IPL season II table toppers Delhi Daredevils will clash with the 3rd placed Deccan Chargers at Durban on Wednesday.

With both teams looking set for a place in the semi-finals, Deccan will be hoping to put one over a side they have never beaten in three attempts, knowing that a win will almost guarantee them that semi-final spot one wouldn’t have believed possible after their 12 loss riddled inaugural season.

The Daredevils have played the lowest number of matches in the season till date, just 9, and yet lead the points table quite comfortably with 14 points. They will however be a little concerned with fixture congestion come the fag end of the tournament, knowing that they will need to play 7 games over the next 12 days should they reach the IPL final.

They will be buoyed further with the return of skipper Virender Sehwag who missed four games due to a hand injury he sustained while dropping a hot chance the last time these two teams met. Stand-in skipper Gautam Gambhir showed that he was a more than capable replacement picking up 3 wins in those four matches.

The selection headache that Sehwag’s return presents, is whether they should stick with the existing winning combination keeping Australian youngster David Warner in the side and get him to open with Sehwag and bring Gambhir in at no. 3, or should they return to their original eleven which was giving their bowling more balance, playing Daniel Vettori as the fourth international player, and using the Indian pair at the top of the order. Bet the rest of the league is wishing they had similar problems!

Deccan will be aware that whatever the result of their game on Wednesday, they should still make the final four with their last three games against teams currently situated at 6th, 7th and 8th place in the IPL table.

With the pressure seemingly off both teams, we should see some free-flowing stroke play, and one hopes they can replicate their awesome encounter from last season where nearly 400 runs were scored. Delhi made 194 in their 20 overs, and Deccan fell just 12 runs short thanks to a five wicket haul from leg-spinner Amit Mishra who ripped through the middle order to take his side to victory.

Tags: Adam Gilchrist, Amit Mishra, David Warner, Deccan Chargers Vs Delhi Daredevils, Gautam Gambir, Hyderabad Deccan Chargers, Hyderabad Vs Delhi, IPL 2009, IPL 2009 News, IPL Scores, IPL Updates, Virender Sehwag

Related posts

• Deccan Chargers Vs Mumbai Indians: Will Mumbai bounce back (0)
• Delhi Daredevils Vs Mumbai Indians: Delhi fails to prove (0)
• Royal Challengers Vs Kings XI Punjab: Bopara leads Punjab to their first victory (0)
• Kolkata Knight Riders Vs Rajasthan Royals: Rajasthan fails to defend their Title (0)
• Kings XI Punjab Vs Rajasthan Royals: Clash between Pathans (1)

Delhi Daredevils’ winning streak is unlikely to face much challenge from a battered Kolkata Knight Riders when the two sides square off in an Indian Premier League match on Sunday.

Daredevils and Knight Riders faced each other for the first time in the competition on Tuesday and Brendon McCullum’s men, without a win for the past seven matches, were completely outplayed by the Delhi side.

With a semi-final berth out of bounds for Kolkata, the team would be playing to restore some of the lost pride against a side which has emerged as a strong contender for the title with its consistent show.

Such has been Delhi’s domination that it has remained unaffected by a bowler of Glenn McGrath’s stature being reduced to a bench-warmer.

Skipper of England’s Twenty20 World Championship squad Paul Collingwood came and left without padding up even once but Delhi remain unfazed.

Little-known pacer Dirk Nannes has done the job for it with the ball and Delhi have been more than happy to give him a spot in the playing XI ahead of McGrath.

Collingwood, meanwhile, never seemed required in a line-up that already boasts of Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, David Warner and Tillakaratne Dilshan.

Kolkata, on the other hand, are in desperate search for that one match winner who can turn things around for the beleaguered side, which lies at the bottom of the table. The pressure of captaincy seems to have silenced McCullum’s bat significantly and Sourav Ganguly too has not come up with anything extraordinary so far.

The explosive Chris Gayle is gone and the only positive development for the side in a while is the availability of Australian David Hussey, who is expected to be inducted immediately into the struggling line-up.

Poor batting has meant that the bowlers have had very little role to play in deciding Kolkata’s fortunes even though the likes of Ishant Sharma have not done too bad.

On current form, Delhi, semi-finalists last year, are certain to make the cut even this time around. In contrast, Kolkata are fighting a grim battle to avoid being at the bottom of the heap.

The contrasting form makes Delhi overwhelming favourites on Sunday and it would be nothing short of a stunner if Kolkata manage to pull off an elusive win.

Tags: Brendon McCullum, David Hussey, David Warner, Delhi Daredevils Vs Kolkata Knight Riders, Delhi Vs Kolkata, Dilshan, Gautam Gambir, Glen McGrath, IPL 2009, IPL 2009 News, IPL Scores, IPL Updates, Michael Hussey, Nannes, Paul Collingwood, Shah Rukh Khan, Sourav Ganguly

Related posts

• Deccan Chargers Vs Kings XI Punjab: Deccan starts with high confidence (0)
• Royal Challengers Vs Kings XI Punjab: Kings hope for better luck (0)
• IPL Best Performers – Delhi Vs Chennai (0)
• Who will be Kolkata Knight Riders Coach – Akram, Amre or Wright? (0)
• Gambir turning to be Next Indian Wall (0)

Mumbai Indians take on Delhi Daredevils for the first time in IPL 2 at Buffalo Park in East London on Friday. The Daredevils would try a different strategy when they take on win-hungry Mumbai Indians, who are eager to bounce back after two straight defeats.

With a new name adorning the number one position after almost every match, the Daredevils, who climbed to the coveted position, would have to up the ante when they take on Sachin Tendulkar’s army for the first time in the tournament.

Delhi have played the least number of matches (seven) but aggregated highest points (10) so far in the eight-team event that has already staged 34 of its 59 matches.

But that Mumbai put up a brave fight against Deccan Chargers on Wednesday is indication enough that it won’t be as easy as their previous match for Daredevils.

Barring a few lapses, Mumbai held their cards for most part in the game of dwindling fortunes.

Mumbai boast of an attacking opening pair of Tendulkar and Sanath Jayasuriya, well supported by South African Jean-Paul Duminy in the middle order.

Their bowling looks equally impressive studded with Sri Lankan Lasith Malinga, off-spinner Harbhajan Singh and West Indies’ Dwayne Bravo.

However, it remains to be seen if pace spearhead Zaheer Khan, who is nursing a shoulder injury, gets fit for the match on Friday.

Among the youngsters, Dhawal Kulkarni and Pinal Shah also impressed with both ball and bat against Deccan Chargers.

But despite the impressive line-up, Mumbai are second from bottom with just three wins from eight matches.

For Delhi, their key batsman Gautam Gambhir, who also stood-in for an injured captain Virender Sehwag, was back among the runs after an indifferent start to the tournament.

Tillakaratne Dilshan also demonstrated his form in their last match against Kolkata Knight Riders.

Delhi may consider fielding Glenn McGrath in place of Nannes with Ashish Nehra, Amit Mishra and Pradeep Sangwan already doing well for the side.

Tags: Delhi Daredevils Vs Mumbai Indians, Delhi vs Mumbai, Dirk Nannes, Duminy, Gautam Gambir, Glen McGrath, IPL 2, IPL 2009, IPL 2009 News, IPL Scores, IPL Updates, Lasith Malinga, Sachin Tendulkar, Sanath Jayasuriya, Virender Sehwag

Related posts

• Delhi Daredevils Vs Kings XI Punjab: Must win for Punjab (0)
• Sachin and Zaheer out of West Indies tour (0)
• Royal Challengers Vs Deccan Chargers: Manish Pandey’s century helps Bangalore win (0)
• Royal Challengers Vs Mumbai Indians: Bangalore looking to halt Mumbai Winning streak (0)
• Chennai Super Kings Vs Kolkata Knight Riders: McCullum and Hodge helps Kolkata register 7 wicket win (0)

An unbeaten 71 from opener Gautam Gambhir propelled Delhi Daredevils to the top of the Indian Premier League (IPL) after a nine-wicket win over bottom placed Kolkata Knight Riders at the Kingsmead here on Tuesday.

Knight Riders slumped to their seventh overall and fifth consecutive loss despite putting up a competitive 153 for three in 20 overs, thanks to Morne van Wayk’s 74 off 48 balls.

Poor fielding again let down Knight Riders as they floored three easy catches and missed an easy run out that allowed Gambhir and Tillakaratne Dilshan (42 not out) take Daredevils to 157 for one in 19 overs.

Wayward bowling also compounded Knight Riders’ miseries. Ishant Sharma and Ajit Agarkar found themselves at the receiving end of Gambhir’s blade while Murali Karthik was the only bowler to command some respect, giving away just 18 runs from his four overs.

After deciding to bat, Knight Riders skipper Brendon McCulllum (35) and Van Wyk set the tone with their 58-run opening wicket stand.

McCullum, who was going through a rough patch, took his time after being troubled by Dirk Nannes. But slowly the Kiwi batsman looked to get back his rhythm by hitting Nannes for two sixes and one four in a 21-run third over.

Van Wyk was in good touch and clobbered 11 fours in his 48-ball innings. Along with Brad Hodge (10), Van Wyk took Knight Riders to a good place after the 10th over. But Hodge’s dismissal slowed down the run rate.

Moises Henriques (30 not out) and Van Wyk then slashed 49 runs in the next few overs to take Knight Riders to a good total. But some tight bowling by Nannes and the outstanding Ashish Nehra kept Knight Riders to 153 in 20 overs.

Leading the side in the absence of Virender Sehwag, the onus was on Gambhir to give Delhi Daredevils a good start. With David Warner (36), Gambhir gave Daredevils an explosive start that set up the win.

The win was Daredevils fifth from seven matches and they are now sitting at the top, followed by Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals in the second and third spot respectively.

Tags: Brad Hodge, Brendon McCullum, Delhi Daredevils Vs Kolkata Knight Riders, Delhi Vs Kolkata, Dirk Nannes, Gautam Gambir, IPL 2009, IPL 2009 News, IPL Scores, IPL Updates, Morne, Murali Karthik, Tillakaratne Dilshan

Related posts

• Delhi Daredevils Vs Kings XI Punjab: A Clash between the equals (0)
• IPL Best Performers – Delhi Vs Chennai (0)
• Kings XI Punjab Vs Rajasthan Royals: Clash between Pathans (1)
• Royal Challengers Vs Rajasthan Royals: Rajasthan hopes to take revenge on Bangalore (0)
• Delhi Daredevils Vs Mumbai Indians: Delhi fails to prove (0)

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the Twenty20 World Cup team on Monday.

The selection committee, headed by Chairman Krishnamachari Srikkanth, named Mahendra Singh Dhoni as the captain of the 15-man squad.

The other players included in the squad are Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Yusuf Pathan, Rohit Sharma, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, Praveen Kumar, Rudra Pratap Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, Pragyan Ojha and Irfan Pathan.

A preliminary meeting was held in Cape Town on April 24.

The selection committee said they had considered the players’ performance in the ongoing Indian Premier League as well before naming the squad.

However, despite his astounding performance in the IPL so far, Mumbai Indians’ Abhishek Nayar could not make it to the final list.

Other players who were expected to be included were L. Balaji, Dhawal Kulkarni, Ajit Agarkar, Robin Uthappa, Joginder Sharma, S. Sreesanth and Piyush Chawla.

The T20 World Cup will start in London on June 5.

Tags: BCCI, Gautam Gambir, Harbhajan Singh, ICC T20 World Cup, Indian Team, IPL 2009, Ishanth Sharma, Krish Srikanth, L Balaji, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Pragyan Ojha, Robin Uthappa, RP Singh, Suresh Raina, T20, T20 Championship, T20 International, T20 World Cup News, Virender Sehwag, Yusuf Pathan, Yuvraj Singh

Related posts

• Knight Riders Vs Kings XI Punjab: Gayle leads Knight Riders to first Victory (0)
• IPL Best Performers – Delhi Vs Chennai (0)
• Match 24: India vs South Africa: South Africa won by 12 runs (0)
• In pics: Compaq Cup Finals (1)
• Delhi Daredevils vs Mumbai Indians: Mumbai won by 98 runs (4)

Suresh Raina with his flamboyant 32 in Chennai Super Kings’ 18-run win Saturday over Delhi Daredevils has become the first batsman to score more than 650 runs in both the editions of the IPL.

Raina is the second highest run getter in the second edition of the IPL with 232 runs from six matches and has a total of 653 from both the editions at an average of 38.41 in 22 matches. Deccan Chargers skipper Adam Gilchrist’s is second with 646 from 20 games at an average of 34.

The following are the other statistical highlights of Saturday night’s match at the Wanderers between Super Kings and Delhi Daredevils:

• Abraham de Villiers has posted his fifth duck in Twenty20.
• In the IPL, De Villiers has recorded two ducks in the IPL – both against Chennai. In the first edition, he had posted a first-ball duck at Feroz Shah Kotla.
• Shadab Jakati, playing in only his second IPL game, has captured 4-24 runs – his best ever bowling performance in Twenty20.
• Dirk Nannes (3/27) has produced his best bowling performance in the IPL, obliterating the 2 for 16 against Deccan Chargers at Centurion Park on April 30, 2009.
• In Twenty20, Nannes has bowled superbly so far, capturing 44 wickets at 16.04 in 28 matches, including three four-wicket hauls.
• Badrinath (45 off 34 balls) has posted his highest score in the 2009 edition, outstripping the 29 against Rajasthan at Centurion Park. Thanks to this knock, Badrinath has improved his batting average slightly in the 2009 edition – 89 in five innings at an average of 17.80.
• Ashish Nehra (3/27) has recorded his best bowling figures in the second edition of the IPL, surpassing the 2 for 30 against Deccan Chargers at Centurion Park. He is the most successful bowler for Delhi Daredevils in the second edition of the IPL, capturing 9 wickets (ave.16.33) in five games.
• Chennai Super Kings recorded their second victory in four games against Delhi Daredevils. Last year, Chennai Super Kings had won by four wickets against Delhi Daredevils at Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi.
• Chennai posted their third win in 7 games in the 2009 edition. With 7 points in seven games, they are now placed at fourth position behind Deccan Chargers, Delhi Daredevils and Mumbai Indians.
• De Villiers became the second fielder to take three catches in the 2009 edition of the IPL. Piyush Chawla (Kings XI Punjab) had performed the feat against Bangalore at Durban, May 1, 2009.
• Gambhir has averaged just 13.80 in the second edition of the IPL – 69 in six innings.
• Warner and Karthik put on 74 for the fourth wicket, Delhi Daredevils’ second best for the fourth wicket in the IPL, next only to the 79 between Dilshan and Karthik against Deccan Chargers at Centurion Park on April 30, 2009.
• Warner registered his third fifty in Twenty20.
• Dinesh Karthik (52 off 31 balls) posted his second IPL fifty – his first was 56 not out off 32 balls against Mumbai at Delhi last year.
• Sudeep Tyagi (2/18) has produced his best bowling figures in the IPL.

Tags: Ab De Villiers, Albie Morkel, Ashish Nehra, Badrinath, Chennai Super Kings Vs Delhi Daredevils, David Warner, Dinesh Karthick, Dirk Nannes, Gautam Gambir, IPL 2009, IPL 2009 News, IPL Scores, IPL Updates, Jacob Oram, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Shadab Jakati, Sudeep Tyagi, Suresh Raina, Tillakaratne Dilshan

Related posts

• Wish MS Dhoni today on his Birthday!! (5)
• Delhi Daredevils Vs Kolkata Knight Riders: Will Kolkata win over Delhi? (0)
• Kings XI Punjab Vs Rajasthan Royals: Clash between Pathans (1)
• Royal Challengers vs Deccan Chargers: RC hope to bounce back (0)
• Delhi Daredevils Vs Mumbai Indians: Will Devils threaten Mumbai? (0)

Having got its campaign back on track, Delhi Daredevils will be eyeing its fifth victory while a rejuvenated Chennai Super Kings will be out for revenge in Saturday’s Indian Premier League match.

The Delhi team’s winning streak came to a halt after defending champion Rajasthan Royals inflicted a five-wicket mauling on Tuesday, but the Virender Sehwag-led side shrugged it off to thump Deccan Chargers by six wickets on Thursday.

With eight points from five matches, the Delhi outfit is second in the table behind topper Deccan Chargers on net run-rate.

Last year’s runner-up Super Kings, meanwhile, has had a slow start but is slowly picking up steam.

After hammering Royals by 38 runs, it has now climbed from second last to fifth place in the chart with five points from six outings.

And now it would be aiming to improve its standings further while exacting revenge on the Delhi side to which it had gone down by nine runs in the previous meeting.

But that’s easier said than done and though the ominous opening pair of Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir has failed to click so far, one good knock could see things fall in place for the explosive duo.

Tillakaratne Dilshan, whose unbeaten 52 guided Daredevils to victory against Chargers, is in sparkling form with A B de Villiers and Dinesh Karthik adding to the strength of the line-up.

Daredevils has found a dependable new-ball pair in Australian left-arm paceman Dirk Nannes and India discard Ashish Nehra, who are extending good support to their batting colleagues.

Daniel Vettori and Pradeep Sangwan will also add to the worry of Chennai’s batting order, consisting the likes of Matthew Hayden and skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

In-form Hayden is the leading run-getter in this IPL with 216 runs and Chennai will depend a lot on his lusty hitting to get even with Daredevils.

After his 98-run heroics against Rajasthan, a lot can be expected from Raina, while S. Badrinath and all-rounder Jacob Oram would also be there to lend support.

Spin legend Muttiah Muralithran has so far failed to live up to expectations and the team also lacks penetration in the opening overs. It will depend on speedster Albie Morkel to cash in on his home advantage and give early jolts to Daredevils.

Tags: Ab De Villiers, Albie Morkel, Ashish Nehra, Badrinath, Chennai Super Kings Vs Delhi Daredevils, Daniel Vettori, Dinesh Karthick, Gautam Gambir, IPL 2, IPL 2009, IPL 2009 News, IPL Scores, IPL South Africa, IPL Updates, Jacob Oram, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Mathew Hayden, Muttiah Muralitharan, Suresh Raina, Virender Sehwag

Related posts

• Dravid among Champions trophy probables (0)
• Deccan Chargers Vs Rajasthan Royals: Rajasthan beat Deccan Chargers (0)
• Former players suggest Sehwag should continue to open (0)
• TCS becomes Tech Partner for Rajasthan Royals (0)
• Delhi Daredevils Vs Rajasthan Royals: Rajasthan hopes for semis spot (0)

Hyderabad Deccan Chargers were struggling at 55/4 in 10 overs against Delhi Daredevils in the 21st match of the second edition of the Indian Premier League at SuperSport Park in Centurion on Thursday.

Put in to bat by Virender Sehwag, Deccan Chargers got off to a poor start as they lost captain Adam Gilchrist in the first over by Dirk Nannes. Gilchrist, who hit two fours in his 8-run knock, was late in the short delivery and edged high up in the air for Dinesh Karthik to take the catch.

Nannes struck again in his next over when he had Herschelle Gibbs (0) caught at mid-off by AB de Villiers.

Rohit Sharma and Azhar Bilakhia added 33 runs for the third wicket before Rohit (17) hit a straighter delivery by Amit Mishra over the covers for Mithun Manhas to take the catch.

In the next over, Bilakhia (22) was trapped plumb in front of the wicket by a straighter delivery from Daniel Vettori.

Tags: Ab De Villiers, Adam Gilchrist, Amit Mishra, Daniel Vettori, Deccan Chargers Vs Delhi Daredevils, Delhi Daredevils, Dinesh Karthick, Gautam Gambir, Hershchelle Gibbs, Hyderabad Deccan Chargers, IPL 2, IPL 2009, IPL 2009 News, IPL Scores, IPL Updates, Rohit Sharma, Virender Sehwag

Related posts

• Knight Riders Vs Rajasthan Royals: Super Over proved successful for the Royals (0)
• IPL Best Performers – Delhi Vs Chennai (0)
• 8 Indian players issued show-cause notice (0)
• Kings XI Punjab Vs Rajasthan Royals: Rajasthan Royals Lose to Punjab Kings (0)
• Deccan Chargers Vs Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma helped Hyderabad win Mumbai (0)

The Indian Cricket Board on Wednesday recommended opener Gautam Gambhir and women’s team captain Jhulan Goswami for the prestigious national sports honour – the Arjuna Awards.

The decision to nominate the two players was taken at the BCCI’s Working Committee meeting here.

Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni had been awarded the country’s highest sporting honour – the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna – last year.

Recently, Dhoni and Harbhajan Singh were conferred with the Padmashree this year but skipped the award-giving ceremony.

Their no-show triggered angry reactions with the Sports Ministry recommending that athletes who fail to turn up for such ceremonies without giving prior intimation and compelling reasons be stripped of the honour.

Tags: Arjuna Award, BCCI, Cricket World Cup, Gautam Gambir, Harbhajan Singh, Jhulan Goswami, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Padma Awards, Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award, women's world cup

Related posts

• ICC Annual Awards 2009: Dhoni’s hattrick Awards (0)
• ICC Award Nominations: Dhoni and Dilshan top nominations (0)
• Gambir misses tri-series (0)
• Kings XI Punjab Vs Mumbai Indians: Kings meet Indians (0)
• Delhi Daredevils Vs Rajasthan Royals: Delhi won by 14 runs (0)

Delhi Daredevils will be looking to stop Deccan Chargers’ four-match winning streak and snatch the top spot when they face each other in the Indian Premier League (IPL) at the Centurion Park here on Thursday.

After suffering their first IPL defeat against Rajasthan Royals, Delhi Daredevils will be looking to bounce back against leading Deccan Chargers.

Delhi Daredevils, after Tuesday’s loss, are second in the league behind Deccan Chargers.

When both teams face each other at the Centurion Park, Deccan Chargers will be looking to retain their top spot while Daredevils will be trying to snatch the leader’s crown.

Daredevils are one of the most balanced team in the IPL and it was only against the Rajasthan Royals that they faltered suffering their only loss in the league so far.

The loss is likely to act as a catalyst for Daredevils to bounce back. Their batting has been the major strength and it will depend on skipper Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir to get a good start.

In the middle-order, AB de Villiers and Tillakaratne Dilshan have been in fine form and will be looking to continue their stroke-play against the Deccan Chargers bowling attack.

Delhi Daredevils also have a good bowling attack and fast bowler Ashish Nehra and left-arm spinner Daniel Vettori have been in good from.

But against the formidable Deccan Chargers, Daredevils bowlers can’t relax.

Deccan Chargers’ opening batsmen skipper Adam Gilchrist and Herschelle Gibbs have torn apart all the bowling attacks in the IPL. Rohit Sharma, VVS Laxman and Dwayne Smith have given a depth to their batting while the bowlers have been in terrific form.

Fidel Edwards and R P Singh have made Deccan Chargers bowling the most potent attack in the IPL. Adding to their strength is left-arm spinners Pragyan Ojha who has been daring enough to toss the ball and the batmen have fallen to his trap.

With two top teams facing each other, Centurion Park is set for an exciting clash.

Tags: Ab De Villiers, Adam Gilchrist, Centurion Park, Daniel Vettori, Daredevils, Deccan Chargers Vs Delhi Daredevils, Delhi Daredevils, Dwayne Smith, Gautam Gambir, Hershchelle Gibbs, Hyderabad Deccan Chargers, Pragyan Ojha, RP Singh, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Virender Sehwag, VVS Laxman

Related posts

• South Africa Vs Australia: SA clinches T20 (0)
• RCB Jaggernaut rolling (0)
• Delhi Daredevils Vs Mumbai Indians: Delhi fails to prove (0)
• Compaq Cup: Finals: India Vs Sri Lanka (0)
• ICC Champions Trophy: Pakistan Vs New Zealand: Pakistan won toss, opts to bat (0)