Kings tower over Knights

West Indies dismisses Aussies for 311

Fast bowler Kemar Roach completed a five-wicket haul on Monday as West Indies bowled out Australia for 311 on the stroke of tea on a rain-hit second day of the second test.

Roach finished with 5-105 from 27 overs as Australia extened its overnight score of 208-5 by 103 runs in the first two sessions at Queen's Park Oval.

Michael Hussey top-scored with 73 and shared a seventh-wicket stand of 89 with James Pattinson, who contributed 32. The pair came together in the second over of the day when Matthew Wade on 11 edged Roach to Darren Bravo at second slip.

Australia took lunch on 267-6 but was stalled by a rain delay of close to two hours in the afternoon.

Upon resumption, Hussey and Pattinson continued to build the innings before there was a late fall of wickets with spin finally doing the trick for the hosts.

Offspinner Narsingh Deonarine removed Hussey to a driven catch to extra cover. The batsman struck four fours and a six in 208 balls and four hours.

In the next over, Pattinson's 119-ball knock was ended when he skied the bal on to the off side off a leading edge when facing Shillingford. The fast bowler hit five fours.

Roach returned to wrap up the tail, bowling Ben Hilfenhaus for 5 and trapping last man Michael Beer 2 lbw in successive overs.

Scoreboard:

David Warner c Sammy b Shillingford 29

Ed Cowan lbw b Roach 28

Shane Watson c Barath b Shillingford 56

Ricky Ponting c Sammy b Roach 7

Michael Clarke c Shillingford b Deonarine 45

Michael Hussey c Brathwaite b Deonarine 73

Matthew Wade c Bravo b Roach 11

James Pattinson c Bravo b Shillingford 32

Ben Hilfenhaus b Roach 5

Nathan Lyon not out 7

Michael Beer lbw b Roach 2

Extras: (5b, 5lb, 1w, 5nb) 16

TOTAL: (all out) 311

Overs: 135.

Fall of wickets: 1-53, 2-65, 3-83, 4-167, 5-178, 6-208, 7-297, 8-297, 9-309.

Bowling: Fidel Edwards 23-11-45-0 (1nb), Kemar Roach 27-5-105-5 (1w, 3nb), Darren Sammy 16-6-27-0, Shane Shillingford 46-17-92-3 (1nb), Narsingh Deonarine 20-6-32-2.

West Indies: Adrian Barath, Kraigg Brathwaite, Kieran Powell, Darren Bravo, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Narsingh Deonarine, Carlton Baugh, Darren Sammy, Kemar Roach, Shane Shillingford, Fidel Edwards.

Umpires: Marais Erasmus, South Africa, and Ian Gould, England.

TV umpire: Tony Hill, New Zealand. Match referee: Jeff Crowe, New Zealand.

Mumbai has no clue against the Daredevils

It was over as soon as it started for Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League match against Delhi Daredevils here on Monday. The team lost its openers with just five runs on the board as promising left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem got rid of both Richard Levi and Davy Jacobs.

Mumbai Indians never got going after the early setbacks and eventually was drubbed by seven wickets in its backyard. Delhi Daredevils, with its strong batting line-up, had no problems as it reached the target in 14.5 overs.

Led efficiently by Virender Sehwag, Delhi held the stranglehold right through the match to notch up its third win.

Missing Malinga

MI appears to be clueless without Sachin Tendulkar. On Monday there was another casualty in its ranks to add to its woes. Lasith Malinga did not figure on the team sheet and there was no official statement from MI with regard to Malinga's indisposition.

The Wankhede Stadium surface appears to play tricks when Levi is on strike and while facing left-arm spinners. The world's fastest century maker in T20s had no clue against Pune Warriors' Murali Kartik and also against Brad Hogg of Rajasthan Royals.

Sehwag tossed the new ball to left-arm seamer Irfan Pathan, but did not waste time ushering in Nadeem. The 22-year-old Nadeem, who plays for Jharkhand in the Ranji Trophy, sent down impressive spells in his three previous matches in IPL-V but with minimal rewards.

His fourth match proved successful. With his guile and craft he got the wickets of Jacobs and Levi in the first two overs and put his team in a commanding position.

Bowling from round the wicket, he flummoxed Jacobs with an orthodox delivery and then sent back Levi, who under-edged an arm-ball that hit the upper half of the middle stump. The big-hitting South African seems to have become a bunny to left-arm spinners at the Wankhede.

Then Rohit Sharma took his chances and survived before falling victim to Ross Taylor's superb judgment in the deep; Kieron Pollard was the second batsman to hit a ball in the direction of Taylor.

Test for Taylor

On Sunday evening, Daredevils had put the Kiwi through a rigorous fitness test, checked out his catching and fielding ability. Later, team mentor T.A. Sekar said it would be difficult to keep the New Zealand captain out of the playing XI. And Taylor proved his worth on the field.

Fine bowling by spinner Nadeem, sharp and incisive spells by Morne Morkel and Umesh Yadav assisted by splendid fielding by Yogesh Nagar and Taylor left MI reeling at 44 for six.

Mumbai skipper Harbhajan and his partnership with IPL debutant — Australian Clint Mckay — eventually helped Mumbai post 92.

Scoreboard:

Mumbai Indians: R. Levi b Nadeem 1 (4b), D. Jacobs b Nadeem 0 (10b), Rohit c Taylor b Agarkar 29 (27b, 5x4), A. Rayudu (run out) 4 (11b), K. Pollard c Taylor b Yadav 1 (3b), D. Karthik c Pietersen b Yadav 3 (4b), Harbhajan c N. Ojha b M. Morkel 33 (22b, 5x4, 1x6), C. McKay c Yadav b Irfan 8 (15b), R.P. Singh b M. Morkel 0 (4b), P. Ojha b Agarkar 3 (12b), Munaf (not out) 1 (5b); Extras (lb-4, nb-2, w-3): 9; Total (in 19.2 overs): 92.

Fall of wickets: 1-3 (Jacobs), 2-5 (Levi), 3-30 (Rayudu), 4-38 (Pollard), 5-41 (Rohit), 6-44 (Karthik), 7-78 (McKay), 8-80 (R.P. Singh), 9-89 (Harbhajan).

Delhi Daredevils bowling: Irfan 4-1-12-1, Nadeem 4-0-16-2, M. Morkel 4-1-22-2, Agarkar 3.2-0-27-2, Yadav 4-0-11-2.

Delhi Daredevils: N. Ojha c Harbhajan b R.P. Singh 13 (15b, 2x4), V. Sehwag c Levi b P. Ojha 32 (36b, 2x4, 1x6), K. Pietersen c Jacobs b R.P. Singh 9 (8b, 1x4), M. Jayawardene (not out) 17 (20b, 1x4), R. Taylor (not out) 11 (10b, 1x4); Extras (lb-5, w-6): 11; Total (for three wkts. in 14.5 overs): 93.

Fall of wickets: 1-34 (N. Ojha), 2-52 (Pietersen), 3-74 (Sehwag).

Mumbai Indians bowling: Munaf 3-1-15-0, R.P. Singh 4-0-24-2, McKay 3-0-24-0, P. Ojha 4-0-19-1, Pollard 0.5-0-6-0.

Man-of-the-match: S. Nadeem.

‘Temperament is his best quality'

His grooming is steeped in tradition and he just follows his coach's guidance at this crucial stage of his cricketing career.

The left-hander is a key batsman in Rajasthan Royals' scheme of things and his knock against Kolkata Knight Riders on Sunday has gone a long way in convincing the 21-year-old that he is on the right track.

Rajasthan has had a history of producing some exceptional players of spin.

Hanumant Singh and Parthasarthi Sharma were batsmen rated high by old-timers who aver their footwork was the most gifted. Menaria has a legacy to look up to. Only, he also knows his limitations very well.

His coach, Manoj Chaudhary, has worked hard, making Menaria remember the importance of keeping his head down. “Stardom is not the key to success in cricket. You make a hundred in the first innings and nothing in the second. It always helps to stay humble and concentrate on learning a lesson every day,” says Chaudhary of his attitude towards training the young cricketers.

Perfect platform

For Menaria, also a left-arm spinner who is yet to realise his bowling potential, the Indian Premier League (IPL) is just the platform to express his talent.

“It has been a fine learning process,” said Menaria.

Menaria loves to strike the ball. The T20 format encourages such a style. But his normal game is not to loft and heave. He is good at grinding the bowlers even though an IPL contest does not allow him the freedom to take time to settle down.

It helps Menaria that he is comfortable playing the ball on either side of the wicket.

The 230 against Railways was a landmark performance last season and showed the patient side of his batting. “His temperament is his best quality,” says Chaudhary. Menaria too agrees. “One has to be patient. You can't hit every ball.”

Twenty minutes of madness made the difference: Gilchrist

Adam Gilchrist said after KXIP's second straight defeat in the DLF-IPL-V that it's difficult for any team to play “flawless Twenty20.”

“I have not seen it; certainly it's difficult to see it happen over a stretch of 16 games. I am yet to see a team play a perfect game. Any team can beat any other team,” said Gilchrist.

KXIP had lost the first league match to Rajasthan Royals and Gilchrist has to find quick solutions to turn around the fortunes of his team.

KXIP and PWI clash again at Mohali on April 12. “I don't want to get into scheduling issues; in an ideal world one team would have played the other once at the half way point. It's all part of the tournament. Back-to-back (with the same team) doesn't matter too much,” said the KXIP skipper.

He attributed the loss to PWI to 10 minutes of madness at the end of his team's bowling (left-arm spinner Bipul Sharma and Harmeet Singh conceding 27 runs in the 19th over) and 10 minutes of madness at the start of the KXIP innings (run outs of Paul Valthaty and Gilchrist).

“There's no doubt that the big finish (conceding 35 runs in the last two overs) made a big difference. It slipped out of his hands, nothing intentional (about Harmeet being punished for sending two beamers in the 19th and replaced by Sharma). I made a bad call and Paul was out. Yes 20 minutes of bad cricket cost us the game,'' said Gilchrist.

Gilchrist said he enjoyed playing IPL and that's why he kept coming back. “I am pretty fortunate to have experienced a lot of things in my cricketing career and had the fortune of winning the IPL (for Deccan Chargers).”

He praised the people who have created a fine cricketing facility at Gahunje village off the Pune-Mumbai Expressway.

“It's a fantastic stadium. But the wicket will take some time to settle down and establish. There are going to be issues related to the pitch; one ball almost rolled after pitching. In a big game that could have become decisive. But this is one of the good venues that've come up all over the country,” said Gilchrist.

Another test for RCB's bowling

An overwhelming criticism of Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL last season was its unhealthy reliance on Chris Gayle.

If Gayle in particular and the top order in general flopped, it was pointed out, the whole team usually did. It may now sound like old hat but there wasn't a great degree of untruth to it. But against Delhi Daredevils at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday afternoon, RCB went some way towards repairing that image.

Gayle was missing while Virat Kohli could only make eight. A.B. deVilliers did score a breezy 64 towards the close of the innings, but 157 was never intimidating as a total.

Yet, in what will have been a satisfying measure of its fortification of the bowling, the side emerged a comfortable winner.

Muttiah Muralitharan turned the tide with his three wickets, Vinay Kumar was frugal, and Andrew McDonald and Harshal Patel did themselves no discredit. Muralitharan was one such bowler, RCB skipper Daniel Vettori agreed, adding that they complemented each other well. “He's the best guy to throw the ball to when you need a wicket. He's a strike bowler. It's important for us to have that combination between myself and him so that we can take wickets and tie up runs at the same time.”

So in good cheer then will RCB approach Tuesday's fixture with Kolkata Knight Riders which, after two losses in two, will not exactly be buzzing.

The match should provide the home side another test of its new-found bowling strength against a team let down by its batsmen.

Gautam Gambhir, guilty himself, minced no words in his criticism of the top order after the defeat to Rajasthan Royals.

“If you bat like this,” he said, “you don't deserve to win.”

Fresh in RCB's memory, though, will be the pummelling it received at the hands of the same opponent in the Champions League T20 last October, when Gambhir and Jacques Kallis led their side to an untroubled nine-wicket win.

With the reacquired Brendon McCullum also yet to fire, KKR will be determined to turn things around.

The visitor handed the unconventional West Indian spinner Sunil Narine a debut on Sunday in place of Marchant de Lange.

The former may not have pulled up any trees but on tracks that should ideally suit him, he will be interesting to watch.

Rohit does the star turn for MI

Riding on Rohit Sharma's breezy half-century Mumbai Indians pulled off a last-ball win over Deccan Chargers with five wickets to spare in their IPL-V match at the ACA-VDCA stadium here on Monday night.

Deccan Chargers did well to protect a total of 138 for nine, with its bowlers pushing the match to the wire.

Eighteen were needed off the last over bowled by Daniel Christian and Rohit struck two huge sixes to ensure victory for Mumbai Indians.

Steyn, who returned the best figures for DC, sent back the openers T. Suman and Richard Levi with the score reading just 10. Ambati Rayudu was not allowed much leeway while Kieron Pollard, who promised an early end to the match, was held well by Shikhar Dhawan off Christian.

Earlier, Munaf Patel, with a four-wicket haul, Lasith Malinga and Harbhajan Singh stifled the Deccan Chargers.

Electing to bat, Chargers struggled. Munaf Patel got rid of Parthiv Patel and Bharat Chipli while Malinga cut short the flight of Dhawan, who was in good touch till Pollard came up with an excellent catch holding on to a leading edge.

Before this extraordinary effort from Pollard, Dhawan had slammed a six off Munaf over mid-wicket, sent Malinga into the stands and clobbered Pragyan Ojha for two sixes and a four. The Chargers needed their skipper Kumar Sangakkara to come good and he too seemed to get into the mood flicking Pollard to the fine-leg fence. However, his end came amidst controversy with the umpires initially refusing to refer the decision to the third umpire.

In the 13th over of the Chargers' innings, Munaf bowled Sangakkara but the umpires J.D. Colete and Anil Choudhury believing that the ball had deflected off the 'keeper's pad declared him not out.

And they refused to consult the third umpire when Munaf and Harbhajan insisted. Finally the third umpire Dharmasena declared that Sangakkara was bowled. Christian kept the score moving with some big hits and Cameron White pushed the score along in the late overs with an unbeaten 30.

Scoreboard

Deccan Chargers: Parthiv c Rohit b Munaf 1 (5b), S. Dhawan c Pollard b Malinga 41 (24b, 2x4, 4x6), B. Chipli c Malinga b Munaf 1 (6b), D. Christian c Pollard b Munaf 39 (36b, 1x4, 2x6), K. Sangakkara b Munaf 14 (19b, 1x4), C. White (not out) 30 (22b, 1x4, 2x6), D.B. Ravi Teja b Malinga 4 (2b, 1x4), A. Mishra c Munaf b Malinga 0 (2b), D. Steyn b Pollard 2 (2b), Ankit c Rayudu b Pollard 1 (2b); Extras (b-1, w-4): 5; Total (for nine wkts, in 20 overs): 138.

Fall of wickets: 1-7 (Parthiv), 2-9 (Chipli), 3-46 (Dhawan), 4-82 (Sangakkara), 5-123 (Christian), 6-127 (Ravi Teja), 7-127 (Mishra), 8-136 (Steyn), 9-138 (Ankit).

Mumbai Indians bowling: Harbhajan 4-0-18-0, Munaf 4-0-20-4, Malinga 4-0-27-3, P. Ojha 4-0-39-0, Pollard 4-0-33-2.

Mumbai Indians: T. Suman c & b Steyn 5 (9b, 1x4), R. Levi b Steyn 3 (9b), R. Sharma (not out) 73 (50b, 4x4, 5x6); A. Rayudu c Dhawan b Mishra 19 (24b, 1x4), K. Pollard c Dhawan b Christian 24 (18b, 3x6), D. Karthik b Steyn 7 (6b, 1x4), J. Franklin (not out) 7 (4b, 1x4); Extras (b-2, lb-2): 4; Total (for 5 wkts; in 20 overs): 142.

Fall of wickets: 1-7 (Suman), 2-10 (Levi), 3-58 (Rayudu), 4-95 (Pollard), 5-120 (Karthik).

Deccan Chargers Bowling: Ankit 4-0-18-0, Steyn 4-1-12-3, Christian 4-0-49-1, Rajan 2-0-9-0, Mishra 4-0-31-1, White 2-0-19-0.

A warm homecoming for Yuvraj

KKR will hope to start with a win

PTI Kolkata Knight Riders's senior players Gautam Gambhir and Brendon McCullum have a chat with coach Trevor Bayliss on the eve of the match.

 

Having finished fourth last year, Kolkata Knight Riders will look to improve upon its record this season. The side opens its campaign in IPL V with a home match against Delhi Daredevils at the Eden Gardens on Thursday.

Full of confidence on the eve of the season opener, Knight Riders have almost all its players available for selection, while the same cannot be said of the visiting side. The biggest setback for Daredevils is that four of its match-winning players — Kevin Pietersen, David Warner, Mahela Jayawardene and Ross Taylor — will not be available.

Yet, Knight Riders captain Gautam Gambhir will not take the opposition lightly. He knows that given the format of the competition, it will be important to start off with a win. And the team is surely geared up for the task.

Playing away, and that too against a team like KKR which has many talented players in its side, Daredevils will bank on captain Virender Sehwag to give it a flying start.

Leading the side for the second year in a row, Sehwag has a good outfit, but missing four key players is certain to hurt the side.

Delhi's success will depend on how its domestic players acquit themselves during the initial phase of the tournament.

Knight Riders will look to open the batting with an explosive Brendon McCullum and the dependable Jacques Kallis. With the skipper coming in next, its domestic players — the likes of Manoj Tiwary — who come further down the order can hope for a launch pad.

Daredevils coach Eric Simmons admitted that the team lacked a marquee name.

“The only thing we lack is a big name — someone with a reputation. We have really worked hard with the players.

“There are some exciting guys like Roelf van der Merwe with some international experience. He is the key for us. Then there are Shahbaz Nadeem and Pawan Negi.

“We are working on a few ideas in our spin department to surprise other teams.

“I think we have a capable bunch of spinners,” he said.

“We expected Ross Taylor to be here, but we knew Mahela (Jayawardene) and (Kevin) Pietersen would not be available. But he is injured. That's the nature of the IPL... You have to chart your way through. It is disappointing, though,” Simons added.

KKR coach Trevor Bayliss, on the other hand, sounded upbeat. “We want to have a good start, so we go into the rest with confidence. Any team can win on any day.

“We don't want to take the opposition lightly,” he said.

“The pitch looks nice, flat and hard. I am not sure how it will play,” said Bayliss.

He said the team had several good batsmen to shore up the team's challenge.

“It looks like an even game. I am expecting a close match,” he said.

Match starts at 8 p.m.

Keywords: Kolkata Knight Riders, Delhi Daredevils, IPL

 

Mumbai Indians begins in brilliant fashion

AP Mumbai Indians' skipper Harbhajan Singh (second right), celebrates with teammates the dismissal of Chennai Super Kings' batsman Ravichandran Ashwin (unseen), during the Indian Premier League cricket match in Chennai on Wednesday. 

 

Mumbai Indians stormed the Chennai Super Kings bastion in the inaugural match of the Indian Premier League season five here on Wednesday.

In its first IPL defeat at home since April 15, 2010, CSK went down by eight wickets, collapsing from 75 for two to 112 all out.

The defending champion then saw a rampaging Richard Levi smash a 35-ball 50 on his IPL debut as Mumbai Indians took further control. Gradually, the visitor cut all escape routes.

Employing his bat like a sledgehammer, the 24-year-old South African slog-swept spinners R. Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja for sixes and bludgeoned paceman Dwayne Bravo over long-on for the maximum. He was eventually held in the deep off Bravo but had done enough by then to earn the Man-of-the-Match award.

Left-arm paceman Doug Bollinger bowled with heart and took out Rohit Sharma with a short-pitched delivery outside off. He then forced Sachin Tendulkar to retire hurt after hitting the maestro on the glove with a lifting ball.

Rousing shot

Earlier, Tendulkar had conjured a moment of magic by creating room and easing paceman Albie Morkel over covers for a rousing six.

Ambati Rayudu and James Franklin closed out the match for Mumbai Indians. Rayudu guided Bollinger over third man for a six to signal an emphatic win for Mumbai Indians.

CSK's collapse was inexplicable. There was no alarming movement for the pacemen nor did the spinners achieve sizable turn.

Collapse

From 75 for two in 9.4 overs, Chennai lost its last eight wickets for 37 runs off 61 deliveries. The figures will worry the host. Not only did CSK witness one batsman after another departing to the dugout but also saw its run-rate drop in dramatic fashion.

The judicious blend of working-the-ball-around batsmanship and heavy hitting, the hallmark of CSK's performances of the past, was missing.

Disciplined bowling

The Mumbai Indians bowling was disciplined and the fielding sharp, but CSK dug the hole for itself. And the three run-outs — the running between wickets lacked conviction — did not help matters either.

To his credit, Harbhajan, apart from winning the toss, led the side capably. He kept the fielders in to create pressure, narrowed down the angles in the deep and rung in the changes well.

Apart from a thrill-a-minute 36 from Suresh Raina, there was little in terms of contributions from the CSK line-up.

Left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha's spell turned the game on its head. Ojha flighted but was helped by the fact that both Raina and Bravo reached out for him. Raina went after a delivery well outside off to be held at sweeper cover. And Bravo (19), driving fluently through the off-side until that point, picked a delivery beyond leg to be held at long-on.

Mumbai Indians made further inroads. Kieron Pollard, employing his height and shoulders to extract bounce, had Morkel swinging a short one to Ojha at deep square-leg.

Abu Nechim's swift throw from backward point to 'keeper Dinesh Karthik dealt CSK a body blow — its captain Dhoni was making his way back.

Smart catch

Then, Harbhajan took a smart catch when S. Badrinath whipped Pollard. Mumbai Indians was all over CSK.

Earlier, opener Faf du Plessis succumbed to a direct hit from Rayudu from extra-cover. And Murali Vijay, returning from a wrist injury and seeking to find his touch, perished to an uppish flick off left-arm seamer Franklin.

For Mumbai Indians, Lasith Malinga, mixing his pace and sending down telling yorkers, impressed.

SCOREBOARD

Chennai Super Kings: Faf du Plessis (run out) 3 (2b), M. Vijay c Harbhajan b Franklin 10 (17b, 1x4), S. Raina c Malinga b Ojha 36 (26b, 2x4, 1x6), Dwayne Bravo c Pollard b Ojha 19 (19b, 3x4), Albie Morkel c Ojha b Pollard 3 (8b), S. Badrinath c Harbhajan b Pollard 10 (16b), M.S. Dhoni (run out) 4 (6b), R. Jadeja b Malinga 3 (5b), R. Ashwin (run out) 3 (5b), S. Jakati (not out) 6 (10b), D. Bollinger c Rohit b Malinga 3 (5b); Extras (lb-5, w-7): 12; Total (in 19.5 overs): 112.

Fall of wickets: 1-4 (du Plessis), 2-38 (Vijay), 3-75 (Raina), 4-80 (Bravo), 5-85 (Morkel), 6-95 (Dhoni), 7-99 (Badrinath), 8-103 (Ashwin), 9-104 (Jadeja).

Mumbai Indians bowling: Malinga 3.5-0-16-2, Abu Nechim 2-0-17-0, Harbhajan 4-0-24-0, Franklin 2-0-18-1, Ojha 4-0-17-2, Pollard 4-0-15-2.

Mumbai Indians: R. Levi c Bollinger b Bravo 50 (35b, 6x4, 3x6), S. Tendulkar (retired hurt) 16 (15b, 1x4, 1x6), Rohit c Dhoni b Bollinger 0 (3b), A. Rayudu (not out) 18 (18b, 1x6), J. Franklin (not out) 25 (30b, 2x4); Extras (lb-3, w-3): 6; Total (for two wkts. in 16.5 overs): 115.

Fall of wickets: 1-69 (Levi), 2-70 (Rohit).

Chennai Super Kings bowling: Morkel 4-0-20-0, Bollinger 3.5-0-34-1, Ashwin 4-0-20-0, Jadeja 1-0-16-0, Bravo 3-0-14-1, Jakati 1-0-8-0.

Man-of-the-Match: Richard Levi.