In the circus that is IPL 2011, Mumbai Indians have been the trampoline artistes. They soared through the first half of the season, putting more than daylight between themselves and the rest. Then they lost steam, and began hurtling towards terra firma. At one point they even had to deal with the possibility of missing the play-offs but, almost inevitably, they bounced back with two nerve-shredding wins against Kolkata Knight Riders.
Trampoline acts are fine, but can get repetitive after a while. Meanwhile, Royal Challengers Bangalore have provided real entertainment in their corner of the circus, led by the ringmaster Chris Gayle. He has done everything for them - he has twirled his whip to tame the wildest bowling attacks, and he has juggled batting and bowling duties without breaking a sweat, all without losing the inimitable strut and swagger that are part of his persona. He has rarely failed to entertain this season, and Chepauk will love to be regaled one final time on Friday evening. If Gayle's still in town on Saturday, though, they won't be rooting for him. Chennai Super Kings are already in the final, and will have the crowd behind them for the big game.
This virtual semi-final can best be seen through the prism of various mini-battles that will make up the contest: the battle of the tenses - the present, Tendulkar v the future, Kohli; the battle of the storms - Gayle v Blizzard; and the battle of the coloured caps - Gayle v Malinga. On a flat track, and in humid conditions that could herald a dewy night, the battle that matters most could be when the coin is spun.
The opening stages of the first Test continued to be closely fought as Sri Lanka refused to buckle despite favourable conditions for England's pace bowlers. The home side clawed back ground with a wicket apiece for the dangerous James Anderson and Chris Tremlett, but Thilan Samaraweera survived some tricky moments to lift Sri Lanka to 207 for 4 at lunch on the second day.
The visitors hadn't added a run to their overnight score of 133 for 2 when England made the first breakthrough of the day as Mahela Jayawardene edged Anderson to Andrew Strauss, who held a superb catch diving to his right behind second slip. The wicket was brought about by trademark swing bowling from Anderson who began by probing Jayawardene's outside edge with a series of outswingers before bring one back into him. Jayawardene tried to drop his hands but couldn't react in time.
Runs continued to be hard to come by as Anderson strung together four testing maidens and Stuart Broad was a little more threatening than the first day as he located a better length although he remained inconsistent. Broad was replaced by Tremlett, the pick of the quicks yesterday, and he immediately had the batsmen in two minds with an awkward length.
He struck Paranavitana a painful blow on the inner thigh which required some attention from the physio and in his next over Tremlett found his inside edge to end a determined 191-ball innings. In the previous over against Broad, Paranavitana had survived a huge appeal for lbw which Strauss opted not to review and it was again the right decision with not enough of the ball hitting leg stump to get it overturned.
Paranavitana had only managed to add eight to his overnight total but had shown the same good judgement and resilience that characterised his effort on the opening afternoon. However, it was due reward for Tremlett who continued to look dangerous and benefited from a hint of uneven bounce when he struck Samaraweera a nasty blow on his arm.
Samaraweera lived a little dangerously as he played away from his body but also collected some confident boundaries including a straight drive off Anderson. Whenever the England bowlers strayed onto his pads he was quick to pick them off although he wasn't far off edging to third slip when the ball just eluded a diving Alastair Cook. Still, it was comfortably Samaraweera's best effort on British soil having failed to reach double figures in his previous four Test innings.
Prasanna Jayawardene, batting a place higher than normal at No. 6 to allow Sri Lanka to field five bowlers, accompanied Samaraweera until lunch with a sparky innings that kept the scoreboard ticking over. He twice gained boundaries to third man through the slip cordon but batsmen deserve some fortune when the ball moves and the fifth-wicket stand was worth a valuable 48 by the interval.
West Indies opener Chris Gayle has chosen the lucrative Indian Premier League (IPL) over his country, officials said on Wednesday, prompting a damning reaction from his cricket board back home.
The attacking batsman will turn out for Royal Challengers Bangalore, owned by Indian billionaire Vijay Mallya, as a replacement for the injured Dirk Nannes.
Gayle, 31, had been under a treatment programme run by the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) after a strain suffered during the World Cup, but he signed up for the Bangalore outfit on Tuesday for the remainder of the IPL event.
The former West Indies captain had earlier refused a West Indies' central contract but was still in contention for later games during Pakistan's tour of the Caribbean, which starts on Thursday.
He was not bought at the IPL player auction in January because franchises feared he would be unavailable because the IPL clashed with Pakistan's visit.
"It's official now. The explosive Chris Gayle is now a part of the RCB squad," Mallya wrote on his Twitter page.
Pakistan will play one Twenty20, five ODIs and two Tests against West Indies during their tour.
The WICB said it had reluctantly cleared Gayle to play in the IPL.
"The WICB does not accept Gayle's reason for making himself unavailable but as he has already clearly made his choice and has travelled to India, the WICB does not wish to stand in his way," it said in a press release.
Gayle played for the Kolkata Knight Riders in the first three editions of the IPL.
"The WICB is most disappointed in the manner in which Gayle has handled the entire situation, especially given the mature and cooperative manner in which two other players who refused contracts - Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard - made themselves available for selection and agreed to an understanding in the best interest of West Indies cricket."
The statement added: "The WICB was surprised to learn that Gayle had been making arrangements to play cricket in India, when the WICB was under the clear impression that he was recovering from injury and was undergoing rehabilitation work and about to resume training.”
"It is therefore not accurate, as has been insinuated in some quarters, that Gayle was not selected for the entire Pakistan series."
Both Pollard and Bravo are currently playing in the IPL and along with Gayle and fellow veterans Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan were not considered for the Thursday's Twenty20 International against Pakistan or the first two ODIs on Saturday and Monday.
A two-judge bench of the Supreme Court today delivered a split verdict on a petition challenging amendment in BCCI regulations to exclude IPL and T-20 tournaments from its perview and referred the matter to the chief justice for allocating it to a larger bench.
The petition, filed by former BCCI president A.C. Muthiah, had alleged that the amendment was brought to favour the cricket board's secretary N Srinivasan who owns the T-20 team Chennai Super Kings.
With the division bench comprising justices J.M. Panchal and Gyan Sudha Mishra giving the split verdict, the petition has been referred to the chief justice for allocating it to a larger bench.
While Justice Panchal dismissed the petition filed by Muthiah, challenging the validity of the amendment in clause 6.2.4, Justice Mishra allowed the petition holding that a BCCI officer bearer cannot have stake in the IPL team.
"If Srinivasan opts to hold interest in the IPL team, he shall be able to do so but restrained to hold any office in BCCI," Justice Mishra said.
Muthiah, in his petition, had alleged that amendment in the regulation was brought without following proper procedure.
Srinivasan, however, alleged that Muthiah had filed the petition with malafide intention and that he had no locus standi. Muthiah had appealed against the Madras High Court's order upholding the validity of the amendment alleging that "the new regulation was brought only to favour N Srinivasan" who was the treasurer of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) when he was bidding for the Chennai team.
Muthiah had contended that under the un-amended clause, no administrator of BCCI could have had, directly or indirectly, any commercial interest in the matches or events conducted by the cricket board.
On the other hand, Srinivasan had submitted there was nothing wrong in the administrator donning the role of the Secretary, contesting the post of President and owning an IPL team CSK.
Muthiah had said there is a conflict of interest as the Chennai team is owned by Indian Cement Ltd in which Srinivasan is a share holder, Vice President and Managing Director.
Muthiah had informed the court about the sequence of events from the start of IPL in 2007 to the amendment of the clause in September 2008 to buttress the point that the change in the rule was brought out in an illegal manner to benefit Srinivasan as there was a conflict of interest.
He had contended the decision to exclude IPL and T-20 tournaments from the purview of the Board's regulation was "illegal and opposed to public policy." Muthiah had said while Srinivasan was bidding for the Chennai team in January 2008, he had made a complaint to BCCI citing the regulation that no member of the board will have commercial interest in IPL.
Muthiah had further said the amendment was brought at the BCCI's AGM on September 27, 2008, without bringing the issue on the agenda for which a notice would have to be given 21 days in advance.
Good pitch, mate, good carry. Nice work." Brett Lee of the Kolkata Knight Riders was all praise for the Ferozeshah Kotla pitch while having a bat at an adjacent strip a day ahead of the clash against Delhi Daredevils. He was promptly reminded by groundstaff that the track had slowed down a bit. "You should have been here the day the first match was played," someone quipped, and Lee winked. "That's all right, this'll do."
It's almost uncanny, this deluge of praise pouring in for a grassy side strip at a venue notorious for producing low, slow pitches that don't facilitate strokeplay. That said, three matches within a span of six days might be too much of a burden for even the side strip to bear.
It was apparent the track had slowed down a bit on Tuesday night in the game against Royal Challengers, and even though DD skipper Sehwag said after that game "the ball is not coming on to the bat as well as it did earlier (against KXIP)", Virat Kohli of the RCB felt it was the best Kotla track he had ever played on. The DD team management has decided to stick to the same strip for the match against KKR, though, and the grass has been brushed a bit and the watering kept to a minimum. This is the closest thing DD have to a Kotla belter and they're reluctant to let go.
That sets the stage up nicely for a match-up between teams led by India's Test openers, another clash between Delhi boys who finds themselves on the opposite side of the IPL fence. Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir are extremely familiar with each others' thought processes, and KKR coach Dav Whatmore implied that could only lead to "some good cricket on a good pitch".
Funnily enough, the Daredevils seem to be running into one disgruntled Delhi cricketer after another. If it was Kohli on Tuesday, it might well be Gambhir - who is still smarting after being ignored by the owners at the auctions - on Thursday night. "They (Sehwag and Gambhir) know each others' game very well, they will share the secrets with their respective teams. There is a good contest on the cards."
Both teams are hoping to get their campaigns back on track. DD's lack of foresight at the auctions, their problems with team combination and their reliance on the top order has been discussed ad infinitum. They are second from bottom after yet another defeat but KKR only have two points more after having lost their last two games. Whatmore, though, was right on the money when he suggested that in the IPL, it was all about what transpired on the day.
Key Clashes
Mornel Morkel vs Jacques Kallis
This is a nice South African subplot to the Gambhir-Sehwag clash. Extremely familiar with facing each other at nets, can Morkel surprise the usually rock-solid Kallis into nicking or misreading a delivery? Or will Kallis pre-empt Morkel's every move? Whoever emerges winner will set the tone for his team.
Gautam Gambhir vs Virender Sehwag
Make no mistake, Gambhir is incensed at having been ignored by the Delhi team owners at the auctions. He will be coming out all guns blazing, itching to take his team across. Sehwag, thrust with a team short on experience and lacking match-winning potential, better watch out.
Having lost four games on the trot in the fourth edition of the Indian Premier League, Pune Warriors will have to pull up their socks and perform as a team when they take on a confident Royal Challengers Bangalore at the M Chinnaswamy stadium here on Friday.
The eight-wicket defeat to Chennai Super Kings at Mumbai in their previous game has put the Warriors in a tricky position.
With barely two wins from six matches and languishing at the ninth position with only four points, they can't afford to lose anymore matches.
Warriors now require to approach the next three games with a must-win attitude if they harbour hopes of qualifying for the semifinal play-offs.
Three successive wins would ensure that they have ten points from nine games before the competition turns stiffer for the top four positions.
Having a well-rounded and resourceful team with a good sprinkling of stars, makes the side look unbeatable on paper.
But performance is what matters and that is something that Yuvraj Singh would have to drive into his beleaguered boys.
Back-to-back defeats to Mahander Singh Dhoni's Chennai Super Kings has undoubtedly demoralised the team that was gathering steam and confidence at the start of the cash-rich tournament.
Except for Yuvraj Singh and Robin Uthappa, the rest of the batsmen haven't really got going. The top order has been an absolute failure with Monish Mishra, Jesse Ryder and Manish Pandey have done precious little in the last two games against the Super Kings.
Scores of 122 (vs Mumbai Indians), 128 and 141 (against Chennai Super Kings) in the last three matches reflects their batting woes.
Only if they perform as a batting unit, can the Warriors hope to keep themselves in the race for the play-offs.
Why Sreesanth is getting married
Their bowling has come good in the last three games. They made Mumbai Indians sweat for a last ball win when they were chasing a measly 122.
Alfonso Thomas, Jerome Taylor, Murali Kartik and Rahul Sharma had done well to keep the Super Kings on tight leash. But their effort needs to be complemented by their batsmen.
On the other hand, Royal Challengers, who struggled at the start of the championship, have gained confidence from their victories over Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Daredevils.
With the likes of Chris Gayle, Tillakaratne Dilshan, AB de Villiers, Virat Kohli and Saurabh Tiwary in its rank, the RCB has got a power-packed batting line up, which can raise alarm bells in any opposition camp.
But with pace spearhead Zaheer Khan looking out of sorts, the team's bowling continues to remain the weakest link. Though captain Daniel Vettori has been a standout bowler, domestic recruits Syed Mohammad and Sreenath Arvind have performed reasonably well. Yet the Bangalore team lacks a genuine wicket-taking bowler.
With seven points from seven games, Daniel Vettori's boys would be looking to score their third successive win and strengthen their chances of qualifying for the all-important play-offs.
But in a game of uncertainty, they cannot afford to take Pune Warriors lightly.
Teams:
Pune Warriors: Yuvraj Singh (C), Robin Uthappa (WK), Murali Kartik, Abhishek Jhunjhunwala, Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, Deeraj Jadhav, Eklavya Dwivedi, Ganesh Gaikwad, Harpreet Singh Bhatia, Harshad Khadiwale, Kamran Khan, Mithun Manhas, Mohnish Mishra, Rahul Sharma, Sachin Rana, Shrikant Wagh, Shrikant Mundhe, Imtiyaz Ahmed, Jesse Ryder, Graeme Smith, Wayne Parnell, Alphonso Thomas. Tim Paine, Callum Ferguson, Mitchell Marsh, Jerome Taylor, James Faulkner.
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Daniel Vettori (C), Mayank Agarwal, Sreenath Aravind, Arun Karthik, BN Bharath, Raju Bhatkal, AB de Villiers (WK, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Nuwan Pradeep, Muralidharen Gautam, Chris Gayle, Mohammad Kaif, Abrar Kazi, Zaheer Khan, Virat Kohli, Charl Langeveldt, Abhimanyu Mithun, Ryan Ninan, Asad Pathan, Luke Pomersbach, Cheteshwar Pujara, Rilee Rossouw, Jamaluddin Syed Mohammad, Saurabh Tiwary, Johan van der Wath, Jonathan Vandiar.
Pakistan's limited overs captain Shahid Afridi on Thursday said that he is not satisfied with the One-day rankings system, presently applied by the ICC.
His unhappiness stems from the recent announcement by the ICC that even if Pakistan, which lead the five-match ODI series 2-0 against the West Indies, manage to whitewash the series, it will not earn them a single rating point and they will still be placed at its current ranked sixth position.
Jimmy would have been a good choice: Gavaskar
"I can't understand this system. There should be some advantage for the visiting sides as winning a series is never easy for them no matter who they're playing against," Afridi told a newspaper from Bridgetown.
Afridi questioned the system that offers little reward against lower-ranked opponents. Even a 4-1 or 3-2 win against the ninth-placed West Indies means a drop in points for Pakistan since they are expected to beat the hosts.
"It's really difficult to prosper under the current ranking system. I have little clue what it is based on," Afridi said.
Afridi is not the first captain to criticise the ICC Ranking System, which also drew criticism from former Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara who termed it as 'unfair'.
Afridi, however, said that despite the disappointment over the ratings system, his team remained focused on winning the series against the West Indies.
IPL 2011
"We'll give our best to seal the series, which is our main focus. It will boost the morale of the young team."
He also expressed his satisfaction over the performance of the youngsters on the tour.
"I'm happy with the performance of the young players and they are stepping up to the challenge," said Afridi.
Afridi said he is hoping for a better show from left-arm fast-bowler Junaid Khan, who made his international debut on the ongoing tour and has played two ODIs and a Twenty20 but is yet to take a wicket.
"It's not appropriate to expect a youngster to become a star overnight. He needs time and hopefully he would improve in the remaining matches."
Angry Birds is a puzzle video game developed by Finland-based Rovio Mobile. Inspired primarily by a sketch of stylized wingless birds, the game was first released for Apple's iOS in December 2009. Since that time, over 12 million copies of the game have been purchased from Apple's App Stor. which has prompted the company to design versions for other touchscreen-based smartphones, such as those using the Android operating system, among others.
In the game, players use a slingshot to launch birds at pigs stationed on or within various structures, with the intent of destroying all the pigs on the playfield. As players advance through the game, new birds appear, some with special abilities that can be activated by the player. Rovio Mobile has supported Angry Birds with numerous free updates that add additional game content, and the company has even released stand-alone holiday and promotional versions of the game. Angry Birds has been praised for its successful combination of addictive gameplay, comical style, and low price. Its popularity led to versions of Angry Birds being created for personal computers and gaming consoles, a market for merchandise featuring its characters and even long-term plans for a feature film or television series. With 100 million downloads across all platforms, the game has been called "one of the most mainstream games out right now", "one of the great runaway hits of 2010", and "the largest mobile app success the world has seen so far."
Gameplay
A yellow bird collapses a structure onto several pigs.
In Angry Birds, players take control of a flock of multi-colored birds that are attempting to retrieve eggs that have been stolen by a group of evil green pigs. On each level, the pigs are sheltered by structures made of various materials such as wood, ice and stone, and the object of the game is to eliminate all the pigs in the level. Using a slingshot, players launch the birds with the intent of either hitting the pigs directly or damaging the structures, which would cause them to collapse and kill the pigs. In various stages of the game, additional objects such as explosive crates and rocks are found in the levels, and may be used in conjunction with the birds to destroy hard-to-reach pigs.
There are several different types of birds used in the game. In the earliest levels, the basic red bird is the only one available. As the player advances through the game, additional types of birds become available; some of these birds are more effective against particular materials or they have special abilities that are activated by the player after the bird has been launched. For example, a blue bird can separate into three smaller birds, a black bird explodes and a white bird can drop explosive eggs. The pigs themselves also appear in different sizes. While small pigs are relatively weak and are easily destroyed either by direct hits or by debris from the damaged structures, larger pigs are able to sustain more damage. Also, some pigs wear helmets as armor, making them more resistant to damage, while pigs with crowns can take the most damage.
Each level starts with the number, types, and order of birds pre-determined If all of the pigs are defeated by the time the last bird is used, the level is completed and the next level is unlocked. Points are scored for each pig defeated as well as for damage to, or destruction of, structures, and bonus points are awarded for any unused birds. Upon completing each level, players receive one, two, or three stars, depending on the score received. Players may re-attempt unlocked levels as many times as they wish in order to successfully complete them or to earn additional points and/or stars
The popularity of interactive comments on indiatimes.com can be gauged from the sheer volume of comments that pour in during every match.
The suspense was killing Kamal Pandit. With a flight to catch, he was on his way to the airport. But that meant he'd miss out on a gripping run chase as Royal Challengers Benglore underwent a
rollercoaster ride while trying to overhaul the target posed by Delhi Daredevils. That's when a friend suggested he whip out his laptop and follow the game online.
"I thought watching online would, at best, be a poor substitute for TV, but it actually turned out to be a much better experience," he told TOI. "Of course you follow the game, but you also get to watch highlights of previous matches, and clips of incredible moments both on and off the field. The best part is you get to see these whenever you choose to, rather than when the broadcaster decides to show them."
The feature that really bowled over Kamal, though, was the interactive comments. "With lots of other viewers posting comments simultaneously and online discussions going on ball-by-ball, it's almost like being present at the stadium, surrounded by other fans. Plus you can invite your friends to join in and happily chat about the game with them, throughout the match. One of the best parts about watching sports live is the interaction with other fans, and online comments really help recreate that environment," he said.
The popularity of this feature can be gauged from the sheer volume of comments that pour in during every match. Indiatimes CEO Rishi Khiani said, "We routinely receive one comment per second during a match, which can spike up to three comments per second during exciting periods. Indians are passionate about cricket and love talking about it, and what better way to do so than online? You can catch up with old friends, make new ones, share stats and trivia, get involved in debates - and do all this without missing a single ball."
Now, can you do all that while watching a match on TV alone? Of course, one downside is that you still need an internet connection. But then, as millions of surfers would point out, sometimes it's easier to be online than in front of a TV -- especially if you're travelling. Or working in office -- late or early, depending on which part of the world you're in!
Indian players with the trophy after winning the 2011 Cricket World Cup in Mumbai. (TOI Photo)
MUMBAI: Amid speculation that Indian cricketers are unhappy with the Prize Money announced for their World Cup triumph, the BCCI on Wednesday increased it from Rs one crore to Rs two crore each.
The BCCI, in its working committee meeting here, decided to increase the incentive to Rs two crore per player, which is still less than the Rs 5 crore each that the players had reportedly demanded.
"The cash incentive to the members of the World Cup winning Indian team has been increased from Rs 1 crore per player to Rs 2 crore per player," BCCI secretary and president-elect N Srinivasan said in a media release.
The decision comes after speculation that several top Indian cricketers made an informal demand to the cricket board to increase the reward money to Rs 5 crore instead of just 1 crore for winning the biggest cricketing event after 28 years.
However, such reports were rejected by the BCCI with Srinivasan terming them as incorrect. INDIA won the ICC World Cup beating SRI LANKA in the final on April 2 at the Wankhede Stadium.
Immediately after the triumph, BCCI President Shashank Manohar had announced a reward of Rs one crore for each of the 15-member World Cup squad.
He also announced that the support staff would be awarded Rs 50 lakh each.
If you needed a punctuation mark to describe this game, you would reach out for a big bold exclamation mark and colour it a deep crimson red. The Kochi scorecard was stunningly woeful at the end of the four sensational overs: "0 4 0 0 0 0" were the scores of the batsmen sucker-punched by Ishant Sharma, who harassed them with seam and bounce. And Kochi never recovered from that soul-crushing spell from Ishant.
The hair bobbed away in the air in characteristic fashion as he ran in, the fingers was behind the seam and the wrists snapped at the release, and the length was nearly always full. The first has been an ever-present theme with him in good and bad days, the second image hasn't been always consistently repeated, and the third was a pleasant surprise.
Ishant entered the scene after Dale Steyn took out Brendon McCullum in the first over with a delivery that jagged away to take the outside edge. It was the beginning of Kochi's nightmare as Ishant stunned them with a triple strike. Parthiv Patel stabbed a delivery that bounced and seamed away from him to the keeper, Raiphi Gomez (what was he doing at no 4?) was taken out for a first-ball duck by a sharp incutter, and Brad Hodge combusted in the fifth delivery. He played a very loose and very ambitious off drive and wafted way outside the line of the full delivery that cut in to rearrange the furniture.
Kochi were 2 for 4 then and all of their hopes rested on their opener and captain Mahela Jayawardene, who was a forlorn figure in the middle, watching the demonic destruction unfold in front of him. Ishant wasn't done yet; he reserved his best for Jayawardene. He trapped Kedar Jadhav in front with a sharp incutter in the fourth over and produced a brute of a delivery to knock out Jayawardene, and Kochi, in the same over. It screamed up from back of a good length, held its line and kissed the edge of the defensive prod en route to the delighted Sangakkara. Jayawardene gave an inquisitive, and accusing, look at the pitch before he turned and departed the crime scene.
Ishant's figures read an incredible 5 for 6 and Kochi were 11 for 6 from four overs at the fall of Jayawardene and though there were couple of face-saving contributions from Ravindra Jadeja and Thisara Perera, they were rapidly heading along a cul-de-sac to nowhere.
In retrospect, the middle-over massacre led by Sangakkara - Deccan recovered from the depths of 37 for 3 from 10 overs to reach 105 for 3 in 16- lulled one into a false perception about the nature of the track. In hindsight, Kochi will be ruing a no-ball from Sreesanth which allowed Sangakkara to break free; Sangakkara was on 5 when Sreesanth produced a jaffa - it bent back in from the off stump line to knock out the middle stump - but the third umpire confirmed the on-field umpire's suspicion that it was a no-ball.
It was the 11th over, bowled by Thisara Perera, that changed the landscape. Both Sangakkara and Cameron White, who was on 6 from 17 balls, pulled two short deliveries to the boundary to take 11 runs in that over. It wasn't your massive "big over" that IPL throws up on a daily basis but it was the spark that ignited Deccan, and Sangakkara in particular. In the 12th over, he dragged Vinay Kumar for two leg-side boundaries and threw in the conventional and the upper cut to collect two more fours in the 14th over, off Perera. He continued to slash and heave and even unfurled a paddle-swept boundary off Sreesanth but the next over over from Vinay proved the turning point.
Vinay had White holing out to deep midwicket off the fifth delivery and induced Sangakkara to edge a slower one off the next. The lower order couldn't produce anything substantial and the question lingered at the end of their innings: Was 129 going to be enough? Ishant answered it in some style.
Seven overs into the Rajasthan Royals match against the Delhi Daredevils, Shane Warne took the ball. I had seen him a couple of days earlier; he looked different, maybe a cosmetic surgeon had been involved, maybe it was just a flush of youth returning briefly. He looked trimmer, he looked excited and he had bowled beautifully making younger players look like novices occasionally.
Now, I was waiting for him to bowl the first ball like, as a child, I had waited in the stands to watch Gavaskar come out to bat.
First balls can be tricky things if you are playing after a while because the cricket ball, a weapon that has bowed to your bidding all your life, suddenly becomes a rebel, questions your right to make it land where you want it to. Not this time.
The first ball, from over the wicket drifted towards leg stump and turned viciously from there. Like it had many thousands of times in his prime.
Young Unmukt Chand, a fine young prospect I was told but who thought blocking a ball was criminal, played the cut, was cramped for space and Rahul Dravid pulled off a great catch at slip. Like Mark Taylor used to in the days when c Taylor b Warne was a feature on most scorecards.
It didn’t end there. Ball after ball followed the familiar wicket trajectory. Batsmen played, missed, edged, wondered what this thing was that came at them but wasn’t where they thought it should be. Soon Naman Ojha, another young gun, was caught at point. The first three balls read W 0 W. That’s what it was.
He’s the best Australian spinner playing cricket, by a margin as large as Jaipur to Melbourne.
Often we hope champions never return after they retire. There is an aura about them that grows with every day after they are gone; sins are washed away, bad balls were never bowled. A comeback can ravage those memories, make a giant look frail. An image can get shattered. It is the saddest thing in sport when a champion tries to summon skills that left him a long time ago. And I must confess to those thoughts when I heard that Warne would play on in IPL 2011.
He had looked rusty in IPL 2009 in South Africa but only briefly.
The action was soon back for that is what it really is. If you get the action right, the ball goes where it should. But in IPL 2010, it was clear that he was demanding too much from himself. A young gun would slog him and the reply wouldn’t have the same venom. I feared the king of the pack might get hunted down this year. You cannot, you should not, see the leader made a meal of.
Maybe somewhere Warne knew this. And in between rounds of poker, good for a sharp mind maybe but not much good if you want to be in the right shape, and long flights to satisfy the cravings of the heart, he trained. That is obvious. You can hide many weaknesses but a protruding belly is particularly difficult. Warne in IPL 2011 looks trim and maybe that has allowed the action to be the way he wants it to be. And clearly he has bowled a lot. Not even Warne can make that first ball land on the spot and fizz it without having bowled it many times in the nets before.
And so back to Jaipur and game two for the Royals. He came on to bowl in one of the slog overs to young David Warner and threw the ball wide of the off stump challenging him to hit against the turn. The over only produced five after which he captained the side from deep mid-wicket. Slow, ageing players don’t field there but Warne backed himself to.
It’s only been two matches so far and I don’t know what the IPL holds for Shane Warne in the rest of the games. But I do know that, as a cricket lover, he has me on the edge of my seat everytime he bowls. He is forty two now, not every game will be as good but he’s giving it a decent shot and making the experience of watching cricket as thrilling as it was when he was doing batsmen in for Australia.
Seniors have asked BCCI for rest from the upcoming West Indies tour, opening up the debate on who will be in charge of the Indian team.
From the young brigade names like Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh and even Suresh Raina have emerged for this position.
Gautam Gambhir, presently in charge of Kolkata Knight Riders, has proved his credentials as captain against New Zealand, romping home with a 5-0 whitewash.
Yuvraj Singh is enjoying the time of his life, after an amazing World cup campaign where he was adjudged the player of the tournament. He is also in command of Pune Warriors in IPL 4 and has expressed his desire to lead Team India.
Suresh Raina also led India when Dhoni was not there and has pretty much cemented his position in the limited over version after his exploits in the World cup.
We at Zeecric.com would like to ask your opinion who among the three should lead if Dhoni decides to skip the WI tour.
The demands to decorate batting maestro Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar with the country’s highest civilian honour- the Bharat Ratna – has gained momentum ever since Team India lifted the prestigious Cricket World Cup trophy after toppling Sri Lanka in the finals held in Mumbai.
Voices in favour of Sachin are coming from all walks of life and several former cricketers, eminent sport personalities, Bollywood stars and even political parties have now joined the chorus to bestow him with the top honour.
Going by Sachin’s extraordinary accomplishments and the numerous accolades, which this living legend has won for his team and India, he is already a "Bharat Ratna" in the eyes of his admirers whether he actually gets it or not. So felicitating him with the country’s top civilian honour will just be a fitting tribute to this God of cricket for achieving many milestones in his over two-decade long career.
The demand to decorate the batting maestro with the Bharat Ratna was first made way back in the year 2003 by the Shiv Sena and seconded by the then Human Resource Development (HRD) minister Murli Manohar Joshi.
The talks to confer upon him the Bharat Ratna again gained momentum after Sachin became the first batsman in the history of One-Day International Cricket to score a double hundred. Sachin achieved this rare feat, while tearing apart the strong fielding set-up by the South African team at Gwalior in February 2010.
In view of this achievement, and more importantly, after Team India’s World Cup glory, Maharashtra Assembly recently adopted a resolution seeking country’s highest civilian award for Sachin Tendulkar. The Maharashtra government is also going to recommend Sachin Tendulkar for the country’s highest recognition.
Given the buzz surrounding Sachin, he is almost certain to be honoured with India’s highest civilian award, and if he does, it would be another first for the master-blaster as no other sportsperson has ever won the Bharat Ratna. If reports are to be believed, Sachin’s name for the honour has also been recommended by the Government of India, which makes the possibility of his winning stronger than ever before this time around.
However, there are several obstacles which the government needs to clear before it actually felicitates Sachin with the honour and answer some pertinent questions- can we really overlook the contribution of other great sportsmen like Major Dhyanchand, wrestler Dara Singh, cricketers Kapil Dev and Sunil Gavaskar or ace-shuttler Prakash Padukone at the cost of Sachin?
Bharat Ratna is given only to those who have done eminent work in the field of art, literature, social service, science and technology but sports is not included in it, so bestowing ‘Bharat Ratna’ to sportspersons would require tweaking of criterion that has been laid down for the country’s highest civilian honour.
This is why the Sports Ministry is going to ask the Home Ministry to include sports in the criterion for Bharat Ratna. If this happens, it would be a welcome move and alleviate the level of sports in the country. After superb performance by the Indian athletes in the 2010 Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games in China, the expectations are high and we all want our sportsmen to do well in international events like Olympics.
Secondly, those who oppose the idea of giving the highest civilian honour to Sachin, contend that he is too young to be considered for the honour given the fact the award has been given to several luminaries posthumously in the past.
Another pertinent question which crops up during the debate is - shouldn’t it be given to those whose achievements had benefited the society at large, rather than for mere `personal achievements`.
And if the government’s intention is to honour the true sons of Mother India then why not give Bharat Ratna to father of nation Mahatma Gandhi, who made supreme sacrifices while battling the British regime and freed us from the Colonial rule.
The general idea behind the award is to recognize the significant contribution of any individual in the field of art, literature, social service, science and technology whose work benefits the society. In that sense social workers, RTI activists, scientists and literary persons deserve this honour more than Sachin, whose "personal achievements" have nothing to do the with the society.
For instance, if an actor excels in acting or if a golfer equals records made by Tiger Woods, by the dint of his performance, then also it has nothing to do with the society.
However, there is a different perspective to see this. Since Tendulkar is a sportsman and has made India proud through his sheer grit and determination, he has been doing a great service to the sports he is associated with and encouraged a lot of youngsters to follow him. That’s all he can do in his capacity as a sportsman. He has taken the name of India beyond its shores and that too with such a positive conviction that it has permeated in the society.
Sachin is, undoubtedly, one of the rare gems that this soil has produced and he will continue to be revered as one of the brightest superstars of cricket in the years to come. He has raised the level of his game to unparallel heights and his greatness is duly acknowledged by his peers, rivals, seniors, fans and commoners alike.
As a sportsman, he too has his limitations since he will remain active may be for one or two more years to come unlike a politician, a social worker or an artist, who can be professionally active till the end of their lives.
A sportsperson’s achievements must be viewed in terms of the years he is active. Sachin has been playing cricket for the past 21 years and may be approaching the end of his career, so is it not the right time to take stock of his contributions to the game and the country?
Ironically, the country’s highest civilian awards were conferred only thrice in the last decade. The ‘Bharat Ratna’, which was started in 1954, has so far been given to 41 eminent personalities, none of whom is a sportsperson, only due to the criteria laid down by the government for the coveted honour.
Is it not baffling to some extent that in the country of billion plus population we cannot find one person suitable for the coveted title. Would it be justified to wait till Sachin becomes eighty or ninety years old and then felicitate him for his out-of-the-world achievements. Or shall we wait till some organization or nation institutes a prestigious award in Sachin’s names for honouring sportspersons.
It seems that we have developed a tendency to recognize our talent only after it has been acknowledged by the rest of the world. I leave this to people of India and our government to decide whether Tendulkar’s contribution to cricket qualifies as the “public service of the highest order” in order to be a Bharat Ratna.
Royal Challengers Bangalore`s Virat Kohli termed the Feroze Shah Kotla wicket, which hosted their Indian Premier League match against Delhi Daredevils, as the best he has ever played on.
"It`s a good wicket. I haven`t played on a better wicket here than this. Not just the batsman, it had something for the bowlers too," Kohli said after leading his team to a three-wicket win.
Kohli was delighted to have performed in front of his home crowd.
"I wanted to do well at this ground. Had a good idea about the Kotla pitch, but it`s not that I scored because of that. You have to still play well," he said after being adjudged man-of-the-match for his fiery 56-run knock.
The stylish batsman from Delhi was full of praise for RCB teammate Chris Gayle.
"It`s amazing batting with him. He takes the pressure off us. He has given us good starts in both the matches. He has been wonderful for us," Kohli said.
After a flying start, Bangalore lost their way for a while, losing three quick wickets, before getting their act together to prevail in the last over.
"The way we were going, at 12 an over; that`s a very good rate no matter how big a target you are chasing. Then Warner made a brilliant run out. But if I had stayed and AB too, we could have finished the game three overs earlier.”
"We knew we can bounce back. It`s a big plus, big positive for us. Hope to take the home advantage in the next couple of games," Kohli said.
Despite his team’s fourth defeat and third at home, Delhi skipper Virender Sehwag was hopeful of a turnaround.
"It`s just a matter of getting our act together. If we win a couple of games, we can still qualify," Sehwag said.
Sehwag, however, expressed disappointment over his team’s overall showing in the match.
"160 was a par score. But there were too many boundaries in the first six overs (of the RCB innings). We then came back with the wicket of Gayle and Kohli and the run out by Warner. But I am disappointed. We have to bowl well, field well and there were too many misfields,” he said.
Sehwag said getting a solid start was of paramount importance in the tournament.
"If the openers don`t get good starts then the middle order comes under pressure. And it`s difficult to play under pressure," he said.
Sehwag also refused to accept that the team lacks firepower in bowling.
"We have the bowlers but in T20 you never know. Even the best of bowlers can go for runs. You have to bowl to a good line and, length and instead of bowling bad deliveries, you have to force the batsman to make mistakes," he said.
Sehwag is also gung-ho about playing against the Gautam Gambhir-led Kolkata Knight Riders in their next match.
"Playing against Gautam is challenging and he is a very good player. Playing against a team that`s coming off after good wins, it`s a challenge. Hopefully, we`ll get a good wicket," Sehwag said.
Kolkata Knight Riders captain Gautam Gambhir would be keen to prove a point by putting up a solid performance against his old franchise Delhi Daredevils when the two teams square off in an Indian Premier League match at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium.
Gambhir, who got a cold shoulder from Daredevils during the Players Retention and auctions, will definitely want to make a statement and a captain`s knock against his best buddy Virender Sehwag`s side will be just perfect to do that.
The Delhi Daredevils management, which by now must have realised that they botched up big time during the Players` Auction, would certainly be regretting not retaining Gambhir.
On paper, the fourth-placed KKR can be termed as favourites against the Daredevils who are now second from last in the league table.
But even after the third week of the tourney set to get over, there hasn`t been any clear indication about which way the tournament is veering towards.
A couple of victories can change the position of a team overnight as Royal Challengers Bangalore realised after their back-to-back wins.
With only two points separating the teams (KKR now have 6 points to DD`s 4), a win for KKR will help them consolidate their position after back-to-back defeats at home against Kochi Tuskers Kerala and Royal Challengers Bangalore.
For Sehwag and Company, this will be a make-or-break match as they can`t afford to lose too many having already ended second best on four occasions.
However, both teams especially KKR need to look at their team composition which might be a reason for their inconsistent performance.
If one looks at KKR, Eoin Morgan has been the weak link among the four foreign recruits. With Jacques Kallis, Brad Haddin and Shakib Al Hasan automatically selecting themselves, one would expect Brett Lee to make it to the playing XI at the expense of Morgan as the Kotla track now is offering some help to the pacers.
Morgan hasn`t really lived upto expectations as he has failed to provide the necessary momentum in the middle order.
Skipper Gambhir would expect that Yusuf Pathan, who showed glimpses of what he is capable of during the RCB match, to fire once again.
In the bowling department, Lakshmipathy Balaji will definitely not try too many variations as he did against RCB and that too with disastrous results. Shakib, who is jointly KKR`s leading wicket-taker with seven scalps, will also like to get his rhythm back after getting a thrashing from Gayle in the previous match.
Two members of the national team, pacer Wahab Riaz and middle-order batsman Asad Shafiq were severely reprimanded by the Pakistan Cricket Board for using a social networking site during the ongoing tour of the West Indies.
A PCB official confirmed that the two players were reprimanded by the team management in the West Indies for using Twitter.
According to details, Riaz and Shafiq violated their central contract terms by posting tweets.
"Wahab (Riaz) had even posted some pictures of the Pakistan team bus on the social networking site which have now been removed," a PCB source said.
Under the new terms of the central contract, the PCB has strictly prohibited players from using social networking sites on tours.
"Since it was their first offence they were reprimanded but if they do it again they will face heavy fines and may be suspension from some matches," the source said.
Riaz and Shafiq have been the leading performers for Pakistan so far in the series.
The PCB has included some strong clauses in the new central contracts that carry heavy fines and bans for players who violate the code that prohibits them from speaking to the media without permission, entering into endorsement contracts without permission, breaking curfew hours on tours, signing up with agents without approval of the board etc.
The cricket board's working committee on Wednesday rejected Indian Premier League franchises Kochi Tuskers Kerala and Sahara Pune Warriors demand for a reduction in the franchisee fee.
The two franchises had sought reduction on the ground that the BCCI did not fulfill the terms in the invitation to tender with regard to the number of matches this season.
They have already paid 75% of the annual installment of total fee amount, and had sought waiver of the balance.
However, the pleas were rejected in the Working Committee's meeting in Mumbai on Wednesday.
Kochi and Pune franchises had argued that as per the contract, each team was to play 18 matches on a home and away basis, but the BCCI reduced the number to 14, and brought down the total number of matches from 94 to 74 to avoid a player burn-out.
Pune and Kochi franchises were bought with bids of $370 million and $333 million respectively. Franchises have to pay this fee in installments, 10% per year.
Meanwhile, sources said the issue of resting senior cricketers for the West Indies tour after a hectic cricket season did not come up for discussion during the meeting on Wednesday.
India is scheduled to play a Twenty20, five ODIs and three Tests in the Caribbean from June 4-July 10.
The final of the ongoing IPL season, which began six days after the conclusion of the six-week long ICC World Cup on April 2, will be played in Chennai on May 28.
The tough stand taken by the Mumbai police preventing even Cricket Board officials from entering their own premises inside the Wankhede Stadium during IPL match days if they are without police passes has upset the BCCI which is threatening to shift next month's two play-off ties from the venue to Bangalore.
"The Board officials are upset with the Mumbai police for insisting that they have to carry police accreditations to enter their own offices (at Cricket Centre inside the Wankhede Stadium).
"The Mumbai Cricket Association has been given three days' time to sort out this issue with the police or the two semi finals matches (on May 24 and 25) would be shifted to Bangalore," according to informed sources.
Board secretary N Srinivasan, CAO Prof Ratnakar Shetty and IPL CEO Sundar Raman had been stopped outside the Vinoo Mankad gate and prevented from entering their office parking lot in their car on April 15, when the Wankhede Stadium hosted its first IPL match of the season between Mumbai Indians and Kochi Tuskers Kerala, without police passes.
The matter was raised at the Board's Working Committee meeting held on Wednesday.
The police authorities are refusing to recognise valid accreditations issued by the IPL to all categories of people including event broadcasters, other service providers like catering personnel and media without a police pass accompanying it.
The media persons, who were without police passes, had to be escorted in by one of the MCA officials into the media enclosure on two match days before police passes were issued to most of them. But even now, a handful is without police authorisation, according to the local association sources.
In fact, the uncompromising stand by the police threatened to blow into a huge controversy ahead of the April 2 World Cup final between India and Sri Lanka when Tournament Director Prof. Shetty insisted he would not carry a police badge, and instead, buy a ticket and enter the venue.
The matter was sorted out at the last minute with the police authorities relenting, it was learnt.
The two play-off matches would be held amongst the top four finishers at the end of the league stage of the T20 tournament.
Two more play-off ties, including the grand final, are to be held at Chennai's M A Chidambaram Stadium.
Meanwhile, if the matter with the police is not sorted out by the MCA, the association may lose out to the Karnataka State Cricket Association which benefited when the February 27th World Cup tie between India and England was shifted out of Kolkata's Eden Gardens to Bangalore's M Chinnaswamy Stadium by the International Cricket Council.
In what appears to be a perfect example of madness sans method, a group of about 40-odd die-hard fans is planning to enter the Eden Gardens during the Kolkata Knight Riders-Kings XI Punjab IPL match on Saturday, protesting the absence of Sourav Ganguly from the home squad.
This despite the fact that the Indian Premier League has already entered its halfway stage.
Fibbed into believing that their hero may still make it to the IPL, thanks to the endless speculations in the media, a group called "No Dada, No KKR" has been actively campaigning for Ganguly's return to the Knight Riders squad.
The former India skipper went unsold in the January auction, but those associated with this group are yet to come to terms with the fact that their hero is no more a part of the KKR squad.
Ever since Ganguly's ouster from the KKR team, the group has been asking people to boycott Eden Gardens during the IPL.
"We have distributed 1,00,000 leaflets along with the weekend newspapers on 26th and 27th March. We saw an unprecedented low turnout for the first match. For the following matches we launched sms campaign wherein we sent more than 6,00,000 sms-es to people in Kolkata. We have shown our dislike for IPL by staying away.
"It's time we went in and showed the same. On 30th April, 30-40 dada fans would be going to Eden wearing the cric tees t-shirts, with dada banners, posters and pics. We hope to catch the attention of the entire media and make our message reach to a larger audience. We also expect to get support from those inside the ground," said an active member of the group.
In fact in Hyderabad, some of the group members bought tickets originally priced at Rs 1,500, for Rs 2,500, just to convey their grievances.
Arun Raghvan, who runs the largest fan page on Ganguly on Facebook said, "Judging by the interactions that I have with over one lakh Ganguly fans on facebook, I can surely say that they are very disappointed with dada's exclusion and don't follow the IPL keenly anymore.
"They (Ganguly's fans on the net) are even more upset as every now and then news comes in that Sourav may be back in this IPL but soon the rumours are rubbished. In fact, some of them have even begun a year-long wait for the next IPL though they aren't sure if he is willing to participate in the tournament's next season."
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With a bowling attack that seems to be currently operating with just two men and a batting line-up that has collectively made two half-centuries in six games, it's no surprise that Deccan Chargers find themselves in last position in the table. Apart from Amit Mishra and Dale Steyn, the rest of the bowlers have struggled to attack as well as contain. Ishant Sharma and Pragyan Ojha have together conceded 254 runs for four wickets, and big signing Daniel Christian has been taken for more than nine an over.
Their leading run-getter Kumar Sangakkara has had several starts but a top score of 49, Christian has been almost as disappointing with the bat as he has been with the ball, and JP Duminy hasn't got going. The fact that Deccan lack a top-class Indian batsman was always going to test them; their domestic batsmen Shikhar Dhawan, Bharat Chipli and Sunny Sohal haven't inspired the same confidence as a member of the national side would have.
Deccan's opponents on Wednesday, Kochi Tuskers Kerala, return to their base for the first of two home games after having their three-match winning streak halted by Shane Warne on a tricky Jaipur pitch with unpredictable bounce. They should find the Nehru Stadium surface more to their liking and would want to capitalise against a misfiring Deccan outfit.
Form guide (most recent first)
Team talk
Kochi have some decisions to make since Brendon McCullum is expected to recover from his shoulder injury in time for the Deccan game. Both Thisara Perera and Muttiah Muralitharan played against Rajasthan Royals as McCullum missed out. Now there will be place for only one of the duo. Raiphi Gomez has done little with the bat, and his seven overs have leaked 78 runs. With Kedar Jadhav being wasted down the order, Kochi could look at giving Sreesanth or Ramesh Powar a game in place of Gomez.
Harmeet Singh didn't do too badly in his only game of this IPL, against Delhi Daredevils, and Deccan could consider bringing him in for Ojha. Duminy or Michael Lumb should replace the woefully out-of-form Cameron White. Deccan also continue to bench Rusty Theron, persisting with Christian.
Predict the playing XIs for this match.
In the spotlight
They are close friends on the field and off it. One handed the national captaincy to the other and became his deputy. When the other resigned after the World Cup, the now-deputy followed suit. Sri Lankan cricket in the new millennium has been synonymous with Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara, two of the best batsmen and sharpest brains in the game. Contrasting personalities - one flamboyant and articulate, one polished and perceptive - they are proud competitors, and their face-off as opposing captains could be an interesting battle of wits. They might even sit down together and dissect the game over a drink after it's done.
Prime numbers
Amit Mishra and RP Singh are the only bowlers from the two sides to have conceded less than seven an over this season (min. two games). Mishra is also Deccan's highest wicket-taker, with eight from six matches
Ravindra Jadeja has the best strike-rate this season among the two teams: 151.40, which is also the sixth-best in the tournament (min. 100 runs)
If you needed a punctuation mark to describe this game, you would reach out for a big bold exclamation mark and colour it a deep crimson red. The Kochi scorecard was stunningly woeful at the end of the four sensational overs: "0 4 0 0 0 0" were the scores of the batsmen sucker-punched by Ishant Sharma, who harassed them with seam and bounce. And Kochi never recovered from that soul-crushing spell from Ishant. 
