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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
Manchester United stunned with 4-1 defeat given by Liverpool
Mar 15th
Premier League leaders Manchester United today suffered a mauling 4-1 at Old Trafford. It has been a dream week for Rafael Benitez’s side, a four-goal victory over Real Madrid followed by four goals to beat Manchester United at Old Trafford.
Fernando Torres, Steven Gerrard, Fábio Aurélio and Andrea Dossena all scored as Liverpool crushed Manchester United 4-1.
United still remains the firm favourites to claim the Premier League, with a four-point advantage and a game in hand.
Pakistan’s tour of Bangladesh off for now
Mar 6th
The cricket tour which was set to begin on 10th March comprising two Twenty20 matches and five one-day internationals is now under shadow. Following government advice about security concerns, Bangladesh Cricket Board’s have postponed Pakistan’s forthcoming tour of the country.
The Bangladesh Board’s call to postpone the tour is yet another setback for Pakistan beacuse this decision comes two days after seven people were killed following an attack on the Sri Lanka cricket Lahore.
The Bangladesh capital Dhaka was the scene of a bloody mutiny last week involving the country’s border guards that left 74 people dead.
Mr. Salim Altaf (PCB chief executive) has said that he is expecting a revised itinerary from the Bangladesh cricket authorities in the near future.
6 Sri Lankan cricketer’s injured in Lahore terror attack
Mar 3rd
6 cricketers and the assistant coach were injured while the security guards were among the 8 people killed in the first ever terror attack in the history of the sports, forcing Sri Lanka to immediately call off this tour.
Kumar Sangakkara, Ajantha Mendis, Thilan Samaraweera, Tharanga Paranavitana, Suranga Lakmal and Thilina Thushara were injured in this attack which was executed at the busy Liberty Chowk traffic roundabout, located less than a kilometre from Gaddafi Stadium, at 9 am. Paul Farbrace (Assistant Coach) also sustained minor injuries in the brazen attack, carried out by a dozen masked terrorists armed with rifles, grenades and rocket-launchers.
The armed gunmen attacked the bus ferrying Sri Lankan cricket team to Gaddafi Stadium to resume play on the third day of the second and final test match with Pakistan. Fires were exchanged for 30-minutes and Eight people, most of them police guards accompanying the team were killed.
The Sri Lankan team was soon airlifted from Gaddafi Stadium to the Lahore airport by a Pakistan Air Force helicopter on their way back home to Colombo.
Injured players Samaraweera and Paranavitana, who received bullet injuries, were rushed to the military hospital. They are out of danger and stable.
Reports said reserve umpire Ahsan Raza, who was travelling in a separate car, was seriously injured and had been operated on in a local hospital.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. The Sri Lankan team called off its tour after the attack.
Pathan brothers lead team to Victory
Feb 11th
Colombo: On Tuesday India accomplished a successful tour with a breathtaking three-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the only Twenty20 international.
Set target of 172 for win in 20 overs, India overcame a mid-innings fail to secure a spectacular win thanks to a dazzling eighth-wicket stand among brothers Yusuf and Irfan Pathan.
India slumped to 115 for seven after leg-spinner Malinga Bandara claimed 3 for 32, but the two Pathans rescued India with an steady 59-run stand in just 25 balls.
Irfan Pathan cracked an unbeaten 33 from 16 deliveries with two sixes and Yusuf stroked 22 not out off just 10 balls with the aid of two sixes and a four.
India, who also won the one-day series 4-1, clinched success with four balls to spare with Irfan swinging a massive six over mid-wicket.
Sri Lanka’s stand-in captain Tillakaratne Dilshan had previously top-scored for the hosts with 61 from 47 balls, an innings that incorporated seven fours and one six.
Dilshan was provided early support by fellow opener Sanath Jayasuriya, who smashed 33 from just 17 balls with two sixes, helping add 59 for the first wicket in 5.5 overs.
Off-spinner Yusuf Pathan was India’s best bowler, taking two for 23 from four economical overs in the middle of the innings.
India started their run chase poorly, slumping to 14 for two, but Yuvraj Singh (32) and Suresh Raina (35) regained the initiative with a 67-run stand.
Part-time off spinner Jehan Mubarak dragged Sri Lanka back into the game by showing Yuvraj pavilion.
Sri Lanka looked to be heading for victory as Jayasuriya bowled a miserable spell, taking 1 for 10 from three overs, as India crashed from 81 for 2 to 115 for 7.
Nevertheless, the Pathan brothers ended the match with a exciting partnership.