We are a superbly united team: Dhoni

Nottingham: Mahendra Singh Dhoni made a unique and unprecedented statement — that his team stood united — here on Friday.

On the eve of the India versus Bangladesh duel in ICC World Twenty20, the Indian skipper left the media stunned during the pre-match captain’s press conference.

It was not skipper Dhoni alone but the entire Indian team, including the support staff, that made an appearance during what was expected to be a routine media interaction between the press and the skipper.

Then, Dhoni, flanked by his men, read out a statement. “This message is for the people of India, and for Indian cricket fans worldwide and comes from the whole team. That is why we are all here.”
Making a statement

Dhoni added: “As we prepare for the Twenty20 World Cup, we are a superbly united team. The team spirit is as good as it has ever been, with each individual supporting each other, both on and off the field.

“Recent reports in the Indian media of a rift between myself and (Virender) Sehwag amount to nothing but false and irresponsible media (reporting),” he said.

The Indian captain further said: “Our fans and supporters can take confidence from the wonderful unity that continues to exist in the team. We thank our fans for their continued support and look forward to entertaining you during this tournament, into which we go into as a well-prepared, confident and unified Team India.”

Dhoni had been, “hurt”, as team coach Gary Kirsten revealed, by reports in a section of the media that spoke about differences between the skipper and senior batsman Sehwag.
Shoulder tear

Sehwag, Kirsten said, was suffering from a grade 1 tear in his right shoulder. He said Sehwag was progressing well but was not willing to commit himself to a time-frame for his complete recovery. Sehwag has been ruled out of the first game.

Left-arm paceman Zaheer Khan, another cricketer recovering from fitness concerns (strained bowling shoulder), bowled at the nets at Trent Bridge on Friday. But then, the team-management is unlikely to risk a prime bowler in the early stages of the competition.

Apart from Sehwag and Zaheer, Pragyan Ojha and Ravindra Jadeja may not figure in the eleven for Saturday’s game. It could, however, be a toss-up between Jadeja and Irfan Pathan for the final spot. Left-arm spinner Ojha has been bowling well but Harbhajan’s greater experience and the ability to clear the ground in the end overs is expected to clinch him a place.
No complacency

Despite being a strong and balanced side with explosive strikers of the ball and an incisive attack, India will not take Bangladesh lightly. The memories of the debacle against Bangladesh in World Cup 2007 will ensure against any complacency.

India has a healthy blend of right and left-handers, the power hitters and those who can rotate the strike. It is a line-up that can disrupt the rhythm of an attack.

It is an outfit of exemplary energy and intensity levels. Importantly, the side is not daunted by adversity.

The team could, however, have to grapple with chilly conditions at night in a game that begins at 6 p.m. local time (10.30 p.m. IST).

It is becoming increasingly cold in these parts at night and spells of icy winds will not make the players’ job easier. Dew could be a factor during the chase and defending may be a better ploy.

There, traditionally, is a measure of assistance for the pacemen at Trent Bridge. Ishant Sharma & Co. could probe the Bangladesh line-up.

Bangladesh is an enthusiastic fielding side and has in skipper Mohammad Ashraful and paceman Mashrafe Murtaza — despite his IPL misadventure — men who can swing games.

Given that an innings is limited to 20 overs, individual performances can impact a match more in this format.

Shakib Hasan, Tamim Iqbal and wicketkeeper-batsman Mushfiqur Rahim have pulled their weight for Bangladesh in the past.

But then, the odds are clearly in favour of the defending champion.

The teams:

India (from): M.S. Dhoni (captain), G. Gambhir, R. Sharma, S. Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Y. Pathan, I. Pathan, P. Kumar, Harbhajan Singh, R.P. Singh, Ishant Sharma, R. Jadeja, P. Ojha, Zaheer Khan.

Bangaldesh (from): M. Ashraful (captain), Shakib Hasan, Roqibul Hasan, Rubel Hossain, Shahadat Hossain, Tamim Iqbal, Naeem Islam, Mahmud Ullah, Mohammad Mithun, Mashrafe Mortaza, Mushfiqar Rahim, Shamsur Rehman, Syed Rasel, Abdur Razzak, Zunaed Siddique.

Umpires: S. Taufel & B. Bowden. Third umpire: N. Long.

Match referee: C. Broad.

Match starts at 10.30 p.m. IST.

Sehwag finds form in easy win

Barring a late scare by Harbhajan Singh , who took 4 for 17, the Delhi Daredevils go into the semi-final with a confidence boosting six-wicket win against the Mumbai Indians. At the toss Virender Sehwag said he wanted to field to give his side some much needed practice chasing. And a fair bit of practice they got, with Sehwag leading the power-hitting top order who stayed ahead of the fairly steep required run-rate.

Gautam Gambhir and David Warner, Delhi's openers, blitzed to 30 in the first three overs. It started from the sixth ball of the first over. Lasith Malinga found bounce and bowled over 140kph but Gambhir picked his slower bouncer and pulled it for four to square leg. Then Gambhir and Warner hit 22 off the next 12 balls. Gambhir walked out and hit Dhawal Kulkarni for a four behind square leg before lifting a fuller one down the ground for another boundary.

Rahil Shaikh began his IPL campaign with a high full toss that Warner pulled to midwicket boundary before being picked for another in the same area by Gambhir. Warner lofted Kulkarni for a six over long-on but then top-edged one and ended up losing his wicket and his bat. But Delhi couldn't afford to slow down, needing over seven an over. Not that they would slow down when Sehwag joined Gambhir at the crease. Kulkarni was the one to suffer as Sehwag scored boundaries off whatever length he bowled. He gave away 36 in three overs.

Harbhajan came on at the end of the Powerplays with Delhi at 60 for 1. He kept it tight by mixing flighted deliveries with flatter and sharper ones but it didn't help as Sehwag and Gambhir instead picked the boundaries from the other end. Gambhir played Abhishek Nayar's shorter deliveries to the fine leg and midwicket boundaries while Sehwag hit a half-volley over the bowler's head for a six. After ten overs Delhi were 93 for 1 in contrast to Mumbai, who were 72 for 3 at the same stage.

Prime Numbers 17 The number of runs conceded by Harbhajan while claiming the best figures for a Mumbai bowler 10 The number of innings taken by Sehwag to reach his first half-century of the tournament 10 The number of overs in which Delhi scored 10 runs or more 4 The number of Delhi bowlers in today's match who have taken 10 or more wickets in the tournament 24 The number of extras conceded by Delhi, the second highest in the tournament

Gambhir finally fell in the 12th over, again walking down the track but mistiming a loft to a diving Mohammad Ashraful at third man. But by then the required run-rate had come down to under seven an over, mostly owing to the wides conceded by Sanath Jayasuriya. Tillakaratne Dilshan waited only two balls before going for the big shot. He hooked a slower ball by Malinga to deep backward square leg for six. Jayasuriya further pulled down the asking rate to less than six, this time owing to Sehwag who made room to hit him for four over extra cover and a six over long-on. Dilshan stuck into Malinga in the next and overs 12 to 14 cost Mumbai a whopping 39. Sehwag got his fifty immediately after that but the two batsmen fell off successive balls to Harbhajan.

There were some tense moments for Delhi after that. Harbhajan gave away only three and JP Duminy two. Harbhajan came back to pick up AB de Villiers and Rajat Bhatia off successive balls as well. de Villiers was caught at midwicket trying to flick him for a six and Bhatia misread an offbreak and was bowled for 2. At the end of that over, Delhi needed 12 off 18, with four wickets in hand. Amit Mishra ensured they needed only three of those balls, hitting Duminy for a six and a four, and Mumbai ended their IPL campaign at No.7, after having being a semi-final contender at one point.

However their batsmen, led by Ajinkya Rahane, had given them a chance to end on a positive note. Rahane began attacking after the Powerplay overs and added 73 with Sachin Tendulkar. Bhatia, bowling his slow-medium stuff, had sent down four tight balls and a wide before Tendulkar messed up the over with two beautifully executed fours. He late-cut the first to the third-man boundary and drove the next straight past the bowler to long-on. After the strategy break, the two took advantage of Mishra's poor length and scored 15 off his third over. Even after Tendulkar fell, Rahane kept the scoreboard ticking and got to his second half-century of the season from 37 balls. Mumbai scored 56 off the last five overs but Delhi's batsmen came in to form and spoiled their farewell.

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.

Vettori is best spinner present in the world: Sehwag

Cape Town, Apr 20 (PTI) Delhi Daredevils skipper Virender Sehwag has put Daniel Vettori in the same league as legendary spinners Shane Warne and Anil Kumble and said the New Zealand skipper is the best tweaker in the world at present.
Sehwag lavished praise on his Daredevils team-mate Vettori for his magical spell last night in the match against Kings XI Punjab which the Delhi outfit won comprehensively by 10 wickets in Duckworth Lewis method.

"At the moment Daniel (Vettori) is the best spinner in the world," Sehwag said.

Vettori was adjudged man-of-the for his match figures of three wickets for 15 runs and it was this spell that shifted the momentum in the Daredevils favour.

"The Kings XI Punjab were going great guns when I asked Danny (Daniel Vettori) to bowl and thanks to him we were successful in getting the crucial wickets," Sehwag said, adding the left-arm spinner has the ability to bowl well on any all sort of wickets. PTI

Gambhir 'The Best ' after Gavaskar: Viru

Virender Sehwag has praised his Delhi Daredevils teammate and Team India's opening batsman Gautam Gambhir saying he is India's best ever opening batsman after Sunil Gavaskar.

Talking to the Hindu newspaper after arriving from New Zealand, Sehwag said "Gambhir is the only opener I have known who is at ease in any form of the game. Gavaskar was a great opener in Tests and one-dayers and Gambhir has adapted wonderfully to the T20 format too. He is just too good."

"He was such a delight. His form was awesome. Just see how he kept adapting. I can't think of anyone better than Gambhir in terms of technique, temperament and style. To me, he is the best opener India has had since Gavaskar."

Gambhir, with 445 runs in six innings at an average of 89, emerged as the leading run getter in the series against New Zealand and was adjudged the Man of the Series.

Sehwag shot down suggestions saying that he was the best opener after Gavaskar, instead he praised Gambhir saying that "See, I was a middle-order batsman who had to take over the opener's role for certain reasons. Gambhir is an opener. He has been excelling in all forms of the game. He is the best, not me," emphasised Sehwag.

Sehwag also felt that he would love to bat in the middle order but the team feels that he will be far more destructive as an opener, talking to the Indian Express newspaper he said, "In fact, till date, as an opener I am just doing a job given to me by the team management. Given a choice, I would happily slide down and play in the middle-order because that's where I belong. But right now, I have a job entrusted to me and I love the responsibility, so no regrets at all."

Sehwag also said he and his opening partner Gautam Gambhir motivated themselves by placing bets on who would score faster. "I believe that a sense of competition always helps achieve your best and so we indulge in these little games. I really teased him when I outscored him in the one-day series and he told me he would get back at me. After the Test series, he's teasing me about how many more runs he scored than me."

Gambhir, though, said he didn't believe in comparisons. "But having come from my favourite player it means a lot to me," he told PTI. "Sehwag is such a big player and that he feels so makes me really happy."

He also called his performance in the series "very satisfying". "I always wanted to do well abroad, I am very happy that I could do that." He rated his epic rearguard effort in the second Test in Napier his best Test innings.

It has been a dream run for Gambhir over the past year-and-a-half but he insisted that a lot more had to be achieved. "You can never be stagnant. You have to keep moving. You have to keep working on your game for your progress and move ahead."

Sehwag reflected on the series, "It showed that we are a compact team now. The batsmen and the bowlers complement each other. More than the batsmen, I would give credit to our bowlers, Zaheer and Harbhajan in particular. They were superb."