Delhi Daredevils v Rajasthan Royals, IPL 2012, Kotla

Morkel inspires incredible Delhi win

Posted By Anoop Dubey

April 30,2012

Delhi Daredevils 152 for 6 (Sehwag 63, Pankaj 2-25) beat Rajasthan Royals 151 for 3 (Rahane 84*, Morkel 1-26) by one run 

Morne Morkel bowled a sensational penultimate over to turn a straightforward chase from Rajasthan Royals on its head and snatch victory for Delhi Daredevils. The victory creates daylight between Daredevils and the rest of the chasing pack, as they remain at the top of the points table.

Royals required 15 runs off the last two overs, with nine wickets in hand and victory seemed a foregone conclusion. But, Morkel gave away only three runs in an over filled with yorkers and claimed the wicket of Brad Hodge to set up a tense final over. The fourth ball was fired down the leg side but the umpire, to Hodge's surprise, didn't call a wide. It was a crucial decision as only one run separated the teams in the end.

Umesh Yadav was tasked with defending 12 runs for Daredevils against the in-form Ajinkya Rahane. Yadav started off with a fast full toss that Rahane missed. Desperation took over as Rahane looked to smash the next delivery, no matter what its length, and ended up mistiming his slices and breaking his bat. Owais Shah stole a single off the inside edge before Rahane hit the first six of the Royals innings, off a full toss to take back the advantage.

Two more runs came off the penultimate ball, which left two to get off the final one. Yadav kept it full, Rahane missed but ran anyway and Shah was not quick enough. Naman Ojha hit the stumps to run Shah out and deny Rahane victory, leaving him unbeaten on 84.

Rahane and Rahul Dravid are the most successful opening pair in this edition of the IPL and they showed why with a stand of 99 to set up the chase. Rahane started their reply in quietly confident fashion when Rahane flicked the first ball he faced - a poor one on legstump line from Irfan Pathan - for four.

Dravid rolled out his vintage drives and showed off powerful pulls as the Daredevils bowlers' lines and lengths presented no challenge. The two combined in a partnership that looked too easy, Dravid played with Sehwag-esque styled aggression while Rahane, once again, impressed with his timing and poise.

By the end of the eighth over, Royals needed less than 100 runs to win and Rahane and Dravid had racked up the same number of runs, 27 each. Rahane eclipsed his captain, reclaimed the orange cap and brought up his 50 with a finesse-filled flick to on the leg-side.

Daredevils thought they had some success when Dravid began walking after a cut that was thought to be caught behind but umpire Rod Tucker called him back. Tucker said he gave Dravid out when he saw him walking as it was the end of the over, but the misunderstanding gave Dravid a lifeline. He added only three more runs after that incident and was caught at long-on by a leaping Ajit Agarkar. 

Mumbai Indians v Deccan Chargers, IPL 2012, Mumbai

Deccan lose close game, again

Posted By Anoop Dubey

April 30,2012

Mumbai Indians 101 for 5 (Rohit 42, Steyn 2-10) beat Deccan Chargers 100 (Dhawan 29, Duminy 25*, Malinga 4-16, Harbhajan 2-13) by five wickets

After their first win on Thursday following five consecutive losses, Deccan Chargers were back to being what they have been this IPL season - dismal and disappointing. Once again, a decent start proved to be a false dawn. Once again, they had only themselves to blame. On a greenish Wankhede pitch aiding fast bowlers, Chargers allowed Harbhajan Singh figures of 4-0-13-2. They contrived to lose regular wickets, hitting wide balls straight to fielders. And they did not have another bowler remotely in the class of Dale Steyn, who tormented the home batsmen nearly every delivery he bowled.

Not that Chargers did not try, initially at least. Their captain Kumar Sangakkara, with 83 runs in five games at a strike-rate of 95.40, sat out the game. Chargers made three more changes. Shikhar Dhawan and Parthiv Patel even managed to add 37 by the sixth over, which was not a bad start given the appreciable swing and bounce RP Singh was getting.

And then they fell apart. Six wickets went down in the space of 7.3 overs for 29 runs. Parthiv checked his drive to an RP slower delivery but ended up chipping it to mid-on. With Cameron White, JP Duminy and Daniel Christian available, Chargers sent Ishank Jaggi at No. 3. After looking clueless against pace for six deliveries, Jaggi tried to attack Harbhajan and found mid-off. White slashed his first delivery to third man; Christian was to cut his fifth straight to point.

In between, Dhawan, having watched his side implode, charged out to Harbhajan, only to be stumped for 29. It was to be the highest score by a Chargers batsman tonight. Harbhajan kept the pressure up, firing some in, tossing many up, and varying his pace.

Though Duminy tried to ensure Chargers at least played out their 20 overs, their lower order crumbled against Lasith Malinga by the 19th. It wasn't an easy pitch to bat on by any means but Chargers needed something truly special from Steyn to even challenge Mumbai Indians.

Steyn tried as hard as he could. He knocked back Richard Levi's stumps first ball of the chase with a pacy outswinger. He could have had Rohit Sharma four times in four deliveries, but the ball beat the outside edge each time. Steyn came back in the ninth over, with a forward short leg to Dinesh Karthik, who immediately nibbled one through to the wicketkeeper. 

Delhi v Mumbai, IPL 2012, Delhi

Delhi open gap at top with big win

Posted By Anoop Dubey

April 28,2012

Delhi Daredevils 207 for 5 (Sehwag 73, Jayawardene 55, Pietersen 50*) beat Mumbai Indians 170 for 9 (Rayudu 62, Karthik 40) by 37 runs

Just in case there had been any doubts about it, Delhi Daredevils showed they are the team to beat this season by thumping pre-tournament favourites Mumbai Indians. Two of their high-profile new recruits, Mahela Jayawardene and Kevin Pietersen, contributed half-centuries while Virender Sehwag made his third successive fifty to power Daredevils past 200. Even the return of the world's best Twenty20 bowler, Lasith Malinga, couldn't prevent Daredevils from reaching the second highest total of the season.

Mumbai's batting has been their biggest frailty this season, and their top order failed again. The game seemed virtually over in the fourth over of the chase with Mumbai at 19 for 3 before Ambati Rayudu and Dinesh Karthik resurrected Mumbai hopes with a fast-paced 96-run stand. Their chances were finally finished off by unheralded left-arm spinner, Shahbaz Nadeem, who continued his golden run this season by removing Rayudu and the dangerous Kieron Pollard off successive deliveries in the 16th over.

Daredevils dominated right from the beginning with Jayawardene and Sehwag putting on a 135-run opening stand. Jayawardene ripped into his Sri Lanka colleague, Malinga, in the third over, taking 15 off it with three boundaries. The Daredevils openers feasted on some wayward Mumbai bowling, flicking full tosses off the pads and slashing the wide ones. Jayawardene was the early aggressor, outscoring Sehwag before the captain opened up against RP Singh, slashing over point and flat-batting a six over long-off.

Mumbai should have had Sehwag on 40, when he skipped down the track to Robin Peterson, only for Karthik to fluff the stumping. Sehwag made Mumbai pay by ransacking Pollard for two fours and two sixes in an over which cost 23. There were more worries for Mumbai as Pollard later walked off with an injured shoulder after attempting an almost impossible catch at point, though he returned later to bat.

There was no let-up even after the openers departed as Pietersen and Ross Taylor added 41 in just 2.4 overs. Pietersen brought out his signature switch hit, off his namesake who pulled off the same shot in Mumbai's last game. A boundary to extra cover in the final over brought up the 200 and dented Mumbai's hopes of revenge for the humiliating defeat at home last week.

West Indies v Australia, 3rd Test, Roseau, 5th day

Clarke takes five in 75-run victory

Posted By Anoop Dubey

April 28,2012

Australia 328 and 259 beat West Indies 218 and 294 (Chanderpaul 69, Sammy 61, Clarke 5-86, Lyon 3-87) by 75 runs

In the end, the final day of the tour followed the same script as the rest of the series: West Indies fought hard and provided Australia with a few headaches, but their efforts came to nought. Instead, Michael Clarke's second five-wicket haul in Tests helped the Australians wrap up a 75-run victory and they took the series 2-0, despite some powerful striking from the West Indies captain Darren Sammy.

It took Australia two hours on the fifth morning to take the five wickets that remained after the critical breakthrough in the last over of the fourth day, when Shivnarine Chanderpaul was lbw. With each four and six that Sammy produced the West Indian fans dreamed of a famous win, but too much had been left to the lower order and a steady stream of wickets meant Sammy and the No.11 Shane Shillingford came together with 125 runs still needed.

Their 50-run partnership was promising but ended when Sammy, on 61 from 51 balls, top-edged a sweep off the bowling of Nathan Lyon (3 for 87) and was caught at short fine leg, leaving the local hero Shillingford unbeaten on 31. The result might have been a little closer than the Australians wanted, but Clarke was thrilled to emerge from the series with a 2-0 victory, the rain-affected Trinidad Test having not allowed either team enough time to push for a win.

Deccan Chargers v Kolkata Knight Riders, IPL 2012, Cuttack

Kolkata earn hard-fought points

Posted By Anoop Dubey

April 23,2012

Kolkata Knight Riders 127 for 5 (Tiwary 30*, Steyn 2-24) beat Deccan Chargers 126 for 7 (Dhawan 50, Balaji 2-22) by five wickets

The Deccan Chargers bowlers strived to earn their side a maiden victory in this season of the IPL but, even on a slow pitch that turned, they did not have enough runs to defend. The upshot was a fifth consecutive defeat for the home side while Kolkata Knight Riders drew level with the other top teams in the tournament with their fourth win. The finish, however, was far more tense and hard fought than was expected after Chargers had been limited to only 126.

For the briefest of periods, Chargers looked like posting a stronger total. And then, though wickets did not fall in a heap, the scoring-rate began to splutter and the innings stuttered. The odd boundary would be followed by periods of low productivity, depriving Chargers of all momentum. The Knight Riders' chase followed a similar pattern - at no stage did the batsmen consistently dominate the bowling. However, they kept the situation under control by staying abreast with the asking-rate, ensuring the pressure did not get too intense to handle.

While Gautam Gambhir and Jacques Kallis were steering the chase, Knight Riders were in control. Then Gambhir mis-hit Anand Rajan to mid-off, leaving his team on 64 for 3 in 9.5 overs. Yusuf Pathan clouted one six off the spinner Ankit Sharma before trying to slog the next ball and getting bowled. Kallis, however, stayed calm and in the company of Manoj Tiwary took Knight Riders slowly but steadily towards their target.

Dhawan had anchored the innings but he too was going nowhere, and his struggle ended when he mis-hit a full toss from Rajat Bhatia to deep midwicket. He was gone for a run-a-ball 50. He would say later that the pitch was hard to bat on. Knight Riders also found batting tough, but they were tough enough to get over the line.

Mumbai Indians v Kings XI Punjab, IPL 2012, Mumbai

Marsh half-century wins it for Kings XI Punjab

Preview By Anoop Dubey

April 23,2012

Kings XI Punjab 164 for 4 (Marsh 68*, Pollard 2-14) beat Mumbai Indians 163 for 6 (Franklin 79, Awana 2-23) by six wickets 

Shaun Marsh's fighting half-century defied a Mumbai Indians that had Sachin Tendulkar back from injury, a different mix of internationals - James Franklin and Thisara Perera instead of Richard Levi and Davy Jacobs - and a strangling spell from Kieron Pollard to give Kings XI Punjab a hard-fought win. Kings XI have extended their dominance over Mumbai to six wins from nine matches in IPL history and have got their 2012 campaign back on track, after they lost four of their opening six fixtures.

A spirited and committed performance in the field allowed Kings XI to keep Mumbai to a manageable total. But, not for the first time in this IPL, they fell behind with the bat after a solid start. Marsh had to contend with Pollard's near heroics, as he nipped out Mandeep Singh and David Hussey, who were both well settled. The required run-rate soared to over 11 runs to the over but Marsh whittled the total down, before striking two decisive blows, off Munaf Patel and Perera in the last two overs. Both shots went for six, giving Kings XI room to breathe and David Miller five deliveries to get the winning runs.

  Kings XI's reply began methodically, right down to the scoring pattern. The openers scored 10 runs off the first over and six off the second, in that pattern, for six overs. As the start grew from solid to threatening, an increasingly frustrated Munaf, who was being targeted by the opening pair, was guilty of misfields and a mini-tantrum. If Mandeep and Saini were shaken by the sparks that were flying around them, they hid it well, and accumulated their runs through a series of proper cricket shots, elegant pulls and well-timed drives.

West Indies v Australia, 2nd Test, Port-of-Spain, 5th day

Rain ends prospect of intriguing finish

Report By Anoop Dubey

April 20,2012

Australia 311 (Hussey 73, Watson 56, Roach 5-105) and 160 for 8 dec (Ponting 41, Roach 5-41) drew with West Indies 257 (Chanderpaul 94, Lyon 5-68) and 53 for 2

As it had threatened to do the weather had the final say in Port-of-Spain and end the prospect of a fascinating finish after both captains took up each other's challenge to force a positive result. Michael Clarke declared to leave West Indies a target of 215 in 61 overs then Darren Sammy promoted himself to No. 3 as the hosts reached 53 for 2 when they were forced off which meant Australia retained the Frank Worrell Trophy.

  The visitors had found progress hard going during the morning session and after losing Clarke and Ricky Ponting in quick succession had to guard against a more damaging collapse. Australia's first boundary did not come until the 10th over of the day when Ponting flicked Fidel Edwards to fine leg and two balls later Ponting hooked a well-directed bouncer straight to deep square-leg.

It was due reward for Edwards, who had toiled without luck during this match while Roach picked up the wickets, and meant Ponting did not covert his hard work. His 41 was more than he had made in his previous eight international innings combined but the mode of dismissal was likely to start more debate.

Delhi v Deccan, IPL, Delhi

Pietersen ton keeps Deccan winless

Posted By Anoop Dubey

April 20,2012

Delhi Daredevils 162 for 5 (Pietersen 103*, Steyn 2-19) beat Deccan Chargers 157 for 8 (Parthiv 45*, Nadeem 3-16) by five wickets 

Deccan Chargers dropped Kevin Pietersen three times on his way to 103, the second century of IPL 2012. It was an innings that condemned Chargers to their fourth defeat this season and left them winless at the bottom of the table. After taking three early wickets in defense of a below-par 157, Chargers were on course to turn their fortunes around, but Pietersen denied them. He took Delhi Daredevils to the top of the table with his authoritative knock, his highest score in Twenty20 cricket and hit most sixes in an IPL innings this season - nine.

Daredevils held the advantage from the halfway mark. Left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem and Morne Morkel took three wickets apiece to keep to pull Chargers back from 101 for 2 after 11 overs. Despite another spell of fury from Dale Steyn, Chargers were unable to keep Daredevils from joining Rajasthan Royals at the top of the table, with a game in hand.

Chargers began strongly in the field when Naman Ojha looked to launch IPL debutant Veer Pratap Singh over the off side but was caught by JP Duminy. It brought Pietersen to the crease earlier than expected and he could have been sent back off the second ball he faced. Steyn bowled an inswinger that cut Pietersen in half as it beat him but Pietersen responded by flicking Steyn for four through midwicket. The next over Pietersen pulled Steyn to short midwicket where Bharat Chipli should have taken the catch to send him on his way for six, but spilled it. 

Chennai Super Kings v Pune Warriors, Chennai

Chennai hold nerve in tight game

Report By Anoop Dubey

April 20,2012

Chennai Super Kings 164 for 5 (du Plessis 58, Badrinath 57, Samuels 3-39) beat Pune Warriors 151 for 7 (Mathews 27, Kulasekara 2-10) by 13 runs

Chennai Super Kings raised their game in front of their home supporters to even the score with Pune Warriors, to whom they had lost five days ago. Warriors needed 21 off the last over, achievable by this tournament's standards, but couldn't finish the job. The Warriors had their moments with the bat but couldn't sustain their partnerships, thanks to some sharp catching and miserly death bowling by the hosts.

On a pitch with variable bounce, and the sapping humidity to deal with, it was a commendable effort by Super Kings' Faf du Plessis and S Badrinath to stage the first century opening stand of the season, 116. The surface was slow, and as a result, the openers used their feet against the seamers to get to the pitch of the ball.

Du Plessis was dropped early in his innings - albeit a tough chance - but he continued to look positive, lofting Bhuvneshwar Kumar to the second tier over long-on and then chipping down the track in a 14-run over, the costliest in the first half of the innings. He had another let-off on 40, when he went down the track to Marlon Samuels and was beaten by the low bounce, only for the wicketkeeper Robin Uthappa to fluff a stumping. Luck was on his side again the following over, when on 51, he attempted a quick single to cover, turned back and dived at the crease. The third umpire studied several replays but gave du Plessis the benefit of the doubt as he wasn't convinced that the bail was completely off the groove before he made his ground.

Badrinath vindicated the decision to replace the out-of-form M Vijay at the top by getting a fifty of his own. He was circumspect against the spinners, and didn't always find the right timing, especially with the slog. But three consecutive boundaries off Bhuvneshwar fast-tracked him to his half-century. 

West Indies v Australia, 2nd Test, Port-of-Spain, 4th day

Roach fires out top order but rain intervenes

Posted By Anoop Dubey

April 18,2012

Australia 311 and 73 for 3 (Ponting 32*, Roach 3-27) lead West Indies 257 (Chanderpaul 94, Lyon 5-68) by 127 runs

Heavy rain on the fourth day in Port-of-Spain severely reduced the chances of a positive result as Australia closed 127 ahead following a hostile spell from Kemar Roach who removed the top of the visitors' batting. Ricky Ponting was threatening to play his first major innings of the series to keep West Indies at bay before the weather closed in early during the afternoon and did not allow the players back.

Roach has been the stand-out fast bowler during a match dominated by spin and added another impressive collection of scalps to his first-innings five-wicket haul. Australia had wrapped up West Indies' innings four balls into the day, to earn a 54-run cushion, and Roach had to wait for his opening spell when Shane Shillingford started the attack alongside Fidel Edwards. Roach, though, wasted no time in making an impact when his turn arrived.

Starting from round the wicket, a line that has troubled Australia's left-handers, he drew an edge from David Warner which carried low to Darren Bravo at first slip. Warner had flirted with the catching cordon during his stay although had started with three crisp boundaries. Then, three deliveries later, Roach beat Shane Watson for pace with a ball that perhaps kept a fraction low and took out the off stump to leave Australia 26 for 2.

Kings XI Punjab v Kolkata Knight Riders, Mohali

Clinical Kolkata trounce Punjab

Posted By Anoop Dubey

April 19,2012

Kolkata Knight Riders 127 for 2 (Gambhir 66*) beat Kings XI Punjab 124 for 7 (Gilchrist 40*, Lee 2-26, Narine 2-24) by eight wickets 

In one of the more one-sided games of the tournament, Kolkata Knight Riders breezed to an eight-wicket win and made amends for fluffing a chase against the same opponents, Kings XI Punjab, three days ago. A deflated Kings XI limped to 124 on their home surface after winning the toss but there were no twists as Knight Riders, led by Gautam Gambhir, attained the target with a risk-free approach.

   The pitch had a layer of grass and offered movement off the seam, but it didn't have the kind of moisture that gave the bowlers an edge in the previous Mohali game, against Pune Warriors. Nevertheless, the batsmen didn't have the freedom to hit through the line - a staple fare in the plenty of games so far in the IPL.

None of the Kings XI batsmen could bat through. Adam Gilchrist kept the momentum going with a couple of boundaries through the on side, but pulled a hamstring while completing a quick single. He had to retire, and his untimely departure in the sixth over dented the run-rate.

Kings XI were going along at 7.50 but post-Gilchrist, it had declined to as low as 5.93. The Knight Riders bowlers didn't allow any big partnerships to develop, nothing higher than 24.

Much depended on Marsh to give the team momentum, but he departed for 33, albeit in controversial circumstances. He chased a wide delivery from Lee shaping away and got a thick outside edge which dipped to the wicketkeeper, but Manvinder Bisla immediately claimed the catch. The umpires conferred and took Bisla's word, but replays couldn't confirm if he had his gloves underneath the ball. Marsh accepted the ruling, but the team owner Preity Zinta didn't appear too pleased with the decision, querying one of the match officials before Gilchrist stepped in to restore calm.  

Delhi Daredevils v Deccan Chargers, IPL 2012, Delhi

Chargers face Daredevils' pace battery

Report By Anoop Dubey

April 18,2012

Big picture

Delhi Daredevils' stocks in the tournament have risen higher after their bowlers masterminded a seven-wicket win over Mumbai Indians. While other teams have been busy putting up and chasing down totals in excess of 160, Daredevils' hustling pace has razed three strong batting line-ups to scores below 110. The only game that they lost was to Royal Challengers Bangalore, partially due to the inexperience of their middle order and partially, due to the guile of Muttiah Muralitharan who took three wickets. However, that batting order has been beefed up since then. With the influx of Ross Taylor in the last game, their batting looks as intimidating as their bowling. Daredevils will need to be careful though, as their batting firepower hasn't been tested yet. In all four games, they have batted second after their bowlers had done the job. 

Deccan Chargers on the other hand have lost three games in a row - the last two slipped through their fingers. Although such defeats can be disheartening, Kumar Sangakkara could take positives out from the fact that their relatively inexperienced team has had their chances. They have just missed that one last push. Dale Steyn and Amit Mishra will both need to fire in tandem and their fielding needs to inspire.

Daredevils test is as hard as it gets for Chargers. It could be a daunting challenge, but it could also kindle the fire inside the big names among Chargers' ranks. Both teams will hope to win the toss and avoid fielding first in the sun. However, sun or no sun, Daredevils bowlers should be a handful.

Umesh Yadav has been cranking up the pace in every game and has proven to be a difficult bowler to hit. In his last match, he took out Kieron Pollard and Dinesh Karthik, beating both batsmen for pace. Such was his accuracy that he didn't give away a single boundary in his four-over spell.

Chargers replaced a struggling Cameron White with JP Duminy and his 26-ball 58 pushed the team to 196, which had looked improbable. Duminy, who hit five sixes in his innings, can also hold an innings together if required.

                    Daredevils played Chargers twice in 2011. They lost their home game by 16 runs while a Sehwag century helped them win the second by four wickets in Hyderabad 

Royal Challengers Bangalore v Pune Warriors, Bangalore

De Villiers, Gayle help Bangalore edge thriller

Posted By Anoop Dubey

April 18,2012

Royal Challengers Bangalore 186 for 4 (Gayle 81, Tiwary 36*, de Villiers 33*) beat Pune Warriors 182 for 6 (Uthappa 69, Ryder 34, Samuels 34) by six wickets

 Chris Gayle was going at around a run a ball against some tight bowling. Then he calmly decided to shift gears. The bowling ceased to matter; five consecutive sixes came against the bowler with one of the best economy-rates in the IPL, Rahul Sharma. Treating that Rahul over as an aberration, Pune Warriors responded with more tight bowling, with Ashish Nehra yorking Gayle. But AB de Villiers and Saurabh Tiwary hit 24 off the final over, bowled by Nehra, to pull off an improbable win, Royal Challengers Bangalore's first in four games.

Warriors were stunned but they recovered quickly. Ashok Dinda, battling a painful side strain, conceded just 12 in two overs, including seven off the penultimate one with Royal Challengers needing 28 from 12. In between, Nehra had, for once, found the perfect yorker to send Gayle back for 81 off 48.

De Villiers and Tiwary kept the Royal Challengers in the hunt, hitting a six each to take 16 off the 18th over bowled by Angelo Mathews. Dinda's final over, the19th, seemed to have left Royal Challengers too much to get in the 20th over - 21.

De Villiers scrambled outside off to play the scoop off the second delivery in the final over, arming it past the wicketkeeper for four. Nehra delivered a low full toss and a length ball next. De Villiers smoked one straight down the ground for six; the next one was scooped nervelessly for another six over fine leg. With three needed off the last ball, Tiwary swung a length ball over the long-on boundary even as the rain came pouring down. Marlon Samuels, who had gone for under three an over, had two overs left.

Kings XI Punjab v Kolkata Knight Riders, IPL 2012, Mohali

Will Gambhir have reason to smile?

Preview By Anoop Dubey

April 18,2012

Three days after they failed to chase 132 after having been 73 for 2 at home against Kings XI Punjab, Kolkata Knight Riders run into the same team again, this time in Mohali. The Eden Gardens game was Knight Riders' to lose; they went ahead and and somehow contrived to lose it, failing to get 13 off the final 12 deliveries. It was one of those Knight Riders defeats that just happened though they had no business getting defeated. There are numerous sides that fail to win from strong positions, but the underachievers tag has stuck particularly hard to Knight Riders, not least due to the many big players they have.

The slow and turning Kolkata pitch has worked against them twice in three games now; even in the third match, they had to work hard to get past Rajasthan Royals. A change of venue and wicket would be welcome for the visitors. However, the Kings XI medium-pacers, led by Dimitri Mascarenhas, proved difficult to get away on the Mohali pitch against Pune Warriors.

Gautam Gambhir was livid after the loss to Kings XI in Kolkata, saying that his batsmen needed to play "intelligent cricket." Strong decisions would be taken unless players started performing, Gambhir said. Gambhir hasn't exactly done that himself so far, apart from a 64 against Royal Challengers Bangalore. That innings set up Knight Riders' first win of the season after consecutive losses. Gambhir needs to show his misfiring team-mates the way again.

While Gambhir has at least one match-winning innings so far, his counterpart Adam Gilchrist has failed to get going. The retired Gilchrist plays only in the IPL, which makes it only more difficult for him at the start of the season. The sooner he finds some form, the better for his side 

Rajasthan Royals v Deccan Chargers, IPL 2012, Jaipur

Rajasthan consign Deccan to third defeat

Report By Anoop Dubey

April 18,2012

Rajasthan Royals 197 for 5 (Hodge 48*, Mishra 3-32) beat Deccan Chargers 196 for 2 (Duminy 58*, Dhawan 52) by five wickets 

Not even eight days rest, their best efforts with the bat and Amit Mishra's three wickets were enough to earn Deccan Chargers a first win in IPL 2012. After Kumar Sangakkara and Shikhar Dawan put on the highest first-wicket partnership of the season, and JP Duminy and Daniel Christian blasted 77 off the last five overs, Chargers piled on a hefty score for Rajasthan Royals to chase, but they were unable to defend it on a flat pitch with small boundaries.

Rahul Dravid and Ajinkya Rahane did the groundwork and Brad Hodge finished off fiercely. Almost everything Chargers did, Royals did better. Although Dravid and Rahane shared a stand of only 62, compared to Sangakkara and Dhawan's 94 , the Royals pair scored at a faster rate. They went at 10.62 runs to the over compared to Sangakkara and Dhawan's 8.81. Chargers had amassed 119 for 2 after 15 overs, Royals had the same score after 13. Duminy's 58 came at a strike rate of 223.07, Brad Hodge's 48 came at a strike rate of 228.57, and that was perhaps the difference between the two sides...

Royals Challengers v/s Rajasthan Royals, IPL 2012,Banglore

Centurion Rahane stars in big win for Royals

Royal Challengers v/s Rajasthan Royals, IPL 2012, Banglore

Report By Anoop Dubey
April 16,2012

Rajasthan Royals 195 for 2 (Rahane 103*, Shah 60) beat Royal Challengers Banglore by 59 runs

The game was effectively over when the players walked off for the innings break. Ajinkya Rahane's blistering, unbeaten 103 brought up the first century of IPL 2012, propelling Rajasthan Royals to 195 against an already battered Royal Challengers Bangalore. Assisted by Owais Shah's equally intimidating 60, the Royals piled on a score way beyond reach for the hosts and such was the dominance that the chase turned out to be a tepid affair.

Rahane also smashed six consecutive fours off an over - the first in Twenty20 history, S Aravind being the unfortunate bowler. Rahane and Shah - ten years apart - didn't just deliver for the team's cause but also nudged their respective national team selectors ahead of the World Twenty20, each getting two big scores so far this IPL. Their bowlers - led bySiddharth Trivedi - backed them up, hitting their targets like efficient salesmen, getting six batsmen bowled.

Chennai Super kings v/s Royal Challengers Banglore, IPL 2012

Morkel blitz blindsides Banglore

Anoop Dubey

April 13,2012

Chennai Superkings 208 for 5 beat Banglore 205 for 8 by five wickets..

Albie Morkel ransacked 28 runs off the first six balls he faced-the 19th over-to pull an incredible heist for Chennai Super Kings, the second highest successful run-chase in IPL history...

Quote-Unquote

"You've got some second-rate Australians getting gigs here"..

Delhi Daredevils v Chennai Super Kings, IPL 2012, Delhi 

Delhi crush listless Chennai

Report By Anoop Dubey

April 11,2012                                                          Delhi Daredevils 111 for 2 (Pietersen 43*, Sehwag 33) beat Chennai Super Kings 110 for 8 (M Morkel 2-19) by eight wickets

Chennai Super Kings were disappointing with the bat for the second time in three games and their confused running allowed Delhi Daredevils to restrict them to their second-lowest total in the IPL for a comprehensive win. Three of the first four Super Kings batsmen ran themselves out as neither Daredevils' bowlers nor their fielders let up on the pressure.

Off the first ball of the game, M Vijay responded too eagerly to a call for a single from Faf du Plessis only for the latter to stop after taking a few steps. Vijay was almost at the other end and had no chance of making it back. Such chaos was to be a feature of the innings. Suresh Raina went too far down the pitch in search of a tight single but could not make it back in time; S Badrinath was to meet a similar fate a couple of overs later.

        It did not help Super Kings that after hitting three boundaries and looking in fine touch, du Plessis found extra cover off Morne Morkel with another drive. It allowed Daredevils to come back from Irfan Pathan's second over, the third of the innings, which went for 14. Raina slogged a couple of sixes over the on side before contriving to dismiss himself. The last thing Super Kings wanted was for Daredevils wicketkeeper Naman Ojha to pull off a stunning diving catch off Ravindra Jadeja's outside edge.

With Super Kings struggling on 66 for 5, Daredevils were able to exert even more pressure through their left-arm spinners Roelof van der Merwe and Shahbaz Nadeem. The duo conceded just 24 runs off seven overs between them. Super Kings' final hope was the pair of Dwayne Bravo and MS Dhoni but they failed to push on after adding 23 in 41 balls. Super Kings' crawl was summed up by Bravo playing out seven consecutive dot balls against the spinners.

After plodding along to 11 off 18, Dhoni could not clear long-on off Morne Morkel as he tried to break free in the 18th over. Bravo followed in the 19th, and Super Kings signed off their innings with one more run-out in the last over.

Daredevils' first wicket, Naman Ojha, was also to fall courtesy a run-out but he had already launched the chase in style with three fours in three balls off Albie Morkel. Virender Sehwag sealed the issue with 33 off 21, including a back-foot punch off Albie Morkel that went for six over deep extra cover.

Kevin Pietersen and Mahela Jayawardene had too much class to allow Super Kings a whiff of a comeback as the visitors slumped to their biggest defeat in terms of balls remaining. 

Bangalore v Kolkata, IPL 2012, Bangalore

Kolkata seal season's maiden win

Kolkata Knight Riders 165 for 8 (Gambhir 64, R Vinay Kumar 2-18) beat Royal Challengers Bangalore 123 for 9 (Vinay Kumar 25, Balaji 4-18) by 42 runs 

L Balaji bowled Kolkata Knight Riders to their first victory in IPL 2012 against a strong Royal Challengers Bangalore batting line-up. He formed part of a destructive, three-pronged Knight Riders' pace attack that saw Brett Lee create pressure and Jacques Kallis get the early breakthroughs.

Their consistent line outside the off stump and slightly shorter length had the Royal Challengers' batsmen tied down. The required run-rate eventually soared out of control, leaving the home side playing catch-up throughout.

One of Kallis' two early strikes removed the biggest threat in the Royal Challengers line-up, Chris Gayle, before he could do any damage. After having Cheteshwar Pujara caught at slip with a ball that angled into him and bounced a little more than usual, Kallis simply presented Gayle with a short ball. With only a single added to the total after Pujara was dismissed, Gayle's shot was a response to pressure and he top-edged a pull to midwicket.

                Responsibility then fell on Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers' shoulders and neither was able to get the job done as Balaji brought a second wave of attack. Kohli was beaten twice by Balaji before getting a leading edge to point. De Villiers followed in the next over, bowled by a beautiful delivery which angled in from a good length and straightened to hit the off stump.

Balaji continued to trouble the batsmen with his line. He had further reward when Mayank Agarwal spooned a catch to extra cover and then bowled Daniel Vettori with a slower ball to complete his quadruple haul. He should have had a fifth when Saurabh Tiwary swung violently and presented Shakib Al Hasan with a simple catch at deep square-leg that was fluffed.

By the time Balaji had finished his quota, Royal Challengers were 61 for 6 after 12 overs. Tiwary was the only recognised batsmen at the crease and the required run rate was over 13. It ballooned to over 30 as the innings neared an end, ensuring the Knight Riders were able to comfortably defend a total that, at the halfway mark, appeared a few short. 

West Indies v Australia, 1st Test, Bridgetown, 4th day

Australia turn tables on wobbly West Indies

West Indies 449 for 9 dec and 71 for 5 (Hilfenhaus 3-17) lead Australia 406 for 9 dec (Clarke 73, Harris 68*, Roach 3-72) by 114 runs

How quickly this game can change. West Indies started the fourth day searching for a way to turn their dominance into a victory. They ended it hoping to avoid defeat. In between, Ryan Harris led an outstanding tail-end fightback from Australia that allowed Michael Clarke to make a bold declaration from behind, a decision that was justified when Ben Hilfenhaus scythed through the top three West Indies batsmen in the first five overs of their second innings.

As tea approached, it was hard to tell who was wobblier, the West Indies batsmen or the rummies in Kensington Oval's Party Stand. At least the spectators had an excuse for their lack of stability. Clarke's declaration gave West Indies half an hour to bat before the break and when it arrived they were 4 for 3. Australia's last three pairs had just added 156 runs between them. It was about as disastrous a period as West Indies could have endured.

In a few crazy hours, all the hard work the hosts had done over the first three days evaporated. By stumps, they had steadied a little, but only a little, and they finished the day at 71 for 5, with Narsingh Deonarine on 20 and Carlton Baugh on 2. It meant West Indies held a slim lead of 114 runs and with only five wickets in hand, they still needed a solid batting performance on the fifth morning to prevent the Australians chasing a small target.

The pitch had started to show some variable bounce but after the way their tail-enders batted, Australia would fancy their chances of chasing a target of around 200. For West Indies, much rested on the shoulders of Deonarine, a man with a point to prove after he was told by the coach Ottis Gibson he was on probation having been recalled to the side for the first time in nearly two years.

Kolkata Knight Riders v Delhi Daredevils, IPL 2012, Kolkata

Delhi duo up against each other

The Preview By Anoop Dubey

April 5,2012

Related Links Series/Tournaments: Indian Premier League Teams: Delhi Daredevils | India | Kolkata Knight Riders

Big picture

They are team-mates, opening partners and friends, but on Thursday, Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir will knock gloves only at the toss, and will proceed to lead their respective IPL sides against each other. Personally, and internationally, if you were to take out Sehwag's ODI double-century, the duo has had an ordinary time of it. Gambhir hasn't scored a Test century in two years; Sehwag last managed one in November 2010. In that regard this could be a no-win situation: if they do really well as captains here, it won't make any difference to their current standing in international cricket, but failure will add up.

Sehwag's team, Delhi Daredevils, knows failure well from last year when they finished last. Kolkata Knight Riders' upswing under Gambhir, though, took them to the fourth spot. Daredevils, who have more ground to make, will have to do without Mahela Jayawardene, Kevin Pietersen and David Warner for the first few games, which will be a challenge. Knight Riders are more settled in that regard, and should start as favourites, especially given the home advantage of a traditionally tacky surface.

   Players to watch

Australia may or may not be relieved at his absence in the Test series, but Knight Riders are sure elated with their new acquisition, the all-sorts fingerspinner from Trinidad, Sunil Narine. His economy-rate of under five and average of under 15 speak for themselves.

Daredevils have tapped the West Indies Twenty20 freelance market to their advantage too, acquiring the services of the explosive allrounder Andre Russell. Like with Narine, there is no point holding back Russell either.

2011 head-to-head

Knight Riders and Daredevils played each other just once last year. Manoj Tiwary's 61 off 47 balls took Knight Riders to 148. Daredevils never came to terms with the slowness of the Kotla surface, and lost by 17.

Australia in West Indies 2012

Deonarine on probationary return - Gibson

Narsingh Deonarine's recall to the West Indies Test team to face Australia is a temporary solution to the absence of Marlon Samuels and has arrived despite continued reservations about his fitness, the coach Ottis Gibson has candidly admitted.

Deonarine acquitted himself well as a batsman in Australia in 2009-10, but after Gibson's 2010 appointment the left-hander was not offered a WICB contract due to poor fitness results. He has undergone a fresh round of testing ahead of the first Test of this series at the Kensington Oval in Barbados, and Gibson stated that Deonarine had to show visible improvement over the next three weeks.

 "He just needs to be himself," Gibson said. "I think sometimes one-day cricket lends itself to you having to go out in circumstances and play shots and maybe up the scoring rate or whatever's the case or consolidate when you've just lost a couple of wickets and stuff like that. Test cricket's very different, he goes out every day and starts over, [he should] just be himself and bat the way he batted, especially in India.

"He made a brilliant hundred in Bangladesh, but in India he was outstanding, and the Indians, from some of the fields that they set for him, it was clear they had obvious plans for him as well and he scored two Test hundreds. So he is somebody that we have a lot of confidence and belief in and somebody that will take us forward over the next couple of years.

"We're not worried about his form, we know what he's capable of and he tends to rise to the big occasion as well, so we're looking forward to seeing him bat over the next couple of weeks."

Sri Lanka v England, 2nd Test, Colombo, 3rd day

Pietersen's dazzling ton puts England in command

Sri Lanka 4 for 0 and 275 (Jayawardene 105, Swann 4-75) trail England 352 for 4 (Pietersen 106*, Cook 94) by 181 runs

A century of great bravado, and not a little theatre, by Kevin Pietersen sharpened England's anticipation of their first Test win of a troubled winter as they took a first-innings lead of 185 runs in the second Test in Colombo.

Pietersen brought chaos to Sri Lanka's ranks with a potent combination of imperious strokeplay and impatient slogs. His 151 came from 165 balls with 16 fours and six sixes and was a flamboyant contradiction of the suspicious, attritional cricket that had gone before. As he struck 88 runs between lunch and tea to transform the game, he played pretty much as he pleased. "I probably played a bit one-day modish, but I feel as if I'm in very good form so why not," he said.

   For Pietersen, it was all plain sailing. He had been riddled by doubt against Pakistan's spinners, Saeed Ajmal and Abdur Rehman, in the Test series, but Sri Lanka's slow bowlers - for all Herath's recovery -- were a grade below that class. When Suraj Randiv attempted an Ajmal-style doosra it pitched halfway down. He had a life on 82 when Dhammika Prasad deceived him with a slower ball but followed up with a slower attempt to catch.

IPL 2012

Dravid leads stronger batting unit

By Anoop Dubey

April 4,2012

The key to Rajasthan Royals' 2012 season will be how they handle the transition at the head of the team. Shane Warne, their inspirational captain and face of the franchise, retired. The man who succeeded Warne is a cricket icon of equal standing but of different temperament. Warne was loud, aggressive and loved being the centre of attention. Rahul Dravid is quiet, restrained and simply goes about his business.

What the two have in common though is the ability to lead by example and a deep knowledge of the game. Now that Dravid has retired from international cricket the IPL is his sole cricketing focus, and if anyone can manage the change in culture with as few hiccups as possible, it will be him.

        The key to Rajasthan Royals' 2012 season will be how they handle the transition at the head of the team. Shane Warne, their inspirational captain and face of the franchise, retired. The man who succeeded Warne is a cricket icon of equal standing but of different temperament. Warne was loud, aggressive and loved being the centre of attention. Rahul Dravid is quiet, restrained and simply goes about his business.

What the two have in common though is the ability to lead by example and a deep knowledge of the game. Now that Dravid has retired from international cricket the IPL is his sole cricketing focus, and if anyone can manage the change in culture with as few hiccups as possible, it will be him.

Chennai Super Kings v Mumbai Indians, IPL 2012, Chennai

Defending champions in tournament opener

A year ago, the hangover of the World Cup had barely ended before another exhausting tournament started. Fans dehydrated by the emotions of India's World Cup victory were now expected to show up in those numbers for the IPL. The fans and players had one thing in common - both were knackered. The scenario this year is not entirely different. India's horrific season must have drained them mentally. Their followers are tired of defeat. The next two months will reveal the fans' true faith in their own players.

   Indian cricket has come a full circle in a year, and the man at the epicentre is MS Dhoni, who's back to leading Chennai Super Kings tomorrow in the IPL opener against Mumbai Indians. Public memory is short, and all it could take is a few victories for his fans to restore their faith. The reshuffling of squads last year didn't affect the defending champions Super Kings. They thrived on a power-packed batting line-up, backed by a competent spin attack. They spent their auction purse in getting hold of a spinning-allrounder in Ravindra Jadeja. Dhoni, unfortunately, found himself shouldering too much burden as India captain, which affected his performances. If Super Kings are to succeed again, this squad, with varying degrees of experience, need to rally around him.

                            Mumbai are lucky to have their entire international contingent available for the season. Super Kings have a couple of injury concerns, but the core of their squad - barring Michael Hussey who is to join at the end of the month - is available. 

Sri Lanka v England, 2nd Test, Colombo, 2nd day

England openers make solid start

Tea England 83 for 0 (Strauss 42*, Cook 40*) trail Sri Lanka 275 (Jayawardene 105, Samaraweera 54, Mathews 57, Swann 4-74) by 192 runs

England have the captain they want and the debate they do not need, and Andrew Strauss was battling at the P Sara Oval to bring all the conjecture to an end. Strauss, an England captain in need of runs, was undefeated on 42 at tea, his alliance with Alastair Cook worth 83 as England made a careworn but secure start to their first innings.

     It would be easy to misconstrue England's painstaking approach as proof of the pressure brought about by four successive Test defeats and a captain whose position is under scrutiny for the first time. If that is the bigger picture, it was the minutiae of the match situation that carried considerably more weight, in particular an inhibiting surface that made adventurous strokeplay highly risky.

       Sri Lanka, 238-6 overnight, scored only 37 runs from 21 overs for the loss of their last four wickets on a somnolent morning as England's bowlers again summoned a disciplined performance with Graeme Swann, who is enjoying a late flurry of form as England's winter programme nears its end, taking 3 for 4 in 6.1 overs as his offspin found plenty of bite.

Interesting to see Harbhajan as a new captain

IPL 2012

Tendulkar steps down as Mumbai Indians captain

A Report By Anoop Dubey

April 3,2012

Sachin Tendulkar has stepped down as Mumbai Indians captain ahead of the IPL 2012 season-opener against Chennai. Harbhajan Singh, who was Tendulkar's deputy, has been appointed captain by the franchise after Tendulkar cited needing a "break'' in leadership duties as the reason.

  "Sachin Tendulkar, in discussion with the management of Mumbai Indians, has decided to hand over the responsibilities of captaining Mumbai Indians in season five of the IPL to ace offspinner Harbhajan Singh," a media release from the franchise stated.

  Tendulkar said that he had discussed the matter with the owners of the franchise before taking the decision. "At this point of time, I feel I need a break from the responsibility of captaincy of the Mumbai Indians," Tendulkar was quoted as saying in the release. "After due consideration, I discussed my intention to hand over the captaincy of the team to Harbhajan Singh, with Mukeshbhai [Ambani] and Nitabhabhi."

   In the four years Tendulkar was at helm, the best result Mumbai achieved was in the 2010 edition of the tournament, when they finished as runners-up to Chennai Super Kings.

IPL 2012

Sunil Narine to play entire IPL - Kolkata official

Sunil Narine, the West Indies spinner who was bought by Kolkata Knight Riders for $700,000 in the January player auction, will be available for the entire duration of the 2012 IPL, a franchise official has said. The IPL overlaps with West Indies' home Tests against Australia, and while Narine does not have a WICB contract and hasn't played a Test yet, his excellent form in the limited-overs series against Australia could have resulted in a call-up..

        Venky Mysore, the Knight Riders chief executive, told ESPNcricinfo that Narine will be landing in Kolkata today and is free to play in the tournament. Narine and the WICB had been in discussions behind the scenes but the West Indies coach, Otis Gibson, had admitted it would be difficult to stop Narine playing in the IPL if that was his preference. Narine, 23, has taken 34 first-class wickets at an average of 11.88.

Narine first attracted international attention during the 2011 Champions League T20. Opposing batsmen found his assortment of offbreaks and 'knuckle balls' difficult to pick and the most runs he conceded in any game was 26 against New South Wales. In the next match against the Super Kings, he took 3 for 8, accounting for Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni and M Vijay.

Sri Lanka v England, 2nd Test, Colombo, 1st day

Jayawardene defies England's bowlers again

Lunch Sri Lanka 155 for 4 (Jayawardene 74*, Samaraweera 54, Anderson 3-38) v England

In Colombo, life was much the same as Galle. England took three quick wickets to leave Sri Lanka's first innings in disarray only for Mahela Jayawardene, with a serenity that England will have found increasingly disturbing, to restore equilibrium by tea in the second Test.

 James Anderson took three Sri Lanka wickets in his first five overs of the day, but England's sole breakthrough in a taxing afternoon session came 10 minutes before tea when Tim Bresnan, playing his first Test of the winter after England omitted Monty Panesar, found a hint of reverse swing to have Thilan Samaraweera lbw.

  Jayawardene, by contrast, exuded calm, recapturing the mood that brought him 180 in Galle. The pitch had a mosaic of cracks and there was evidence to suggest that it will become slower and more uneven by the day. Jayawardene - and England - bedded in.

Time for Kolkata to make bigger leap

Anoop Dubey

April 2 ,2012

                                                                                 They have one of the world's fastest bowlers (Brett Lee); they have the most destructive batsman behind Chris Gayle in world cricket (Brendon McCullum); they have the most dependable batsman in all formats (Jacques Kallis); they have the world's best allrounder in ODIs (Shakib Al Hasan). And they are one of the most popular teams in the IPL, run by owners who rarely intrude on the team management. Probably, Kolkata are most balanced team in the IPL.

                                                                                 

After the controversies and shenanigans in the initial years involving Sourav Ganguly's stubbornness and John Buchannan's radical coaching methods, Kolkata appeared more settled last year with a new captain in Gautam Gambhir. Dav Whatmore has left to coach Pakistan, and a fellow Australian Trevor Bayliss has come in as replacement. Rudi Webster has been hired as a mental skills coach to help youngsters in dealing with high-pressure situations that are frequent in the Twenty20 format. Essentially Kolkata possess the perfect package which could help them progress from the fourth position - their best in the IPL - they finished at last season. The time has come for Kolkata to shed the pretender's role.

Probably they can learn from Mamata Banerjee, the chief minister of West Bengal, the state where the franchise has its home base. Banerjee is known for her ruthlessness, her radical decision-making and her daring - qualities that the team can imbibe if it wants to win the title. 

IPL 2012

Settled Super Kings eye more success

Anoop Dubey

April 2,2012

                          Runners-up, semi-finalists, champions, champions. Thus reads Chennai Super Kings' record across the first four seasons of the IPL. They have been the most consistent and successful team in the league by far, and are the most settled side as well, after retaining most of their squad in last year's shuffle.

   That they have a settled line-up was reflected in the 2012 auction, when they were willing to spend their entire purse on a single acquisition: Ravindra Jadeja. They were involved in a fierce bidding war for Jadeja with Deccan Chargers, and eventually beat them in the tie-breaker. Even so, Super Kings cannot afford any complacency and coach Stephen Fleming knows it. "There is a fine line between finishing first or indeed missing out on the finals," he said in an interview on the franchise's website. They have tread that line on several occasions - in 2008 and 2010 Super Kings faced a must-win situation in their last league game to make the semis, while last year they almost complicated things for themselves by delaying their launch till the very last moment in a stiff chase in the play-off against Royal Challengers Bangalore.

What a way to go

Players who were dismissed because they thought they were, because they wanted to be, because they didn't turn up at the ground, and for other unusual reasons

         Thought he was out caught

The sometime Test allrounder Graeme Watson had reached 145 in Western Australia's Sheffield Shield match against Queensland in Perth in 1971-72 when he cut a ball from Warwick Neville to Donald Allen in the gully and departed, convinced he had been caught. After play the umpires informed Watson that he hadn't been caught at all, and instructed the scorers to record the dismissal as "retired out". Quite why they didn't tell him before he left the pitch hasn't been explained. Just to show that nothing in cricket is new, a similar thing happened to the Surrey bowler James Southerton, when playing against MCC at The Oval in 1870. Wisden 1871 explained: "Southerton cut a ball hard on the ground, which Mr [WG] Grace at point caught from the bound. Southerton thought the ball went straight from the bat to Mr Grace's hands, but neither of the umpires, point, nor any other man but Southerton thought so (Mr Grace did not toss up the ball); however, Southerton walked away, and although called back, did not walk back, so he lost his innings."
                  Stumps broken by flying glove
Playing for Derbyshire against county champions Surrey at The Oval in 1953, Derbyshire's Alan Revill thought it was bad enough when he received a painful rap on the hand from a ball from Alec Bedser. But things soon got worse: while he was wringing his hand in discomfort, his glove flew off, back onto the stumps, and dislodged a bail. Revill, out hit-wicket, had plenty of time to inspect the damage back in the pavilion. 

Star TV bags rights for Indian cricket

Star TV, owned by Rupert Murdoch, has won the rights to broadcast Indian cricket for 2012-2018. The deal, which also includes internet and mobile rights, was valued at Rs 3851 crores (approximately $750 million) and covers 96 matches. The other bidder - at Rs 3700 crores, or $727 million - was Multi-Screen Media (Sony), which currently owns the rights to the IPL.

   Under the deal, Star TV will be paying approximately Rs.40 crores (US$7.86 million) for each match, significantly more than the Rs.32.5 crores (US$6.38 million) the previous broadcaster, Nimbus, had to pay for each match. The pricing is in two stages, Farooq Abdullah, chairman of the BCCI's marketing committee, told ESPNcricinfo: Rs 32.2 crores ($6.3 million) for the matches from 2012 to 2014 and Rs 43.20 crore ($8.5 million) for the matches from 2014 to 2018.

  The BCCI's marketing committee set the price for category A games at Rs 31.25 crores per match (approx $6.1 million) plus Rs 1 crore (approx $0.2 million) while category B games were set at Rs 34 crores (approx $6.67 million) plus Rs 1 crore. The contract with Nimbus had a base price of Rs 31.25 crores (approx $6.1 million) per game for each of the three formats purely for the broadcast rights.

The board did attempt to sell the internet rights separately last year, but the tender found no takers at the initial base price of Rs 3 crores (approx $0.6 million) or its subsequently reduced price of Rs 2 crores (approx $0.4 million)...

'I learned to retain my self-belief'

Last year he made his India debut at Old Trafford. Today Ajinkya Rahane is hoping to catch the selectors' attention once again. But setbacks don't worry him, they spur him on

         

        The dark navy blue Indian blazer hangs on a stand by the bed. We are in Ajinkya Rahane's room at the team hotel in Chennai on the day the Indian Test squad leaves for Australia, last December. Rahane, who had made his international debut only a few months ago in England, is happy that things are falling into place for him. He admits the prospect of playing in Australia - the pinnacle for every international cricketer - will keep him awake on the long flight to Melbourne.

 The previous afternoon Rahane had been beaten by the low bounce and the skiddy pace of Kemar Roach at Chepauk off the second ball of the fifth ODI against West Indies. It was the second duck of his short career, but being in the Indian dressing room had taught Rahane to remain positive.

  One of the most prolific batsmen on the domestic circuit, Rahane  Players tournament in Australia, where he had hit two centuries in the three first-class matches. It was mid-August when, one afternoon, while at home chatting with his mother, Rahane received a call from the office of the BCCI president. He was told he was flying to England as a replacement for Virender Sehwag, who was unfit.

The reality of it hit home only when people started phoning him. "I saw tears of happiness on my mom's face," Rahane recalls.

"I said, fine, I did not  opportunities on the Australian tour but I got to learn quite a few things. I learned to have a fighting attitude and retain my self-belief." Virtues that are important for a player with an Indian blazer in his wardrobe.