Sachin Tendulkar is back to the top-10 ODI batsman list in the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for the first time in 10 months after scoring his 44th one-day century against Sri Lanka at the finals of the Compaq Cup 2009 in Colombo on Monday.

Tendulkar soared five places to 7th in the latest rankings which was released today. India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni grabbed the top spot from Yuvraj Singh to lead the table among ODI batsman.

Meanwhile, Yuvraj Singh leapfrogged Jacques Kallis of South Africa, Jacob Oram of New Zealand and Andrew Flintoff of England into second place after scoring 80 runs and picking four wickets in the tri-series.

Sri Lanka’s veteran opener Sanath Jayasuriya has moved up four places to 17th spot after a tallying a total of 141 runs in the tri-series.

Indian openers Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir dropped two places each after both missed the series due to injuries.

New Zealand’s Ross Taylor slipped five places to 22nd and Sri Lanka’s Mahela Jayawardena slipped seven places to share 37th spot with Australia’s Brad Haddin.

Among bowlers, New Zealand’s Kyle Mills dropped two places to fourth, allowing Daniel Vettori and Shakib Al Hasan of Bangladesh to move up the order.

Comeback man, New Zealand’s Shane Bond, finds himself in eighth position in the rankings, while Thilan Thushara, Ishant Sharma and Lasith Malinga have all jumping six places each to 24th, 33rd and 42nd positions respectively.

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India beat New Zealand by 6 wickets in the Compaq Cup match played at Sri Lanka. With this Kiwis are out of the Sri Lanka tri-series.

New Zealand Daniel vettori won the toss and opted to bat first. But they lost wickets since the beginning and unable to handle Yuvraj Singh and Ashish Nehra, Kiwis were bowled out for 155 in 46.3 overs. Skipper Daniel Vettori top scored with 25, while Jacob Oram contributed 24.

With an easy total, India started to chase but lost Dinesh Karthik in the beginning. Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid did stand for sometime and Sachin top scored for India with 46. Following him it was Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Suresh Raina who completed the match with 35 and 45 runs not out.

Ashish Nehra was adjudged man of the match for 3/24.

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Stung by their two-wicket loss against Royal Challengers Bangalore, a wounded Chennai Super Kings would hope to bounce back against Mumbai Indians in a bid to advance towards their semifinal goal in the Indian Premier League on Saturday.

Chennai would be fired up to cash on Mumbai Indians’ weakness of buckling under pressure, especially with every match being crucial for the eight teams.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s men are sitting pretty at second spot with 13 points in their kitty from 11 matches while Sachin Tendulkar has a tough task in his hands with mere 11 points from their 12 appearances in the high-profile tournament so far.

Chennai, who lost to Mumbai in the tournament opener, look in a stronger position in tomorrow’s encounter despite its unimpressive fielding but surely boasts of a strong batting line-up which also runs deep with the likes of Australian swashbuckler Mathew Hayden, Suresh Raina, Dhoni, Jacob Oram and S Badrinath in their ranks.

Their bowling department is also studded with world’s highest wicket-taker Muttiah Muralitharan, Lakshmipathy Balaji and novice Shahdab Jakati, who is proving very effective for the side.

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Having lost two matches on the trot, table toppers Deccan Chargers will be looking to get back to winning ways against last year’s runners-up Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League at the Buffalo Park on Monday.

For Super Kings it is just the opposite. They are on a two-match winning streak and will be hoping to make a hat-trick of wins, which was done by Deccan Chargers early on in the league.

Deccan Chargers, despite their last two losses, are a formidable outfit and are one of the favourites to win the title and atone for their dismal performance in the first edition, where they finished at the bottom of the table.

This time under a new captain Adam Gilchrist, Deccan Chargers have forced everyone to stand up and take notice of their performance. Their batting has looked solid with Gilchrist leading the charge. Youngsters like Rohit Sharma and Azhar Bilakhia have also come out with good innings.

The bowlers also have done well, especially fast bowlers Rudra Pratap Singh and Fidel Edwards. Rudra Pratap is the second highest wicket-taker in the IPL while Edwards has checked the run flow. Left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha has been one of the most successful spinner in the second IPL and was chief architect in Chargers’ win over Mumbai Indians.

Batting and bowling aside, Deccan Chargers’ fielding has been exceptional. Live-wire fielders like Herschelle Gibbs and Rohit Sharma have really set the benchmarks on the field.

Not doubt it will be a challenge for the Super Kings to put a challenging total on board. Their opening pair has been a problem. While the veteran Matthew Hayden has been in fine nick, he hasn’t got good support from the other end. Parthiv Patel looked out of sorts and his replacement Murali Vijay was a misfit in the Twenty20.

Except Suresh Raina and S Badrinath, big names like Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Jacob Oram and Albie Morkel are due for a big score.

But the bowlers have come up with good performances. Saturday night little known Shadab Jakati spun Super Kings to a terrific win over Daredevils. Sudeep Tyagi and the wily Muttiah Muralitharan have been economical.

With both the teams eager for a win, an exciting clash is on the card.

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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.

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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.

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A half-century by Tillakeratne Dilshan steered the Delhi Daredevils to a six-wicket win over Deccan Chargers at Centurion as they joined them at the top of the Indian Premier League on Thursday.

The previously unbeaten Chargers scored a modest 148 for nine in their 20 overs and Sri Lankan Dilshan, who scored 52 not out off 46 balls, and wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik, who made 41 off 30 balls, laid a solid platform for the run-chase.

Their fourth-wicket stand of 79 came from 66 deliveries.

Dilshan hooked West Indian fast bowler Fidel Edwards for six as the Daredevils won with eight balls to spare.

Earlier, Australian Dirk Nannes had hurled down his left-arm fast deliveries to great effect, undermining the Chargers innings from the outset. The 32-year-old dismissed openers Adam Gilchrist (8) and Herschelle Gibbs (0) in his first two overs to deal the Chargers a severe blow.

The Hyderabad side stuttered to 55 for four at the halfway stage, before West Indian Dwayne Smith provided some momentum with a powerful innings of 48 off 28 balls.

But Indian left-armer Ashish Nehra claimed two wickets in the closing overs, and there were two run outs, as the Chargers innings fell away.

Nannes picked up two for 16 in his four overs and was named man-of-the-match.

In the second match of the double-header, the Chennai Super Kings beat champions, the Rajasthan Royals, by 38 runs.

Left-hander Suresh Raina ripped into the Rajasthan bowling in a top-class innings of 98 off 56 balls that carried Chennai to an imposing 164 for five.

Off-spinner Yusuf Pathan struck a quick blow when he bowled Super Kings opener Matthew Hayden for a single with his first delivery and finished with impressive figures of two for 17 in three overs. Munaf Patel took two for 25 and leg-spinner Shane Warne one for 24, but the rest of the Rajasthan bowling was unimpressive.

South African all-rounder Albie Morkel took the new ball for Chennai and claimed two for 16 in his first three overs to immediately restrict the Royals.

Ravindra Jadeja (37) and Pathan (20) took the innings forward with their busy innings, but Lakshmipathy Balaji had the dangerous Pathan caught at long-off to reduce the Royals to 86 for four after 13 overs.

Seamer Balaji then wrapped up the tail to finish with 4-21, the Royals being bowled out in the final over for 126 as Kamran Khan did not come out to bat due to an ankle injury.

The victory moved Chennai into fifth position, three points behind Delhi and the Chargers, while the defending champions slipped to sixth place.

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Table-topper Deccan Chargers’ fairytale campaign continued in the second Indian Premier League with the Adam Gilchrist-led side edging out Chennai Super Kings by six wickets to maintain their clean slate here today.

Chasing 166, Deccan Chargers rode on Herschelle Gibbs’ (69 not out) second half-century of the tournament and captain Gilchrist’s scoring 44 off 19 balls to cruise to 169 for four in 19.3 overs to record their fourth win on the trot.

Put into bat, Chennai Super Kings had earlier posted 165 for six, courtesy Matthew Hayden’s belligerent 49 and Jacob Oram’s breezy unbeaten 41 down the order.

Gilchrist and Gibbs were clearly in a hurry to wrap up the match and with both the batsmen going after the bowlers, Chennai simply had no respite.

Gilchrist hit Lakshmipathy Balaji for back-to-back fours in the first over to signal his intention. The Chennai pacer had a chance to settle scores in the next over but Balaji grassed a difficult caught-and-bowled chance and Gilchrist was simply unstoppable as he hit the pacer for two sixes and a boundary in that productive over.

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New Zealand all-rounder Jacob Oram says he will pull out of the Indian Premier League if a nagging Achilles tendon strain prevents him from playing the domestic State Championship final on April 6.

Oram, who represents Chennai Super Kings in the cash-rich league, denied suggestions that he was trying to save himself for the Twenty20 event by not playing in the ongoing Test series against India which the Kiwis trail 0-1.

“I can understand people thinking I’m cotton-wooling myself but I’ll definitely take myself out (of the IPL) if I don’t get through the final,” Oram told The Dominion Post.

Apart from the India series, the injury has forced him to withdraw from the Central Districts’ domestic four-day match against Auckland.

But the imposing all-rounder said he was hopeful of being fit for the State Championship final against the same side at Lincoln, outside Christchurch.

Oram has a USD 675,000 contract with the Chennai Super Kings, who will open the second edition of the IPL against the Mumbai Indians in Cape Town on April 18.

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