Indian Cricket Team Updates |
- The Mandeep & Miller show; blockbuster at Mohali
- The ‘Wright’ choice; wrong result #PWI
- Would have preferred winning match over sixes award: Rohit Sharma
- KXIP vs PWI - M29 Report & Stats: IPL 2013
- DD vs MI - M28 Report & Stats: IPL 2013
| The Mandeep & Miller show; blockbuster at Mohali Posted: 22 Apr 2013 02:27 AM PDT  Picture this. A 186 runs to win, the home side is three down for 58 with another 128 runs to get in close to 13 overs. At one end, you have a young 21-year-old Indian batsman, giving his every drop of sweat to try and take his side home; while on the other side you have a 23 year old South African walking out to bat in front of a packed house under testing circumstances. And what do they do, they stitch together a match winning partnership to get the whole stadium up on their feet. Mandeep Singh and David Miller might be young, but they showed how mature they were towards the approach of a mammoth run chase. A six off the second last ball from David Miller sealed the match for Kings XI Punjab as the team ran in jubilation to the centre of the pitch to greet their heroes with a sense of pride. The match winners were excited to talk about their thrilling win after their match to IPLT20.com. In this interview, Mandeep and Miller take us through the tension, the emotions and drama as the match went on till the last over. Miller, is this the most thrilling match you have been a part of in your career? Yes indeed. I have been a part of a few good games, but this one ranks right up there because the situations went up and down. Sometimes they were at advantage and sometimes we put them under pressure, so yes this has to go down as one of the most thrilling and exciting encounters I have been a part of. Mandeep, was there a lot of pressure on you when you saw your captain get out in the first over? It was tough to lose Adam Gilchrist in the first over. But the situation of the game was such that you had to play freely. When you are chasing a target of 180, you cannot block and take your time to get set, especially after you had lost two big wickets up front. I just had to play normal cricket. What was the talk between you two during the run chase? Miller: I said to Mandy, we just need to watch the ball well in the last over and really try our best. I wasn't really thinking much to be honest, I had a few plans field wise, but other than that I just tried to clear the ball that came my way. Mandeep: When David came in, we were just targeting one boundary an over. We had to run hard between the wickets since the boundaries were deep and it was difficult to get two or three boundaries in an over. The plan was to keep the board ticking at a good rate. Did you both back yourself for a win when you needed 16 off the last over? Miller: We did a really great job by taking the game to the last over. We were backing ourselves and went into the thought that, if we lost we had just lost a game of cricket. We had a chance of winning or losing and I am glad we came out winning at the end of it. Mandeep: I think our plan was set when we needed close to 38 runs in the last three overs and we had a talk at that time. We decided we needed three big hits in every over; and if we were successful in doing that, we will cross the line. How do you handle pressure during big run chases? Miller: A cricket game is all about a little bit of pressure and handling that pressure, especially with a huge crowd and this (the IPL) being a high intensity tournament. But I have been through some pressure situations myself in the past, so it was fine. Mandeep: I think it depends on the individual how he handles pressure. I have been playing the IPL for quite some time now and I am quite used to pressure now. But still, you have to overcome that pressure and try and make sure you come out winning. David, what do you have to say about young Mandeep's knock? It was an unbelievable knock by Mandeep. His innings was phenomenal. He has shown some great performances in the last year as well and even this year he has been good for the Kings XI. He is a star for the future. He has a good mind, wants to do well and I am really happy for him. Mandeep, what is the biggest positive you take from this game? I have been working on my game over the past three years. I have worked in a way that I prepare myself to bat till the end and take my side home when need be. Today, I was there till the end and am glad I was there to see the side home along with Miller. source: iplt20.com | ||||||||
| The ‘Wright’ choice; wrong result #PWI Posted: 22 Apr 2013 02:20 AM PDT  When Aaron Finch and Yuvraj Singh were going hammer and tongs on a super Sunday at the PCA stadium in Mohali, Luke Wright who had finally got a chance to feature in the playing XI was sitting in the dugout waiting for his chance to go and get a hit in the middle. (Also Read: KXIP vs PWI - M29 Report & Stats: IPL 2013) His chance came in the eighteenth over as Yuvraj walked back to the pavilion playing a stroke filled innings of 34 from 24 balls. Little did Luke Wright know that he would score exactly the same number of runs as Yuvraj did; in far less number of deliveries though! Wright came in like lightening and rumbled like thunder in his 11 minute stay at the crease. The all-rounder did feel gutted that his team had to suffer yet another close loss, but took time for a chat with IPLT20.com. Would you like to look at the positives despite the team's loss? You never feel like there are any positives once you lose the game. Obviously you are disappointed, but yes, we managed to get ourselves to a good score on a very good wicket, but sometimes you have to say, hats off to two players and obviously Miller who played brilliantly. How was it to bowl such a crucial last over of the match? Of course there was a lot of pressure when I had to bowl the last over. I am not an out an out bowler, I just bowl a bit sometimes, so obviously there was pressure there. It was a situation I am not used to being in so often, but it was a shame I couldn't defend the total off the last over. And again, credit to Miller, who played well. But your batting came good, 34 in 10 balls are great numbers. It was a delight to bat out there and it was great to get some quick runs on the board. But obviously the loss has taken the shine off the knock and by me giving away the runs in the last over. But in terms of batting, that has been my main strength and I am very pleased with it. Were you eager to go out there and bat especially when had got a game after long? Once I saw Aaron Finch and Yuvraj Singh going well on that wicket, I wanted to get out there and get a hit in the middle. But when they both were scoring well and getting the runs on the board, I was not that desperate to go out there. But I am happy that when I got a chance, my batting came out well. What was the message given to you by the team when you walked in to bat? I was just told to try and get as many as I could in the rest of the overs. It was a great wicket to bat on and I do not think 160 would have been enough. We needed a 180 plus score and we got that. How difficult is it to perform after getting just a few matches up your sleeve? It is very difficult to play immediately after being on the bench for long. I did not get many chances last year and it had been a while till I got an opportunity this year as well. It was nice to get off with a very good start with the bat. But, when you go in with two or three overs left, you just cannot think about those things. You are going to swing the bat to everything; and some days you can connect well, at times you could chip one straight up in the air and get caught, but when it comes off it is a bit of a lottery. source: iplt20.com | ||||||||
| Would have preferred winning match over sixes award: Rohit Sharma Posted: 22 Apr 2013 02:11 AM PDT  The last time Rohit Sharma played against the Delhi Daredevils he had scored just one run more that he did on April 21 and had finished on the winning side. However, in the second clash between Mumbai Indians and DD, he ended up on the losing side despite a glorious 43-ball 73-run knock, studded with five boundaries and as many sixes. Playing at the Feroz Shah Kotla, MI's No 4 bat, took the attack to the Daredevils bowlers after Ricky Ponting opted to bat first. Coming in at 22 for the loss of two wickets he was involved in a superb 96-run partnership with batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar as the duo clobbered the opposition all round the park. Although Tendulkar was the first to hit the ball over the ropes, the youngster dispatched the ball out of the park with panache. Although he was awarded the maximum sixes award, Sharma would have gladly traded it for a win as he told iplt20.com after the loss. "That (award) doesn't really matter unless you win the game. I would have preferred winning the game over it (but) anyway we cannot get disheartened because it is just one bad game and we will look forward to putting some good performance in the coming games." Despite losing a couple of early wicket, his knock and partnership with Sachin Tendulkar helped the MI post a competitive target for the Daredevils. However it wasn't enough with Mahela Jayawardene holding up one end after promoting himself up the order while Virender Sehwag took the attack to the MI bowlers. Reflecting on the game, Sharma said, "We didn't start well and Delhi has been known for the big scores (in the past) so though I am not sure, anywhere around 170 / 160 was a good score here. I thought we were 10-15 runs short. But you cannot look back ... 161 is still a good score to defend I think. They started off really well, we wanted to get early wickets which we always spoke about but we didn't get that and that was the game changing point I feel." Although the visitor's were a few runs short, the crowd at Kotla witnessed one of the best batting fests in the season so far. Apart from Sharma's sparkling innings, they saw the master score a 47-ball 54 and then were entertained by Virender Sehwag's 95 off 57 not out along with Mahela Jayawardene's solid 43-ball 59-run knock. Talking of his 96-run stand with Tendulkar, Sharma said, "Batting with Sachin Tendulkar was really great. This is not the first I have batted with him, we have had some good partnerships while playing for India and for Mumbai Indians. So yes, it was great and it has always been great. I am glad that we shared a partnership of more than 50 runs. Asked about left-arm pacer Mitchell Johnson's absence, who could probably have troubled the batters, Sharma said, "I cannot comment on that because it is really the team management's and captain who decides about who will play. If they felt they wanted Dwayne Smith up the order then Dwayne Smith it was and Mitchell Johnson was left out. Unfortunately only four overseas players can play so it is pretty difficult and pretty hard on the guys also." And with Smith coming into the side, the batting order changed with the captain dropping himself down the order. Speaking about that move, Rohit stated, "I really don't know. Probably the thought was that we needed a good start up front and (with Dwayne) Smith being a big hitter they promoted him and nothing much (other than that)." source: iplt20.com | ||||||||
| KXIP vs PWI - M29 Report & Stats: IPL 2013 Posted: 21 Apr 2013 10:51 PM PDT Match Report: Kings XI Punjab defeated Pune Warriors India for the second time this season with a thrilling last over finish at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium in Mohali. The home team chased down a stiff 186 and got past the hurdle with seven wickets in hand and a ball to spare. David Miller (80*) and Mandeep Singh (77*) powered the chase with an undefeated 128 run partnership.
KXIP's chase started poorly as they lost skipper Adam Gilchrist (4) in the first over, caught behind off Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Ajantha Mendis trapped Azhar Mahmood (0) leg before to have the home team reeling at 5 for 2. Mandeep Singh struck two boundaries off Mendis in the third over before scoring two more boundaries off Rahul Sharma. Mandeep and Manan Vohra counter-attacked the PWI bowlers as they put on 53 runs for the third wicket before Yuvraj Singh bowled Vohra (22). Miller hit the first six of the innings depositing Yuvraj into the stands. At the halfway stage, KXIP were 83 for 3, still requiring 103 runs from 60 balls. Miller continued his assault stepping down and hitting Mendis for a huge six before cutting him for a boundary in the 12th over. Miller hit Luke Wright for a six and brought up his maiden IPL fifty in the 16th over. Needing 29 off the final two overs, Miller struck consecutive boundaries off Ashok Dinda to reduce the target to 16 to be got off the last over. Miller slammed two sixes to see KXIP home with a ball remaining. Earlier KXIP won the toss and put PWI in. Aaron Finch, the stand-in captain for this match, hit Mahmood for a six and a boundary after he was given an early reprieve as Gilchrist dropped him on 1 in the second over. Robin Uthappa and Finch put on a good foundation as PWI scored 48 runs when the field restrictions were in force. Manpreet Gony's first over was dispatched for two boundaries. Parvinder Awana provided the much needed breakthrough when he had Uthappa (37) caught behind. Finch continued to attack smashing Gony for a huge six over mid-wicket. Yuvraj also got into the act dismissing Chawla for a six in 14th over. Gony then had the dangerous Finch (64) caught in the deep, while Yuvraj (34) picked up the mantle and hit two sixes off Gony in the 17th over before Mahmood dismissed him. Wright (34), playing his first match of the season, started straight away striking four successive boundaries before smashing two more and a six off Praveen Kumar. Wright's blistering cameo, a 10-ball 34, propelled PWI to 185 for 4 in 20 overs.
Man-of-the-Match: David Miller Brief Scores: Pune Warriors India 185 for 4 (Aaron Finch 64, Azhar Mahmood 2-42) lost to Kings XI Punjab 186 for 3 in 19.5 overs (David Miller 80*, Yuvraj Singh 1-15) by 7 wickets. Stats Highlights: 340.00: Luke Wright's strike-rate in the match (34 runs off 10 balls) – second highest strike-rate in an innings of 10 balls or more in IPL Kieron Pollard had a better strike-rate – 346.15 (45* off 13 balls) against Delhi Daredevils in 2010. 186: Kings XI Punjab pulled off the highest successful chase in IPL 2013 128: Runs added by Mandeep Singh and David Miller without being separated – highest fourth wicket partnership for Kings XI Punjab in IPL. Shaun Marsh and Irfan Pathan had added 99 runs (unbroken) against Chennai at Dharamsala in 2010. 64: Aaron Finch's innings is the highest ever by a player on captaincy debut in IPL. Adam Gilchrist held the previous record with 54 for Deccan Chargers against Chennai Super Kings at Chennai in 2008. 16: Runs scored by Kings XI Punjab in the 20th over bowled by Luke Wright – most for a chasing side to win the match in IPL 2013. Chennai Super Kings had also scored 13 runs off the last over of the match (bowled by RP Singh) against Royal Challengers Bangalore at Chennai. 3: Number of captains employed by Pune Warriors India in IPL 2013 – Angelo Mathews (5 matches), Ross Taylor (one match) and Aaron Finch (one match). 2: Number of fifties in Kings XI Punjab's innings. They did not have a single fifty in their first five games in IPL 2013.
Presentation: Miller is Man of the Match. Miller: "Mandy unbelievable knock, going right through the innings. We tried to play each ball on its merit. We tried to give ourselves a chance in the end. It probably is [the best I have batted in a T20 game]." Gilchrist: "Difficult decision at the toss, looked like a beautiful wicket. Great chase, you are dealing with small boundaries on one side and big on the other, you are trying to balance it out. Vohra played an important little innings there." Finch: "Brilliant from Miller and Mandeep. We had a pretty competitive total, just one of those games where it is a couple of inches here and there. Took a gamble bowling Dinda in the 19th over to try and seal it there but you have guys who can hit it out any time." Mandeep Singh: "Feel amazing. We have been waiting for this. We did not bat well through the tournament. Miller took the pressure off me, I was rotating it and he was hitting them. I have been preparing for long, wanted to play the full 20 overs. Want to dedicate this to my grandma who passed away two months back." Wright: "Nice to get my first bat in the IPL. Finch set it up for us and luckily we finished strong. We kept hitting boundaries."
source: iplt20.com | ||||||||
| DD vs MI - M28 Report & Stats: IPL 2013 Posted: 21 Apr 2013 10:31 PM PDT Match Report: Even Sir Viv, in his advisory capacity for the Delhi Daredevils would not have expected the opening pair of Virender Sehwag and Mahela Jayawardene to do what they did on Sunday evening. His pep talk ensured the Delhi Daredevils destroyed all confidence Mumbai Indians built up when batting first and has helped create an aura around the team, an aura the rest of oppositions will fear henceforth.
After eight consecutive defeats stretching back to last season, six this season, Delhi Daredevils finally came good as they destroyed the Mumbai Indians by nine wickets at the Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi. (Also Read: Need to stop the slide: Johan Botha) MI posted 161 on the back of half centuries from Sachin Tendulkar and Rohit Sharma but Virender Sehwag and Mahela Jayawardene made mockery of the target as they put on a century and half partnership to see DD home comfortably with 18 balls to spare. Chasing a stiff 162 for victory, Sehwag was given an early reprieve as Jasprit Bumrah dropped him on 2 off Munaf Patel. Bumrah's second over was taken apart for 17 runs as Sehwag smashed two boundaries. Sehwag and Jayawardene continued their assault with four boundaries to take 17 more runs from Munaf Patel to bring up the 50 in just the 5th over. From then the pair were in a punishing mood as they kept the run-rate at 10-an over with Sehwag, back to his belligerent best and the runs just flowed. Jayawardene too played some sensational strokes as DD were at 102 for 0 at the halfway stage, needing just 60 of as many deliveries. Sehwag hit Harbhajan Singh for consecutive boundaries through point in the 13th over. Lasith Malinga provided some respite for MI dismissing Jayawardene (59) but not before he along with Sehwag had put on 151 runs. DD reached the target with Sehwag undefeated on 95, the highest total by an individual this season, eclipsing Virat Kohli's unbeaten 93 against Sunrisers Hyderabad in Bengaluru. . Earlier MI won the toss and elected to bat. They started slowly scoring just seven runs in the first three overs before Roelof van der Merwe had Dwayne Smith (7) caught at mid-off. Dinesh Karthik (2) was run out by Umesh Yadav as he got a touch to Tendulkar's straight drive which broke the stumps at the non-striker's end. MI managed only 24 runs from their power play. Tendulkar then deposited Agit Agarkar over the midwicket fence for the first six in the 7th over. Rohit Sharma continued his good form with massive sixes off Van der Merwe and Andre Russell to set the stadium on fire. Tendulkar was given a life on 37 when Shahbaz Nadeem did not hold on to a return catch. Sharma then hit two boundaries off Yadav's 13thover. Tendulkar and Sharma put on 96 runs for the third wicket as the MI bandwagon rolled on. Sharma bought up his 17th IPL fifty in the 15thover with a boundary off Irfan Pathan. Yadav finally had Tendulkar (54) caught by David Warner. Sharma (73) continued the assault with two sixes off Agarkar before perishing in the penultimate over. MI finished at 161 for 4 from their 20 overs.
Man-of-the-Match: Virender Sehwag Brief Scores: Mumbai Indians 161 for 4 (Rohit Sharma 73, Umesh Yadav 2-31) lost to Delhi Daredevils 165 for 1 in 17 overs (Virender Sehwag 95*, Lasith Malinga 1-26) by 9 wickets. Stats Highlights: 2: Number of century partnerships forged by the pair of Mahela Jayawardene and Virender Sehwag in IPL. They became only the third opening pair to participate in two century stands after Swapnil Asnodkar and Graeme Smith (for Rajasthan Royals) and Murali Vijay and Michael Hussey (for Chennai Super Kings). Interestingly the last time these two had opened the batting together against Mumbai Indians, they had put on 135 runs without being separated! 7: Number of batsmen to aggregate 2000 runs in IPL. Sehwag joins Suresh Raina, Gautam Gambhir, Rohit Sharma, Sachin Tendulkar, Chris Gayle and Jacques Kallis. 9.4: Overs taken by Delhi Daredevils to race to their hundred – fastest for any side in IPL 2013. Pune Warriors India (v Rajasthan Royals) and Rajasthan Royals (v Mumbai Indians) had taken 11.2 overs to reach the three-figure mark. 12: David Warner ended on the winning side after seeing 12 consecutive defeats across different formats – two ODIs v Sri Lanka, four Tests against India and six matches in IPL. 24: Mumbai Indians' power-play score – lowest for any team in IPL 2013, along with Pune Warriors India (v Kings XI Punjab at Pune). Mumbai Indians' previous lowest in this edition was 26 against Rajasthan Royals at Jaipur. 86: Number of wickets taken by Lasith Malinga in IPL – most by any bowler. He moved ahead of Amit Mishra's tally of 85. 95: Sehwag's innings – highest for any batsman in IPL 2013. Royal Challengers Bangalore's Virat Kohli had made an unbeaten 93 against Sunrisers Hyderabad. 151: Runs added by Jayawardene and Sehwag for the opening wicket – highest partnership for any wicket in IPL 2013. It was also Delhi Daredevils' highest partnership for any wicket against Mumbai Indians.
Post-match ceremony Ricky Ponting: "I'm not sure (what happened there). I thought 161 was going to be a competitive total. Our lines and lengths were way off. They had the momentum in the first six overs.. Sehwag and Mahela were outstanding today, they were too good today for us. The ball didn't swing, it hasn't swung all tournament at this venue, that is why we left out Mitch Johnson. You cna't argue with the balance, but the execution was way off." Mahela Jayawardene: "I was smiling in the last two games as well when I came to speak to you. The guys have shown plenty of character, Viru batted really well, it was good to watch from the non-striker's end. We still can improve. 161 was a good score, we needed a good start, we needed to set up a platform." Man of the Match is Virender Sehwag: "You could say the wind favoured Delhi today. We were focused on training hard, on our fitness. When I'm batting well, I try to control the match. Viv Richards also spoke about bluffing, he said even if a batsman feels scared inside he should show that he is confident." Sehwag's quotes have been translated from Hindi, which isn't my strongest language.
source: iplt20.com |
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