The night that had started on a dramatic note ended even more remarkably with an amazing last over seeing Rajasthan Royals escaping to victory over Deccan Chargers by two runs at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, Nagpur.
Rohit Sharma was the last line of attack, and defence, against the raiding visitors. All around Sharma lay the ruins of a disjointed Deccan Chargers batting line-up. But the 22-year-old (73) couldn’t finish the job and was the last wicket to fall, handing the visitors a memorable win.
The twin Shanes of Royals were the heroes for the visitors, but the real excitement and turning point came in the last over of Siddarth Trivedi, which saw three wickets fall. Needing just six from the last over, Deccan were cruising to victory, but the wily Warne had other plans.
Trivedi too came good when it mattered, sealing the win for his team. With three needed off the last two balls, Sharma succumbed to the pressure to allow the Royals to keep their record of never losing while defending a target of over 150.
The night belonged to Shane Warne. Warnie had cricket lovers reminisce the good ole years when he toyed with South Africa or England playing for Australia. The Royals’ captain turned back the clock to totally mystify the DC middle-order and claim four important wickets.
The match started dramatically with the first over of the Rajasthan Royals innings seeing opener Michael Lumb give a regulation return catch to Ryan Harris. The third umpire was not convinced of its legality – the ball appeared to have been grounded - and Lumb was called back.
Lumb, though, could not do too much with his chance and got out in the third over after a few lusty hits. Ryan Harris had reason to smile taking the catch cleanly at deep midwicket to dismiss Lumb.
The ball seemed to be following Harris tonight as he took his second catch of the night to dismiss Ojha off RP Singh’s bowling in the same over.
But he dropped Shane Watson crucially when the Australian was on six. Harris couldn’t be kept out of the game tonight and he claimed Pathan’s wicket with a short-pitched delivery.
Shane Watson carried on even as he kept losing partners at the other end and scored his second half-century of IPL 2010. But just when he was needed to pick up the pace, the all-rounder fell to RP Singh for 58.
Unlike previous matches, the Chargers kept a tight leash on the opposition in the death overs. They took six wickets in the last five overs and conceded only 31 runs. Rajasthan couldn’t even play out their complete quota of 20 overs, getting all out on the penultimate ball of the innings and set the Chargers a target of 160.
Monday, April 5, 2010
king eleven punjab beat KKR in IPL cricket 3
Kings XI Punjab 204 for 2 (Jayawardene 110*) beat Kolkata Knight Riders 200 for 3 (Gayle 88) by eight wickets on sunday 4th april 2010
this victory did little for Punjab's semi-final chances - they need to win five more in a row and then pray - it damaged Kolkata Knight Riders' campaign. Had they won, they would have climbed to fourth in the league after nine games, ahead of Chennai Super Kings, but instead they remained fifth, just above the Rajasthan Royals. Such a helpless defence of a formidable target would have been far removed from the expectations of a noisy crowd, high on adrenalin after Gayle had blitzed 88 off 42 balls during an innings that contained a 33-run over, the costliest of the IPL.
It began poorly for the hosts, with Murali Kartik fumbling the first ball of the chase at point and allowing a single, which brought Jayawardene on strike. He got on his toes as Shane Bond delivered, rode the bounce, and cut his first ball to boundary. Jayawardene, who had asked to open because Shaun Marsh was injured, continued to thread cuts through the off side, against Bond and Jaidev Unadkat, and also found the long-off boundary with a graceful straight drive. His first leg-side boundary was a lofted six off Unadkat in the fourth over. He lost his opening partner Manvinder Bisla, who biffed few boundaries as well, in the fifth over to an arm ball from Kartik, but his intensity and strike-rate did not relent.
Match Meter
KKRGanguly goes airborne: He backs away to make room, gets under Srivastava's length ball in the fourth over, and lofts cleanly for a straight six. It's the stand-out shot during a brisk start.
KKRThe 33-run over: Tiwary takes a single off the first ball in the 13th over and Gayle sends the next four over the boundary - three on the leg, one of the off - and loses two balls. Bopara gifts five wides as well and Kolkata surge ahead.
KKRSloppy start: Kolkata are on top but their defence of 200 begins poorly. Kartik mis-fields the first ball at point. Jayawardene gets on strike and cuts his first ball for four
KXIPCostly drop: Jayawardene is on 51 off 30 balls when he gives Kolkata a chance in the 10th over. Kartik drops it at short third man. Jayawardene scores 15 runs off the next over and Kolkata wilt.
KXIPThe final nail: Kolkata's hopes are extinguished when Yuvraj, with Punjab needing 32 off 24 balls, hits Kartik for a four and two sixes in the 17th over. Advantage Honours even
In the final over of the Powerplay, Jayawardene made room and square-drove Gayle for four, stayed back and pulled over short fine leg, and lofted the last ball back over the bowler's head for six. Punjab scored 17 runs off the over and were 69 for 1 after six. There was rain in the air and Duckworth-Lewis equations on players' minds. If the game ended there, Punjab were ahead. It would stay that way.
Sangakkara's contribution was vital too, for his 38 off 22 balls eased the pressure on Jayawardene, who had reached his half-century off 26 balls. Sangakkara took on Angelo Mathews in his first over, charging to loft over mid-on for four before clearing the straight boundary in his second.
Punjab had raced to 105 for 1 after 9.5 overs when Jayawardene gave Kolkata a chance, spooning Mathews to short third man. He was on 51, Punjab needed 95 off 61 balls, but Kartik dropped the opportunity. He was made to regret it immediately. Jayawardene hit three fours in the next over, bowled by Ajit Agarkar, and Punjab continued to whittle down the target rapidly. The identity of the bowler didn't matter, for Jayawardene found the boundary at will, and neither did Sangakkara's dismissal with the score on 149. They had added 98 off 8.5 overs.
Yuvraj Singh, smarting from the criticism heaped on him by the media, ensured there was no choke, clouting 33 off 16 balls. He was applauding Jayawardene's century, off 55 balls, even before they completed the run that got him there. The match ended with successive boundaries from Jayawardene - one helped past fine leg, the other pulled in front of midwicket - off the first two balls of the 19th over, but the Eden Gardens faithful had been silenced well before that.
Unlike Punjab's chase, which was fuelled by consistently expensive overs, Kolkata's innings relied on Gayle awakening from a run-a-ball torpor to reach 200. He had faced only 24 balls in the first half of the innings and scored only 24, with no sixes. Ramesh Powar, the offspinner, had restricted him by bowling into his pads from over the wicket, varying his pace and trajectory. Gayle had tried to play the sweep but his timing wasn't fluent.
Finally, in the 11th over, Gayle stirred. Powar had bowled 3.5 overs for 17 runs, when Gayle advanced to his final ball and muscled it over the long-on boundary. Powar finished with 0 for 23 off four overs; his team-mates were not going to be as fortunate.
Kolkata were 89 for 1 when Bopara came on to bowl the 13th, and carnage was around the corner. Manoj Tiwary rotated the strike with a single off the first delivery, and Gayle heaved the second and third over the midwicket and long-on boundary, losing the ball in the construction rubble. He had sped to 50 off 30 balls, scoring 26 off his last six balls, and more was to follow. For the fourth ball, Gayle created some room, stayed low and launched it flat over the cover boundary. The fifth was lost in the long-on rubble again. Bopara, reeling from four consecutive sixes, let slip a wide which beat the wicketkeeper too. At the end of the over, Kolkata were 122 for 1, and Gayle was on 62 off 32.
Gayle then skied a mis-hit off Chawla. The bowler wanted to take the catch himself and made a mess of it, much to Ganguly's mirth in the dug out. Jayawardene, however, ensured that Ganguly would not be the last one laughing on the night.
this victory did little for Punjab's semi-final chances - they need to win five more in a row and then pray - it damaged Kolkata Knight Riders' campaign. Had they won, they would have climbed to fourth in the league after nine games, ahead of Chennai Super Kings, but instead they remained fifth, just above the Rajasthan Royals. Such a helpless defence of a formidable target would have been far removed from the expectations of a noisy crowd, high on adrenalin after Gayle had blitzed 88 off 42 balls during an innings that contained a 33-run over, the costliest of the IPL.
It began poorly for the hosts, with Murali Kartik fumbling the first ball of the chase at point and allowing a single, which brought Jayawardene on strike. He got on his toes as Shane Bond delivered, rode the bounce, and cut his first ball to boundary. Jayawardene, who had asked to open because Shaun Marsh was injured, continued to thread cuts through the off side, against Bond and Jaidev Unadkat, and also found the long-off boundary with a graceful straight drive. His first leg-side boundary was a lofted six off Unadkat in the fourth over. He lost his opening partner Manvinder Bisla, who biffed few boundaries as well, in the fifth over to an arm ball from Kartik, but his intensity and strike-rate did not relent.
Match Meter
KKRGanguly goes airborne: He backs away to make room, gets under Srivastava's length ball in the fourth over, and lofts cleanly for a straight six. It's the stand-out shot during a brisk start.
KKRThe 33-run over: Tiwary takes a single off the first ball in the 13th over and Gayle sends the next four over the boundary - three on the leg, one of the off - and loses two balls. Bopara gifts five wides as well and Kolkata surge ahead.
KKRSloppy start: Kolkata are on top but their defence of 200 begins poorly. Kartik mis-fields the first ball at point. Jayawardene gets on strike and cuts his first ball for four
KXIPCostly drop: Jayawardene is on 51 off 30 balls when he gives Kolkata a chance in the 10th over. Kartik drops it at short third man. Jayawardene scores 15 runs off the next over and Kolkata wilt.
KXIPThe final nail: Kolkata's hopes are extinguished when Yuvraj, with Punjab needing 32 off 24 balls, hits Kartik for a four and two sixes in the 17th over. Advantage Honours even
In the final over of the Powerplay, Jayawardene made room and square-drove Gayle for four, stayed back and pulled over short fine leg, and lofted the last ball back over the bowler's head for six. Punjab scored 17 runs off the over and were 69 for 1 after six. There was rain in the air and Duckworth-Lewis equations on players' minds. If the game ended there, Punjab were ahead. It would stay that way.
Sangakkara's contribution was vital too, for his 38 off 22 balls eased the pressure on Jayawardene, who had reached his half-century off 26 balls. Sangakkara took on Angelo Mathews in his first over, charging to loft over mid-on for four before clearing the straight boundary in his second.
Punjab had raced to 105 for 1 after 9.5 overs when Jayawardene gave Kolkata a chance, spooning Mathews to short third man. He was on 51, Punjab needed 95 off 61 balls, but Kartik dropped the opportunity. He was made to regret it immediately. Jayawardene hit three fours in the next over, bowled by Ajit Agarkar, and Punjab continued to whittle down the target rapidly. The identity of the bowler didn't matter, for Jayawardene found the boundary at will, and neither did Sangakkara's dismissal with the score on 149. They had added 98 off 8.5 overs.
Yuvraj Singh, smarting from the criticism heaped on him by the media, ensured there was no choke, clouting 33 off 16 balls. He was applauding Jayawardene's century, off 55 balls, even before they completed the run that got him there. The match ended with successive boundaries from Jayawardene - one helped past fine leg, the other pulled in front of midwicket - off the first two balls of the 19th over, but the Eden Gardens faithful had been silenced well before that.
Unlike Punjab's chase, which was fuelled by consistently expensive overs, Kolkata's innings relied on Gayle awakening from a run-a-ball torpor to reach 200. He had faced only 24 balls in the first half of the innings and scored only 24, with no sixes. Ramesh Powar, the offspinner, had restricted him by bowling into his pads from over the wicket, varying his pace and trajectory. Gayle had tried to play the sweep but his timing wasn't fluent.
Finally, in the 11th over, Gayle stirred. Powar had bowled 3.5 overs for 17 runs, when Gayle advanced to his final ball and muscled it over the long-on boundary. Powar finished with 0 for 23 off four overs; his team-mates were not going to be as fortunate.
Kolkata were 89 for 1 when Bopara came on to bowl the 13th, and carnage was around the corner. Manoj Tiwary rotated the strike with a single off the first delivery, and Gayle heaved the second and third over the midwicket and long-on boundary, losing the ball in the construction rubble. He had sped to 50 off 30 balls, scoring 26 off his last six balls, and more was to follow. For the fourth ball, Gayle created some room, stayed low and launched it flat over the cover boundary. The fifth was lost in the long-on rubble again. Bopara, reeling from four consecutive sixes, let slip a wide which beat the wicketkeeper too. At the end of the over, Kolkata were 122 for 1, and Gayle was on 62 off 32.
Gayle then skied a mis-hit off Chawla. The bowler wanted to take the catch himself and made a mess of it, much to Ganguly's mirth in the dug out. Jayawardene, however, ensured that Ganguly would not be the last one laughing on the night.
cricket World Cup 2011 trophy and mascot unveiled
malik refused all the allegations
Malik has been asked not to leave India while the police investigate, senior police official A.K. Khan said on Monday.
In her complaint, filed on Sunday, Ayesha Siddique alleged that Malik married her in June 2002 and she accused him of subjecting her to cruelty and harassment by denying that the wedding took place and by trying to marry another Indian woman.
Police visited the home of Mirza in Hyderabad, the capital of southern Andhra Pradesh state, where Malik was staying and recorded his statement on Monday, Stephan Ravindra, a deputy commissioner of police said.
Police are investigating complaints of criminal intimidation, cheating, fraud and harassment for dowry against the Pakistani cricketer, Ravindra told The Associated Press. Police also questioned Siddique.
After speaking to the police, Malik and Mirza appeared before reporters and said they were going ahead with the wedding on April 15.
“I am very upset (by the controversy),” Mirza said. “It’s very painful for my family. But we are happy that we are getting married.
“I have full faith in him. We know what the truth is. It will come out.”
Malik said he would stay in India to clear his name.
“I am cooperating with the police. I have done nothing wrong,” he said, adding that Siddique should prove her claim in a court.
Malik admitted in a statement released by his agent Salman Ahmed that he signed a nikahnama (marriage certificate) eight years ago but claimed he was duped.
After developing a friendship on the internet, Malik said in the statement he married a woman named Ayesha over the telephone in June 2002 but he believed he had been deceived by another woman claiming to be Ayesha Siddique.
“I wasn’t happy doing this because I hadn’t told my parents,” he said. “There was a lot of pressure on me from Ayesha.”
Malik said Siddique introduced herself as his fan living in Saudi Arabia, but would turn down requests to meet, and instead sent photographs.
“I was made to believe the girl in the photograph was the one I was speaking to,” he said. “The truth is, I haven’t, to this day, met the girl in the photographs Ayesha sent me.”
He said when he visited Hyderabad in 2002, he was told she’d gone to Saudi to work, and said her parents told him Siddique had put on weight and wouldn’t meet him until she lost weight. He said she avoided him during two more visits to Hyderabad.
Malik said he was astonished when his brother-in-law showed him a photograph in 2005 in which a teacher in Saudi was claiming to be his wife.
“I was aghast ... the woman in it was the person I called Maha “apa” (elder sister) while I visited Hyderabad,” Malik said. He confronted apa and told her that he didn’t ever want to speak to her again.
Malik said he was cheated and “I was wrongly made to believe that the pictures Ayesha had sent me were of the girl I was marrying.”
“I feel terrible about the mess, created by a family that has caused great grief to my own people and the family of my bride-to-be.”
Siddique said she has a copy of the nikahnama, signed by Malik and two witnesses, issued by Pakistani authorities in Malik’s hometown of Sialkot in June 2002.
Farooq Hasan, a lawyer representing Ayesha Siddique in Pakistan, said in Lahore he will soon be filing a case against Malik in Pakistan’s civil and criminal courts.
“We will also try to stop Malik’s marriage with Sania Mirza,” Hasan said. “If the courts in Pakistan asked, Ayesha Siddique will also travel to Pakistan and appear before the courts.
“The courts in Pakistan will decide about the authentication of nikahnama.”
Malik, who has been banned from representing Pakistan for a year due to infighting within the team during a recent tour of Australia, arrived in Hyderabad last week from Pakistan to work out arrangements for his wedding to Mirza.
Mirza broke off a previous engagement this year before announcing her plans to marry Malik.
The news of the Malik-Mirza wedding plans sparked instant news coverage in the region because neighboring Pakistan and India are longtime rivals, and have fought three wars since their independence from Britain in 1947.
Ayesha siddique's claim rejected by imran nazir
Pakistan's opening batsman Imran Nazir has rejected Ayesha Siddiqui’s, statement that the former spoke to her on the phone during Shoaib Malik’s alleged affair and marriage to the woman.
Talking to a private news channel Imran said that Shoaib was his close friend but he never spoke to his fiancée as alleged.
“What she has said about me is absolutely wrong” he declared.
Ayesha, the Indian woman who claims to be Shoaib wife, had claimed in an interview earlier that she was in contact with several Pakistani players during her engagement with Shoaib.
All-rounder Abdul Razzaq said that he went to Ayesha Siddiqi’s home with Shoaib Malik during Pakistan cricket team’s tour to India in 2005 but he didn’t meet any girl.
He maintained that the players of cricket team met with Ayesha’s mother and father but Ayesha was not at the home.
Both the cricketers wished good luck to Shoaib and Sania for their wedding.
Talking to a private news channel Imran said that Shoaib was his close friend but he never spoke to his fiancée as alleged.
“What she has said about me is absolutely wrong” he declared.
Ayesha, the Indian woman who claims to be Shoaib wife, had claimed in an interview earlier that she was in contact with several Pakistani players during her engagement with Shoaib.
All-rounder Abdul Razzaq said that he went to Ayesha Siddiqi’s home with Shoaib Malik during Pakistan cricket team’s tour to India in 2005 but he didn’t meet any girl.
He maintained that the players of cricket team met with Ayesha’s mother and father but Ayesha was not at the home.
Both the cricketers wished good luck to Shoaib and Sania for their wedding.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Current Subscribers
