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Test cricket is losing popularity: MCC study

2009-11-18T03:08:00.000-08:00

A study conducted by the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), the custodian of the game, has raised fresh doubts on the future of Test cricket.
The study revealed that only seven per cent of followers in cricket-crazy India nominate Tests as their preferred form of the game.
The poll commissioned by Lord's-based MCC covered fans in three countries where Test crowds have declined - India, South Africa and New Zealand.
On the basis of the results, MCC's World Cricket Committee have requested the administrators to give the longest form of the game the "loving care and attention" it deserves.
"It's not as if the game is falling apart, but it has been scooped by Twenty20 and I think we would be foolish if we didn't think it was universal," former England captain Tony Lewis, who chairs the committee, was quoted as saying by The Age.
MCC is trying to push its cause for Tests to be staged at night and the global Test championship.
The key findings were presented to the International Cricket Council (ICC) earlier this month in Dubai and both groups reaffirmed their commitment to preserving all three forms.
Source:- http://cricketnext.in.com

Dilshan leads Sri Lankan reply against India

2009-11-17T03:11:00.000-08:00

AHMEDABAD - Tillekaratne Dilshan cracked an unbeaten half-century to put Sri Lanka in the comfort zone against India at tea on the second day of the first cricket Test here Tuesday.

At tea, Sri Lanka were cruising at 155 for one in the first innings, chasing India’s 426, with Dilshan on 88 and skipper Kumar Sangakkara 23.

The Sri Lankan bowlers managed to restrict India to 426 in the first innings in the morning session, and the batsmen complemented with a superb show.

Dilshan and Tharanga Pranavitana (35) start briskly, adding 74 runs. Pranavitana was the more dominant of the two and even though he was troubled by Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma, the left-handed batsman hit six fours during his 55-ball stay.

Sharma ended Pranavitana’s innings after the batsman edged an away going delivery to wicketkeeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

Dilshan on the other end looked at ease and drove Zaheer for two consecutive fours to set the tone of the Sri Lankan reply. The introduction of spinners didn’t help India and Dilshan smacked leg-spinner Amit Mishra for two back-to-back fours in Mishra’s first over.

After Pranavitana’s dismissal Dilshan and Sangakkara added 118 runs in the post-lunch session to reduce the lead to 271.

Earlier, India could add only 41 runs to their overnight score of 385 for six as the last four wickets barely lasted an hour.

Sri Lankan fast bowler Chanaka Welegadara (4/87) got some swing right from the start and Muttiah Muralitharan (3/87) got a good purchase to pack up India’s innings in 15 overs.

Rahul Dravid failed to add to his overnight score of 177 and played on, with a thick edge from Welegadara’s inswinging delivery.

Harbhajan Singh (22) and Zaheer Khan (12) offered some resistance with their 25-run partnership.

Harbhajan looked at ease against the fast bowlers and drove them through covers for two fours. Zaheer also cut Prasad for two back-to-back fours as 21 runs came off the first six overs.

But the early introduction of spin did the trick for the visitors. Left-arm spinner Rangana Herath trapped Zaheer leg before wicket while Muralitharan picked up Harbhajan and Ishant Sharma to wrap up the innings.

Source:- http://blog.taragana.com/

ICC and Indian officials to meet WADA over dope tests

2009-11-16T04:15:00.000-08:00

Top officials from the ICC and the Indian board are to meet later this month with David Howman, director-general of WADA, the world anti-doping agency, to discuss a "workable solution" to the impasse over cricket's anti-doping policy. The meeting will come three months after the Indian board publicly rejected the contentious whereabouts clause in the ICC's policy and stalled its implementation.
Haroon Lorgat, the ICC chief executive, confirmed to Cricinfo that such a meeting was on the cards and described discussions on the issue as "work in progress". Lorgat did not reveal any details but Cricinfo has learnt that a possible resolution will involve two options, both of which were first proposed by Cricket Australia (CA) soon after BCCI rejected the ICC's whereabouts procedure in August.
The first option has WADA, the ICC and BCCI exploring whether India's concerns about out-of-competition testing -- over the privacy, freedom and security of its players in the testing pool -- can be addressed effectively within the existing policy. Basically, given the packed international schedules, India's cricketers are expected to be on the road for most of the year, and the objective would be to convince the BCCI that any out-of competition testing will, for all practical purposes, take place only at official training sessions.
Apparently, the feeling within the ICC and among some of its 10 full members is that the BCCI was initially unaware that the WADA guidelines could be interpreted in a practical manner. But a senior BCCI official said that though the Indian board would approach the proposed meeting in November with an open mind, it prefers the second option, which is based on the model adopted by FIFA, football's governing body.
This option involves further negotiations with WADA and requires the ICC to go back to the table, possibly constitute a working group, and return with a whereabouts procedure similar to FIFA's. The football model, which has not been challenged by WADA, has three testing pools and only those in the first pool -- high-risk players (read: doping suspects) , those penalized before for doping offences and those coming back from injury -- need to comply with the daily individual whereabouts procedure that has been objected to by the BCCI. FIFA has two other testing pools where, instead of individual players providing whereabouts information, "elite teams" will provide the required information and, that too, only on team activity days -- match venues, official training sessions, official functions and the like.
Source:- http://www.cricinfo.com

Making Test debut in Karachi was the greatest high: Tendulkar

2009-11-14T04:27:00.000-08:00

On the eve of completing two decades in international cricket, Indian batting ace Sachin Tendulkar has said that for him the greatest high in life was walking out with the Indian team for his first Test against Pakistan in Karachi on November 15, 1989.

The 36-year-old will join a list of 15 players whose international careers have spanned more than 20 years when he plays in the first Test against Sri Lanka in Ahmedabad from Monday (November 16).

"The first day walking in the playing eleven, playing a test match with Pakistan was the greatest feeling... and the journey began...and whatever I did after that was a mere reflection of my contribution towards the nation of course but the first...first experience definitely has to be right at the top," Tendulkar told reporters here on Friday.

Tendulkar has been the face of Indian cricket since his Test debut in November 1989.

Tendulkar thanked his family for not letting him get carried away by his early success.

"The earlier stage of my career, when I had not played for India, I was just playing school cricket, I was since scoring lot of runs but nobody got carried away in my family by my success. It's quite easy for a 12-year, 13-year old boy to get carried away when he sees pictures printing in the newspapers, that's something special, but that's where you know ...I felt, may family made sure that my mind...is on the ground," the batting maestro said.

Tendulkar said he owed his character to his father who instilled good virtues in him.

"There is something which has kept me grounded, then needless to say that watching my father, my father has really... to teach me but by just looking at him closely, I picked up lot of things, the most important thing that he told me was your nature will stay permanently with you and if you are a good person, you will be even liked after you stop playing cricket," he said.

He now holds the record for most Test runs (12,773), Test centuries (42), ODI runs (17,178) and ODI centuries (45).

Source:- http://www.dnaindia.com

Ponting proud of understrength Aussies

2009-11-13T03:03:00.000-08:00

Australian captain Ricky Ponting says winning the recent one-day series in India was a very proud moment in his career.

Despite missing several of its leading players through injury, Australia clinched the series 4-2.

Ponting says it rates as one of his side's biggest achievements.

"I put this up there with World Cup wins and Champions Trophy wins, considering the adversity we faced early in the tour," he said.

"I think even through the year we've used about 34 or 35 players in our one-day team and that's three teams as we know, so we've had a fair bit of turnaround.

"To reinforce our standing as the number one team in the world in one-day cricket is a great achievement by a relatively young bunch of players."

Ponting says his players need to recharge ahead of another busy summer.

"It's getting increasingly difficult, there's no doubt about that," he said.

"Especially when you consider some of the guys that are arriving home have been on the road for six months non-stop and played a lot of cricket.

"So it's something that we're going to have to continue to address and continue to look at."

Ponting arrived in Melbourne overnight and will today watch Tiger Woods contest day two of the Australian Masters at Huntingdale

Source:- http://www.abc.net.au.

Be prepared for a bleak summer

2009-11-12T05:12:00.000-08:00

AUSTRALIAN cricket is facing its most deflating summer for decades. Following hard upon the feckless nomination of Chris Gayle as leader of the West Indies, the news that Younus Khan had stepped down as Pakistan captain is a hammer blow.

Pakistan and the West Indies are the summer's main attractions but both will arrive as fractured outfits. Whether the Younus decision or Gayle's reappointment is the bigger calamity is a matter of opinion. It's a close-run thing. All the evidence suggests that it's going to be a long summer and a hard sell.

Nowadays, the West Indies and Pakistan seem to spend an inordinate amount of time backstabbing and striking. And so cricket stumbles from crisis to crisis. The miracle is not that cricket frays at the edges but that it does not disintegrate. All the more reason to recognise the importance of strong and statesmanlike captains. Other sports can talk about coaches and managers. In cricket, the captain sets the tone. Put a turkey in charge and before long all and sundry will be squawking. Put a lion at the helm and soon the pride will be playing with pride. Younus was an impressive leader.

Honourable and intelligent, he tried to hold together a team unable to play matches at home and undermined to no small degree by defections to the Indian Cricket League and by rampant egos. Through it all, his reputation has remained intact. Despite the handicaps, the team continued to play its inimitable version of the game. Along the way, Shoaib Akhtar was dumped and Shahid Afridi turned into a frontline bowler.

And then the gripes began as older hands sought a leader more to their taste. All too soon Younus faced all sorts of allegations. There were suggestions Pakistan threw away the Champions League match against Australia because defeat meant eliminating India. Younus dropped a sitter and stuttered at the crease. Cricketers are not machines. His form has been poor. Not for the first time Pakistan's batting lacked logic. It was an oddly subdued performance. But Younus' team fought to the last and was only denied by tailenders. No one else came remotely as close to beating the Australians.

Source:- http://www.theage.com

Celebrating Sachin Tendulkar

2009-11-11T02:40:00.000-08:00

Sachin Tendulkar has been playing top class cricket for 20 years and he’s still playing blistering innings, still looking hungry, still demolishing attacks, still a prized wicket, still a proud competitor. He has not merely been around for two decades. From his first outing to one of his most recent efforts, a stunning 175 against Australia in the Hyderabad ODI, he has been a great batsman.

Longevity counts amongst his strengths. Twenty years! It’s a heck of a long time and it’s gone in the blink of an eye.

When Tendulkar first took guard in his country’s colours, Nelson Mandela was behind bars, Allan Border was captaining Australia, and India was a patronised country. In those days Tendulkar was a tousle-haired cherub prepared to stand his ground against all comers, including Wasim Akram and Merv Hughes, the most menacing of the Australians.

Now he is a tousle-haired elder still standing firm, still driving and cutting, still retaining some of the impudence of youth but nowadays bearing also the sagacity of age.

It has been an incredible journey, a trip that figures alone cannot define.

Not that the statistics lack weight. To the contrary they are astonishing, almost mind boggling. Tendulkar has scored an avalanche of runs, thousands upon thousands of them in every form of the game. He has reached three figures 87 times in the colours of his country and all the while has somehow retained his freshness, somehow avoided the mechanical, the repetitive and the predictable. Perhaps that has been part of it, the ability to retain the precious gift of youth. Alongside Shane Warne, the Indian master has been the most satisfying cricketer of his generation.

Source:- http://www.sportstaronnet.com

Younus under pressure

2009-11-09T03:02:00.000-08:00

Pakistan, who have not won a one-day series since beating the West Indies here last year, achieved a thumping 138-run win in the first match on Tuesday before New Zealand hit back with a 64-run win in the second on Friday.

Moreover, Younis is having a lean patch with the bat, scoring nought and 19 in the two matches - but coach Intikhab Alam backed his captain to come good when it matters.

"It can happen to any player," said Alam of Younus's wretched form which saw him scoring only two half-centuries in the last 18 matches. "I am sure that he can come good anytime, maybe in this crucial, must-win game."

Source:-http://www.timeslive.co.za

Sachin Tendulkar's brilliant century in vain as Australia pip India

2009-11-07T03:04:00.000-08:00

A remarkable innings of 175 in 140 balls by Sachin Tendulkar proved in vain as Australia took a 3-2 lead in the series with a thrilling three-run win over India in the fifth one-day international in Hyderabad.

Chasing 351 for victory, the home team were bowled out for 347 with two balls left after the brilliant Tendulkar went past 17,000 ODI runs.

He and Suresh Raina (59) put on 137 for the fifth wicket but the debutant Clint McKay struck the all-important blow for Australia when he had Tendulkar caught by Nathan Hauritz.

Earlier, a maiden century by Shaun Marsh (112) and 93 from fellow opener Shane Watson helped the visitors compile an imposing total of 350 for four.

http://www.guardian.co.uk

Cricket Australia eyes a less hectic schedule

2009-11-06T01:31:00.001-08:00

Cricket Australia's chairman Jack Clarke has conceded that the game could be better served with a less crowded international calendar when the new Future Tours Programme (FTP) is devised. His comments came as a stiff and sore Peter Siddle arrived home in Melbourne for the first time after more than five months on tour.

Siddle has been one of the hardest-working members of Australia's squad this year, having not been at home since April, when he enjoyed a brief spell following the Test series in South Africa. Since then he has been in England for the World Twenty20, the Ashes, and the one-day series, then went straight to South Africa for the Champions Trophy and from there dashed to India to play for Victoria in the Champions League Twenty20 and stayed on for the ODI series.

"It has been a long tour, I guess," Siddle said in the Age after touching down in Melbourne. "The guys have been away for a long time now and we've probably played a bit too much cricket, but we will see how we go and I'm sure the boys will go well in the next three matches and come home with a [series] win.

Source: http://www.cricinfo.com

Mohammad Sami confident of national comeback

2009-11-04T04:16:00.000-08:00

Mohammad Sami is confident of staging a comeback to the Pakistan team, following his ICL stint, through his performances for Karachi Blues in the ongoing Quaid-e-Azam Trophy.

"I feel there is still cricket left in me and that is why I am playing on the domestic circuit for Karachi Blues - to win back my place in the team," Sami told APP. "Though I bowled really well in Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, I managed just 13 wickets. I am really working hard to excel and get the attention of selectors."

The 28-year-old fast bowler joined the unofficial league after 33 Test and 83 ODIs for Pakistan. He has taken 81 Tests wickets at an expensive 51.37, including eight on his debut against New Zealand. He also has 118 ODI wickets at 26.49.

"I will shortly be presenting my NOC to PCB," Sami said. "But I am waiting for my third installment of payments from ICL. Representing Pakistan had always been a great honor for me. I am fully focused on producing my best in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy."

Sami praised his new-ball partner Tanvir Ahmed for his outstanding performance in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy so far. Tanvir leads the bowling charts with 39 wickets from four matches at 13.97, and has been key to Karachi's domination at the top of Group B. "Due to his [Tanvir's] excellent bowling we recorded three victories," Sami said.

Source: http://www.cricinfo.com/

Badshahs scamper home by 7 runs

2008-04-03T21:34:00.000-07:00

Lance Klusener declared man of the match

Mumbai, April 03, 2008: The 2nd semi-final of the Edelweiss 20s Challenge featured the world no-3 side Lahore Badshahs (as per the Barter Card Power Rankings) take on the spirited Kolkata Tigers, at the Tau Devi Lal Stadium, Sector-3, Panchkula. The big question for everybody was - If the Tigers had it in them to derail the Badshahs juggernaut? However, in the end it turned out to be a classic encounter where the Badshahs won by a narrow margin of 7 runs. Lance Klusener declared man of the match.

Inzamam won the toss and elected to bat on a track that looked flat and full of runs. Nerves were playing a part in the big match & got the better of the inform Imran Farhat, who was sent back to the Badshahs dugout without troubling the scorers. At the end of the 5th over it was the other Imran. Nazir who got into the repair act for the Badshahs, taking the score to 35/1. Humayun & Nazir soon got into the groove playing some wonderful strokes, brining the 50 of the innings in the 6th over.

The partnership was growing in strength and by the 8th over, Badshahs were placed handsomely 70/1. Just when the partnership was taking dangerous proportions Zulu got into the act sending back Humayun in the10th over for a well made 39. At the half way mark of their innings the Badshahs were placed at 86/2. Shiv Sagar got the big break in form of Hasan Raza's wicket brining the Tigers right backing the match in the 11th over. Sagar got into the act again getting Nazir in the 13th over leaving the Badshahs in a bit of a bother at 94/4.

By the end of the 15th over, the match was turning out to be a fascinating contest with the Badshahs placed at 112/4. However, the cool composure of Inzi was what the Badshahs needed and in the company of Latif, he was working up a good partnership of over 50 runs setting the Badshahs for a big onslaught in the final overs. Azhar Mahmood came in with 2overs to spare and a lovely cameo of 24 off only 8 balls helped Badshahs set a formidable target of 183.

In reply, the Tigers came out with positive intent getting 21 for no loss at the end of the first three overs. The openers were gaining in confidence especially Dasgupta, who was taking on the formidable opening bowling attack. At the end of the 4th over, the Tigers were set on the target at 39 for no loss.

The Tigers got their 50 in style at the end of the 5th over scoring at over 10 runs per over. The wonderful opening partnership of 62 was brought to an end by Nazir who castled Dasgupta for a well made 22 in the 7th over. At the half way mark it was turning out to be a fascinating match with the Tigers needing 102 off 60 balls at 10 runs per over with 9 wickets in hand. Shahid Nazir was bowling some tight overs in the middle with the wily Mushtaq building the pressure on the Tigers. Two big hits from the bat of Zulu kept the hopes alive for the Tigers in the 14th over.

With 5 overs to go the match was fascinatingly poised with the Tigers needing 63 off 30balls at 12.6 runs per over with Zulu looking in ominous touch. Klusener was making a match out of it & in company of Gavaskar was taking the daunting target chase right down to the wire. In the last over , the Tigers were posed with the daunting task off scoring 18 runs. In the end Zulu's valiant was not enough and the Badshahs prevailed by 7 runs.

Brief Scores: Lahore Badshahs 182/7in20 overs (Nazir 42, Humayun 39, Sagar 2/19) win by 7 runs Kolkata Tigers 175/4 (Klusener 93, Gavaskar 23, Nazir2/12)

resource:www.indiancricketleague.in

Lahore Badshahs score second consecutive victory!

2008-03-14T22:37:00.000-07:00

Azhar Mahmood & Imran Nazir jointly declared Man of the Match

The fifth match of the Edelweiss 20s Challenge featured the dominant Lahore Badshahs taking on the Hyderabad Heroes at the Tau Devi Lal Stadium, Sector-3, Panchkula. In a one sided affair the Badshahs overwhelmed the Hyderabad Heroes, defeating them by 9 wickets. Azhar Mahmood & Imran Nazir were declared as joint winners for Man of the Match.

The grounds men had worked hard on the pitch & a light shower just before the start of the match had freshened up the pitch. It was expected to produce true bounce conducive to stroke play from the rich batting line up of both the sides. Heroes captain Chris Harris, won the toss and elected to bat. The Heroes opened the batting with international Jimmy Maher & promising domestic player Anirudh Singh. Azhar Mahmood got the Badshahs their first breakthrough castling Jimmy Maher for 5 in the first over.

A horrible mix up between the promising Anirudh & Rayudu resulted in the formers run out leaving the Heroes innings reeling at 13/2 in the second over. Badshahs inform bowler Rana Naved, got into the act getting Rayudu nick one to the slip cordon into the safe hands of Inzamam. By the fifth over the Badshahs bowling was showing its might leaving the Heroes innings struggle at 21/4.

Justin Kemp & Heroes captain Harris did not trouble the scorers much & were packed back by the magnificent Badshahs bowling , leaving the Heroes innings in absolute tatters at 31/6 in the in the 7th over. The halfway mark of the Heroes innings read a dismal 44/6 with Boje & Razzaq battling it out in the middle. The end of the 15th over had the heroes at 67/6 with Boje trying hard to resurrect the innings. Razzaq unsuccessfully tried to increase the scoring rate, bowled by the quick MD Sami for only 10.

The bowling was right from the top drawer. Boundaries were far & between in the Heroes innings. Tight overs from international stalwarts like Saqlain, Sami ably supported by medium pacer Shahid Nazir kept a tight leash on the scoring rate. Azhar Mahmood was too good for the tail-enders bundling the Heroes innings for only 86.

In reply the Badshahs opened the innings with the two attacking openers Farhat & Nazir. Abdul Razzaq who opened the bowling for the Heroes got an early breakthrough sending back the dangerous Farhat for 4 in the very first over. Lady luck too was not smiling upon the Heroes with an eventful 4th over from Reddy seeing a catch of a no ball followed with a boundary and a dropped chance in the slips. The boundaries started coming fast & thick from the Badshahs bat with Nazir severe on the young Reddy taking him for 21 runs in the 6thover.

At the end of the 6th over the Badshahs were handsomely placed at 55 for the loss of only one wicket. Nazir was dealing in boundaries and his partnership with Farhat was worth 70 runs in only 46 balls taking the total to 74/1 in the 8th over. Two big sixes of spinner IS Reddy by the mercurial Imran Nazir took the Badshahs home to a comprehensive victory!

Brief Scores: (Hyderabad heroes 86 /10, N. Boje 39, A Mahmood 5/13 Rana Naved 2/19) lost by 9 wickets (Lahore Badshahs 87/1 Imran Nazir 62, H Farhat 18 , Abdul Razzaq 1/15)

resource: www.indiancricketleague.in

Kolkata Tigers clinch thriller against Champs

2008-03-12T22:07:00.000-07:00

Andre Adams declared Man of the Match

The fourth match of the Edelweiss 20s Challenge being played at Tau Devi Lal Stadium Sector-3, Panchkula featured the Mumbai Champs taking on the spirited Kolkata Tigers from the city of joy. The pitch report had the experts declare the pitch as dry with low bounce.

Craig Mcmillan, the Tigers captain won the toss and elected to bat. The Tigers won the thriller by 2 runs handing the Mumbai Champs their second straight defeat in the Edelweiss 20s Challenge. Andre Adams was declared Man of the Match for his all round performance.

The Tigers opened the innings with Subhomoy Das & the great Lance Klusener. Das got into the act right away sending the ball to the ropes twice in the first over of Van der Wath. Tino best got the first break with a fast delivery castling Lance Klusener in the 4th over for 9. At the end of the fifth over the Tigers were placed at 35 /1. Astle brought on medium pacer Khird in the 7th over and he responded with a wicket on the first ball getting Subhomoy Das for 21.

Kasprowicz who was hit for a couple of boundaries in his previous over got right back into the game clean bowling the dangerous Tigers captain MCmillan in the 10th over. By the end of the 10th over the match was a keen contest between the bat & the ball, with the Tigers placed at 67/3.

The promising Jhunjhunwala was looking good in the company of the experienced Rohan Gavaskar, till a rush of blood saw him getting out to a smart piece of stumping by Paul of the impressive bowling of Khirid in the 14th over.

At the end of the 15th over the tigers were placed at 102/4. Rohan Gavaskar was the mainstay of the Tigers batting, but the boundaries were hard to come by. The hard hitting Andre Adams came to the party clubbing two big sixes of the final Tino Best over. The Tigers innings finally folded at 146/5 in 20 overs.

The Mumbai Champs reply started on a shaky note with Jayanta castled by Andre Adams in the first over. The newly promoted opener S Paul along with Raviraj Patil were in a positive mood displaying an array of strokes taking the score to 34/1 at the end of the 4th over . Patil especially was in an aggressive mood showing scant respect for the reputed opposition bowlers, stroking some audacious strokes all across the park.

The courageous partnership came to an end when the Tigers captain got the dangerous Patil out for a well made 52 in the 10th over. At the 11th over the Champs were well placed at 87/2 with captain Nathan Astle & Paul battling it out for the Champs at the crease. Some tight overs in the middle of the innings from the experienced Klusener & Mcmillan brought the tigers back into the game.

At the end of the 15th over the Champs were placed at 102/3, needing 45 off the last 5 overs at 9 runs per over. Astle played some big shots but a rash stroke brought an end to his promising innings of 30, which changed the fortunes for Champs.

A mini collapse with quick wickets of Van der Wath & Powar & Khanolkar reduced the Champs to 130 /6 in the 17th over taking the match right down to the wire . The Champs needed 9 runs off the last over from the quick Hayward. It proved too big a task for the lower order batsmen & finally the champs fell short of the target by 2 runs.

Brief scores: Kolkata Tigers (146/5 , R Gavaskar 41, A Jhunjhunwala 33, A Adams 21 , R Khirid 17/2 ) won by 2 runs , Mumbai Champs ( 144/9 R Patil 52, N Astle 30, A Adams 3/35 )

Resource: www.indiancricketleague.in

Chennai Superstars wins inaugural edition of ICL 50s!

2008-02-12T01:35:00.000-08:00

Chennai Superstars won the inaugural edition of ICL 50s, played at Mayajaal Sports Village-Chennai, defeating Delhi Jets by 4 balls. This is their second straight victory after ICL 20 20 Championships. Chennai Superstars skipper R Satish won the toss and Chennai Superstars, medium fast bowler Tamil Kumaran was declared man of the match for his 5 for 39. Delhi Jets skipper J P Yadav was declared Player of the Tournament for his all round performance scoring 387 runs, 8 wickets and taking 5 catches.

Batting first, Delhi Jets managed to put on 240 runs in 48.3 overs. The Jets innings was off to a shaky start as the opener Sachin Dholpure was back in the pavilion by the 7th over, with the score on 27. This brought in Abhinav Bali who along with Mohnish Mishra put on 54 runs partnership for the second wicket to take Jets to a safer position after their horrid start.

Mohnish Mishra struck a fine 64 off 68 balls hitting 5 fours and 1 six and was the star of the Jets innings. Abhinav Bali gave him able support with a 30 ball 37. After the fall of Abhinav Bali, Mishra entered into 57 runs partnership with Abbas Ali to take the score past 130. After the fall of Mishra, JP Yadav and Ali added quick 37 to take the score past 175.

J P Yadav made 56 balls 45 hitting 2 sixes and one four. After the falloff Yadav tailenders didn't contribute much and the Jets managed to put on 240 runs in 48.3 overs. The stand out performance for the Chennai Superstars from Tamil Kumaran who took 5 for 38 and Thiru Kumaran who took 2 for 25.

Chennai Superstars were off to appalling start, loosing 3 wickets in the 8th over on a score of 33. After the fall of Vasant Sarvana, Hemang Badani entered into a 52 runs partnership with V Devendran to take the score past 80 in the 17th over. Devendran scored 43 off 56 balls hitting 2 sixes and 3 boundaries. After the fall of Devendran, Hemang and Harish scored 81 runs off 105 balls taking the score past 166 in the 35th over. In course of their partnership, Hemang scored 58 off 77 balls hitting 3 sixes and Harish scored 59 off 73 balls hitting 4 boundaries.

After the fall of Devendran, Hemang and Harish scored 81 runs off 105 balls taking the score past 166 in the 35th over. In course of their partnership, Hemang scored 58 off 77 balls hitting 3 sixes and Harish scored 59 off 73 balls hitting 4 boundaries.

Three wickets of Superstars fell quickly to take the score to 208 for 9 in 46th over. At this point the win for Delhi Jets was looking inevitable, but Superstars all rounder Thiru Kumaran had some other ideas. He struck 21 balls 38 hitting 2 sixes and 4 boundaries to take Superstars toward victory. Chennai Superstars won the match in the 50th over with 4 balls still to be bowled.

Brief scores: Chennai Superstars 242 for 9 in 49.2 overs (Hemang Badani 58, J Hariesh 59, V Devendran 43 , Shalabh Srivastava 3/ 38) defeated Delhi Jets 240 all out in 48.3 overs (Monish Mishra 64, J.P. Yadav 45, Abbas Ali 45, Tamil Kumaran 5/38 , Thiru Kumaran 2/ 25) by 4 balls.
Source : http://www.indiancricketleague.in/

The Unbreakable Jets defeat Hyderabad Heroes by 26 runs

2008-02-09T02:56:00.000-08:00

In the 15th match of the ICL 50s being played at Lahari Resorts-Hyderabad, Delhi Jets defeated Hyderabad Heroes by 26 runs. Delhi Jets skipper J.P. Yadav won the toss and elected to bat. Skipper J.P Yadav of Delhi Jets was declared man of the match for his brilliant 101 of 98 balls.

The Delhi Jets put up a good show inspite of losing its 1st wicket in the first over in the name of Sachin Dholpure. Followed by Abhinav Bali and opener Mohnish Mishra who put up 82 run partnership for the second wicket, as both the batsman scored 43 runs each. Skipper J.P Yadav and Abbas Ali then put on a 146 run partnership. J.P Yadav went off to score a memorable century of 98 balls which included 10 fours and 1 six. Abbas Ali gave him good support and scored 78 runs of 87 balls including 5 fours and 2 sixes. The tailenders didn't contribute much and the Jets made a mighty 321 runs for 8 in their quota of 50 overs. There is nothing much to talk about the Heroes bowling as the Jets almost snuffed out the bowlers. Kaushik Reddy took 2 wickets and gave away 67 runs in 9 overs.

In reply, the Heroes batsmen were off to a flying start. Opener Shashank Nag scored a brilliant 104 runs of 90 balls which included 12 fours and 2 sixes. He along with left-hand batsman P.S. Niranjan had a 173 runs partnership for the 1st wicket, but the middle order collapsed like a pack of cards. The only support came in was in the mane of Shahbuddin who scored 46 runs and extras 33. The Heroes managed to score 295 in 50 overs. From the Jets, Abhishek Tamarkar took 4 wickets for 60 runs.

With this win, the Jets continued to show their great run in the tournament. In this entire tournament the team has stood out distinctively in all aspects of the game. Without losing a single match, the Jets ensured that they were the only team who truly deserved to play in the finals.

Brief scores: Delhi Jets 321 for 8 in 50 overs (J.P. Yadav 101, Abbas Ali 78,K.Reddy 2-67) beat Hyderabad Heroes 295 for 10 in 50 overs (Shashank Nag 104,P.S.Niranjan 52, R.S. A.Tamarkar 4-60).

Source : http://www.indiancricketleague.in/

Kolkata Tigers scores Emphatic Win

2008-02-09T02:55:00.001-08:00

In the 13th match of the ICL 50s being played here at the Mayajaal Sports Village, Kolkata Tigers defeated Chandigarh Lions by 3 wickets. Chandigarh Lions skipper Dinesh Mongia won the toss and elected to bat. Abu Nachim was declared was declared man of the match for his brilliant match winning 45 and 2 for 51.

In the must win match Chandigarh Lions, managed to put a score of 272 for the loss of 7 wickets in the allotted 50 overs after an awful start. The Lions innings was off to a shaky start as both openers Chetan Sharma and Manish Sharma were back in the pavilion by the 5th over, with the score on 16. This brought in captain Dinesh Mongia and T P Singh who put on 102 runs to take Lions to a safer position after their horrid start. Playing captain’s knock Dinesh Mongia struck a solid 108 off 129 balls hitting 6 boundaries and 4 sixes. T P Singh gave him able support with a 64 balls 47. Singh’s wicket brought in Reetinder Sodhi who scored quick 62 off 73 balls hitting 5 boundaries and a six. He along with Dinesh took the score past 220 in 45th over. After the departure of Mongia and Sodhi rest of the Lions wickets fell cheaply. The stand out performance for the Tigers came from Abu Nachim took 3 for 52 and Syed Ahmed who took 2 for 33 to keep the Lions total in check.

Chasing the target Kolkata Tigers didn’t have good start. Captain Deep Dasgupta was retired hurt in the 4th over. This brought in Abhishek Jhunjhunwala who along with Parviz Aziz put on a partnership of 48 runs. Aziz scored 32 off 26 balls hitting 5 boundaries. Kolkata Tigers lost three quick wickets in the span of 4 overs taking the score to 124 for 4 in 18.3 overs. This brought in Rohan Gavaskar who entered into two crucial partnerships. First partnership with Ali H Zaidi for 23 runs and second with Abu Nachim for 76 runs to take Tigers to the winning position.. Rohan Gavaskar scored 67 off 82 balls hitting 3 sixes and 3 boundaries. Abu Nachim scored brilliant 45 off 41 balls and was declared man of the match. For Chandigarh Lions the pick of bowlers was Rajesh Sharma who took 3/31.

With both the teams out of competition Chennai Superstars will clash with Delhi Jets in the finals of ICL50s at Mayajaal Sports Village on February 10, 2008.

Brief scores: Kolkata Tigers 311 for 7 wickets in 50 overs (Rohan Gavaskar 67,Abhishek Jhunjhunwala 47,Abu Nachim 45,Rajesh Sharma 3/31,Dinesh Mongia 2/41) defeated Chandigarh Lions 272 for 7 wickets in 50 overs (Dinesh Mongia 108 , Reetinder Singh Sodhi 62 , T P Singh 47 , Abu Nachim 3/52 , Syed Ahmad 2/ 33) by 3 wickets.

Source : http://www.indiancricketleague.in/

Shashank Nag and Dheeraj Jadhav declared Man of the Match

2008-02-09T02:52:00.000-08:00

In the 13th match of ICL 50's being played at Lahari Resorts-Hyderabad, Hyderabad Heroes defeated Mumbai Champs by 80 runs and it was their first win. Stand-in-skipper of Hyderabad Heroes Shashank Nag won the toss and elected to bat. Shashank Nag of Hyderabad Heroes and Dheeraj Jadhav of Mumbai Champs were declared man of the match.
The Heroes scored at a brisk pace inspite of loosing its first wicket in the 2nd over in the name of P.S. Niranjan. Stand-in-skipper and opener Shashank Nag scored 63 runs of 64 balls which included 11 boundaries. The middle order chipped in pretty well as both the batsmen, Vinay Kumar and Ibrahim Khaleel scored half centuries. The Heroes ended their innings on 276 for 8 in their quota of 50 overs. The Mumbai Champs bowlers proved to be too expensive as both their strike bowlers Anupam Sanklecha and Suyash Burkul gave away 72 runs and took 3 wickets each.

In reply, the Champs continued to show their poor run in the tournament. Champs never managed to get going and lost wickets at regular intervals. The only batsman who stood out for the Champs was Dheeraj Jadhav who scored a brilliant 101 runs of 113 balls including 12 boundaries and was not out till the end. The other batsman who gave support to Dheeraj was Ranjeet Khirid who made 31 runs of 47 balls including 2 fours and 1 six. Kaushik Reddy of Hyderabad Heroes took 3 wickets for 34 runs in his 7.4 overs.

In today's match, Heroes proved to be a better team and completely outplayed the Champs and also picked up a bonus point.

Brief scores: Hyderabad Heroes 276 for 8 in 50 overs (Shashank Nag 63, Vinay Kumar 62, A.Sanlkecha 3-72) beat Mumbai Champs 196 for 10 in 42.4 overs (Dheeraj Jadhav 101*, Ranjeet Khirid 31, K.Reddy 3-34).

Source : http://www.indiancricketleague.in/

Chennai Superstars Score Easy Win

2008-02-09T02:50:00.000-08:00

In the 12th match of the ICL 50's being played at Mayajaal Sports Village, Chennai Superstars defeated Kolkata Tigers by 6 wickets. Kolkata Tigers skipper Deep Dasgupta won the toss and elected to bat. Hemang Badani was declared man of the match for his brilliant 112 and 2 for 38.
Electing to bat the Kolkata Tigers managed to put on 311in their 50 overs. The Kolkata innings was off to a shaky start as the opener Paryiz Aziz was back in the pavilion by the 4th over, with the score on 8. This brought in Subhomoy Das who along with captain Deep Dasgupta put on 104 runs partnership for the second wicket to take Kolkata to a safer position after their horrid start. Subhomoy Das struck a fine 80 of 81 balls hitting 5 fours and 1 six and was the star of the Tigers innings. Deep Dasgupta gave him able support with a 62 ball 54. After the fall of these two wickets in quick time Abhishek Jhunjhunwala and Rohan Gavaskar struck a partner ship of 93 to take the score past 260. Gavaskar struck 64 balls 61 hitting 2 sixes and 3 fours while Jhunjhunwala struck quick fire 39 off 40 balls. The stand out performance for the Chennai Superstars from Hemang Badani who took 2 for 38 .
Chasing the target, Chennai Superstars didn’t have a good start. They lost their opener Hemant Kumar on the score of 34 in the 4th over. That brought in R Satish who along with opener V Devedran put on 22 run for the second wicket. R Satish was in fine form as he struck 37 ball 42 , hitting seven boundaries. The Superstars then lost 3 wickets with score on 101 in the 15th over. This flurry of wickets brought in Hemang Badani who seized control of the game by stringing a 209 run partnership with V Saravanan.Hemang struck a fine 112 off 94 balls and V Saravanan scored not out 107. Man of the match Hemang Badani struck 4 sixes and 8 boundaries in his innings. After the fall of Hemang Badani on score of 311 , V Saravanan hit the winning runs.

Brief scores: Chennai Superstars 315 for 4 wickets in 48.1 overs (V Saravanan 107, Hemang Badani 112, Abu Nachim 2/60) defeated Kolkata Tigers 311 for 7 wickets in 50 overs (Subhomoy Das 80, Rohan Gasvaskar 61, Deep Dasgupta 54, Hemang Badani 2 /38, / R Jesura 1/41) by 6 wickets.

Source : http://www.indiancricketleague.in/

The Jets thrive again! Defeat Chandigarh Lions by 92 runs

2008-02-09T02:46:00.000-08:00

In the 11th match of the ICL 50s being played at Lahari Resorts-Hyderabad, Delhi Jets defeated Chandigarh Lions by 92 runs. Delhi Jets skipper J.P. Yadav won the toss and elected to bat. Abhinav Bali of Delhi Jets was declared man of the match for his all round effort.
Delhi Jets innings went off to a shaky start by losing its first 4 wickets before its score touched the 100 run mark. Skipper J.P Yadav and Dhruv Mahajan then managed to hold the innings together and put up 77 run partnership between them. J.P Yadav played a captain's innings by scoring 60 crucial runs of 59 balls which included 3 fours and 4 sixes. The tailenders contributed few lusty blows and took their team's total to 259. The Delhi Jets ended their innings in just 47.5 overs. For the Chandigarh Lions Reetender Singh Sodhi took 3 wickets by giving away 46 runs in his 8.5 overs.

In reply, the Chandigarh Lions batsmen faltered out badly as they were skittle out for a meagre 167 in 36 overs. Chandigarh Lions never managed to get going and lost crucial wickets at regular intervals. The only batsman who stood out for the Lions was Chetan Sharma who scored 61 runs of 51 balls including 10 boundaries. Playing as true champions, the Jets just didn't allow the Lions to get into any momentum, as they went on picking up wickets after wickets. Left arm-spinner Ali Murtaza managed to pick up 3 wickets while Abhinav Bali chipped in with 2 wickets for the Jets.

In today's match, Jets overpowered the Lions completely and also picked up a bonus point. With this win, the Jets are through to the finals. On the other hand, the Lions have to win their last match with a bonus point to see themselves in the finals.

Brief scores: Chandigarh Lions 167 for 10 in 36 overs (Chetan Sharma 61, Murtaza 3-37, Bali 2-27) lost to Delhi Jets 259 for 10 in 47.5 overs (J.P. Yadav 60, Abhinav Bali 45, R.S. Sodhi 3-46).

Source : http://www.indiancricketleague.in/

Mumbai Champs pips Kolkata Tigers

2008-02-04T04:19:00.000-08:00

Mumbai Champs beat Kolkata Tigers by 54 runs to win their two games on the trot in the ICL 50s. In the game being played at the Mayajaal Sports Village, Mumbai Champs skipper Kiran Powar won the toss and decided to bat on a batsmen friendly pitch. Sridhar Iyer of Mumbai Champs was declared man of the match for his superb bowling spell of.
Batting first Champs were bowled out for 257 in 45.1 overs. Once again openers Robin Morris and Dheeraj Jadhav provided a great start to the Champs. They forged 67 runs partnership in11.4 overs. Morris scored quick fire 33 runs in 35 ball hitting 4 boundaries. That brought in AA Sanklecha who smashed 17 ball 22 that included 2 sixes and 1 boundary. Continuing his good form Dheeraj Jadhav struck a fine 73 balls 59 that included 4 boundaries to get the innings going for the Champs. After the quick of two wickets fall of Khanolkar and Dheeraj Jadhav, Mumbai Champs Captain Powar forged a 96 runs partnership with Nikhil Mandale to take the score past 145. Powar played a true captain's knock to score a belligerent 57 balls 60 that included 2 huge sixes and 4 boundaries. Once the Powar got out, the Mumbai batsmen failed to capitalise on the situation and lost wickets at regular intervals. None of the Champs batsman could put together a substantial partnership. They were bowled out for 257 in 45.1 overs. The Tigers bowling effort was a much more disciplined, than their previous matches. The star performers for Kolkata Tigers with the ball were Abhishek Jhunjhunwala 3/42 and Eklak Ahmid 2/34. Fast bowler Sujoy Tarafdar chipped in with important wicket of opener Robin Morris.
In their reply, the Kolkata Tigers batsman faltered badly as they were skittled out for a meager 203 in 40.4 overs. Kolkata never managed to get going and were set back by some inspiring bowling from Mumbai Champs bowlers. The Tigers were reeling at 95 for 4 in the 21st over and never managed to recover from that position. The chief architect of the Tigers collapse was Champs bowlers Shridhar Iyer and Shreyas Khanolkar who picked up four wicket each at regular intervals. The only spark in the Tigers innings came from Subhomoy Das and Shibsagar Singh , who scored 38 and 32 respectively.

Brief scores: Mumbai Champs 257 in 45.1 overs (Kiran Powar 60, Dheeraj Jadhav 59, Robin Morris 33, Abhishek Jhunjhunwala 3/42 , Eklak Ahmid 2/34 ) beat Kolkata Tigers 203 in 40.4 overs ( Subhomoy Das 38 , Shibsagar Singh 32 , Shridhar Singh 4/39 , Shreyas Khanolkar 4/45) by 54 runs.

Source : http://www.indiancricketleague.in/

Delhi Jets win again

2008-02-04T04:17:00.000-08:00

Delhi Jets beat Chennai Superstars by 75 runs to win their third game on the trot in the ICL 50s. In the game being played at the Mayajaal Sports Village, Chennai Superstars skipper R.Satish won the toss and predictably asked Delhi to bat. Delhi Jets captain J.P Yadav was declared man of the match for his superb all round performance where he scored 35 runs and then took 4 crucial wickets.
After their two magnificent chases of over 300 it was going to be interesting to see how much the Jets could muster up batting first. Unfortunately things didn’t go as planned for Delhi and they were bowled out for 271 in the 46th over. Delhi lost their first wicket at 28 when Monish Mishra was leg before to R. Jesuraj. That brought in Abhinav Bali who continued his big hitting ways. He smashed an outrageous 44 ball 78 that included 6 sixes and 9 boundaries. He put on 103 runs for the 2nd wicket with Sachin Dholpure (45 of 54 balls), who played a sensible innings. Once the partnership was broken, the Delhi batsmen failed to capitalise on the situation and lost wickets at regular intervals. None of the Jets batsman could put together a substantial partnership. The next highest being 33 runs for the 8th wicket. Even though they were losing wickets the Delhi innings never lost steam. And when they were bowled out with 29 deliveries remaining, they had still managed to reach 271. The pick of the bowlers for the Chennai Superstars was Syed Mohammad who picked up 4 wickets for 40 runs in his quota of 10 overs. Hemang Badani also chipped in with 2 wickets.
Chennai Superstars fell well short of Delhi’s target in the end. Chennai Superstars were off to a horrid start as they lost their first wicket with the score on 5. They were further setback with two quick wickets and were reeling at 32 for 3 in the 8th over. Hemang Badani then joined V. Devendran to put on 82 runs for the 4th wicket and help consolidate the Superstars position. Badani scored a fast paced 47 of 40 balls that included 3 sixes and 3 boundaries. Once he was out the Superstars batsmen offered little resistance. And once Devendran was out for 40 in the 27th over the Chennai innings folded up. Delhi captain added 4 wickets to his 35 while batting to cap off a good day in the office. Jets spinner Abhishek Sharma also took to 2 vital wickets. Delhi Jets have now won all their 3 games and have almost assured them a place in the finals.

Brief scores: Delhi Jets 271 in 45.1 overs (Abhinav Bali 78, Sachin Dholpure 45, J.P. Yadav 35, Syed Mohammad 4/40, Hemang Badani 2/39) beat Chennai Superstars 196 in 43.4 overs (Hemang Badani 47, V Devendran 40, J.P. Yadav 4/24, Abhishek Sharma 2/31) by 75 runs.

Source : http://www.indiancricketleague.in/

Mumbai Champs Win!

2008-02-04T04:15:00.000-08:00

Mumbai Champs beat Chandigarh Lions by 4 wickets thanks to a brilliant 88 from man of the match Dheeraj Jadhav, in the 5th match of the ICL 50s that is being played at the Mayajaal Sports Village-Chennai. Chandigarh Lion's won the toss and their captain Dinesh Mongia had no hesitation in selecting to bat.
Batting first the Lions managed 262 in their quota of 50 overs. Chandigarh Lions suffered an early setback as they began their innings. Opener Sarabjit Singh was out in the 2nd over with the score on 2. That brought in T.P Singh who put on 51 runs with Manish Sharma to take the Lions total past 50. Both batsmen were out by the 17th over and that brought in Chandigarh Skipper Dinesh Mongia to join Gaurav Gupta. Together they added 77 for the 4th wicket. Mongia made a brisk 50 while Gupta was unfortunate not to reach a well deserved half century, he was out for 48. Bipul Sharma (40 of 29 balls) and Karanveer Singh (27 of 15) gave the late burst for the Lions to propel their score past 260. The Champs bowling effort was a much more disciplined with the ball were the new ball pair of Anupam Sanklecha (3/35) and Ranjit Khirid (2/44). Part timer Shreyas Khanolkar also chipped in with 3 wickets.

Chasing 280 the Mumbai Champs got of to a great start. Champs openers Dheeraj Jadhav and Robbin Morris put on 125 to forge the highest opening partnership of the tournament so far. Jadhav was at his silky best as he scored a match winning 88. Morris was in a destructive mood scoring a 66 ball 74. Next batsman in Raviraj Patil continued the good work with a classy 52 of 46 balls. He put on 85 runs with Jadhav to take Mumbai to the brink of victory. With 30 required in 3 overs for Mumbai to gain the bonus point the Champs batsmen went for it. That resulted in spurt of wickets but that couldn't stop the Mumbai victory. The Chandigarh Lions bowling and fielding wasn't up to the mark today and the drop catches didn't help their cause. Mumbai cruised past the target in the 43rd over.

This is a big win for the Champ's whose confidence has been at rock bottom after the demolition at the hands of the Delhi Jets two days ago.

Brief scores: Chandigarh Lions 262 in 50 overs (Dinesh Mongia 50, Gaurav Gupta 48, Anupam Sanklecha 3/35, Shreyas Khanolkar 3/39, Ranjit Khirid 2-44) lost to Mumbai Champs 265 for 6 in 42.2 overs (Dheeraj Jadhav 88, Robbin Morris 74, Raviraj Patil 52, Rakesh Patel 1-18) by 4 wickets.

Source : http://www.indiancricketleague.in/

Delhi Jets continue to soar

2008-02-04T04:13:00.000-08:00

In the sixth match of the ICL 50’s being played here at the Mayajaal Sports Village, Delhi Jets defeated Kolkata by 5 wickets. Kolkata Tigers skipper Deep Dasgupta won the toss and once again elected to bat. Delhi Jets batsman Monish Mishra was declared man of the match for his 118 runs.
The Kolkata Innings got of to a great start as the openers Anshu Jain and Parviz Aziz took the Tigers score to 145. Aziz scored quick 93 of 88 balls including 2 sixes. Jain scored a patient 44 and was the perfect foil for Aziz. Both batsmen fell in the space of 3 balls and that slowed down Kolkata’s innings. Rohan Gavaskar and Deep Dasguta then played some quick cameos to help the Tigers total along. Gavaskar scored 45 of 34 balls including 3 hits over the fence, while Dasgupta made quick 38. Shib Sagar Singh then joined his captain to strike some lusty blows and take the Tiger’s total one short of 300. For the Jets bowlers there was nothing to write home about. Though Abhinav Bali had amazing figures of 3 wickets for one run, thanks too some cheap wickets at the end of the innings.
Delhi Jets continue to dazzle when they are chasing. Today thanks to brilliant hundred by the other Delhi opener Monish Mishra, the Jets managed to chase down Kolkata’s target in just 45.4 overs. Mishra was the star for the Delhi Jets as he carried his bat right trough the innings to guide his side to victory. Mishra made 118 of 119 balls including 6 boundaries and 5 sixes. The loss of his opening partner when the score was 39 brought in Abhinav Bali. The young Delhi all rounder was in no mood to hang around as he made a quick fire 42 of 30 balls. The fall of two quick wickets gave Kolkata a glimmer of hope. But those hopes were soon dashed by Delhi skipper who put his foot on the pedal to smash quick 67 that included 5 big ones. He and Mishra put on a match winning 125 runs that took the game away from the Tigers. Mishra then completed the formalities with Ali Murtza to give the Jets a comfortable victory.

Delhi Jets look like the stand out team of the tournament so far after their scintillating chases in their last two games. I think captains will be weary about batting first in their games against Delhi from now on. Meanwhile after a low scoring first game, it has been a real run feast for the batsman on this placid wicket, and a nightmare for the bowlers.

Brief scores: Kolkata Tigers 299 in 50 overs (Parvez Aziz 93, Rohan Gavaskar 45, Anshu Jain 44, Abhinav Bali 3/1, Abbas Ali 2/43) beat Delhi Jets 300 for 5 in 45.4 overs (Monish Mishra 118*, J.P Yadav 67, Abhinav Bali 42, Shiv Sagar Singh 2/56) by 5 wickets.

Source : http://www.indiancricketleague.in/

Tigers Roar to 123 run victory

2008-02-04T04:07:00.000-08:00

Kolkata Tigers defeated Hyderabad Heroes by 123 runs in a round robin game of the ICL 50's tournament being played here at the Mayajaal Sports Village. Kolkata Tigers captain and former India wicket keeper Deep Dasgupta won the toss and decided to bat in extremely humid conditions. The star of the show was Abhishek Jhunjhunwala who scored a brilliant hundred to set up a comfortable victory for the Tigers.
Electing to bat the Kolkata Tigers managed to put on 279 in their 50 overs. The Kolkata innings was off to a shaky start as both openers were back in the pavilion by the 3rd over, with the score on 12. This brought in Abhishek Jhunjhunwala and Rajiv Kumar who put on 99 runs to take Kolkata to a safer position after their horrid start. Man of the Match Jhunjhunwala struck a fine hundred (104 of 129 balls) and was the star of the Tigers innings. Rajiv Kumar gave him able support with a 55 ball 54. Kumar's wicket brought in Rohan Gavaskar who only managed a sedate 24 to help put on 67 runs with Jhunjhunwala. Kolkata captain Dasgupta (33) and Shib Sagar Singh (23) struck some lusty blows to take Kolkata the total past 275 runs. The stand out performance for the Hyderabad Heroes came from their opening bowler Kaushik Reddy who took 4 for 38 to keep the tigers total in check.
In their reply, the Hyderabad Heroes batsman faltered badly as they were skittled out for a meager 156 in the 35th over. Hyderabad never managed to get going and were set back by some inspiring bowling from Kolkata Tiger's new ball pair. The Heroes were reeling at 69-6 in the 16th over and never managed to recover from that position. The chief architect of the Hyderabad collapse was Tiger's opening bowler Sayed Akhlak Ahmed who picked up the tournament's first five wicket haul with figures of 5 for 34. Once Ahmed had seized the initiative, the game was out of Hyderabad's grasp and they folded up without a fight. The only spark in the Heroes innings came from Stuart Binny, who in some rear guard action scored a run a ball 64.
The Hyderabad Heroes need to get their act together quickly as they have now lost both their games in the tournament and face the threat of elimination. Meanwhile the Kolkata Tigers will be high on confidence after their resounding victory.

Brief scores: Kolkata Tigers 279 for 9 in 50 overs (Abhishel Jhunjhunwala 104, Rajiv Kumar 54, Deep Dasgupata 33, Kaushik Reddy 4-38) beat Hyderabad Heroes 156 in 34.1 overs (Stuart Binny 64, Sayed Akhalk Ahmed 5-38, ) by 123 runs.

Source : http://www.indiancricketleague.in/

Delhi Jets overpower Mumbai Champs beat Mumbai Champs by 6 wickets in ICL 50s

2008-02-04T04:05:00.000-08:00

In the third match of the ongoing ICL 50's being played at Mayajaal, Delhi Jets overpowered Mumbai Champs by six wickets. The key performer for the Jets was Man of the Match Sachin Dholpure who smashed brilliant hundred chasing 300 plus. Mumbai Champs captain Kiran Powar won the toss and elected to bat.
Batting first, Mumbai were off to a good start as the Champs openers Robin Morris and Dheeraj Yadav took the score to 64. Dheeraj Yadav struck a fine 49 to get the innings going for the Champs. Ravi Raj Patil then joined Yadav to further bolster Mumbai's position. He was out 2 short of his half-century. Then came the burst for Mumbai as Kiran Powar and Nikhil Mandale put on a 128 runs of 78 balls for the 5th wicket. Powar played a true captain's knock to score a belligerent 58 ball 92 that included five huge sixes. Meanwhile, Nikhil Mandale was at his fluid best and was a perfect foil for Powar's big hitting. Mandale was not out on 60 of 44 balls as the Mumbai Champs closed their innings on 304 of the stipulated 50 overs. There was nothing to write home about for the Delhi Jet's bowlers as the Mumbai Champs powered past 300. The best performance coming from Delhi's left arm spinner and top wicket taker of the recently concluded ICL Indian 20-20 Championship, Ali Murtuza who picked up 2 for 45 in his 10 overs.
Chasing 300 plus was never going to be easy for the Jets but that never seemed evident from the way the Delhi Jets batsman approached the target bowlers. Delhi reached the target in the 39th over thanks to big hitting and some wayward bowling and inept fielding by the Champ's. The chief destroyer for the Delhi Jets was Sachin Dholpure who scored a swashbuckling 103 of 95 balls to set the game up for Delhi. He was given able support by Abbas Ali who scored 48. He along with Dholpure put on 79 for the 3rd wicket. The fall of Ali's wicket brought in Delhi Jets skipper J.P. Yadav who smashed 82 of 64 balls to forge a 153 run partnership with Dholpure for the 3rd wicket. Sachin Dholpure was unfortunately run out but the game was beyond the Mumbai Champs. Dhruv Mahajan scored 32 from 19 balls to finish the game for the Jets, and give them a comfortable victory.

Mumbai Champs poor form in the ICL continues and they need to find ways to strengthen their bowling if want to have any chance of progressing in this tournament.

Brief scores: Mumbai Champs 304 for 6 in 50 overs (Kiran Powar 92, Nikhil Mandle 60*, Dheeraj Yadav 49, Ali Murtuza 2-45) lost to Delhi Jets 307 for 4 in 38.4 overs (Sachin Dholpure 103, J.P Yadav 82, Abbas Ali 49, Rakesh Patel 1-18) by 6 wickets.

Source : http://www.indiancricketleague.in/

Superstars beat Heroes by 2 wicket

2008-02-04T04:02:00.000-08:00

Chennai Superstars secured a 2 wicket victory over the Hyderabad Heroes in the 2nd Match of the ongoing ICL 50’s being played at Mayajaal largely thanks to Man of the Match Hemang Badani (88*). Chennai won the toss and elected to field in a high scoring game that went down to the last over.

Batting first, Hyderabad Heroes put on 263 in their stipulated 50 overs thanks to a fine hundred by Ambati Raydu (103). Raydu came in the 4th over with the score on 7. He along with Heroes skipper Anirudh Singh (77) put on a partnership of 161 for the 3rd Wicket. Hyderabad started slowly but once Raydu and Singh got their eye in the runs started flowing.
Then a couple of quick wickets made it seem that Hyderabad would struggle to reach 250 but a late flourish by their lower middle order ensured they reached a respectable total. That stand out performer for the Superstars was G. Vignesh (3/40) who continued his fine bowling.

Chasing the target, Chennai Superstars got off to a decent start losing their first wicket at 37. That brought in S. Sriram who along with opener Hemant Kumar put on 79 for the third wicket. Kumar was in fine form as he struck a run a ball 64. The Superstars then lost 3 wickets with score on 116. This flurry of wickets brought in Hemang Badani who seized control of the game by stringing together two 50 plus run partnerships. First was a 59 run stand with Vasanth Sarvanan for the 5th wicket. And then he put on one more with P.Vivek of 51 runs for the 7th wicket. Two more wickets fell but Badani did not panic and made sure his team reached the target. Hemang Badani was not out on 88 of 83 balls as Thiru Kumaran hit the winning runs for Chennai in the first ball of the 50th over.

This was much required win for the Chennai Superstars who had lost the opening match of the tournament to the Chandigarh Lions yesterday.

Source : http://www.indiancricketleague.in/

Chandigarh Lions win nail bitter in 50s opener

2008-01-28T03:11:00.000-08:00

In a thrilling contest in opening game of the ICL 50s Chandigarh Lions edged ahead to beat Chennai Superstars by one wicket here at Mayajaal in Chennai.

After being put in to bat by Chandigarh skipper Dinesh Mongia, the Chennai innings never managed to gather momentum as Amit Uniyal (2/25) picked up early wickets. Hemant Kumar (26) threatened but was run out after getting a start. Chennai never managed any substantial partnerships and were kept in check thanks to the fall of wickets at regular intervals.

Off- Spinner Rajesh Sharma (4/45) was the wrecker in chief for the Lions. Bipul Sharma also chipped in with 2 vital wickets including that of Chennai skipper R. Satish and a run out of Hemant Kumar. The only spark for the Superstars was their captains knock who seemed to have carried on his fine form from the ICL Indian 20-20 Championship with a 40-ball knock of 41 runs but failed to capitalise on the start and that summed up Chennai’s Innings.

In reply, the Lions were struggling at 38 for 5 thanks to some accurate bowling by new balls bowlers R. Jesuraj (2/26) and G. Vignesh (3/26). Calm was restored by the Chandigarh pair of Bipul Sharma (35) and Man of the Match Chetan Sharma (69*) who took the Lions score to 117 with vital 79-run partnership for the sixth-wicket.

Chennai Superstars captain R. Satish (3/12) almost stole the game from Chandigarh with 3 quick wickets. And when last man Love Ablish walked in a further 17 runs were required by the Lions. Ablish survived 7 balls without scoring as Chetan Sharma guided his team home in tense circumstances.

This victory will be big boost for the Lions as they were looking to avenge their loss to Superstars in the Finals of the Indian 20-20 Championship at Panchkula.

Source : http://www.indiancricketleague.in/

Shane Bond's fight over ICL headed for courts

2008-01-22T03:10:00.000-08:00

New Zealand fast bowler Shane Bond's desire to play the upcoming home and away series against England despite having signed for the breakaway Indian Cricket league (ICL) has brought him in direct confrontation with his country board's and the issue is heading for the courts.

According to the Herald on Sunday newspaper: 'Bond and New Zealand Cricket (NZC) are one step away from heading to court as a mediator has stepped in to help resolve the fast bowler's dispute with the national body.

'Bond desperately wants to play in the England series but is being told he can't unless he reneges on his deal with the 'rebel' ICL,' it said.

Bond, who has captured 79 wickets in 17 Tests and 125 in 67 One-Day Internationals, has signed a three-year, $3.1 million contract with the Subhash Chandra-promoted ICL. He also is on a retainer of more than $120,000 with NZC till June 1.

The International Cricket Council has told its member countries that those who associate themselves with the ICL should not be picked in their national teams.

'NZC is now embroiled in a stand-off with its best player and the dispute over Bond's dual contracts have now been put into the hands of lawyers,' the paper said.

NZC tried to have talks with Bond about a fortnight ago as an 11th-hour effort. But no satisfactory agreement was reached and a mediator has been called in to try to prevent the dispute reaching the Employment Relations Authority.

'Mediation is usually set against a legal backdrop - so if they fail to reach agreement, a claim in the employment court invariably follows. Both sides, however, are desperate to avoid that and have outwardly remained confident of finding compromise,' said the paper.

Source : http://story.malaysiasun.com/

Cricket: New Indian Twenty20 competitions causing concern

2008-01-16T04:07:00.000-08:00

There is growing concern in the cricket community about the influence of the new Indian Twenty20 competitions.

While it is still unknown whether Shane Bond will take the money, New Zealand cricket may have to prepare for the departure of even more top line players.

It was a rare quiet moment for Darryl Tuffey today.

The former Black Cap fast bowler was back home after taking part in the Rebel Indian Twenty20 league.

Joining the unsanctioned tournament meant the 29-year-old had to prematurely end his international career.

With news the tournament is set to expand this year, more of New Zealand’s top cricketers could be about to make the same choice.

”There’s no doubt a number of our players are sitting up and watching the development of these Twenty20 competitions in India,” Heath Mills from the Players Association said. “Some of them are very interested in seeing if there are opportunities for them.”

And it is understandable, with hundreds of thousands of dollars being offered to play the shorter form of the game and for only a few months commitment.

Meanwhile, New Zealand cricket is taking steps to counter it, including an increase in player payments, thanks to a recent $50 million windfall from television rights.

”We will be able to pay our players better and we are hoping that those as well as the attraction of wanting to play international cricket for New Zealand are enough to make sure our best players stay in the country,” the CEO of NZ Cricket, Justin Vaughan said.

While individual countries can only do so much, there are growing calls for the ICC to step in and recognise the tournaments.

”If you embrace them and work with them, you have an ability to preserve international cricket as the pinnacle of the sport,” Heath Mills said. “If you push them away, you can’t control them.”

And while it may be too late to save some of the country’s brightest stars, it is not too late to do something about the future ones.

Source : http://www.tv3.co.nz/

Bond back on park for club cricket

2008-01-12T03:06:00.000-08:00

New Zealand cricket's $3 million-man, Shane Bond, will bowl for free at Christchurch's Elmwood Park today.

The Black Caps speedster will take the first steps on another comeback trail re-appearing for Old Boys-Collegians in a premier grade club match against Sydenham.

Bond, 32, has been the centre of sporting attention in recent weeks not because of his latest injury, an abdominal tear sustained in mid-November during the first test against South Africa, but because of his reported signing for the unsanctioned Indian Cricket League (ICL).

Bond's fee for a three-season contract is believed to be $US800,000 a year which is in excess of $NZ3m.

It is the first time Bond has been at the bowling crease since breaking down but he has been doing plenty of fitness work in recent weeks recovering from the muscle tear.

"I've been doing quite a lot of work in the nets and gradually building back up again. It's feeling good and a scan showed that it was healing well," Bond said yesterday.

If Bond comes through successive Saturdays of club cricket unscathed he is keen to rejoin the Canterbury team for its Twenty/20 campaign from January 20. The bowling workload in Twenty/20 is light with a maximum of four overs per bowler.

Whether Bond gets to play for the Wizards may depend on the outcome of his negotiations with New Zealand Cricket which are expected to be known next week. Bond is contracted to NZC but that organisation is toeing the International Cricket Council line about players who have signed for the breakaway ICL and discouraging their selection for national teams.

Thus Bond could be available for the forthcoming home and away series against England but not be selected because of a NZC directive.

That could also apply to the provincial line-ups with the Indian board, which is staging a rival Indian Premier League (IPL) in April, already frowning on former Black Caps with rebel league contracts Chris Harris and Daryl Tuffey appearing domestically for Canterbury and Auckland respectively.

The difference there is that neither Harris nor Tuffey is contracted to their provinces and are playing as free agents for match fees.

Bond said he would not comment on any of the negotiations he was in concerning NZC and the ICL but expected an outcome within days.

Source : http://www.stuff.co.nz/

Bond can't have it both ways

2008-01-11T02:54:00.000-08:00

Few will begrudge him going to the rebel league in India because the $600,000 offer is a godsend for a cricketer whose body cannot cope with the rigours of international cricket.

But he should not entertain any thoughts of playing for the Black Caps between now and the completion of his New Zealand Cricket contract in May.

It was hoped Bond would yesterday confirm he has signed but he maintained his silence on the advice of his agent, Leanne McGoldrick. NZC is in no doubt he has put pen to paper but believes it is up to Bond to confirm as such.

However, NZC boss Justin Vaughan has shown his hand. He has said NZC would pay any legal bills to extricate Bond from his rebel contract and align him with the sanctioned Indian Premier League.

The IPL is home to Stephen Fleming, Daniel Vettori, Jacob Oram, Brendon McCullum and Scott Styris, whereas the rebel league is home to faded heroes Chris Cairns, Craig McMillan, Nathan Astle, Chris Harris, Hamish Marshall and Daryl Tuffey.

Bond's move to the rebels is not a sin but the league runs in direct competition with the International Cricket Council's Twenty20 competition – the IPL.

NZC relies heavily on the ICC for funding and cannot jeopardise that relationship because of one player. By already allowing Harris and Tuffey to play provincial cricket in New Zealand it is testing the ICC's patience.

Bond had an offer of around $450,000 from the sanctioned league (IPL) but he chose the richer deal, according to Vaughan. Fair play to Bond, but he has to accept the consequences.

Vaughan's hope now is that a legal battle does not break out between one of our game's top competitors and the national body.

"He's contracted through to May, for him to play in an unsanctioned tournament he will have to break his contract," Vaughan said.

"You have to look at what you can do. We've got lots of pieces of legal advice about the legal pathways we can take but we would love not to get into open conflict with him."

The ball is in Bond's court.

Source : http://www.stuff.co.nz/

Shane Bond signs 600,000 dollar deal with rebel ICL

2008-01-05T04:06:00.000-08:00

Shane Bond has signed with the rebel league in India and, barring a late U-turn, has played his last game for New Zealand.

In a bombshell for the sport, the champion fast bowler has accepted what is understood to be a $600,000 deal from the Indian Cricket League to play in its Twenty20 competition.

His move effectively sees him banned from the Black Caps, though New Zealand Cricket prefers to use the term “overlooked for selection”.

Bond declined to comment last night but NZC chief executive Justin Vaughan conceded he was all but lost to the game in this country because he was linking with a league that runs in direct competition with the International Cricket Council’s Twenty20 tournament.

Vaughan described the prospect of losing Bond as “terribly disappointing”.

“I know we haven’t seen very much of him lately, but you always hope your last injury is your last one,” Vaughan said.

“We’d love to see him playing for New Zealand and that is why we have turned over so many stones, but at the moment we are on the back foot.”

Vaughan refused to be critical of Bond last night.

“I don’t think it is a question of loyalty here. He is a champion and we’d be very sorry to lose him.”

Vaughan said he had met Bond countless times to try to persuade him to join the sanctioned Indian Premier League but had not managed to change his mind.

However, he offered an olive branch, saying NZC would pay any legal bill to extricate Bond from his rebel contract.

“I can’t say for certain he has signed but I understand that is what his agent [Leanne McGoldrick] is saying,” Vaughan said.

“Even if he has signed with the ICL, we’d love to see if there was a way to get him out of that contract and we’ll fund all the support to get him out of it, similar to what Pakistan has done with Mohammad Yousuf.”

Vaughan said Bond’s preference for the rebel league over the IPL had to be the size of the offer.

“I know there have been attractive IPL offers and we’ve all seen what the likes of Stephen Fleming and co [$450,000] are getting, so one assumes the offer from the ICL is quite superior.”

McGoldrick would not comment last night, other than to say that her star pupil intended to honour his NZC contract through to its termination in May.

But NZC will not entertain selecting Bond through to May, according to Vaughan, because it would jeopardise its relationship with the ICC, on which it relies heavily for funding.

Bond is sidelined by an abdominal tear but is making good progress and would have been available for the series against England, starting next month.

“Our preference is for the selectors not to chose those [rebel] players,” Vaughan said. “It is not a ban, but it would be fair to say if he has signed we would prefer he didn’t play in the England series.”

Bond, regarded as New Zealand’s finest fast bowler since Richard Hadlee, is the second biggest name for the rebel league behind Brian Lara.

His $600,000 contract is close to three times what he earns with NZC and is security for a 32-year- old who has a young family and a injury-prone body.

He has taken 79 wickets in 17 tests at an average of 22.39 and 125 one-day wickets at 19.32.

Bond's choice of Indian league opens a legal can of worms

2008-01-01T19:55:00.000-08:00

England may face a New Zealand side shorn of its most potent fast bowler, Shane Bond, next month because of his decision to join India's rebel Twenty20 league.

New Zealand Cricket has threatened to exclude players who join the breakaway Indian Cricket League but, if Bond's move sparks a mass rebellion, it could leave the policy in tatters. The fear is that Bond, one of the most high-profile players to join the ICL, could become the test case in an expensive legal battle that will leave all Test nations nervously awaiting the outcome.

Tim May, chief executive of Fica, the international players' association, stepped into the crisis yesterday. "We will protect players' rights," he said. "You may well see more ICL-contracted players signed up. So what are we going to do, have a New Zealand second XI out there? Is it in New Zealand's national interest to put out a half-baked team? Is it in world cricket's interest? We want to encourage people to play cricket professionally, don't we? It's not necessarily a bad thing, this ICL."

If New Zealand ban Bond - or even if they just choose to overlook him - legal action for restraint of trade seems inevitable. But, if they allow him to join the ICL, they will antagonise the all-powerful Indian cricket board, which is desperate to stifle the rebel league and which has bought up a host of international stars for its own Twenty20 league starting in April.

New Zealand are much more vulnerable than England as their players are relatively poorly rewarded. Regular England internationals can earn around £400,000 a year but a New Zealand player might earn 10% of that and can reap as much in one month in the Indian Cricket League.

The ECB line is identical to that of New Zealand with talk not of an outright ban but of unwritten disfavour. The ECB chairman, Giles Clarke, has stated: "Selectors will be instructed to take into consideration the fact that these players have played in an unauthorised competition." This echoes the stance of New Zealand Cricket's chief executive, Justin Vaughan, who had said: "I don't think we can say that they're ineligible for selection. We'd prefer to say that the selectors will be encouraged to consider other players."

This policy, which amounts to unofficial prejudice, might prove legally untenable. Greg Campbell, a partner for the London lawyer Mischon de Reya, contends: "The same issues of restraint of trade will arise if the practical effect of players joining the rebel Indian league is that they do not play for [their country]. Merely doing it informally, rather than by way of an outright ban, doesn't avoid the issue."

Source : http://sport.guardian.co.uk/

Six more Pak players may join ICL

2007-12-28T02:56:00.000-08:00

Reports have suggested that at least six more Pakistan cricketers may join the ICL, and they are mainly players who don’t have permanent places in the national team.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has already banned six of its Indian Cricket League (ICL) players from playing domestic cricket.

Inzamam-ul-Haq, Abdul Razzaq, Shabbir Ahmed, Taufiq Umar, Imran Farhat and Azhar mahmood have been told that they cannot represent their parent department in any PCB-recognised tournament after participating in the recently held ICL.

Farhat, Umar and Ahmed have said that they will move the courts over the ban.

Meanwhile, the PCB’s Media Director, Ahsan Hameed Malik, has confirmed the player ban.

“Yes, the PCB has written a letter to all the affiliated units on December 6, instructing them not to allow (to play) any such players, who are involved with any league cricket, not recognised by the board,” the Dawn quoted Malik, as saying.

“The PCB is only punishing the players to please its Indian counterpart, otherwise there is nothing wrong in the entire matter,” Imran countered.

How well was the ICL?

2007-12-24T04:19:00.000-08:00

20 games and 17 days of Twenty20 cricket, was the stuff that the inaugural, tournament of the Indian Cricket League was made of. And the question, most often asked, was it a success? Being involved with the event, intimately, one could say with conviction that yes, it was! Did it get the eye balls desired? The honest answer, perhaps not. But all in all as an event it was something to write home about and here are the highlights of the show.

The Ambassador for the Indian Cricket League, Kapil Dev, emphasized that this tournament should be seen as an opportunity for the BCCI deprived! A chance for all those cricketers in the country who have a sharp talent, but have no platform to display it on. Given that as the back drop, when one saw a bunch of young cricketers, teamed up with international cricketers who have just retired, or have fallen out with their respective cricket boards, it was a rather endearing experience.

Six teams from the same number of states, were all set to challenge each other in the shortest format of the game. Delhi Jets, Chennai Superstars, Chandigarh Lions, Mumbai Champs, Hyderabad Heroes and Kolkata Tigers were the six in competition and from the very first encounter, one thing was guaranteed, and that was one could see a display of cricket that would be played with fervour. At least by most individuals.

There"s no denying that the international flavour to each side was the icing on the tournament cake. One would argue that most of the stars from overseas were either done with their professional cricket careers or were those who would never play for their countries again, but all said and done, they were men who knew how to play the game well.

One of the big draws was Chris Cairns, or Cairnsy Bhai as he was referred to. Though being Cairnsy Paaji would have suited him better, as he was part of the Chandigarh Lions squad. When he walked out onto the green, you could sense his power as he towered over the others. There was a definite aura of purpose as he led his band of men for each encounter!

The other star attraction, but more the Teddy bear like icon that the Hyderabad Heroes had, was in the form of Inzamam ul Haq. Inzy was more just the bear who would summon his cubs and discuss game plans on the field. He was ever ready with his trademark one liners which would make your sides split.

There were the other internationals that went about their jobs in a very professional manner. Whether they played the role of coach, or player everything was done in utmost seriousness. The Coaches, Michael Bevan, Daryl Cullinan and Moin Khan in particular, seemed to martial their forces with a palpable aggression which made it all most worthwhile!

Ah! Yes there was another star, the one that created perhaps the most excitement for cricket lovers and maximum anxiety for the organizers. The man in question - Brian Charles Lara. A legend that one has admired for all the perceivable cricketing reasons. An icon and most tangibly the flawed genius who on his day, would silence all into disbelief! The Indian Cricket League was riding high on his endorsement, but not without controversy. Brian Lara voiced his displeasure on the reputation of the league, and demanded more money, or he would just not arrive. What happened thereafter, one really cannot comment on, but the fact of the matter is that Brian Lara arrived to play for the Indian Cricket League. But the irony of it all, was the fact that he never really arrived with regards to playing the brand of cricket, we are used to see him play. Lara was a reflection of a person who was there in body but certainly not in soul!

On paper the teams from Hyderabad and Mumbai were expected to do well as the biggest cricketing stars were in those teams. But when the 5/6 classification game was played, between the same two sides, it was a foregone conclusion that in T20 cricket, the team with established stars, need not be the strongest sides!

There were a lot of positives that came out of the tournament, and they were not in the form of the dancing girls and glamorous performances. Those were the necessary trappings that come with this version of the game. Adding spice ofcourse, but here one must talk of all that went right for the game of cricket. The one aspect of the game that came out bright and large in neon lights - was the superlative fielding, Given that the outfield was not lush green, the young men and old alike, showed innate passion and commitment as they dived and scraped and grappled with dust , all in an attempt to endorse the facet of fine fielding. Superlative catches and breathtaking stops, all great candy for sore eyes!

The Internationals were expected to do well, and in the batting department, they performed well and bagged the best spots where amassing runs were concerned. Cameo innings from Chris Cairns, Ian Harvey, Marvan Atapattu and Imran Farhat will remain in the mind, when one replays the ICL matches from time to time. But what was most encouraging, was the performance of the bowlers. Arguably, T20 is a game that"s heavily loaded in favour of the batsmen, and in the initial stages of the Twenty20 Indian Championships, the games were bowler dominated. Performances such as a '6 for' in this format of the game, just showed that, perhaps 20 over cricket has space for real drama too! When a not so young Thiru Kumaran claimed 6/21, the sheer unabated joy on the face of commentator Jeff Thomson was one of the moments, that warmed the cockles of my heart. I realized then, that once a fast bowler, always a fast bowler. And what a breed they are! It was indeed fitting that the two best bowlers in the tournament were Indians, Thiru Kumaran and Ali Mortaza.

The Indian Cricket League was an amalgamation of moments, and in this article one has tried to bring alive a few. There was good and bad, but one can safely say more good than bad. Whether one will see this league really flourish, only time will tell. Till then at least, the organizers can put up their collars, for the Indian Cricket League has been born!

Source : http://thatscricket.oneindia.in/

50-overs game gone: Warne

2007-12-21T03:39:00.000-08:00

SHANE WARNE believes the days of 50-over cricket are numbered as the Twenty20 game alters the way the sport is played and watched over the world.

The former Australia bowling star, who retired from international cricket at the start of the year, wants one-day internationals shortened to 40 overs per side _ a form of cricket that has proven successful at domestic level in England.

Warne’s views come at a time when public interest in 50-over cricket seems to be waning.

This year’s World Cup in the Caribbean was poorly attended, while crowd numbers for the Chappell-Hadlee series _ held in Adelaide, Sydney and Hobart and won on Thursday by Australia _ were down.

“Twenty20 is how minor nations, the likes of Canada and Holland, can improve and promote the game,” Warne said.

“One thing I believe is that 50-overs is gone. I believe Twenty20 should be one form of the game, keep that to a minimum and keep it special because it is so entertaining.

“Just as long as administrators don’t get greedy. But I believe 50-overs competition should now be 40 overs, so we have a 40-over competition, Twenty20 and Test cricket.

“Experiencing Pro40 in England, it’s like two Twenty20 games. The way society is, everybody wants everything fast. Pro40, there is still skill involved.

“Is it cricket? Is it entertainment? It ticks all the boxes. It also saves you about an hour and a half of the game.

“You can start Pro40 at 4pm and be finished at 10pm. That’s good. You can have a day game as well, starting at 10am and finish at 4pm, and have two games a day.”

Although Warne fears for the future of 50-over cricket, he believes Test cricket is in good health and should not be tinkered with.

“Everything is very good, don’t change it, don’t touch it. Test cricket is for tradition,” said Warne, who claimed 708 Test wickets to be second on the all-time list behind Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralidaran.

Source : http://www.cricket247.in/

ICL, a viable option for talented players

2007-12-18T03:45:00.000-08:00

The Chennai Superstar’s win in the inaugural edition of the Indian Cricket League Twenty20 championships at Panchkula carried a subtle message. The players, when provided the right atmosphere, can fulfill their potential. A bunch of discards with bruised egos were given a platform to excel and they grabbed it with both hands for Tamil Nadu that rarely wins anything at the national level.

Every level of cricket will continue to provide it own unique sense of charm and also throw lessons at the same time. An under-13 school match can generate the same intensity as any international match, only the quality will differ. Likewise the ICL provided some entertaining viewing and cricket that was intense throughout. Fittingly the big fat purse of Rs 4 crore went to a side that fully believed in their abilities and more importantly also knew their limitations.

The series brought to limelight players like R. Sathish, Vasanth Saravanan and D. Tamilkumaran. The trio had the potential but were sadly denied the opportunities at the first class level. Sathish is easily one of the best fielders and cleanest strikers of the ball the country has seen but even for keen followers of the domestic scene he was an unknown commodity. ‘Tamil’ has air speed that not many medium pacers (including a few in the national team) have in the country. In spite of these special talents they were never in the media spotlight. The league gave them that and times could be better. Nothing can be factor for an athlete’s adrenaline pump than a appreciative word for all the blood sweat and toil.

Television coverage will be a huge ‘motivating factor’ said a key member of the Chennai Superstars team before embarking to distant Panchkula. Is it not the dream of every kid who starts his sojourn towards cricketing stardom to be seen, heard and written about? The ICL provided a chance for just that. The motivation came from many quarters, nothing greater than showing their wares against cricketers who have excelled at the international level.

Ask T. Kumaran who played in all but eight ODIs. The wicket of Brain Lara will be a memory he wil cherish forever. That one delivery that got the Trinidadian should be compare favourably with his 10-wicket match haul in the Irani Trophy that ushered his entry into the national side a good eight seasons ago. Hemang Badani also had a point to prove. Written off by the selection committee and also his state association he had more than just runs to contribute and he did it with aplomb.

The 17-day carnival type atmosphere may have been a poor cousin of the Packer circus in terms of innovations but who would have thought Kareena and Yana will shake a leg on stage before Inzmam-ul-Haq could settle into playing one of serene cover drives. The event continued to break myths and shatter reputations as every T20 game does. The influence of foreign stars cannot be doubted. Some might have contributed to the scorecard and a few otherwise. They lit up the event with their star value and the manner in which they combined with the local stars was noteworthy.

As the tagline of the Chennai team suggested ‘Nothing is impossible’ the Chennai lads proved that everything is within the realms of possibility.

The ICL might have started with a few chinks in its armour but certainly has ended its first season with a little more clarity. It’s a pity that all the stellar shows of the young and the not so young has nothing official about it. Barring a slightly bumpy outfield everything else was a smooth flow including the music and the superstars were not to be denied.

Chennai Superstars crowned ICL 20:20 Champions

2007-12-18T02:52:00.000-08:00

The Chennai Superstars have won the introductory ICL Indian 20:20 Championship amidst an electrifying ambiance, in majestic style, defeating the Chanidgarh Lions by 12 runs in the grand finale. Hat-trick hero Shabbir Ahmed was the star bowler for the triumphant team, claiming four wickets, inclusive of a hat-trick.

Ian Harvey was adjudged the player of the series for his fantastic overall performance throughout the tournament. The versatile Australian all-rounder emerged as the leading run-scorer in the competition by scoring 266 runs in 7 matches. He also took 9 wickets to add to the spectacular starts he had provided to the Chennai Superstars with the bat.

The thrilling ambiance was the perfect setting for the championship tie – the fans were rapturous – there were colourful performances from entertainers and cheerleaders – the overall atmosphere was larger than life. Cricket was the eventual winner as the battle for the title went down to the wire. “This is an unforgettable moment,” said Stuart Law, captain of the victorious Chennai Superstars.

Shabbir Ahmed achieved a hat-trick during the 13th over when he came back for his second spell. He had already dismissed Hamish Marshall earlier and claimed the wickets of Chetan Sharma and Dinesh Mongia to compete the first and only hat-trick of the inaugural season.

The courageous Sarbajeet Singh (28) was dismissed off the very last delivery by Ian Harvey when the wicket-keeper batsman smashed the ball to the deep mid wicket boundary and the catch was safely pounced by Ganapathi Vignesh.

All eyes were on Ian Harvey who was under pressure to bowl the very last over with the Lions requiring an improbable 23 runs to win. Sarabjeet Singh and Andrew Hall continued to find the boundary, but unfortunately for them, there was too much left for them to do, to attain victory. It was too thorny to pave a path for revival after the Superstars bowlers rocked the Lions middle-order.

Although, Andrew Hall and Sarabjeet Singh were just not willing to give in to the Chennai Superstars, despite their team in totters on 84/7 with captain Cairns back in the dug out, but the duo was determined to fight like their team had en route to the final.

The most prolific run-scorer for the Lions the tournament, Imran Farhat, was dismissed early, which spelt disaster for the home team. His opening partner Hamish Marshall was quick to follow – both wickets were claimed by Shabbir Ahmed – who bowled a fearsome opening spell. The fiery Pakistan quickie continued to trouble TP Singh and Manish Sharma, ensuring the required run-rate continued to creep on.

Tejinder Pal Singh (35) countered the early adversities with great valor, striking boundaries and playing attacking strokes. He gave a glimmer of home to the heaps of fans that were firmly behind the Chandigarh Lions. One fan exclaimed “We are all supporting the Chandigarh Lions and hope to see them win the cup.”

Manish Sharma fell victim to the Superstars’ most successful bowler in the tournament, Thiru Kumaran, for 4, caught by Sarvanan at point. Dinesh Mongia joined TP Singh at the crease; the duo added 36 runs for the fourth-wicket before the definite point of the match occurred when part-time seamer snapped TP Singh for a well made 35.

Mongia was the next victim of Shabbir, when the fast bowler came back for his second spell, uprooting Mongia’ middle-stump with a quick reverse swinging yorker. It spelt doomsday for the Chandigarh Lions. Sharma’s wicket in the next delivery gave Shabbir the hat-trick.

Chris Cairns (5) stepped in after Mongia’s dismissal and all of Chandigarh pinned their hopes on the explosive Kiwi but Harvey had other plans. It took a peach of a delivery from the Aussie to see the back of Cairns. The fans at the Tau Devi Lal Stadium had succumbed to complete silence and shock when the Lion’s captain walked back to the dug out.

Earlier, the Chennai Superstars experienced fluctuating fortunes right through out their innings after Chris Cairns won the toss and inserted them into bat. Ganapathi Vignesh got the team off to a blistering start by smashing two boundaries and a massive six before Daryl Tuffey snapped him over an overambitious attempt for 15, caught by TP Singh at mid off.

As has been the trend right throughout the tournament, Stuart Law (36) and Chris Read (21) picked up the pieces and maintained the steady flow of runs with precision. The duo added 43 runs from just 30 deliveries to entertain a jam-packed audience in Panchkula.

Chandigarh Lions’ wicket-keeper Sarabjeet Singh was quite swift behind the stumps, sending both Read and Harvey back to the dugout in the space of three overs. Chris Read’s run-out was a lot more conventional with the ball racing away to the mid-wicket and a little bit of confusion beween the Aussie-English pair led to his dismissal.

Harvey, on the other hand, suffered due to a piece of brilliance from keeper Sarabjeet. The 22-year old ran towards forward short leg and a single-handed throw had Harvey stranded outside the crease – a terrific piece of fielding.

Hemang Badani (20) and captain Stuart Law (34) played definitive roles after Russell Arnold fell victim of a well disguised flighted delivery from Dinesh Mongia (1/19). The duo added 33 runs for the fifth-wicket until Badani was cleaned up by Daryl Tuffey (2/32).v

Stuart Law was stranded at the middle, losing partners at regular intervals, but managed to steer the team to a respectable total of 155/8. Looking back, the total proved to be an effective one, especially since teams have found it hard to chase totals in excess of 150 under lights.

The Chennai Superstars have emerged as the champions of the inaugural ICL season. Subash Chandra and Kapil Dev have already announced the plans for the future. The tournament in Feb-March will pay tribute to the domestic talent in the nation and will be the next step for the ICL – one towards greater heights.

The 2007 season will be one to remember, especially years down the road when fans would recapitulate the sensation it created.

Source : http://www.indiancricketleague.in/

ICL Semi-Final

2007-12-14T04:07:00.000-08:00

KOLKATA TIGERS v CHENNAI SUPERSTARS, Semi Final1

Series 20:20 Indian Championship
Venue The Tau Devi Lal Stadium, Panchkula - Chandigarh
Date Friday, December 14, 2007

HYDERABAD HEROES v MUMBAI CHAMPS, Semi Final2

Series 20:20 Indian Championship
Venue The Tau Devi Lal Stadium, Panchkula - Chandigarh
Date Friday, December 15, 2007

Inzamam, Razzaq hand Superstars first defeat

2007-12-11T03:53:00.000-08:00

Overwhelming knocks from Hyderabad Heroes batsmen Inzamam-ul-Haq (44) and Abdul Razzaq (40) handed a rare defeat to the Chennai Superstars on Sunday at the ICL Indian 20:20 Championship here at the Tau Devi Lal Stadium in Panchkula, Chandigarh..

The Pakistani duo accounted for an unbeaten 79-run partnership for the fourth-wicket to achieve the highest successful run-chase of the tournament. The Heroes chased the daunting target of 163 with 13 balls to spare.

Anirudh Singh (31) and Ambati Rayudu (28) had given the much-needed initial impetus to the Heroes with hostile knocks at the helm of the order to set up a steady launching pad for the middle-order batsmen.

The batsmen look a particular liking to Sarvanan in the thirteenth over of the innings, when they smashed the Superstars bowler for 27 runs.

Earlier, Chennai Superstars had looked on course for a fourth straight win in the competition when they piled up a healthy total 162/4.

Ian Harvey continued his rich vein of form when he scored an unbeaten 63 from 55 balls to carry his bat after opening the innings. He was ably supported by skipper Stuart Law (44) who added 85 runs for the third-wicket with his former Australian teammate.

Former India batsman and left-handed Hemang Badani hammered an unbeaten 33 from only 13 balls to provide the finishing touch to the Superstars innings.

Harvey was lucky to survive when, Azhar Mahmood hit his stump but the bail jumped up and fell back into the groove. The incident occurred very early in his innings when the Superstars were hoping to gather momentum, especially after two quick wickets had fallen.

V Devendran (10), who has been in good nick for the Superstars at the helm of the order, tried to play an overambitious stroke off Azhar Mahmood’s bowling and gave an easy catch to Shashank Nag.

Chris Read (2) came to bat at number three, like has right throughout the tournament and was quickly sent back to the pavilion when a misunderstanding with Ian Harvey lead to his run-out. Russell Arnold suffered the similar fate after the outstanding partnership between Law and Harvey was broken.

The outcome of the Heroes’ victory is that the Inzamam-led team has made a strong claim for a semi-final place. The Superstars, who are virtually through to the final four will face the Delhi Jets on Wednesday.

The Captains have started to take up the mantle here at the inaugural season of the Indian Cricket League. Craig McMillan played a blinder last night and it was the turn of Inzamam to turn on the heat for the Hyderabad Heroes.

Source : http://www.indiancricketleague.in/

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2007-12-04T21:21:00.001-08:00

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Lara's Champs defeated by Chennai Superstars

2007-12-03T20:34:00.000-08:00

An impressive bowling spell by Thirun Kumaran for Chennai Superstars left Brian Lara's Mumbai Champs virtually floored on Monday evening in the Indian Cricket League's (ICL) Twenty-20 Indian championship at the Tau Devi Lal cricket stadium in Panchkula.

The Player of the match, Kumaran returned with the bowling figures of six wickets for 21 runs in four overs, the best in any Indian T-20 match as his side dominated the game and won by 38 runs.

Set a target of 158 runs by the Superstars, Champs succumbed meekly to their second defeat in the ICL championship.

Lara, one of the cricketing greats, failed to impress in his second outing in the championship. He scored only four runs before skying a Kumaran delivery to Hemanth Kumar. Lara had gone for a duck in his first match in Panchkula on Saturday.

JJ Van der Wath and DS Jadhav were the only ones to lead the Champs' fight-back, scoring 31 and 30 runs respectively.

Earlier, Ian Harvey led the pack for the Superstars, scoring 63 runs from 41 balls with four sixes and six fours.

With this victory, the Superstars are at the top of the table among six teams with four points - winning both their matches so far. They had earlier beaten Kolkata Tigers.

The Mumbai Champs, supposed to be one of the strongest teams with Lara's presence, are at the bottom of the table, having lost both their matches.

Brief scores:

Chennai Superstars - Ian Harvey 63 runs, CMW Read 34 runs; Nathan Astle - 3 wickets for 36 runs.

Mumbai Champs - JJ Van der Wath 31 runs, DS Jadhav 30 runs; T Kumaran 6 wickets for 21 runs.

Source : http://www.ndtv.com/

Hall stars in India Cricket League opener

2007-11-30T19:50:00.000-08:00

Andrew Hall impressed with bat and ball as Chandigarh Lions won the opening Twenty20 match of the inaugural Indian Cricket League today, beating Delhi Jets by eight runs.

The Lions posted a total of 134 all out off their 20 overs with three overseas players posting solid scores. Hall made 31 not out while New Zealanders Hamish Marshall (23) and Chris Cairns (22) also made useful contributions.

South African Hall was not finished there and then took two for 26 off his four overs with Daryl Tuffey of New Zealand taking three for 16.

Put in by Delhi, Imran Farhat put on 40 for the first wicket with Marshall before the latter was caught by Dale Benkenstein off the bowling of Jai P Yadav.

Farhat was run out for 21 before Chetan Sharma was trapped lbw by Ali Murtaza who then bowled Cairns.

Abhishek Sharma took three wickets while Murtaza and Yadav took one more each to polish off the innings with Hall unbeaten in his knock which came off 28 balls.

Hall was quick to strike with the ball, removing opener Taufeeq Umar for two. Monish Mishra (18) and Marvan Atapattu (29) looked set to lead the Jets to victory but then the innings faltered.

Yadav (21) and Abbas Ali (30) added 37 for the sixth wicket before the former became Hall's second victim and Delhi ran out of time and balls.

Source : http://www.timesonline.co.uk/