Custom Search

Dada overpowers Daredevils at Eden

He scored runs, took a super catch, threw down the stumps, dived around on the field like a 17-year-old and was the ferocious skipper yet again as the Eden Gardens erupted with Sourav Ganguly's every move on Wednesday.
The confident Delhi Dardevils stayed in the game for as long as they could but in the end the Knight Riders were determined to win this one as the visitors went down by 14 runs. Chasing 182, Delhi were restricted to 167-8 in 20 overs.
Delhi were in the hunt till the time Virender Sehwag was in the middle but once the opener was cleaned up for a 40-ball 64 by Ajit Agarkar in the 15th over, the Knight Riders were in the driver's seat and Ganguly's men, who had to win to stay in contention for a semi-final spot, did not let the game slip from there.
Kedar Jadhav (five), Farveez Maharoof (two), Rajat Bhatia (two) and Dinesh Karthik (20) failed to get the big hits with the asking rate climbing up.
Delhi were pegged back in the first over of their chase when a pumped-up Ashok Dinda bowled the in-form David Warner for no score. Sehwag with Gautam Gambhir put Delhi on course with a terrific 99-run stand in less than 10 overs. The duo looked set to run away with the game before Ganguly's direct hit sent back Gambhir for 47.
The game changed on its head with the onus falling on Sehwag as Paul Collingwood (two) perished to the guile of Ajantha Mendis.
After electing to bat, Chris Gayle and Ganguly got the home side off to a super start but the visitors struck back as Kolkata lost momentum in the second half of the innings. The Knight Riders were comfortably placed at 87-0 in 10 overs and looked set for a total beyond 200 but Delhi managed to pull things back in the middle with three big wickets.
Bhatia struck first blood in the 11th over when Gayle attempted a big heave that fetched him a six off the previous ball, only to play on to the stumps this time. The West Indies batsman was looking dangerous with 40 off just 21 balls with two sixes to his name. Gayle had put on 94 for the first wicket with his skipper.
Ganguly reached his fifty soon after Gayle fell but he too was cleaned up for 56 off Daniel Vettori.
Brendon McCullum fell cheaply for six in his first game for Kolkata this season. The Kiwi, who had survived a close run out call, was not second time lucky when he took on Bhatia's arm.
However Mathews was in no mood to let Delhi spoil the good work done by the Kolkata openers as he struck three towering sixes in his unbeaten cameo. The Sri Lanka all-rounder bludgeoned 46 not out off just 28 balls. He found the perfect foil in Manoj Tiwary, who made an unbeaten 26 in 18 balls. The duo put on 70 runs in less than seven overs.
Kolkata now have five wins from 10 games while Delhi have six from as many games.

Saturday's mid-table clash between hosts Chennai and Rajasthan will change the fortunes of three teams. If Rajasthan win, they will further strengthen their bid for a semi-final slot and give Kolkata some breathing room. If Chennai win, and with a good run-rate, they could leapfrog among the top four places, thereby making Kolkata's job that much more difficult.
While Chennai registered a much-needed win over Bangalore the other night, Rajasthan's four-match winning streak came to an end against Delhi. And this is just the time that Chennai would want to strike back and avenge their 17-run loss in the away game at Ahemadabad.
The Super Kings finally seemed to have sorted out their batting. The lineup has begun to fire with Murali Vijay, Parthiv Patel, S Badrinath and Suresh Raina all among the runs. But their bowling, barring the wily Muttiah Muralithran's spin, continues to be a matter of concern. Albie Morkel, L Balaji, Sudeep Tyagi, Joginder Sharma and Manpreet Gony have been at best inconsistent. And such inconsisteny could cost them dear if the Rajasthan batsman find the sweet spot at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.
Shadab Jakati, who was costly in his first game, has come back to bag five wickets. Chennai must play the two spinners in Saturday's game as the duo have been their best bowlers. Chennai will also be boosted with the return of Doug Bollinger and Michael Hussey. Bollinger, in fact, could replace Morkel while Hayden may have to make way for an in-form Hussey.
The bowling for Chennai then will include Thilan Thushara, Bollinger, Muralitharan, Jakati and Balaji. This gives them enough firepower to challenge the Rajasthan batsmen.
Yusuf Pathan and Adam Voges have been in good form, both with the bat and the ball. If the visitors can avoid losing wickets at the top of the order, Naman Ojha, Aaron Finch, Paras Dogra and Abhishek Jhunjhunwala can all tonk the Chennai bowlers to all parts of the park. But what will be a cause of worry for Shane Warne is the form of Shaun Tait, who was taken to the cleaners by the Delhi batsman.
Saturday's game is like a formula one race, where strategy and performance must go hand-in-hand. One slip up, one wrong pit stop and dreams of making it to the podium could vanish into thin air.

Celebrities ignoring Warne's tweets

It looks like Shane Warne has turned to social networking site Twitter to pass his free time.
The champion cricketer has been firing off tweets to a cornucopia of celebrities - including a few who don’t seem that keen to respond, reports News.com.au.
Warne's targets include people from the world of sport, business and entertainment.
He has sent messages to Jamie Oliver, tennis star Andy Roddick, tycoon Sir Richard Branson, singers Lily Allen, Keith Urban, Kylie and Dannii Minogue and cyclist Lance Armstrong.
Warne tweeted to Branson: "Hello mate, it's Shane here. How are you buddy? What's new on your side?"
There's no record of the billionaire's reply.
Similarly, Warne's invitation to actor Stephen Fry seems to have gone unanswered, as has his attempt to swap musical preferences with Lady GaGa

Deccan vs Rajasthan: homeground blues

The nomadic Deccan Chargers take on Rajasthan Royals at yet another new homeground and hope that the Vidharbha Cricket Association stadium in Nagpur turns out to be a lucky venue for them. Chargers, truly, have been done in since they were displaced from Hyderabad and have not been able to settle down in the tournament.
Nagpur is where they will play their final three home games and a win in each will keep them alive in the semi-final race. But all will be lost if they crash to a defeat against the Royals on Monday. And the only way to avoid that is if Adam Gilchrist plays the knock of his life to re-infuse the momentum into the team. Everyone knows when Gilly's on his way, there's little the opposition can do but watch. Even if the opposition is led by a certain Shane Warne.
Deccan's performances have deteriorated with every passing game and it has more to do with the failure of stringing partnerships than with the individual performances of the players. Rohit Sharma, Andrew Symonds and Herschelle Gibbs have all been in good nick, but they have been lacking in pacing their innings as a team.
Their bowling too has hurt them. Chaminda Vaas has dropped in pace after making an impressive start in the tournament and none of the other bowlers have been able to step up and carry the mantle of being a lead bowler for the team. Even Kemar Roach and Ryan Harris have failed to inspire the side and it is imperative that they sort out their bowling before they take on an aggressive Rajasthan batting.
Even though the Royals lost by 23 runs to Chennai on Saturday, it was a fight worth watching. Naman Ojha and Shane Watson belted the Chennai bowlers at will and if the two get together on Monday, Deccan would be staring down the barrell.
It was Rajasthan's whirlwind approach in the game against Chennai that should give them the edge and keep their morale high despite the loss. They are the only team in the tournament to have lost two high scoring games and in both instances their fight kept everyone on the edge of their seats.
If they can play with that spirit, Rajasthan still have the wherewithal to get to the last four. For Deccan though, the ascent has started to look steeper. Monday's game will test not just the tenacity of the two sides, but innovativeness and inspiring leadership. Warne's side got the better of Gilchrist's boys in the last game at Ahmedabad. Gilchrist will hope homeground blues don't come back to haunt them this time around.