Indian Cricket Team Updates |
- ‘Watto’ knock! Shane Watson 101 Runs off 61 Ball
- Ashwin Interview After CSK’s five-wicket win over RR
- CSK vs RR - M30 Report & Stats: IPL 2013
| ‘Watto’ knock! Shane Watson 101 Runs off 61 Ball Posted: 23 Apr 2013 12:31 AM PDT  Shane Watson's 101-run (61 balls) in Chennai could be likened to that mesmerising scene. A few years down the line when talking about the moments that made IPL 2013 special, Watson's knock will be remembered with some mixed feelings. It is not every day that such an innings is produced. And it is highly improbable that it ends up on the losing side. That's the very thing that lends Watson's first Twenty20 century its poetic quality. After Rajasthan Royals' heartbreaking five-wicket loss to the Chennai Super Kings, Watson was a bundle of mixed feelings. He was finally among the runs after a streak of low scores on Indian soil but those runs couldn't help his team win. His brilliant innings was upstaged by an opposition batsman but he happened to be a man Watson so respects – Michael Hussey. These mixed emotions came to the fore when Watson spoke to iplt20.com about his special innings, getting back to bowling after a gap of three months and a promise on behalf of his team to come back strong. Do you finally feel at home in India now? It's nice to finally score some runs. I felt that I have been hitting the ball really well. In T20 you need a little luck as well to get your innings going. Unfortunately we weren't able to finish well. It was an important game for us and we knew how crucial it was for us to be playing well against CSK. Do you think a bit of support at the top order would've made a difference in the end? I think 185 are a lot of runs on any ground. At the beginning of the match our mindset was probably 160-170 and we ended up with an above-par score. I thought Stuart Binny (36 off 22) was brilliant in the latter part of the innings to give us a further kick. We batted really well as a unit. Not long ago you scored that stupendous 185 in an ODI. Today this whirlwind 101 – Do you feel differently on some days, do you just know that you're going to do something special? You do feel that way when you're out there, more than anything else. At the end of the day you realise that when you woke up in the morning, things are going to be better than the last few games. But I think when you're batting out there and a few things start falling your way, you just keep backing yourself. It's amazing how certain days open up so beautifully for you and you actually have the day you dreamed about. These things don't happen too often. Is it a coincidence that this knock came a match after you started to bowl again? It probably is! Look, I'm very excited to get back to bowling. It's certainly something that I've missed in the last three months. It will probably take me another two games to fully find my feet and bowl exactly how I want to. How's the body holding up with the bowling? I'm getting closer to being 100 per cent. A couple of more training sessions and games and my body will be absolutely ready to handle the rigours of bowling. It is holding up well generally but now it's just the matter of it getting used to bowling again. On the whole I feel as good as I ever have. I've put in a lot of hard work during this period and hopefully, will reap the rewards for the coming 10 months or so. I was half-capacity without my bowling. It feels great to be bowling once again. Mike Hussey stole your thunder? Not at all! Any time you watch Michael Hussey bat, it's a pleasure. To be able to see how much in control he is throughout the innings; it looks like he's not taking any risks throughout his innings. We're certainly going to miss him in the Australian team. One, he's a great man but also the quality of his skills is amazing. Unfortunately he's on the wrong side here but to watch him bat is always a great pleasure. source: iplt20.com | ||||||||
| Ashwin Interview After CSK’s five-wicket win over RR Posted: 22 Apr 2013 10:28 PM PDT  More often than not, when a Twenty20 innings worth 185 runs features an authoritative individual century, you expect to see messed up figures on the bowling scorecard. And the analysis of Chennai Super Kings' bowling attack was no different after Shane Watson blitzed a 61-ball 101 at the Chepauk. However, amidst the swelled up economy rates, there was an exception. It was R Ashwin's four overs that went for mere 20 runs – an economy rate of five runs per over. To boot, his wicket column comprised Rajasthan Royals' classical yet attacking Ajinkya Rahane and the in-form youngster Dishant Yagnik. The two wickets ensured Watson didn't get much support in the top-order. To Watson, Ashwin gave runs at a premium of a run-a-ball in the two overs he bowled at him. It was a day of the batsmen – Watson's ton was followed up by Michael Hussey's 88 (51 balls) and Suresh Raina's 51 (35 balls) that eventually won the match for CSK – where Ashwin's classical off-spinner to get rid of Rahane and the deceiving tossed-up delivery to get rid of Yagnik will not be remembered. But his contribution with the ball was noteworthy amidst the heist of runs. After CSK's five-wicket win over RR, iplt20.com caught up with Ashwin, who spoke about his bowling plans, adapting to match-situations and taking the responsibility of being the premier bowler of his team. Now, this is the time in the tournament when CSK start to peak as a team, isn't it? I would like to think so. We generally start peaking a little late in the tournament; we are slow starters. Having said that, this year has been pretty alright because we haven't lost two games on the bounce. We're happy with the way things have gone. An eco-rate of five is not bad with Shane Watson batting like that. When the entire bowling attack is under the pump I have to put my hands up, being probably the most experienced bowler in this bowling line-up. I have to stand up and deliver. Has the strengthened pace attack of the team changed your role? As bowlers we don't have defined roles, saying you have to pick wickets or you have to contain runs. With me, the situation of the game warrants how I bowl. If there's a small window for me to attack and pick up a wicket – like it was today – I go on the offense. They were off to a rollicking start but after the timeout I thought I had a couple of overs to toss the ball up and see what happens. Those are the windows that I try to make the most of and see what I can do in them. But there are other scenarios where you have to be smart and look to finish the over well, giving five, six runs or so. You certainly don't have to bowl a lot in the power-plays now? This year I have bowled quite a few death overs as I have come into the attack pretty late. I have bowled a lot of 13th, 15th and 17th overs this season. We have a couple of overseas seamers and an Indian seamer which gives the captain many options to exploit in the power-play. Today was different as you came into the attack in the sixth over. Was that because of Watson? I would like to think so but I am not sure as we didn't have a discussion on that. Watson was going great guns and the captain probably wanted to shut down that over well and look to get a breakthrough. Shane Watson made sure that I had to come early into the attack. While Watson was going like that, it was important not to let partnerships build. You did that well by picking up a couple of top-order wickets. I think Ajinkya is a good batsman in the sense that he can hurt you with the boundaries that are risk-free because he can pick gaps so well. He could've actually formed a lethal pair with Shane Watson in the power-play overs as he can rotate the strike while the boundaries come at the other end. So, to put brakes at the other end was very critical. Overall it was not a very good day to be a bowler. All in all, I thought we didn't execute things really well with the ball and gave away 20 runs more. These days come in the T20 format and you need to learn to accept them in order to come back strong. As long as you learn from it and move on, you'll be okay. After bowling so well in the Test series, how was it for you to adjust to the T20 format? It is very difficult but fortunately I have been bowling pretty well and ball has been coming out nicely. Having that form in one format helps you make better adjustments going into the other. There is a settling period that takes place but you generally carry the form forward. source: iplt20.com | ||||||||
| CSK vs RR - M30 Report & Stats: IPL 2013 Posted: 22 Apr 2013 10:12 PM PDT Match Report: Shane Watson's century went in vain for Rajasthan Royals as they lost to Chennai Super Kings by five wickets at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. The visitors posted a mammoth 186, but CSK, led by Michael Hussey's heroics chased down the target in the final over.
Chasing a stiff 187, Hussey started aggressively smashing consecutive boundaries off Rahul Shukla's second over before stepping out to hit a six off Ajit Chandila. Murali Vijay (3) perished to Chandila couple of balls later, caught and bowled. CSK however continued to attack with three boundaries off Shukla's fourth. Kevon Cooper was deposited into the crowd by Suresh Raina in the sixth before Hussey carved him away for a boundary. At the halfway stage CSK were 92 for 1. James Faulkner broke the 90-run second wicket partnership trapping Raina (51) leg before. Needing 47 runs from the last five overs, Hussey (88) hit three boundaries off Cooper before being run out by a direct hit from Rahul Dravid. Faulkner then rattled the stumps of Ravindra Jadeja (0). MS Dhoni kept CSK in the chase and hit a boundary in the 18th over to bring the equation to 17 off 12. Faulkner struck again having MS Dhoni (21) caught by Binny leaving CSK to get 11 runs off the final over. Bravo (13*) hit a six off Watson and scampered a couple to see CSK home with a ball remaining. Earlier RR won the toss and chose to bat. Watson started with a boundary off the first delivery. He hit Mohit Sharma for the first six in the third over before pulling Chris Morris over the fence in the fifth as RR plundered 55 runs from their power play overs. Watson continued his attack sweeping Jadeja for a boundary before thumping a massive six to bring up his fifty in just 29 balls. Ravichandran Ashwin got the important breakthrough as he got the ball to spin sharply and crash into Ajinkya Rahane's (16) stumps. Ashwin struck again dismissing Dishant Yagnik (7) caught and bowled. Dravid (7) was out deceived by a Dwayne Bravo slower ball, giving CSK their third wicket. However, Watson (102) relentless in his attack launched Jadeja for two huge sixes in the 17th over. He brought up the first century of the season in the next over before being caught by Hussey off Bravo soon after. Binny (36*) continued the assault, and some hefty blows saw RR reach 186 for 4 from 20 overs. Man-of-the-Match: Michael Hussey Brief Scores: Rajasthan Royals 186 for 4 (Shane Watson 102, Ravichandran Ashwin 2-20) lost to Chennai Super Kings 186 for 5 in 19.5 overs (Michael Hussey 88, James Faulkner 3-20) by 5 wickets.
Stats Highlights: 101: Shane Watson's score in the match. He became first batsman to score a hundred in IPL2013. 25: Number of dot balls in Chennai Super Kings' innings – least in IPL 2013. Delhi Daredevils had 29 dots in their innings against Mumbai Indians at Delhi. 6: Last six consecutive matches in IPL2013 have all been won by sides batting second 4: Number of batsmen who ended on losing side despite scoring a century in IPL. Watson emulated Andrew Symonds, Yusuf Pathan and Sachin Tendulkar. 3: Number of times Chennai Super Kings have chased down a target in IPL 2013. They had beaten Kolkata Knight Riders at Kolkata (with 5 balls to spare) and Royal Challengers Bangalore at Chennai in the last over.
Presentation: Hussey is the Man of the Match. Hussey: "Good batting condtions, best batting pitch we have had here this season. Needed a bit of luck along the way. Suresh was in the zone today, was finding the boundary at will." Dhoni: "When opposition scores 185, 90% it will go into the last over. It got close but Bravo did well. Hussey gave the start, he and Raina gave us the platform. Always important to win at home as you know the conditions better. Was a good wicket, groundsmen are trying their best and we are trying to adapt." Rahul Dravid: "Very pleased [with 185]. One of the finest T20 innings from Watto, in humid conditions. Early on, we missed it a bit [with the ball]. You felt they always had the team. Every time we got a wicket, someone came in and got a six." Shane Watson: "Few things went my way with the bat but you'd take that back for a win. We knew that was a lot of runs on that wicket but we knew they have a long batting order and we would have to bowl well, but we could not execute well. [My bowling] has been something I have been missing last three months, could not do it today. Hopefully it will come out better."
source: iplt20.com |
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