IPL T20 Cricket South Africa 2009

Deccan beat Bangalore to win IPL
SOURCE : http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/8066299.stm

Indian Premier League final, Johannesburg:
Deccan Chargers 143-6 (20 ovs) beat Royal Challengers Bangalore 137-9 (20 ovs) by six runs

Deccan Chargers beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by six runs in Johannesburg in the final of the second season of the Indian Premier League.

Having lost captain Adam Gilchrist for a third-ball duck, Herschelle Gibbs (53 not out) and Andrew Symonds (33 from 21 balls) helped Deccan post 143-6.

And despite Roelof van der Merwe's 32, Symonds took 2-18 and a late collapse left Bangalore six runs short.

The tournament was staged in South Africa because of security concerns.

It clashed with the recent Indian general election and with the government unable to provide security assurances, South Africa pipped England to act as replacement hosts.

The 2009 tournament was the first to involve centrally contracted England players, and batsman Kevin Pietersen captained Bangalore for six games in the early stages before returning to England for their Test and one-day series against West Indies.

Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff were the most expensive players at the second season's auction in February, each earning $1.5m on a pro-rata basis, but Flintoff managed only three games for Chennai before getting injured.

Meanwhile, Australian skipper Ricky Ponting and key players Michael Hussey and Mitchell Johnson opted out of the competition, preferring instead to concentrate on the build-up to this summer's Ashes Test series in England.

One innovation for the 2009 competition was a compulsory "tactical time out" halfway through each innings, lasting seven-and-a-half minutes but it was seen by some as hampering the game in order to provide broadcasters with more time to show commercials - and attracted criticism from India stars Sachin Tendulkar and Harbhajan Singh.

The tournament saw last year's winners, Rajashtan Royals, failed to reach the semi-finals and 19-year-old Manish Pandey become the first Indian to hit an IPL century when he made 117 for Bangalore against Deccan.

But he could not repeat that in the final, scvoring only four before being caught behind off Pragyan Ojha, who took 3-28 for the Chargers.

Robin Uthappa hit Ryan Harris for a huge six in the penultimate over to give Bangalore hope but the task of scoring 15 off the final six balls, bowled by left-arm pace bowler RP Singh, proved beyond them.

IPL commissioner Lalit Modi earlier revealed that this year's Twenty20 Champions League - of which he is also chairman - will be contested by 12 teams rather than eight, with a total prize fund of A prize fund of US$6m (£3.77m).

Tanmoy Mookherjee | Cricketnext.com
Posted on May 24, 2009 at 09:32
SOURCE : http://cricketnext.in.com/news/anyones-game-bangalore-deccan-eye-ipl-gold/41124-27.html

Johannesburg: After brushing aside two of the strongest teams in the IPL, Deccan Chargers and Bangalore Royal Challengers have reversed the fortunes they endured last year.

After finising last and second last respectively last season, the two sides have come roaring back in the IPL, which makes the clash even more unpredictable. Who would bring its best game to the table?

Deccan Chargers: Winners of the wooden spoon in 2008, Deccan Chargers contest the top spot this time. They changed their captain to Adam Gilchrist, and so did their fortunes. They won their first four games in a row, before slumping to a string of defeats during the middle of the competition. But their form players came to the fore to ensure a spot in the last four.

Key players: Not one, not two, but the entire batting order can be in killing form. Gilchrist, Gibbs, Symonds, Rohit Sharma, even T Suman - have been in good form. The openers can give a bludgeoning start, while Rohit and Symonds are the best men to have while finishing off a game. RP Singh and Pragyan Ojha are the key with the ball, while Deccan will bank on Ryan Harris to produce another spell like he did in the semis.

Flipside: The lower middle order remains suspect. Venugopal Rao and Ravi Teja, depending on the latter's fitness, have not come to party. Difficult to judge which Gibbs will turn up. They leave too much to Rohit and Symonds to do in the end. RP can be expensive due to lack of yorkers. Not too many good part-time bowlers.

Bangalore Royal Challengers: They, too, changed their captain and their arsenal to get rid of the 'Test' status. Kevin Pietersen started off well as Bangalore beat defending champions Rajasthan in their opener, with Kumble and Dravid the heroes. But they slumped to a series of defeats. Pietersen's last game was a win, and when Kumble took over, turnaround struck. Needing wins off their last three games, they beat the toughest in business - Chennai, Delhi and Deccan.

Key Players: Manish Pandey will no doubt be expected to keep his form going after match-winning knocks in back-to-back games. Dravid has been patchy, but his attitude as been reassuring. Taylor, Kohli and Boucher are expert finishers. But the factor will be how Kumble and Roelof van der Merwe manage to stop a dangerous Deccan batting attack from scoring too many runs.

Flipside: Their bowling can be suspect. Praveen Kumar can be lethal, or pedestrian. Vinay Kumar needs to keep it tight, or Gilchrist can murder him. Kallis' form has given way with the bat, but he still has to open. Sending van der Merwe up the order can backfire too. Dravid can go into his shell if runs are not given away. Robin Uthappa has not scored too many runs, and Bangalore can't leave too much to him.

May 21 2009 at 04:58PM
Source: http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=6&click_id=4&art_id=nw20090521165610104C360669 

Log leaders the Delhi Daredevils returned to their winning ways with a comfortable four wicket victory over the Mumbai Indians in their IPL Twenty20 match at Supersport Park on Thursday.

Chasing 166 to win, the Daredevils never appeared to be in danger of losing, scoring well ahead of the required run rate throughout their innings, and they achieved the winning score with 15 balls to spare, despite a four wicket haul by Harbhajan Singh towards the end of the innings.

David Warner fell in the fourth over, caught by Mohammed Ashraful off Dhawal Kulkarni for 15, but Gautam Gambhir and his captain, Virender Sehwag, all but secured the victory with a second wicket stand of 68 before Sri Lankan Lasith Malinga broke the partnership, with Gambhir caught by Ashraful for 47.

With victory in sight, Harbhajan tried to rewrite the story, twice taking two wickets off consecutive balls. In his third over, he dismissed Tillakaratne Dilshan for 24 and Man of the Match Sehwag for 50 off 27 balls, and in his final over he claimed the scalps of AB De Villiers (six) and Rajat Bhatia (two).

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS – 8 hours ago
Source: http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5hpZeN6OZ2FV9_NgUe5DQkJXrkH5Q

PRETORIA, South Africa — Teenager Manish Pandey whacked 114 not out to steer the Bangalore Royal Challengers to a 12-run win over the Deccan Chargers and into the Indian Premier League semifinals on Thursday.

The 19-year-old Pandey, who didn't start for Bangalore earlier in the league, helped his side leapfrog Deccan to clinch third place in the league after missing out last year.

Bangalore will meet the second-place Chennai Super Kings on Saturday at Johannesburg, after Deccan return to Centurion on Friday to play the league-leading Delhi Daredevils. The final is on Sunday at Wanderers.

21 May 2009
Lungani Zama
Source: http://www.witness.co.za/index.php?showcontent&global%5B_id%5D=23034

THE culling has started in earnest in the IPL, and last night’s crucial clashes saw several drawcards reduced to spectators for this weekend’s final weekend.

Chennai Super Kings, after a minor stumble in their previous game, adapted to the trying conditions on offer at Kingsmead to register a 24-run win over the Kings XI Punjab, thus sending Yuvraj Singh’s side out of the competition.

The Kingsmead track, which had been a proverbial belter thus far, seemed to crumble on its final night, and the result was a strip tailor-made for Chennai’s clutch of slow bowlers.

Against the spin of Suresh Raina, Ravi Ashwin and the incomparable Muttiah Muralitharan, the Kings XI just never got going, with the spin trio snaring six wickets between them at a combined economy of just over three runs an over.

By Paul Newman Cricket Correspondent
Last updated at 11:34 PM on 20th May 2009
Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/cricket/article-1185062/Curse-IPL-KP-joins-crock-Freddie-Englands-injured-list.html

Kevin Pietersen was yesterday ruled out of England’s one-day series against West Indies.

An achilles injury that flared up during the second Test means Pietersen will miss the matches at Leeds, Bristol and Edgbaston over the next six days. It is hoped he will be fit for the start of the World Twenty20 on June 5.

Pietersen is the second England star who took part in the IPL to be ruled out of international duty. Andrew Flintoff missed the Test series against West Indies after flying back from the tournament with a knee injury.

Pietersen said: ‘I hate missing out on playing for England but understand that this is necessary. I’ll be watching and supporting the team closely.’ His absence makes it more likely that Eoin Morgan, the Irishman named in an England squad for the first time, will be able to bring his unique brand of audacity to the middle order.

Source: http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/009200905201534.htm

Johannesburg (IANS): The Indian Premier League (IPL) final at the Wanderers on Sunday will see the who's who of India rubbing shoulders with their South African counterparts at an unprecedented gathering here.

Although organisers are tight-lipped about the guest list, top Bollywood stars and captains of Indian trade and industry as well as Indian politicians are expected to hog the limelight.

As organisers scramble to find accommodation at the Wanderers for the huge contingent of Indian celebrities expected, the IPL even withdrew the accreditation of some journalists for the semi-final and the final to allow space in the media centre for the guests.

Bollywood stars Shah Rukh Khan, Preity Zinta and Shilpa Shetty have been present at IPL matches to cheer their teams. Now a host of other celebrities do not want to miss out on the razzmatazz.

Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/cricket/twenty20/ipl/5356909/Shane-Warnes-Rajasthan-miss-IPL-semis.html

Durban: Kolkata Knight Riders (102-6) bt Rajasthan Royals (101-9) by 4 wkts

By Telegraph staff and agencies
Last Updated: 5:20PM BST 20 May 2009

Laxmi Shukla hit an unbeaten 48 while Charl Langeveldt took three wickets as the Kolkata Knight Riders beat the Rajasthan Royals by four-wickets to dump the defending champions out of the Indian Premier League on Wednesday.

"It's really disappointing but we were just not good enough the whole tournament," said Rajasthan captain Shane Warne. "I want to thank everyone in South Africa that supported me and the Royals."

After displaying a disciplined all-round fielding performance to restrict Rajasthan to 101-9 in their allotted 20 overs, Kolkata stuttered in reply and midway through the innings it seemed Rajasthan would scrape through.

Sun, 17 May 2009 14:56 GMT
Source: http://www.cricbuzz.com/component/latest_cricket_news
/Story/14295/hyderabad-fail-to-clinch-a-thriller/

By Gokul Gopal

After clinching a thriller, a rejuvenated Hyderabad side were ready to take on the Kings XI team on a bright day at the Wanderers. Adam Gilchrist won the toss and he chose to field first. Hyderabad had one change in their line-up with Jaskaran Singh coming in for Harmeet Singh.

The confident Adam Gilchrist-led side were off to a great start picking up three early wickets. Sohal was the first to go, dismissed by RP Singh, while Pomersbach was run-out thanks to a sharp throw from Herschelle Gibbs. The Punjab team's poor start continued when the in-form Simon Katich got out to his Australian counterpart Symonds in the 3rd over. It was once again up to Yuvraj Singh and Sangakkara to reserruct the Punjab innings. The duo started off playing sensibly and building on a partnership. While Yuvraj looked good at the middle with the strokes flowing freely off his bat, Sangakkara was giving him good support, playing for singles and rotating the strike. Just when Punjab were hoping for things to settle down, they had a major blow when the captain Yuvraj Singh was bowled by Venugopal Rao.

Saturday, 16 May 2009 16:56 - Aayush
Source: http://www.thesportscampus.com/20090516785/twenty-20/preview-rr-dd-17may

Bloemfontein will be hosting its second match which will also be its last of this season's IPL when the Rajasthan Royals lock horns with the Delhi Daredevils in a crucial encounter especially for the Royals. With six teams still in the fray for the semi final spots, every game is crucial from now on. Delhi might be sitting pretty at the top but they too would love to go into the semi finals on a winning run.

The situation is pretty easy for the Royals i.e. they have to win their remaining two games to confirm their semi spot. A win against Delhi will make them feel comfortable because their last game is against the struggling Kolkata Knight Riders. Delhi on the other hand are through to the last four but would love to beat the Royals after losing to them earlier in the tournament.

The Royals boast of a good batting line up with the experienced Graeme Smith opening the innings alongside their new batting star Rob Quiney who struck a brilliant half century in their last game against the Mumbai Indians. Rajasthan showed immense determination in clinching a win out of the jaws of defeat in their outing against Mumbai. The game was headed only one way until the final over which saw the Indians lose three wickets for one run. If there were any doubts over Shane Warne's desire to play and lead the side well they were all removed in the last game where he took to the field despite a pulled hamstring to lead his side to victory.