VIRENDER SEHWAG SAYS HE WAS DETERMINED TO BAT LONGER AGAINST KOCHI TUSKERS KERALA

The Delhi Daredevils skipper, Virender Sehwag said on Saturday that he had gone in to the Indian Premier League (IPL) match against Kochi Tuskers Kerala with an intention to lead from the front by batting throughout their innings.

"Absolutely happy. The wicket was not easy, I took the responsibility and once we crossed 120, I thought we had got par. We were very happy we got 158," said Sehwag after the match.

"I was hitting the ball nicely, it was obvious I had to bat longer. I told myself if I just stayed longer we could get 130, a good total on this wicket. And then just told my bowlers to bowl straight, and the wicket would do the rest," the visiting skipper added further.

The swashbuckling Indian opener led the Daredevils from the front with a whirlwind 80-run knock which came of just 47 balls. His knock steered the hosts to a daunting total of 157 for 7 before the Morne Morkel-led bowling attack rolled over Kochi for just 119 runs, to register a 38-run victory at the Nehru Stadium in Kochi.

Morne Morkel and Roelof van der Merwe shared three wickets each, conceding 18 and 20 runs respectively, while Irfan Pathan and Ajit Agarkar returned with two wickets apiece.

The Kochi captain, Mahela Jayawardene, lauded his counterpart for the belligerent knock and said that that Sehwag's heroics at the top of the order took the game away from the home side. He said that 130 to 140 runs would have been a competitive total, but chasing 160 was quite tough.

Jayawardene wished they had removed Viru early. He also said that after getting on to a relatively good start, the bowlers failed to keep hold in the second half of Daredevils’ innings.

"The way we bowled in the last 10, we didn't have any control over things. We didn't bowl good areas. The first 10 we were good," said Jayawardene.

The Delhi Daredevils were earlier at the bottom of the tournament points table, but the victory against Kochi Tuskers Kerala has moved the side up to number seven.

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SWOLLEN LEFT KNEE LEAVES SHANE WARNE DOUBTFUL FOR MATCH AGAINST PUNE WARRIORS

The Rajasthan Royals skipper, Shane Warne is a doubtful starter for his team’s crucial Indian Premier League game against Sahara Pune Warriors India, at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on Sunday, as the legendary Australian spinner is struggling with a swollen knee.

The Rajasthan skipper was seen testing the fitness of his knees during a practice session on the eve of the match. When asked about the strength of his knees, the spin prodigy conceded that his left knee was inflamed and he would take the final decision in this regard on Sunday morning.

“Yes it is still swollen. Cartilage of my left knee is inflamed. There is swelling and I will have another look at it in the morning,” Warne told the reporters at the pre-match media conference.

Giving the details of his swollen knee, the 41-year-old Victoria bowler said that he had picked up the injury while fielding in their convincing seven-wicket win over table toppers, Mumbai Indians, on Friday. He however, was hopeful that he would be fit to play against Pune tomorrow.

“My knee got stuck when I dived for the ball while fielding yesterday,” said Warne. “I have had three operations on that knee. I have been icing it and I will use more ice packs. Hope I can be fit for the match against Pune.” 

Ashok Menaria, the Rajasthan Royals all-rounder, however, dismissed any fears about Warne's availability for Sunday's match.

“There is nothing wrong with Shane and he is out for the practice,”  said the 20-year-old left arm spinner when asked about the condition of his captain’s injured knee.

Sources inside the Rajasthan team have also claimed that even a less than hundred percent fit Shane Warne would be part of the playing eleven against Sahara Pune Warriors tomorrow.

With nine points from 8 games, the Rajasthan based franchise currently stands at number three. A victory against Pune would take them to the top of the table with 11 points, just ahead of current table toppers, Mumbai Indians, who have 10 points from seven games.

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WE GAVE 20 RUNS IN EXCESS AND COULD NOT SCORE RAPIDLY – YUVRAJ SINGH

The Pune Warriors captain Yuvraj Singh, rued that his bowlers conceded 20 odd extra runs during Royal Challenger Bangalore’s innings. Pune suffered a 26-run defeat against Daniel Vettori and his men at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore last night, 29 April, 2011.

The Pune skipper said that they leaked some extra runs to the opposition while fielding and then failed to score runs quickly while batting, leading to their fifth consecutive defeat in the tournament.

The struggling Warriors’ skipper reckoned that the 26-run defeat at the hands of Bangalore has made it quite tough for them to earn a berth in the IPL playoffs since a single defeat in the ensuing six games would mean an ouster from the lucrative league.

"It is really tough from now on,” said the beleaguered Yuvraj. “We have to win six out of six to have a chance. We will give our best,” he vowed.

When asked about the advantage of winning a toss, the stylish middle-order batsman said that it is quite difficult to comment as he has won five tosses so far and lost all those games. Yuvraj wished he had lost the toss against RCB.

The 29-year old all-rounder from Chadigarh also conceded that his side’s batting was not up to the mark against the Bangalore attack.

"It was a gettable target because it was a good batting wicket,” said the former Punjab batsman.

“In the first six overs, we didn''t lose many wickets but Manish and Jesse partnership didn''t yield many runs. If the runs had come at that time, me and Robin could have finished off things. We will look at ourselves on where to improve on," he added.

When asked did if he made a mistake by not batting up in the order, Yuvraj said that batting at number four or five is the core of the team. He however agreed that he should have come up the order at least in this game.

Jesse Ryder was the top scorer from Pune with 51 runs from 34 deliveries followed by skipper Yuvraj Singh who consumed 23 balls to score 41 including two boundaries and three lofty sixes.

With two wins from seven games, the Pune Warriors stand second last at the points table just above DelhiDaredevils and that too because of a better run rate.

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VIRENDER SEHWAG BLAMES BATSMEN FOR THE DEFEAT AGAINST KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS

The dejected Delhi Daredevils skipper, Virender Sehwag slammed his batting line-up for his team’s 17-run defeat to the Kolkata Knight Riders at the Feroz Shah Kotla stadium in Delhi last night.

Chasing a gettable target of 149 to win, the Daredevils could amass only 131 runs from their allotted quota of 20 overs, to suffer fifth defeat in the tournament.

"We had enough batsmen, but no one took the responsibility to finish the job for the team. I said 150-160 is easily chasable, but KKR bowled well," said the disappointed Sehwag after the match.

The Delhi batting line-up collapsed dismally against Umesh Yadav-led Kolkata attack as none of the batsmen from the home side could cross the 25-run individual score line – except for the skipper Sehwag himself who top scored with 23-ball 34. Seven of the Daredevils batsmen fell for single digit scores.

Sehwag’s Kolkata counterpart, Gautam Gambhir, on the other hand, was happy to get the side back to winning track breaking a losing streak of three games. He said they were desperate for a victory to keep their chances of making the top-four alive.

"The guys showed a lot of desperation, we all wanted to win desperately...I never expected so much spin on such a grassy wicket," said Gambhir.

Gambhir praised the bowlers for their outstanding efforts and said that defending a modest 148-run total has boosted their morale.

"Everyone contributed in his own way, and if you manage to defend a score of 148 it gives the team a lot of confidence," said Gambhir. "Our bowlers showed what they are made of. My heart and soul is with KKR, I am not a Delhi boy anymore," he added further.

Manoj Tiwary was adjudged man of the match for his belligerent 61 not out off just 47 deliveries to steer the hosts to 148 for 7. While talking to the media after the match, Tiwary said that he went out to bat with an intention of keeping the wicket for the whole 20 over. He further added that things worked out for him and hoped to continue his contributions in the upcoming games.

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SHAHID AFRIDI: IT'S NOT APPROPRIATE TO EXPECT A YOUNGSTER TO BECOME A STAR OVERNIGHT

The flamboyant Pakistan captain, Shahid Khan Afridi has urged the team fans not to expect a novice to become a star performer overnight.

Afridi, the limited overs captain of Pakistan, expressed satisfaction over the performance of his new-look team and said that the youngsters are stepping up to the challenge, which is a good sign.

When asked about rookie pacer, Junaid Khan’s performance in the tournament, Afridi hoped the 21-year-old would improve as the tournament proceeds.

“It's not appropriate to expect a youngster to become a star overnight,” said Afridi while talking to the media reporters ahead of third One Day International of the five-match series against hosts, West Indies.

“He needs time and hopefully he would improve in the remaining matches. I'm happy with the performance of the young players and they are stepping up to the challenge,” he added further.

The 21-year-old left-arm medium pacer, Junaid Khan made his international debut in the ongoing tour of West Indies and has so far played one Twenty20 International and two One Day Internationals; the player though, is yet to claim a wicket. But the Pakistan skipper has confidence in the youngster and is hopeful Junaid Khan would make an impact in the remaining part of the tour.

Afridi, who is famous for his Boom Boom style, also expressed dissatisfaction over the One-Day Ranking System of the International Cricket Council.

“I can't understand this system. There should be some advantage for the visiting sides as winning a series is never easy for them no matter who they're playing against,” said the hard-hitting Pakistan batsman.

Afridi’s comments came in the wake of ICC’s recent announcement that even if the Men in Green managed to seal the five-match one-day series by 5-0, it will not add a single rating point to their account and the side would still be placed at No. 6 – their current ODI ranking.

Afridi said that it is quite difficult to thrive under ICC’s current ranking system adding that he has little clue what the system is based on. However, he said that his team would not get distracted by the rating system and they are still focused on winning the series.

The tourists, after losing the one-off Twenty20 International to West Indies, are leading the ODI series by 2-0. Both the outfits are scheduled to play a three-match Test series as well.

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Chennai Super Kings coach Stephen Fleming satisfied with bowling and fielding displays

Chennai Super Kings coach Stephen Fleming accredited his team’s 25-run win over Pune Warriors India at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai to the bowlers and fielders of the side.

He urged the players to emulate the standard of fielding in the upcoming matches of the ongoing Indian Premier League.

“We would look to replicate this standard of fielding in our coming matches,” said the former New Zealand skipper while talking to the reporters at the post-match media conference. “Today, we were desperate to win. This kind of fielding helps the bowler to be a bit more confident and gives the skipper much more confidence to dictate the game.”

Fleming confessed that their fielding was below par in the previous games and they were desperate to make the difference. He insisted that the side still needs to work hard in this department.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his men were quite unimpressive with the bat as the side managed to score 142 for 6 in 20 overs- thanks to the heroics of Michael Hussey who scored 61 off 48 balls hitting 4 boundaries and a six. In reply, the Warriors were 117 for 9 at the end of their allotted 20 overs.

The 38-year-old New Zealander admitted that Chennai were 15 odd runs short of a competitive score. Even then, he was happy with his bowlers and fielders were successful in putting the opposition under pressure in the second half of the game.

“We knew it was a below par score. Since our best players were struggling on that track, we felt it would be a tough score to attain,” said Fleming.

“We knew we had to bowl and field well. We increased the pressure on the rival batsmen as the match progressed. When they were scoring at six runs an over, we knew we had a good chance to win the match,” he added further.

The Chennai coach termed Jesse Ryder’s wicket as the turning point in the game. Fleming said that had the hard-hitting Kiwi batsman gone for some big hits, it would have been quite difficult for them to defend their total.

The defending champions are currently placed on number four on the tournament points table with a tally of 6 points from 3 victories in 5 games.

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DARREN SAMMY SAYS THEY FAILED TO CAPITALISE ON GOOD START AGAINST PAKISTAN

West Indies skipper Darren Sammy rued his team’s inability to capitalise on the good start to post a par score as the hosts lost their second successive One Day International against Pakistan at St Lucia on Monday.

The 27-year-old medium pacer said that his side failed to capitalise in the key moments both in batting and bowling and this led to their seven-wicket defeat at the hands of the Men in Green. However, Sammy was happy that they were not totally rolled over as Pakistan took 47 overs to win the match.

“We could have tried to squeeze their batsmen more and when we batted we got a good start, but did not capitalise on it,” said Sammy. “We weren't rolled over today. We kept ourselves in the match right to the finish. There were moments when things could have gone either way, but we didn't make it happen.”

Sammy urged his side to find ways to come out of tight situations successfully. He insisted that they need to win the next game of the five-match ODI series in order to keep their prospects alive.

The West Indies batting line-up collapsed miserably against the Pakistan attack as none of the batsmen could cross the 30-run mark sans opener Lendl Simmons who struck a level-headed half century. Eight of the Caribbean batsmen failed to get past even 20. As a result, the hosts returned with a gettable score of 220 for 9 that was comfortably chased down by the tourists for the loss of just 3 wickets.

The home side was unable to post an impressive total in the opening One day International of the series as well as they made just 221 before Pakistan chased it down with more than 8 overs to go and 8 wickets in hand.

The visiting captain, Shahid Afridi was happy with the “discipline” shown by his team in Monday’s game and said that the reason behind their victories is that they are sticking to the game plan. He was also happy with the improved batting at the top of the order.

Pakistan lead the five-match ODI series by 2-0. The third match of the series will be played in Barbados on April 28, 2011. 

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Rohit Sharma eager to make a comeback to the national side

The promising India batsman, Rohit Sharma said on Saturday that he has gotten over the disappointment of not making his maiden World Cup berth but he is still eager to make a comeback in the national side.

The 23-year-old Maharashtra batsman, who was overlooked by the selectors for the World Cup campaign, vowed that he would give his absolute best whenever he gets the opportunity of putting on the national colors in future.

"I know I missed out on the World Cup. But it's alright; such things happen. I just need to keep my focus on. Don't lose my heart and whenever I get the opportunity, just do my best," said Sharma.

Sharma, who is yet to debut in the Test format of game, has played 61 One Day Internationals compiling 1248 including two centuries and five fifties.

Sharma is representing Mumbai Indians in the ongoing season four of the lucrative Indian Premier League (IPL) and has been remarkable with the bat so far.

He has compiled a tally of 134 runs from three games. The tally also includes his whirlwind knock of 87 runs against Chennai Super Kings which was laced with eight muscular boundaries and five lofty sixes.

Talking about his belligerent innings against Chennai, Sharma said that he did not have enough opportunities earlier to prove his mettle. He was pleased with his stellar performance against Chennai bowlers.

I have been batting well,” said Sharma. I have not had enough opportunities. It was my day, there was pressure and I did well. I am glad to make runs. It was a perfect day for me. Two wickets in first four overs and I had time in my hand to go and get my runs," he added further.

The Maharashtra batsman was also happy the way Wankhede Stadium behaved under lights. He said that the dew made facilitated batsmen at an already batting friendly Wankhede pitch. He further added that the ball was coming on nicely to the bat because of dew and he just took it from there.

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FLAWED BATTING ORDER COST PAKISTAN SEMI FINAL GAME AGAINST INDIA IMRAN KHAN

Pakistan's former World Cup winning captain, Imran Khan, blamed the national team to have a flawed batting order for its 29-run defeat against arch-rivals India in the semi-final of the recently concluded ICC World Cup 2011.

"I kept on saying that you need to send your best batsmen at the top so that they can save wickets”, said Khan while talking to the media on the sidelines of a function arranged to honour Elite panel umpire, Aleem Dar. Dar was one of the officials in the high-pressure World Cup final between India and Sri Lanka.

“When you preserve your wickets, the pressure transfers to the fielding side and if you have couple of hard hitters in the team, you can always score quick runs in the final overs", he further added.

The cricketer-turned-politician said that the same strategy was followed by the team in the knockout matches during 1987 and 1992 editions of the World Cup.

The former cricket star of Pakistan admitted that losing to the Men in Blue, led by Dhoni, in the semis still hurts and it is hard to accept the loss. Imran reckoned that Afridi and his men crumbled under pressure.

Imran Khan said that the Cornered Tigers were outstanding throughout the mega event prior to collapsing under the pressure of the semi-final. The former Pakistani cricket captain said that he was not expecting that the team would come under pressure.

"What disappoints me is that this team overall performed very well and reached the semi-finals when no one expected it to go this far”, said the 58-year-old. "But once they had got into the semi-final and knew it was going to be a high pressure match against India, the players should have been ready for the situation. Unfortunately they buckled under the pressure", he further added.

The former all-rounder ace is frustrated that the co-hosts were under immense pressure of playing in front of home crowd as well as their title favourites tag. He said that the whole batting line-up of India, except forVirender Sehwag, was under pressure and this led to quite a number of soft dismissals as well.

He said that pressure on the Indian team could be better judged from the fact that a world class performer like Sachin Tendulkar offered at least four chances to the opposition to send him back to the pavilion.

Khan further commented that the under pressure Men in Blue seemed to be all set for a defeat but Pakistani batsmen failed to absorb the pressure on themselves and collapsed. Imran said that once wickets started falling, the pressure started to mount on incoming batsmen and it became difficult for them to perform. The legendary all-rounder noted tactical mistakes in the game as well.

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Pakistan's bowling, fielding has improved during the last year-Waqar

Pakistan cricket coach Waqar Younis has said that the team has improved dramatically during the last 12-14 months, especially in the fielding and bowling departments.

Waqar  denied the opinion of former Pakistan Captain Javed Miandad, in which he expressed that Pakistan team had not shown any notable improvement in the bowling and fielding, despite having special coaches for these areas.

"I don't want to indulge in such things. I am doing my job on the field and during the last 12-14 months the team has shown improvement," Waqar said.

Waqar, however,admitted that there are some issues in the batting sector, which need to be addressed. Pakistan team's weakness in the batting and fielding departments was clearly exposed in the recently-concluded World Cup, where a poor performance in the both areas let them down.

The major cause of Pakistan's defeat in the mega event was terrible team's fielding, as the fielders wasted five simple chances in the high-voltage semi-final game against India.

However, Waqar has some different thoughts in the mind. The former reverse-swing master stated, "Our fielding has improved a lot. Though critics are not happy and mention just one game, i.e. the semi-final against India where we dropped a good number of catches. However, I think overall our fielding has made remarkable improvement."

There are some report circulating in the media that Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has been negotiating with two foreigners for the post of national team’s batting coach after Miandad turned down the offer to join the team as batting consultant.

Earlier, Miandad showed his readiness to coach national team but after that, he refused to accept the job. There is also a kind of 'war of words' going on between Waqar and Miandad.
Miandad apparently has some issues in working as a support staff with the chief coach, Waqar, who is one of his junior fellows.

The coach, who is with the in West Indies, further hoped that youngsters in the side would perform well in the forthcoming Test and one-day series against the Caribbean.

The former fast bowler explained that it is a general practice all over the World that the young players are inducted in the team while targeting the next World Cup. Thus, Pakistan has also put some new-comers in the set-up in order to build team for the next showpiece event.

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Waqar Younis wants PCB to look beyond Javed Miandad

Pakistan head coach Waqar Younis is not happy with the Pakistan Cricket Board for approaching former captain Javed Miandad time and again to take over the batting coach position when the legendary batsman is not too interested in the job.

"Why do we keep going round and round about the same thing?” said Waqar Younis in an irked tone while talking to the media reporters. “Javed bhai was also offered this position last year and now again. But if he can't do it because of lack of time or for any other reason, then we should look at other options," he suggested.

Miandad one of the batting greats Pakistan cricket ever produced, has once again declined PCB’s offer to join the national cricket team as batting coach. After turning down the offer, the former Pakistan captain showed up at the national camp at Gaddafi Stadium to work on the technique of some of the players.

The situation left the head coach upset but he avoided from expressing his view through the media as it might lead to a new controversy.

Talking about his own performance, Waqar said that he would not say much about it but he did add that teams performance over the past one year speaks for his efforts.

"I don't say much but if anyone wants to access my performance as coach I think they can look at the results of the team in the last 12-13 months. The results speak for themselves. My job is to get the best out of the players and that is what I am doing," said the former fast bowler.

Waqar also warned his side against complacency in the upcoming tour of West Indies and said that though they have included a few young players in the squad but they have always been tough opposition at home.

He also urged the youngsters in the Pakistan team to perform well and make the best of the opportunity that has been given to them.

Pakistan team leaves for West Indies on Thursday, 14 April to play a one-off Twenty20 International followed by one-day and Test series as well.

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AFRIDI VOWS NOT TO SPEAK ON INDO-PAK RELATIONS IN FUTURE

Flamboyant Pakistan captain, Shahid Afridi, has vowed not to speak on the sensitive issue of Indo-Pak relations in the future, reiterating that there are some elements in Indian media, who are negative about ties between the two arch-rivals.

Afridi said that he is not against India, or Indian people insisting that he was misinterpreted by the media.

"I am not against India, or, Indian people or Hindus. They are Hindus living in Pakistan just like Muslims in India and since this is a very sensitive issue I have decided that from now on I will not speak on it", said Afridi while talking to a TV channel of Pakistan.

He stressed that there are negative elements, who do not want the two countries go ahead. He suggested that if the authorities from both sides want to move forward, they would have to change their mindset.

Afridi also hailed Indian skipper, MS Dhoni’s decision of coming up in the order and leading from the front in the World Cup final against Sri Lanka. The hard-hitting Boom Boom Afridi rued he should have batted up in the order.

Talking about the disappointing semi-final game against nemesis India, Afridi conceded that he made mistakes in the high-voltage game.

"I made mistakes in the World Cup particularly in the semi-final at Mohali”, admitted the all rounder, who finished as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with 21 scalps, along with Zaheer Khan of India. “I should have gone up the order like Mahendra Singh Dhoni did against Sri Lanka in the final at Mumbai", he added further. 

Talking about his 21 World Cup wickets, Afridi said that it was a big honour for him and that he never expected to finish the esteemed tournament as the joint leading wicket-taker.

He said that the main goal he and the coach had was to ensure a clean and politics free dressing room atmosphere and reckoned that he have been successful in doing that.

Afridi thanked senior players such as, Misbah-ul-Haq, Younis Khan, and, Kamran Akmal, for supporting him in the high profile tournament.

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