Mumbai Indians scored 187/6 in 20 overs against Kolkata Knight Riders in the 17th match of the second edition of the Indian Premier League at St. George’s Park in Port Elizabeth.

Captain Sachin Tendulkar and his opening partner Sanath Jayasuriya put the Kolkata Knight Riders attack to the sword with a blazing partnership of 127 runs in just 12.1 overs as Mumbai Indians notched up the highest total at St. George’s Park in any form of Twenty20 cricket.

Winning the toss and batting first, Tendulkar led the brutal assault with a knock of 68 runs off 45 balls that was studded with 4 sixes and 6 fours, slamming his third IPL fifty in the process.

Jayasuriya also hit his third IPL fifty with the help of 4 sixes and 2 fours and was dismissed for 52 that came off 32 deliveries.

Both Tendulkar and Jayasuriya were dismissed by Laxmi Ratan Shukla in consecutive overs. Shukla first trapped Tendulkar in front of the wicket in the 13th over and in his next over had Jayasuriya caught by Arindam Ghosh at backward point.

Harbhajan Singh, promoted to the number three position, hit 2 sixes and a four in his 18-run knock that came off 8 deliveries.

He was dismissed when he pulled a low full toss from Brad Hodge to deep mid-wicket for Ajantha Mendis to take the catch.

Tags: Ajanta Mendis, Ajantha Mendis, Harbhajan Singh, IPL 2, IPL 2009, IPL 2009 News, IPL Scores, IPL South Africa, IPL Updates, Knight Riders, Kolkata Knight riders, Laxmi Ratan Shukla, Mumbai Indians, Mumbai Indians Vs Kolkata Knight Riders, Sachin Tendulkar, Sanath Jayasuriya, Shah Rukh Khan, Shukla

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The rain seems to keep following the Knight Riders since the IPL’s kick-off. There has been one game where the Kolkata team have not faced heavy showers.

Kolkata Team co-owner Shah Rukh Khan has quoted that the pitch here in South Africa will provide some assistance to the spinners like now, it being the fag end of their season. This is one of the reasons why we have got Ajantha Mendis in the squad and I am sure he will have an important role to play in the matches to come.

The whole team was disappointed with the result of the game against the Rajasthan Royals, a game we should have won easily. But we need to put this behind and focus on the nexst match. The Mumbai Indians are a pretty balanced team with their strength lying in the top order in the form of Sachin Tendulkar and Sanath Jayasuriya. If we can get them early, we would have gone a long way towards winning the game. It will not be easy for players like JP Duminy and Dwayne Bravo to play Mendis for the first time. Sachin has been in good form and I am sure the Knight Riders would love to see him make an early exit in Monday’s game.

The Mumbai Indians have a good bowling attack with Zaheer Khan, Lasith Malinga, Bravo and Harbhajan Singh. Especially Malinga, who looks to be in good form after his comeback from a long injury break and is bowling with a lot of variation. Zaheer has had an outstanding year in Test cricket and although he might be a bit tired with the amount of cricket he has played, he will still be a major force to reckon with.

Tags: Ajanta Mendis, Ajantha Mendis, Brendon McCullum, Duminy, Dwayne Bravo, Harbhajan Singh, IPL 2, IPL 2009, IPL 2009 News, IPL Scores, IPL South Africa, IPL Updates, Knight Riders, Kolkata Knight riders, Malinga, Mumbai Indians, Mumbai Indians Vs Kolkata Knight Riders, Sachin Tendulkar, Sanath Jayasuriya, Shah Rukh Khan, Zaheer Khan

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Kolkata Knight Riders will be eager to bounce back from their disappointing Super Over loss against Rajasthan Royals, when they face runners-up Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League on Saturday.

Knight Riders came close to winning Thursday but it was the brilliance of Kamran Khan and Yusuf Pathan, who turned the match in the favour of defending champions Rajasthan Royals.

Knight Riders have just one victory in three matches and are lying in the seventh spot in the eight-team league.

Last year’s runner-up Super Kings also have one win in three matches and will be desperately looking for two full points against Knight Riders at the Newlands.

Though their batting has looked good, Super Kings’ problem has been their bowling, especially at the death. Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni will have to do some work to sort out his team’s bowling.

The onus once again will be on batsmen Matthew Hayden and Dhoni to put the runs on the board for Super Kings. The absence of England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff will be a blow for the Chennai team. Flintoff has been ruled out of the IPL and will fly back home for surgery of a knee injury.

For Knight Riders, skipper Brendon McCullum is yet to shine with the bat and the focus will be on him to give a good start along with Chris Gayle, who has been in terrific touch.

Sourav Ganguly, who came close to winning the match against Royals with a defiant knock, will be eager to prove himself again. Ganguly also played a crucial role with the ball against Kings XI Punjab.

Tags: Andrew Flintoff, Brendon McCullum, Chennai Super kings, Dhoni, IPL 2, IPL 2009, IPL Scores, IPL South Africa, IPL Updates, Knight Riders Vs Chennai Super Kings, Kolkata Knight riders, L Balaji, Mathew Hayden, Shah Rukh Khan, Sourav Ganguly, Super Over, Yusuf Pathan

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Chris Gayle led the Kolkata Knight Riders to an 11-run win over the Kings XI Punjab in their Indian Premier League (IPL) match before rain washed out the day’s second match at Kingsmead on Tuesday.

Gayle blasted his way to an unbeaten 44 off 26 balls with two fours and four sixes as Kolkata beat Punjab on the Duckworth/Lewis method.

In response to Punjab’s 158 for six, Kolkata reached 79 for one after 9.2 overs, comfortably ahead of the required Duckworth/Lewis par score of 68, before rain forced the players from the field.

Gayle, who was dropped at midwicket by Karan Goel with his score on two, and Brendon McCullum got Kolkata’s run chase off to an ideal start with a first-wicket stand of 57 runs off 37 balls before McCullum was caught behind by keeper Kumar Sangakkara off the bowling of seamer Vikramjeet Malik.

After being put in to bat by Kolkata under leaden skies, and on a pitch offering some seam movement, Punjab made a good fist of their innings with their total being built around blistering knocks of 32 runs off 17 balls from the left-handed Irfan Pathan and 38 runs off 28 balls from Yuvraj Singh.

Mahela Jayawardene gave his team some momentum towards the end of their innings as he ended not out on 31 off 19 balls which included scoring 14 runs off the last over of Punjab’s innings.

Sourav Ganguly was Kolkata’s most successful bowler as the medium pacer returned figures of two for 24 off four overs which included taking two wickets in three balls to reduce Punjab to 48 for three in the seventh over.

Tags: bollywood, Brendon McCullum, Chris Gayle, IPL 2, IPL 2009 News, IPL South Africa, Irfan Pathan, Kings XI Punjab, Knight Riders, Kolkata Knight riders, Kolkata Knight Riders Vs Kings XI Punjab, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Preity Zinta, Shah Rukh Khan, Sourav Ganguly, Yuvraj Singh

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Kolkata Knight Riders and Kings XI Punjab have weather as a reason to worry about since both the teams have suffered defeats in their opening matches in IPL season 2.

They are, after all, to play here on Tuesday (the day’s first match) and desperate to log their first points.

“Right now, I’m largely thinking of the weather… I’ve been informed that there’s a 60 per cent chance of rain in the morning,” the Kings XI captain, Yuvraj Singh, told.

While his team lost to the Delhi DareDevils in a rain-shortened match, the Knight Riders were handed an eight-wicket defeat by the Deccan Chargers.

Both matches were in Cape Town.

Yuvraj, though, isn’t reading too much into the losses. “We were, to a large extent, done in by rain… As for the Knight Riders, I see them as dangerous… Any team with Chris Gayle and Brendon McCullum at the top would be just that…”

Till late on Monday, the Knight Riders’ XI hadn’t been finalised. It’s to be seen whether Mashrafe Mortaza, who’d been fiercely sought by the Kings XI during this year’s auction, is fielded by the Knight Riders.

The match, indeed, will be both a cricket and a Bollywood battle — Shah Rukh Khan versus Preity Zinta, off the field.

Tags: bollywood, Brendon McCullum, Chris Gayle, IPL 2, IPL 2009 News, IPL South Africa, Ipl T20, Ishanth Sharma, Kings XI Punjab, Knight Riders, Kolkata Knight riders, Kolkata Knight Riders Vs Kings XI Punjab, Mashrafe Mortaza, Preity Zinta, Shah Rukh Khan, Sourav Ganguly, Yuvraj, Yuvraj Singh

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A fine four wicket haul by pacer RP Singh set up Deccan Chargers to a comprehensive eight wicket victory over Kolkata Knight Riders in their Indian Premier League campaign opener in Cape Town on Sunday.

RP Singh led a disciplined bowling attack of Deccan Chargers with figures of 4/22 to bundle out Kolkata Knight Riders for a miserable 101 in 19.4 overs after Knight Riders captain Brendon McCullum elected to bat.

Rohit Sharma and South African Herschelle Gibbs then hit sparkling unbeaten 43 and 36 respectively to hit off 104 for two in just 13.1 overs.

Captain Adam Gilchrist and VVS Laxman contributed 13 and 10 respectively as last edition’s bottom-placed team started their campaign in this season on a resounding note.

The Knight Riders, who were entangled in a captaincy controversy for weeks before the Twenty20 tournament, were completely outplayed by their Hyderabad-based rivals in all departments of the game.

Chasing a modest 102 at 5.1 runs per over, Deccan Chargers lost Gilchrist and VVS Laxman by the fifth over but Gibbs and Rohit ensured that they start the IPL second season on a winning note by sharing an unbroken 69-run stand for the third wicket.

Gibbs’ 26-ball 43 included five fours and a six. He also hit the winning runs by smashing a four off Moises Henriques to win the match in style.

Rohit, one of the top Chargers batsmen last year, was also fluent in his 32-ball innings of 36 which was studded with three fours and two sixes.

Rudra was well supported by Scott Styris (2/32) and left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha (2/14) who chipped in with two wickets each. Opening bowler Fidel Edwards bowled with a lot of pace and accuracy and conceded just six runs from his allotted four overs though without success.

Australian Brad Hodge top-scored with 31 for Knight Riders while three other batsmen – Chris Gayle (10), Aakash Chopra (11) and Murali Kartik (not out 10) — could reach double figures.

Electing to bat, KKR had a disastrous start with their openers captain Brendon McCullum and Gayle returning to the hut by the fourth over with just 12 runs on the board, both victims of RP Singh. From there on they never recovered.

McCullum had a faint touch of RP Singh’s first ball of the innings by his glove and was caught by his opposite number Adam Gilchrist behind the wicket for just one.

One down Sourav Ganguly was expected to let the willow speak following all that captaincy controversy but the former India skipper’s vigil at the crease lasted just 12 balls and yielded just one run before perishing on 16-3.

Deccan bowlers tied down the strong KKR batting line-up to just 31 runs at the halfway mark for three wickets.

Tags: Aakash Chopra, Brad Hodge, Brendon McCullum, Cape Town, Chris Gayle, Gibbs, Hershchelle Gibbs, IPL 2, IPL 2009 News, IPL South Africa, Ipl T20, Knight Riders, Knight Riders Vs Deccan Chargers, Kolkata Knight riders, Laxman, Ojha, Rohit Sharma, RP Singh, Rudra, Shah Rukh Khan, Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman

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Here is the latest update regarding the toss of the third IPL match between Delhi Daredevils and Kings XI Punjab. The match was delayed due to rain and after the toss, rains have started pouring again delaying the match further more. The overs have been reduced to 14 and its still not sure when the match is expected to resume. Also another disappointing information is that the next match between Hyderabad Deccan Chargers and Kolkata Knight Riders is also happening in the same Cape Town at 8.00 pm IST.

Tags: Adam Gilchrist, bollywood, Cape Town, Deccan Chargers, Delhi Daredevils, Delhi daredevils Vs Kings XI Punjab, Gambir, Kings XI Punjab, Knight Riders Vs Deccan Chargers, Kolkata Knight riders, Preity Zinta, Sehwag, Shah Rukh Khan, Yuvraj

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Their owner may have been the most visible presence in the pre-tournament build-up, but the Kolkata Knight Riders will seek to show they are capable of playing good cricket when they open their Indian Premier League campaign against the Deccan Chargers at Newlands on Sunday.

Knight Riders owner, bollywood film star Shah Rukh Khan, admitted that his team didn’t perform well as he hoped in finishing sixth out of eight last year.

West Indian captain Chris Gayle will only be available for the early matches but most of the other key players, including New Zealander Brendon McCullum, will be able to play in all the games.

McCullum hit a spectacular 158 in the opening match against Bangalore last year and has been appointed captain for the 2009 season.

Other experienced players in the team include former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly, Australia’s Brad Hodge and Sri Lanka’s mystery spinner Ajantha Mendis, together with Indian fast bowler Ishant Sharma and left-arm spinner Murali Karthik.

If the Knight Riders were under-achievers last year, the Deccan Chargers did even worse, winning only two out of 14 games and finishing bottom of the table.

The Chargers signed a galaxy of big name, quick-scoring batsmen whose performances were erratic, while the team paid for a shortage of experienced bowlers.

Tags: Adam Gilchrist, Ajanta Mendis, bollywood, Brad Hodge, Brendon McCullum, Chris Gayle, Deccan Chargers, IPL 2, IPL 2009 News, IPL 2010 - IPL 3, IPL South Africa, Ipl T20, Ishanth Sharma, John Buchanan, Knight Riders, Knight Riders Vs Deccan Chargers, Kolkata Knight riders, Murali Karthik, RP Singh, Shah Rukh Khan, Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman

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Cape Town is getting ready for the biggest celebrity invasion of the year as the off-field stars of the Indian Premier League (IPL) converge on the Mother City.

As a popular holiday destination and film-shoot location, Cape Town is no stranger to the rich and famous, but with the glamorous Twenty20 tournament due to start here Saturday, the city is set for a different sort of invasion.

The eight teams in the Indian competition are owned by some of the biggest Bollywood stars and richest people in the world, who will stay at Cape Town’s new five-star hotel, One and Only.

Officially opened by local hotelier Sol Kerzner just two weeks ago, One and Only was built with celebrities in mind, and extravagant rooms cost between 610 and 3,880 dollars per night in the low season.

The IPL task team are camped at the hotel as the tournament approaches, and confirmed that celebrities were expected to arrive from Tuesday.

“All the franchise owners, Shah Rukh Khan, Shilpa Shetty, Preity Zinta, the Ambanis, will arrive today,” organisers told.

“The only exception is Bangalore owner Vijay Mallya, who will come next week as he first wants to watch his Formula One team, Force India, compete in the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai.”

Khan is one of Bollywood’s biggest stars and owns the Kolkata Knight Riders, while Shetty is co-owner of the Rajasthan Royals and a former winner of Celebrity Big Brother.

Fellow actress Preity is part-owner of the Kings XI Punjab franchise and will jet in from Port Elizabeth where she has been watching the team train and attending the fourth ODI between South Africa and Australia.

Business tycoon Mukesh Ambani is the head of the fourth-richest family in the world, and owns the Mumbai Indians through his conglomerate Reliance Industries.

If that weren’t enough, the various wives and girlfriends (WAGS) of the players due to compete in the IPL opening weekend will add extra sparkle around Cape Town.

England batsman Kevin Pietersen will return to his homeland Thursday with wife Jessica Taylor, a reality TV star who recently competed in the English show Dancing On Ice.

Indian actress Lakshmi Rai is expected to spend some time in Cape Town watching India’s heartthrob captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, with the duo rumoured to be dating.

Celebrity watchers will hope Andrew Symonds’ girlfriend Katie Johnson, recently voted Australia’s top WAG in an online poll will add some Australian flavour by following his exploits with the Deccan Chargers.

And there’s the local contingent, with Jacques Kallis’ model partner Shamone Jardim and actress Jeanne Kietzmann, girlfriend of Dale Steyn, set to represent the host nation at gatherings set to dazzle South Africa’s fairest city.

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“There is no Knight Riders without Dada”, asserted team owner Shah Rukh Khan while rubbishing speculation that Sourav Ganguly was being sidelined by coach John Buchanan’s idea to have multiple captains for the Indian Premier League second season.

Shah Rukh said the team’s decision to have multiple captains was in no way meant to sideline the team’s icon player Ganguly, who has hardly minced words in ridiculing the concept.

According to the idea put forth by Buchanan, Ganguly will have to share the captaincy with three others — New Zealand Brendon McCullum, West Indies’ Chris Gayle and Laxmi Ratan Shukla.

“We are a team and no decision is taken by one person. Twenty20 is a new format and new things are being tried. Too much has been said, we are not having four captains in one match. It’s going to be one captain in one match,” he said. “But in case something goes wrong, we need to have a back-up,” he added.

Tags: Buchanan, Chris Gayle, IPL 2, IPL 2010 - IPL 3, Kolkata Knight riders, McCullum, Shah Rukh Khan, Sourav Ganguly

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