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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ICC laments senior Indian players decision to skip West Indies tour

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has lamented rumours that star Indian players, Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni, Virendar Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh, and, Zaheer Khan would miss their upcoming series against West Indies, as a means to give themselves a rest before their series against Australia and England.

According to reports, many senior players of the Indian cricket team have requested the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to grant them permission to skip the West Indies tournament starting on June 4, 2011. This tour includes three Tests and five One Day Internationals (ODIs) and one Twenty20 game

The players added that they have been playing two months consecutively. First it was the ICC World Cup 2011, which concluded with the victory of Men in Blue. Currently it is the Indian Premier League (IPL).

There was only a six day gap between the World Cup and the IPL, which has exhausted the players. Hence they need a break from such a hectic schedule because they cannot afford to play another series after the end of IPL Twenty20 league on May 28, 2011.

Although Indian players have submitted their request to the BCCI, the ICC Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Haroon Lorgat has said that it would be harmful for Indian cricketers to skip the Windies tour.

Lorgat stated, “I think it affects the brand of cricket. Everybody wants to see a full strength side. Same applies to the IPL and any of the FTP (Future Tour Program) commitments. Because of the volume of cricket, every individual player has to be managed”.

While talking to the media, Lorgat said that the permission can be granted to a couple of players who need rest. However, all the crucial cricketers appealing for a skip from the tour would not be appropriate, he added.

Lorgat said, “One or two stars, asking for a rest is okay. If five or six stars do not want to go to West Indies, then I think, it's not an appropriate fulfilment of what has been committed to the FTP".

The ICC boss Haroon Lorgat said that the ICC Future Tours Programme does not take into account the domestic events of any country and the Indian Premier League is no exception.

He said that it is possible that in future, other boards ask for similar favours if the ICC grants a designated space to the IPL. He said that although the BCCI had not requested such a window, the cricket's governing body was not going to accommodate it if it asked.

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