Sunday, May 29, 2011

Chennai Super Kings strolled to a 58-run win against the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the final of the Indian Premier League

The Super Kings, in retaining the trophy, outclassed the Royal Challengers after making 205 for five and then checking the visitors to 147 for eight to cap an eight-match winning streak at home this season.

As well as Vijay and Hussey batted to provide a great launch pad for the Super Kings, it was Ashwin's dismissal of the two danger batsmen, Chris Gayle (0) and Mayank Agarwal (10), by the third over that turned the tide firmly in favour of the hosts.

Virat Kohli (35 off 32) offered some resistance, but his exit in the 10th over, virtually ended the Bangalore challenge that Saturday night was not good enough to trouble the Super Kings, who did just about everything right on the field.

Late in the innings, Saurabh Tiwary (42 not out) only delayed the inevitable as the Super Kings dropped a couple of catches.

Gayle, in his brief stay, never looked comfortable, unable to fathom the turn and bounce that Ashwin extracted, and the Jamaican powerhouse lasted a mere three balls before thin-edging to Dhoni.

In his next over, Ashwin struck again, rattling Mayank Agarwal's off-stump with a straight delivery and the Royal Challengers were reeling at 16 for two in the third over.

Kohli and A.B. de Villiers put together a 32-run stand for the third wicket, but the South African, not in best of form this season, departed, missing a pull off left-arm spinner Jakati and trapped plumb in front.

Jakati struck another blow in his next over, accepting a simple return catch from a clueless Luke Pomersbach who lead-edged, playing for the turn that wasn't quite there.

With four gone for just 62 in the ninth over, the Royal Challengers were staring at defeat and even more so when Kohli fell leg before to Suresh Raina, while skipper Daniel Vettori was dismissed in the next over, offering an easy catch to Ashwin.

The Royal Challengers never recovered from these body blows despite some late blitz by Tiwary as the Super Kings then cleaned up the tail to author a memorable victory that was founded on the Vijay-Hussey classic.

It was one of the finest batting exhibitions in the IPL this season as both Vijay and Hussey complemented each other, both in shot making and running hard between the wickets.

The run-making was a glorious mix of power hitting, elegant strokes and some deft placements, as the pair, with just two half-century partnerships this season, prospered, growing in confidence all the time.

It was not long before Hussey and Vijay opened up with a series of well-timed sixes and the Super Kings had the early momentum they had missed in the previous games.

The Royal Challengers bowling and fielding flagged as the runs flowed freely and at a good clip. Neither Hussey nor Vijay were unduly hassled on a pitch that afforded true bounce, but very little lateral movement.

For all their dominance, the Super Kings openers stuck to the basics, taking the singles and twos when presented even as they peppered the ropes to provide their team a solid platform.

The heat and humidity eventually got to the batsmen as first Hussey departed, holing out in the deep in the 15th over with the score reading 159. Skipper M.S. Dhoni then played a cameo while Vijay too left, out to a tired shot, just five short of a century.

Thereafter, left-arm seamer Sreenath Aravind picked up two wickets off consecutive balls before Gayle emulated that feat in the final over only to see his West Indian counterpart Dwayne Bravo slamming a six off the last ball to put 200 on the board and the Super Kings firmly in the saddle.

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

No IPL for Sourav Ganguly

Former India captain Sourav Ganguly will not be part of IPL 4 starting on April 8 and Karnataka batsman Manish Pandey cannot play the first four matches for his new franchise Sahara Pune Warriors for breaching player guidelines, the league's Governing Council said on Friday.

IPL's Governing Council stalled what could have been a back-door entry for Ganguly after he was left unsold at the players' auction in Bangalore at a base price of $400,000.

"Based on the views from Franchisees, IPL Governing Council decided not to make available the unsold Indian Players from the auction," said a release from Cricket Board's secretary N Srinivasan who is a member of the GC as an office bearer of the Board.

That effectively dashed the hopes of not only Ganguly, who went unsold at the two-day auction on January 8 and 9, but also those of two other capped players - Wasim Jaffer and V R V Singh - who will not feature in the April 8-May 28 tournament.

Speaking to reporters after a marathon meeting of the Governing Council, chairman Chirayu Amin said Ganguly would not be part of IPL 4 following the objection raised by a few franchises to a request from one franchise which was interested in buying the Bengal stalwart outside the auction.

"We had received a request from one franchise (Kochi) that Ganguly should be allowed to be purchased outside the auction and rejected it after objections were raised by some other franchises," Amin said.

IPL rules state that no capped player can be bought outside the players' auction after he has been part of the process.

About the reason for cracking the whip and imposing the ban on Pandey, Srinivasan stated that based on the complaints from franchisees and after meeting with the player, the GC had imposed a four-match ban on the player.

"He cannot play the first four matches of IPL Season 4. As desired by him, he is permitted to play for the Pune Franchise," Srinivasan said in his release.

Amin told reporters that Pandey, through his agent, had haggled with several franchises.

"Pandey's agent was negotiating with a number of franchises," was how Amin put it.

Pandey played for the Bangalore Royal Challengers in the first three seasons of IPL.