IPL II Champions and host Deccan Chargers lost to Somerset Sabres after Alfonso Thomas (30) and James Hildreth (25) pulled off a sensational last-ball one-wicket win in a Group A match of the Champions League on Saturday.

Chasing 154 to win, Somerset was struggling at 99/7 at one stage but Thomas and Hildreth snatched victory by raising a superb 50-run stand for the eighth wicket.

Somerset required five runs from the last over, bowled by Scott Styris, and what followed was a heart-stopping drama. Styris bowled Hildreth in the first ball to break the partnership and dismissed Max Waller in the third ball.

Thomas dispatched a full toss for a four to level the scores, played a dot ball and smashed another boundary, an inside out shot, to seal a thrilling win for his team.

Thomas’ unbeaten knock came off just 17-balls and contained four boundaries and a six.

Earlier, VVS Laxman hit a brilliant 46 and Venugopal Rao sizzled with a fiery 22 to guide the hosts to a competitive 153/9. RP Singh (3/17) polished off the Somerset top order in a fiery opening spell to give the hosts the kind of start they needed to defend their modest total.

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The West Indies scored a convincing eight-wicket victory over India on Sunday in the second one-day cricket international at Sabina Park. The team was backed by an inspired display from their fast bowlers.

The four-match series is now level at 1-1 as the teams head to St Lucia for the final two matches next Friday and Sunday.

Man of the Match Ravi Rampaul took a career-best 4-37 as the visitors were bowled out for a modest 188 off 48.2 overs.

Dwayne Bravo claimed 3-26 and Jerome Taylor 3-35 but India’s captain MS Dhoni cracked a defiant 95 off 130 balls to offer some respectability to his team’s innings.

Dhoni and RP Singh (23) produced a record ninth wicket stand of 101 after the home team was well on top at 8-82.

But the West Indies coasted to victory as Captain Chris Gayle and Runako Morton hit contrasting half centuries in a century opening stand.

Gayle blasted eight fours and two sixes in 64 off 46 balls. While Morton hit six fours in an unbeaten 85 off 102 deliveries and finished the match with his only six as the West Indies reached 2-192 off 34.1 overs.

The disappointed Dhoni said “I think we didn’t assess the wicket well enough and went on with our strokes and that really caused our downfall.”

“Once you lose too many wickets early on, the only job you’re doing is catching up,” Dhoni added.

India, who won the toss, were quickly reduced to 3-7 in the second over when Rampaul removed Gautam Gambhir and Rohit Sharma for ducks.

Dhoni and Friday’s century-maker Yuvraj Singh rebuilt the damage in a fluent stand of 47 for the fourth wicket.

Yuvraj showed an exquisite touch, becoming the fifth Indian batsman to reach 7,000 runs in ODI cricket before he departed for 35 off 33 balls.

The left-hander, who hit five fours and one stunning pulled six, chased a wide delivery from Taylor and presented Ramdin with another catch at 54-4.

India soon slipped to 82-8 as Yusuf Pathan (0), Ravindra Jadeja (7), Harbhajan Singh (7) and Praveen Kumar (1) fell in quick succession.

However, the home team couldn’t complete the job as Dhoni and Singh shared their record partnership.

Bravo eventually claimed Singh for a career-best 23 off 75 balls while Taylor bowled Dhoni five short of a fifth one-day century.

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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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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.

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Rajasthan Royals skipper Shane Warne said on Saturday that it was team spirit that was helping the defending champions win close matches in the IPL.

A depleted Royals have won three of the seven matches they have played in the Twenty20 league. Barring the five-wicket win over Delhi Daredevils, the wins against Kolkata Knight Riders and Saturday’s three-wicket win here at the St. George’s against table-toppers Deccan Chargers have been close.

Against Knight Riders, Rajasthan Royals won through the Super Over after the match ended in a tie while against Deccan Chargers they scampered home with just two balls left.

“The batting hasn’t been good in the first six overs. But it is the team spirit that is winning matches for us. From last year to this IPL our team spirit has been excellent,” said Warne.

Warne lauded his boys for showing incredible courage to pull off close matches. “We are peaking at the right time and hopefully will make to the semi-finals,” he said.

Asked why he promoted himself up the batting order, Warne said: “Our top order is not batting well. So I wanted Yusuf Pathan to come later on in the innings and finish off things. He is a good finisher and a clean hitter of the ball.”

Pathan hit a 14-ball 24 and picked up one for 19 to pick up the Man of the Match award.

“It was a good wicket to bat on and the ball was coming on nicely and made stroke playing easy,” he said.

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Having suffered their first defeat in the tournament, table toppers Deccan Chargers will seek to return to winning ways when they clash with an unpredictable Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League here on Saturday.

Although the Deccan Chargers’ fairytale campaign was stopped on Thursday night by the Delhi Daredevils, the Hyderabad team is a formidable opponent for the Royals and are sitting pretty at the top with four wins out of five matches.

Tagged as laggards last year, the Chargers have been a revelation in this edition of the IPL Twenty20 tournament and looked unstopabble till Thursday when Daredevils defeated them by six wickets.

The Chargers’ will be relying heavily on captain Adam Gilchrist and Herschelle Gibbs, who flopped for the first time in the event against the Daredevils, to fire up front as the duo played a significant role in their success so far.

Gilchrist and Gibbs have been in rampaging form and have blown away their opponents with their powerful hitting. The Chargers middle order looks impressive with Rohit Sharma and Dwayne Smith scoring against the Daredevils on Thursday.

Except for one bad outing against the Daredevils, the Hyderabad team’s bowling department has also looked in good shape with RP Singh leading from the front and young Pragyan Ojha emerging as a new talent in India’s spin department.

West Indian Fidel Edwards, who looked little out of sorts against the Daredevils, will look to come out charged up against the Royals to make amends for his poor show. On the other hand, with two victories out of six matches, Shane Warne-led Rajasthan Royals, are at the bottom half of the points table.

The defending champions had a mixed outing in the tournament so far and lacked consistency in their performance. Their unpredictability can be ascertained from the fact that just after their five-wicket triumph over formidable Dardevils on Tuesday, they slumped to a 38-run loss at the hands of a struggling Chennai Super Kings on Thursday.

Batting continues to remain a concern area for the Royals with the top three Graeme Smith, Rob Quiney and Swapnil Asnodkar emerging as a big disappointment. The defending champions are depending heavily on Yusuf Pathan to come good which is putting extra pressure on the right-hander.

The Royals’ bowlers too have their task cut out as Super Kings’ Suresh Raina smashed them all over the park to expose their weakness.

To add to their woes, the Royals might have to do away with young Kamran Khan who injured his foot against Chennai and didn’t come out to bat later.

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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.

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Depleted by star all-rounder Andrew Flintoff’s pull-out due to injury and struggling with poor form, last year’s runners-up Chennai Super Kings start unlikely underdogs against rampaging table-toppers Deccan Chargers in an Indian Premier League match on Monday.

The Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led Chennai side have won just one of their four matches so far, losing two while splitting points in their fourth game against Kolkata Knight Riders following a wash-out.

Deccan, on the other hand, have been simply unstoppable winning all three of their matches, riding mostly on their good batting led by in-form skipper Adam Gilchrist.

In contrast, Chennai have been surprisingly off-colour and the only win they have managed so far came against bottom-placed Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Opener Matthew Hayden’s good form and the fact that he is available for the entire tournament seems to be the lone highlight of Chennai’s campaign so far.

The burly Australian, who retired from international cricket last year, is the leading scorer of the tournament having accumulated 166 runs in three matches, including two fifties, at a strike rate of over 171.

But the rest of the Chennai batting has not been able to back Hayden’s form much as yet, quite evident in their loss to Delhi Daredevils. Set 189 to win, Hayden’s 57 and Suresh Raina’s 41 were the only notable contributions for Chennai in their nine-run loss.

Dhoni, considered one of the best international skippers right now, has somehow failed to inspire the team and his lacklustre form with the bat has also become a concern.

On the other hand, last season’s laggards Deccan have have completely turned it around under Gilchrist this year and much of it has been possible because of their in-form batting line-up.

Gilchrist himself have been in excellent touch and is fourth on the leading scorers list with 119 runs at a strike rate of 150.

South African Herschelle Gibbs and West Indian Dwayne Smith have ensured that Gilchrist’s blazing run is complimented well at the top.

Add to this, pacer R P Singh and spinner Pragyan Ojha’s good form with the ball and Deccan have become unexpected favourites against Chennai.

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A half-century by Herschelle Gibbs and Pragyan Ojha’s three wickets helped Indian Premier League (IPL) leaders Deccan Chargers record a 12-run win over the Mumbai Indians on Saturday.

Gibbs struck 58 off 44 balls as the Chargers posted 168 for nine before left-arm spinner Ojha claimed three for 21 to restrict Mumbai to 156 for seven in Durban.

It was the third victory in three matches for Deccan, who are now two points clear at the top of the table.

The Chargers were pegged back by Dwayne Bravo and Lasith Malinga who took three wickets apiece.

Despite losing a wicket in the second over of the reply, Mumbai’s run-chase began well with Sachin Tendulkar and JP Duminy putting on 82 for the second wicket off 60 balls.

Ojha then accounted for both batsmen, Tendulkar for 39 and Duminy for 47 as Mumbai fell behind the run-rate.

The Indians began the 18th over needing 26 to win off 12 balls but wickets from left-arm seamer RP Singh and fast bowler Fidel Edwards ended their hopes.

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Mumbai Indians will have to pull out all the stops when they face table-toppers Deccan Chargers, who will look to maintain their hot form in the Indian Premier League (IPL) at Kingsmead Saturday.

Mumbai Indians made a thumping start to the tournament, beating last year’s runner-up Chennai Super Kings before rain forced them to split points against Rajasthan Royals.

Deccan Chargers’ has been the story of the tournament so far. The last years bottom placed team is now leading the points table with two sweeping victories from two matches.

They have ruthlessly crushed Kolkata Knight Riders and Bangalore Royal Challengers. With the kind of arsenal at their disposal, Chargers have certainly worn the favourite tag a week into the tournament.

Captain Adam Gilchrist has led the team from the front with a smashing 45-ball 71 against Royal Challengers. Rohit Sharma has been a revelation with his clean strikes. The side also boasts of power-hitters like Herschelle Gibbs and Scott Styris.

Sharma, who has been out-of-form in the last couple of months, is happy to be back among runs.

“I was not in good touch, so I wanted to perform in the IPL. It is very important for me to play well here and I am happy to have made the right start,” he said.

Sharma also feels they have enough experience in the ranks to guide them in the tournament.

“I think we can be one of the top teams this year. Because we have seasoned campaigners who have played here before and they know how to adjust to the conditions.”

The bowling attack of the Chargers has also come good. The express-pace of Fidel Edwards and the swing of R.P Singh have not allowed other teams to explode in the powerplay. Left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha has shone in the middle overs with crucial wickets. Ojha is not afraid of giving air to the ball and that has given him three important wickets, all stumped.

Mumbai Indians will be a bit rusty as they will be playing after a full week. Their last match against Rajasthan Royals was washed out. The Sachin Tendulkar-led side will be eager to take the field, having started the tournament with a big win against Super Kings. They are third in the table with three points from two matches.

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