Pakistan news

Decision on Indo-Pak ties likely in June - Ashraf

Posted By Anoop Dubey

May 30,2012

The ICC's annual conference in Kuala Lumpur in June is where India and Pakistan could take significant steps towards the resumption of cricketing ties, with even the possibility of the announcement of a series, according to PCB chief Zaka Ashraf.

Ashraf is in Delhi for a few days after attending the IPL final (to which he was invited by the BCCI) in Chennai, and he told ESPNcricinfo, "Probably the final decision will be [taken] in Kuala Lumpur, where the ICC board of directors meeting will be held. There Mr Srinivasan and I will hold discussions, and maybe we will be able to formulate and announce something about the resumption of ties."

He denied that the two parties had already discussed or suggested a tentative schedule for a bilateral series during a gap in England's winter tour of India, when the England team will return home for a Christmas break. "The BCCI haven't conveyed that to us. What we see on the calendar is that the English team will continue to play matches. But that is now up to the BCCI, the ball is in their court. They have to think which slab is available, where there is a vacuum during which both of us can play. What we can play, what format … they have to take steps and let us know."

During his stay in Delhi on what was his first visit to India, Ashraf said he had met with the Pakistani high commissioner to India, Salman Bashir, and political leaders of several parties, ruling and opposition, whose names he did not wish to reveal.

India and Pakistan have not played each other in a bilateral series since December 2007. It is India's turn to tour Pakistan, but the country has not hosted an international series between two Full Members at home following the Lahore terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team bus in March 2009. Bilateral ties between India and Pakistan have been frozen since the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks. Pakistan, however, travelled to India to play in the semi-final of the 2011 World Cup.

Kolkata v Chennai, IPL 2012, final, Chennai

Kolkata take title after Bisla blitz

Posted By Anoop Dubey

May 29,2012

Kolkata Knight Riders 192 for 5 (Bisla 89, Kallis 69) beat Chennai Super Kings 190 for 3 (Raina 73, Hussey 54, Vijay 42) by five wickets

 There was a galaxy of former Indian cricketers in attendance, the brightest lights from Bollywood were in the stands, both teams had some of the biggest stars in the world game but the headlining performance came from little-known Manvinder Bisla as Kolkata Knight Riders prised the IPL trophy out of Chennai Super Kings' hands. Bisla, who was without a Ranji Trophy side last season, made a mockery of his previous career Twenty20 strike-rate of 106 to play a jack-in-the-box innings that helped overhaul what had seemed a mountainous Super Kings total.

The title seemed headed Super Kings' way for the third year in a row, when for the third match in a row a seemingly out of form Super Kings batsman played a blinder - this time it was Suresh Raina - and the rock of Knight Riders' batting Gautam Gambhir was bowled in the first over.

All that changed when Bisla intervened. Virtually every ball he faced, he either jumped beyond leg to make room or danced down the track to get close to the pitch of the ball as he unleashed a series of lofted extra cover drives to dent Super Kings. The first signs of trouble for the defending champions was when Bisla crashed Albie Morkel for four off-side fours in the fourth over to kickstart Knight Riders's innings.

The experienced Jacques Kallis stroked the singles to allow Bisla most of the strike, and Bisla, getting a game ahead of the regular wicketkeeper-batsman Brendon McCullum, showed no signs of the pressure of a big occasion getting to him. A slower one from Dwayne Bravo was dispatched for six in the next over, and R Ashwin, who has played a leading role in Super Kings successes over the past three seasons, was hit over his head for a couple of classy sixes. After half an hour of Bisla's pyrotechnics, Knight Riders were the team in charge and even the usually unfazed MS Dhoni was giving a heated lecture to his team during the time-out.

A century seemed for the taking for Bisla, but he was undone by Morkel's slower one, holing out to point for 86. Kallis then switched from watchful to wallop. The decision to promote Laxmi Shukla to No. 4 failed, but Kallis played one of the shots of the match, a perfectly placed lofted drive that bisected extra cover and long-off for four. That was followed by a heart-in-the-mouth moment as Kallis swung the ball towards deep midwicket where Michael Hussey held on to a tough catch but couldn't prevent himself from going over the rope.

Yusuf Pathan's horrendous 2012 season came to a fitting end as he top-edged a sweep to be dismissed for 1. Ben Hilfenhaus, who took out Gambhir early and bowled a probing spell with the new ball, returned for his final over in the 19th and he injected more excitement into the game by getting a cramping Kallis to slice a catch to sweeper cover. Hilfenhaus undid that by bowling a full toss that was no-balled for height and following up with another full toss that was nervelessly scooped for four by Shakib Al Hasan.

The tournament entered its final over with Knight Riders needing nine. There were just two singles off the first two balls, including some panicky running, but Manoj Tiwary settled the five-season wait for a trophy with two boundaries behind square leg to spark scenes of wild celebrations.

Chennai v Delhi, 2nd qualifier, IPL 2012, Chennai

Do Delhi have big-match temperament?

Preview By Anoop Dubey

April 25,2012

Virender Sehwag and Delhi Daredevils are in a familiar position. Like this year, they had utterly dominated the 2009 season, before their mighty batting line-up faltered in the semi-final, much like their flop against Kolkata Knight Riders on Tuesday. This time though, with the changed format, they get a second opportunity.

One of Daredevils' puzzling decisions in the game against Knight Riders was to send in Ross Taylor as low as No. 7, below even teenager Pawan Negi, who is in the side primarily as a left-arm spinner and isn't known for his batting exploits. TA Sekar, Daredevils' team mentor, said the team had reassessed its batting order the game; so Taylor can expect to bat at a more customary position on Friday.

Chennai Super Kings are also in a familiar position. Once again, they seem to be at their best in the final stages of the tournament. After several days of nervously watching other teams' results go their way, Super Kings looked unstoppable when they took apart Mumbai Indians on Wednesday.

They have always looked like the team with the greatest depth in their batting, and that was amply demonstrated against Mumbai Indians. Even after losing M Vijay and the IPL's highest run-scorer Suresh Raina as early as the second over, their crisis men Michael Hussey and S Badrinath stabilised the innings, before the flamboyance of MS Dhoni and Dwayne Bravo switched the innings mode from build to blast. Even without using the heavy-hitting of Albie Morkel, even against the bowling of Lasith Malinga, Super Kings ran up 187 and coasted to victory.

The trouble for Super Kings is that they need to bring their A game three times in five days, to beat each of other three playoff teams, if they are to make it a hat-trick of titles. They have done it once. Can they do it a second time on Friday?

England v West Indies, 1st Test, Lord's, 5th day

Cook and Bell see England home

Posted By Anoop Dubey

May 22,2012

England 398 (Strauss 122) and 193 for 5 (Cook 79, Bell 63*, Roach 3-60) beat West Indies 243 (Chanderpaul 87*, Broad 7-72) and 345 (Chanderpaul 91, Samuels 86, Broad 4-93) by 5 wickets

West Indies had commanded respect and, for a fleeting moment, they even invited hope among their long-suffering supporters but at the end of the Lord's Test it was a familiar tale of defeat. Two early wickets briefly raised West Indies' expectations that a startling victory might be in their grasp but they were summarily dashed as Alastair Cook and Ian Bell swept England to a comfortable five-wicket victory.

From 57 for 4, still 134 short of victory, Cook and Bell should have been under pressure, but they gambolled along at roughly four runs an over in a stand of 132. It ended with England two short of victory when Cook chopped Darren Sammy to gully. Ian Bell, who is already beginning to look like his old self again after a torrid winter, flicked Marlon Samuels through mid-on for the winning boundary in the next over.

The sun that is now finally promised after a raggy-arsed spring will have been a relief for West Indies, but it shone upon on an England victory that has put them 1-0 up in the series with two to play.

West Indies have now won just two of their 31 Tests since they dismissed England for 51 in Jamaica in 2009. They have only a few days to reassess before the second Test begins in Nottingham on Friday. All manner of theories will be bandied around about which absent players might have made them better, but the debate should not be about absent individuals, it should be about the reason most of them are absent - and that debate is about how the financial lure of IPL is threatening Test cricket, and Caribbean cricket in particular. There must be a window, a compromise, a solution. Instead what we have is a short-sighted flexing of muscles.

Apart from Kemar Roach, no West Indies bowler was able to build much pressure. England will feel stronger for having to answer a few questions and Tim Bresnan, who does not much look like a lucky mascot, which tend to be cuddlier and fluffier, now has 12 Test wins in 12. Mascot or not, it is about the identity of their third seamer at Trent Bridge that England's own debate will most centre.

There were no 4am queues as there had been at Lord's for the final day against India a year earlier but expectancy was high and there were officially 7,000 in the ground for a final day that many had assumed would not happen. West Indies had given England a fiery four overs on the fourth evening but they needed early wickets to stir the imagination a second time.

Deccan v Bangalore, IPL 2012, Hyderabad

Steyn, Duminy help Deccan knock out RCB

Posted By Anoop Dubey

May 21,2012

Deccan Chargers 132 for 7 (Duminy 74, Vinay 3-22) beat Royal Challengers Bangalore 123 for 9 (Kohli 42, Steyn 3-8, Ashish Reddy 3-25) by 9 runs 

Royal Challengers Bangalore imploded in their most crucial match of the season and failed to qualify for the playoffs after choking in a low-scoring chase. Their defeat in Hyderabad allowed Chennai Super Kings to hang on to fourth spot at the end of the league stage.

Deccan Chargers scratched to 132 on a slow pitch, but their bowlers and fielders lifted the gloom of their campaign with a performance that brought the tournament's most intimidating batting line-up to its knees. Chargers, who spent most of the season languishing at the bottom, left Pune Warriors holding the wooden spoon and moved to eighth spot.

The game was Royal Challengers' to lose. A target of 133 should not have been too daunting for their top heavy batting line-up. The chase had several turning points - Chris Gayle's dismissal, Dale Steyn's first three overs and Virat Kohli's rush of blood, to name a few. Steyn was unplayable with figures of 4-0-8-3, but crucially, he found support from the slower bowlers. Amit Mishra took two in an over to set Royal Challengers back and Ashish Reddy frustrated the batsmen with slower balls in the final stages.

Gayle has largely determined Royal Challengers' fortunes this season, by combining big hits with longevity at the crease. He has, on occasion, started sedately before embarking on a boundary barrage. Today Gayle batted as though he was determined to finish in ten overs, pounding 24 in Manpreet Gony's first over, the second of the innings.

In the third, Gayle had to face Steyn, bowling at serious pace. After ducking under a short ball aimed at his head, Gayle tried to make room by moving towards leg and bottom edged another fast short ball on to his stumps. Steyn then had Tillakaratne Dilshan lbw in his next over, and Royal Challengers were 40 for 2 when Saurabh Tiwary retired hurt after straining a hamstring in the sixth.

An overthrow that cost six runs was the only major blip on an unusually good day in the field for Chargers. Duminy's leaping catch at short cover to get rid of AB de Villiers was an example of their improvement. The tension was palpable in the Royal Challengers camp as de Villiers walked back, because their tail began at No.7.

Tiwary returned in the tenth over after Mishra's double-strike. He and Kohli kept Royal Challengers in the hunt during their brisk stand of 46, which came at 7.45 runs an over. The plan seemed to be to knock off as many as possible before Steyn returned for his final over. Kohli swung Ashish Reddy over long-on but a repeat of that shot the following ball found the fielder. A furious Kohli swung his bat at thin air in frustration.

Steyn returned to knock down Zaheer Khan's middle stump to round off another dream spell. The game was all but sealed for Chargers as the asking rate proved too demanding for Royal Challengers' tail. Kohli sat at the dug out with his pads on, hands on his face, wondering what could have been.

Delhi Daredevils v Kings XI Punjab, IPL, Kotla

Mahela guides Delhi into playoffs

Posted By Anoop Dubey

Delhi Daredevils 140 for 5 (Jayawardene 56*, Awana 3-22) beat Kings XI Punjab 136 for 8 (Hussey 40*, Yadav 3-21, Aaron 2-19) by five wickets

Mahela Jayawardene's half-century may have been the slowest for Delhi Daredevils this season but it was compiled under trying circumstances and helped his team become the first side to qualify for the playoffs. Jayawardene's composure under pressure ensured that an incisive fast-bowling performance from Varun Aaron and Umesh Yadav, which restricted Kings XI Punjab to a middling total, was not in vain. With a place in the top four secure, Daredevils need to win only one of their last two games to secure No. 1 position.

Kings XI, on the other hand, needed victory tonight and in their remaining two games to be assured of a playoff spot. They cannot afford another defeat and will have to depend on net run-rate and on a permutation of results in other matches to qualify. Kings XI had persevered to make a below-par total competitive in their first clash against Daredevils - this season's 64th game - but did not have enough runs in the end.

Daredevils unleashed their quick bowlers, supported by a crack fielding unit, and a steady fall of wickets ensued after Kings XI chose to bat. They had made a brisk start but Aaron ended that with his first ball: Shaun Marsh caught glancing down the leg side. In his second over, Aaron had the free-swinging Mandeep Singh pulling to midwicket, where Virender Sehwag dived forward to take a low catch.

Kings XI were progressing well, though, and reached 50 for 2 in 6.2 overs. Yadav was the fifth bowler introduced, in the eighth over, and struck with his second ball. Nitin Saini drove loosely at a fast outswinger and Sehwag was stooping at first slip to catch the edge. After David Miller was run out by a direct hit from Pawan Negi at mid-on, Azhar Mahmood, the last of Kings XI's proper batsmen, was in as early as the 10th over. He stayed only until the 12th, when he hoisted Yadav towards long-off, where Irfan Pathan back-pedalled and caught the ball over his right shoulder on the edge of the boundary.

Kings XI were eventually in danger of being dismissed and David Hussey, who had been crying out for a reliable partner in vain, had to play within himself. He even turned down singles in the final two overs and dragged his team 136 for 8.

Bangalore v Mumbai, IPL 2012, Bangalore

Mumbai steal final-over win, again

Preview By Anoop Dubey

May 15,2012

Mumbai Indians 173 for 5 (Rayudu 81*, Pollard 52*) beat Royal Challengers Bangalore 171 for 6 (Agarwal 64, Dilshan 47) by five wickets

A match that had all sorts of drama - delays due to rain, a floodlight failure, an unbelievable four free-hits in a row, a hit-wicket, and Munaf Patel being caned for 24 in the final over of the first innings by 21-year-old Mayank Agarwal - ended on a familiar note: Mumbai Indians' batsmen completing an improbable chase in the last over, and Bangalore Royal Challengers' fifth bowler costing them again (3.4-0-58-0).

Both teams' top orders have some of the leading lights of the world game, but most of them failed to make an impact, leaving it to batsmen lower down to make an impact. Agarwal slammed a 30-ball 61, his first IPL half-century, to rescue Royal Challengers, but Ambati Rayudu and Kieron Pollard blasted fifties of their own to take Mumbai Indians at least temporarily to second spot in the table.

The match highlighted some other customary themes: Indian bowlers unable to land their yorkers at the death, underlining concerns over the make-up of their World Twenty20 attack, and batsmen refusing to give up even when the asking-rate reached ridiculous levels.

When Pollard walked to the middle in the ninth over, Mumbai Indians had already lost half their side, the required-rate was soaring towards 12, and Royal Challengers were so assured of their position that Muttiah Muralitharan briefly operated with the unusual Twenty20 luxury of three close-in catchers.

Pollard showed the game was by no means over, by calmly lofting KP Appanna for consecutive sixes in the 11th over. With Appanna proving expensive, Royal Challengers turned to Chris Gayle's bowling but Rayudu muscled a four and six to keep Mumbai Indians believing.

Mumbai Indians' desperation to win was shown by the perfect full-length dive Pollard put in in the next over to beat the throw from the deep by inches. Murali was proving unhittable, and the batsmen watchfully played out his overs, and ransacked the rest.

With four overs to go, Mumbai Indians still needed to get 57. Royal Challengers' bowling has been dismal all season, and towards the end of the game they reverted to form. Zaheer Khan was hammered over midwicket for six, and then crashed past long-off. Vinay Kumar's next over was bookended by yorkers, but in between he offered three hit-me deliveries that Rayudu blasted for two sixes and a four. Zaheer was better in the penultimate over, though his one full toss was edged to third man for four.

With the main bowlers having finished their quota, Royal Challengers needed Gayle to win them the match with the ball this time, having 14 to defend. Gayle looked to fire everything flat and fast into the pads but Pollard effortlessly launched the second ball for six over midwicket, before a streaky four past third man and an almighty pull over midwicket took Mumbai Indians home with two deliveries to spare.

Kolkata Knight RidersKolkata Knight Riders v Chennai Super Kings, IPL, Eden Gardens

Last-ball six keeps Chennai alive

Posted By Anoop Dubey

May 15,2012

Chennai Super Kings 160 for 5 (Hussey 56, Narine 2-14) beat Kolkata Knight Riders 158 for 6 (Gambhir 62, Jakati 2-26) by five wickets

With Chennai Super Kings needing five runs to win off the final delivery, Rajat Bhatia, who had bowled MS Dhoni and conceded only four from the previous five balls, bowled a full toss. Dwayne Bravo, who had missed a heave off the fifth ball, heaved again, and this time he hit the ball high into the night sky. Kolkata Knight Riders' captain Gautam Gambhir, fielding in the circle, kept his eyes fixed on the ball as it began its descent, and grimaced as he watched it fall agonisingly out of reach of his fielder at long-on, and just over the boundary. The Super Kings were out of the dug out, craning their necks to see where the ball landed, and once they saw it was a match-winning six, there were several streaks of yellow speeding to embrace Bravo. He was standing there with arms aloft, having taken Super Kings to No. 4 with only one league game remaining.

Had the match been tied, it would have been less of a surprise, for Super Kings' chase had followed a pattern eerily similar to Knight Riders' first innings.

In pursuit of 159, Michael Hussey and M Vijay added 97 runs in 10.1 overs before Sunil Narine, who continued to confound batsmen with his variations during his spell of 4-0-14-2, dismissed both of them in the space of three balls. Hussey had demonstrated impeccable timing on a pitch that demanded application, hitting four sixes in a half-century that threatened to make short work of the chase, before he top-edged a sweep. Vijay was bowled trying to cut a straight one.

When Knight Riders had been sent in after losing the toss, Gambhir and Brendon McCullum had set off at breakneck speed, adding 99 in 11.2 overs before they were dismissed in the space of five deliveries. Gambhir scored his sixth half-century of the season and took charge of accelerating his team's innings while McCullum played second fiddle, relatively speaking. They were setting Knight Riders for a formidable total when McCullum was run-out and Gambhir was bowled after the ball came off his inside-edge and pad, gone for 62 off 43 balls.

With the Knight Riders openers gone and two new batsmen at the crease, Super Kings began to drag the run-rate back, by striking regularly. The hosts slipped from 99 for 0 to 128 for 5. Jacques Kallis was unlucky to be given caught behind while sweeping, because the ball came off the arm, and Yusuf Pathan hit his customary solitary six before holing out to Bravo on the long-on boundary. Bravo caught Manoj Tiwary there soon after and Knight Riders were eventually kept to 158.

Super Kings went down the same path. After the Hussey-Vijay stand, they were slowed down and then lost Suresh Raina to a run out in the 14th over. MS Dhoni played out four consecutive dot balls against L Balaji as the gap between runs required and balls remaining began to grow. Balaji conceded two runs off the 14th over, and Bhatia five in the next. Super Kings now needed 44 off 30 balls.

After the 17th over of the first innings, Knight Riders had been 127 for 4. After the 17th over of the chase, Super Kings were 127 for 3. They lost Faf du Plessis to the first ball of the 18th. With 27 needed off the last two overs, Dhoni changed the course of the chase. He nearly beheaded Marchant de Lange, such was the ferocity with which he clubbed the first ball to the straight boundary. The next was a full toss that disappeared through deep midwicket and the third was a towering six over long-on.

Super Kings were favourites, needing only nine to get off the final over, but Dhoni was bowled off its second ball, missing Bhatia's slower ball. Bhatia went on to bowl three more exceptional deliveries, but his last was the full toss that allowed Super Kings to move to No. 4 in the league

Rajasthan Royals v Pune Warriors, IPL, Jaipur

Chandila hat-trick keeps Rajasthan in race

Posted By Anoop Dubey

May 14,2012

Rajasthan Royals 170 for 4 (Rahane 61, Watson 58) beat Pune Warriors 125 for 9 (Smith 37, Chandila 4-13) by 45 runs

When Rahul Dravid of Rajasthan Royals was asked at the toss to name the changes to his line-up, he paused for a few seconds before giving up trying to recollect the second spinner. Ajit Chandila ensured that his captain and the rest of the world weren't going to forget his name. The little-known offspinner from Haryana responded with a hat-trick in only his second game, reducing Pune Warriors to a train wreck early in their chase of 171. Warriors extended their losing streak to eight - the worst in IPL history - while Royals stayed in the hunt for the playoffs.

It proved a masterstroke by Dravid tossing the new ball to Chandila. Warriors didn't know what to expect from the tall spinner, only two first-class matches old. With a run-up of barely a few steps, and a languid action to boot, Chandila tossed it up at such an agonisingly slow pace that it took an eternity for the ball to land. Jesse Ryder opted to hammer him out of the attack but ended up mis-hitting it to Shane Watson pedaling back at mid-on.

Sourav Ganguly tried to nudge the next delivery but the ball dribbled back towards the wicketkeeper Shreevats Goswami who broke the stumps before Ganguly could ground his bat. Chandila struck with the first ball of his second over, drawing Robin Uthappa forward and beating him on the drive before Goswami whipped off the bails. Chandila's split hat-trick was all the more glossy because the victims were international batsmen. It was the seventh hat-trick in IPL history and the first of this edition.

Chandila had time to sneak in another wicket, off a simple caught and bowled to get rid of Anustup Majumdar, and finished with figures of 4 for 13. Warriors were tottering at 26 for 4, a position from which they never recovered from. Royals never allowed a partnership to get past 34, they conceded just 11 boundaries in the innings and lit up an otherwise drab phase after the hat-trick with a jaw-dropping fielding effort at the boundary by Johan Botha and Ajinkya Rahane to get rid of Rahul Sharma. Botha caught it at the edge of the rope at long-off and relayed it to an alert Rahane who claimed the catch.

Royals batted Warriors out of the match thanks to half-centuries by Watson and Rahane. Ganguly returned to lead Warriors but he and his team-mates let themselves down with a flat performance in the field that allowed the Watson-Rahane partnership to flourish.

The urgency in the running between the wickets picked up when the pair came together. Rahane in particular was impressive in his calling as he pushed the ball to the slower men in the deep, starting with Ganguly, and the few extra seconds they took to get to the ball cost Warriors extra runs.

Kings XI Punjab v Deccan Chargers, IPL 2012, Mohali

Punjab keep pace with last-ball victory

Posted By Anoop Dubey

May 14,2012

Kings XI Punjab 194 for 6 (D Hussey 65*, Gurkeerat 29*) beat Deccan Chargers 190 for 4 (Dhawan 71, White 67) by four wickets

For the second match in a day, the hero was a cricketer who was a complete unknown, playing his second game of the tournament. In the afternoon, Rajasthan Royals' offspinner Ajit Chandila took the first hat-trick of the season and the wind out of Pune Warriors' chase and in the second game, it was 21-year-old Gurkeerat Singh who handed Deccan Chargers their fifth last-over defeat of the season with an ice-cool display of hitting.

Chargers seemed to have the game in control for much of the time. First, their two most consistent batsmen, Shikhar Dhawan and Cameron White, added to their rapidly growing collection of half-centuries this season to lift Chargers to their second highest total of 2012. And soon after Azhar Mahmood was dismissed in the 13th over of the chase, the asking-rate was rocketing past 13, with David Hussey as the only recognised batsman remaining. Still, as they have so often this season, Chargers managed to make a hash of it, and end up on the losing side.

The first signs of trouble for Chargers came in the 15th over from Amit Mishra, when Hussey hammered a couple of leg-side sixes as Kings XI looted 21 off it. Madhya Pradesh seamer TP Sudhindra then seemed to have pulled things back with a yorker-filled over that went only for five in the first five deliveries, but he missed his length off the final ball and Hussey promptly dispatched it for a straight six.

Fifty needed off four overs and time for Chargers to turn to their most potent weapon, Dale Steyn. He delivered with two wickets in his comeback over, though Piyush Chawla got a couple of audacious boundaries off it. When Hussey muscled a slower one from Daniel Christian for six early in the 18th over, everyone thought the outcome of the game would depend on Hussey. Instead, there were no more boundaries from Hussey and most of the runs came from Gurkeerat.

First, Christian was drilled down the ground for four and then a fearless attempt to paddle a ball from outside off resulted in a streaky four off the thigh pad. Steyn has combusted on a couple of occasions at the death this season, and has been unhittable on others. This time he was back at his best-bowler-in-the-world mode, conceding just four singles off the first five balls, though the pressure on him was evident from the expletive-infused outburst at a fielder for shying at the stumps. The last ball of the over was a low full toss that Gurkeerat somehow squeezed behind point for a boundary, making it 16 required off the final over.

With Christian and Steyn having bowled out, Kumar Sangakkara had to choose between legspinner Mishra and quick bowler Manpreet Gony, and he picked Gony. Chargers' fielding seemed to have cost them on the first ball when a fumble allowed Hussey to return for two and retain the strike, but Hussey could only take a single off the next.

Chennai Super Kings v Delhi Daredevils, Chennai

Dominant Chennai down table-toppers

Preview By Anoop Dubey

May 13,2012

Chennai Super Kings 115 for 1 (Vijay 48*, Hussey 38) beat Delhi Daredevils 114 for 5 (Nagar 43*, Hilfenhaus 3-27) by nine wickets 

Chennai Super Kings kept their playoff hopes alive with a ruthless performance that cut the table-leaders Delhi Daredevils to size. Super Kings shook Daredevils out of their comfort zone by letting them set a target, and they came a cropper on a lively pitch, plodding to 114. Virender Sehwag failed for the second time, and the absence of a strong top-order base exposed a weakness in the same line-up that carried them to the top of the table. Super Kings coasted home courtesy an opening stand of 75, which helped them power back to No. 4.

Daredevils never recovered when Ben Hilfenhaus sent Sehwag's off stump for a tumble in the opening over. Sehwag was lost at sea with one that straightened and the rest of the top order were undone by arrogance. David Warner, who gave the Indian bowlers in Deccan Chargers a hiding in Hyderabad, was now confronted with the quality of Hilfenhaus, who had him swatting tamely to mid-off.

Naman Ojha, who partnered Warner in an explosive stand in Hyderabad, failed to match those heroics, gloving Hilfenhaus down the leg side. Daredevils were crawling at 27 for 4 after the Powerplay and the middle order was pushed into the deep end. Boundaries were like a mirage in the desert - the drought lasted 32 deliveries before Venugopal Rao charged Ravindra Jadeja and lofted him over wide long-on.

Jadeja was taken off after one over, in which he conceded 11, the most expensive in the first ten overs. Rao and Yogesh Nagar were stifled by the other two spinners - R Ashwin and Shadab Jakati. The fielding was sharp enough to stop easy singles. Rao and Yogesh Nagar had added 48 at a run-a-ball before Albie Morkel pulled off a stunner at short cover to send back Rao. Daredevils added only 36 in their last five overs and ended up with a barely defendable score.

The Daredevils bowlers couldn't extract the same kind of purchase and looked a deflated outfit, as if waiting to be struck down. The positivity shown by the Super Kings openers was reflected in the frequency of boundaries. Daredevils managed a total of seven boundaries in their innings; Super Kings knocked off the same number before the sixth over. Pace may be Daredevils' forte, but it counted for nothing today as they bowled the wrong lengths.

The batsman who had everything to gain was M Vijay. With underwhelming returns of 134 runs from nine games, the pressure was on him to reproduce his form from last season. Michael Hussey's enterprising start took the weight off Vijay's shoulders, as he played himself in initially, before opening up. He picked consecutive boundaries off Umesh Yadav, pulling and clipping past fine leg.

Pune Warriors v Royal Challengers Bangalore, IPL, Pune

Gayle, bowlers power Royal Challengers to No. 3

Posted By Anoop Dubey

May 12,2012

20 overs Royal Challengers Bangalore 173 for 3 (Gayle 57, Dilshan 53) beat Pune Warriors 138 for 9 (Vinay 3-32, Zaheer 2-21, Murali 2-16) by 35 runs

Sourav Ganguly, the under-performing Pune Warriors captain, sat out of the game; Steven Smith took over the leadership; and the hosts made as many as five changes to their XI in an attempt to avert a seventh consecutive defeat. None of it dowsed the powder keg that is the Royal Challengers Bangalore batting line-up, though. Chris Gayle launched half a dozen deliveries into the crowd; Tillakaratne Dilshan anchored the innings and then accelerated it; and even Saurabh Tiwary converted an iffy start into a useful performance. A total of 173 was much too large for Pune Warriors' misfiring batsmen.

The chase was severely damaged in the first over, when Zaheer Khan struck twice, and almost certainly done for in the fourth, when Michael Clarke was dismissed. Warriors were 22 for three. The Royal Challengers bowling has struggled this season - they are the most expensive unit - and tonight's performance, albeit against a weak opponent, would have lifted them. Nine is the most wickets they've taken in an innings this season. Virat Kohli's side steamed past Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians to No. 3 in the league.

There had been rain before the toss but the shower after it was the one that delayed the start by an hour. The strong crowd stayed patient, though, and when play finally began, they were thoroughly entertained. By Gayle. He began carefully, playing three consecutive dots in debutant medium-pacer Krishnakant Upadhyay's first over. Having sussed the rookie, Gayle bookended Upadhyay's second over with long-arm sixes over extra cover and midwicket.

Gayle barely ran. Of his 31 balls, 13 were dots and nine were singles. There were no twos or threes. When he hit the ball along the ground it was brutally hard to the fielders. In the sixth over, Gayle destroyed Bhuveneshwar Kumar with four sixes - straight, midwicket, long-on and long-off. He got to his half-century in 24 balls, his quickest this season. Royal Challengers were 66 for 0 at the time and Dilshan's contribution was 11 off 13 deliveries.

Only Angelo Mathews kept Gayle quiet. After conceding three runs in his first over, Mathews had Gayle caught on the long-on boundary in his second. Mathews would finish with figures of 1 for 14 in three overs.

Warriors began to fight after Gayle's dismissal, the next 27 balls cost only 19 runs and produced Kohli's wicket. Royal Challengers' acceleration, however, resumed in the 14th over, when Dilshan and Tiwary, promoted ahead of de Villiers, scored 16. Dilshan then took a hat-trick of fours off Upadhyay.

At one point it seemed Tiwary would stagnate and de Villiers might not get to bat. Tiwary, however, began to muscle boundaries and Dilshan's dismissal for 53 brought de Villiers to the crease. After three quiet balls, he launched the final one of the innings over the straight boundary.

Ganguly's replacement, Mohnish Mishra launched the chase by driving his third ball past mid-off for four. He was trapped lbw by Zaheer Khan with the next. Zaheer then handed Manish Pandey his fourth duck of the season with one that straightened off the pitch from round the wicket and uprooted the off stump. Clarke and Gayle use the same bat-maker but Clarke's attempt at clearing the boundary ended in deep midwicket's hands. Warriors were floundering. 

Mumbai Indians v Royal Challengers Bangalore, IPL 2012, Mumbai

Gayle does it again for Bangalore

Posted By Anoop Dubey

May 10,2012

Royal Challengers Bangalore 142 for 1 (Gayle 82*) beat Mumbai Indians 141 for 6 (Karthik 44) by nine wickets

It wasn't the easiest of pitches to bat on at the Wankhede Stadium, and Mumbai Indians possess the most potent bowling attack in the competition, but none of that mattered to Chris Gayle as he swung sixes on his way to the orange cap, 500 runs in the tournament and an unbeaten 82 that propelled Royal Challengers Bangalore to the fourth spot.

Victories for Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab on Tuesday and Royal Challengers' win today has tightened the table again, with only three points separating the five teams in the middle.

Mumbai's batting has rarely been at its best this season, and continued to struggle today. The Royal Challengers bowling has had some off days this year, but turned in one of their more impressive performances as Vinay Kumar's double-strike in the second over and Muttiah Muralitharan's two wickets off successive deliveries later in the innings limited Mumbai to 141.

With the ball nipping around, it seemed a competitive score, particularly given the strength of Mumbai's bowling. Gayle and Tillakaratne Dilshan watchfully played out the main threat, Lasith Malinga, and focussed their energy on scoring plenty off the rest.

As he has been all season, Gayle was relatively cautious early on. Mumbai had two gilt-edged chances to dismiss him within the Powerplays: first, in the second over when a direct hit would have caught him well short, and then in the sixth over when Dwayne Smith put down a skier at cover. That potentially game-changing drop rounded off a horror outing for Smith, who also flopped with the bat a mere three days after his final-over heroics against Chennai Super Kings.

Dilshan was dismissed in the ninth over, and the asking rate began to climb towards nine, but it only took Gayle three deliveries to transform the match. Pragyan Ojha gifted him two friendly full tosses on leg stump which were contemptuously dispatched over the leg side; the second of those had been a no-ball as well, and Gayle dismissed the extra delivery for another six, over long-off for a change. That 22-run over brought the required rate closer to seven. Mumbai were never in the game after that as Virat Kohli found some form and helped Gayle finish it off with two overs to spare.

It hadn't begun well either for Mumbai with Zaheer Khan and Vinay troubling their top order. James Franklin upper cut a catch to third man, and Rohit Sharma was plumb lbw later in Vinay's over as Mumbai stuttered to 5 for 2 - the lowest score in the IPL after four overs.

Sachin Tendulkar then survived a close call for lbw, and was again reprieved when a Kohli throw from backward point was wide. Mumbai finally got some momentum in the sixth over as Tendulkar struck three successive boundaries - the first off the bat in the innings. Just as Mumbai were getting some stability, 21-year-old seamer Harshal Patel dismissed Tendulkar getting him to top-edge a pull. 

Pune Warriors v Rajasthan Royals, IPL 2012, Pune

Watson and Tait crush insipid Pune

Preview By Anoop Dubey

May 9,2012

Rajasthan Royals 126 for 3 (Watson 90*) beat Pune Warriors 125 for 6 (Majumdar 30, Tait 3-13) by seven wickets

Shaun Tait set it up and Shane Watson finished the job in clinical fashion. Rajasthan Royals delivered a seven-wicket drubbing to a low on morale Pune Warriors and moved to fourth in the points table. Warriors looking to reverse a five-match losing streak, struggled against restrictive Royals bowling to post 125, but lacked the firepower to cause a scare. After an impressive start to the tournament, they limped out of the race for the playoffs.

Royals conceded just five fours - the least in a completed innings this season - and were spearheaded by Tait, who took 3 for 13. Unlike Royals, who duly opened with the aggressive Watson, Warriors saved their power hitters for the middle order. Sourav Ganguly promoted himself to open after, curiously, coming in at No.7 against Kolkata Knight Riders. It was a questionable move having Ganguly and Michael Clarke right at the top, given that they aren't the quickest scorers in the line-up. What followed was a sluggish opening passage, in which the Powerplay overs had 14 dots.

Ganguly charged the seamers, made room, but failed to find the timing to match his intentions. Clarke's drives failed to find the middle of the bat, often resulting in edges and mistimed flicks. Both openers were searching for a release, but the slower balls and the wicketkeeper Dishant Yagnik standing up to the stumps thwarted them.

Warriors lost Ganguly as he miscued a pull off Tait, giving a swirling catch to square leg. Despite Warriors struggling to find the boundaries, they persisted with their conservative approach by promoting little-known Bengal batsman Anustup Majumdar ahead of more aggressive options like Angelo Mathews and Steven Smith.

Only two fours were scored in the first ten overs, the lowest this season. Save for the first over, never at any stage in that period did the rate go above six an over. Majumdar interrupted a 42-ball snoozefest when he gave Ankeet Chavan a charge and launched him for the first of two sixes over wide long-on in the 11th over, which cost 16 runs - the most expensive of the innings.

However, his cameo didn't last longer than 20 balls when he was yorked by a 98.4 kph missile from Johan Botha the following over. The last eight overs produced just 46 runs to give Warriors a total well under par.

Royals lost their star player Ajinkya Rahane for a duck courtesy a brilliant one-handed catch at point by Smith. Smith nearly pulled off a freak catch at the boundary which would have sent Watson back on 11, if the rule on outfield catches hadn't been tweaked. After going deep in his crease to pound a six off Murali Kartik, he repeated the shot four balls later. Smith cupped the ball over his head, realised the momentum was taking him over the rope and threw the ball up. He was outside the field of play and airborne when he palmed the ball back in front of the rope, deeming it a six, owing to the rule change.

Bangalore v Deccan, IPL 2012, Bangalore

Rampant de Villiers waylays Deccan

Preview By Anoop Dubey

May 7,2012

Royal Challengers Bangalore 185 for 5 (Dilshan 71, de Villiers 47*) beat Deccan Chargers 181 for 2 (Dhawan 73*, Harris 47, White 45) by five wickets

Last year it was Chris Gayle for Royal Challengers Bangalore, this year it's AB de Villiers. Another fiery, match-winning hand from him transformed the game in a matter of two overs, revived Royal Challengers' campaign, left Deccan Chargers shell-shocked and entertained the home crowd. Chargers clearly had the upper hand when Tillakaratne Dilshan fell after a half-century, their relatively inexperienced bowling attack punching above its weight. But de Villiers brought them down to earth and reserved special treatment for his South Africa team-mate Dale Steyn in a game-changing 18th over.

Dilshan's 71 had put Royal Challengers on track in a big chase but his wicket, in the 16th over, was one of three in quick succession - a stutter that helped Chargers sneak ahead. But Mayank Agarwal showed plenty of fight, thrashing Veer Pratap Singh and Ashish Reddy, both medium-pacers, for sixes to keep his team in the hunt. De Villiers' subsequent onslaught snatched the game away from Chargers.

The visitors brought back Steyn in the 18th over, with 39 needed, and he erred by dropping short first up, to be dispatched for six over deep midwicket. A slower one was slogged past wide long-on, and an attempt at a yorker went awry as it served up as a full length ball that de Villiers hammered over extra cover for a flat six by making room. If brute power lay behind those shots, the icing was the scoop past short fine. Twenty-three came off that over. With 16 still needed off two overs, five balls was all it took to finish things off. Anand Rajan was thrashed over extra cover and down the ground, before being launched over the deep-midwicket boundary. J Syed Mohammad was given the strike to score the winning runs, and he didn't waste the chance. It was the only ball he faced in a stand worth 42, off 11 balls.

Mumbai v Chennai, IPL 2012, Mumbai

Dwayne Smith stuns Chennai in last-over heist

Posted By Anoop Dubey

May 7,2012

Mumbai Indians 174 for 8 (Tendulkar 74, Rohit 60, Smith 24*) beat Chennai Super Kings 173 for 8 (Vijay 41, Bravo 40, Malinga 3-25) by two wickets

In perhaps the most thrilling last-ball finish in this season, Dwayne Smith, playing his first game for Mumbai Indians this year, smashed three boundaries off the final three deliveries to avert what seemed a certain choke from the hosts at Wankhede Stadium. Mumbai Indians were in control for a sizeable chunk of the chase, courtesy a century stand between Sachin Tendulkar and Rohit Sharma, before the middle order imploded. When the situation was at its most dire, Smith hit the straight boundary three times.

Mumbai Indians needed 16 off the final over with three wickets in hand. Ben Hilfenhaus conceded a single off the first ball, yorked Lasith Malinga with the second, and a single off the third left the hosts needing 14 off the last three deliveries. Smith kept the game alive by muscling a six off the fourth ball several rows over long-on. The equation was eight off two balls and Hilfenhaus failed to land both in the blockhole. A low full toss was bashed over the bowler's head, giving long-off and long-on no chance. Hilfenhaus managed to pitch the final ball, but not at the desired length. Smith smashed it to long-off and before he knew it he was being mobbed by deliriously happy team-mates.

The game was Mumbai Indians' to lose after the hard work from Tendulkar and Rohit. Following Tendulkar's dismissal, they needed only 40 off 25 balls with eight wickets in hand. Dinesh Karthik forced two boundaries through the off side to tilt the balance further in their favour, but got a little too cheeky immediately after, walking across his stumps to Dwayne Bravo and getting bowled.

MS Dhoni then sprung a surprise, bringing in the normally under-utilised Ravindra Jadeja. Ambati Rayudu slogged and missed; the well-set Rohit made too much room and he too was bowled. Jadeja picked up two wickets in a two-run over and Super Kings were in a position where the game was theirs to lose.

The following over by Bravo had a tight wide call, which gave Mumbai Indians a crucial extra delivery in the final analysis. Robin Peterson then took off for a quick single towards mid-off, but Faf du Plessis showed his brilliance for the second time in the evening with a direct hit with just a stump to aim at. Another six from Smith, hit with tremendous bat speed - and Harbhajan Singh's slog down long-on's throat added further twists. Smith, however, had the final, emphatic say.

It should not have got this close. Tendulkar lost his opening partner James Franklin cheaply, but the early wicket was good for Mumbai Indians as it brought in Rohit early. The pair kept the chase on course with a stand of 126. Tendulkar targeted Albie Morkel as the weak link in the attack, ransacking 33 off 17 balls. With the mid-off in the circle in the 11th over, Tendulkar made room but failed to put away the first two balls. He scooped the third over extra cover, walked across the crease to launch the fourth over fine leg for six, before spanking the sixth over cover to bring up his fifty.

Kolkata Knight Riders v Pune Warriors, IPL 2012, Eden Gardens

Pune hit back to keep KKR to 150

Posted By Anoop Dubey

May 5,2012

It was an innings of two halves by Kolkata Knight Riders. An opening stand of 113 between Gautam Gambhir and Brendon McCullum gave them the foundation to entertain thoughts of 200 and beyond, but the other batsmen batted as if on a different wicket and managed only 37 runs in the last 7.3 overs. Given Pune Warriors' previous game, where they failed to chase 120, the hosts could still fancy their chances.

The Warriors bowlers struggled initially on a slow pitch, often dropping too short or drifting on the pads, giving Knight Riders plenty of boundary opportunities. Gambhir began his innings by pulling a long hop off the left-arm spinner Murali Kartik in the first over, before clubbing Ashok Dinda for six.

The openers used their feet against the seamers, as illustrated by two sixes in the opening stand. McCullum welcomed Wayne Parnell by walking across his stumps and launching him over long-on, before Gambhir walked down the track and slogged a slower delivery from Dinda over deep midwicket. The pair ransacked 46 runs off three overs to end the Powerplay on an imposing 68 for no loss. It was also the third fifty-plus stand between the pair in the IPL

Sensing that the spinners would play a crucial role in containing the run-rate on this sluggish pitch, Ganguly brought on Clarke. The Australian was unlucky not to have McCullum on 28, when Dinda dropped a sitter at short fine-leg off a top edge. It was doubly embarrassing for Dinda as it happened in front of his 'home' crowd.

Gambhir milked the singles by dabbing the seamers to third man. There were no pressure tactics applied by Warriors till the tenth over, when the wicketkeeper Robin Uthappa stood up to the stumps to prevent the batsmen from using their feet. Gambhir continued coming down the track but he failed to launch Kartik over long-off, where he was caught by Mithun Manhas.

Chennai Super Kings v Deccan Chargers, IPL 2012, Chennai

Chennai go fourth with tough win

Posted By Anoop Dubey

May 5,2012

Chennai Super Kings 160 for 6 (du Plessis 42) beat Deccan Chargers 150 for 5 (White 77) by 10 runs

Their batsmen did not set Chepauk alight, nor did their bowlers destroy the opposition, but Chennai Super Kings fought hard on a demanding pitch to earn a victory that helped them claw back into the league's top half. Their top-order made nugget-sized but swift contributions that ensured Super Kings reached a competitive target despite an end-over slowdown, after which their bowlers prevented Cameron White's solitary straining at the reins from saving the night for Deccan Chargers. It was a gritty, unspectacular win, but one that ensured they did not drop points against the IPL's bottom-placed team.

The turnaround for Super Kings, however, came via a stroke of luck. White and Shikhar Dhawan had kept Chargers on course by reaching 77 for 1 in the 11th over, when White drove the ball hard at Dwayne Bravo, the bowler. The ball thudded into Bravo's hand and deflected a long way on to the stumps, catching Dhawan backing-up much too far. There was no luck involved in Kumar Sangakkara's dismissal, though, when Suresh Raina lunged to his right to grab a firm drive with the fingertips of his outstretched hand. Daniel Christian took time to settle in and Chargers scored only 26 between overs 11 and 15 for the loss of two wickets. They needed 59 off the final five and run scoring was significantly harder as the ball got older.

Two more economical overs drove the equation up to 47 off 18 balls, when White swung Ravindra Jadeja far over long-on and long-off, and then through backward square leg, to give Chargers hope. With 27 needed off 10 deliveries, though, Jadeja's accurate throw to Dhoni from the deep ran out White for 77, snuffing out Chargers' last hope. Perhaps the most relieved man on the field was Albie Morkel, who had dropped White first ball.

Chargers had themselves to blame for their seventh defeat in ten matches. Their fielding has been shocking through the tournament and today's performance was typical. Amit Mishra dropped Faf du Plessis on 10; he went on to top-score for Super Kings with 42. In the final over, Ankit Sharma and Parthiv Patel failed to call for a catch off Bravo and conceded two runs off that delivery. The next ball went for six and the last two for two each. In a format of small margins, Chargers were generous once again. They could have been chasing 140 instead of 160.

At one stage, however, Super Kings' top order was building a platform for 180. M Vijay, who opened because Michael Hussey was replaced by Ben Hilfenhaus, flung his bat around before he was caught early, but there were brisk partnerships between the rest. Raina and du Plessis added 64 in 7.2 overs, the highlight being Raina, who took six balls to score, pulling and hooking Veer Pratap Singh for consecutive sixes.

Pune Warriors v Mumbai Indians, IPL 2012, Pune

Mumbai defend 120 by one run

Posted By Anoop Dubey

May 4,2012

Mumbai Indians 120 for 9 (Tendulkar 34, Bhuvneshwar 2-9, Nehra 2-19) beat Pune Warriors 119 for 6 (Manhas 42*, Harbhajan 2-18, Malinga 2-25) by one run

In the end, Mumbai Indians deserved two points for having rendered a target of 121 so difficult that Pune Warriors played catch-up for most of the chase. And the one-run margin magnified the impact of Sourav Ganguly's crawl in the final analysis. There were other Warriors batsmen who found run-scoring difficult on the low pitch, but they did not hang around for as long as Ganguly did and consequently, did not make it as difficult for the doughty Mithun Manhas as Ganguly did.

When Ganguly arrived at 40 for 2 in the seventh over, the asking-rate was just over six runs an over. By the time he was bowled for 16 off 24 by Lasith Malinga off the last ball of the 17th over, slogging and missing tamely, the asking-rate had climbed to nine. Manhas tried to make the most of the strike he got in a 47-run fifth-wicket stand in which Ganguly contributed 13. But he was up against a class Mumbai Indians attack, and with Malinga to bowl two overs at the death, Warriors' chances diminished even further. They needed 12 off the final over, but Munaf Patel managed to hold them off, just about.

The early damage had been done by Munaf when he trapped Robin Uthappa lbw, after the batsman had kickstarted the chase with some big strokes. Mumbai Indians' battery of specialist spinners - though one of them, Robin Peterson, was never used - then broke the back of Warriors' chase. Jesse Ryder chipped Harbhajan Singh to long-on, Michael Clarke got a rough lbw decision and Steven Smith walked past a Pragyan Ojha delivery to be bowled. Warriors had slipped from 40 for 1 to 47 for 4 but with 74 needed from 61, they were right in the game still.

Ganguly's innings ensured they slowly went out of it. He was on 12 off 22 at one stage, unable to earn anything more than singles. He managed to make room and lift Malinga down the ground for a four, but was bowled in the same over.

Manhas wasn't giving up, though. Backing himself to cut almost everything, he and Wayne Parnell took 11 off Pragyan Ojha in the 18th over. But Harbhajan had another over from Malinga left, and it did what Morne Morkel's penultimate over had done for Delhi Daredevils against Rajasthan Royals. Malinga gave just four runs, and left Warriors with too much to do in the last over. 

Is CSK's reputation strangling them?

They seem a shadow of their former selves. Has fear of losing begun to tie them down??

Anoop Dubey

Jonathan Wilson's very academic dissection, in the Guardian this week, of Barcelona and Pep Guardiola's decline is worthy of much analysis. This is a shortish article, so let's get into it straightaway.

First, let us not forget that Barcelona is a team that many still view as the greatest on the planet. They have won a couple of trophies this year, made the semi-final of the Champions League, and finished a very strong second in La Liga, in the eyes of some a league that produces the highest quality of football. Many managers, owners and fans would have celebrated it as a great year. But Barcelona cannot, for like Manchester United and Tendulkar and Federer they are condemned to be weighed in different scales. A second place for Valencia or Arsenal would be a moment to celebrate; for Barcelona or United, something to grieve over.

Wilson also quotes a Hungarian coach, Bela Guttman, as saying that the third year is fatal; that that is normally the span of a great team. It is arguable but it possibly applies to family businesses too. The patriarch struggles and sets up something from scratch, the next generation, which has seen strife, understands the value of what he has done and takes the business to new heights, and finally the third, unaware of adversity and the need to stay rooted and fight your way out of trouble, leads the decline. You see that in individual sport: the mystery bowler and the girl with the booming forehand surprise everyone initially, ride the wave in the second, and become predictable and one-dimensional in the third - unless they have learnt to re-invent themselves in the interim.

Often great teams are blinded by success. They make the mistake of thinking that success will continue to flow, and in doing so, ignore the reasons that produced success in the first place. The great West Indies team went into decline because that great generation had been built on discipline and rigour. In subsequent teams that was a matter of individual choice, not a team ethic. The men who mattered didn't worry about the back end, about the systems that would keep the supply line running. Maybe they began believing stories of their own invincibility, a state of mind that afflicts even the mightiest.

And now I see the Chennai Super Kings, by some distance the best team in the relatively short history of the IPL, two-time winners, past winners of the Champions League, wearing the same colours as they did in those years, showcasing the same personalities but playing like someone else. The team, and its captain, look lethargic, there is little joy on the field, they look like they are reading from a tired script. An old family doctor would have said: give them a dose of vitamins.

Why is this great team suddenly floundering? I wonder if, at the start of the season, they were consumed by their own invincibility. In the two years gone by, whenever a tense situation loomed, they knew (and often the opponents knew too) that someone would take them home. That Dhoni, one of the game's great finishers, would find a way if no one else did. But in great teams you need free spirits continuously challenging beliefs, arguing against the status quo. The current method might still be the best, but it must emerge as such after being challenged. Who challenges Dhoni, a player with a record that few can aspire to possess? Is that it? Or is he just tired?

Maybe their reputation is strangling them: the fact that if CSK win it is just another day, but if they lose it is an event. And so, are they scared of losing? I sense this in another outstanding team on paper, the Mumbai Indians, too; this great fear of losing. And so, as Wilson says, maybe there is a "negative self-immolation": the tension, the obsession with the result. Inevitably tense teams are defensive teams. Flair resides with its close companion, freedom. CSK look tense, MI look tense. Delhi Daredevils have bigger deficiencies but they seem not to obsess over them. Kings Xl and Rajasthan Royals don't have the firepower, but they have freedom and positivity. They are not strangled by reputation.

Royal Challengers Bangalore v Kings XI Punjab, IPL 2012, Bangalore

Punjab win despite late panic

Posted By Anoop Dubey

May 3,2012

Kings XI Punjab 163 for 6 (Saini 50, Hussey 45, Mandeep 43) beat Royal Challengers Bangalore 158 for 5 (Gayle 71, Kohli 45, Mahmood 3-20) by four wickets

Kings XI Punjab, slow starters in this IPL, broke through into the top half of the points table with what should have been a comfortable win over Royal Challengers Bangalore, who fell significantly short of the formidable target they looked good to set. Kings XI scaled down 159 amid some late panic that produced three run-outs, taking the game to the penultimate ball when it deserved a swifter ending.

The platform for a successful chase was laid by youngsters Mandeep Singh and Nitin Saini, who batted assuredly, and stand-in captain David Hussey took them close with a fiery cameo. In the end, Piyush Chawla's match-sealing six apart, Kings XI's bowlers made the difference, with Praveen Kumar's excellent opening spell and Azhar Mahmood's economy at the death combining to undermine another Chris Gayle special and Virat Kohli's return to form.

Kings XI had no business losing with 13 needed off the last four overs. Not even after Saini fell trying to finish things off, miscuing a catch after scoring a half-century. Just one run came off the 17th over, and Mahmood was caught short in the next by an accurate throw from KP Appanna in the deep. Hussey followed when six were needed off nine, his dive to complete a second run beaten by AB de Villiers' superb collection of a throw on the half-volley. Abhishek Nayar went next ball, trying an impossible run.

Vinay Kumar brought it down to five off four in the final over, and the game was on a knife's edge with two needed off two. Then came a length ball, allowing Chawla to free his arms, and he thrashed Vinay over deep midwicket. It brought up Kings XI's fourth away win of the season, they've won five in all.

The manic end almost undid an impressive show by Kings XI's two upcoming talents. Mandeep was occasionally scratchy but delivered the start his team needed, timing the ball beautifully and even displaying some spunk against the accomplished bowling of Zaheer Khan. He pulled over midwicket and whipped over square leg for six, and slashed Vinay through point. He took the lead in the chase, over the more experienced Shaun Marsh, and Saini consolidated the good start.

Saini was less attacking but batted with maturity, picking off the singles and twos comfortably, interspersed with some lovely strokeplay of his own. He drove Andrew McDonald beautifully down the ground, cut well against medium pace and spin, and marched close to his half-century with a confident pull off Zaheer. Saini didn't feel the urgency to open up, his job made easier by Hussey, who smashed the left-arm spin of Appanna for two massive sixes before delivering the same treatment to Asad Pathan. By then, the pair had added 73 in 43 balls and the game was as good as over. Or so we thought. 

West Indies v New Zealand 2012

Wagner named in New Zealand Test squad

Posted By Anoop Dubey

May 3,2012

The South Africa-born fast bowler Neil Wagner has been named in New Zealand's Test squad for the tour of the West Indies, while Brendon McCullum has been rested from the one-day and Twenty20 squads. New Zealand have named their touring groups for the trip, which begins with a pair of Twenty20s in Florida starting on June 30 and finishes with two Tests in Antigua and Jamaica in late July and early August.

Wagner and the legspinner Tarun Nethula are the two uncapped members of the 15-man Test squad, which featured no major surprises and included all 11 men who played New Zealand's most recent Test. The selectors chose two wicketkeepers, Kruger van Wyk and BJ Watling, who will also serve as the backup batsmen for the two Tests.

The inclusion of Wagner, 26, will create some competition for places in the attack after he comfortably topped the Plunket Shield wickets tally with 46 victims at 26.32. Wagner was born in Pretoria and started his first-class career in South Africa before moving to New Zealand and making his Otago debut in 2008-09.

He was also the leading Plunket Shield wicket-taker in 2010-11, and it was no surprise that he was rushed in to the squad immediately after the ICC confirmed last month that Wagner had qualified to play for New Zealand. 

Less expected was the decision to rest McCullum for the ODIs and Twenty20s, with BJ Watling to take the gloves in both formats having recovered from a hip injury. The national selection manager Kim Littlejohn said with such a busy period coming up for New Zealand it was important to manage player workloads.

"We asked Brendon McCullum to take a break during the short-form component of the tour," Littlejohn said. "The team is about to embark on a heavy programme of international cricket and we will need to sensibly manage the workload of our players.

"This also allows other very talented cricketers to get an opportunity and for us to continue to build depth across our squads. Going forward we are looking to identify opportunities for other players, such as Doug Bracewell, Martin Guptill and Kane Williamson, to take a bit of time out and freshen up.

Deccan Chargers v Pune Warriors, IPL 2012, Cuttack

Deccan complete double over Pune

Preview By Anoop Dubey

May 2,2012

Deccan Chargers 186 for 4 (Sangakkara 82, White 74) beat Pune Warriors 173 for 5 (Smith 47*, Ganguly 45) by 13 runs

Pune Warriors succumbed to the tournament's whipping boys, Deccan Chargers, batting them out of the match for the second time in less than a week. It wasn't a flawless win for the Chargers' though, as their ground fielding and catching continued to look sloppy. Their saviour was an explosive stand of 157 between the two experienced hands - Cameron White and Kumar Sangakkara - which took them to 186. The Warriors slumped to their third consecutive loss and remained third from bottom in the points table.

The Chargers won the toss but got off to a poor start when they lost Parthiv Patel first ball, dragging Marlon Samuels onto his off stump.

The pressure increased on the inconsistent White and out-of-form Sangakkara, who brought himself back after sitting out the last match. The first ten overs was a slow and steady build for the Chargers, who struggled to get the run-rate above six.

Sangakkara didn't look convincing at the start, playing and missing and also getting an under-edge off a drive. Chargers managed only five boundaries in the first nine overs, before a straight six by White off Murali Kartik in the tenth over gave the Warriors a sign of things to come.

It was as if the Chargers began on a fresh slate. The run-rate began creeping over six after the 12th over, the point from which Chargers took control. The 15th over was Sangakkara's turning point in this tournament as he smashed four boundaries off Samuels. He lofted inside out over extra cover, edged to third man, smashed one over the bowler's head and swept past short fine leg.

Sangakkara brought up his fifty the following over with a chip to short fine leg after which he pumped his fists. Sourav Ganguly, who had conceded 15 off two overs, brought himself back on to stem the runs but it turned out to be a tactical blunder as his meaty offerings cost the Warriors 25 runs. White slogged three consecutive sixes over the on side before clipping one to fine leg for four, in the process outscoring Sangakkara.

Sangakkara then took on Nehra, showing the confidence to innovate by shuffling at the crease and fetching four boundaries, including two sixes. Attempted yorkers turned into friendly full tosses, which Sangakkara pounded over the leg side. Chargers ransacked 50 off two overs before the pair fell off successive deliveries. They smashed 95 off the last six overs and gave themselves a shot at beating the Warriors for the second time.

Rajasthan Royals v Delhi Daredevils, IPL 2012, Jaipur

Negi, Sehwag give Delhi fourth straight win

Posted By Anoop Dubey

May 2,2012

Delhi Daredevils 144 for 4 (Sehwag 73) beat Rajasthan Royals 141 for 6 (Dravid 57, Negi 4-18) by six wickets

A game-changing spell from left-arm spinner Pawan Negi followed by a fifth consecutive half-century from Virender Sehwag overwhelmed Rajasthan Royals in Jaipur and helped Delhi Daredevils strengthen their hold on the No. 1 position. The six-wicket victory, achieved with 28 balls to spare, was Daredevils' fourth consecutive win this season and gave them 16 points after ten games, while Kolkata Knight Riders are second with 13 after ten. One more win in six remaining games will assure Daredevils a place in the playoffs.

The previous game between these sides, two days ago at the Kotla, had been decided by a one-run margin, with Daredevils stealing victory from a dire situation. Royals looked like stretching Daredevils today as well, until Negi began to spin through the top order. After replacing Ajit Agarkar in Daredevils' XI, Negi began his spell when Royals were 56 for 0 in six overs. By the time he finished they had slumped to 95 for 5 after 13, and were eventually restricted to 141.

Negi was brought into the attack after the fielding restrictions were lifted and went for only six in his first over. In his next, after bowling two dot balls, he induced in Ajinkya Rahane the need to attempt the unorthodox, a reverse swat that landed in Virender Sehwag's hands at point. Until then Rahane had helped Royals score at about ten an over with mostly conventional yet extremely potent strokes. Rajasthan were 71 for 1.

Shane Watson, playing his first game this season in place of the injured Kevon Cooper, did not take long to unfurl a trademark heave against the other left-arm spinner, Shahbaz Nadeem, depositing the ball over deep midwicket. When he exhibited similar intent against Negi, he missed and lost off stump. In his final over, Negi had Brad Hodge caught cutting to point and Ashok Menaria holing out to long-on to finish with 4 for 18. Before that brace of wickets another in-form Royals batsman, Owais Shah, had been caught behind, top-edging a pull off Umesh Yadav. Royals had lost 5 for 24.

Through all this, Rahul Dravid stood firm. He had contributed a fair share to the early momentum, then watched the advantage fritter away, and took it upon himself to bat through the innings. In the 17th over, he drove Morne Morkel inside out to bring up a half-century off 35 balls. In the penultimate over, though, Dravid's slog across the line resulted in the ball going off the inside edge on to his leg and then on to hit the off stump.