Cricket no longer a gentlemans' game: Shiv Sena

The Shiv Sena on Friday said revelations of spot-fixing in IPL matches show that cricket is no longer a gentleman’s game and has instead become a gambling den which is destroying a generation.

“IPL may have given fame and money to many new players but it has also opened a new window of gambling and sex racket in the country. The “kauravas” in the cricket are destroying an entire generation,” the party said. “Cricket is no longer a gentleman’s game and has no connect with patriotism,” it said.

The Sena’s comments, published in an editorial in party mouthpiece Saamana on Friday, come after the arrest of three cricketers, including bowler S Sreesanth, for spot-fixing in the IPL matches.

Expressing dismay over the spot-fixing scandal that has rocked the IPL T20 tournament, the Sena said, “these players play not for the country, but for the sponsors and big business houses.”

“There is a reign of gamblers in IPL now,” the party added.

“Politicians from Sharad Pawar to Rajiv Shukla have taken control of the business of cricket. The IPL, where the betting racket has been exposed, is headed by Rajiv Shukla of Congress. He cannot shrug off his responsibility so easily,” it alleged.

IPL not for the icons

Sachin Tendulkar’s ‘retirement’ from the Indian Premier League was well-timed. He ends his IPL career as part of a champion team. By announcing he will play no more he has only yielded to what many had been expecting him to.

Tendulkar did not quite belong in this crude format of the game. Neither does Rahul Dravid.

“My heart bleeds when I see Dravid playing those cross-batted shots,” said noted coach Tarak Sinha, who cites the former India captain as a model of correct batsmanship when teaching the young kids at his club.

In Tendulkar’s case, it was apparent that he was not enjoying himself. For someone who is known to not miss even optional training sessions, he was confined to the bench for five matches — crucially, in the last three games — on account of injury. Introspection must have compelled this icon of the game to decide enough was enough.

In the inaugural season in 2008, Australians such as Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, Mathew Hayden, Adam Gilchrist and Andrew Symonds were on the “prize-catch” list. Now, after six editions, the IPL has seen the last of Gilchrist, Tendulkar, Ponting and, probably, Dravid.

Along the way, Sourav Ganguly, V.V.S. Laxman and Anil Kumble chose their time to quit — Laxman and Kumble are now among the support staff.

With every passing season, more and more people are beginning to believe that this annual extravaganza is not as clean as it had first appeared. With so much at stake, there has been a growing concern that not everything is left to chance.

After recent spot-fixing scandal broke out, more and more cricket-watchers view the on-field developments with suspicion — having lost faith, they will never be able to regard cricket as entirely kosher, even when these icons are involved.

For Tendulkar and Dravid, it must have been embarrassing to be part of a league that stood tainted for many reasons.

One of their colleagues says: “When they play, the others are motivated. It also gives the league a kind of licence, and elevates the stature of the competition.” The lure of lucre stands out as the biggest source of inspiration for most, the icons and the greenhorns.

Former Test batsman Ashok Malhotra says: “What happened to the Shastris, the Gavaskars, the Sidhus and their voices? Has money shut them up? Cricket is at a crossroads, but these so-called guardians of the game have taken their moolah, and kept their traps shut.

“The Board chief (N. Srinivasan) has judged our cricketers to perfection. Throw money (their way) and buy the voices that matter and can create problems. Alas, the entire country can now see through cricket and cricketers. Let’s get together and get rid of Srinivasan, money or no money.”

It could be different when the IPL returns next year after being ravaged by the spot-fixing scandal.

The league may have fewer icons on the field, and perhaps the support bench too.

But, as an avid cricket watcher wondered, will their absence make an impact? Perhaps not! They did not grow into icons playing this brand of cricket.

IPL awards

Catch of the season: Gurkeerat Singh Mann (Kings XI Punjab)

Best young player: Sanju Viswanadh Samson (Rajasthan Royals)

Pepsi Atom MVP: Shane Watson (Rajasthan Royals).

Fair Play Trophy: Chennai Super Kings.

The wait finally ends for Mumbai Indians

Heart-break for Chennai Super Kings as it once again loses in the final

After the heart-wrenching defeat at the hands of the same opponent in 2010, Mumbai Indians finally clinched its first IPL title in style, outplaying Chennai Super Kings by 23 runs in front of a near capacity crowd in the Pepsi IPL-VI at the Eden Gardens here on Sunday.

Chasing MI’s 148 for nine in 20 overs, CSK managed only 125 for nine in 20 overs. Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni — 63 not out off 45 balls with three fours and five sixes — waged a lone battle as the Chennai team, plagued by off-field controversies, surrendered without a fight to lose a third time in the final, the last two in succession.

Sweet revenge

For the Mumbai outfit, which lost to CSK in the first qualifier on May 21, it was sweet revenge. It came up with a display that was as heart-warming as well as authoritative. It was also a poignant moment for two legends in the MI squad, Sachin Tendulkar and Ricky Ponting, who could not play the final due to different reasons.

Tendulkar, who has won important tournaments in his fantastic career spanning nearly 24 years, now has the IPL title too in his collection.

CSK had to face the ignominy of being three for three in 1.4 overs, a pitiable situation, from which it never really recovered. More than the poor batting, it was MI’s brilliant bowling by its new ball operators, Lasith Malinga and Mitchell Johnson, which had the Chennai team on the mat early into the chase.

The Sri Lankan got rid of Orange Cap winner Michael Hussey and Suresh Raina off successive balls while Johnson removed S. Badrinath with the one that moved away.

Dwayne Bravo came in early with aggressive intentions and hit three boundaries in his 16-ball 15 before chipping a slower delivery from Rishi Dhawan to Johnson at mid-on. Ravindra Jadeja lasted only two balls to leave CSK tottering at 36 for five in 6.4 overs.

Murali Vijay, who got a reprieve on 14 when Dinesh Karthik failed to hold on to a diving effort off Dhawan, was the next to go. Johnson returned to the attack and forced Vijay to spoon a catch to Rohit Sharma.

In deep trouble

When Pragyan Ojha bowled Albie Morkel with a fuller length delivery, CSK plunged to 57 for seven and the writing was on the wall. Dhoni tried his best, but with wickets falling at the other end, could not finish the job for the Chennai team.

Earlier, Mumbai Indians had no hesitation to bat first on winning the toss as the pitch looked good for batting. The CSK new ball bowlers Mohit Sharma and Morkel dismissed Dwayne Smith, Aditya Tare and Rohit Sharma in quick succession as MI was in early trouble.

Having collapsed to 16 for three in 3.2 overs, MI recovered remarkably through aggressive knocks from Kieron Pollard (60 not out) and Ambati Rayudu (37).

After seeing an uncomfortable Dinesh Karthik depart for 21 (26b, 3x4), Rayudu was correct in his shot selection. Pollard began with a straight drive off Chris Morris and produced some explosive shots complementing Rayudu’s intelligent placing and running between the wickets.

The fifth wicket association between Rayudu and Pollard fetched the team 48 runs in 5.4 overs. The pair took the team’s score past 100 in 15 overs before Bravo uprooted Rayudu’s middle-stump with his first ball.

Harbhajan Singh, who was next, played a seven-ball 14 with three hits to the fence, all off Bravo, fell trying to up the scoring rate, but Pollard stayed on, finishing the innings with consecutives sixes of the last two deliveries.

No more IPL for me: Tendulkar

Sachin Tendulkar on Sunday announced his retirement from the cash-rich Indian Premier League soon after Mumbai Indians won their maiden title, defeating Chennai Super Kings by 23 runs in the final.

“For World Cup, I had to wait for 21 years but for this I had to wait for only six years. Also this is special for me as I won’t be playing in IPL next season,” he said at the end of Mumbai Indians’ triumph. “I think this is the right time to stop playing IPL. Just got to accept the reality that this would be my last season,” he told the presenter.

“I can’t just wait to touch the trophy and this is the right time to say thank you to everyone. It’s never too late to win a trophy,” a beaming Tendulkar said when another legend Sunil Gavaskar asked whether he would play the opening match of Mumbai Indians at Wankhede next year.

Mumbai, Delhi Police working together: R.R. Patil

‘There is no one-upmanship or unfriendly competition among the two teams’

Dismissing reports suggesting there was ‘one-upmanship’ or ‘competition’ between the Mumbai police and Delhi Police in the investigation of spot-fixing in the Indian Premier League (IPL), Maharashtra Home Minister R.R. Patil said the two teams were cooperating with each other to uncover the truth.“Reports that have surfaced about this so-called lack of coordination are simply not true,” Mr. Patil told reporters here.

Mr. Patil sought to quash any aspersions cast on the efficiency of the Mumbai police: “The Mumbai police are always efficient and alert. Remember that they were the ones who first nabbed the hawala racketeer Ramesh Vyas.”

Mr. Patil also dismissed reports that a Marathi actor was used as a “honeytrap” in spot-fixing.

The Special Cell of the Delhi Police had arrested Rajasthan Royals cricketers S. Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan from Mumbai on the night of May 15 for indulging in spot-fixing in at least three IPL matches.

The Mumbai Crime Branch arrested bookies Ramesh Vyas, Pandurang Kadam and Ashok Vyas a day before the arrest of Sreesanth and his colleagues. It had conducted searches at the hotel room where Sreesanth and his close friend Jiju Janardhan (who was allegedly said to be in touch with bookies on behalf of the cricketer) were reported to have stayed.

Sreesanth’s firm had proposed running betting houses

It seems that cricketer S. Sreesanth, arrested on charges of spot fixing last Thursday, was interested in betting many years before the IPL scandal broke out.

S36 Sports and Entertainment Pvt. Ltd, the company in which he held 74 per cent stakes, had proposed running “betting houses” in India and abroad as one of the main objectives of the company. Incidentally, legal sports betting in India is confined only to horse racing, though illegal betting thrives in cricket.

With its registered office in Karnataka, the company’s objectives, among others, were to run coaching centres, gymnasiums, health clubs, fitness centres, indoor centres, sports bars, aerobic clubs, yoga and fitness centres, nutrition clinics besides the betting centres, as per the company’s five-page Memorandum of Association filed before the Registrar of Companies in Bangalore on September 24, 2010. A copy of the MoA is with The Hindu. While Sreesanth held 74 per cent of the total 10,000 shares of the company, Sivakumar Puzhankara held the rest.

Youth losing interest in IPL: Survey

In the wake of the raging spot-fixing controversy threatening to blow into unimaginable proportions, the IPL, with the youth as its biggest fan-base, seems to have got a thumbs-down from the very same constituency.

A survey conducted by Hammer (http://www.hammerit.in/), a social interactive platform, headquartered in Ahmedabad, has revealed that a whopping 85 per cent of the youth are no longer interested in the IPL.

The survey which opened last Friday, a day after the spot-fixing allegations hit the headlines, was open until Tuesday and the sample size, according to Hammer, was in ‘thousands.’

Amit Khanna, one of the co-founders of the firm, said that it would be right in saying that the polls reflected the mood of the youth in ample measure.

Further, the poll also showed that around 55 per cent still feel that fixing has not ceased to exist in the on-going edition. The survey also painted a gloomy picture for next year’s edition with close to 65 per cent of the opinion that the fixing revelations will ‘kill IPL 7’.

Keywords: IPl 2013, IPL VI

Hodge guides Royals to victory

The Australian’s superb 54 keeps his side in the competition

Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), masters at choking the opposition, met its match in Rajasthan Royals at the Ferozeshah Kotla on Wednesday night.

Exorcising the ghosts of the spot fixing scandal that devastated its camp, Royals once again rode their self-belief to stay in the tournament, winning its Indian Premier League eliminator against Sunrisers Hyderabad by four wickets, thanks to a sterling innings — a true game changer under the circumstances — from Brad Hodge.

An inspiring show by Darren Sammy, with his infectious energy sweeping the opposition off its feet, was the dominating factor in this low-scoring contest on a pitch that lacked the character much needed in this format.

All credit to Sammy for putting up a splendid fight. He made runs, took a sensational catch on the boundary and then bowled with imagination to raise SRH’s hopes.

A pity he erred in the final over when Royals needed ten to win. Two sixes by Hodge ended the contest.

The target of 133 was achievable even if the pitch offered resistance.

An imperious Rahul Dravid belting Dale Steyn in the innings’ first over set the tempo for Royals. The chase stuttered but recovery came through Shane Watson, who adapted well to the low and slow surface.

There was much to contend with as SRH rotated the attack and struck regularly to keep the batsmen under pressure.

Batting under mounting pressure, Hodge, with Sanju Vishwanadh and James Faulkner for company, hit sixes when they mattered just when SRH appeared to get on top. Hodge made the difference; he hardly showed signs of strain as he set up a famous win for a team that had reasons to smile after the recent troubles.

Adaptability was always going to be a critical factor on this pitch, and SRH did not have an alternative plan against an attack that executed its role exemplarily.

The pitch was a challenge, with the ball stopping, and Royals was relentless in stifling the stroke-making ambitions of SRH. Shikhar Dhawan would struggle to recall a slower pitch at his home ground.

SRH once again relied on its pace attack. That Rahul Dravid’s team was a determined lot became evident from the discipline that marked the performance, an athletic field backing a nagging attack.

Dhawan struggled. He produced a flourishing cover drive, stepping out to the bowler, and then played from the crease as the wicketkeeper stood up.

The bowlers stuck to a niggling length, daring the batsmen, but run-making remained a demanding exercise since SRH could not innovate.

The decision to bat first indicated a new approach from SRH. The move did not work. Parthiv Patel and Hanuma Vihari failed to read Vikramjit Malik, a decent seamer in the conditions.

Malik mixed his deliveries and made a lasting impact on the course of the match. His strikes compelled SRH to adopt a cautious approach, but the team never achieved its potential.

A score of 48 for two was an ominous sign for SRH. With Dhawan and Cameron White in the middle, a revival was not ruled out.

But Siddharth Trivedi and Kevon Cooper bowled two superb overs each to leave the batting side frustrated.

SRH’s first 10-run over came in the 15th when Watson was punished by Sammy.

The most productive over for SRH was courtesy Sammy again. The West Indian took 16 runs off an over from Cooper.

It was the best phase for a team that gave its bowlers only 132 to play with.

The battle of the cellar dwellers

Notwithstanding the absence of a single local talent in the team and an extremely rough and bumpy ride over the last one and half months, the supporters of Pune Warriors have filled up the stadium and cheered the players faithfully.

The stage is all set for the Warriors’ last match of the season against the Delhi Daredevils on Sunday and it will be interesting to see how many turn up at the Subrata Roy Sahara Stadium here at Gahunje village.

Sunday’s match will also bring down the curtains on the league phase of the tournament.

The troubles in the Royals camp does not seem to have affected the other teams in the competition as the representatives of the two teams C.M. Gautam of the Daredevils and Deep Dasgupta of the Warriors chose to focus on their own teams’ disappointments. 

Daredevils and Warriors have scored three wins and have six points each from 15 matches, and are placed eighth and ninth in the league.

Both Gautam and Dasgupta said that the last match was “very important”, and that they would like to finish the tournament with “a win, and on a high note.”

Gautam said it was a privilege for him to be in the same group as illustrious cricketers like Virender Sehwag, Mahela Jayawardene, Morne Morkel and David Warner. “I have learnt a lot from them, although it was disappointing to wait for a long time to get to play.

“I also had the opportunity to interact with the legendary Vivian Richards. His way of thinking on cricket, the purpose of practice sessions and body language expression is quite different from ours,” said Gautam.

The Daredevils now face a team they beat in the home match at Raipur.

The Warriors will hope to give something to cheer for the home supporters.

RCB stay in hunt beating CSK by 24 runs in final league game

Skipper Virat Kohli’s magnificent batting and short but incisive spell from Zaheer Khan kept Royal Challengers Bangalore in contention for pay-off berth as they easily beat Chennai Super Kings by 24 runs in their final league game of Pepsi Indian Premier league in Bangalore on Saturday.

Courtesy Kohli’s blistering 29-ball-56, RCB posted 106 for two in only eight overs in a match curtailed by rain and then restricted CSK to 82 for six.

RCB finished their league engagements with 18 points and will now hope that KKR turn out to be ‘party poopers’ for Hyderabad Sunrisers which will ensure their passage in play-offs by virtue of better net run-rate.

Zaheer (4/17), playing only his second match since comeback dealt twin blows removing the two in-form men in Mike Hussey (6) and Suresh Raina (0) off successive deliveries.

While Hussey edged one that kicked up from back of the length with glovesman Lokesh Rahul taking a good catch, Raina went for a slog shot only to offer a skier for Rudra Pratap Singh. Two wickets giving away only three runs clinched it decisively in favour of RCB.

The third wicket came in the fourth over when Dwayne Bravo top edged one to Saurabh Tiwary in the deep third man region.

CSK skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni came in with 78 required off four overs but it wasn’t one of those days when impossible could have been achieved.

Earlier, spectacular hitting by Kohli helped RCB post an imposing target in a shortened game. He led from the front smashing an unbeaten half-century.

Kohli hit six fours and four sixes in his 29-ball knock.

He added 67 runs with Chris Gayle (28, 13 balls, 4x6) for the opening stand.

Kings XI Punjab stays in the hunt with exciting win

David Miller and Sandeep Sharma play crucial roles in the seven-run victory over Delhi Daredevils

When a side sets a target of 172 and reduces the opposition to 21 for three in the first six overs, the winner is easy to guess. Eventually, only seven runs separated an inspired Kings XI Punjab from an almost indifferent, but occasionally desperate, Delhi Daredevils. But the match was far more one-sided than the margin suggests. The victory kept alive KXIP’s slim chances of making the playoffs.

It is to the credit of Ben Rohrer, whose late hitting helped Daredevils get closer than expected to KXIP’s tally, after Sandeep Sharma had kept the chase in check with three wickets. Morne Morkel did hit two sixes in the last over to bring down the margin, even though the target was beyond the visitors’ reach.

On a pitch which offered plenty of bounce, making the medium-pacers and stroke-makers lick their lips in anticipation, the host reached 171 for four in 20 overs. The brisk start and some lusty hitting between the 16th and 19th overs set up a total that looked 15-20 runs below par at the break.

But before the Power Play of Delhi’s innings was up, the score appeared a winning one. Such was the contrast in displays of the top-order batsmen of both teams. KXIP, with four overseas players forming the cream of the batting, laid the foundation with Adam Gilchrist off to a flier.

Counter-assault

Having shown form in recent matches, Gilchrist launched a counter-assault on the five-man medium-pace attack to race away to 42 before falling while attempting a third six. Marsh managed to find some boundaries after losing Azhar Mahmood’s company.

Later, ‘man of the match’ David Miller smashed an unbeaten 24-ball 44, with four sixes and three boundaries, to prop up the total.

In 3.3 overs, Miller and R. Sathish added 47 runs for the fourth wicket. But the finish to the innings was a tame one with the final over producing just six runs, including a last-ball four by Miller.

In the eventual analysis, the loss of early wickets hurt Daredevils. Virender Sehwag and Jayawardena, who had opened the innings against Mumbai Indians after six losses this season, found each other’s company here after three wickets fell cheaply. The situation demanded the two class batsmen to undo the damage caused by Sandeep Sharma’s twin-blows — he sent back Irfan Pathan and David Warner in a double-wicket maiden fourth over.

Briefly, the off-form Sehwag rode his luck and struck six boundaries — not all from the middle of the bat — to keep alive Delhi’s chances of making a match of it.

But his departure for 30 off 22 deliveries left the visitors reeling at 61 for four in the 11th over.

Jayawardena, who was dropped on zero, five and 13 and survived a run-out chance on seven, carried on in the company of Rohrer, who did his bit to prevent the asking-rate from mounting further.

Some desperate blows later, Jayawardena finally became Sandeep’s third victim. Some big shots at the ‘death’ proved too little too late for Daredevils.

Scoreboard:

Kings XI Punjab: Adam Gilchrist c and b Irfan 42 (26b, 5x4, 2x6), Shaun Marsh c Irfan b Morkel 45 (44b, 7x4), Azhar Mahmood c Kaul b Nehra 9 (13b, 1x4), David Miller (not out) 44 (24b, 3x4, 4x6), R. Sathish c Rohrer b Nehra 22 (24b, 2x4, 1x6), Piyush Chawla (not out) 0 (0b); Extras (lb-6, w-3): 9; Total (for four wkts. in 20 overs): 171.

Fall of wickets: 1-60 (Gilchrist), 2-86 (Mahmood), 3-120 (Marsh), 4-167 (Sathish).

Delhi Daredevils bowling: Irfan Pathan 4-0-28-1, Siddarth Kaul 4-0-39-0, Morne Morkel 4-0-22-1, Ashish Nehra 4-0-38-2, Umesh Yadav 4-0-38-0.

Delhi Daredevils: Mahela Jayawardena c Vohra b Sandeep 39 (42b, 3x4, 1x6), Unmukt Chand b Praveen 7 (8b, 1x6), Irfan Pathan c Gilchrist b Sandeep 1 (7b), David Warner c Marsh b Sandeep 0 (1b), Virender Sehwag c Gilchrist b Awana 30 (22b, 6x4), Ben Rohrer b Chawla 49 (29b, 4x4, 3x6), C.M. Gautam (not out) 12 (8b, 2x4), Morne Morkel c Miller b Chawla 13 (4b, 2x6); Extras (b-4, lb-6, nb-3): 13; Total (for seven wkts. in 20 overs): 164.

Fall of wickets: 1-11 (Unmukt), 2-12 (Irfan), 3-12 (Warner), 4-61 (Sehwag), 5-111 (Jayawardena), 6-150 (Rohrer), 7-164 (Morkel).

Kings XI Punjab bowling: Praveen Kumar 4-0-19-1, Azhar Mahmood 4-0-40-1, Sandeep Sharma 4-1-23-3, Parvinder Awana 4-0-28-1, Piyush Chawla 4-0-44-2.

Ravaged Royals look to emerge from the shadows

Sunrisers have a psychological edge in a must-win match

Despite being ravaged by spot-fixing allegations, Rajasthan Royals has the wherewithal to weather the latest storm to come its way. For starters, the accused trio’s absence may not dent its might much. The threesome hardly figured in recent games in the team’s march to the IPL frontline.

By testing the best, the opening season’s champion has proved it’s no tiger only on home turf, winning a fair measure of away matches, apart from clinching all eight encounters at its citadel, the Sawai Man Singh Stadium. The manner of victory matters more perhaps if one contrasts its progress against that of Sunrisers Hyderabad, the opposition it’s up against on Friday.

If the game’s shortest version is about mental strength, the Jaipur-based squad has shown a lot more resilience, the middle-order stepping up to stem the rot, should the top rung fail to fire. With the chips drastically down, even at the half-way mark, the batting has clawed its way back into contention and often walked away with the contest.

In comparison, the host’s batting has buckled time and again, instead riding piggy-back on the prowess of its bowling attack. Formidable as its firepower can be, much of the good work done by its bowlers is hardly helped by butter-fingered fielding, even with skiers sometimes being spilt.

The 77-run thrashing by Chennai Super Kings tarnished the home side’s flawless track record here and the defeat by Mumbai Indians should rankle even more. The Hyderabad side nonetheless does possess the abilities to raise the bar, now that the league is into its home stretch.

To shake off the stigma it is currently stuck with, could add resolve to Royals’ cause, however unenviable the task might be. For the Sunrisers, the will to win must translate into action if they are to make the most of two games in hand to join the elite.

Stepping out of the shadow cast by recent happenings should be pretty tough for the visitors. The Hyderabad side has no such psychological baggage to bother about and to that extent enjoys an edge it would do well to enforce.

Kieron Pollard's send-off of Shane Watson an act of cowardice: Dravid

Rajasthan Royals captain Dravid feels ‘send-offs’ to a departing batsman, the way Mumbai Indians’ Pollard did to Watson during Wednesday’s match, were acts of cowardice.

“I guess it was a competitive game. Things can get tough in a Twenty20 game. But, it could have been managed a little bit better. Things can get heated in the middle.

“But, when you send off a batsman after you have got him out, is an act of cowardice because the batsman can never respond. Saying something on the field is part and parcel of the game, a bit of banter while the game is on is fine.

“But sending him off after you have got him out is an act of cowardice,” he said at the post match conference here on Wednesday.

MI captain Rohit Sharma, however, said his team did not care what others say.

“All these things happen; it’s part of the game. I don’t think we should take it too seriously. I don’t think we were too verbal, we have played aggressive cricket here. We display the kind of cricket we want to show.”

Bewildered that my name came up in IPL spot-fixing: Tait

Bewildered at his name being dragged into the IPL spot-fixing scandal, Australian pacer Shaun Tait said his legal representatives will examine how the “false” suggestions, which have already been dismissed by the Delhi Police, started.

“I’m bewildered, I’m angry and I’m upset at the false suggestions I’ve been involved in any wrongdoing,” Tait said in a statement after his name cropped up on social media sites following the arrest of three Rajasthan Royals players for allegedly bowling manipulated overs after striking deals with bookies who had underworld connections.

Tait, who also turns up for the Rajasthan franchise, was immediately cleared by the Delhi Police which stated that no foreign player was involved in the scandal.

India pacer S.Sreesanth and spinners Ankeet Chavan and Ajit Chandila were the players arrested for alleged spot-fixing on Friday.

“While I welcome the recent statements from police clearing me of any involvement, for a few hours I was deeply distressed by the rumours that were rapidly circulating about me, most of which were aired in the social media space,” said Tait.

“Not only were they without foundation, they highlight the danger of a medium that deals with innuendo rather than fact, the result of which has brought my name into question.

“At no stage in my career have I engaged in spot or match fixing and I’m in discussions with my manager and legal representatives to examine how this episode unfolded and any further action I may take,” he added.

Tait also got the backing of Cricket Australia which expressed full faith in the bowler. Sean Carroll, the Head of CA’s Anti-corruption Unit, spoke to Tait following Delhi Police’s statement last night.

“Shaun reiterated to CA that he had absolutely no involvement in any of the issues that are currently being investigated,” a statement from CA said.

“CA is comfortable that Shaun is being appropriately supported in India and reminds those who have been speculating on the ongoing investigations to base their comments on known facts, not unsubstantiated rumour,” it added.

A format that lends itself to corruption

Cricket is bleeding. Dealt a deadly blow by the latest spot-fixing allegations, the Indian Premier League, a tournament rich in cash if not cricketing glory, stands battered following the arrest of three players — ironically, all belonging to a team that has won all of its home matches this season.

One has always heard whispers of fixing at various levels in the domestic circuit, often tenuous for lack of evidence. Then, the world of cricket found itself in a state of turmoil like never before in 2000 when Hansie Cronje admitted to his involvement in, and the prevalence of, match-fixing at the international level.

However, the game seemed to survive that, and actually thrive. When the IPL was launched in 2008, it offered mind-blowing financial returns, not just to the stars but even unheralded youngsters. The format caught the imagination of the public.

On the flip side, it also exposed impressionable young players and newcomers to the big time to the dangers of corruption.

In a manner reminiscent of how TV mogul Kerry Packer hit upon the idea of what was then dismissed as ‘pajama cricket’ to take on the more staid, establishment-backed version of the game, the IPL has emerged a well-organised mix of money, glitz and glamour.

It is an entertainment package with cricket thrown in, adequately supported by icons of the sport. The glamour came in the form of the active involvement of Bollywood stars.

The format of the IPL creates the space and avenues for spot fixing. The bowlers fall prey because it is convenient to concede a boundary than hit one. The bowler facilitates by delivering full-tosses and half volleys which even an average batsman can be backed to hit boundaries off.

The probability of spot-fixing is the highest during the death overs; the bowlers bowling full-tosses in search of ‘yorkers’ and getting hit all over the park is all too common an occurrence.

Everyone is too involved in the outcome of the match to be aware of the possibility of spot-fixing. It is easy to lure the players to spot-fixing. Action is fast and public memory short. Blink-and-you-miss-it action dominates several matches. The tournament format too, being long and protracted, allows room for manipulation. Laying the blame on the players for getting involved in spot-fixing, former India skipper Sourav Ganguly recommends that cricketers found guilty be banned for life. Ganguly would know the pain of this scandal since it was his leadership that steered the Indian team to safe shores when it was rocked by match fixing.

The fact that a few Pakistan cricketers were caught for indulging in spot-fixing while playing a Test match and sentenced to jail terms should have served as a warning to susceptible players.

Closer home, the fact that some Indian domestic players were caught and punished during the last season of the IPL for indulging in spot fixing should have been warning enough.

We did not bowl in right areas: Steyn

Sunrisers Hyderabad pacer Dale Steyn on Tuesday rued that their bowlers performed below par at a critical stage of the match a day after Kieron Pollard’s brutal assault guided Mumbai Indians to a seven-wicket win in a Pepsi Indian Premier League game.

“I think we were in a situation where we could have won the game last night. A little bit of better planning, not with the rotation of the bowlers but where we bowled may have won us the game. Not necessarily who bowled, we may have hit our areas a little bit wrong,” Steyn told PTI here.

Insisiting that important lessons have been learnt from yesterday’s game, Steyn was optimistic about the team good performances in their last two league games before the play-offs.

“But lessons learnt, we have got two more games and we need to win them. So we will try and do that,” Steyn said.

Sunrisers were in complete control of the game, before Big-hitting Pollard pulled the rug from under the visitors’ feet with a whirlwind knock of 66 off only 27 balls.

“Last night we had a superb guy come out and play brilliantly and took the game away from us in 12 balls. That happens. It is cricket. We have done that to teams in this IPL and it has happened to us a couple of times as well,” said Steyn, who has been roped in as brand ambassador for Evolution Sports Nutrition in which former South African cricketer and Mumbai Indians fielding coach Jonty Rhodes is the director.

Pollard struck eight sixes and two fours and his assault helped Mumbai add 50 runs in the 17th and 18th overs bowled by Tissera Pereira and Amit Mishra that swung the pendulum in the home team’s way who eventually won with three balls to spare while chasing a challenging 179.

“He chanced his arms after that (16th over bowled by Steyn). I think he knew that they had to do something.

Straight after strategic time out, Rohit took it straight away and it went for six. Then he took a single and Pollard just decided that he is going to lay down the hammer and felt like that was the time and we also knew that we needed to take wickets and we were trying to get him out,” said the South African pace spearhead.

Steyn, who holds the record for bowling most dot balls in this IPL, said he loves to test himself against players like Sachin Tendulkar but rued that he could bowl just one ball to the senior cricketer yesterday.

“I always look forward to play against him. He is one of my all-time favourite players. He is basically the God of India and to play against him on his home turf and to have gotten him out would have been great,” he said.

Chennai Super Kings too strong for Delhi Daredevils

The host registers a comprehensive win and does a lap of honour in gratitude

Twenty-four hours ago, the smoky haze of surmise seemed to be the overbearing context enveloping the Chennai Super Kings (CSK)-Delhi Daredevils (DD) encounter.

With non-cricketing issues looming large, there was a possibility of CSK’s last home game in this IPL being a no-show. But, much to the rapturous delight of Chennai’s fans, the contest took place at the citadel that’s the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium on Tuesday.

CSK gift-wrapped to its devoted supporters a comprehensive 33-run victory, and followed it up with a lap of honour in gratitude. Chennai had, earlier in the evening, confirmed its berth in the play-offs.

Unleashing the whistles

Electing to bat, the Super Kings stuttered and stormed their way to 168. Skipper M.S. Dhoni’s jet-propelled unbeaten half-century gave the rambunctious crowd more reasons to unleash the whistles.

Delhi’s pursuit was laden with the ingredients that contributed to its dismal run.

The scoring was fast-paced alright, but it lacked the calming rhythm required in run-chases. Despite Virender Sehwag’s departure in the first over, caught behind off Mohit Sharma, there weren’t many apparent perils.

Johan Botha, reprising the No. 3 role he played for Rajasthan Royals in 2011, averted stymieing of run-flow.

DD was two runs ahead of CSK’s 47at the Powerplay’s conclusion.

But his ouster in the seventh over heralded a curious disintegration: Kedar Jadhav and Ben Rohrer followed him to the dug-out soon after.

Captain David Warner and the feisty Roelof van der Merwe knitted a 39-run alliance. However, with their eviction, the brittle resistance evaporated.

Earlier, in the first half of the Powerplay overs, DD’s bowlers helped smooth the worry lines on their captain’s face.

Mindful of the stuffed off-side field, they earnestly tried to stop doling out freebies. But come the fourth over, the hard-earned ground was ceded.

Mike Hussey, the adroit ace that he is, hopped out of the crease and flayed Irfan Pathan over covers. He stepped out the next ball – again, not premeditating – to execute an immaculate strike over the non-striker’s head.

A vital piece of action occurred in the preceding over. Ashish Nehra’s away-swinger caressed M. Vijay’s bat-edge but ‘keeper Jadhav’s indifferent one-handed attempt reprieved the batter. On two then, Vijay went on to score 29 more runs.

As CSK began to adopt a menacing posture – it had scored 61 runs in seven overs – Rohrer effected a swoop-and-hurl direct-hit, catching Vijay short.

It turned out to be a joyous little phase for DD as Hussey and Suresh Raina fell before the 11th over was completed.

Vital partnership

Dhoni, with Ravindra Jadeja as his lieutenant ran hard and clubbed the ball harder: 59 runs were the consequence of a rather erratic last five overs. The duo added 57 in 38 balls.

The space between long-on and mid-wicket was mercilessly targeted by Dhoni; a six off Sidharth Kaul made its way to the roof.

Scoreboard:

Chennai Super Kings: Michael Hussey c Sehwag b Umesh 26 (26b, 3x4), M. Vijay (run out) 31 (23b, 3x4, 1x6), Suresh Raina c Warner b van der Merwe 7 (11b), M.S. Dhoni (not out) 58 (35b, 2x4, 4x6), Ravindra Jadeja b Umesh 24 (17b, 2x4), Dwayne Bravo (not out) 12 (8b, 1x4); Extras (lb-2, w-8): 10; Total (for four wkts. in 20 overs): 168.

Fall of wickets: 1-61 (Vijay), 2-69 (Hussey), 3-74 (Raina), 4-131 (Jadeja).

Delhi Daredevils bowling: Irfan Pathan 3-0-24-0, Siddarth Kaul 4-0-37-0, Ashish Nehra 4-0-37-0, Umesh Yadav 4-0-26-2, Johan Botha 2-0-23-0, Roelof van der Merwe 3-0-19-1.

Delhi Daredevils: Virender Sehwag c Dhoni b Mohit 0 (2b), Unmukt Chand c Holder b Mohit 16 (12b, 2x4, 1x6), Johan Botha c Holder b Ashwin 23 (20b, 3x4, 1x6), David Warner c Vijay b Morkel 44 (37b, 2x4, 1x6), Kedar Jadhav c Dhoni b Morkel 2 (4b), Ben Rohrer c Ashwin b Morkel 4 (5b), Roelof van der Merwe c Raina b Ashwin 14 (16b, 1x4), Irfan Pathan b Bravo 4 (5b), Umesh Yadav (not out) 12 (9b, 1x6), Ashish Nehra c Dhoni b Bravo 0 (1b), S. Kaul (not out) 7 (9b); Extras (lb-4, w-5): 9; Total (for nine wkts. in 20 overs): 135.

Fall of wickets: 1-0 (Sehwag), 2-34 (Unmukt), 3-49 (Botha), 4-56 (Jadhav), 5-63 (Rohrer), 6-102 (van der Merwe), 7-115 (Warner), 8-125 (Pathan), 9-125 (Nehra).

Chennai Super Kings bowling: Mohit Sharma 4-0-22-2, Jason Holder 4-0-39-0, R. Ashwin 4-0-19-2, Albie Morkel 4-0-32-3, Dwayne Bravo 4-0-19-2.

Man-of-the-match: M.S. Dhoni.

Chennai Super Kings will look to seal play-off spot, take on Delhi Daredevils

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) has, rather emphatically, remained detached from its ‘last-minute crammer’ persona this year.

Its fans must have been most relieved for the team has, in the past, landed itself in last-gasp situations. Last year, CSK left its fate to be determined by other sides.

On Tuesday, standing at the doorstep of a playoff berth, CSK will meet Delhi Daredevils (DD) in its last home game.

There’s, however, some uncertainty surrounding the fixture after the structural soundness certificate of the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium was cancelled by the Public Works Department of Tamil Nadu late on Monday evening.

The Tamil Nadu Cricket Association is likely to move the court on Tuesday to obtain a stay against the order.

On the cricketing front, CSK, after a jerky beginning, zoomed to a seven-match winning streak: the utterly smooth route was quite a makeover for a team accustomed to sharp bends.

Some may have thought that a late-in-the-day choke was a possible hazard.

The Super Kings, having been jolted twice in the last three games, would want none of that.

The M.S. Dhoni-Stephen Fleming partnership — as astute as it gets — is unlikely to panic though.

It might help that the defeats have hit CSK now — where the glitches could be identified and remedied — than at a point of no return.

Logjam at the top

Normally, nine wins have been enough for a team to qualify for the playoffs.

This time, however, it hasn’t been as straightforward with bottom-placed sides losing many games.

The logjam on the points table has led to complex number-crunching; no team can afford to take its place in the top-four for granted.

A rounded CSK outfit would much rather hunt for victories in its remaining matches than obsess over fickle numerals.

Its death bowling has caused some unease but Jason Holder’s sharpness against Rajasthan Royals on Sunday would hearten the host.

Delhi, on the other hand, has crash-banged to one defeat after another.

Although DD has no stake in the playoff tussle, a win wouldn’t be a bad thing.

The Daredevils, punctured by injuries and spiritless performances, would also have to banish the horrific memories of last year’s defeat in the qualifier here, when a red-hot Morne Morkel was infamously dropped.

DD could provide some batting thrills with David Warner, who will captain the side in Mahela Jayawardena’s absence, and Virender Sehwag.

There will be some sky-gazing too as Chennai received a few showers on Monday and the forecast is for cloudy skies on Tuesday.

Teams (from):

Chennai Super Kings: M S Dhoni (C), Akila Dananjaya, Albie Morkel, Srikkanta Anirutha, Ankit Rajpoot, Baba Aparajith, Ben Hilfenhaus, Ben Laughlin, Chris Morris, Dirk Nannes, Dwayne Bravo, Francois du Plessis, Imtiyaz Ahmed, Jason Holder, Michael Hussey, Mohit Sharma, Murali Vijay, Nuwan Kulasekara, R Karthikeyan, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Ronit More, Shadab Jakati, S Badrinath, Suresh Raina, Vijay Shankar and Wridhiman Saha.

Delhi Daredevils: Mahela Jayawardane (C), Virender Sehwag, David Warner, Umesh Yadav, Manpreet Juneja, Ashish Nehra, Naman Ojha, Irfan Pathan, Andre Russell, Kedar Jadhav, Ajit Agarkar, Johan Botha, Unmukt Chand, Morne Morkel, Shahbaz Nadeem, Ben Rohrer, Royston Dias, Muralitharan Gautam, Sidharth Kaul, Jeevan Mendis, Yogesh Nagar, Sujeet Nayak, Pavan Negi, Aristh Singhvi, Roelof van der Merwe, Venugopal Rao and Gulam Bodi.

Delhi looking to finish well, says Nehra

Delhi Daredevils seamer Ashish Nehra said on Monday his team was looking to stitch together a good show in its last three games.

“It definitely hasn’t been a great season. But we are looking to finish well,” he said, on the eve of DD’s match against CSK here.

Nehra noted that injuries to key players such as Kevin Pietersen and Jesse Ryder had hampered DD’s prospects. “We lost the first six games and have won three of the next seven. There are a few teams like CSK that do well ever year because they have the same team,” he said.

On his own form, the Delhi bowler said. “I won’t say I am unhappy. I generally bowl during the first six overs and in the last four overs. Unfortunately in India, we look only at the statistics. I was a little rusty in the first two-three games but now I am bowling better.”The 34-year-old also hailed fellow paceman Umesh Yadav as “the most talented bowler in India”.

KKR used the conditions better

Well we’ve made life a little difficult for ourselves after that defeat to Kolkata, and that means both today’s clash against Kings XI Punjab and our final game against Chennai Super Kings are must-win encounters.

It’s a situation we would have preferred to avoid, especially since it has evoked bitter memories of what happened last year when we narrowly missed out on the playoffs.

But, I suppose, if there’s a bright side to it all, we will be playing both our remaining games at home where we’ve had great success this season.

I do hope that by the time you read this, Mumbai Indians would have beaten Sunrisers Hyderabad, which would certainly help our cause.

While we believe that if we do go on to beat Punjab and Chennai, it should hopefully be enough for us to stretch our campaign into the deciding week, we sure could do with Sunrisers Hyderabad having a hiccup or two.

Ideally it would have been great to have our fate entirely in our own hands, but the Kolkata result means we will now have to keep tabs on what’s happening around us.

I’m sure our fans must be wondering what went wrong against the Knight Riders, and with good reason too, considering it was our worst batting performance of this campaign.

The truth is we simply struggled to adapt to the nature of the wicket which was pretty slow and had uneven bounce, which largely contributed to the game being a low-scoring affair.

That’s not to take anything away from the Kolkata bowlers who deserve every bit of credit for making much better use of the conditions than us.

It appears when Chris Gayle doesn’t achieve a strike rate above 100, as was the case against Kolkata, it leaves people asking how?

I’m human

I’m human, guys, these things happen. I certainly don’t go into a match with the aim of achieving a minimum strike rate of 100. You play according to the situation and conditions you come up against.

As I’ve said, these were not conditions tailor-made for batting, and we had lost a couple of wickets at crucial intervals, so I was required to adapt to the situation.

Of course, as an opener, you always want to give your side a good start, but as the Kolkata game showed, that’s not always possible.

We know how to beat Mumbai Indians, says Watson

Almost assured of securing a place in the play-offs of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL), in-form Rajasthan Royals all-rounder Shane Watson says they know how to “beat Mumbai Indians” in their own den.

“Well the most important thing is to keep playing good cricket. We played Mumbai Indians here at home and beat them very convincingly in the last game. So we know exactly what we have to do to beat Mumbai Indians,” Watson said.

Rajasthan, who are sitting pretty at the second position, play Mumbai in their next match on Wednesday.

“We have had a bit of success in Mumbai the last few years as well in the Wankhede Stadium. It is a beautiful wicket so I am looking forward to playing there,” he said.

The Royals have maintained their unbeaten streak at home intact as they recorded a comfortable five-wicket win over table toppers Chennai Super Kings at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium on Sunday, and Watson played a key role with a swashbuckling 34-ball 70.

“We have had a lot of success here, lot like the first year I played here. We certainly know the conditions well and most importantly we have got a really good team at the moment. Everyone is chipping in when we need to, so it is working out nicely,” the Aussie said.

On Stuart Binny’s innings —— he scored 41 off just 23 balls —— Watson complimented the player from Bangalore.

“Stu has been amazing, both with the bat and the ball. The conditions suited him beautifully. He swung the ball nicely and with the bat he just comes out and finds the boundary very much straightaway. That certainly takes a lot of pressure off me. Initially when he first came out, I suppose that over from (Ravichandran) Ashwin was going to be really important to be able to try and pull that run rate back a little bit.”

And when asked what he told Binny after losing four wickets early, he said, “We didn’t talk that much to be honest. We knew instinctively that Ashwin was going to be someone we have to really try and score runs off.”

Poor fielding cost us couple of matches: Lehmann

With practically no chance of making it to the play-offs, Kings XI Punjab coach Darren Lehmann lamented about on-field bloopers that had cost his team a couple of crucial matches.

“If we could have done anything better this year, it is our fielding. If we could have caught everything, we could have won a couple extra games,” Lehmann stated during the pre-match media interaction ahead of his team’s IPL league game against Royal Challengers Bangalore on Tuesday.

“The focus will be on bowling really well and hold onto our chances more than anything else because RCB have some dangerous players,” he added.

King’s XI have five wins from 13 matches are at the seventh spot with just three matches in hand.

Lehmann, who guided Deccan Chargers to IPL title in 2009 and more recently Brisbane Heat to the Big Bash League title in 2013, said that it would be a challenge for Kings XI to play against a side that has done really well at home.

“We have just got to perform better than we have in the last couple of games. The other night, we were 20 per cent short of where we wanted to be and missed some chances on the field,” he said about their home loss to Sunrisers Hyderabad.

On team’s enjoying home advantage, Lehmann, said the sides have dominated 75 per cent of their respective home games and the reason for this could be that one feels settled if they are based there for a fair amount of time.

“I think it’s a case of the teams not playing as well as they should have away from home. It might be different next year, but for this season players and teams have not adapted well away from their home venues,” the Aussie felt.

Lehmann said the pitch here at the Chinnaswamy Stadium looks a typical Bangalore wicket that will offer bounce and carry and a high-scoring encounter.

Though the older players have struggled this year but the Aussie feels they add value off the field in terms of helping out younger players.

“Sachin (Tendulkar), Gilly (Adam Gilchrist) and (Ricky) Ponting, add immense value to a franchise not just because they are playing but what they bring in terms of fans and the enjoyment factor.

“Yes, they would like to make more runs and take more wickets. Franchises need them to do that as well. Adam’s no different. We need him to make more runs. He did well in the last couple of games but before that he had not batted well enough. They are superstars for a reason. But they add a lot off the field. So you have got to take that into consideration as well,” he added.

Sunrisers wilt under Pollard power

Mumbai Indians climbs to the top spot with unbeaten home record

Kieron Pollard stunned Sunrisers Hyderabad into silence with some awesome hitting at the Wankhede stadium. Eight sixes from Pollard powered Mumbai Indians to a seven-wicket victory with three balls remaining in their Pepsi-IPL-VI match on Monday.

Mumbai Indians has 20 points after 10 wins, the same as Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals, but ascended to the top of the table on the strength of its superior net run rate.

Needing 179 to win and with Sachin Tendulkar retired hurt on 38, Pollard calmed the nerves in the MI dugout en route to the second fastest half-century of the season (50 off 20 balls behind Chris Gayle’s 50 off 17).

Thisara Perera and Amit Mishra reeled under the weight of the West Indians’ blows. Dale Steyn’s fiery bowling went in vain as Sunrisers slumped to their sixth loss in 14 matches.

Brisk start to chase

Smith began the chase with an imperious pull off Steyn, then flicked Ishant Sharma comfortably to the square-leg fence. Ishant’s pumped-fist celebration after Smith played on symbolised the intensity in the Sunrisers’ camp.

Tendulkar’s composure against the fast bowlers forced Cameron White to play the spin card. Mishra came on in the eighth over to bait the MI strokemakers

Tendulkar gave young leg-spinner Karan Sharma the charge, hoisting him for a superb six over mid-wicket, but had to return to the dugout with an injured hand soon after.

Dinesh Karthik and Ambati Rayudu paid a high price for exuberance against Karan. Rohit Sharma and Pollard survived a torrid Steyn over, and at one stage, 62 runs were required off four overs. Perera gave away 29 in the 17th and Mishra 21 in the 18th, and that settled the issue.

MI’s experienced attack, except Lasith Malinga, felt the heat in the wake of fluent strokeplay from Parthiv Patel, top-scorer Shikhar Dhawan and Hanuma Vihari (41 off 37).

White inflicted his brand of punishment, slogging at will. His 43 off 23 balls was the second-highest score. Dhawan and Vihari consolidated the innings with hard running and placements.

But, Dhawan lost his wicket to an over-ambitious shot against Johnson, edging behind after stepping out to the left-arm pacer. That brought skipper White into the middle.

He stepped on the gas in the last five overs. Kulkarni and Ojha suffered at the Aussie’s hands.

Scoreboard:

Sunrisers Hyderabad: Parthiv Patel c Rayudu b Malinga 26 (14b, 5x4), Shikhar Dhawan c Karthik b Johnson 59 (41b, 6x4, 2x6), Hanuma Vihari c Johnson b Malinga 41 (37b, 4x4), Cameron White (not out) 43 (23b, 3x4, 3x6), Thisara Perera (not out) 2 (5b); Extras (b-1, w-6): 7; Total (for three wkts. in 20 overs): 178.

Fall of wickets: 1-38 (Parthiv), 2-111 (Dhawan), 3-166 (Vihari).

Mumbai Indians bowling: Mitchell Johnson 4-0-43-1, Dhaval Kulkarni 4-0-42-0, Harbhajan Singh 3-0-19-0, Lasith Malinga 4-0-26-2, Pragyan Ojha 4-0-37-0, Kieron Pollard 1-0-10-0.

Mumbai Indians: Dwayne Smith b Ishant 21 (17b, 4x4), Sachin Tendulkar (retd. hurt) 38 (31b, 3x4, 1x6), Dinesh Karthik c White b Karan 30 (23b, 4x4), Rohit Sharma (not out) 20 (15b, 2x6), Ambati Rayudu st. Parthiv b Karan 2 (5b), Kieron Pollard (not out) 66 (27b, 2x4, 8x6); Extras (lb-1, w-5, nb-1): 7; Total (for three wkts. in 19.3 overs): 184.

Fall of wickets: 1-26 (Smith), 2-95 (Karthik), 3-99 (Rayudu).

Sunrisers Hyderabad bowling: Dale Steyn 4-0-23-0, Ishant Sharma 4-0-32-1, Thisara Perera 3.3-0-55-0, Darren Sammy 2-0-15-0, Amit Mishra 3-0-36-0, Karan Sharma 3-0-22-2.

Man-of-the-match: Kieron Pollard.

Not an ideal T20 pitch: Simmons

Delhi Daredevils coach Eric Simmons said the pitch for the match against Sunrisers Hyderabad was not an ideal T20 wicket.

“When you see a batsman of the calibre of Virender Sehwag struggle in the early overs, it should reflect on the nature of the wicket,” said Simmons.

Sunrisers mentor Krishnamachari Srikkanth said it was a “superb and convincing win” against Daredevils. “It was an extraordinary performance by all the bowlers. I think the tone for the evening was set by Steyn and Ishant.”

Will Kings perform better at home?

Those trying to make sense of the IPL table are sure to get bemused. While the Royal Challengers from Bangalore have ambled their way to the upper reaches of the standings, the Kings from Punjab have got used to defeats rather than delighting themselves in a buffet of victories.

After three consecutive ‘away’ defeats, KXIP would regard a return to the familiar surroundings of the PCA Stadium for its contest against RCB on Monday as welcome.

The visitor’s skipper Virat Kohli would understand David Hussey’s joy of homecoming better than most. RCB had lost all its four away games until a 17-run success over Pune Warriors India pushed it into the comfort zone.

Kohli’s team has five matches to go and a victory against Kings would take it closer to a berth in the play-offs. Though the latter has played a game less, another loss on Monday would mean Hussey’s boys, for the fifth season running, will be eliminated before the climactic phase.

Fortunately for Kings, Chris Gayle’s willow has lacked its usual ferocity outside his den in Bangalore. With a highest score of 34, the West Indian has managed just 78 in five ‘away’ contests.

Three home games

The Punjab team, under the leadership of Adam Gilchrist, has won two of its three matches at the PCA Stadium this season and the RCB game will be the first of its three home encounters this week.

The teams in the top half have a near-perfect home record. The schedule has now afforded Kings an opportunity to find its rhythm — sorely missed till now — during the extended stay in Mohali. It will certainly be make-or-break for the side this week.

For RCB, this match has another significance. Having finally won an ‘away’ game, another victory on Monday would remove the cobwebs of doubt that seem to encircle the team every time it plays outside its fortress (Bangalore). A defeat will only dent its progress, but for Kings, it would be curtains.