Gambhir, Goswami recommended for Arjuna awards

Gautam Gambhir and India women's captain Jhulan Goswami have been recommended by the BCCI for the Arjuna Award, India's highest civilian honour for sportsmen.

Gambhir has been in prolific form since the start of 2008, scoring 1579 Test runs at an average of 75.19. His most notable performance was his match-saving 137 against New Zealand in Napier, where India batted out close to two days after following on to retain a 1-0 lead in the series, which they eventually won. He's also been one of India's best perfomers in the ODI format, scoring 1494 runs at 46.38 in the same duration.

Goswami replaced Mithali Raj as captain for India's tour of Australia in October 2008, and subsequently led the team to third place in the World Cup. Goswami, one of the fastest bowlers in the game, is currently the third-highest wicket taker in women's ODIs, and was named the ICC Women's Player of the Year in 2007.

Little cheer for KKR cheerleaders

They went. They watched. They came back.

Shah Rukh Khan’s angels, the six girls picked as official cheerleaders for the Kolkata Knight Riders, didn’t have to move a muscle in South Africa. Thanks to the rules decided upon by the Indian cricket board and the South African Cricket Association, only local girls are allowed to do the pompom dance in IPL Season Two.

So all Ananya Bera, Sunanda Hiroo, Rupali Kantharia, Sanna Chirawawala, Ritika Chibber and Samyukta Surendar could do was cheer the Knight Riders from the galleries besides hanging out with the players and sightseeing.

“We were told in advance that we will be going as guests and won’t be able to perform,” says city girl Sunanda. Ananya was the other cheerleader from the city.

Sunanda got back on Monday while Ananya from Lake Town returned last week to rejoin classes at St Francis Xavier’s School.

“Yes, it was like a holiday for all of us,” she says. “I would have loved to perform there but we had no option. We did have a lot of fun in the 10 days we were there. The team took really good care of us.”

The six girls camped in Cape Town and didn’t fly to the other venues with the team but absorbed plenty of team talk.

Sunanda says: “Everyone looked very disturbed at the dinner after the Super Over loss to the Rajasthan Royals. Then the coach (John Buchanan) spoke to everyone. He thanked Chris Gayle, he also thanked Sourav Ganguly for being the backbone of the team and made special mention of Yashpal Singh and Ajantha Mendis.”

Now, the angels can only cheer the Knight Riders from their drawing rooms. “We have a one-year contract with Red Chillies but we are sure that we will be able to perform at next year’s IPL,” says Sunanda.

“Shah Rukh was very apologetic. He said: ‘I assure you that next year all of you will be there and everything will be on a larger scale because whatever I had planned didn’t happen this year.’”

He was obviously not talking about cheerleading alone.

Indian Cricket Board lifts ban on ICL players

After maintaining a tough stand for close to two years, the Cricket Board on Wednesday lifted the ban on players aligned with the rebel ICL by offering a surprise "amnesty" which will make them eligible to play for the country again after a cooling period of one year.

The Indian Cricket League players have been given time till May 31 to severe ties with the Subhash Chandra-owned League, which was launched in 2007 but was not recognised by the ICC or the BCCI.

"The BCCI has decided to grant amnesty to all players, support staff and anyone else connected with ICL provided they cancel all their existing contracts with the ICL by May 31," BCCI President Shashank Manohar told a media conference here.

"But they will not be considered for international cricket for one year though they can play domestic cricket," he said.

The BCCI Chief said the Board took the decision after "a lot many players and support staff had approached us and admitted they had made a mistake and wanted to come back into the BCCI fold".

The BCCI's surprise move has paved the way for active ex-internationals like Dinesh Mongia, Hemang Badani and Rohan Gavaskar, coaches such as Sandeep Patil, Balwinder Sandhu and others on administrative side of the ICL like ex-captain Kapil Dev and Kiran More to return to the official body.

Manohar pointed out that the International Cricket Council had earlier this month rejected an ICL application to give it recognition, indirectly hinting this could be the reason for the players and others connected with ICL wishing to return to the official fold.

"They have admitted they made a mistake and we have decided to give them a chance," the Nagpur-based lawyer said.

But he also made it clear that as a measure of punishment for associating themselves with the rebel body those ex-players, whose monthly gratis was not remitted to them during their association with the ICL, would not be paid this amount even after they sever the ties.

"They will not be compensated. They will have to face some punishment and will not get the unpaid amount," he said.

The list of ex-players whose monthly gratis was stoppped by the BCCI includes current ICL Executive Director Kapil Dev and the amount works to Rs 35,000 per month.

The rebel ICL series was announced by Essel Group Chairman Subash Chandra soon after India's dismal performance in the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies with the first edition of the event held in October that year.

The BCCI, which shortly after came up with the Indian Premier League, refused to recognise the ICL and announced a ban on players associated with the 'rebel' League.

The BCCI had also advised the other national boards to have a similar approach to the ICL, which had become a home for many disgruntled players from across the world.

The Cricket Board-promoted Indian Premier League, also based on the widely popular Twenty20 format, stole the thunder less than six months later with the highly successful first edition held in India last year.

The ICL decided not to stage its 2009 edition after last year's Mumbai terror attacks, citing security reasons.

Delhi look to take wind out of Deccan sails

Big Picture

Adam Gilchrist and Herschelle Gibbs added 63 in quick time, Deccan Chargers v Mumbai Indians, IPL, 12th Match, Durban, April 25, 2009
Delhi Daredevils will want to see the back of Adam Gilchrist and Herschelle Gibbs fast © AFP

Supersport Park in Centurion plays host to the clash of the two best teams in the tournament - Deccan Chargers and Delhi Daredevils - in the first of Thursday's double-header. Deccan, with a 100 per cent record this season, are unrecognisable from the side that propped up the table in 2008. Herschelle Gibbs and Adam Gilchrist have fired at the top and there have been no batting collapses. The bowling has also looked more potent, thanks in no small way to Fidel Edwards, who will play at least one more game before heading to England to join his West Indies team-mates.

Delhi look the most likely team to upset Deccan's momentum. They were on a winning streak of their own but were upset by Rajasthan Royals and an incredible 83-run stand between Graeme Smith and Yusuf Pathan. That defeat was an eye-opener to several cracks; the fielding wasn't upto the mark and Daniel Vettori had a rare bad day at work. They will want to bounce back with a statement in this battle of the heavy weights.

Form guide

Delhi: Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir have failed to fire, individually and in partnership. Sehwag has a highest score of 38 and Gambhir 16. Sehwag's shot selection needs to improve but surely it's only a matter of time before he finds his feet.

Deccan Chargers: Gibbs, with 183 runs, is pushing Matthew Hayden (215) for the orange cap for the highest scorer and should claim it on Thursday. RP Singh and Lasith Malinga are tied on nine wickets and Pragyan Ojha is just behind at eight. So Deccan have a chance to keep the orange and purple caps.

Watch out for

Gibbs v de Villiers: There has been very little to separate this pair who have used the home advantage to the fullest. Gibbs has 176 runs, just seven behind de Villiers. The most striking similarity, apart from their electric fielding, is the power of their on-side shots.

Team news

For Delhi, Glenn McGrath is yet to get a game. Paul Collingwood has also been a passenger and he doesn't have much time left before heading back to England for the Tests. But Delhi will have to rest either Tillakaratne Dilshan or AB de Villiers and it's a tough choice considering their splendid form.

Delhi: (probable) 1 Gautam Gambhir, 2 Virender Sehwag (capt), 3 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 4 AB de Villiers, 5 Mithun Manhas, 6 Dinesh Karthik (wk), 7 Daniel Vettori, 8 Dirk Nannes, 9 Pradeep Sangwan, 10 Amit Mishra, 11 Ashish Nehra.

Deccan may not want to upset their winning combination.

Deccan: (probable) 1 Adam Gilchrist (capt/wk), 2 Herschelle Gibbs, 3 Dwayne Smith, 4 Rohit Sharma, 5 VVS Laxman, 6 Venugopal Rao, 7 Azharuddin Bilakhia, 8 Pragyan Ojha, 9 Shoaib Ahmed, 10 RP Singh, 11 Fidel Edwards.

Head-to-head record

Deccan were steamrolled at home by nine wickets as Sehwag bludgeoned an unbeaten 94 in chasing a target of 143. It was a much closer affair at the Feroz Shah Kotla where Deccan fell short by 12 runs chasing 195. Mishra signed off the victory in style with a hat-trick.

Cool Boucher wins Bangalore a thriller

Royal Challengers Bangalore v Kolkata Knight Riders, IPL, Durban

Cool Boucher wins Bangalore a thriller

The Bulletin by Sidharth Monga

April 29, 2009

Royal Challengers Bangalore 143 for 5 (Goswami 43, Hodge 3-29) beat Kolkata Knight Riders 139 for 6 (van Wyk 44*, Kumble 2-16) by five wickets
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

Kevin Pietersen dismissed Brendon McCullum for a first-ball duck, Royal Challengers Bangalore v Kolkata Knight Riders, IPL, 19th match, Durban, April 29, 2009
Kevin Pietersen opened the bowling and dismissed Brendon McCullum first ball to put pressure on Kolkata right from the outset © AFP

In a contest of two desperate teams, Royal Challengers Bangalore were simply more desperate, winning their second game of the season in six tries. Their desperation manifested itself positively, when they included three spinners in the side, opened the bowling with Kevin Pietersen and restricted Kolkata to a below-par total. And it showed up negatively, as they collapsed after a solid start - the first time both their openers got off the mark this season - and contrived to need 10 off the last over, having been 69 for 0 at one point.

Finally, Mark Boucher's cool head prevailed, and his 13-ball 25 saved them much embarrassment, especially when they have been the laughing stocks of the tournament.

Both teams needed inspiration from their captains, and clearly there was only one winner. Even before the toss, Pietersen showed he had read the pitch better by including the extra spinner, in Roelof van der Merwe. Kolkata, who like Bangalore are the butt of jokes, mainly because of their strategy and team decisions, dropped Ajantha Mendis for Murali Kartik. They would surely have regretted that decision when Kartik, Brad Hodge and Chris Gayle prolonged the game with tight bowling.

Pietersen, playing his last game before flying back to England, was the most desperate of all. Despite the presence of three spinners in his side, he bowled the first ball of the day, and got his counterpart Brendon McCullum out with that. Ironic, given that till now a scoreline of 0 for 1 has been an almost exclusive preserve of Pietersen's side. Two of his other spinners, Anil Kumble and KP Appanna, also struck in their first overs, both at crucial times when Kolkata seemed to have got away.

Hodge had come out blazing, taking Pankaj Singh for two fours and a six in three deliveries, and guiding Kolkata to a good start notwithstanding the first over. Till Kumble struck in the sixth over. He first beat Gayle with a bouncing delivery, then got Hodge with a slider to have Kolkata stumbling at 45 for 2.

Gayle scored at an uncharacteristic strike-rate of 108, batting with a runner, and giving up adventure for responsibility. His dismissal, too, was unusual for him - holing out to a boundary fielder off Appanna. It wasn't clear whether the restricted foot movement was the reason but it was certain that Kolkata at that point looked - despite the loss of regular wickets - primed for a second-half assault, at 70 for 3 in 11.1 overs.

That assault never came, though, and, despite Morne van Vyk's 35-ball 44, Kolkata couldn't even double that score. Kumble played a major role, dismissing the dangerous-looking Wriddhiman Saha in his first over back. The spinners bowled 15 overs for 100 runs, and took five wickets. Kumble bowled four of them for 16 runs and two wickets.

Shreevats Goswami, replacing the hopeless Robin Uthappa at the top, and Jacques Kallis got Bangalore off to a start. Goswami was especially impressive. While Kallis was slow in scoring runs, Goswami kept Bangalore ahead of the required run-rate, targeting Ajit Agarkar, the weak link in the Kolkata attack. He hit three boundaries in Agarkar's two overs and didn't allow Kartik to settle into any rhythm, stepping out and hitting two boundaries in his first over.

Kartik made a good comeback and, not for the first time this tournament, Bangalore lost their way post the strategy time-out. They were 65 for 0 at the break, but soon wickets started falling as they looked to capitalise on a good start. Hodge benefited from some reckless shots, and 69 for 0 became 77 for 2. With Ishant Sharma coming out to bowl an impressive late spell, 106 for 2 became 107 for 4 in the 16th over.

Boucher, accustomed to finishing games for South Africa, had the right mix of sensible running and big hitting. He kept his cool through a poor 19th over, when Ishant gave away just three runs and claimed van der Merwe's wicket. His boundary hits came at the right times. He hit a six with 29 required off 16, and then a four with nine required off five. In a match where it seemed, at times, neither team had the will to win, Boucher was the final difference.

Punjab steal low-scoring thriller

Talk about pulling one from out of the hat. Defending a small total Kings XI Punjab's three-pronged pace attack bowled canny spells to rock Mumbai Indians' chase, and despite a composed half-century from JP Duminy, Punjab hung on to complete a nerve-wracking three-run victory. Mumbai hardly set a wrong foot forward from the time they lost the toss, striking early through spin and keeping their hands on the jugular through Lasith Malinga's late strikes, but failed to chase 120. Kumar Sangakkara had kept the innings alive with an important unbeaten 45 with scant support and it proved decisive in the end. Having struck early in the piece the task of bowling the last over, and defend 12 runs, came to Yusuf Abdulla. And what an over it turned out to be.

Duminy, who was on 55, swung two down the ground, missed a clever slower ball, left a wide be, heaved two more, and then swung the fourth ball straight to deep midwicket. Abdulla was perspiring insanely in the Kingsmead cauldron as he left his giddy team-mates and went back to his mark. But this is a left-arm fast bowler adept at the Twenty20 format, and he only allowed three off the next two balls, aided by a superb dive at cover by the portly Ramesh Powar off the last ball to save a couple, to spark incredible scenes.

This major upset was put into motion early in Mumbai's chase. Mumbai are very reliant on their veteran openers, so striking early was one massive way at winning. Irfan Pathan gave Punjab exactly what they wanted, getting Sanath Jayasuriya to nick one to slip in the first over. Then Sachin Tendulkar, for once, failed. After a thick edge past backward point and crude hoick he drove Vikramjeet Malik straight to point. The situation was particularly dubious when a struggling Shikhar Dhawan missed a middle-stump yorker from Abdulla.

That left Duminy and Dwayne Bravo to steer a faltering chase, and Duminy set about it with consecutive boundaries in Malik's second over. Bravo a pulled four and lofted six in Piyush Chawla's opening over only to repeat the big shot in the next and hole out to long-on. Mumbai went into the tactical break on 47 for 4, still 73 adrift.

Duminy has proved a master of such situations and milked the bowling in a 49-run stand with Abhishek Nayar. Livewires alike, they pinched singles and kept runs ticking over. Harried singles from clever paddles and rubber-wrist dabs also did the trick. A few fumbles in the deep told as Punjab started to slack; a couple fortuitous inside edges and a missed run out and stumping compounded their frustration.

As the target got closer Duminy raised his fifty off 55 balls, the slowest of the IPL. Irfan came back to clean up Nayar first ball of the 18th over, with Mumbai needing 26, and Harbhajan Singh fell in the penultimate over with 19 left. Seven runs were scampered in the next five balls. Then Abdullah came into the picture to seal Punjab the tightest win of the tournament.

It was a disappointing loss for Mumbai after a glossy display in the field. For the second game running at Kingsmead spin had its say over proceedings early on. Mumbai's slow bowlers came on well inside the first ten overs and quickly dented Punjab. Malinga and Zaheer Khan were frugal with the new ball, but it was Harbhajan's entry in the fourth over brought the wicket of Goel, stumped easily. That brought about another change, Bravo coming in and immediately accounting for Ravi Bopara with an away-swinger. The Powerplay yielded two wickets for Mumbai and just 26 runs for Punjab, which included one six and a four.

Attempting to up the tempo Yuvraj was well held on the long-on boundary by Zaheer off Duminy - who came in the seventh over - and Mumbai were hooting and screaming. At the ten-over break Punjab were 50 for 3. Throughout the tournament the first over after the tactical break has proved jittery for sides batting first and the pattern continued. Enter Jayasuriya and third ball Mahela Jayawardene chipped a low full toss to long-on.

Batting wasn't easy with the slow bowlers purchasing grip from a track on which spin accounted for eight wickets in the afternoon's game. Sangakkara curbed himself in and knocked the ball around. The sweep was a shot he played regularly in between chopping the ball into the arc between cover and point. After Irfan fell in the 15th over Punjab needed a big over, but it never came. Malinga came back for two overs and nobody was able to get him away; Wilkin Mota and Chawla were yorked in the space of three balls. In the last ten overs Mumbai conceded just two boundaries off the bat, Sangakkara and Powar clubbing Bravo twice in the final over.

Ultimately Sangakkara's vigil and Abdulla's calm came up trumps for Punjab. For Mumbai, it was a rude wake-up call, and they will now seriously have to address a batting order too reliant on the openers.

Rajasthan Royals Vs Delhi Daredevills highlights

I'll quit if we don't make semis - McCullum

Brendon McCullum was caught down the leg side, Deccan Chargers v Kolkata Knight Riders, IPL, 4th game, Cape Town, April 19, 2009
Brendon McCullum: "It hurts more when you lose as a captain. Twenty times more!" © Getty Images

Brendon McCullum has reiterated his stand of resigning as captain of Kolkata Knight Riders if the team doesn't reach the semi-finals of the current IPL tournament. He also said the toughest thing he was facing as a captain was his own poor form.

"I think every captain should be accountable for the results," McCullum said, echoing his statements after Kolkata's heavy defeat to Mumbai Indians on Monday. "You just can't drift along the journey; there is no accountability behind it. My job as a captain is to inspire the team and be competitive. If I can't inspire this bunch of talented people and reach the semi-finals then, yes, I will resign."

McCullum has presided over a woeful run for Kolkata - one win and one no result yielding three points in five games - and he believes it's down to a poor performance in the first six overs with bat and ball. "We are failing to do any damage in the top six overs either way. We haven't taken wickets at the start and we haven't scored much runs at the top. We are always been behind the game. Hopefully I will start scoring and get that right."

McCullum said that his lack of runs as a batsman has been tough for him to handle as a captain. "It's tough when you are delivering messages to the team. You don't have individual performances to stack up behind those talks. But you have to put aside individual disappointments and concentrate on what the team needs to do. If I can get the runs, though, and help these individuals it would be nice."

Has the captaincy affected his batting? "Well ... I haven't gone past two overs! So I can't say that. When I go into bat, I am not thinking about captaincy. For me batting is enjoyment and fun. I don't play with that kind of responsibility when I go out."

There is a clear difference, he says, between being a player and being a captain. "It hurts more when you lose as a captain. Twenty times more! It's just incredibly disappointing; it's tough."

For all the difficulties associated with the captaincy, McCullum appreciates the mental challenge. "The best part of it is, you get an opportunity to use your ideas and strategies on the game. When you walk off the park you know you have had the opportunity or making a mark on the game, win or lose."

McCullum inherits the captaincy from Sourav Ganguly, the team's icon player, and amid some controversy over the "multiple captaincy" theory. It could have been easier had he taken over from someone with less of an emotional hold on the team and the city - a Dravid, perhaps, or a Kallis. McCullum, however, denies any additional pressue on that account. "Sourav has been fantastic. I haven't take notice of the controversy.. I am a very competitive guy, and I'm passionate about playing for this side. It's an honour to lead a side with talents like this. I am not bothered about the captaincy controversy."

Smith, Pathan script remarkable win

A brutal innings from Yusuf Pathan, a more sedate but no less important knock by Graeme Smith and another typically inspired tactical tweak from Shane Warne combined to script perhaps the most amazing turnaround of this tournament. Delhi Daredevils' first defeat of IPL 2009 also owed itself to some miserly bowling from a revived Munaf Patel and some sloppy fielding of their own.

Spin continued to play a major influence, as Amit Mishra rattled Rajasthan with a three-wicket burst to leave them reeling at 64 for 5 and needing 80 off nine overs. But Smith's assurance and Pathan's ability left Delhi shell-shocked; they held the cards for much of the innings but ended up with the joker.

A target of 144 was tricky given this was the IPL's first game here but Rajasthan would have backed themselves after a laudable performance with the ball. However, they made a meal of it thanks to a shoddy display by their rejigged top and middle order.

Rajasthan had already been pegged back by the time spin was introduced. Rob Quiney was pushed up to open but didn't last long, trapped in front by Ashish Nehra in the fourth over. Next to go was the impatient Swapnil Asnodkar, run out attempting an impossible run, and Paul Valthaty - included to beef up Rajasthan's misfiring batting line-up - who holed out at long-off off Mishra. At 34 for 3, Rajasthan were reeling and the ploy of pushing up the greenhorns seemed to have backfired.

Worse was to follow after the tactical break: Mishra struck back with two wickets in the 11th over, deceiving both Ravindra Jadeja and Shane Warne, who had promoted himself ahead of Pathan. 64 for 5 and an embarrassment seemed on the cards.

But Warne usually has a method to his apparent madness. In the middle for Rajasthan were Smith and Pathan, with the assurance of Dimitri Mascarenhas to follow. Pathan seemed to have taken up from where he left off in the Super Over against Kolkata Knight Riders. He needed two balls before unleashing his power. He first ended Daniel Vettori's enviable run, depositing him over deep midwicket off successive deliveries, and drilling one past him off the final ball to net 19 in a match-turning 13th over.

Delhi had their chances. Tillakaratne Dilshan missed an attempt to run Yusuf out in the very next over, and, when 31 were needed off 21 deliveries, Sangwan spilled a running catch at long-on, again off Yusuf, palming the ball to the boundary to seal Delhi's fate. The next ball disappeared for six, spoiling Mishra's figures, and Nehra's next over saw two short balls dismissed with ferocity into the stands to hasten Rajasthan's win.

If Yusuf was brute force, Smith was quite the opposite. With 19 runs in three innings he seemed eager to prove himself on home turf and his determination was clear as he flicked, nudged, dabbed and swept to ensure the runs kept coming. He kept his own natural game on hold, taking 14 overs to strike his second boundary. A combination of Yusuf's power game and Smith's measured tenacity put Rajasthan back in contention after a disappointing start to the tournament.

The batsmen owed much, though, to the bowlers, in particular Munaf Patel, who'd done an admirable job restricting Delhi to a gettable target. Though bowling hasn't been a major worry for Rajasthan, with disciplined performances in each of their three completed games, surviving an explosive top order was expected to be a stern test.

However, they benefited from a combination of poor shot selection and an ability to extract the most of the conditions. AB de Villiers and Daniel Vettori led Delhi's revival with an attacking 56-run stand that was ended by a dodgy decision against de Villiers, who was adjudged lbw to a ball from Warne that pitched outside leg. Despite, the setback, Delhi continued to threaten, with Vettori and Mithun Manhas taking 25 off two overs from Warne and Kamran Khan. But Munaf swung the pendulum back Rajasthan's way with a wicket maiden - the wicket of Vettori - at the death.

India to host 2011 World Cup final

India will host the final and one semi-final of the 2011 World Cup while Sri Lanka will stage the other semi-final, the tournament's organising committee decided in Mumbai on Tuesday. India will host 29 matches in eight venues, Sri Lanka will host 12 in three venues while Bangladesh will stage eight at two grounds.

Undercooked Rajasthan meet in-form Delhi

The Centurion leg of the IPL begins on Tuesday and the first match at Supersport Park features teams in different halves of the league. Delhi Daredevils won three out of three games and are currently in second spot, behind Deccan Chargers who won all of their four matches. Last year's champions Rajasthan Royals are second from bottom with only one win - after a Super Over against Kolkata Knight Riders - from four games and will be underdogs against a formidable Delhi side.

Delhi have almost no worries with any disciplines of their game. Their bowlers have struck form: Dirk Nannes proved a handful with the new ball with his skiddy pace while the spin duo of Daniel Vettori and Amit Mishra succeeded in stalling Bangalore Royal Challengers in the last game. Delhi's strength is their powerful top-order and at least one batsman has come good in every game to ensure victory. A minor worry, though, is the form of Gautam Gambhir who is yet to make a contribution to Delhi's campaign.

Rajasthan's two defeats so far have been because of batting collapses: they folded for 58 against Bangalore and 112 against Kings XI Punjab. They are missing Shane Watson's contributions with the bat and Graeme Smith has been in poor form this season. They've had to rely on Yusuf Pathan for big hits and the lack of depth - Dimitri Mascarenhas and Ravindra Jadeja are a spot too high at Nos 5 and 6 - is hurting them.

Form guide
Delhi: Tillakaratne Dilshan and AB de Villiers have 117 and 126 runs respectively at strike-rates of over 150 from two innings. Gambhir, however, has only 31 runs from three matches. Vettori is their leading wicket-taker with six wickets and an economy-rate of just over seven while Mishra impressed with 1 for 19 in his only game.

Rajasthan: That Shane Warne has the best batting average - 39.00 - among the Rajasthan batsman says a lot about how poor the rest have been. Smith has scored only 19 runs in three innings. Left-arm fast bowler Kamran Khan has been their best bowler with five wickets and an economy-rate of only 4.90.

Watch out for
Tillakaratne Dilshan: The pre-tournament talk regarding Delhi's batting revolved around their exciting new signing, David Warner, and a few people were surprised when Dilshan was selected ahead of the Australian in the XI. Dilshan, however, has played two vital innings which helped Delhi recover from losing their openers cheaply.

Team news
Delhi have lost Manoj Tiwary to injury and replaced him with Mithun Manhas, who held his nerve during a tense finish against Bangalore. Mishra, who was also brought in for the last game, is likely to retain his place unless the conditions in Centurion are extremely seamer friendly.

Delhi: 1 Gautam Gambhir, 2 Virender Sehwag (capt), 3 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 4 AB de Villiers, 5 Mithun Manhas, 6 Dinesh Karthik (wk), 7 Daniel Vettori, 8 Dirk Nannes, 9 Pradeep Sangwan, 10 Amit Mishra, 11 Ashish Nehra.

After the defeat against Punjab, Warne said that they would make changes to the top-order but it's hard to predict what those changes will be. Tyron Henderson and Lee Carseldine are options but Rajasthan have few strong players on the bench to pick from.

Rajasthan: 1 Graeme Smith, 2 Swapnil Asnodkar, 3 Rob Quiney/Tyron Henderson/Lee Carseldine, 4 Yusuf Pathan, 5 Dimitri Mascarenhas, 6 Ravindra Jedeja, 7 Shane Warne (capt), 8 Mahesh Rawat (wk), 9 Abhishek Raut, 10 Kamran Khan, 11 Munaf Patel.

Head-to-head record
Delhi and Rajasthan played each other thrice last season. Delhi won the first encounter easily by nine wickets, but lost the next two. Rajasthan clinched a home victory by three wickets in the second league game before winning the semi-final by a whopping 105 runs in Mumbai.

Gibbs takes Deccan to fourth win

Chennai Super Kings v Deccan Chargers, IPL, Durban

Gibbs gives Deccan fourth consecutive win

The Bulletin by George Binoy

April 27, 2009

Deccan Chargers 169 for 4 (Gilchrist 44, Gibbs 69*) beat Chennai Super Kings 165 for 6 (Hayden 49, Oram 41*, Ojha 2-11) by six wickets
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

Herschelle Gibbs makes room to drive, Chennai Super Kings v Deccan Chargers, IPL, 16th match, Durban, April 27, 2009
Herschelle Gibbs was the Man of the Match for his unbeaten 69 © AFP

A tenacious display from Deccan Chargers' bowlers followed by a murderous assault from their opening batsmen secured their fourth consecutive win of the tournament and firmly established the Hyderabad side as the team to beat this season.

Pragyan Ojha once again bowled impressively - picking up two wickets in one crucial over, including that of the dangerous-looking Matthew Hayden - to restrict Chennai to merely 165 when they looked set for much more at one stage. The competitive target, however, was diminished by a withering assault from Adam Gilchrist and Herschelle Gibbs. They blitzed 60 runs off the first four overs and gave their team enough cushion against a few setbacks on their way to victory.

Gilchrist dictated terms from the first over, in which he drove L Balaji to the long-off and extra-cover boundaries. Gibbs took on Manpreet Gony in the next: he charged and lofted straight down the ground for four, pulled over the fine-leg boundary and hit two more fours to midwicket and square leg to take 20 runs off the over. Balaji dropped Gilchrist - a hard caught-and-bowled chance - in the third over and paid for it by conceding 17 runs. Gilchrist deposited the ball into the stands at deep square leg, pulled another one to the midwicket boundary, and launched yet another over the straight boundary. MS Dhoni brought Albie Morkel into the attack but there was barely any improvement as Gilchrist drilled him to the cover boundary and whacked him over the rope at square leg.

With the fast bowlers bleeding runs, Dhoni turned to spin and the breakthroughs came from the unlikeliest of operators. Suresh Raina struck twice with his offbreaks, inducing both Gilchrist, who clobbered 44 off 18 balls, and VVS Laxman to cut to short third man. Deccan had gone from 67 for 0 to 75 for 2 and they scored only 25 runs between overs six and ten. However, the early momentum provided by Gilchrist and the steady half-century from Gibbs, who batted through the innings, ensured that the lull did not do irreparable damage. Gibbs shifted to a lower gear but ensured that he was on strike when eight runs were needed off the last over. The first ball was full from Balaji, Gibbs got under it and heaved it over the deep midwicket boundary to ease Deccan's nerves.

A larger target would have stretched Deccan, given that they had only three balls to spare, and Ojha's double-breakthrough in the 13th over played a crucial role in keeping Chennai to 165. Hayden was at his bullying best, stepping out and muscling bowlers across the quick outfield at Kingsmead. Parthiv Patel continued the odd trend of teams losing a wicket before scoring a run but the early loss did not faze Hayden. He attacked RP Singh, the league's highest wicket-taker, immediately by walking down to swat him to the midwicket boundary and to cut over point. The extra pace and bounce of Fidel Edwards didn't make a difference either and Hayden advanced and powered him through the off side.

Hayden found an attacking partner in Suresh Raina but both batsmen were lucky to survive dropped catches. Raina was let off by debutant Azhar Bilakhia at gully when he was on two and Gilchrist grassed a tough chance to his left when Hayden was on 17. They made Deccan pay for their lapses during a 64-run stand for the second wicket.

Ojha repeated his performance against Mumbai Indians soon after the tactical time-out. Against Mumbai, he took three wickets in successive overs and today he managed to dismiss both Dhoni and Hayden in one. Chennai slipped from 102 for 2 to 103 for 4 in the space of three balls. Curiously Gilchrist didn't give Ojha another over and he finished with figures of 2 for 11 in two overs.

Jacob Oram, who replaced the injured Flintoff, provided Chennai with acceleration towards the end of the innings, hitting the debutant Shoaib Ahmed for massive sixes down the ground. Oram helped Chennai take 20 runs off the 18th over but their total proved too little against Deccan's in-form batting line-up.

Mumbai cruise to massive victory

Many a time over the last 15 years or so fans of this great game have wondered what it would be like if Sachin Tendulkar and Sanath Jayasuriya opened together in a limited-overs game and really turned it on. Today they got a glimpse.

The two masters of the limited-overs game, with a combined age of nearly 76, treated Port Elizabeth to the cleanest, purest exhibition of batting that this season of the IPL has seen. Tendulkar paved the way with a sublime innings and Jayasuriya followed suit with an explosive hand, the veteran pair combining to raise a century stand in 52 balls that flummoxed Kolkata Knight Riders. That stunning opening assault formed the crux of Mumbai Indians' 187 and though Kolkata restricted the damage with six wickets for 48 runs after the tactical break, the damage had been done. Their only realistic chance at victory rested on their explosive openers' shoulders but once they were gone inside three overs the chase was basically kaput.

Mumbai's first five overs were busy, without being spectacular. Tendulkar was beaten a couple times by Ishant Sharma but upper-cut a six and flicked a four in Ashok Dinda's first over. That set the tone for a busy innings, taken up a level when he pulled Ishant for six from outside off stump.

While Tendulkar whisked the ball off his pads and slapped through point, Jayasuriya didn't get much strike. His first shot in anger was a chip just over extra cover's fingertips and a signature clip to fine leg followed. Mumbai were 45 for 0 in five overs. What followed was carnage.

Jayasuriya, who was on 8 as Tendulkar scurried to 30, launched Sourav Ganguly's gentle military-medium stuff for consecutive sixes; Tendulkar swept Ajantha Mendis for six; Chris Gayle went for ten in six balls; Mendis was dumped for two sixes by each batsman in his second over. Tendulkar's fourth six, a deft pick-up over midwicket off Mendis, raised his fifty from 34 balls. Jayasuriya had blasted 33 from 13 balls. The 100 was up in 8.4 overs. When the tactical break was taken Tendulkar was 60 off 39 and Jayasuriya 43 off 21, Mumbai 111 for 0.

For a man who has only played one international Twenty20, Tendulkar batted with amazing fluency. He got the wrists into play superbly, pulling and cutting hard, and used his crease to negotiate the pacers. Mendis wasn't even allowed to settle; Gayle was effortlessly reverse-swept.

There were no crude shots, no cross-batted slogs from Tendulkar and Jayasuriya. This was clinical hitting - each veteran knew the field and backed himself to pick the gaps. It was the experience of 1138 combined international games coming together in a mesmerizing mosaic of boundaries. In between clearing his front leg to lift Mendis there were clever late dabs from Tendulkar, neat tickles from Jayasuriya.

That assault was in stark contrast to the second half of Mumbai's innings, when Kolkata regrouped. The scoring slowed after the break and Tendulkar fell to Laxmi Shukla, looking to take the ball from off stump and work it to leg. Harbhajan Singh strode in, clubbed 18 from 8 balls, and sent a full toss to deep midwicket. Jayasuriya looked for width but instead chipped to cover for 52 from 32 balls. Then Abhishek Nayar was run out, Dwayne Bravo top-edged to the deep, and Shikhar Dhawan edged Ishant. Gayle bowled a decent last over and Mumbai were unable to end on with a flurry.

Kolkata needed almost 9.5 runs an over inside a stadium rumbling like a Jay Z amplifier, and the pressure of chasing a large total under lights affected the Kolkata openers early in their innings. Brendon McCullum shouldered arms to his first ball before he steered Lasith Malinga to point. Gayle thumped Bravo for the 152th six in the IPL only to edge his West Indian team-mate to slip.

Sourav Ganguly wasn't allowed to come onto the front foot and so he used his feet to loft Bravo down the ground for six and four, and with that try for some momentum. But Ganguly struggled to find the boundaries thereafter and Brad Hodge never really threatened with 24 off 22 balls. Both were to fall against the tidy seam-up bowling of Nayar in successive overs, the last nail firmly hammered into Kolkata's coffin.

Nayar, Bravo, Zaheer Khan and Malinga didn't have to do much but keep it near the stumps and wait for an urgent shot. Each struck rather easily and the rest of the batting card made for disappointing reading as Kolkata fell short by 92 runs. From 71 for 3 when Hodge fell, Kolkata folded for 95 in 15.2 overs.

A powerful batting display was followed by an efficient, shining effort in the field, aptly demonstrating that Mumbai pretty much have all the bases covered.

All-round Clarke ensures series lead

Pakistan's propensity to self-destruct cost them the lead in this series in dramatic manner, a batting collapse against spin handing Australia an improbable win. Michael Clarke, the Australian captain, turned in a superb all-round performance with a gritty 66 in the face of some penetrative spin bowling before picking up 3 for 15 amid Pakistan's middle-order chaos. His spin partners, Nathan Hauritz and Andrew Symonds, helped defend a below-par score of 198 as Pakistan fell short by 27 runs.

Spinners have been making headlines in the IPL in South Africa and the story today wasn't any different in the northern hemisphere. Pakistan's own spin trio strangled the runs and picked up three wickets and, by the time their openers Salman Butt and Ahmed Shehzad added 95, the hosts looked set for a series lead. That's when spin worked its magic again.

The cycle-stand collapse - in which shoddy shot selection played no small part - had strong statistical parallels with Australia's in Dubai during the first ODI. Back then, Australia slipped from 95 for 1 to 122 for 9. Today, Pakistan's collapse started at 95 and ended 76 runs later.

The game had drifted from Australia during the first 22 overs of the chase with Pakistan comfortably placed in terms of the required rate and wickets in hand. Only a lapse in concentration from the batsmen could have resulted in a breakthrough and exactly that caused Butt's downfall when he poked Hauritz to Clarke at first slip. The bowler had caused a few flutters in his previous over when he beat the left-hander and the fielders may have sensed that something was about to give. The next ball stopped on Younis Khan, who chipped it to a diving Andrew Symonds at midwicket and Australia had two in two. Misbah-ul-Haq negotiated the hat-trick ball and, in the next over, hit Symonds for a straight six. That prompted the captain to bring himself on and his move paid immediate dividends, Misbah holing out to long-on off the very first ball. The next delivery was an arm ball that Shehzad failed to read and was bowled. Once again, two off two.

That brought together Malik and Afridi, and there was a period of relative calm for Pakistan, though not without the odd scare - including an appeal for a stumping when the third umpire pressed the button for the red light by mistake. One sensed, though, that Afridi wouldn't last too long - and sure enough, determined to break the shackles with a big hit, he advanced down the track and edged to slip. Pakistan had lost half their side in the space of 28 runs and the Australians, having smelt blood, didn't need a second invitation to move in for the kill.

The rest of the wickets were a blur. A miscommunication between Kamran Akmal and Malik, over a single that was there for the taking, summed up the utter confusion. Two balls later, Akmal chipped Bracken to mid-on and he too was history. Yasir Arafat went for a slog and was bowled, Tanvir pulled and top-edged before Umar Gul threw his bat and was bowled Stuart Clark, bringing the match to an end

The drama overshadowed Australia's own struggles with the bat, and Clarke's return to form couldn't have come at a better moment. He was the spinners' bunny in South Africa and in the first ODI but today the fluency returned. He walked in after James Hopes' run-out - off a direct hit by Younis - and eased off the blocks with some crisply timed shots and soft punches down the ground off the seamers. He added 46 for the third wicket with Haddin to help Australia after the loss of two quick wickets.

His effort against the spinners was more impressive given that the ball was gripping and turning and Afridi was varying his pace and slipping in the odd googly. While he attacked the batsmen and looked to pick up wickets, the others - Malik and Saeed Ajmal - teased with flight and cramped the batsmen for room and in general kept it simple.

Clarke wasn't afraid to use his feet but Afridi cleverly dropped the ball short and forced him to defend. He hit the odd wide delivery to the boundary and began to push the singles with a lot more ease in the company of Callum Ferguson, who managed to rotate the strike with Clarke in a 54-run stand, though it included a 10-over spell without a boundary.

Clarke broke the spell with a cover-driven boundary off Ajmal and, in the 38th over, Australia took the batting Powerplay. Clarke pulled Afridi to square leg but the bowler had his revenge when he fired one short, quick and forced the batsman to check his shot. He ended up chipping it tamely to Afridi and was gone - but not before a match-winning 66.

Cricket-Sri Lankans Sangakkara and Dilshan set up IPL wins

CAPE TOWN, April 26 (Reuters) - Sri Lankans Tillakaratne Dilshan and Kumar Sangakkara scored half-centuries to guide the Delhi Daredevils and King's XI Punjab to comfortable wins on day nine of the Indian Premier League (IPL) on Sunday.

Dilshan compiled an unbeaten 67 to anchor the Daredevils to a target of 150 against the under-achieving Bangalore Royal Challengers who limped to 149 for seven before slumping to their fourth consecutive defeat.

England's Kevin Pietersen top-scored with 37 for the Bangalore franchise before being bowled by Daniel Vettori and South Africa wicketkeeper Mark Boucher belted 36 from 28 balls at the end of the innings.

But Dilshan negotiated the inevitable wobbles in the run chase to push the tournament favourite Daredevils over the line with four balls to spare in Port Elizabeth.

At Newlands in Cape Town the King's XI slumped to 48 for four in the face of disciplined bowling from 18-year-old left armer Kamran Khan and experienced seamer Munaf Patel.

But Sangakkara rebuilt the innings during a fifth-wicket stand of 75 with Indian Irfan Pathan.

A final total of 139 for six may have looked below par but Newlands lived up to its reputation as a bowlers' paradise under floodlights and Shane Warne's team crashed to 42 for six.

The great Australian leg-spinner made 34 not out in a stand of 60 with Ravindra Jadeja (37) to give the innings a semblance of respectability without ever threatening a victory.

Sangakkara compiled a steady 60 from 51 balls in tricky batting conditions and Pathan contributed 39 from 33 deliveries with two fours and two sixes.

Shahrukh in trouble for smoking at the IPL

Bollywood actor Shahrukh Khan's act of smoking during an Indian Premier League match hasn't gone down too well with the anti-smoking lobby. The National Organisation for Tobacco Eradication (NOTE) was upset with the broadcasters of the tournament which showed the footage of King Khan smoKing during the match between Kolkata Knight Riders and the Kings XI Punjab.

NOTE issued a statement that the official broadcasters should ensure that footage of smoking especially by celebrities should not be broadcast. They argued that such visuals increases the chances of youngsters picKing up the habit in trying to imitate their Heroes. NOTE has requested the even organisers to make no smoKing announcements at the venues during the matches.

NOTE added that although smoking was not banned in public places in South Africa it was lobbying with the South African National Council Against Smoking to bring a blanket ban on smoking in public places. NOTE's General Secretary Shekhar Salkar said in absence of a law they had requested Shahrukh and other celebrities to quit smoKing for their well being.

This is not the first time that King Khan is in trouble due to his smoking habit. In October 2007 he was served with a legal notice by the same NGO for smoKing during the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit and an ODI match between India and Australia in Mumbai. Well Shahrukh still seems to be in no mood to Kick the butt.

All-round Irfan stars in Punjab's win

Two pairs of left-handers played key roles as Kings XI Punjab steamrolled Rajasthan Royals in Cape Town. Punjab struggled after early losses and it was left to Kumar Sangakkara to weigh in with his first half-century of the tournament and the star of the day, Irfan Pathan, to provide the momentum for a fightback. Then, defending a total of 139, Punjab were indebted to double-wicket overs from Irfan and Yusuf Abdulla at the start.

Both left-arm seamers did a sterling job under the Newlands lights, mixing their line and length impressively to check a shaky batting line-up. Rajasthan, who had set themselves a realistic chance of victory in the field fell 27 runs short.

Rajasthan's chase of 140 wasn't a tall order, but their fate was sealed by a rampant left-arm seam attack who snaffled four wickets in the first five overs. Having contributed with the bat, Irfan grabbed two wickets in his opening over. He drew a top edge from Swapnil Asnodkar with a short ball and produced a thin edge off Graeme Smith's bat with a fuller, away-swinging delivery. Rajasthan were 9 for 2.

Yuvraj Singh had opened the bowling with Ramesh Powar but Irfan's success encouraged him to go for an all-pace attack. Adbulla's first over was tidy, costing just six, and his second was disastrous for Rajasthan. Rob Quiney got a faint tickle on one down the leg side and a leaden-footed Dimitri Mascarenhas heard the death rattle second ball when he played around an offcutter.

That left Rajasthan 27 for 4, anxiously needing a partnership and Yusuf Pathan - Man of the Match in their last game - to fire. Yusuf began by picking his brother for a couple fours only to perish sweeping in Piyush Chawa's first over. Another bowling change had worked and Punjab were all over Rajasthan.

Chawla tossed it up and was rewarded with another wicket. The asking-rate kept increasing and it proved too much for Ravindra Jadeja (37) and Shane Warne, who scampered smart singles but couldn't find the boundaries during their 60-run association. Abdulla came back with Rajasthan needing 38 from two overs and cleaned up Jadeja first ball. Irfan gave just six in the last over to cap a great game. That Rajasthan didn't manage one six told a story.

Irfan's two early wickets were crucial defending a small total but that could have been smaller without his contribution with the bat when Punjab were four down for not much. Karan Goel was run out first ball - the second time in the day a wicket had fallen in that manner - before Kamran Khan and Munaf Patel struck. Warne's decision to use each of his pace bowlers in one-over bursts worked wonderfully. There were no consecutive overs for any bowler from the Wynberg end and each time Kamran and Munaf came back they struck first ball.

Kamran removed Ravi Bopara courtesy an athletic dive from Munaf at mid-on and Munaf rcame back to dismiss Yuvraj with one that swung way. Punjab slipped to 48 for 4 when Mahela Jayawardene scooped Munaf to a sliding Kamran at mid-off.

It was Irfan who provided much-needed ammunition. He wasn't always assured against spin, but backing himself to swing freely through the on side he helped Punjab rebuild. Warne and Yusuf were hit for a six each by Irfan, the quicker deliveries were smartly worked square on the off side, and a handy partnership of 75 in 59 balls had begun. Irfan kept up the momentum with some sweetly-timed strokes on the off side, the best of the lot being a cut off Warne when he came back on.

Sangakkara's 60 held the innings together. So often a calm, controlled batsman, he combined his usual elegance with a range of aggressive shots; cutting deftly, pulling powerfully and even launching Warne into a raucous crowd. Mascarenhas found just a hint of swing but too often served up four-balls; Sangakkara took him for three cracking boundaries. A powerful partnership had set up a final flourish but Rajasthan dismissed Irfan and Sangakkara in the 19th over to set themselves a gettable target.

But in the end there was no denying Punjab, piloted to victory by the all-round heroics of Irfan, their brightest star.

Spin is the new mantra for Twenty20

The emergence of spin as a match-turner in this IPL has surprised some of the best spinners in world cricket today but South African experts have seen it coming and say that spin will play a major role in Twenty20 cricket, and not just the Indian league.

Consider this: 30 wickets have fallen to spin in 10 games so far, with Anil Kumble, Shane Warne, Muttiah Muralitharan, and Daniel Vettori all turning in impressive performances. Even a part-timer like Kevin Pietersen has taken three wickets with his offspin.

Harbhajan Singh and Murali have already revised their opinion about the role of spinners in the IPL, and Mickey Arthur, the South Africa coach, says their success has only strengthened his belief that slow bowlers will be influential in Twenty20 cricket. It is a view shared by Pat Symcox, the former South Africa offspinner, who says the weather conditions this time of the year will assist spinners.

"I think spin plays a major role in Twenty20 cricket, and not just the IPL," Arthur told Cricinfo. "Looking at the World Twenty20 in June, we have already decided to cover all our options in pace and spin in our blueprint. It's obvious to us now that it's a good bowling unit that wins you a Twenty20 game, and not just the batsmen. You need to have a bowling unit that has the ability to take wickets and that is what will finally determine the result of a Twenty20 game."

Symcox says the pitch and weather conditions in South Africa will be a deciding factor in the tournament. "It's basically got to do with this time of the year in South Africa with the winter setting in," Symcox told Cricinfo. "The pitches start to wear a bit and the grass becomes a lot drier. There is much better grip for the spinners. Besides, there is always a little bit of extra bounce in South Africa, when compared to India where the IPL was held last year. Add that bounce to a little bit of turn and spinners become a very useful option."

Kumble has grabbed six wickets so far, followed by Vettori with five, Warne with four, and Murali and Ojha with three each. In fact, Kumble, who retired from international cricket last year, turned in the most economical five-wicket haul in Twenty20s against Rajasthan Royals last weekend, claiming incredible figures of 3.1-1-5-5. All these spinners have played crucial roles for their IPL teams, claiming the scalps of some of the best in the business like Pietersen, Matthew Hayden, MS Dhoni, Chris Gayle and Adam Gilchrist.

"We realised this during the recent one-day series here against Australia, and that's why we worked our bowling strategy around Paul Harris and Roelof van der Merwe (both left-arm spinners)," Arthur said. "The result was there for all to see." South Africa won the one-dayers 3-2 at home earlier this month.

Harbhajan, who turned Mumbai Indians' opening game against Chennai Super Kings with a spell of 3-0-15-1 including the key wicket of Hayden, says the role of spinners in Twenty20 has taken "a 360 degree turn". Harbhajan is sure that the spin will play a "pivotal role in this new 'avatar' of cricket". He points to Kumble's five-wicket spell on the opening day and writes in his blog: "The five-wicket haul, shelling out just five runs for exchange, is no joke in any format, forget about T20."

Murali, who watched Harbhajan bowl from the Chennai dugout, wrote in his blog that the Indian offspinner's spell "was the first sign that spin could be a factor in the tournament". "The fact that we are playing on tired squares at the end of the season may also be having an impact," Murali wrote. "Whatever the reason, as a spinner, I am obviously delighted."

Symcox says the trend is "fantastic" not just for this IPL but for the Twenty20 format. "Youngsters will now be encouraged to bowl the slower ones," he said. "They will realise that Twenty20 cricket is not just about running in hard. Now I feel sorry for the medium-pacer in Twenty20 cricket, guys who bowl around the 120-kmph mark. The faster guys always have a chance and now the spinners are also doing well, it's the medium-pacer who has to adapt now."

Kolkata's Chopra and Bangar sent back

Kolkata Knight Riders have asked the senior pair of Aakash Chopra and Sanjay Bangar to return to India since they do not fit in the present "scheme of things". The decision was taken after discussions between coach John Buchanan and the team management and while the players were not "happy" they accepted the decision. Both Chopra and Bangar, along with a few injured players will board a flight from Cape Town on Monday.

"These [Chopra and Bangar] are two very good senior international players so John Buchanan and the team management thought that if they are not going to have the opportunity [to play] it is unfair to keep them around," Joy Bhattacharya, Kolkata CEO, said. Chopra played in Kolkata's first two matches, but got the opportunity to bat only once, managing 11 off 19 balls in first game. Bangar played in the thriller against Rajasthan Royals on Thursday, but failed to make an impression, scoring just two.

"Nobody is ever happy about going back, but they took it right frame of mind," Bhattacharya, asked for the players' reactions. He also said that both players will be back next season as their contracts are for three years.

With this latest trim Kolkata have effectively brought their squad strength down to a manageable 20 from the staggering 54 originally picked. There are 11 Indians left in the team in addition to the nine foreigners. "Right now we are down to 11 Indians and seven of them need to play so we don't think we will trim it," Bhattacharya said.

Kolkata Knight Riders squad:
Anureet Singh, Ajit Agarkar, Ashok Dinda, Sourav Ganguly, Chris Gayle, Arindam Ghosh, Moises Henriques, Brad Hodge, David Hussey, Murali Kartik, Charl Langeveldt, Brendon McCullum, Mashrafe Mortaza, Angelo Mathews, Ajantha Mendis, Wriddhiman Saha, Shoaib Shaikh, Ishant Sharma, Laxmi Shukla, Yashpal Singh.

4th ODI: Pakistan v Australia at Dubai

Pre-tournament favourites square off

Here's hoping the rain stays away from Durban because the first of two matches on Thursday features teams that are favourites to make the semi-finals based on early form. Delhi Daredevils, tipped to go all the way even before the IPL started, began strongly by beating Kings XI Punjab by ten wickets. Chennai Super Kings shrugged off an indifferent outing against Mumbai Indians and scored a 92-run victory against Bangalore Royal Challengers.

What makes this game potentially terrific is the contest between Delhi's power-packed batting line and Chennai's high-quality bowling attack. Virender Sehwag launched a merciless assault on Punjab's bowlers during their short chase and the other weapons in Delhi's arsenal - Gautam Gambhir, AB de Villiers and Tillakaratne Dilshan - were not even needed. However, Chennai possess the bowlers to test such a batting line-up. In Andrew Flintoff and Muttiah Muralitharan, they have two wicket-taking bowlers who are unlikely to concede too many runs. Their support cast of Albie Morkel, Manpreet Gony and L Balaji isn't easy pickings either.

If one was pressed to pick a favourite from tomorrow's encounter, it might just be Chennai. They too possess a hard-hitting batting line-up, with powerful batsmen sprinkled all the way through the batting order, and the likes of Matthew Hayden, MS Dhoni, Andrew Flintoff, Albie Morkel and Suresh Raina will look to take advantage of Delhi's inexperienced bowling attack. Delhi chose not to play Glenn McGrath in their opening game and the younger fast bowlers struggled to contain Punjab's openers until Daniel Vettori came into the picture.

Player form guide

Chennai: Hayden is currently the highest runscorer in the league, with 109 runs at a strike-rate of nearly 156 in two games. He wrecked Bangalore by scoring 65 off 35 balls but even that effort wasn't enough to clinch the Player-of-the-Match award. That honour went to Murali, who knocked Bangalore out with a spell off 3 for 11 in four overs.

Delhi: Vettori single-handedly changed the course of the match against Punjab. He struck with his first ball and finished with figures of 3 for 15. Sehwag continued the form he showed in New Zealand, hitting his first ball of the tournament for six and ended with an unbeaten 38 off 16 balls.

Watch out for

Albie Morkel: He didn't play the first game because his kit was lost in transit and came into bat only in the final over against Bangalore. His hitting talent hasn't been harnessed by Chennai as yet and many feel his abilities are being wasted coming in so late in the innings.

Daniel Vettori: He may be the key to containing Chennai's powerhouses. Flintoff and Morkel are far more comfortable freeing their arms against the faster bowlers and Sehwag might have to think about when to use the four overs from his most valuable bowler.

Friendly fire

Team-mates from two countries will square off against each other with Dilshan facing Murali and de Villiers trying to get the better of Morkel. Incidentally, Morkel said he wouldn't be sharing too many secrets about his South African team-mates on instructions from the board.

Team news

Delhi may be tempted to bring in Australians David Warner and Glenn McGrath but otherwise there is no need for any changes. If Warner plays, Tillakaratne Dilshan would make way from the middle order and Gautam Gambhir would slip down to No. 3. Given they are playing a form Chennai, Delhi may opt for the experience of McGrath. Dirk Nannes would then warm the bench.

Delhi: (probable) 1 Virender Sehwag (capt), 2 David Warner, 3 Gautam Gambhir, 4 AB de Villiers, 5 Manoj Tiwary, 6 Dinesh Karthik (wk), 7 Daniel Vettori, 9 Yo Mahesh, 10 Avishkar Salvi, 10 Pradeep Sangwan, 11 Glenn McGrath.

There are no foreseeable changes here.

Chennai: (probable) 1 Matthew Hayden, 2 Parthiv Patel, 3 Suresh Raina, 4 MS Dhoni (capt/wk), 5 Andrew Flintoff, 6 Albie Morkel, 7 S Badrinath, 8 Joginder Sharma, 9 L Balaji, 10 Manpreet Gony, 11 Muttiah Muralitharan.

Head-to-head record

Chennai and Delhi shared one win apiece in the two matches they played against each other in the first edition of the IPL. Delhi won by four wickets in Chennai with Sehwag and Gambhir sharing a century opening stand. Chennai beat Delhi by four wickets at the Kotla , winning a thriller off the final ball.

Symonds, Watson in as Australia bat

Pakistan v Australia, 1st ODI, Dubai

Symonds, Watson in as Australia bat

The Bulletin by Kanishkaa Balachandran

April 22, 2009

Toss Australia chose to bat v Pakistan
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details

International cricket welcomed its newest ODI venue - Dubai Sports City - for the first ODI of the five-match series between Pakistan and Australia. Batting first seemed the best option on a sun-baked pitch and it was Michael Clarke who called correctly,opting for an opportunity to pile on the runs. His counterpart Younis Khan said he would have done the same and reckoned a score of 260-270 was chaseable on this surface.

Pakistan went in with three seamers and as always, the attention will center around the mercurial Shoaib Akhtar. Umar Gul and Rao Iftikhar Anjum complete the trio and the spin duties will be shared between Shoaib Malik, Saeed Ajmal and Shahid Afridi.

Making a comeback for Australia will be Stuart Clark, who will be saddled with a lot more responsibility given Nathan Bracken's recent struggles and an injury to Brett Lee. Another player who will be looking to wipe the slate clean following a series of off-field troubles is Andrew Symonds. David Hussey makes way for him in the middle order and the top order has been overhauled following the ODIs in South Africa, with Shaun Marsh returning from injury.

The glitz of the IPL may steal the attention of viewers from across the globe but the importance of this series cannot be underestimated. It's a series between a team craving for cricket and another craving for a rest after a back-breaking summer.

Australia are affected by pull-outs and injuries and their bench strength will be tested, not for the first time this season. It will be upto their virtual second-string side to prove they are playing to win and not treating this series as a mere formality.

It's a home away from home for Pakistan and the team will embark on a new era in a new country, but in their hearts, their players will hope this arrangement of overseas games is only temporary.

Pakistan (from) 1 Salman Butt, 2 Nasir Jamshed, 3 Younis Khan, 4 Misbah-ul-Haq, 5 Shoaib Malik, 6 Shahid Afridi, 7 Kamran Akmal (wk), 8 Umar Gul, 9 Rao Iftikhar Anjum, 10 Shoaib Akhtar, 11 Saeed Ajmal.

Australia (from) 1 Shaun Marsh, 2 Shane Watson, 3 Brad Haddin (wk), 4 Michael Clarke (capt), 5 Andrew Symonds, 6 Callum Ferguson, 7 James Hopes, 8 Nathan Hauritz, 9 Stuart Clark, 10 Nathan Bracken, 11 Ben Hilfenhaus

Kolkata win by 11 runs on D/L method

Kings XI Punjab v Kolkata Knight Riders, IPL, Durban

Gayle helps Kolkata home in rain-hit game

The Bulletin by Sidharth Monga

April 22, 2009

Kolkata Knight Riders 79 for 1 (Gayle 44*, McCullum 21) beat Kings XI Punjab 158 for 6 (Yuvraj 38, Pathan 32, Ganguly 2-24) by 11 runs by D/L method
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

Sourav Ganguly took two wickets in his first over, Kings XI Punjab v Kolkata Knight Riders, IPL, 6th game, Durban, April 21, 2009
Sourav Ganguly took two wickets in three balls in his first over to set Punjab back © Getty Images

Sourav Ganguly made yet another comeback, this time with the ball, to help Kolkata Knight Riders keep Kings XI Punjab down to 158 for 6. Thereafter, Chris Gayle made the most of two dropped chances to dishearten Punjab and take Kolkata 11 ahead of the Duckworth-Lewis par-score when heavy rain ended the match in the 10th over.

Ganguly had been quiet in the lead-up to this tournament; he had lost his captaincy and looked out of sorts in scoring 1 in 12 balls against Deccan Chargers. Today, though, he made his statement with the ball, taking two wickets in his first over and pulling Punjab back from a solid-yet-unspectacular start.

When Ganguly came on to bowl, Irfan Pathan, promoted to No. 3, had just taken Ishant Sharma for 14 in his third over, and Punjab had moved along to 46 for 1 at the end of six overs. Thirty-two of those had come from Irfan's bat, in 17 deliveries.

And then Ganguly struck, fortuitously at first. Irfan went for a six to the deep midwicket area and was caught smartly by Murali Kartik at the boundary. Two balls later, Ganguly got Ravi Bopara, the opener, to edge to the new captain, Brendon McCullum. Both men were elated, the captain with his bowling change, the bowler having proved a point, and both ran in different directions to celebrate and eventually hugged each other.

Punjab moved from 46 for 1 in six to 67 for 3 in ten overs before a rain interruption. Following that, Punjab enjoyed two of the best overs of their innings. Yuvraj Singh hit a six off Ganguly to take 14 off his third over. Yet, Ganguly ended with figures of 24 for 2 off his four. And just after the rain break, in perhaps a poor tactical move, McCullum brought Chris Gayle on, who had trouble gripping the wet ball and bowled three wides in his 14-run over.

Yuvraj couldn't quite manage a reprise of his six sixes in an over at the same venue, during the inaugural ICC World Twenty20. And once he top-edged Moises Henriques in the 16th over, falling for 38 off 28, caught by Yashpal, Punjab were always struggling.

Thirty-six came off 26 balls after Yuvraj's fall, thanks largely to Mahela Jayawardene, who scored 31 in 19, and took the last over, bowled by Ashok Dinda, for 16, the biggest over of the innings.

But the hitting from Irfan, Yuvraj and Jayawardene paled in comparison with Gayle's. He played the first two overs quietly, and enjoyed a dropped sitter by Karan Goel at short midwicket off Yusuf Abdulla. It was a forgettable day for Goel, who had earlier scored a seven-ball duck.

Once Gayle carved Irfan over cover-point in the third over of the innings, the floodgates opened. From 4 off 8 balls, he reached 31 off 15 through a calculated assault on the left-arm opening bowlers. And then, in the fifth over of the innings, the game breaker came. Irfan was spanked straight and pulled square off the first two balls, and then Gayle showed him the greens, teeing off to over wide long-on.

By the time Gayle was dropped again, by Kumar Sangakkara, off a Piyush Chawla googly, he had taken the match out of Punjab's reach as the dark clouds gathered.

For the second game in succession, Punjab have been curtailed by rain, but this time they succumbed to Ganguly and Gayle, as opposed to their first match, when Delhi's chase was reduced to a six-over hit-out.

Kings XI Punjab v Kolkata Knight Riders Live

Kings XI Punjab v Kolkata Knight Riders Live starting from 10:30 GMT(check local listings)

Spotlight on Shoaib and Symonds

For a team which has had little international cricket in the recent past the next couple of weeks is a huge opportunity: Pakistan have only played two Tests and six ODIs in the last nine months, but will play five ODIs and a Twenty20 game over the next 16 days against the second-best team in one-day cricket. While that's a significant occasion for Pakistan, it'll also test their preparedness - if they come out rusty, their lack of match practice could be ruthlessly exposed. It'll help, though, that their team is being led Younis Khan, a captain who exudes positive energy and is probably the best man to keep team spirits high in such depressing times.

For Australia, the problem is the opposite: they've played 12 Tests and 18 ODIs in the last nine months, and they have so much more cricket coming up in the next few months that some of their big names have been forced to take a break. Ricky Ponting, Michael Hussey and Mitchell Johnson are being rested, while Brett Lee isn't yet fit enough. In Ponting's absence, Michael Clarke will lead a team which has been struggling to assert itself in ODIs lately, losing a couple of series to South Africa and drawing one to New Zealand. The series is also an opportunity for a couple of players to return to the national fold - Andrew Symonds is back in ODIs after a ten-month absence, while Stuart Clark has an opportunity to stake his claim again after recovering from an elbow injury.

There'll be plenty of focus on the venue too: the Dubai Sports City Stadium will become the 172nd venue to host an ODI, and by all accounts the 25,000-seater has impressed both teams. With so much uncertainty over the security situation in Pakistan, a good show here will encourage more games - possibly even Tests - at this ground, which will be good news for Pakistan and for world cricket.

Form guide (last five ODIs, most recent first)
Pakistan LLWWW
Australia WLLLW

Watch out for
Andrew Symonds: Back in the Australian ODI team for the first time since July 2008, Symonds will be keen to prove he has worked on his attitude and his form, and is ready to perform at the top level again. Strong displays here will strengthen his case for a place in Australia's squad for the World Twenty20, and perhaps even the Ashes.

Shoaib Akhtar: There are plenty of question marks about Shoaib's form and fitness, but his ability to turn it on when fully focused isn't in doubt. The dry conditions in Dubai should help his reverse-swing too.

Team news
Pakistan are most likely to play three specialist fast bowlers - Shoaib, Umar Gul and Sohail Tanvir - with Saeed Ajmal, Shahid Afridi and Shoaib Malik offering spin support. Nasir Jamshed should be back at the top of the order after missing the last couple of series.

Pakistan (probable) 1 Salman Butt, 2 Nasir Jamshed, 3 Younis Khan, 4 Misbah-ul-Haq, 5 Shoaib Malik, 6 Shahid Afridi, 7 Kamran Akmal (wk), 8 Sohail Tanvir, 9 Umar Gul, 10 Shoaib Akhtar, 11 Saeed Ajmal.

Despite putting together century stands in their last two games in South Africa, Australia are likely to disturb the opening combination of Brad Haddin and Clarke, and instead put Shaun Marsh and Shane Watson at the top of the order. Haddin is likely to drop to No.3, with Clarke in next. With Johnson and Siddle resting and Lee injured, the bowling attack will have some changes too, and Clark might get an early chance to prove his fitness.

Australia (probable) 1 Shaun Marsh, 2 Shane Watson, 3 Brad Haddin (wk), 4 Michael Clarke (capt), 5 Andrew Symonds, 6 David Hussey, 7 Callum Ferguson, 8 Nathan Hauritz, 9 Stuart Clark, 10 Nathan Bracken, 11 Ben Laughlin.

Pitch and conditions
Pakistan aren't playing at home, but conditions at the Dubai Sports City Stadium will probably resemble those in Lahore or Karachi. The heat will be quite acute, and the dry conditions should offer plenty of encouragement for the spinners.

Stats and Trivia

* Australia have been in wretched ODI form this year, winning only five matches out of 15, and losing nine.

* Nathan Bracken has been one of the below-par performers during this period, with only ten wickets in 14 matches at an average of 39.93 and an economy rate of 5.34.

* In 11 ODIs against Australia, Younis has only scored 158 runs at an average of 15.80, with one half-century.

* These two teams last played an ODI more than three years ago, during the VB Series in February 2005. Australia won the best-of-three finals 2-0.

Quotes
"Personally, I'm delighted to be back in Aussie colours - I've had a few decent tussles with Pakistan over the years, my debut in Pakistan for starters, and the 2003 World Cup, and I've no doubt this will be a tough series against them. The challenge is there for all of us to roll up our sleeves and get into it."
Andrew Symonds is glad to be back in the ODI squad

"We've been given a fantastic opportunity to perform and put your hand up while guys are out resting or injured. It gives somebody else an opportunity to push for the 2011 World Cup."
Michael Clarke puts a positive spin to the fact that so many top players are missing from the Australian squad

"There is no alternative to playing at home but unfortunately we have to play in Emirates but the conditions here are similar to Pakistan and we feel it is like a home away from home. I hope Pakistani people who live here will come to encourage us."
Younis Khan tries to make the best of a difficult situation

"I am pleased at Shoaib's discipline both on and off the field. He has shown promise and he is bowling with commitment, and I have lots of hope that he would deliver for us, which, I tell you, is very important."
Intikhab Alam, the Pakistan coach, has high expectations from Shoaib Akhtar

Mumbai Indians v Rajasthan Royals IPL

The defending champions have made a disastrous start. But that's what they did last year too, and that was the only straw Shane Warne clutched after Rajasthan Royals' humbling defeat to Bangalore Royal Challengers on Saturday.

Mumbai, last year's middle-rankers, had a dream start - and Sanath Jayasuriya didn't even fire for them - and head into this game as hands-down favourites. They have a dream opening combination in Sachin Tendulkar and Jayasuriya, the form man in JP Duminy and what worked as a perfect fire-and-ice bowling combination in Lasith Malinga and Harbhajan Singh. Not to mention Zaheer Khan and Dwayne Bravo.

Going by big names, Rajasthan should be out of their depth. Right? Wrong. That was the case last year too, and teams will do better than to write off Warne's team just on the basis of one poor performance. Even last year, Rajasthan lulled other teams with a poor performance first up. They had to wait for a long time for another average game.

Both teams will look to improve their batting - their bowlers were mostly spot on and in any case they will be playing on one of the bouncier pitches at Kingsmead. Given the young Rajasthan line-up, Mumbai - with the presence of Jayasuriya, Duminy and Bravo - will always threaten a big lusty innings.

Player form guide
Mumbai: Tendulkar could well have defined a role for himself through his patient fifty in the first game: try to bat for at least 15 overs, and give the big hitters most of the strike. Let the Jayasuriyas, the Bravos hit around Tendulkar. Malinga and Harbhajan look good with the ball, and should pose a test for Rajasthan.

Rajasthan: Warne rolled back the years, with flight, dip, big break, and also the fiery flipper. Ask Virat Kohli and B Akhil. Dimitri Mascarenhas proved to be the surprise element with the ball. With the odd quick delivery out of nowhere, Kamran Khan showed a glimpse or two of what Warne might have seen. It's the batsmen who are the worry - the Asnodkars and the Pathans, who played like kings on flat Indian pitches last year. Graeme Smith will have to run into some pretty good form pretty soon. It should help that Mitchell Johnson is in Dubai. Just get past old nemesis Zaheer Khan and he should be fine.

Watch out for
Warne v Tendulkar: Perhaps the biggest gift from this new format. It happened only once last season because Tendulkar was not fit for their first match. Even though they went at it for just six balls, they did put up a show. Tendulkar tried his trademark paddle first up, tried coming down the track and was pushed by a flatter delivery, and six balls yielded six runs, with no clear winners. Here's hoping for a longer duel this time. Just don't get out, Sach, before Warnie comes on to bowl.

Friendly fire
Smith v Pollock: The incumbent v his predecessor. Too bad Shaun Pollock will only be plotting from outside, and not bowling himself. Maybe they should get him to bowl just for one match.

Team news
Necessity spells only one change for Mumbai: Dhawal Kulkarni in place of Rohan Raje, who went for 15 in his one over. Apart from that, they wouldn't want to fiddle too much with a settled-looking line-up.

Mumbai Indians (probable) 1 Sanath Jayasuriya, 2 Sachin Tendulkar (capt.), 3 Shikhar Dhawan, 4 JP Duminy, 5 Dwayne Bravo, 6 Abhishek Nayar, 7 Harbhajan Singh, 8 Zaheer Khan, 9 Pinal Shah (wk), 10 Lasith Malinga, 11 Dhawal Kulkarni/Rohan Raje.

Don't expect wholesale changes with Rajasthan, but don't count out an odd rabbit out of Warne's hat either. Warne, Mascarenhas, Smith and Henderson should continue to be the four foreign players. Niraj Patel is the man most likely to be under pressure.

Rajasthan Royals (probable) 1 Graeme Smith, 2 Swapnil Asnodkar, 3 Niraj Patel/anybody, 4 Tyron Henderson, 5 Ysuf Pathan, 6 Dimitri Mascarenhas, 7 Ravindra jadeja, 8 Shane Warne (capt.), 9 Mahesh Rawat (wk), 10 Munaf Patel, 11 Kamran Khan.

Head-to-head record
Mumbai gave Rajasthan one of their rare hidings last year when they first met, bowling the eventual champions out for 103. Rajasthan set things right in the return game, though, with a thrilling last-ball win. Before Niraj and Jadeja bailed Rajasthan out, they were 77 for 5, chasing 146. Maybe reason enough to give Niraj another game.

Kolkata bowl in cloudy Durban

Both Kings XI Punjab and Kolkata Knight Riders lost the opening game of their IPL campaigns on a rainy Sunday in Cape Town and the teams are now preparing to take on each other in Durban, where unfortunately the weather forecast for Tuesday is also bleak.

Punjab, however, will not be too disheartened even though Delhi beat them by ten wickets at Newlands. Their innings was curtailed to 12 overs by rain and further showers reduced Delhi's target to 54 in six overs, leaving Punjab's bowlers with little chance. The highlight of the game for Punjab was the performance of their openers, Ravi Bopara and Karan Goel, who added 67 at more than ten runs an over.

Kolkata, on the other hand, had a horrid outing against Deccan Chargers. Their pre-tournament build up was fraught with controversy over the multiple-captain theory and the issue was laid to rest only days before their first match, with Brendon McCullum taking over the leadership duties from Sourav Ganguly. The unrest reflected in their performance: Kolkata were 34 for 4 after 10.4 overs and the top-score was Brad Hodge's 31. Unlike those of other franchises, Kolkata's owner Shahrukh Khan was vocal about his disappointment over his team's performance and another poor outing will only increase pressure and criticism levels.

Player form guide

Punjab: The openers Goel and Bopara surprised a few people with the power with which they hit the ball against Delhi. Both of them played aggressive cameos while Yuvraj also smashed a couple of sixes before he was run out. The bowlers - Yusuf Abdulla and Vikramjeet Malik in particular - barely had a work out because of the shortened innings but they withered under a fierce onslaught from Virender Sehwag.

Kolkata: The explosive opening combination of Chris Gayle and McCullum failed against Deccan and the rest of the batsmen followed suit. The bowling did not inspire either - Ashok Dinda was the only one who took a wicket - as Deccan needed to take no risks to meet an asking-rate of less than six an over.

Watch out for

Karan Goel: He opened for Punjab, when quite a few expected Kumar Sangakkara to partner Bopara, and thrived against the new ball. He began by powering the ball square on the off side but the shots that stood out were his sixes over wide long-on after charging the fast bowlers.

Brendon McCullum and Chris Gayle: They are one of two overseas opening combinations in the tournament. Both batsmen are dynamic hitters but both failed against Deccan. Don't bet on both failing once again.

Friendly fire

Ishant Sharma v Yuvraj Singh: The last two times Yuvraj batted at Kingsmead, he smashed 58 off 16 balls against England, and 70 off 30 balls against Australia during the World Twenty20. Ishant will hope to have more success against him than Stuart Broad and Stuart Clark did.

Team news

Punjab are likely to play the same overseas players as they did against Delhi, unless they want to give Burt Cockley a go instead of Yusuf Abdulla. There isn't too much reason to change the Indian players either because they barely had chance to succeed or fail in the first game.

Punjab: 1 Ravi Bopara, 2 Karan Goel, 3 Kumar Sangakkara (wk), 4 Yuvraj Singh (capt), 5 Mahela Jaayawardene, 6 Irfan Pathan, 7 Piyush Chawla, 8 Taruwar Kohli, 9 Vikramjeet Malik, 10 VRV Singh, 11 Yusuf Abdulla.

Kolkata did not play Sri Lankan spinner Ajantha Mendis in the first game, choosing to give the fourth overseas-player's slot to Australian allrounder Moises Henriques. However, they might think about including Mendis, given that their others managed to take only one Deccan wicket among them.

Kolkata: 1 Brendon McCullum (capt & wk), 2 Chris Gayle, 3 Sourav Ganguly, 4 Brad Hodge, 5 Aakash Chopra, 6 Laxmi Ratan Shukla, 7 Moises Henriques, 8 Ajit Agarkar, 9 Murali Kartik, 10 Ishant Sharma, 11 Ashok Dinda.

Wedding bells for speedster Munaf Patel?

Vadodara: Speedster Munaf Patel got engaged with local girl Taslima before leaving for South Africa to play in the high-profile Indian Premier League-II.

"It was kept a private affair and very few closely related family members from both the parties had attended the engagement ceremony," Ikhar village sarpanch Makbulbhai Khankhara told PTI.

Taslima, who has completed her studies upto higher secondary, and Munaf knew each other very well, Khankhara said. Her father Amanulla Haji Basher has been working in a managerial capacity in a mill at Palej, he added.
Taslima used to glue to the TV set to see her fiance, also known as Ikhar Express, playing in the cricket matches for India and in IPL.

Asked when will the nikah be performed, Khankhara said "it would depend on the schedule of Twenty20 World Cup matches to be held in England after couple of months as he is very eager to play for the country.

"The bunglow built by Munaf in his native Ikhar village is nearing completion. It has all the facilities needed for keeping him fit for the cricket matches," he added.

Lady Luck in demand in Bollywood clash

The clash of teams on the field, when the Kolkata Knight Riders take on King's XI Punjab, will be matched, or bettered by the Bollywood battle between team owners Shah Rukh Khan and Preity Zinta. The one thing both teams are hoping for is that the rain stays away so that the better team can prevail.

Skill aside, in this format luck can play a crucial role and it remains to be seen who will have the rub of the green on Tuesday. Both teams come into the game with a loss and will be eager to taste success.

On Sunday, the Kings XI Punjab had to stomach a massive 10-wicket defeat at the hands of Daredevils in a rain-truncated match. And the Knight Riders were thrashed by the Deccan Chargers — the same team that finished at the bottom of the table last season.

Kolkata's new skipper Brendon McCullum, who only got the top job in controversial circumstances, could not do much. McCullum only put one run on board and the Knight Riders ended up losing as many as three important wickets for the addition of only 16 runs.

R.P. Singh, who walked away with 4 for 22, proved to be KKR's nemesis. The loss will certainly set tongues wagging and reopen the debate over whether it was the right decision to relieve Ganguly of the captaincy.

Equally, though, cricket fans in Durban will look forward to a repeat of the T20 World Cup Yuvraj Singh special where he clattered six sixes off an over at this venue. Yuvraj, who could not play much of a role in the first match, will be looking to make an impact. As Shah Rukh reminded fans recently, “it’s important to be lucky on match days”, and both sides will be hoping it’s their turn to be favoured by lady luck.

Hayden hits second fastest half-century

Mathew Hayden's match winning 65 off 35 balls for Chennai Super Kings against Bangalore Royal Challengers here was the second fastest half-century in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Hayden got his 50 in just 22 balls Monday night here at the St. George's Park. His half-century is next to Yusuf Pathan's 21-ball fifty for Rajasthan Royals against Deccan Chargers in Hyderabad last year.

Hayden has aggregated 298 in six innings at an average of 59.60, including three fifties.

The following are the statistical highlights of the Twenty20 match between Chennai Super Kings and Bangalore Royal Challengers:

Chennai Super Kings (179 for five) registered the highest total in the second edition of the IPL so far, surpassing the 165 for 7 by Mumbai Indians against Chennai Super Kings at Cape Town Saturday.

The score is Chennai's highest against Bangalore, eclipsing the 178 for five at Bangalore last year.

Chennai Super Kings with their comprehensive win over Bangalore Royal Challengers, have now won ten games out of 18 in the IPL. Rajasthan Royals have won the most matches (13) and Kings XI Punjab 10.

Chennai Super Kings' 92-run victory is their highest by runs margin in the IPL, surpassing their 33-run win over Kings XI Punjab at Mohali, April 19, 2008. The victory is Chennai's second in three games over Bangalore.

Muttiah Muralitharan (3/11) has for the first time claimed three wickets in an IPL innings, eclipsing the 2 for 39 against Rajasthan at Mumbai on June 1,2008.

Muralitharan received his first MOM award in the IPL.

Parthiv Patel and Hayden recorded the first century stand for the opening wicket for their side.

Bangalore Royal Challengers (87) posted their second lowest score in the IPL, their lowest is 82 against Kolkata Knight Riders at Bangalore last year.

Chennai Super Kings' 92-run victory is the third biggest in terms of runs in the IPL - the top two being by 140 runs by Kolkata over Bangalore at Bangalore and by 105 runs by Rajasthan over Delhi Daredevils in the first edition of the IPL.

Trouble in KKR camp: Shah Rukh avoids Ganguly in team meeting

CAPE TOWN: "Hey, you’re from the Indian media?" asked a young lady at The Newlands, wearing that black and gold Knight Riders T-shirt. Yes ma’am,
one replied. "Shah Rukh Khan!" was the yelling that followed. "You can surely help us meet Shah Rukh," she and quite a few of others along with her demanded. Sorry, can’t help you there.

Blog: Golden oldies - 11 stars aged over 35

Well, Shah Rukh Khan is a busy man. On Sunday though, he was tied up a little more than usual after Knight Riders suffered a heavy defeat against Team Hyderabad in their first match here. Not that journalists have that easy access to the superstar so as to introduce him to the ladies, but on Sunday, even the thought of going and meeting him was banished.

The moment KKR finished their game and rushed back to the hotel, Khan was already there. And by the time they finished with their dinner (reluctantly), he was already keen to meet them. He spoke to quite a few. While none agreed to disclose the contents of the conversation, it was visible that the one player who Khan didn’t talk to was Sourav Ganguly.

What’s brewing? A couple of players heading back to their rooms hardly opened their mouths. "The media should know, right?" they said.

The one issue that tore into a bagful of controversies in the Knight Riders’ camp even before the IPL began was John Buchanan’s multiple captain theory. Was that the reason again or were there old wounds that haven’t healed? Or was it just Sunday’s loss? "We just had a bad day out there. The batting didn’t click. We’ll be looking to get better in the next game," skipper Brendon McCullum said post match. He didn’t want to comment on anything related to the multiple captain issue or the Ganguly-Buchanan or Ganguly-Khan relationship.

McCullum has been going around telling the media here about how KKR captaincy hasn’t become a matter of ego. "It’s quite a healthy atmosphere in there," he’s been quoted as saying. But that didn’t allow the side to come up with an impressive performance. They were bowled out for just 101 runs in 19.4 overs.

Even if McCullum’s word is to be taken, Sunday’s defeat won’t help the rumours die. Instead, fresh ones like "Sourav may not play the next game" or "Khan has given the players a sermon" and "Players are saying Buchanan committed a blunder by sending Aakash Chopra at No. 5" were doing the rounds.

For the record, it was a loss by eight wickets, but more than that, it was salt on a wound that’s fresher than ever. The ladies wanting SRK’s autograph will have to wait.

Chennai thrash Bangalore by 92 runs

PORT ELIZABETH, South Africa (Reuters) - Matthew Hayden and Muttiah Muralitharan steered the Chennai Super Kings to an emphatic 92-run win over the Bangalore Royal Challengers in the Indian Premier League Monday.

The 37-year-old Hayden hammered 65 in 35 balls as the Super Kings amassed 179 for five in their 20 overs before the Challengers were skittled out for 87.

The former Australia opener retired from international cricket at the start of the year but again showed the skills that allowed him to dominate bowling attacks around the world for more than a decade, cracking nine fours and two sixes.

England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff also chipped in with an unbeaten 22 from 13 deliveries.

Sri Lanka spinner Muralitharan then took three for 11 in four overs to ruin Bangalore's victory hopes and scoop the man of the match award.

Jacques Kallis top-scored with 24 in 19 balls while Robin Uthappa and Rahul Dravid hit 20 apiece.

Both teams now have two points from two games.

Classy Chennai steamroll Bangalore

Chennai Super Kings' big-name foreign players stepped up to get the campaign back on track after the opening-day reverse against Mumbai Indians. Matthew Hayden rolled back the years to crack a quick half-century, Muttiah Muralitharan put another nail in the coffin of the spinners-have-no-place-in-Twenty20 theory, and Andrew Flintoff sparkled with bat and ball to sink Bangalore Royal Challengers.

Bangalore may have revamped their side this year, but turned in a performance reminiscent of their dire showings last season. The batting has yet to fire in two games, and the bowling was clueless against the initial onslaught from Chennai's openers.

After a weekend when the bowlers mostly held sway, the Chennai openers staged a display of vintage Twenty20 batting to provide just the start MS Dhoni would have wanted after winning the toss. Hayden was at his bullying best, and the hallmarks of his batting were on view: the walk-down-the-track to club the quicks, the muscular sweeps against the spinners. There was plenty of finesse among the fireworks as well, gentle glides to third man, and some caressed drives through cover.

Jacques Kallis, surprisingly picked ahead of Jesse Ryder, bore the brunt of Hayden's hitting. His first three deliveries disappeared for boundaries, and Hayden rounded off the over with a blast over long-off for six, 20 runs in that fifth over had Chennai flying at 56 for 0.

Pietersen rang in the changes but they were to no avail. Vinay Kumar was taken for two fours in the next over, and part-timer Virat Kohli gifted a couple of fours in the seventh which had Hayden racing to his half-century.

Parthiv was not quite as fluent, always keen to throw his bat and loft towards midwicket. There were plenty of mishits while he attempted that stroke, but there was one glorious pull off Dale Steyn which sailed over the square-leg boundary. By the time the tactical time-out came around, Chennai had sprinted to 106 for 0.

Kevin Pietersen may have been paid the big bucks for his flamboyant batting and captaincy, but it was with his amiable offspinners that he made an impact. His first ball bowled Parthiv, who made a meal of a slog-sweep, and Hayden was run out by a direct hit from Rahul Dravid at point off the next delivery. Only eight runs came off the next three overs.

Suresh Raina and Dhoni played some sumptuous strokes, but there too many singles and dot balls to keep the run-rate at the stratospheric levels the openers had maintained. It was left to Flintoff to make a 13-ball 22, including a flat six over square-leg off Steyn, to push Chennai along.

The boundaries may have been brought in at St George's Park, but 180 was always going to be a tall order for Bangalore. Their experiment to open with Praveen Kumar failed when he was bowled in the first over.

Kallis started to make amends for his lacklustre bowling with some eye-catching strokes steering Bangalore to 40 for 1 after five overs. However, he perished when, after a Pietersen-esque jumps across the stumps, he missed a full ball from Morkel to be trapped lbw.The miserly Flintoff then struck, getting Ross Taylor when a wild swipe only went as far as the bowler.

Worse was to follow. Murali, bowling from round the wicket, trapped Pietersen for a duck with a straighter one, and the unconvincing Robin Uthappa was stumped after being drawn forward by a flighted delivery which dipped and turned. Bangalore had slid to 51 for 5, and the chase was shipwrecked.

With the asking-rate spiralling upwards, Bangalore set about throwing the bat around, and the inevitable indiscreet strokes had them bowled out for 87.