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DLF IPL 2009
Kolkata Knight Riders
May 17th
About Kolkata Knight Riders
The squad in the company of the biggest blockbuster movie star as its holder, lived upto his icon last year. They began on a hit, but could not maintain any more period, they merely frittered away it all to resist in the last phase of DLF-IPL1. Of all the teams, they flattered to mislead. But now comes the big chance to set the record straight. But even before a ball is bowled the Knight Riders have a crisis. Coach John Buchanan wants four-man captaincy team and wants it to be rotated forcing the iconic Sourav Ganguly to brood. Will this feud eat up Knight Riders? Wait and watch
Captain-Coach combination: India’s most booming captain with a eccentric image on and off the field combines with one of cricket’s most thriving coaches for the most unlikely combo.
Last year’s record: Played 14, Won: 6, Lost: 7, N/R: 1
STRENGTHS: Explosive batting ability at the top of the order with players like Brendon McCullum and Chris Gayle set to open. In-form McCullum’s availability for the whole season will be a enormous bonus. The inscrutability spin of Ajantha Mendis will help the Knight Riders get some cheap wickets, specially when the slog is on.
WEAKNESSES: Not too much seam bowling depth apart from Mashrafe Mortaza and Ishant Sharma. The lack of Pakistan players Umar Gul and Shoaib Akhtar might hurt the team poorly. One also has to search long and hard for the presence of a quality all-rounder as Laxmi Ratan Shukla doesn’t quite fit the bill as a bowler. Ganguly, it seems will need to roll his arm over in every game.
OPPORTUNITIES: For Sourav Ganguly to show that he is as a team man after being removed as captain. For John Buchanan to prove that his multiple-captain theory works.
THREATS: The Buchanan-Ganguly spat might do to KKR what the Chappell-Ganguly fall out did to the Indian team. A disinterested and dispassionate Ganguly might be poisonous for team spirit. Buchanan might not rate him too high, but he is father figure to many Indian youngsters in the Knight Riders camp. A fractured team is a real possibility.
Owners: Shahrukh Khan and Juhi Chawla (Bollywood stars)
Coach: John Buchanan (AUS)
Captain: Brendan McCullum
Foreign players: Ajantha Mendis (SRI), Angelo Mathews (SRI), Brad Hodge (AUS), Brendan McCullum (NZL), Chris Gayle (WIS), David Hussey (AUS), Mark Cameron (AUS), Mashrafe Mortaza (BAN), Moises Henriques (AUS).
India stars: Sourav Ganguly, Aakash Chopra, Ishant Sharma, Murali Kartik, Sanjay Bangar
Mumbai Indians
May 17th
About Mumbai Indians
It was a low-key team with most injuries and controversies in DLF-IPL1. But at the present the team looks complete, the skipper’s back with a new staff and some key replenishments. The power of the side still lies in the top-order, but a few fresh strikers, plus Sri Lanka’s fit slinger Lasith Malinga could give the best hope for Mumbai Indians in DLF-IPL2.
Captain-coach combination: When Sachin Tendulkar is the captain, he is incredibly charge. So the role of Shaun Pollock has been re-defined a bit. He becomes the leader mentor and along with fielding coach Jonty Rhodes expects him to twist things around for Mumbai Indians. If Tendulkar needs more help about South African circumstances, then he has a earlier pro in those parts, Praveen Amre to look after the nitty grit-ties.
Star player: Sachin Tendulkar.
Last year’s record: Played 14, Won 7, Lost 7
STRENGTHS: The batting. Sachin Tendulkar and Sanath Jayasuriya form a terrifying blend at the top of the order. They also have youthful South African sensation JP Duminy and Shikhar Dhawan (swapped with Ashish Nehra from Team) to follow. Dwayne Bravo, Graham Napier and Ryan McClaren give fine all-round options.
WEAKNESSES: The seam bowling. With Shaun Pollock gone, the responsibility is totally on Zaheer Khan to do the dual role of containing and attacking. Dilhara Fernando is known to bowl plenty of no balls and Lasith Malinga is just recurring from a long injury lay-off. Kyle Mills is also known to leak runs. Harbhajan Singh (probably in the best bowling form of his life) will sense the pressure.
OPPORTUNITIES: For some of the younger stars in the MI team to impress. They will also be keen to not have the kind of start they had last year (losses in the first four games before winning seven on a trot). The youngsters will also benefit from tips of mentor Shaun Pollock and fielding coach Jonty Rhodes.
THREATS: Ego hassles between coaches Jonty Rhodes, Shaun Pollock and Pravin Amre affecting the team harmony.
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Owner: Mukesh Ambani (industrialist)
Coach/mentor: Shaun Pollock (RSA)
Captain: Sachin Tendulkar (IND)
Foreign players: Dilhara Fernando (SRI), Dwayne Bravo (WIS), Graham Napier (ENG), Jean-Paul Duminy (RSA), Kyle Mills (NZL), Lasith Malinga (SRI), Luke Ronchi (AUS), Mohammad Ashraful (BAN), Ryan McLaren (RSA), Sanath Jayasuriya (SRI).
India stars: Sachin Tendulkar, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan.
Deccan Chargers
May 16th
About Deccan Chargers
The team with the most excellent mixture of big-hitters came a cropper in the first version of DLF-IPL. The team had the stars but did not have the bowling to back it up. Lastly the skipper VVS Laxman dropped out due to an injury and the team struggled with no direction. There was no direction, but the period ended with a hope for the Chargers. They have now brought in a new captain in Adam Gilchrist, tainted the backroom staff with new coach Darren Lehmann. But the lack of firepower in the bowling is what hurts them most, specially when it comes to pitches in South Africa. Can Gilly manipulate a turnaround or will normal service be restored for the Deccan Chargers?
Captain-coach combination: Darren Lehmann is a first-time coach and will team up with new captain Adam Gilchrist.So it is starting all over again for Deccan Chargers, so it might be a long haul for the duo.
Last year’s record: Matches: 14, Won: 2, Lost: 12
STRENGTHS: Dream batting line-up. Herschelle Gibbs, Adam Gilchrist, Andrew Symonds, Rohit Sharma are names to give any bowling line-up shivers. D Ravi Reja will be the local talent to watch out for as he can be really explosive. Scott Styris will provide the all-rounder’s option.
WEAKNESSES: A wafer-thin bowling attack with the exception of RP Singh. Even if their dazzling batting line-up rattles off tall scores, defending targets will be a real problem, as they realised last year. There’s also too much of a sameness to the attack with three leftarm-seamers — RP Singh, Nuwan Zoysa and Chaminda Vaas — in the team.
OPPORTUNITIES: To show the world that a team brilliant on paper can strut their stuff on the field too. Fidel Edwards’ inclusion in the squad will inject some pace and penetration into the bowling. Chance for Andrew Symonds and Herschelle Gibbs to prove they are rehabilitated cricketers and justify their massive pay cheques.
THREATS: Lots of changes and bickering has happened as Adam Gilchrist replaced VVS Laxman as captain after Shahid Afridi’s public outburst against the Indian last year. Rohit Sharma, the best batsman, hasn’t been in good form lately. If they get off to a poor start this year too, they are a good bet to earn the wooden spoon again or finish in the bottom three.
Owners: Deccan Chronicle
(newspaper group)
Coach: Darren Lehmann (AUS)
Captain: Adam Gilchrist (AUS)
Foreign players: Adam Gilchrist (AUS), Andrew Symonds (AUS), C Silva (SRI), C Vaas (SRI), Dwayne Smith (WIS), Fidel Edwards (WIS), Herschelle Gibbs (RSA), Nuwan Zoysa (SRI), Ryan Harris (AUS), Scott Styris (NZL).
India stars: Rohit Sharma, RP Singh. Note: To ensure the IPL remains an Indian domestic event, a team is allowed only four foreign players per match. Two of the remaining seven players must be U-22 players.
Chennai Super Kings
May 12th
About Chennai Super Kings
What’s a complete team? Well, here it is. Fine clean strikers of the ball, an creative skipper, good pick of Indian players, a magical spinner and one of the best all-rounder in world, come as one to dish out a fare.
Latest acquisition: The best in the world? Okay, one of the best, Andrew Flintoff joins the ranks. One of the top grossers at the DLF-IPL2, Flintoff will be eagerly watched in the two weeks that he will be in act throughout the tournament. His X-factor along with Murali’s spin magic will definitely lift the Chennai Super Kings
Last year’s record: Runner’s up, League stage Played: 14, Won: 8, Lost: 6
STRENGTHS:
One of the finest captains the game has ever seen. MS Dhoni can motivate, execute and think out of the box to shock opponents. He will be well aided by Stephen Fleming, who is a player-cum coach. Hayden, Raina, Dhoni and Badrinath form the batting core with Andrew Flintoff, Jacob Oram and Albie Morkel giving them the all-round option. Add Ntini, Murali and Balaji’s bowling and you have a balanced team.
WEAKNESSES:
Doubts over Flintoff and Oram’s fitness levels as both have suffered major injuries. Flintoff’s partial availability (two weeks) will also influence the team balance for later clashes.
OPPORTUNITIES:
Chance for Dhoni to assert himself by playing higher in the batting order. For the likes of Raina, it’s a chance to impress selectors and get picked for World T20.
THREATS:
Lack of leadership options if something goes wrong with Dhoni. With Hussey (possibly one candidate for captaincy) not playing, Fleming might have to do a Warne if Dhoni is unfit.
Owner: N. Srinivasan (businessman and Indian cricket board secretary)
Coach-player: Stephen Fleming (NZ)
Captain: MS Dhoni (IND)
Players :
Albie Morkel (RSA), Andrew Flintoff (ENG), George Bailey (AUS), Makhaya Ntini (RSA), Matthew Hayden (AUS), Muttiah Muralitharan (SRI), Stephen Fleming (NZL), Thilan Thushara (SRI).
India stars:
MS Dhoni, L Balaji, M Vijay, Parthiv Patel, Suresh Raina.
Delhi Daredevils
May 12th
About Delhi Daredevils
Dangerous side with abundance of style, that’s what Delhi Daredevils is all about. A stable bowling attack backed up by lethal strikers at the top, makes it a team to look out for. United with the experience of Glenn McGrath and Daniel Vettori, you have a heady cocktail. But their excitement could prove to be their collapse like last season. Watch out for the Sehwag-Gambhir jugalbandi followed by some daredevilry from David Warner
Goa Acquisition: Paul Collingwood and Owais Shah form the heart of England’s T20 squads. They can transform their game according to formats and so look forward to them to come to the bash this time. Collingwood’s medium pacers will give an extra bow to the Durham man, since Shah may struggle to feature in the first XI.
Captain-coach combination: Virender Sehwag can be creative as skipper, has a sharp cricketing brain. This clear-headed cricketer almost led his side all the way to the crown last season. Unluckily, the team misfired at the big stage. The coach Kepler Wessels is from the South Africa even of doubtful men behind the scenes. Kepler can be inventive and come up with unlikely ideas to toss rivals off-guard.
STRENGTHS:
Killer batting order in Sehwag, Gambhir, De Villiers and Warner—all of them in great form. Smart shopping sense during the auctions and they have almost everybody available throughout the IPL. Bowling too is in good health, with the ageless Glenn McGrath, efficient Farveez Maharoof, freakish Dirk Nannes, consistent Daniel Vettori, tireless Amit Mishra and talented Yo Mahesh.
WEAKNESSES:
Same as last year. Top heavy batting order. The likes of Manoj Tiwary and Dinesh Karthik have to start firing to allow the dangerous top order to bat freely and attempt to set big targets or chase them down.
OPPORTUNITIES:
For Dirk Nannes to show why he’s a T20 specialist. For David Warner to justify the hype surrounding him and for Umesh Yadav, the Vidarbha quickie, to show that the spell he bowled in the Duleep Trophy to Dravid and Laxman wasn’t a flash in the pan. And for the whole team to banish the inconsistency of last season.
THREATS:
Possibility of the top four suffering a collective failure while trying to bat aggressively.
Owners: GMR Holdings (Indian business house)
Coach: Greg Shipperd (AUS)
Captain: Virender Sehwag (IND)
Players: AB de Villiers (RSA), Andrew McDonald (AUS), Daniel Vettori (NZL), David Warner (AUS), Dirk Nannes (AUS), Farveez Maharoof (SRI), Glenn McGrath (AUS), Owais Shah (ENG), Paul Collingwood (ENG), Tillakaratne Dilshan (SRI). Virender Sehwag, Amit Mishra, Ashish Nehra, Dinesh Karthik, Gautam Gambhir.
Kings XI Punjab
May 4th
About Kings XI Punjab
Skipper Yuvraj Singh leads a team of skilled and thrilling cricketers yet again. The bowling has strength, the batting has the strike power, but there was something missing last season. It was the skill to deliver the knock-out punch. As a team, King’s XI Punjab would expect that they can improv their performance last season. They have the right ingredients this time, only now the stakes are much higher.
Captain-coach combination: Coach Tom Moody hopped over to Auckland to convene with his skipper Yuvraj Singh. The duos have gelled well as a combination. The much in require coach with the young aggressive man in charge make a fine pair. Moody can handle the team because nearly all are his former charges or former teammates. Yuvraj provides the sparkling leadership.
Goa acquisition: Ravi Bopara can be a helpful bits and pieces player. He was snared essentially because of his Sikh roots, but even now in South Africa can come in handy. A helpful medium-pacer and a striker to boot, Bopara can be an ideal player for South African circumstances. Okay, but do not rule out Jerome Taylor too to enjoy the circumstances in the absence of Brett Lee and Sreesanth.
Last year’s record: Semifinalist, Played: 14, Won: 10, Lost: 4
STRENGTHS: Yuvraj Singh and his T20 form in South Africa. The batting will rotate around him, Shaun Marsh, Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara and England’s T20 star Ravi Bopara.
WEAKNESSES: The bowling. Sreesanth is out of the tournament. Brett Lee is coming back from injury and will not be available for the length of the tourney as he will playing in UAE. Jerome Taylor suffered a motor accident. Irfan Pathan, not at the peak of his bowling form, will have to lead the attack.
OPPORTUNITIES: For Sangakkara and Jayawardene, for whom the IPL will be the first major cricket assignment after the Lahore attacks, to show that terror hasn’t diminished their cricket skills. For Yuvraj Singh to show that he can lead the batting department and not hide behind the performances of Marsh and the Lankan duo.
THREATS: Shaun Marsh is coming back from a major injury and will be travelling to UAE for the Pak series. This means he misses the first two crucial weeks of the tourney. James Hopes won’t be there either. By not holding on to Luke Pomerscbach and Ramnaresh Sarwan, The Mohali outfit might just have booked themselves an early exit ticket.
Owners: Ness Wadia (businessman), Preity Zinta (Bollywood star), Mohit Burman (businessman), Karan Paul (businessman)
Coach: Tom Moody (AUS)
Captain: Yuvraj Singh (IND)
Players: B Lee (AUS), B Cockley (AUS), JHopes (AUS), K Sangakkara (SRI), L Pomersbach (AUS), M Jayawardene (SRI), Ravi Bopara (ENG), Shaun Marsh (AUS), Simon Katich (AUS), Yuvraj Singh, Irfan Pathan, Piyush Chawla
IPL Live Cricket Points Table | IPL Cricket News | IPL Cricket Match Results | Indian Premier League
Apr 28th
Latest Updated Indian Premier League 2009 Score Card or Points Table
| Team | Mts | W | L | Tied | N/R | Pts | NRR |
| Delhi | 14 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 0.31 |
| Chennai | 14 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 17 | 0.95 |
| Bangalore | 14 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 16 | -0.19 |
| Hyderabad | 14 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0.20 |
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| Punjab | 14 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14 | -0.48 |
| Rajasthan | 14 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 13 | -0.35 |
| Mumbai | 14 | 5 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 0.30 |
| Kolkata | 14 | 3 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 7 | -0.79 |
Rajasthan Royals
Apr 25th
About Rajasthan Royals
Last year even before a ball was bowled this side was printed off as a team of no-hopers. But how the tables were twisted was seen by the entire world. This time key all-rounder Shane Watson is doubtful with an injury and some of the other performers like Sohail Tanveer are out of the team. But look forward to Shane Warne to come up with a new plan to shock his rivals.
Latest acquisition: One of the prestigious buys for Rajasthan Royals is the thunderbolt paceman Shaun Tait. The juvenile state bowler is combating self-doubts and banish to come back on the big stage. Warne’s support could well prove to be crucial X factor this time.
Captain-coach combination: Well the boss of this team is one and only Shane Warne. The spin magician casts a spell around his team and manages to eke out the best out of everyone. Last year he single-handedly motivated his side to the title. His little-known players managed to lift their performance level and take it to a new high. In the background his old friend, Darren Berry does all the research on the rivals, while Warne plots the moves.
Last year’s results: Played: 14, Won: 11, Lost: 3. Champions
Fitness barometer: The attendance of a excess of young Indian cricketers presents a whole new version of the country. These bunch of youngsters are talented, athletic and above all keen to follow their captain.
STRENGTHS: The leadership and genius of Shane Warne. The batting looks great with Graeme Smith, Yusuf Pathan, Ravindra Jadeja and Tyron Henderson. The bowling is well-balanced too with Munaf Patel, Siddharth Trivedi, Morne Morkel and Warne himself.
WEAKNESSES: Without Pakistani left-arm-seamer Sohail Tanvir’s talents, the bowling looks depleted. Shane Watson too will be available only as a batsman thereby diminishing his role as an all-rounder.
OPPORTUNITIES: For players like fast bowler Shaun Tait to prove that he is up for the challenge. Kamran Khan, who is already becoming a rage, could be fasttracked to superstardom.
THREATS: The curse of expectations from the franchisee. They will demand magic from Warney again. And the rather ‘removal’ of players like Kaif. It could make the rest of the team insecure and curb their freeflowing style.
Owners:
Emerging Media group (Lachlan Murdoch, A.R Jha and Suresh Chellaram), Shilpa Shetty (Bollywood star), Raj Kundra (Businessman)
Coach/captain:
Shane Warne (AUS)
Players:
S Warne (AUS), D Mascarenhas (ENG), G Smith (RSA), L Carseldine (AUS), M Morkel (RSA), R Quiney (AUS), S Harwood (AUS), S Watson (AUS), T Henderson (RSA), R Jadeja, Y Pathan.
Bangalore Royal Challengers
Apr 21st
Bangalore Royal Challengers
DLF-IPL1 was all about this team being called a Test line-up. The world’s best batsmen albeit in the longer format got as one to shape the core. But sorry to say the team crashed out resulting in a few heads rolling. A new brand new back-up team coupled with a new administration. Will the arrival of KP, Ryder and Robin Uthappa help Bangalore Royal Challengers, turn a new page? Will the Bangalore Royal Challengers experience a image makeover? Answers just days away…
Latest acquisition: England’s most colorful cricketer, Kevin Pietersen, was always going to be the star attraction at DLF-IPL2. So even if it meant pitching in the uppermost bid, Vijay Mallya was ready for it. So in came KP as also a new rising star from New Zealand, Jesse Ryder.
What you need to know about Bangalore: Bangalore’s most priced wealth are its gardens. The former princely state of Mysore is the pride of the state, but it provides the old royal touch to the state of Karnataka and in particular to Bangalore. Bangalore has produced some of the greatest Indian cricketers like GR Viswanath, BS Chandrashekar, EAS Prasanna, Anil Kumble, Javagal Srinath and Rahul Dravid.
Fitness barometer: With the blend of the likes of KP, Ryder and even Robin Uthappa the fitness levels are bound to shoot up. Coach Ray Jennings is known to be a hard taskmaster when it comes to fitness, so expect some tough talking from the former wicket-keeper.
STRENGTHS: No-nonsense coach Ray Jennings is great at puncturing egos of senior players. Explosive players like Jesse Ryder, Kevin Pietersen and Robin Uthappa ensure this is not a Test team like last year.
WEAKNESSES: Very few Indian players who can excel at T20, barring Uthappa and Virat Kohli. Dravid, Jaffer, B Akhil, J Arunkumar and Sunil Joshi won’t give sleepless nights to many bowling attacks.
OPPORTUNITIES: To forget their 7th place finish last year and push for at least a spot in the semis. With five South Africans in their line up, the team will benefit from the new venue. Coach Jennings is also South African, a huge bonus.
THREATS: With captain Kevin Pietersen set to leave for national duty, captaincy will be in the hands of Jacques Kallis, not a natural leader. It doesn’t help that Kallis and Mark Boucher have had a turbulent relationship with Jennings when he was interim coach of the SA team in 2004.
Owner: Vijay Maliya (liquor and airline baron)
Coach: Ray Jennings (RSA)
Captain: Kevin Pietersen (ENG
Team: Kevin Pietersen (ENG), Cameron White (AUS), Dale Steyn (RSA), Dillon du Preez (RSA), Jacques Kallis (RSA), Jesse Ryder (NZL), Mark Boucher (RSA), Nathan Bracken (AUS), Roelof van der Merwe (RSA), Ross Taylor (NZL), Anil Kumble, Praveen Kumar, Rahul Dravid, Robin Uthappa, Virat Kohli, Wasim Jaffer.
Matches
Wed 22
16:30 local, 14:30 GMT, 20:00 IST
8th match – Bangalore Royal Challengers v Deccan Chargers
Newlands, Cape Town
Fri 24
16:30 local, 14:30 GMT, 20:00 IST 11th match – Bangalore Royal Challengers v Kings XI Punjab
Kingsmead, Durban
Sun 26
12:30 local, 10:30 GMT, 16:00 IST 14th match – Bangalore Royal Challengers v Delhi Daredevils
St George’s Park, Port Elizabeth
Wed 29
12:30 local, 10:30 GMT, 16:00 IST 19th match – Bangalore Royal Challengers v Kolkata Knight Riders
Kingsmead, Durban
Fri 1
16:45 local, 14:45 GMT, 20:15 IST 24th match – Bangalore Royal Challengers v Kings XI Punjab
Kingsmead, Durban
Sun 3
16:45 local, 14:45 GMT, 20:15 IST 28th match – Bangalore Royal Challengers v Mumbai Indians
New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg
Thu 7
12:30 local, 10:30 GMT, 16:00 IST 33rd match – Bangalore Royal Challengers v Rajasthan Royals
SuperSport Park, Centurion
Sun 10
12:30 local, 10:30 GMT, 16:00 IST 38th match – Bangalore Royal Challengers v Mumbai Indians
St George’s Park, Port Elizabeth
Tue 12
12:30 local, 10:30 GMT, 16:00 IST 41st match – Bangalore Royal Challengers v Kolkata Knight Riders
SuperSport Park, Centurion
Thu 14
12:30 local, 10:30 GMT, 16:00 IST 44th match – Bangalore Royal Challengers v Chennai Super Kings
Kingsmead, Durban
Tue 19
16:30 local, 14:30 GMT, 20:00 IST 52nd match – Bangalore Royal Challengers v Delhi Daredevils
New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg
Thu 21
16:30 local, 14:30 GMT, 20:00 IST 56th match – Bangalore Royal Challengers v Deccan Chargers
SuperSport Park, Centurion
