Kevin Pietersen quits ODIs, T20 internationals

Kevin Pietersen, the England batsman, has announced his retirement from all limited-overs international with immediate effect. Pietersen, who has scored 4184 One-day International runs at an average of 41.84, also managed 1176 runs from 36 T20 Internationals at an average of nearly 38.

When making his decision public, Pietersen cited an increasingly busy international calendar as his primary reason to focus purely on Test cricket. "After a great deal of thought and deliberation, I am today announcing my retirement from International One Day Cricket," said Pietersen on Thursday. "With the intensity of the international schedule and the increasing demands on my body, approaching 32, I think it is the right time to step aside and let the next generation of players come through to gain experience for the ICC World Cup in 2015."

Pietersen made it clear that he hoped to play Test cricket for England and it was understood that his retirement would not affect his commitment to the Delhi Daredevils, who he plays for in the Indian Premier League.

It was also clarified that Pietersen would take no part in the forthcoming ICC World T20 in Sri Lanka as the England and Wales Cricket Board had decided that long-term planning in ODIs and T20Is was closely interlinked. "Pietersen, who discussed his position with the ECB during the recent Test against the West Indies at Lord's, accepts that his current contract will continue to run through to September 2012 but that the contract will be downgraded to reflect the fact that he will only be selected for Test match cricket for the remainder of his current contract," an ECB spokesperson said. "The terms of the central contract state that any player making himself unavailable for either of the one-day formats automatically rules himself out of consideration for both formats of the game as planning for both formats is closely linked."

While accepting the ECB's position, Pietersen clarified, "For the record, were the selection criteria not in place, I would have readily played for England in the upcoming ICC World Twenty20."

Hugh Morris, managing director of England Cricket, said: "The ECB is disappointed by the timing of Kevin's decision less than four months before we defend our ICC World Twenty20 title. Kevin is a world-class player and I would like to take this opportunity to thank him for his efforts and we look forward to his continued contributions to the Test match side.

"As the programming and planning for ODI and T20 format cricket are very closely linked we have a selection policy that means that any player making himself unavailable for either of the one day formats, rules himself out of consideration for both formats. The selectors will now replace Kevin in both the ODI and the T20 squads."

Pietersen, who was born in Pietermaritzburg in South Africa, made his international debut against Zimbabwe in Harare in 2004. While he has emerged into a dominant force as a Test batsmen, Pietersen's returns of 10 centuries from 137 ODIs is disappointing for a player who has the ability to take apart any bowling attack. Pietersen's highest score in ODIs, 130, came against Pakistan in Dubai earlier this year.
Article Source: http://sports.ndtv.com/cricket/news/item/191020-kevin-pietersen-retires-from-international-limited-overs-cricket?pfrom=home-cricket

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KKR beat defending champions CSK to win maiden IPL title

We have a new IPL titlist. Inspired by Manvinder Bisla and Jacques Kallis' divergent half-centuries in a cracker of a final at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Kolkata Knight Riders roared to their maiden IPL trophy with a memorably tense chase of 190 against the defending champions Chennai Super Kings.

There were three charismatic innings of contrasting styles on show at Chennai's home ground and, ultimately, it was Bisla's fluency and Kallis' unflappability that helped KKR overcome the challenge set by Suresh Raina's display of bottom-handed slog-sweeping. Following the loss of Gautam Gambhir in the opening over, Bisla kick-started Kolkata's run-chase by hitting Albie Morkel for four boundaries and kept the pace going through to his highest IPL score of 87.

Kallis was restrained during his half-century, brought up off 39 balls, and his 136-run stand with Bisla helped end Chennai's superb run in the 2012 playoffs in dramatic fashion and denied them a hat-trick of trophies. Chennai didn't give up and took the match into the final over, but Manoj Tiwary finished the deal with two leg-side hits with two balls remaining.

Kolkata's chase of 191 started poorly, with Gambhir bowled in the opening over by Ben Hilfenhaus. Bisla took four boundaries off the fourth over bowled by Morkel, each slapped fiercely through the offside, and Kolkata had 36 on the board. R Ashwin was then driven for consecutive sixes, down the ground and over mid-on, and the chase was on. With the 50 up in the sixth over, Bisla accelerated further in the next by driving Dwayne Bravo for six over mid-off. MS Dhoni tried the left-arm spin of Shadab Jakati after the time-out, but Kallis greeted him with an edged four. Bisla reached his half-century in 27 balls in the same over, and in Bravo's second he collected his fourth six.

By the halfway mark, KKR were 100 for 1, meaning they needed 91 from 60 balls, and Bisla's intensity and strike-rate did not relent. In Jakati's second over, he hit two more fours, then collected a sixth six by slamming Ashwin over extra cover.

Kallis' contribution was vital too, for his 69 off 49 balls eased the pressure on Bisla. Kallis relied mainly on dabs into the offside, but opened up once Bisla slapped a simple catch to point. Jakati was pummeled over the in-field for consecutive boundaries as Kallis reached fifty off 39 balls and then perfectly bisected two men in the deep for a boundary after Laxmi Ratan Shukla ate up six balls for three runs. Kallis was given a moment of luck, too, when Michael Hussey held a leaping catch on the boundary but fell across to concede six.

The tension was ratcheted as Yusuf Pathan got a leading edge off Ashwin, at which point KKR needed 27 off 17. Kallis then cramped up to add to the excruciating mood, which also meant that singles and doubles were tough to handle. With 20 to defend off 12 balls, Hilfenhaus sent down two full tosses in a row ��" the first Kallis slapped straight to sweeper cover to be out for 69, but the next was deemed to be above Shakib Al Hasan's waist. The result? Three runs and an extra ball, which Shakib excellently scooped to fine leg for four. The error proved costly for CSK.

Needing nine from six balls, Shakib and Tiwary exchanged singles before Tiwary swung Bravo over short fine leg for four. Tiwary finished it with another pull through the same region, and then pumped his firsts in celebration as the adrenaline flowed and his team-mates raced from the dug-out in joy.

Such a chase had been difficult to envision after Chennai surged to 190. Having been given first use of the batting deck, Hussey and Murali Vijay launched an 87-run stand in 10.2 overs. That start provided the impetus for Raina to come out blazing, and he collected his first fifty of the season to push the defending champions to a strong total.

After two tidy overs that cost 12, Chennai took 48 off the next four. Brett Lee was taken for two boundaries in the third over, Shakib was hit for six first ball, and Lee's third over went for 19 as each opener struck a fluent six. There were plenty of shots that flew wide of fielders, but such was Chennai's attitude that they weren't going to hold back. Following Vijay's dismissal, Hussey was a bystander as Raina tore into the bowling. The left-hander employed the slog-sweep against spin and pace, staying in the crease and muscling five sixes. After heaving Kallis for a six off his fourth ball, Raina tucked into Yusuf for two fours and another six. Lee and Sunil Narine were thumped for big sixes, the massive 105-metre shot off Narine giving Raina his half-century off just 27 balls.

Hussey was eventually bowled for 54 attempting a heave against Kallis in the 17th over; his contribution to a 73-run stand had been just 13. Narine was swung for another six by Raina, after which Shakib bowled an eight-run final over that ended with Raina slogging to Lee in the deep for a 38-ball 73. Unfortunately for Chennai, Bisla and Kallis played better innings.

Article Source: http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/sports/kkr-beat-defending-champions-csk-to-win-maiden-ipl-title_709711.html

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Kolkata go through to IPL 5 last as Delhi get the collection wrong

No question affected by their achievements against Punjab in Dharamshala, Delhi decided for a four-pronged speed assault. The shift backfired horribly on the Sahara arena monitor, where a dash of lawn hidden the slowly personality of the message.

The Kolkata batsmen, with leader Gautam Gambhir major from the top side as frequent, utilized the communicate speed of the Delhi bowlers to the hilt, publishing a complicated 162 for four.

Then, assisted by their amazing range of more slowly bowlers, Kolkata limited Delhi to 144 for eight.

For Delhi, the group of Morne Morkel, Umesh Yadav and Varun Aaron, all go-karting in unwanted of 140 kmph, admitted 122 operates between them - three-fourth of the Kolkata complete - in come returning for just one wicket.

Aaron's last over of the innings price 21 operates. The method speed of Irfan Pathan (1-20) and the left-arm whirl of Pawan Negi (1-18) were more efficient.

Interestingly, in the group go with against Pune at the same location, Delhi had selected two rewriters, enjoying left-arm rewriter Shahbaz Nadeem instead of Aaron.

On Thursday, Kolkata had three rewriters in their collection with Shakib Al Hasan giving the new tennis ball with Laxmipathy Balaji. Shakib (1-36), Sunil Narine (2-24) and Iqbal Abdullah (1-25) arranged at frequent durations to pierce Delhi's desires.

It also assisted that they won the throw. When the money dropped in his give preference to, Gambhir had no uncertainty in hitting frist. The skipper created a quickfire 32 off just 16 golf paintballs to help Kolkata get off the prevents easily. Yusuf Pathan offered the completing variations with an unbeaten 40 from 21 golf paintballs.

Brendon McCullum (31), Jacques Kallis (30) and Laxmi Ratan Shukla (24 n.o.) too performed their tasks to efficiency. Delhi ran to 24 operates in two overs before being set returning by the dismissals of Virender Sehwag (10) and Mark Warner (7).

Kolkata had a frighten when Balaji limped off after go-karting just two overs. But his solutions were not necessary.

Predict today's win between CSK or MI at www.m88india.com

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Clinical Knights glide to easy win over Punjab

Gautam Gambhir scored an unbeaten 66 while Jacques Kallis remained not out on 30 as clinical Kolkata Knight Riders thrashed Kings XI Punjab by eight wickets in an IPL 5 match at the PCA Stadium in Mohali on Wednesday. A disciplined bowling and fielding performance helped Kolkata restrict Punjab to just 124 for 7 and then skipper Gambhir led from the front to make sure Kolkata reached the target with 3.3 overs to spare.

Gambhir's match-winning innings included seven fours and one six. Brendon McCullum looked dangerous early on but failed to capitalise on the good start as he fell cheaply to Chawla scoring 15. Chawla also picked up his second wicket four overs later when Manvinder Bisla (11) dragged a delivery on to his stumps.
Soon, Kallis joined the captain in the middle to finish off things and did it in style with a huge six. He stayed unbeaten by scoring 30 off 23 balls. The duo shared an unbeaten 53-run stand as KKR cruised to an easy win.

Earlier, Punjab won the toss and elected to bat, but the home team lost Paul Valthaty in the third over, as Brett Lee made early inroads for Kolkata. Shaun Marsh (33) then joined Adam Gilchrist in the middle, but the latter was forced to leave the field due to a hamstring pull when he was on 28.
After six overs, Punjab were well placed at 45 for 1 with Marsh and Mandeep Singh (6) in the middle. After Gilchrist's exit Punjab struggled to score freely and Mandeep was the second man to fall as he gave away his wicket to Laxmipathy Balaji who had him caught at the third man. Soon he was joined by Marsh in the middle when Lee struck to get him caught behind. Though, Marsh's dismissal in the 14th over, however, turned out to be a little controversial.

Punjab then lost David Hussey (10) immediately in the next over for a poor judgement of a run and to leave the team reeling at 87 for 4 in the 15th over. Punjab failed to get a substantial partnership after that as Dimitri Mascarenhas (9) and Paras Dogra (6) departed in quick succession. Gilchirst returned in the 19th over to try and add some late runs, but by then the Kolkata bowlers had already done the damage. The Punjab skipper clubbed a six in the final over to take his team to 124 and remained unbeaten on 40.

For Kolkata, wily West Indian offspinner Sunil Narine (2 for 24) and Brett Lee (2 for 26) starred with the ball. Laxmipathy Balaji and Rajat Bhatia also picked up a wicket each for the visitors.
Source: http://cricketnext.in.com/live/news/clinical-kkr-cruise-to-easy-win-over-punjab/65204-13.html

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ICC presidency term to be cut to a year

The ICC's Executive Board has confirmed a constitutional amendment that will alter the role of its president and create a new post of a non-voting Board Chairman. The amendment, if approved by the ICC's general body in June, will convert the presidency of cricket's governing body into a rotational one-year term from 2014, at which time the post of vice-president will cease to exist. The chairman, who will now head the Executive Board, will serve a maximum of three two-year terms.

The nomination of Bangladesh Cricket Board president Mustafa Kamal as the joint candidate from Bangladesh and Pakistan for the vice-president's post, to succeed Alan Isaac in 2014, has been deferred until the ICC's annual conference, to be held in Kuala Lumpur at the end of June.

This will be the fourth time the ICC has made a change in its presidential format since reworking its constitution in 1996. The move to do away with a rotational presidency follows the controversial rejection in June 2010 of the nomination of John Howard as the ICC's vice-presidential candidate to succeed president Sharad Pawar. The constitutional amendment may have retained a rotational presidency, but the actual post has been altered in two different ways. From 2014 onward, the president's term has been cut down from two to one year and the position completely detached from administrative decision-making with the creation of the post of a chairman of the Board.

When the post of president was first created at the ICC, each full member appointed one man for the post on a rotational basis; Jagmohan Dalmiya from India, Malcolm Gray from Australia, Ehsan Mani from Pakistan and Percy Sonn from South Africa were the men appointed under this system. In 2007, the system was tweaked and the post of vice-president was also created. Though rotation stayed as a policy, nominations now came from pairs of countries: Australia-New Zealand, West Indies-England, India-Sri Lanka, Pakistan-Bangladesh and South Africa-Zimbabwe.

Kamal's vice-presidential nomination has now been further delayed. The re-defined president's role and the constitutional amendments would first need to be confirmed before the Board can turn its attention to what is to be done with the vice-president's post over the next two years. Within the next two months, Kamal's ambitions of becoming the ICC vice-president and from there, the president, will rest primarily on the support of the PCB. On Sunday, Bangladesh formally confirmed to the PCB that they will play one ODI and one Twenty20 International there later this month, in what will be the first international series in Pakistan since the attack on the Sri Lanka team in March 2009.

While the ICC Board announced that the post of the new Chairman would be instituted from 2014 onwards, it was not yet established whether the chairman would be appointed or elected. It is also not clear what the new 'ceremonial' post of president would actually involved as well as whether he would have the power to play any part in executive board functioning at all. At the moment the president chairs Board meetings, but has no vote. From 2014, the chairman would now become the head of the Board.

The Board also stated that recommendations made by the Woolf independent governance review needed "further discussion" to build a greater consensus. The directors of the Board - the chiefs of all the Full Member boards and three associate representatives - would "begin discussion among themselves" in order to develop, "a clearer understanding of the role of the ICC." The directors, it was said, would hold "more informal dicussions" among themselves and member boards in order to prepare their ground for the Kuala Lumpur meeting.

Apart from splitting the role of president and chairman of the board - both non-voting positions - the only other recommendation of the Woolf independent governance review that the Board had categorically agreed to was about "creating targeted funding" for members. The ICC has given no further details of the 'targeted funding' that was being considered. Haroon Lorgat, the CEO of the ICC, said it would have been, "unrealistic" to expect immediate decisions to be taken in regard to the Woolf report but said "it is encouraging there is a willingness to engage in difficult and significant governance matters." The Woolf review had called for sweeping changes in the global administration of cricket and the administration of the ICC.

Lorgat is now in his last two months as the CEO and will leave the position at the end of the annual conference in June. The board said it had identified four candidates who will be interviewed for the post. The ICC Executive Board consists of the president or chairman from each of the 10 Full Members plus three Associate Member representatives. The meeting is chaired by the ICC President and and also attended by the ICC Chief Executive, the ICC Vice-President, and by invitation, the ICC Principal Advisor.

Article Source: http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci-icc/content/current/story/561439.html

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Stuart Law quits as Bangladesh coach

Stuart Law has resigned as Bangladesh coach after nine months in the job, citing family reasons. He will stay on till the end of June, when his contract expires.

His decision to quit comes less than a month after Bangladesh reached the final of the Asia Cup, widely seen as one of their finest achievements.

"It is with great regret and a heavy heart that today I announce my stepping down as the head coach of Bangladesh," Law said.

He said he will move back to Australia after two and a half years in the subcontinent, which included a coaching stint with Sri Lanka. "Living away from the family and not seeing people growing up, I think we all understand that family comes first," he said. "Cricket has been a huge part of my life but over the years I have realised that there is nothing more important than the family and if they are not happy then I am not happy and something had to give."

Law had taken over as national coach last July, and though the initial results were disappointing - including losses to Zimbabwe - the home season ended with Bangladesh upsetting India and Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup, before losing the final in a last-ball finish.

The decision appeared to have come as a surprise to those in the team. Tamim Iqbal said he was completely unaware about Law's intentions after the Asia Cup. "I'm completely taken by surprise. But family comes first," Tamim told ESPNcricinfo.

Bangladesh media committee chairman Jalal Yunus said the board understood Law's decision. "As he (Law) has said the family was his priority and that should be the case for all of us," Yunus said. "We are sorry to see him go, especially at a time when under his guidance the Bangladesh team is doing really well and showing good consistency."

Article Source: http://www.espncricinfo.com/bangladesh/content/story/561426.html

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Bangladesh to tour Pakistan at month end

International cricket is set to return to Pakistan after three years, with Bangladesh formally confirming to the PCB that they will play one ODI and one Twenty20 International there later this month. There has been no cricket between two Full Member nations in Pakistan since the attack on the Sri Lanka team in March 2009.

The ODI is scheduled for April 29 and the T20I for April 30. Both matches will be played at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.

"The public of Pakistan have been deprived of cricket and we felt that we needed to support them," BCB president Mustafa Kamal said. "The reception we received when we toured Lahore and Karachi on our security visit was overwhelming."

Zaka Ashraf, the PCB chairman, thanked the BCB and the Bangladesh government for their support for the tour.

The ICC, though, was more guarded in its response, saying it had asked the the PCB for a security plan, following which its Anti-Corruption and Security Unit would commission a localised risk assessment to determine the safety of its officials and staff; only after that would it decide on deploying its officials.

Last month, the ICC had introduced a "special dispensation" to be made only in "exceptional circumstances" in order to ensure that bilateral series take place even if the ruling body has determined it "unsafe" to appoint its officials for such series. This would allow such series to be manned by "non-neutral match officials", a departure from the ICC's Standard Playing Conditions, pending permission from its executive board.

Bangladesh was due for a full tour of Pakistan in 2012 under the ICC's Future Tours Programme. The PCB also said the remaining matches of the tour will be played at dates mutually agreed between the two Boards at venues including Bangladesh.

There had been several itineraries proposed for the tour, including a three-match ODI series and a series of two ODIs and one Twenty20 international. Karachi and Rawalpindi were the other possible venues but ESPNcricinfo understands they were dropped on security grounds.

Sunday's announcement follows lengthy negotiations between the two boards over the terms of the tour, and at times it looked as though the tour would be a non-starter. A nine-member delegation, headed by Kamal and including security officials from that country, visited Pakistan in March for a demonstration of the security plan for the proposed series. The plan was well received, it is believed, but confirmation of the series was delayed. One reason, according to the BCB, was that it was waiting for a government advisory; another possible reason was the ICC's special dispensation plan, which possibly implied that the venue was not safe for neutral officials.

Jalal Yunus, the BCB's media committee chairman, said Kamal had taken charge of the matter and handled it personally. "We haven't talked about it since Zaka Ashraf came and discussed the matter officially, so it has been 2-3 months," he said. "The BCB president must have known the government stance and that's why he has confirmed. He has handled it personally from the beginning."

The tour will come a little more than three years after masked terrorists attacked the Sri Lanka team bus and a van carrying ICC officials to Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, on what would have been the third day of the second Test of that tour. Six Sri Lankan cricketers were injured in the attack, and six security personnel and two civilians were killed.

Since then, Pakistan have hosted "home series" in UAE and other neutral venues. They played New Zealand in New Zealand (2009-10), England and Australia in England (2010). UAE has been their favoured home base, having hosted South Africa, Sri Lanka and England.

Article Source: http://www.espncricinfo.com/pakistan-v-bangladesh-2012/content/story/561302.html

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Rahane assists for Royal's breakthrough in the IPL V

Rajasthan Royals 195 for 2 (Rahane 103*, Shah 60) beat 136 Royal Challengers Bangalore (Agarwal 34, Trivedi 4 for 25) by 59 runs

Matches: Royal Challengers Bangalore v Rajasthan Royals at Bangalore
Series/Tournaments: Indian Premier League
Teams: India | Rajasthan Royals | Royal Challengers Bangalore

The game was effectively over when the players walked off for the innings break. Ajinkya Rahane's blistering, unbeaten 103 brought up the first century of IPL 2012, propelling Rajasthan Royals to 195 against an already battered Royal Challengers Bangalore. Assisted by Owais Shah's equally intimidating 60, the Royals piled on a score way beyond reach for the hosts and such was the dominance that the chase turned out to be a tepid affair.

Rahane also smashed six consecutive fours off an over - the first in Twenty20 history, S Aravind being the unfortunate bowler. Rahane and Shah - ten years apart - didn't just deliver for the team's cause but also nudged their respective national team selectors ahead of the World Twenty20, each getting two big scores so far this IPL. Their bowlers - led by Siddharth Trivedi - backed them up, hitting their targets like efficient salesmen, getting six batsmen bowled.

Ironically, the losing side had the bigger names. With the likes of Daniel Vettori, Muttiah Muralitharan and Zaheer Khan to contend with, it appeared as if the Royals worked to the plan of exploiting the less-experienced Indian bowlers. It was an extension of Royal Challengers' affliction from the match against Chennai Super Kings, when Virat Kohli leaked 28 off the penultimate over of the game.

At one stage, Aravind conceded 48 off three overs, almost the same number given away by Zaheer, Vettori and Murali off ten combined overs. A less-than-fit Chris Gayle, recovering from a groin injury, came on in the 16th over more as an act of desperation by Vettori and didn't fare any better than the other weak links, leaking 21.

The hammering Rahane dished out was reminiscent of Brendon McCullum's butchering at the same venue in the IPL's opening game in 2008. He began by splitting the gap past cover and backward point for two fours off Aravind in the second over. The onslaught that followed was so brutal that it's easy to forget Zaheer bowled a maiden over to Rahane, the third of the innings. Rahane showed no such respect for Aravind the following over, taking 15 off it, including a massive hit over long-on.

Vettori and Murali then pulled things back with five relatively quiet overs, going for 23. Vettori's spell only widened the gap between him and the rest. He varied his pace and flight, fired in the quicker ones to keep the batsmen guessing.

Rahane's merciless approach was best illustrated in the 14th over, which produced six fours. He drove Aravind forcefully down the ground off the first two balls, scooped the third to fine leg, pulled the fourth to midwicket, drove the fifth past cover and delicately dabbed the six to third man. Aravind varied his pace and length, AB de Villiers came up to the stumps but nothing deterred Rahane.

Shah began his party with a top-edged six over long leg, before ripping into Gayle. Vinay Kumar aimed for the blockhole, but somehow Shah found a way to get under the bounce and slam sixes down the ground. He brought up his fifty off just 19 balls before launching into Murali. He tried the same against a slower Zaheer delivery but was caught at long-on.

At the other end, Rahane started the final over needing seven for his century and he required just three balls to get there. After driving Vinay past mid-off, he flat-batted the third ball just past long-on's grasp to bring up the landmark. The Royals hammered 113 off the last seven overs, the third-best in IPL history.

Royal Challengers began the chase in enterprising manner, with Mayank Agarwal pulling the first ball for six over fine leg. But a double-strike by Pankaj Singh in the fifth over derailed the chase and took the fight out of the hosts. Agarwal was caught off a top-edge and two balls later, Gayle dragged one onto his stumps.

That followed a period of prolonged struggle for Royal Challengers, stumbling against the asking rate, compounded by the steady fall of wickets. The boundary drought lasted an unforgivable 37 deliveries and that was thanks largely to Trivedi's nagging line and slower deliveries bowled from back of a length, assisted by the slow pitch. De Villiers played on to one that kept low, Kohli and Saurabh perished swinging across the line, before Vettori lost his leg stump giving the bowler the charge. Trivedi's 4 for 23 was his personal best in the IPL and the combined efforts launched the Royals to the top of the table.

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The beauty of a catch at slip

Many cricket fans are fond of saying that the most dramatic cricket dismissal is one involving a cartwheeling stump, sent flying by a fast bowler. The pristine perfection of the carefully arranged stumps and bails, suddenly, violently disrupted by the irresistible force of the pace man, the stump sent flying dramatically - and now in the modern era, thanks to stump microphones, accompanied by the actual sound of the famous ‘death-rattle’ - is dramatic indeed.

I would like, however, to submit another candidate for Most Dramatic Dismissal: a sharp catch taken at slip in the opening overs of an innings, when the bowling captain has set an aggressive field for the new ball. Here again, there is a disruption of symmetry: the bowler runs in, the batsman edges, and the ball flies off, only to have its precise geometrical trajectory interrupted by the swooping slip fieldsman. The batsman’s head snaps back, as he turns to look at his downfall even as the carefully arranged arc of the slips is radically set in disarray.

And this disturbance is precisely what is most pleasing about this sight: the sharp, dramatic change from the staged display, almost portrait-like, of the fast bowler running in, the slips, sometimes staggered, sometimes not, forming a cordon, the wicketkeeper crouching, the batsman at guard, and then in the space of a second, the ball flies sharply to the slips. There is a rapid transition from equilibrium to disruption. (The celebrations that follow have their particular choreographed beauty at times; sometimes the slip fielder goes down in a heap as the rest of his teammates run to the bowler; sometimes the catcher exultantly throws the ball high.)

With the new ball, too, there is the element of the foretold disaster; this is the kind of dismissal that is supposed to happen; the ball is hard and new and moving; the batsman is still finding his feet, and perhaps prone to the poke. So the slip dismissal with the new ball appears almost as a pleasing vindication of some unwritten law of cricket. This is how it was meant to be; we stand as witnesses to the working out of a cricketing preordainment.

Of course, part of the pleasure of watching a good slip catch is that the knowledgeable fan, indeed anyone that has ever played cricket, and spent some time in the slips, knows that slip catches are not easy; the ball travels at a fair rate of knots; it moves and spins; palms can be bruised, fingers and nails broken. So to watch a master at work in this domain is a true cricketing pleasure. The modern greats - like Mark Waugh, Stephen Fleming, Rahul Dravid, or Ricky Ponting - amazed us with their sure hands, their anticipation, their almost insouciant displays of leather pouching. The great cricket teams have always had great slip catchers; the two go together.

Perhaps one of my biggest grouses against the limited-overs versions of the game is their disposal of the aggressive slip cordon; it takes away the chance to witness this acute display of cricketing skill, this visually spectacular reminder of the beauties of cricket, lurking away, till suddenly summoned up by the combination of bowler and fielder. When we think about all that might be lost if we lose Test cricket let us not forget moments like these.

Article Source: http://blogs.espncricinfo.com/thepitch/archives/2012/04/the_beauty_of_a_catch_at_slip.php

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Kolkata seek to build on big win

Match facts
Friday, April 13 , Kolkata
Start time 2000 (1430 GMT)

Matches: Kolkata Knight Riders v Rajasthan Royals at Kolkata
Series/Tournaments: Indian Premier League
Teams: India | Kolkata Knight Riders | Rajasthan Royals

Just into the second week of the IPL, the Rajasthan Royals take on Kolkata Knight Riders for the second time this season. The Knight Riders lost that contest, their second in a row, but recovered to beat Royal Challengers Bangalore in comprehensive fashion.

The Royals, since then, lost to Mumbai Indians, and the teams have endured contrasting fortunes after their previous meeting. The Royals perhaps miscalculated by playing Brad Hogg in their defeat to Mumbai instead of Brad Hodge and then conceding 197. The Knight Riders had their top order back in touch in their win against Royal Challengers, after being dismissed cheaply in their loss to the Royals. The Knight Riders may have more confidence on their side this time, and home support to back it up.

Players to watch
While Ajinkya Rahane has impressed at the top, Owais Shah has proved highly reliable in the middle order for the Royals with scores of 14*, 23* and 76 - the last one included five sixes - and an admirable average of 35.28 in the shortest format.

As he was for his former team, the Royals, in the first three seasons, Yusuf Pathan is a key member of the Knight Riders side but has failed to fire so far. With 16 runs in three innings and nothing to show for with the ball, his side needs him to step up quickly.

2011 head-to-head
The teams played each other back to back in the IPL last year, with Knight Riders winning each time. Jacques Kallis and Gautam Gambhir scored unbeaten half-centuries to help their side chase down 160 to win by nine wickets in Jaipur, and a collective bowling effort led by L Balaji skittled out the Royals for 85 two days later at Eden Gardens.

Stats and trivia
Gambhir has struck 187 fours in the five seasons of the IPL, second only to Sachin Tendulkar's 219. Kallis is fourth on the list, with 177.
Knight Riders have won 28 and lost 35 of their IPL games. Fifteen of those wins have come at home (they've played 28 games in all at Eden Gardens).
Quotes
"This was the best spell that I have ever seen in a Twenty20 competition."
Gautam Gambhir, the Knight Riders captain, on L Balaji's spell of 4 for 18 against the Royal Challengers.

"This is the first time I've had much of a chance, this is the first time I've played in an IPL team. I actually feel like I'm having a proper run in a side now."
Owais Shah, who's been part of four IPL teams, finally feels he is getting a good run

Source: http://www.espncricinfo.com/indian-premier-league-2012/content/current/story/561000.html

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Mascarenhas five-for gives Punjab first win

Dimitri Mascarenhas and Shaun Marsh were the architects of a comfortable win for Kings XI Punjab, their first this IPL after a poor start to the season. Mascarenhas picked up his second five-for in Twenty20 cricket, in conditions perfectly suited to his accuracy and medium pace. His performance helped bowl out Pune Warriors for just 115 on a slow track, and Shaun Marsh ensured the chase was on track with a composed half-century that marked his own return to form.

On a Mohali track that had some grass and one that was livened up with some rain last night, the Kings XI seamers justified their captain's decision to field, deriving swing and movement with some accurate bowling and picking up wickets at a steady pace in the process. After the early loss of Jesse Ryder, who was run out thanks to a late decision against a single by his partner Sourav Ganguly, Praveen Kumar, Parvinder Awana and Mascarenhas went about slowing down the innings considerably. Praveen got significant away movement and surprised the batsmen with ones that nipped back in.

The top order hasn't really fired for the Warriors and the trend continued. After promising much with a couple of delightful shots, Ganguly was dismissed thanks to the introduction of Mascarenhas. He got rid of Ganguly with some away movement that produced a leading edge, and saw off an edgy Marlon Samuels with a lovely delivery that moved just at the right time to clip the off stump.

At the other end, with the Warriors soon reduced to 29 for 3, Uthappa was forced to curb his natural instincts but found an able partner in Mithun Manhas, whose swift running and busy approach didn't allow his side to buckle down significantly. Interspersed between a spate of singles and twos were a couple of useful boundaries from Manhas, a wristy smack over Piyush Chawla's head standing out.

The 26-run stand for the fifth wicket ended when Uthappa holed out against Mascarenhas in his second spell and Steven Smith followed not long after, bowled off an inside edge. Smith and Uthappa had played a critical role in the Warriors' previous two wins, chipping in with cameos that proved crucial in the outcome, but weren't able to push on today.

Mascarenhas returned to trouble the Warriors more in his final spell, and wasn't perturbed when struck for a huge six over extra cover by Manhas. He stuck to a straight line, bowling Manhas the very next ball as he tried the scoop, and picked his fifth as Rahul Sharma skied one to deep midwicket; the innings was wrapped up shortly after.

Barring a first-ball setback when Paul Valthaty was cleaned up by Ashok Dinda, Kings XI never really strayed off the track in the chase. Marsh, whose last seven Test innings have yielded just 17 runs, began his innings in style, pulling Dinda through midwicket. It didn't help the Warriors that their fielding was poor, with misfields, overthrows, a missed run-out and a couple of dropped catches preventing them from putting up a fight.

Together with Adam Gilchrist, Marsh saw off the early pressure with two crunching boundaries off Samuels through the off side and Gilchrist matched him, smacking Angelo Mathews for successive fours in the last over of the field restrictions. Marsh, who was reprieved when on 31 and 41, was ruthless when offered width and his adeptness at playing the pull allowed the Warriors bowlers little margin for error. Both timing and power were on display, a classy flick over midwicket off Nehra and a towering six over long-on off Rahul Sharma typifying both those features.

Chawla, promoted above David Hussey, gave Marsh good company and sealed the win, the Warriors doing their bit to hasten it through some sloppy fielding.

Source: http://www.espncricinfo.com/indian-premier-league-2012/content/current/story/561001.html

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Morkel blitz blindsides Bangalore

Chennai Super Kings 208 for 5 (Du Plessis 71, Dhoni 41, Murali 3-21) beat Royal Challengers Bangalore 205 for 8 (Gayle 68, Kohli 57, Bollinger 3-24) by five wickets

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Albie Morkel ransacked 28 runs off the first six balls he faced - the 19th over - to pull off an incredible heist for Chennai Super Kings, the second highest successful chase in the IPL. Pursuing 206, Super Kings needed 43 off 12 balls and Royal Challengers Bangalore would have thought the match safe, only for Morkel to shatter the notion by savaging Virat Kohli's over.

Morkel launched three sixes, two fours and ran a two, to leave Super Kings with 15 to get in the last over. Although he was caught on the boundary, and Super Kings needed 14 off four balls, Dwayne Bravo was on hand to finish it off, helped by a no-ball and a full toss from Vinay Kumar. It was a compelling finish to an innings that had its platform laid by aggression from Faf du Plessis and innovation from MS Dhoni, who promoted himself to No. 4, but until that rocket-fueled thrust from Morkel, Super Kings had been behind for 38 overs.

In hindsight Royal Challengers were left to rue a late collapse in their innings, when five wickets fell in six balls and they scored only 11 runs off the final ten deliveries. Chris Gayle and Virat Kohli had done enough to ensure they were the first side to make more than 200 in this IPL, but they were set for more than 205 at one stage.

While Royal Challengers swelled in the middle of their innings, scoring 21 off the ninth over, Super Kings waited for the end to lash out after a solid start. Du Plessis took control of the innings early on and scored risk-free boundaries off short balls. He dominated the first seven overs, while M Vijay batted in his shadow.

Vijay became the first of Muttiah Muralitharan's three scalps when he offered the Sri Lankan a return catch. Murali had to dive to his right and defy his age to complete it and he did. Murali broke the next two partnerships as well to prevent Super Kings from gaining too much ground. Suresh Raina and du Plessis both holed out as they fought a climbing asking rate.

With more than 15 an over required off the last five, Super Kings needed a sustained attack. It did not come. Dhoni perished in the cause, attempting the helicopter shot to be caught at long-off, which proved a blessing in disguise as it brought Morkel to the crease.

Kohli was given the responsibility of the 19th over because Vettori had exhausted the quotas of his experienced bowlers and Gayle was off the field with what seemed to be a groin niggle. Morkel got underway with an inside edge for four and then blasted the next delivery over long-on for six. An outside edge off the third ball flew towards third man for four and Morkel clobbered the fourth and sixth deliveries for six as well.

When Morkel was dismissed, the advantage was back with a shell-shocked Royal Challengers but Vinay Kumar let it slip again. He bowled a high no-ball that Bravo pulled for four and the next delivery was a full toss, which got slapped for six. Vinay Kumar followed up with two boundary-less balls leaving Super Kings with two to win off the last ball. Ravindra Jadeja swung hard at the final delivery and outside-edged to the third-man boundary, sparking off delirious celebrations in the Super Kings dugout. Royal Challengers explosive efforts with the bat were a distant memory.

During Royal Challengers' innings, Mayank Agarwal had performed a similar role to Du Plessis, attacking at the start. He initially eclipsed Gayle, peppering the off side with powerful shots, lofting the ball over mid-off and timing it sweetly through covers. Agarwal ushered Royal Challengers to the first half-century score inside five overs this season.

Unlike du Plessis, however, Agarwal did not build on his platform and top-edged a slower bouncer from Morkel to mid-on. He had done enough though for Gayle and Kohli to build a skyscraper on. Both scored half-centuries in contrasting styles. Gayle gathered runs with power while Kohli did it with placement and timing. Their partnership grew to the highest of this IPL but neither of them survived until the end of the innings, from where they may have been able to launch the kind of onslaught Morkel did, and break the game.

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Source: http://www.espncricinfo.com/indian-premier-league-2012/content/current/story/560954.html

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England 'jealous' of IPL - Pietersen

Kevin Pietersen has blamed England's lack of enthusiam for the IPL on "jealousy," fuelling the debate over attitudes towards India's all-consuming Twenty20 tournament. Interest in the IPL remains limited in the UK, with media coverage virtually non-existent and more attention given to the start of the County Championship season.

Pietersen, who along with Eoin Morgan is the only current England international in this year's IPL, believes he knows why. "The IPL is very much struggling to find acceptance back home," he told reporters in India. "It saddens me because I have had an amazing time at the IPL.

"It's down to a lot of jealousy I think, which is sad. It saddens me, all the negative publicity the IPL gets in the [UK] media, I don't know why."

Pietersen, regarded as a reluctant performer in England's domestic tournaments, is bound to offend sections of England cricket with his remarks. England players are unable to take part in England's own Twenty20 tournament because it clashes with the international schedule - a mistake that India has been careful not to make - and for a senior England player to suggest that people are jealous of Indian success is not about to calm the mood.

Pietersen's comments follow a scathing assessment of the effect of IPL in Wisden Cricketers' Almanack. Wisden's editor, Lawrence Booth, complained of: "The rise of a Twenty20-based nationalism, the growth of private marketeers and high-level conflicts of interest," adding: "It is a perfect storm and the global game sits unsteadily in the eye."

While other England players have been released for early season four-day Championship matches, Pietersen's emphasis is on the Twenty20 game. "Playing another month in the subcontinent honing my skills, training with the spinners and practising, I consider myself so very fortunate," he said.

"I'd love to see more English players available for ... well not only available, I would love to see them picked up because I also see some of the games being played at the moment and I just think ... man, up here would have been lot better if the Andersons, Bresnans and Boparas were involved in the IPL," he added in an interview with CNN-IBN. "The guys like Bell, you've got world class players who are sitting in England now wanting to play the IPL when you've got some second rate Australians getting gigs here.

"So for me, it's sad that I don't have fellow team-mates playing in the IPL and embarking on a magnificent journey here in the subcontinent and it'll help English cricket as well."

England fast bowler Stuart Broad pulled out of IPL this week because of injury, while two more members of England's attack, James Anderson and Graeme Swann, were unsold.

Source: http://www.espncricinfo.com/indian-premier-league-2012/content/current/story/560949.html

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Obsession With Cricket

When the British Empire ruled India for almost 200 years, it imported many things to the sub-continent. Of these, the English language and the game of cricket have survived the test of time and been enriched by their Indian experience. Writers in English from the sub-continent, notably Salman Rushdie, Vikram Seth, Arundhati Roy and many others, have added a quirky local flavor to the language.

But it is cricket that has captured the imagination of Indians in a huge way, relegating the national game of hockey to the side-lines. Initially, cricket was for the elite, being a costly game that required a lot of equipment, a huge ground for three or five days and knowledge of complex rules. The Indian team itself was the favorite whipping boy of international cricket. Individual cricketers shone, but the team as a whole failed to make an impact.

All this changed in a matter of months in 1971, when an Indian team won two back to back series overseas - one in West Indies and the other in England. Back home, they again beat England. Winning drove fans to the game, and the grounds were full. With fans locked in, it was a matter of time before sponsors and advertisers came. They came in droves and linked their product marketing strategies with the game and with individual stars.

Money began to pour in exponentially after television made its debut in India in 1975. Since then, only the greed of the governing body of the game, BCCI, has sometimes kept away sponsors. Otherwise, cricket is the game that is never short of money - either to pay the stars or to run the game. The critics accuse the BCCI of hoarding or siphoning off money and not developing the infrastructure at the grassroots level.

Still, the game was played over three days in local fixtures and five days between international teams, and often, there was no result at the end of the exertion. This was one drawback - and this has meant that cricket has not caught on in a majority of countries worldwide - as keeping spectator attention for such a long time in this 'instant' age was impossible. Then came the shorter version, first of 60 overs each side and then 50 overs. This game was conducted in 7 to 8 hours and it yielded a result. It was an instant hit, spawning new idioms and stars.

In the ever evolving formats, the latest is the 20-20 version, where each side gets to play twenty overs. This match finishes in 3 to 4 hours and is the latest rage with the fans, and obviously a huge money spinner. It has spawned cricketing leagues in every cricket playing nation, with India taking the lead with the awesome Indian Premier League or IPL. IPL as a brand has been valued at mind-boggling numbers and is growing every year.

Films, film stars and cricket are an obsession in India. By marrying the two, the IPL has thrown up a heady cocktail of sporting pleasure and entertainment. Glamour is added by film stars and starlets, some among whom own the IPL teams. The after parties and their presence at the stadium and team dug-outs have the fans in frenzy. To cash in on the craze, the film stars have now started the CCL or the Celebrity Cricket League, where they play against each other in teams drawn up from different regions of India.

But among all the euphoria of success of the latest format, critics have warned that excessive obsession with the shortest format will mean that the five-day format, or Tests as they are called, would die. For the purists, the game is better played in all its nuances in the longer format. They aver that Tests are the real test of the skill and temperament of the players. But the fans are not listening. For them, the slam-bang variety is the best.



Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6971724

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Sachin Is the God of Cricket - Even in This Era of T20 Cricket

Cricket is really an Indian game that was mistakenly invented in England. The English people had surely invented cricket but it was only due to the Indians that cricket has become so popular. In India, cricket is considered as a religion and the cricket players are considered as the gods. The Indian people act like devotees who can even contribute their blood for the sake of cricket. Cricket also helps India to grow economically as it provides a huge amount of revenues to everyone involved in it.

Indian people are crazy about the gods i.e. the players. Almost all the players of Indian Cricket Team are considered as national hero. However, the god of all gods is Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar. Sachin, popularly known as 'Little Master' has served Indian National Team nearly for 20 years. He is known as a right-hand batsman all over the world. He is famous for his attacking style and technique. He has blended style and technique in a right amount in his batting.

He is even famous as a leg-break and slow medium pace bowler. He can be termed as an all-rounder as he has performed well as batsman, bowler, and fielder. No other cricketer in this world is as versatile as Sachin. He has a great respect and fame all over the world. He is worshipped as the god of cricket in all over the world.

As a batsman he has achieved almost all the personal milestones. He has the highest runs in tests. He also holds the most runs in one-day internationals. He is the highest century scorer in both test and one-day internationals. With 99 centuries in his 20 years long international career, he is now going to touch a new milestone of centuries of century. He has also made a world record by hitting 200 off 147 balls against South Africa. This is the first double century in one-day internationals. There is not a single bowler in this world who has not dared to bowl Sachin. He has a god gifted talent in him. This is the reason why he is still playing for Team India while all his contemporary teammates have retired.

Sachin has shown up his skills even in t20 cricket. Due to his aggressive batting style he is not irrelevant in this newest form of cricket. In IPL t20 cricket he is an active team member of Mumbai Indians. He became the 6th batsman to score 500 plus runs in a single edition of IPL t20 cricket. He also became the first captain to aggregate 500 plus runs in an IPL edition. With 8 fifties in IPL, he also owns the record for most fifties made by a captain in IPL t20 cricket tournament.

Sachin has added another feather in his cap by winning the ICC World Cup in 2011. This was such an achievement that let Sachin sit with the same seat of other great predecessors such as Kapil Dev, Steve Waugh, Ricky Ponting, Sunil Gavaskar, etc.

In spite of being attacked by 'Tennis Elbow' during the middle of his cricketing career, Sachin Tendulkar had never given up. His talent, tenacity, temperament made him the great of all greats. If cricket is a religion then Sachin is the God of Cricket.

MyT20Cricket is a platform that shares the latest news and gossips on t20 cricket. We have different sections such as Highlighted News, Gossips News, etc. from where the cricket enthusiasts can collect all the latest IPL t20 cricket news and gossips.


Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6943969

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