Asnodkar our biggest gain: Warne to semi final in ipl

Of the many small-town heroes who have made it big in the IPL, none has had a bigger impact than Swapnil Asnodkar. The lad from Goa has had a stirring run in the event that has actually forced a few teams to redesign their strategies in accordance to the strength and weakness of the diminutive dynamo.
Asnodkar has cast such a spell that Rajasthan Royals’ semifinal opponents Delhi see him as one of the possible threats. "He has been such a revelation and has performed as consistently as some of the bigger stars in his team, his wicket will be extremely crucial for us," said T.A. Sekar of the Daredevils.
Rajasthan skipper Shane Warne has not grown tired of singing Asnodkar’s praises.
"The way he has adapted himself to the format has been excellent and he not let the big stage or growing expectations affect him at any point. He has it in to play even at a higher level and he has been without doubt our biggest gain with the bat," said Warne.
With encomiums pouring in and Warne reposing huge faith in his abilities it can be safely assured Asnodkar will be central to his team’s plans in the semifinals.
Asnodkar is a naturally attacking batsman who has thrived on throwing the kitchen sink at everything. In a sense his methods at the crease are tailor made for the shortest version. "I have not really changed my game for the IPL, this is the way I normally bat. Only that it is getting noticed now," said Asnodkar.
The batsmen has also struck a fine chemistry with Graeme Smith and attributes some of his success to the South African. "He takes away the pressure from me and also makes the bowler think differently and that makes my job easier. I get a lot of loose stuff to pile on to," said Asnodkar.
The fundamental challenge for any modern day batsmen is tight defence. Brought up on an over dose of limited overs cricket it is almost sacrilege to possess watertight technique. Asnodakar for his part has never tried to do anything that doesn’t suit his alignment. His short frame limits his reach but Asnodkar goes for his shots only when offered the width or rocks back quickly to make the bowler pay even if he is only fractionally short.
In short his shot selection has been aide. His innings against Chennai was proof on the distance he has traveled on the subject of shot selection. He has also been guilty of throwing it away on a few occasions but he cannot be faulted entirely, as his batting thrives on adrenaline.
Former Indian captain Kris Srikkanth who knows a thing or two about attacking batsmanship is thrilled to see a talent like Asnodkar.
"He has taken the IPL by storm. To go out and make a few runs when nothing is expected of you is easy but the youngster has been consistent without changing his style and more importantly not let the burden of expectations get to him."
When the tournament began it was only wise to note there would be a few relatively unknown names who will go on to become household names. None have made it bigger than Asnodkar.
From a batsman who plays with gay abandon in the domestic circuit to an impact player in a blue ribbon event, the journey has been quite memorable. It is time to thank him for the entertainment and wish him luck for the final stretch.

IPL: Sehwag against two IPLs per year

NEW DELHI- Delhi Daredevils captain Virender Sehwag believes making the Indian Premier League a twice-a-year event would prove detrimental to the game.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India are mulling over the prospect of staging the Twenty20 competition twice each year from 2011 onwards, but Sehwag is against the idea.
"The IPL is a positive development. It has given several youngsters a chance to prove themselves against top players in the world. It has also given them a chance to work with some big names in cricket," Sehwag told the Deccan Chronicle.
"But two IPLs in a year could trigger premature retirements eventually robbing the game. I think having it twice a year is not the right way to go. It could force international players to retire prematurely."
Sehwag's comments come in the wake of criticism for the IPL by former Pakistan skippers Wasim Akram and Javed Miandad.
"The game has improved. However, the IPL should never be allowed to interfere in international cricket. Better still, the International Cricket Council should handle the event," said Wasim.
Sehwag added: "Scheduling a second IPL in the year would be a problem as the BCCI would have to find a four-month slot for two IPLs.
"It won't be easy on the players too. Perhaps, a rotational policy would be the way to go."

IPL: Tanveer praises skipper Warne

MUMBAI- Rajasthan Royals paceman Sohail Tanvir has attributed his success in the Indian Premier League to skipper Shane Warne.
The Pakistan international is the leading wicket-taker in the competition, and admits he owes a lot to Australia legend Warne.
"A captain's job is to get the best from his players and Warne has been fascinating," Tanvir told DNA, the Mumbai-based English daily.
"I enjoy playing under Warne. He is such a clever captain. He knows exactly how to attack a batsman and is absolutely clear in what he is doing on the field.
"He has all the ingredients of a great captain. For a bowler to succeed, only 50 per cent depends on him. The rest depends on the skill of the captain.
"Warne has brought out the best in me."
Tanvir has claimed 21 wickets in the IPL so far, but insists he has not done anything to change his bowling style.
"The conditions in India are pretty much similar to that in Pakistan. I have merely stuck to the basics," he continued.
"In a Twenty20 game you don't have the time to experiment. One bad over could change the game. I have bowled to my strengths and have not panicked when hit for runs."
Tanvir also named former Pakistan speedster Wasim Akram as being a major influence on his development as a bowler.
"Akram is my role model. I try to emulate him," Tanvir said.
"I had attended a two-week camp for pace bowlers organised by the PCB and I learnt a lot in the art of swing bowling from Akram. His advice came in handy in the IPL."

delhi get advance to semifinal ipl

delhi 177/5 mumbai 176

Delhi Daredevils v Mumbai Indians, IPL, Delhi

Delhi restrict Mumbai to 176

The Bulletin by Siddarth Ravindran

May 24, 2008

20 overs Mumbai Indians 176 for 8 (Jayasuriya 66, Uthappa 46, Mahesh 4-36) v Delhi Daredevils
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

	Sanath Jayasuriya blasted 66 off 42 balls (file photo) © Getty Images

Sanath Jayasuriya's assault gave the Mumbai Indians an explosive start to their innings but his team-mates failed to build on it and a fightback by the Delhi Daredevils restricted them to 176 for 8. Yo Mahesh epitomised Delhi's combative spirit, recovering from a mauling in his first over to finish with four wickets.

Delhi, for whom this is a must-win game, looked to their spearhead Glenn McGrath for the breakthrough. However, Jayasuriya and Tendulkar negotiated him with ease and set about dismantling the others. Jayasuriya, typically scoring heavily square of the wicket, took Brett Geeves, playing only his second IPL match, to task - a couple of leg-side boundaries in his first over were followed by an effortless slice over backward point for six and a powerful across-the-line shot past long-on for four.

Mahesh was brought into the attack but two towering sixes and an edge past the wicketkeeper for four kept the run-rate galloping. Delhi's semi-final hopes were further dented when Dinesh Karthik, standing up to Farveez Maharoof, missed a leg-side stumping with Tendulkar overbalancing. The next ball was disdainfully swatted for six by Jayasuriya and the score read 70 for no loss after seven.

The breakthrough came when Tendulkar inside-edged Mahesh onto his stumps and, with Maharoof sending down a clever mix of slower balls and yorkers, the brakes were applied. The only blemish in Maharoof's miserly spell was a number of leg-side wides - perhaps going overboard in his attempt to deny Jayasuriya any width.

Amit Mishra, whose googlies the batsmen found hard to read, kept the runs in check but a poor over from Geeves released the pressure and soon Mishra too was punished, a short ball clobbered by Jayasuriya over midwicket. Just as Mumbai seemed to have regained their momentum, though, they were again pegged back by Mahesh, whose slow offcutter saw Dwayne Smith hole out to mid-off. Mishra then picked up the big wicket of Jayasuriya, who perished attempting his sixth six and when the hard-hitting Abhishek Nayar fell four balls later, Mumbai had slipped to 114 for 4.

It required Robin Uthappa's stunning 23-ball 46 to lift them to a competitive score. Uthappa, who has flickered through this tournament, combined some delicate glides past third man with his signature paddle sweeps as well as some full-blooded blows over midwicket and long-on to plunder 31 runs off the last two overs.

Both sides received a boost earlier in the day with the Chennai Super Kings fluffing their chance to seal a semi-final berth against the Rajasthan Royals. At the halfway stage, the match remains evenly balanced and the battle between Shaun Pollock and the Delhi top-order could well determine which teams grab the two remaining semi-final spots.

dhoni

Focus on one game at a time: Dhoni

20th May 2008

With seven victories to their credit so far, Chennai Super Kings have inched closer to the knock-out round of the Twenty20 championship of the DLF Indian Premier League (IPL). However, captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni insists that his unit will continue to focus on one game at a time.

After defeating Kolkata Knight Riders on their home turf at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata by a slender margin of three runs on May 18 on the basis of the Duckworth-Lewis method, the Chennai Super Kings further strengthened their position in the League standings. With 14 points in their kitty, they continue to be at the third spot.

While speaking to reporters at the post-match press conference, Dhoni did not indicate any particular aim for a semi-final berth. Instead, he stated that his team had three more games to go before the knock-out round and hence "they will continue to take one game at a time".

He mentioned that even if they had won the toss, they would have opted to chase anyway since they had anticipated the Duckworth-Lewis method to be applied before the match started due to a rain forecast.

Earlier, Kolkata had won the toss and elected to bat. But as rain struck in the later stages of the game, Chennai's innings were reduced to eight overs.

Dhoni appreciated the bowling efforts of his teammates praising them for giving the team "a perfect start" and maintaining a decent economy rate.

He further informed that he picked up an injury on his index finger when he collected a delivery off Makhaya Nitini while wicketkeeping. The injury was still causing discomfort but Dhoni was hopeful of a speedy recovery. South African Ntini claimed an unconventional hat-trick in the match by taking his first wicket off the last ball of the fifth over followed by two wickets off the first two deliveries of the 17th over in his next spell.

Chennai Super Kings will now host the Bangalore Royals Challengers on May 21 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai.

Mumbai sign Nel as Bravo's replacement

Mumbai Indians have secured the services of Andre Nel, the South African fast bowler. Nel comes into the team for Dwayne Bravo, who will fly out to join the West Indies squad ahead of the Australia Tests after the match against Deccan Chargers on Sunday. Rahul Sanghvi, the Mumbai Indians' manager, confirmed Nel would join the squad on Sunday. Nel had been contracted by English county side Essex till their match against Middlesex on Sunday, but they have released him early.

Gilchrist satisfied with security arrangements
Adam Gilchrist is confident the security measures taken by the IPL organisers following the bomb blasts in Jaipur is adequate and he hopes the tournament will go on. "Whatever happened in Jaipur was a tragedy but I'm sure they will put in place adequate security measures for the IPL," said Gilchrist, who plays for the Deccan Chargers, who don't have any matches left in Jaipur.

Gilchrist's compatriots, Shane Warne and Shane Watson, had considered returning home but are now likely to play for the Rajasthan Royals against the Bangalore Royal Challengers in Jaipur on Saturday. Rajasthan coach Jeremy Snape said his team was focused on the game. "The general public may obviously be concerned about the situation, but we will switch over to cricket. We have five more games to play and one or two wins should enable us book a place in the semifinal and there's no bigger incentive than this."

Fearless Bangalore
Misbah-ul-Haq, a middle-order batsman for the Bangalore Royal Challengers, backed his captain Rahul Dravid who has been criticised for his team's repeated poor show in the IPL. "When a team is losing people start talking, but a captain is only as good as his team," Misbah said. "One cannot blame the captain alone for losing, even the other players are responsible to get positive results." Bangalore have won only two out of their nine matches.

Happy captain
One captain who is enjoying the role of leading his side is Yuvraj Singh. Kings XI Punjab have won six games and Yuvraj said he hadn't made any conscious efforts to be a good captain. "Honestly, it hardly matters what others feel as long as my team is comfortable with what I expect," Yuvraj told the Hindu. "In any case, I don't take the decisions alone. I talk to Tom [Moody] and Mahela [Jayawardene] before making the choice. I am lucky to have such a wonderful combination. The players back each other strongly and especially someone who has not done well."

delhi lost the match

Delhi Daredevils v Kings XI Punjab, IPL, Delhi

Sehwag powers Delhi to 118

The Bulletin by Mathew Varghese

May 17, 2008

11 overs Delhi Daredevils 118 for 4 (Sehwag 51*) v Kings XI Punjab
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

With less than three overs remaining in their curtailed innings and nine wickets in hand, Delhi Daredevils came out with the intention to score the maximum possible runs. However, three quick wickets, strong winds, and an exceptional final over from James Hopes helped Kings XI Punjab keep Delhi down to 118, a small battle won after the home side had raced to 94 for 1 in 8.1 overs before a rain interruption reduced the contest to 11 overs a side. Punjab's target, after the Duckworth/Lewis revision, will be 123.

Delhi's openers had blazed away before the break, and Sehwag was looking ominous on 47 off 19. Post-resumption, Shikhar Dhawan launched a Ramesh Powar full toss over midwicket, but a mishit soon after found a fielder. Sehwag reached his fifty off 23, before Hopes struck twice in the 11th over, and conceded just three.

8.1 overs Delhi Daredevils 94 for 1 (Sehwag 47*, Gambhir 40, Dhawan 1*) v Kings XI Punjab

A light drizzle delayed the start, but Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir kicked off proceedings at the Feroz Shah Kotla with a blistering start for Delhi Daredevils. After 8.1 overs, the team had piled up 94 for 1 before rain played spoilsport and halted an ominous-looking Sehwag, who was batting on 47 off 19 balls.

Delhi decided to bat at the toss, and their opening pair made full use of the Powerplay overs, racing to 68 after six. Gambhir was the aggressor in the initial overs, but Delhi were lucky not to lose their openers early. Having got a six off a top edge in Sreesanth's first over, Sehwag tried to launch one over Sreesanth's head in his next over, but the ball took the edge and ballooned towards mid-off, where Yuvraj Singh spilled a sitter. Two balls later, Gautam Gambhir got a thick outside edge, but VRV Singh was slow off the blocks at third man, the ball bounced in front of him, and the lackadaisical effort enabled the ball reach the boundary.

At the other end, Gambhir made room against Irfan Pathan and sent the ball racing through the off side for fours, forcing Punjab to place a fielder on the boundary. Gambhir rode his luck as well, a Pathan delivery nearly hit the stumps after clipping his pads, while a few mistimed shots managed to stay clear of the fielders.

VRV Singh was slapped through the leg side for four by Gambhir, bringing up Delhi's 50 in just 5.2 overs. Sehwag, who had been getting a thin share of the strike, then hit carted consecutive sixes through the off side, and a fuller delivery was steered wide of the wicketkeeper to make it 22 for the over.

Ramesh Powar was brought in after the Powerplays, and Sehwag nearly holed out to long-on - the ball falling short of Piyush Chawla - but the offspinner did manage to deceive Gambhir, and had him castled. It didn't deter Sehwag, though. He smashed a four and six in Chawla's first over, then stepped out against Powar and deposited him over midwicket, before rain brought a stop to the excitement.

Toss Delhi Daredevils chose to bat v Kings XI Punjab

After a light drizzle delayed the start, Virender Sehwag, the Delhi Daredevils captain, decided to bat against the Kings XI Punjab at the Feroz Shah Kotla. Sehwag said the pitch could get slower as the match progresses, and Punjab fielding two specialist spinners in Piyush Chawla and Ramesh Powar indicated the same. Rain caused a delay of nearly 15 minutes, but there was no reduction in the number of overs.

For Delhi, Shoaib Malik comes in place of Manoj Tiwary while Mohammad Asif, who struggled with form and fitness during their last game against the Deccan Chargers, makes way for left-armer Pradeep Sangwan. There's still no place for AB de Villiers, but expect him to come on as a substitute, an issue which became a point of contention during Delhi's previous game.

A win for Delhi, equal on ten points with the Mumbai Indians and the Kolkata Knight Riders, will boost their hopes of a semi-final spot, while Punjab would be looking for their seventh win in their last eight matches.

Teams
Delhi Daredevils: 1 Virender Sehwag (capt), 2 Gautam Gambhir, 3 Shikhar Dhawan, 4 Dinesh Karthik (wk), 5 Shoaib Malik, 6 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 7 Farveez Maharoof, 8 Rajat Bhatia, 9 Amit Mishra, 10 Pradeep Sangwan, 11 Glenn McGrath.

Kings XI Punjab: 1 Shaun Marsh, 2 James Hopes, 3 Luke Pomersbach, 4 Yuvraj Singh (capt), 5 Mahela Jayawardene, 6 Irfan Pathan, 7 Ramesh Powar, 8 Piyush Chawla, 9 Uday Kaul (wk), 10 Sreesanth, 11 VRV Singh