-wicket partnership. However the chase unhinged in despair, after Jaffer holed out in the deep, though Taylor continued to bludgeon, swiping Morkel into the stands past long-on and then scampering for a single that ushered in his fifty.

Kallis and Taylor perished soon, and the required statistics whittled down to 47 runs from 30 deliveries.
Tension mounted after Manpreet Gony scalped Boucher and Royal Challengers skipper Dravid for a blob and Albie Morkel crashed one through Virat Kohli’s stumps.

And in the final stretch, Zaheer Khan and Praveen Kumar were found short of breath and stranded outside the crease. With 17 runs required in the last over, the home team lost its spirit and was bowled out for 165 with two balls to spare.

Earlier Chennai Super Kings found its roar towards the end as skipper M.S. Dhoni blitzed a 30-ball 65 with nine fours and three sixes. Dhoni walked in after Suresh Raina was run out and with the score reading 83 for three in 12 overs.

The skipper took apart Dale Steyn, clubbing a few past long-on. He edged a few past the third man ropes but it was a night on which the man-of-the match Dhoni could not be denied.

IPL All eyes on Sachin Tendulkar

On the eve of the clash between Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders in the DLF-Indian Premier League, the biggest question being asked here is whether Sachin Tendulkar will play his first match in this Twenty20 tournament or not.

Down 0-4 already in the 14-match, home and away tournament, Mumbai Indians has already been pushed into the cellar.

It is time to fire on all cylinders before it is too late. In this situation it is quite natural for Mumbai Indians to look up to Tendulkar to play the role of a saviour. “Sachin Tendulkar’s presence will be a major factor,” said Kolkata Knight Riders’ coach John Buchanan.

Harbhajan banned from ongoing IPL

Harbhajan Singh was on Monday banned from further participation in this edition of the Indian Premier League.

The decision was arrived at following a hearing here when Harbhajan pleaded guilty and later apologised publicly.

Harbhajan, leading the Mumbai Indians, was found guilty of having physically assaulted Kings XI Punjab speedster S. Sreesanth at the end of their match at Mohali on Friday.

He was also fined 100 per cent match fee from the third match onwards while the Mumbai team coach Lalchand Rajput was fined 50 per cent of his match fee for not preventing Harbhajan from slapping Sreesanth.

At the end of the press conference, Harbhajan and Sreesanth were presented to the media and made to shake hands and embrace each other.

Sreesanth chose not to speak but Harbhajan made a statement, “whatever happened was very bad and I feel sorry for it. Sreesanth is like a brother. We have been playing together and will play together in the future, too.

“I have been punished for the wrong I did.

“I have respect for the Board and we all know the Board has treated the players like its children. I hope the Board will continue to support me and I seek the support from the people. I will bring smiles to your faces whenever I play next.”

Harbhajan in another storm

Harbhajan Singh once again finds himself in the centre of a disciplinary storm. The BCCI hearing on the off-spinner for allegedly assaulting S. Sreesanth physically, will be conducted in New Delhi on Monday.

Suspended from the Indian Premier League until a verdict is reached, Harbhajan faces another career crisis.

What transpired between him and Sreesanth — the Board claims to have video evidence — after the contest between Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab at Mohali on Friday will be clearer after the hearing. Match Referee Farokh Engineer will be the central figure during the process.

Both Harbhajan and Sreesanth are volatile cricketers on the arena but did the former cross the line this time around?

Adam Gilchrist goes on the rampage

Adam Gilchrist exploded against Mumbai Indians, forcing skipper Shaun Pollock at the receiving end of the blast to smile at the hapless situation.

Such was the savagery (109 not out, 48 balls) of the Australian opener’s strokeplay that the dazed bowlers in blue appeared like sending down deliveries into a batting machine.

Batting in a zone of his own, the left-hander swatted an incredible 10 sixes and nine boundaries in the course of the fastest century in the IPL. Hyderabad’s Deccan Chargers vaulted to a 10-wicket victory in the DLF Indian Premier League match, its first after three defeats in a row.

V.V.S. Laxman (36 not out), watching the awesome fireworks show from the other end, rotated the strike.

Gilchrist’s knock meant that teammate Andrew Symonds, waiting for his turn to bat, did not get an opportunity to entertain fans in his last match in this event. The latter will fly out to join the Australian team.

Katich sets up Kings XI’s victory

Simon Katich’s savage counter-attack set up Kings XI Punjab’s four-wicket win over Delhi Daredevils in the DLF Indian Premier League to trigger off celebrations in the vociferous crowd at the PCA Stadium here on Sunday.

After Delhi managed to send back Punjab opener Karan Goel and the in-form Kumara Sangakkara with just 11 runs on the board, Katich almost single-handedly brought Punjab close to victory with a 52-ball 75 chasing Delhi’s 158 for eight in 20 overs. Kings XI skipper Yuvraj Singh then put the finishing touches with three deliveries to spare.

The result signalled Punjab’s second victory in four outings and Delhi’s first defeat in three games.

Katich, the Man of the Match who hit a six and 11 boundaries, added 58 runs with Mahela Jayawardene (15, two fours) for the third wicket in 5.5 overs and another 50 with Yuvraj (40 not out) before being run-out. When Katich was fourth out at 119, Punjab needed 40 runs in six overs.

IPL Warne spoils Chargers’ party

With defeat within shaking hands distance for Rajasthan Royals, one man single-handedly turned the match on its head. That happened to be the skipper himself Shane Keith Warne, who with his side needing 17 runs in the last over, accomplished the amazing feat with a ball to spare in the Indian Premier League cricket match against Deccan Chargers at the Rajiv Gandhi international stadium on Thursday.

To take his men to victory, the leg-spin wizard smote Andrew Symonds twice for six, as if to avenge the latter’s blatant assault on the former, earlier in the day. A resurgence by the Chargers, which came a shade too late in the night, saw the host plunge to its third defeat in a row.

The visitor was well on its victory, thanks to a rollicking second-wicket stand of 98 between opener Graeme Smith (71, 45b, 4x8, 6x2) and Yusuf Pathan (61, 28b, 4x4, 6x6). Smith played the sheet-anchor, never intimidated by the Chargers’ attack, smashing it at will to all corners of the ground.

Revelling in his company, Pathan, who was adjudged the Man-of-the-Match, surged to his half-century in double quick time, off just 21 balls.

The pair was separated when Pathan’s miscued hit off Kalyankrishna sailed straight into Symonds’s hands at long on. There was a lull in the scoring after Pathan’s exit, as Laxman shuffled his bowlers and their ends. Most capable of his men in stopping the run-riot was Shahid Afridi, who had a bag of three for 28.

Shane Watson didn’t last long, foxed by an Afridi flipper. A run-a-ball routine followed, before Kaif hoisted Symonds over the mid-wicket hoardings. The wiry India discard replicated that feat, not once but twice in that very over. Kaif’s exit and Smith’s came in quick succession, the former holing out to Symonds at long-on off Afridi and the latter to Kalyankrishna at deep mid-wicket.

Earlier, Warne bucked the trend, inviting his rivals to bat, after reading the flip of the coin right. Buoyed by Symonds’ blistering and unconquered century (117, 53b, 4x11, 7x6) the Chargers had set up an imposing 214 for five. With scant regard for line or length, the dreadlocked Queenslander had steadied the Deccan boat rocked by reversals that ripped through its top order. Anything above the waist, he pulled with pulverizing power.

Warne had a hand in Symonds’ half-century, the leggie’s fingers unable to cut off a heave that then made the ropes.

Super Kings has the last laugh

In a format created to favour batsmen and big hitting, a bowler won the match for Chennai Super Kings at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium here on Wednesday.

Young paceman Manpreet Singh Goni’s four immaculate overs at the beginning of the Mumbai Indians’ innings proved the decisive spell in a crucial Indian Premier League duel in front of a packed audience.

Bowling with control and working around the basics, Goni conceded just 18 runs in his four overs. Super Kings won but not before surviving a scare after some hectic hitting by Abhishek Nayar (45 n.o., 20b, 6x4, 1x6) and skipper Harbhajan Singh in the end overs. A barrage of fours and sixes brought Mumbai Indians desperately close.

Joginder Sharma, once again, was alive at the death.
Second win

Defending 208, the host clinched a thriller by six runs for its second successive victory in the competition. Mumbai Indians is without a win in two games.

Mumbai Indians faltered at the start. S. Badrinath scored a direct hit from point to catch Luke Ronchi short of the crease at the non-striker’s end. Not much later, key man Sanath Jayasuriya was unable to pick the impressive Manpreet Singh Goni’s change of pace.

Goni bowled tight from one end, but Jacob Oram suffered at the other as Robin Uthappa (43 off 36 balls) cut loose. The batsman displayed power and finesse before swishing at a delivery from Joginder Sharma to lose his leg stump.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni shuffled his bowlers, led with a combination of instinct and foresight. With the ability to get his deliveries to skid off the surface, Joginder can be a dicey bowler in this format and Dhoni used him to break partnerships.

A youngster like Palani Amarnath held his nerve — after being struck for a six — to castle Pollock.

IPL Virender Sehwag leaves Deccan Chargers gasping

Virender Sehwag fashioned Delhi Daredevils’s emphatic nine-wicket win over Deccan Chargers in the DLF-Indian Premier League at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium here on Tuesday.

It was a clinical demolition by a man in form as the Daredevils captain treated every bowler with contempt. There was an opportunity for the home team but the local lad Pragyan Ojha failed to latch on — running to his left at deep square-leg — to a mistimed pull off Chaminda Vaas in the third over of the innings.

But after that escape, the Delhi star played some awesome shots (94 n.o., 41b, 10x4, 6x6). He picked the gentle medium-pace of Andrew Symonds for special treatment, hitting him for 4, 6, 4, 6, 4, 6 in his second over and the 13th of the innings.

Shikhar Dawan (25 n.o., 23b, 3x4) played perfect foil to Sehwag’s hurricane innings during the 112-run stand for the second wicket which knocked the host out of the match.

It was the second straight defeat for Deccan Chargers, while Delhi Daredevils registered its second win in as many matches.

IPL Warne, Watson fashion Royals's easy win

It was the day of the Australians in Royal Blue colours. First, Shane Warne's tantalising spin bowling and cunning outwitted the Kings XI Punjab batsmen and then Shane Watson's fine knock settled the issue for the home team while chasing a target of 167.

It was a splendid display that would have won Watson his captain and coach Warne's approbation. Watson (76 not out, 49b, 5x4, 5x6) amply demonstrated that wrist work was not necessary to flay the bowling and that a batsman such as him, endowed with strong shoulders and powerful arms, could thrash the bowling and unnerve the rival ranks.

After another disappointing performance by the Royals' opening pair, Watson forged a useful 51-run stand with fellow Australian Darren Lehmann and thereafter led his team to a thumping win in the company of Ravindra Jadeja, with the left-hander carting half-a-dozen big blows and staying put in the middle until the task was accomplished.

Kings XI captain Yuvraj brought back Brett Lee for a second spell, but by then Watson had done sufficient damage to make the target less imposing. Yuvraj's team suffered its second defeat and would mull over its inadequacy in the bowling department.

IPL Knight Riders wins low-scoring match

The very essence of a Twenty20 match is entertainment unlimited, on the pitch and off it.

But an atrocious Eden Gardens pitch made sure flamboyance and free-stroking batsmanship took the back-seat in a low-scoring game between Deccan Chargers and Kolkata Knight Riders on Sunday.

Sony hits Max-imum with IPL

The Indian Premier League (IPL) Twenty-20 cricket tournament has already cast a magic spell on Indian television viewers.

While cricket lovers were glued to their TV sets in the night watching Shah Rukh Khan’s Knight Riders demolish liquor baron Vijay Mallya’s Royal Challengers in the inaugural match on Friday in Bangalore, Sony SetMax catapulted to the number one channel in terms of viewership across all genres during the peak time of 8pm to 11pm.

That is because its share of viewership in television and cable homes around the country zoomed nearly eightfold to 16.8 per cent between 8 pm and 11 pm compared to the last few Fridays.

The average market share of SetMax (which is essentially a movie channel but is now showing cricket) for the last four Fridays in the same time slot was only 2.1 per cent, according to Audience Measurement & Analytics (a-MAP) which monitors viewership across TV channels. The agency covers over 35 million cables and satellite homes across the country.

The viewership of Sony SetMax during the three-hour period on Friday was way ahead of channels across the board.

According to the agency, the closest competitor was Zee, which garnered a market share of 7 per cent. While Star Plus got a market share of 4.6 per cent, 9X was at 2 per cent, Sony Entertainment Television — another channel from the group — at 1.8 per cent and NDTV Imagine at 1.5 per cent.

Speaking to Business Standard on the jump in market share for their channel, Sony TV India Head Kunal Das Gupta said, “It’s heartening to see such a response and it is a fulfillment of what we had expected. With this IPL is now a well established product on TV.”

Sony TV-WSG has bought the broadcasting rights of the IPL matches for a staggering $1.3 billion (Rs 4120 crore) for 10 years.

The combine has already earned over Rs 380 crore by selling advertising time in India and globally for the IPL matches this year. The 44-day tournament will see eight teams clashing in 59 matches.

The large viewership of IPL, according to industry experts, can be challenged only by Shah Rukh Khan’s new quiz programme “Kya Aap Paanchvi Pass Se Tez Hai”, which will be telecast on Star Plus from April 25 during the peak time of the matches (8pm to 9pm).

IPL An easy opener for Delhi Daredevil

Glenn McGrath’s spell set the trend on a dull night at the Ferozeshah Kotla as Delhi Daredevils thrashed Rajasthan Royals in a match that rarely rose above mediocrity. The contest lacked the flavour and pace of the Indian Premier League matches elsewhere when the batsmen dictated terms to produce a torrent of runs.

An encouraging turnout heralded floodlit cricket at the Kotla even as Bollywood star and Delhi Daredeviles brand ambassador Akshay Kumar made a dramatic appearance when he came sliding down a cable stretched across the ground. He could not complete the distance though. The acrobats and some cycling stunts caught the attention of the spectators but the occasion lacked the aura associated with a carnival.

There was neither entertainment nor cricket at the Kotla, much to the chagrin of the audience. Long spells of inactivity on the field was hardly the kind of advertisement the organisers would have expected even though the home team made a remarkable start to the IPL. The result, an overwhelming victory for Delhi Daredevils, was on expected lines given the depleted strength of Rajasthan Royals.

Hussey stars for Super Kings

Less than 24 hours after Brendon McCullum redefined power-hitting in the youngest version of the game, Michael Hussey showed that a match-winning century could have more flair than brute force. Though the Indian Premier League is just three games old, the batting standards have already been set.

With nearly 450 runs scored in 40 overs here, it is, no doubt, turning out to be true value for money for the paying spectators. However, such a scenario raises questions of what would be a safe total in the Twenty20 format?

In what turned out to be a 33-run victory for Chennai Super Kings’s batting might over Kings XI Punjab’s potent pace attack, it became clear that even a target of 200 is within reach of the team batting second, thanks to batting friendly-pitches, fast outfield and altered boundaries, at least at the PCA Stadium here.

On Saturday, Hussey’s unbeaten 116 inspired Chennai to 240 for five in 20 overs. With a target that would have been defendable even in a 50-over game, Chennai had almost batted the opposition out of the contest before a far-from-partisan crowd of around 15,000.