'Hectic' IPL won't affect form: Srikkanth

Although concerned about the "hectic" IPL and the impact of non-stop cricket on Team India's players, chairman of selectors
Krishnamachari Srikkanth is confident India can retain their World T20 crown in England.

"There are clearly no favourites in the tournament, but our top order can tear apart any attack. Starting from the openers to the middle-order batsmen, all of them are capable of turning it around. The depth in batting is huge," Srikkanth told TOI on Saturday.

Asked if he was worried about openers Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir's lacklustre form in the IPL, Srikkanth said, "No, I am not at all worried. Viru and Gambhir have won many matches for India in the past and they must be itching to come back strongly. They are classy players and will surely play huge roles."

Srikkanth also said he sympathised with the overworked players, some of whom have expressed concerns about mental fatigue after the long-drawn IPL. "In today's world, every nation is playing non-stop cricket. I feel bad for the cricketers but yet we can't help it. You have to get used to it and carry on in a professional way," he said.

I also agree that IPL was hectic for the cricketers, but it also gave a lot of match practice. Keeping in mind the World Cup factor, the event was really useful. There were so many close games and featuring in them makes a player mentally tough.

"The IPL also witnessed a lot of improvisation. We saw part-timers like Suresh Raina and Rohit Sharma winning matches with the ball, which means (skipper) Dhoni will have a lot of options on the field. I am very happy with the intensity of the players," Srikkanth, who is expected to join the Indian team after the India-Bangladesh match on June 6, said.

"Moreover, the conditions in England will suit our medium-pacers well as they can move the ball. Undoubtedly, the World Cup will be a closely-fought event and in that way, every team is a favourite. But India certainly have the edge over others. T20 is not only slam bang cricket, you must have an intelligent approach to the game. Making the right moves at the right time is crucial," Srikkanth added.

IPL inaugural edition more vibrant than IPL II: Sachin

KOLKATA: Batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar on Tuesday said the inaugural edition of the Indian Premier League in India last year was far more
vibrant than the IPL II which was held in South Africa in April-May.

The Mumbai Indians captain, who featured in both editions of the Twenty20 extravaganza, said, "The first year was definitely better. When you play in India, it's a different ball game altogether. (But) the reception we got each time (in South Africa) was terrific."

The cricket icon, here for a promotional event, was, however, all praise for South Africa for hosting the tournament grandly in such a short notice.

"They got very little time - three and half weeks - to put everything together to organise such a great tournament. They have done a terrific job. But if you give me a choice, then obviously it's going to be India. The response was much bigger and better (in IPL I)," the 36-year-old said.

The batting great, who has opted out of the ICC World Twenty20 in England, said India would successfully defend the title.

We have an explosive batting line-up, backed by a good bowling attack. On the whole, our team is quite nicely balanced. I don't see any reason why we cannot live up to the expectation," Tendulkar said.

He, however, said cricket is a game of uncertainties and so anything can happen on any given day.

"Obviously, in cricket no one can guarantee what's going to happen. The game is full of uncertainties, but going by our strength and the balance in the team, we stand a very good chance. I have confidence in our team."

IPL can be a big hit at global venues: Shah

RAJKOT: Buoyed by the success of the second season of IPL, Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) plans to organise T20 tournaments on
international venues at least once in three years.

Talking to IPL's vice-president Niranjan Shah said here that the tournament can become a global event and this has been proved by its recent success in South Africa. "IPL can be organised in the US too. Though it is domestic cricket tournament, I am sure it can be huge hit there," said Shah. He, however, added that the US does not have proper infrastructure for conducting cricket tournaments on larger scale.

About the tourney's success in South Africa, Shah said that though it was organised there as a part of strategy and for security reasons, the response was tremendous. "IPL will be India's gift to international sports," the former BCCI secretary said, adding, it can usher in a beginning of this game in those countries where cricket is virtually unknown.

IPL 2009 Final: Deccan Chargers Win Close Game

The umpires were jived up, with Rudi Koertzen challenging the packed crowds and the players, "Are you ready?" Anil Kumble won the toss and chose to field, somewhat like Vishwanathan Anand picking black, I guess.

The first men in for the Deccan Chargers were the fearsome Adam Gilchrist and Herschelle Gibbs, and Jumbo himself took the ball. The kids were tucked off the bed just in time for the first ball, although they popped their heads out soon enough as Gilchrist went for the second. The Royal Challengers of Bangalore (RCB) seemed off to a good start, and it promised to be a great evening of cricket, if only the repetitive ads could be quelled.

Gibbs batted through the innings, and one expected much fireworks but the Bangalore bowlers kept the Deccan Chargers in check, with Anil Kumble taking 4 wickets for 16 runs, and Vinay Kumar chipping in with 2 wickets for 30 runs. The Deccan Chargers wrapped up at 143 for 6, perhaps wishing they had put in a bit more effort and brought the score closer to 160.

The RCB came out the field to face some chatter from Andrew Symonds directed at young Manish Pandey, behaviour he appeared to repeat with every batsman. The first couple of overs were uneventful, and Jacques Kallis looked like he was getting off to a good start when he was bowled out by RP Singh at 16. This wasn't Manish Pandey's night either, when he got out for 4. van der Merwe had better luck, making it to 32 off 21 balls. There was a bit of slapstick along the way, with Roelof first tripping over himself in response to a yorker from Symonds, and then barrelling into the stumps as he completed a 3-run streak.

At the end of ten overs, the RCB were pretty much neck to neck with the DC, needing 75 from 60 balls, and with three wickets gone. Rahul Dravid and Ross Taylor were at the crease. The filled-to-capacity Wanderers stadium in Johannesburg thirsted for some excitement, and television viewers suffered through the same old advertisements through the time-out. The Zoozoos were out in force, probably deciding to reprise everyone of their by-now interminable spots. A Pepsi Quick Gun Dhoni spot in the strategic time out was new, but beaten to death, as always.

Rahul Dravid didn't contribute much, being bowled out for 9 in the 12th over. Ross Taylor kept up the pace, maintaining a steady run-rate until he was taken for 27, when the RCB were 99/5 in the 15th over. Mark Boucher came up to the crease, but the very next ball took Virat Kohli just off the line, taking then to 99/6. It was now Boucher and Robin Uthappa, both still to get off the mark. Andrew Symonds hoped for a hatrick, but Uthappa knocked it away for a double, easing some of the pressure.

At the end of 15 overs, the Deccan Chargers were 101-3, compared to the RCB 101-6. No one could say who had the edge, and the 16th over started with a boundary, but Boucher was taken by Gibbs in the fifth ball. The RCB seemed all but done in, 107-7 with four overs to go.

Praveen Kumar went in the very next over and the Chargers had the game well in hand. At the end of the 18th over, the RCB needed 27 off 12 balls, with just two wickets in hand. Vinay Kumar contributed a boundary and Uthappa knocked a much-needed sixer in the 19th over, only to see Vinay Kumar caught by Harmeet Singh off the last ball.

Anil Kumble came up to the crease with 15 runs needed, and he gave Robin the strike with a single from the first ball. Robin scanned the field, as Gilchrist nudged fielders into position and RP Singh sported a wry smile. He missed the next ball, keeping strike. The next ball was poorly played again by Uthappa, as Gilchrist donned a helmet in preparation to move closer to the stumps. Two runs off the next ball meant two sixes would be needed from the last two balls for the RCB to win. A leg-bye boundary was signalled and the purple-capped RP Singh knew he needed to just bowl a legal ball to win the game, with 8 needed. He delivered in style, and the Deccan Chargers lifted the IPL trophy for 2009.

The IPL 2009 finals gave us the very best of the action-packed, tense scenes that have become the keynote of this format. The Deccan Chargers turned the game around and in effect, came from the bottom of last year's league to win this tournament. The Royal Challengers of Bangalore demonstrated admirable consistency after Anil Kumble took the captaincy from Kevin Pietersen.

Twenty20 seems to be spreading across the cricket spectrum, with a T20 World Cup in England in June and the ICC Champions Twenty20 League in India in October. There are reports of Lalit Modi wanting two IPL tournaments each year. The commercial minds behind this innovation seem intent on getting the most out of it, but they might end up killing the golden goose if they're not careful. Burnout in the Twenty20 format will likely be faster than in more traditional cricket, and audiences might get confused with blurred loyalties, seeing players in different teams through the year, based on format and championship.

Resurgent teams look to continue winning

The last time this rematch of last year's final happened, both the teams were languishing in middle-and-lower part of the points table. Things have changed since then. Chennai Super Kings have won four on the trot, including that rematch. Rajasthan Royals have come back from that defeat with three straight victories, and now both teams are the joint leaders.

Given the tight nature of the event, we will surely have a new leader by the time Chennai and Rajasthan face each other again tomorrow, the second game of the day. Then again we might not if Delhi Daredevils and Deccan Chargers both lose their matches. But what's certain is that both Chennai and Rajasthan will be in the top four. What's also certain is - more importantly - that by the end of tomorrow, the teams closest to them will have matches in hand. In that light, it's needless to say how important two points will be for both the teams.

Form guide (completed matches, most recent first)

Chennai: WWWWL
After describing his batting form as "pathetic", MS Dhoni has now become part of a dangerous Chennai trinity, the other two being Matthew Hayden and Suresh Raina. Between them they have scored 895 runs, the rest have scored 391.

Rajasthan: WWWLW
In two matches Amit Singh has taken seven wickets at four runs per wicket and has given away runs at 3.5 an over. But as with Rajasthan's earlier prodigy Kamran Khan, Amit's action is also under suspicion.

Watch out for

Murali v Yusuf: Like Warne v Hayden, this one is a crucial sub-plot to this drama. Main batsman v main spinner, that's where the difference could lie.

Team news

Chennai, despite their winning streak, have two missing links in their piece: the opening pace bowler (Manpreet Gony is not fitting that role) and the opener along with Hayden (S Badrinath was tried last game, and scored a golden duck). But the bright side is that ever since Badrinath has moved up the order - and has thus got a few balls to play himself in - he has played an important anchor role in the middle order.

Chennai: (probable) 1 S Badrinath/M Vijay/Parthiv Patel, 2 Matthew Hayden, 3 Suresh Raina, 4 MS Dhoni (capt. & wk), 5 Albie Morkel, 6 Jacob Oram/George Bailey, 7 Shadab Jakati, 8 Sudeep Tyagi, 9 L Balaji, 10 Manpreet Gony/Joginder Sharma/extra batsman, 11 Muttiah Muralitharan.

It's unlikely Rajasthan will drop Amit. Lee Carseldine, Naman Ojha and Abhishek Raut have been good additions late in the season. It should be touch and go between Morne Morkel, who got his first game when he played against Royal Challengers Bangalore, and Dimitri Mascarenhas.

Rajasthan: (probable) 1 Graeme Smith, 2 Naman Ojha (wk), 3 Lee Carseldine, 4 Yusuf Pathan, 5 Ravindra Jadeja, 6 Niraj Patel, 7 Abhishek Raut, 8 Shane Warne (capt.), 9 Dimitri Mascarenhas/Morne Morkel, 10 Amit Singh, 11 Munaf Patel.

Kings XI Punjab look to bounce back against Deccan Chargers

After suffering two consecutive losses, Kings XI Punjab will be looking to bounce back when they face Deccan Chargers in the Indian
Premier League (IPL) at the De Beers Diamond Oval on Saturday.

With just five matches in hand, time is running out for sixth-placed Kings XI, who have eight points. Deccan Chargers, however, are well placed as they have played one match less than Kings XI and are placed fourth with 10 points.

If Kings XI Punjab want to make the last four, they cannot afford to lose against Deccan Chargers.

"We have to win 100 per cent of our matches and that's not easy," Kings XI skipper Yuvraj Singh said.

Both teams will be clashing for the first time in the league and both will be looking to a score a point.

But problems are aplenty for Kings XI. Yuvraj admitted that there are some concerns for his team.

Yuvraj, who carried his bat with an unbeaten 58 in Thursday's defeat against Chennai Super Kings, said that the bowlers are letting the team down.

"Our bowling remains a major problem for us, especially bowling at the death. We have to sort out these issues," he said.

On his performance, Yuvraj said: "I'm not happy with myself either. I think I too need to brush up my game."

Deccan Chargers, who are one of the favourites to win the title in this second edition of the IPL, are riding high after their win over Mumbai Indians.

Deccan Chargers skipper Adam Gilchrist and South African Herschelle Gibbs are in good touch while Rohit Sharma and T. Suman have strengthened the middle-order.

The return of Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds, who has been cleared by his board, will surely boost the Deccan Chargers.

'We need to win all remaining games to qualify for semis': Sachin

With only three wins out of nine matches, Mumbai Indians find themselves at a lowly seventh spot in the IPL points table, and skipper Sachin Tendulkar admitted that from here on his side will have to win all their remaining matches to be in the fray for the semi-finals.
Mumbai Indians slumped to their third consecutive defeat last night when Delhi Daredevils humiliated them by seven wickets here and the master blaster said not putting enough runs on the board has become a major worry for the side.

"Well I think whatever games are remaining we have to win them all. We have been pushed to the corner and we will have to start to put up some descent totals," Tendulkar said.

"I think we didn't scored many runs on the board but the bowling department was very good. So the basic problem is not having enough runs on the board," he added.

He, however, lauded his bowlers for their gutsy display against Daredevils and making a match out of the paltry total.

"I don't think if you score 117 runs and still make a good match out of it and I think we were pretty much there in the match. Our bowling and fielding were disciplined. Sometimes things just don't click for you," he said.

"It is always good to have big totals on the board but I think the positive of the game for us was that we were able to push the game to the 19th over. The spinners did a fantastic job. And they brought us back into the game."

Beer trouble for Shane Warne; will IPL bear?

Rajasthan Royals skipper Shane Warne’s antic of having a sip of beer during the IPL match has created lot of controversies in the cricketing circle.

Though consumption of alcohol by a player while a game is on may not come under anti-doping rules governed by WADA and practised by the International Cricket Council but for most, the act has hurt the spirit of the gentleman’s game.

Shane Warne, who was involved in lot of controversies during his playing days, went against the `spirit` of the game when he decided to take a quick sip from a glass of beer offered by a fan when his team, Rajasthan Royals. Warne was walking out to field after the first strategy break in the game against the Royal Challengers on Thursday.

Though the incident was shown on TV, the IPL governing body seemed to have decided not to take up the matter further as there was no official statement in this regard.

Warne has been having a great run in IPL as his team is winning most of the matches. A few sips of beer simply added needless debate for his team which has recently been dogged by the issue of suspect bowling actions.

Victory takes Daredevils top of IPL

The Delhi Daredevils surged to the top of the Indian Premier League (IPL) after crushing the Mumbai Indians by seven wickets on Friday.

Delhi's sixth win in eight matches moved them one point clear of the Chennai Super Kings and the Rajasthan Royals. Mumbai are second from bottom in the table and in danger of missing out on the semi-finals.

After skittling Mumbai for 116, the Daredevils scored 118 for three with seven balls to spare.

Delhi's victory was built around a third-wicket stand of 61 between AB de Villiers and Tillakaratne Dilshan (17).

De Villiers hit an unbeaten 50 off 38 balls, the South African's second half-century of the tournament standing alongside one century.

Delhi also received a solid start thanks to a first-wicket partnership of 42 between David Warner (21) and Gautam Gambhir (19).

Warner fell to off-spinner JP Duminy, who returned the economical figures of one for 15 off four overs.

After winning the toss and electing to bat Mumbai slipped to 33 for four following two run-outs and a wicket apiece for left-arm swing bowler Dirk Nannes and seamer Rajat Bhatia.

West Indies all rounder Dwayne Bravo and left-handed Indian batsman Abhishek Nayar (18) then shared a fifth-wicket stand of 57 before the former was caught behind off Nannes for 35.
Bravo's dismissal sparked a collapse as Mumbai lost six wickets for 26 runs.

Bhatia returned career-best Twenty20 figures of three for 15.

Rain, floodlight failure put dampener on IPL

Rain and a floodlight failure took the gloss off the second day of the Indian Premier League's double-header weekend at Newlands Sunday.

A grey first day provided enough cricket and entertainment, including an expensive and spectacular opening ceremony, to satisfy a capacity crowd.

All the tickets for Sunday were sold out too but steady morning rain threatened to ruin the day.

The match between the Delhi Daredevils and Kings XI Punjab started more than an hour and a half late.

Initially reduced to a 14-overs-a-side, it became a 12-overs game and finally was decided by the Duckworth-Lewis Method when chasing side Delhi's innings was halted by rain.

In the end they had to score 54 in six overs, which they accomplished with seven balls to spare for a 10-wicket win.

New Zealand left-arm spinner Daniel Vettori took three for 15 for Delhi as Kings XI were restricted to 104 for seven.

Indian opening batsmen Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir made the revised target of 54 look easy, with Sehwag finishing the match with his fourth six in an innings of 38 not out off 16 balls.

"I think spinners are going to play a huge part in the tournament," said Vettori, referring to good performances by Harbhajan Singh, Shane Warne and Anil Kumble on Saturday.

Just before the Deccan Chargers took on the Kolkata Knight Riders, the lights on one of four floodlight towers failed.

By the time the problem was solved, the schedule was again running more than an hour and a half late but a full match was played.

With the pitch proving lively in the damp conditions, the Knight Riders were bundled out for 101 and the Chargers strolled to an easy eight-wicket win.

Fast bowler RP Singh took four for 22 as Kolkata struggled to 101 all out.

The Chargers needed only 13.1 overs to clinch their win, with Herschelle Gibbs hitting 43 not out and Rohit Sharma 36 not out.

It was an encouraging performance by the Deccan side, who finished last of the eight teams in 2008.

"It's a good start," said Gibbs. "We've got a new captain, a new manager and some new ideas. The team spirit is really good."

With new captain Adam Gilchrist at the helm and former Australian batsman Darren Lehmann as coach, the Chargers kept the Knight Riders under pressure almost from the time Kolkata captain Brendon McCullum won the toss and decided to bat.

Australian Brad Hodge was the only Kolkata batsman to shine, hitting 31 before falling to a stunning reflex catch by Gibbs at backward point off Scott Styris.

Delhi and Deccan joined first day winners Mumbai Indians and Bangalore Royal Challengers as pace-setters in the 37-day tournament.

IPL 2 flags off with 5.5 TVR

The Indian Premier League (IPL) second season kick-started on April 18 in Cape Town (South Africa), with the inaugural match being played between the Mumbai Indians and the Chennai Super Kings, followed by the second match on the same day between the Rajasthan Royals and the Royal Challengers Bangalore.

The TAM Media Research data for both the matches are out. Although, TAM data is out every week, this time, it has reported data in just one day keeping the interest around IPL in mind.

According to TAM Media Research (C&S 4+, Six Metros), the IPL match played between Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings garnered a TVR of 5.5. Compared to the inaugural match of last season, this figure is quite low as the match had got a TVR of 8.21.

For the inaugural match, the ratings from Mumbai and Chennai were higher than the average of six metros. Mumbai reported a TVR of 6.62, while in Chennai it was 6.18.

The second match of IPL 2 on April 18, which was played between Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bangalore, reported a TVR of 5.48. Even during this match, Mumbai reported the maximum TVR of 6.94, while Delhi was next amongst six metros with a TVR of 6.14.

In CAS and DTH homes, the first and second match reported a TVR of 7.24 and 6.71, respectively. Chennai reported a TVR of 10.98 for the first match, which was played between the home team and Mumbai Indians. The second innings of the match had more number of viewers as indicated by the high TVR, which reached up to 13.77.

In analog houses of C&S populations, the TVRs for the first and second match were 5.33 and 5.32, respectively, which was closer to the overall average.

The TAM numbers of IPL 2 are impressive, as the viewership pattern over the years has fragmented to a large extent with new channels and newer platforms. Seven million viewers tuned in for the inaugural match between Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings and 8.1 million for the second match between defending champions Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bangalore. That compares with 5.6 million viewers who were drawn to the inaugural match of IPL's first edition in 2008.

Anita Nayyar, chief executive officer, Havas Media India, said, "We expected a decline in viewership ratings on three counts. First, the novelty factor was missing since this is the second year. This trend is also noticeable for realty shows that air for the second or third time. Second, IPL moving out of India has also contributed to the decline in ratings. Third, the General Elections in the country are taking place at the same time."

The IPL matches are being played at 4 pm and 8 pm IST. The large number of matches being scheduled in the evening could have an impact on the ratings of the matches. SET Max, the official broadcaster of season 2 of IPL, has decided to telecast repeats of the matches the next day at 7 am and 10.30 am on Sony Entertainment Television.

Sources said Bharti Airtel, Vodafone, Heinz and Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) are among the top 17 brands that advertised on SET MAX on the first day of IPL and the effective spot rates ranged from Rs 2.25 lakh to Rs 2.50 lakh.