Showing posts with label IPL. Show all posts
Showing posts with label IPL. Show all posts

Sunday, May 27, 2012

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.
kkr-win-final_ipl_2012

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

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

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


kkr-players-celebrate
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

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

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.

Gautam Gambhir


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

Monday, April 16, 2012

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.


Ajinkya Rahane


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.

Friday, April 13, 2012

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


Owais Shah
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

Mascarenhas five-for gives Punjab first win


Dimitri Mascarenhas
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

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
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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Scorecard

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

Thursday, April 12, 2012

England 'jealous' of IPL - Pietersen


Kevin 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