 |
|
|
Strategy breaks ‘hitting momentum’
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Durban, April 20 Thoroughly outplayed in their opening matches, Kolkata Knight Riders and Kings XI Punjab will lock horns tomorrow hoping to haul their Indian Premier League campaign back on track. Ravaged by injuries that have denied them the services of star players like Shaun Marsh, Brett Lee and S Sreesanth, the Yuvraj Singh-led Kings XI were handed a 10-wicket drubbing by Delhi Daredevils in their rain-truncated opening match yesterday. Flintoff best ODI bowler: Dhoni
|
|
Strategy breaks ‘hitting momentum’
Cape Town, April 20 "Yes, we have done well in our last match but I think the strategy breaks are hampering the momentum of a team," Mumbai Indians captain Sachin Tendulkar said. "The seven-and-half minute breaks are a bit too long," he observed. Former player and ex-selector VB Chandrasekar, who heads Chennai Super Kings' cricket operations, is also far from amused with the break. "The 7-1/2 minute break after 10 overs is quite a distraction and comes in the way of valuable momentum..." Chandrasekar said. Even though IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi has been insisting that the break was introduced to allow teams to strategise, most believe the innovation was aimed at providing the broadcaster extra slots for commercials. Modi's argument was that since the teams wasted a lot of time strategising, most of the matches in IPL's inaugural edition stretched beyond schedule. So, Modi argued, introducing the breaks would allow them to complete their strategising in the scheduled time and get on with the match. Former South African Board President Ali Bacher, however, had no doubt that the breaks were introduced solely for commercial benefits. "The reality now is that cricket is a highly commercial entity. There is big money in cricket today, and much of it is emanating from India. The organisers are not only aiming to provide a fantastic spectacle for the spectators, but they are also there to maximise the revenues for the game," he said. Bacher, however, didn't see anything wrong with that. "You can't fault them on that. The problem they have is, because of the shortened version of the game the number of ad breaks are less as compared to the one-dayers and Tests. So they are trying to get more airtime for more commercial ads to be placed," he added. On the other hand, Kings XI Punjab coach Tom Moody felt the break directly affected his team's performance in the rain-marred match against the Delhi Daredevils yesterday. "We had the momentum and we had seven-and-a-half minutes to lose it," Moody said. "It was the perfect time for Daniel Vettori to come on and secure the momentum back in favour of Delhi," the Australian said. Bangalore Royal Challengers coach Ray Jennings, meanwhile, is more worried about the break's effect on the viwers, who, he feared, might lose interest in the match. "Spectators are the ones they need to be keeping their focus on during these breaks. What you need to do is check if this break is going to keep the spectators interested, because what do they do during these minutes?" Jennings asked. Instead of airing commercials, Jennings suggested the time could be used otherwise to sustain viwers' interest. "The organisers could think of adding value to the entertainment by, maybe, doing interviews with four or five players in the change rooms, which can then be shown during these intervals. This is an opportunity for the officials to see this as a moment to catch up with people, and give them something they cannot get hold of: signing autographs or something" Jennings told Cricinfo. Star spinner Harbhajan Singh also gave a thumbs down to the move and said, "I don't think I am very happy with it. At times, when you are bowling well, you just lose your rhythm during the strategy breaks." Former India spearhead Javagal Srinath had more or less the same thing to say about it. "Technically, for the player it could be an advantage or disadvantage: if your team is not doing well, the break is very welcome as that helps stop the momentum of the opponents. But if your team is doing well, it may be seen as a hindrance, where you could lose your advantage. "It is a new experiment and remains to be seen how it is expected. If it is a real pain, some changes may be carried out," Srinath said. Steve Elworthy, Tournament director of ICC World Twenty20, was not sure behind the reasons and hinted he was not impressed. "I am not sure of the reasons behind it; whether it is commercial or for cricket-playing reasons. From our perspective, the idea is that the game needs to have that momentum. It needs to keep the pace and the momentum going. “The playing conditions don't stipulate for a break in this World Twenty20, and I would like to see the game continue, rather than being broken up all over," he said.
— PTI |
|
Hayden, Murali script easy win for CSK Port Elizabeth, April 20 But Australian Mathew Hayden, now retired from international cricket, stole the thunder from both. After being dropped at nought, he celebrated with a bludgeoning 35-ball 65, the first 50 erupting off just 20 deliveries. This carried his side to 179 for five in the allotted 20 overs and ensured an emphatic 92-run win for his franchise. If a hook off the hapless Praveen Kumar was not testimony to the veteran’s persisting prowess, an off-drive into the trees at the expense of Kallis unequivocally was. Indeed, it required a unerring throw from Rahul Dravid fielded in an unaccustomed position of point to prevent even greater mayhem. Super Kings batted first after winning the toss. In the face-off within the inter-face, Flintoff strode in after the fall of the third wicket. Coincidentally, the first ball he faced was from Pietersen, who had not only clean bowled Parthiv Patel with a sharply turning off-break, but ultimately conceded a mere 14 runs in three overs to emerge as the most economical of the Bangalore Royal Challengers bowlers. Having patted back the initial delivery, Flintoff got off the mark with a single to extra cover off the next. The fourth ball he pulled for four and the following one he pushed to long on for one. The most eye-catching stroke in his all too brief a stay at the crease was a delectable flick to long leg for six off Dale Steyn. An unbeaten 22 off 18 balls was a virtuoso vignette, not to mention his restrictive three over for one wicket. When it came to captain Pietersen’s turn to bat, he was promptly trapped leg before by one that straightened from Muttiah Muralitharan bowling round the wicket. The batsman felt he had nicked it; umpire Simon Taufel decreed otherwise. Murali sliced through the Challengers' middle with a haul of three for 11 in his four overs. Chasing under lights, Royal Challengers rather disintegrated following a heady win over Shane Warne’s Rajasthan Royals, last year’s winners, on the opening day. Not even the tidal performance of their cheer leaders imported from the United States and labelled “White Mischief” could turn the tide. For the flamboyant liquor and airline typcoon Vijay Mallya, owner of Challengers, it was a bitter disappointment. Enthused by Saturday’s victory after his side had finished second last out of eight in last year’s tournament, he air-dashed from Shanghai, where his Force India team had partaken in the Formula One Grand Prix, only to witness a disaster. South Africa's oldest international cricket ground, George’s Park was pretty packed, with the local buoyed by the presence of a number of South Africans in either squad. The music blared, mini-skirted girls shook a leg; it was a carnival. But on a belter of a pitch, with short boundaries to boot, it went rather pear shaped for
Pietersen. Scoreboard Chennai Super Kings: Patel b Pietersen 30 Hayden run out 65 Raina c Kohli b Kumar 28 Dhoni c Bishnoi b Kumar 16 Flintoff not out 22 A Morkel b Steyn 5 Extras (lb 5, w 8): 13 Total (Five wickets in 20 overs): 179 Fall of wickets: 1-106, 2-106, 3-144, 4-165, 5-179 Bowling: P Kumar 4-0-37-2, D Steyn 4-0-35-1, J Kallis 2-0-28-0, R Vinay Kumar 1-0-12-0, V Kohli 1-0-9-0, A Kumble 4-0-26-0, K Pietersen 3-0-14-1, R Taylor 1-0-13-0. Bangalore Royal Challengers: (Target: 180 from 20 overs) Praveen b Gony 0 Uthappa st Dhoni b Muralitharan 20 Kallis lbw b Morkel 24 Taylor c & b Flintoff 1 Pietersen lbw b Muralitharan 0 Dravid c Flintoff b Balaji 20 Kohli c Badrinath b Joginder 11 Bishnoi c Balaji b Muralitharan 0 Vinay c Hayden b Balaji 5 Steyn run out 0 Kumble not out 1 Extras (lb-1, w-4): 5 Total (all out in 15.2 overs): 87 Fall of wickets: 1/0 2/40 3/47 4/49 5/50 6/66 7/66 8/74 9/78 Bowling: Gony 3-0-24-1, Balaji 2.2-0-18-2, Morkel 2-0-12-1, Flintoff 3-0-11-1, Muralitharan 4-1-11-3, Joginder 1-0-10-1.
|
|
|
Kings XI, Knight Riders look to get going
Ravaged by injuries that have denied them the services of star players like Shaun Marsh, Brett Lee and S Sreesanth, the Yuvraj Singh-led Kings XI were handed a 10-wicket drubbing by Delhi Daredevils in their rain-truncated opening match yesterday. "I want this nightmare to end," said Shah Rukh after the thrashing. Kolkata, it seemed, were yet to recover from the pre-tournament furore over captaincy, at the end of which Sourav Ganguly was replaced by New Zealand's Brendon McCullum at the helm. McCullum couldn't have asked for a worse start to his stint but remained optimistic about the team bouncing back in the coming matches. "It is a long tournament and we will bounce back," he insisted. Kings XI, on the other hand, are trying to cope with the injury blows that have left them severely depleted. Last season's highest scorer Marsh, along with tearaway pacer Lee, were out of contention even before the tournament and adding to their woes is the non-availability of all-rounder James Hopes, who is on national duty. Sreesanth too has been left with the job of promoting the team from the sidelines as a back injury keeps him out of on-field action. Against a balanced Delhi, Kings XI's batting struggled to hold up and bowling was such that Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir took just a little over four overs to get past a 54-run target that was set for six overs in the rain-shortened game. The Mohali-based team's batting relies heavily on skipper Yuvraj and Sri Lankan Kumar Sangakkara, both of whom didn't contribute much in the lost match. Yuvraj, however, remained hopeful of a turnaround. "We are happy with the start, off course we can take some positive out of it and we have enough games coming up, so looking forward to that," he said.
— PTI |
|
Flintoff best ODI bowler: Dhoni
Having doled out 1.1million pounds a man, both IPL sides are looking for strong performances at Port Elizabeth from the highest-paid cricketers on the planet. The pair enjoyed contrasting fortunes in their debuts on Saturday, with Pietersen leading a 75-run win over Shane Warne's Rajasthan Royals, while Flintoff's introduction was less enjoyable as Sachin Tendulkar steered Mumbai Indians to a 19-run victory. But despite the lukewarm start, CSK skipper MS Dhoni claims Flintoff's hefty pricetag is still justified. "It's not about how much of money you are buying a player for, it's about how important he is or how much he contributes to your side. Flintoff is the kind of guy that you really need. We are talking about the best bowler in one-day cricket right now. "You pay the money because you want him in the side and how important he is to your side is what really counts," The Sun quoted Flintoff, as saying. The Lancashire all-rounder also finished the game with an ice-pack on his dodgy left ankle, but Dhoni insists there is nothing to fear. He added: "I don't think he's injured. As far as the playing XI is concerned for the next match, we'll have a look and re-assess things then."
— ANI |
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
Durban, April 20
On the same night, Shah Rukh Khan's Kolkata Knight Riders were beaten by eight wickets by last year's bottom-placed Hyderabad Deccan Chargers.
London, April 20
