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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SEHWAG LEADS FROM THE FRONT

Delhi Daredevils (DD) Skipper Virender Sehwag raised his team from the bottom to the seventh position in the points table of the Indian Premier League (IPL) with a splendid fifty in Saturday’s 38-run triumph over the Kochi Tuskers Kerala.

Heading into today’s clash with just two wins, Delhi was under immense pressure after losing seven matches and were relying entirely on their skipper to pull them out of the lees.

Sehwag, accordingly delivered in excellent style, smashing eight boundaries and five sixes athwart his 80 runs off just 47 balls.

Inclined to stabilize the sinking ship of Daredevils in the stir of two early wickets by Shantha Sreesanth, getting rid of David Warner for three and Naman Ojha for a duck, respectively, Sehwag steadily kicked into his typically impatient approach in batting.

Yogesh Nagar and Travis Birt played a supportive role by making 22 and 20 runs, respectively. The swaggering right-handed weathered the initial hurricane and then punctually cashed in, receiving a special liking to the ineffective silage coughed up by the spinner.

While the opposition's pace spearhead, Sreesanth, located the superb line and length in tough conditions, Balachandra Akhil was ineffectively short and fellow slow bowler, Ramesh Powar, was trying too hard.Ravichandran Ashwin, agitated out four relatively impressive overs with a marginal left-arm turn.

For their Skipper endeavor Delhi recovered from four for two and then 35 for three to 157 for seven, which eventually demonstrated more than sufficient runs for a Nehru Stadium Pitch, annulled of much pace and bounce.

Conceited in Sreesanth's two wickets, only to be joggled by Sehwag's assault, Kochi's reply with the bat was completely worthless.

Kochi's tail-enders were never going to succeed in the face of spinner, Roelof van der Merwe's, delayed craftiness, the South African conscript shattering up three wickets in five deliveries to have Kochi all out for 119 in 18.5 overs.

While Delhis' anticipation of protecting a semi-final berth is back on its pathway, Mahela Jaywardene's Tuskers are left to intrigue the strategy to bounce up from second last position on the table.

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GEOFF MARSH URGES PUNE WARRIORS TO IMPROVE THEIR BATTING

The debutant, Pune Warriors’ coach Geoff Marsh has asked his players to improve their batting skills ahead of their Indian Premier League match against Royal Challengers Bangalore on Friday.

Pune, under the captaincy of ICC World Cup 2011 winning star, Yuvraj Singh started the tournament with sizzling wins over Kings XI Punjab and the debutant, Kochi Tuskers Kerala. But in the next matches, Yuvraj’s side lost their form completely and faced four losses on the trot, due to which they were moved down to the second last place in the points table.  

In the first two wins, Pune availed the advantage of their strong bowling attack, as they did not let their opponents to set big targets. While in the third game, they displayed a poor batting performance, as none of their batsmen could even score a half century. In the following matches, Pune’s openers and middle-order lost their batting form, which cost them successive defeats.

Jesse Ryder, Mohnish Mishra and Robin Uthappa, who were considered as top performing batsmen, failed to maintain their form against Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings.

The Warriors, now have eight more games to play including their Friday’s encounter with RCB, who have reserved third place in the table with three wins.

Marsh believed that his team has tremendous potential to play against RCB and they will come up with a place alongside the toppers Mumbai Indians and Chennai.

"The whole competition is pretty wide open at the moment. But we need to focus on winning the next game and playing better at the top,” said Marsh.

Marsh also added that if once they regain their momentum, they will have eight teams to go to lift their position up in order to make them among the top four teams for the semi-final.

Although statistical analysis of both the teams show that there has been a big difference in their performances in the tournament so far, but still the competition can become eye-catching if Ryder, Uthappa and Mithun Minhas regain their form.

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Ishant Sharma says Zaheer Khan helped him regain form

The gangly India pacer, Ishant Sharma has credited senior fast bowler, Zaheer Khan, for the development in his bowling line and length.

Defending a meager 20-overs total of 129 runs at the Nehru Stadium in Kochi, the 22-year old Delhi bowler, returned with stunning match figures of 5 for 12 to lead Deccan Chargers to an emphatic 55-run victory over Kochi Tuskers Kerala.

“I need to say thanks to Zaheer Khan because he told me to keep working hard on my fitness. Working with him is really tremendous for me", said Ishant while talking to the media reporters after the match.

It was Ishant’s first ever five-wicket haul in the T20 format of the game. He was awarded with the man of the match award for his startling spell. Five of the top six Kochi batsmen were removed by the six feet five inches tall Delhi pacer.

When asked what inspired him to make such an outstanding come back, the right arm medium pacer said, "It's not about inspiration. When we were sitting in the dressing room, we thought 130 is a good total. When RP's first ball hit the gloves (of Sunny Sohal), we thought we won't mind bowling first on this track".

The triumphant Deccan captain, Kumar Sangakkara, of Sri Lanka, expressed satisfaction over the total posted by his batsmen and said that they were confident of defending that run-a-ball run rate. He praised the new-ball duo of Dale Steyn and Ishant Sharma for containing the opposition batsmen right from the start of their innings, as Kochi were reeling at 11 for six inside four overs.

The Deccan skipper also hailed team coach, Darren Lehmann, for helping the players develop confidence in themselves.

"He (Lehmann) has a lot of common sense when it comes to cricket, nothing flash, just go out there and hit your lengths. We need to keep playing good cricket", said Sangakkara.

The skipper of Kochi, Mahela Jayawardene said that they were well aware and of Deccan’s bowling strength. He singled out Dale Steyn and Ishant Sharma for praise for their remarkable spells.

Jayawardene was also unhappy about the way the pitch behaved last night and said that the wicket had a bit more movement than they were expecting.

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Board of Cricket Control India refuses to cut down franchise fee for Pune and Kochi

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) working committee on Wednesday has refused to cut down the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises fee for the two new teams, Kochi Tuskers Kerala and Pune Warriors.

Earlier, both the teams had forwarded their requests on the basis that the BCCI did not follow the terms in the Invitation to Tender with respect to the number of matches to be played in the ongoing IPL tournament.

The two debutants had already paid 75 percent of the annual installment of the total fee and wanted waive off the remaining amount.

Kochi and Pune Warriors explained that as per their contract, each team was supposed to play 18 matches at home and away but the BCCI had now reduced the matches to 14. As a result, the total numbers of matches were trimmed from 94 to 74, in a bid to lessen the work load on the players. Sahara bought Pune for US$370 million, while Kochi were purchased for US$333 million.

Pune, under the captaincy of World Cup winning star, Yuvraj Singh, started the tournament with a bang, as they earned two consecutive wins in the opening matches against Kings XI Punjab and Kochi. While in the next three matches, they lost their form and faced three successive defeats. On the other side, Kochi, who are being led by Sri Lankan, Mahela Jayawardene, did not have a stable start but later developed their form and earned three successive wins over Mumbai Indians, KKR and Chennai Super Kings. They are currently placed above Pune Warriors with three wins out of their six matches played.

Media reports also revealed that the committee did not have any discussion on the issue of resting senior players for the West Indies tour after a long, hectic schedule. The Indian captain, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, also opposed the tough schedule.

India will leave for the West Indies tour in June, which includes a Twenty20, five ODIs and three Tests while the ongoing IPL season, which started on April 8, will end on May 28.

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SRI LANKA’S MAHELA JAYAWARDENE SUPPORTS LASITH MALINGA’S DECISION TO QUIT TEST CRICKET

Sri Lanka’s middle-order batsman Mehela Jayawardene has come out in support of fellow teammate Lasith Malinga's decision to quit Test cricket.

Earlier this week the pacer Malinga announced that he will not be playing in the longest version of the game.

Jayawardene while talking on the matter, stated that the phenomenal pacer took the right decision and it will help him prolong his cricket career.

“In order to extend his career he has to quit test cricket. In fact his target is the next world cup in 2015 and by bidding adieu to tests he has prolonged his career in shorter version of the game.” Jayawardene said.

According to insiders, Malinga has been carrying a knee injury and in order to save himself from doing more damage to his knee, the slingy pacer decided to bid farewell to five-day cricket.

Jayawardene reiterated that in today’s cricket the pacers have to face the brunt of hectic schedules which shortens their cricket career.

Malinga is currently the number one strike bowler for Sri Lanka and the Lankans will want him to play for as long as he can, for which it is imperative for Malinga to cut down his workload.

Earlier there were rumours in the media that Malinga had taken the decision to retire from Test cricket after he was criticized by certain sections in Sri Lanka Cricket, alleging that the player had opted to play the IPL (Indian Premier League) instead of representing the country.

However, Jayawardene brushed aside such rumours and insisted that the bowler had only taken the decision keeping his future in front of him.

The former vice-captain said that Malinga was prone to injury and during his time of captaincy he always had to calculate the amount of workload on the bowler to make sure that he would remain fit nonetheless, even after such a cautious approach he suffered prolonged injuries in the past.

“He had worked hard and made a fine comeback and is performing brilliantly. He has realised that he can't sustain that huge work load and perhaps has prolonged his career. I am very happy for him," said the Kochi Tuskers Kerala skipper, Jayawardene.

Slinga Malinga as he is knick-named sometimes made his test debut for Sri Lanka in July 1, 2004 against Australia, while in the same month he played his first ever One Day International for his home side against the United Arab Emirates.

So far in 30 Test games he has taken 101 wickets while in one-days he has played 77 games and taken 114 wickets.

Malinga has been equally devastating in the shortest version of the game, the Twenty20, where he has played in 29 games taking 35 wickets.

Considering his current form, he will surely be an asset for Sri Lanka in the next world cup which is scheduled to be played in New Zealand and Australia in 2015. 

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KOCHI TUSKERS KERALA CAPTAIN MAHELA JAYAWARDENE TERMS UNITY AS SECRET OF SUCCESS

Kochi Tuskers Kerala captain Mahela Jayawardene has cited unity as the major reason for their third consecutive victory in the Indian Premier League.

After facing a couple of embarrassing defeats in their opening IPL matches, the Kochi team came back hard and notched their third successive win on Wednesday.

Jayawardene and company achieved a narrow six-run win over the leading side of the season, Kolkata KnightRiders.

Although the Kochi batsmen could not put up a huge score on board, their bowlers bowled magnificently.

Chasing Kerala’s total of 132, the Riders could only manage to score 126 in 20 overs.

It was Tuskers’ third victory of the fourth edition. They have already thrashed big guns like Mumbai Indians and defending champions Chennai Super Kings. 

The skipper termed unity and team effort as the vital elements which helped his side to roar back in the tournament.

“It’s all about teamwork. We believe in our abilities. We try and execute gameplans accordingly. Everyone applause each other’s success. It’s really great to have a group like that. We just had to be clinical in executing,” Jayawardene said.

The captain heaped praised on his side for putting up an all-round performance in the previous three matches. Enormously delighted over the third successive victory, the captain explained that the players adjusted their game well according to the changing conditions.

“This is the good thing about IPL, playing in different surfaces, you got to adapt to the situation. The bowlers bowled brilliantly under pressure today and fielding was outstanding. It was a very good team effort,” the Sri Lankan batsman added.

Responding to a question about the reports that he would be replaced by Sourav Ganguly when he returns home by May 5, 2011, Jayawardene refrained from making any comment. He stated that he is completely unaware about the possible date of players’ return to Sri Lanka in order to prepare themselves for their upcoming tour to England.

The captain further lauded his players for rising up to the occasion after a modest batting effort and hoped to carry forward the momentum in the upcoming contests.

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Gambhir takes defeat to Kochi as an eye-opener for batsmen

Kolkata Knight Riders’ captain Gautam Gambhir has said that the KKR’s narrow six-run defeat to Kochi Tuskers Kerala will prove to be an eye-opener for the middle-order batsmen, who are yet to show their magic in the Indian Premier League.

Kochi Tuskers thrashed the leading season IV side, Kolkata Knight Riders, on Wednesday. Chasing Kerala’s modest total of 132 runs, Gambhir and company could only manage to reach 126 for nine in 20 overs.

Manoj Tiwary, with his 46 runs, was the only batsman who showed some resistance against the Kochi bowlers. However, he could not take the side home single-handedly. All top Kolkata batsmen including Gambhir, Jacques Kallis, Shakib Al Hasan and Yusuf Pathan were not able to reach even in the double figures.

Describing the poor middle-order batting as the biggest cause of team's humiliating defeat at the hands of Mahela Jayawardene-led Kochi outfit, Gambhir said, "It was a complete batting failure. The wicket was much better and we could have chased easily.”

Gambhir expressed that the team got a lot of depth in its batting order. The captain explained that with hard-hitters like Yusuf and Eoin Morgan in the lower order, Kolkata outfit has loads of talent in its line-up. However, the batsmen just need to realize their responsibility.

"Our middle order is not tested yet and I am sure this will serve a good wake up call for them. It`s not going to be one person`s day every day. Someone needs to put his hands up say it`s my day and take the team forward,” the skipper added.

Deploring on his batsmen’s not-so-impressive performance, the captain, however, admired the bowlers for restricting Kochi XI on a small total, especially after their flying start.

The Knight Riders are leading the IPL standings with their three wins out of five games. Considering the defeat as unfortunate, the skipper stated that the team can take a lot of positives out from this loss.

Gambhir made it clear that the side has done extremely well so far in the tournament. The classy left-hand batsman further hoped that the players would take the defeat just as a bad day, and show up with an improved performance in the upcoming games.

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Mahela Jayawardene endorses review of Duckworth Lewis system for Twenty20 cricket

Kochi Tuskers Kerala skipper Mahela Jayawardene has endorsed a review of the Duckworth Lewis system for Twenty20 cricket despite benefiting from the system in their Indian Premier League match against the Chennai Super Kings on Monday.
The Sri Lanka batsman stated that the time has come to judge whether the method is good enough to be used in both One Day Internationals and Twenty20 cricket.
“It has to be reviewed. Duckworth/Lewis is a method which they came up for ODIs. To my limited knowledge, they do take an average score to make that formula. I think it is somewhere around 230 or 240. So once you take an average score like that and apply that in Twenty20s, the whole thing is different,” Jayawardene said.
The Duckworth Lewis method might have worked in Kochi’s favour when their IPL game against CSK was restricted to 17 overs per side. The Chennai batsmen could not bat for complete 20 overs, which eventually restricted them from putting up a big total. The Kerala outfit had a target of 135 in 17 overs, which they achieved easily in the end.
The system was first developed by two English statisticians, Frank Duckworth and Tony Lewis to tackle the problem of delayed ODI games interrupted by inclement weather or any other reason. The method was adopted by the International Cricket Council in 1999. Although it is generally considered as one of the most fair and accurate ways of calculation, it has generated some controversies as well.
The whole system works on calculating an average score and predicting the target for team batting second in both ODIs and Twenty20 cricket. That is why Jayawardene believes that the average score in a Twenty20 match should not be determined in the similar way as it is done for 50-over cricket.
“It is tough. But we need that sort of a calculation for situations like this. It is not easy. But there is room for improvement in all areas,” the former Sri Lanka captain added.
Meanwhile, the Chennai Super Kings coach, Stephen Fleming slammed the method and said, “It is a disadvantage. There is an anomaly and should not be around.”
Calling it as the biggest cause of his team’s defeat at the hands of Kochi Tuskers Kerala, Fleming also termed the method as ‘rubbish’ for the shortest format of the game.

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Kochi Tuskers Kerala captain Mahela Jayawardene believes team moving in right direction – IPL news

Kochi Tuskers Kerala skipper Mahela Jayawardene has said that the team is moving in the right direction after their consecutive wins over Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians in the fourth edition of the ongoing Indian Premier League.

The captain said that the victory over CSK had given a lot of positive energy to the players, which would surely help them in the upcoming matches.

After facing a couple of humiliating defeats in their opening IPL matches, the Kochi side roared back in style, notching two successive triumphs in the tournament.

Having defeated Mumbai Indians in the 13^th match of the IPL, Jayawardene and company thrashed defending champions Chennai Super Kings by seven wickets on Monday.

Chasing Kings’ target of 135 runs as per the Duckworth Lewis method, the Kochi side achieved the target convincingly with the help of a blistering innings from Brendon McCullum. The Kiwi wicketkeeper batsman scored 47 runs from just 33 balls with the help of 3 sixes and 4 boundaries.

“I think we are heading in the right direction, I mean beating Mumbai and Chennai is two huge win for us and we have got a lot of positives out of these two games but its like I said early in the tournament, we have to be consistent over a period of time and we work hard in areas which we have to improve and do that,” said Jayawardene.

Meanwhile, CSK coach Stephen Fleming blamed an hour-long rain interruption for the loss against Kochi. Fleming described that the team was in a great position after scoring 65 for 2 in 9 overs. However, with three overs less than the usual 20, the lower order batsmen did not get the opportunity to add some quick runs to the total.

Fleming believed that if his team had been given the complete quota of 20 overs, the result would have been different.

It was Chennai Super Kings’ second defeat in the competition. In contrast, the Kochi Tuskers have jumped up to the fourth spot in the IPL rankings with their second consecutive win in the tournament.

Kochi Tuskers are now due to lock their horns with the leading side of the season, Kolkata Knight Riders on Wednesday.

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Kochi Tuskers to sign Sourav Ganguly back in 4th season

Former India and Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Sourav Ganguly may make a sensational comeback in the fourth season of the Indian Premier League. Sources reveal that Kochi Tuskers Kerala is keen on signing Ganguly for the fourth season.

With leg-spinner-batsman Steven Smith ruled out, the Kochi franchise wants to sign Ganguly as a replacement player.

With already a week gone since the fourth season kicked off in Chennai, if Kochi signs Ganguly, the southpaw may make his debut against his former club Kolkata Knight Riders on April 20.

It would be a catch-22 situation for the Kolkata fans when their favourite son sits in the opposition dug-out.
Ganguly, Wasim Jaffer and VRV Singh were the only three Indians to remain unsold at the end of the two-day auction that took place in January in Bangalore.

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