Indian Cricket Team Updates |
- Our shoulders will not drop: Dwayne Smith
- Plan was to bowl outside off-stump to Pollard & Smith: Jadeja
- I have enjoyed batting with Hussey: Suresh Raina
- Can’t wait to play the final at Eden: Michael Hussey
- CSK vs MI - Qualifier 1 Report & Stats: IPL 2013
| Our shoulders will not drop: Dwayne Smith Posted: 21 May 2013 11:19 PM PDT  For a moment even CSK captain MS Dhoni would have had second thoughts about the daunting target when Smith was treating every CSK bowler with disdain. Smith was scoring at a strike-rate of over two hundred and when he was out caught by Suresh Raina off Ravindra Jadeja's bowling in the ninth over, Smith had already scored 68 off 28 balls with five sixes and six fours. Mumbai Indians were in a position of control even after Smith's departure purely because of the start given by the West Indian opener. To MI's dismay the team could not capitalize on Smith's blitzkrieg as they fell short of the target by 49 runs. Smith was gutted with the team's loss as he quietly sat in a corner after watching his team go down. "It is unfortunate to end up on the losing side. I love to win," said Smith after the match in a quick chat with IPLT20.com. Saddening it was to be as Smith was going great guns having blasted Chris Morris and R Ashwin for sixes until CSK decided to take the strategic time-out before the seventh over of the match. Smith was dismissed an over after the time-out and from then on it was CSK all the way. When asked if the time-out broke the momentum of his knock, Smith said "I do not think that the time-out broke the momentum of the game. At some point of time it always had to happen and I was ready to regroup my innings after the short break. If I had been there for a little more time, we could have probably gone on to win the game." Chasing 193 was never meant to be easy and Smith's message from the dressing room before the run chase was clear. "For me it was just to make sure we got some quick runs on the board and as many as possible so that we could have ourselves in a good position. We were going on well and always felt we were in the game. The wicket got better in the second innings. There was more even bounce and it was lovely to bat on which made us confident of achieving the target," said Smith. Smith also felt there were several turning points to the game. "I think myself getting out and the two quick wickets of Dinesh Karthik and Rohit Sharma to fall later were the turning points of the game. "There was a ray of hope when Kieron Pollard was going well, but wickets falling at regular intervals did not help our cause," he added. With one more shot for the spot, Smith said the side will be more eager to perform in their next game. "We still have another chance. We have to regroup and comeback strong in the next game to get a chance to play in the final. We are still in the competition and our confidence will not drop," said the opener. source: iplt20.com | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Plan was to bowl outside off-stump to Pollard & Smith: Jadeja Posted: 21 May 2013 11:16 PM PDT  It was Ravindra Jadeja's golden arm that wrested the advantage from the Mumbai Indians and tilted the match in Chennai Super Kings favour in the first Qualifier of the Pepsi Indian Premier League 2013. The left-arm spinner who has began the 2012-13 season with record breaking knocks in the domestic circuit has been in the news for his bowling on the international circuit since making his Test debut late last year. His artistry with the ball has continued into the shortest format of the game. In the crucial game at the Feroz Shah Kotla, the 24-year old finished with 4-0-31-3 which included the key wickets of Dwayne Smith, Dinesh Karthik and Kieron Pollard to help his team book a place in the final. (Also Read: CSK vs MI - Qualifier 1 Report & Stats: IPL 2013) Although they had been set a 193-run formidable target, Rohit Sharma's MI were coasting towards the target with Dwayne Smith leading the chase. And with MI on 86 for one after eight overs, ahead of CSK who were 55/1 at the stage, Jadeja struck in his first over to claim Dwayne Smith and followed it up with the wicket of MI's man in form, Dinesh Karthik. The left-arm spinner then finished his quota of overs with the all important wicket of Kieron Pollard to put his team in the driver's seat. While speaking to IPLT20.com later, Jadeja spoke about the plan to send back both the West Indians who were capable of snatching the game away from CSK. Excerpts from the interview: Given the way MI was cruising towards the target what was your plan when handed the ball? I was thinking that taking a wicket at that point in the match was very crucial. The way they had begun and were well place placed in the first ten overs, they were going very well. Getting a couple of wickets at that time was very crucial and that is what we did. Luckily we got Dwayne Smith (in the ninth over) and then Dinesh Karthik. It was a very crucial time for us and we took two wickets and from there on put pressure on them. How did you plan the wickets? The plan was to bowl in good areas and not give boundaries because the format is such that if the batsmen don't get boundaries then obviously there are chances of getting wickets. So that is what we were trying for; to get a breakthrough and then put pressure on them because they were in a very good position. In the first ten overs they were on 92 for two. We made a good comeback from there and in the last five overs all the bowlers bowled well. How important was Kieron Pollard's wicket? Very! It was very important because in this format he has been very successful and can hit a six easily when required. And after he got out it seemed like the Mumbai Indians were all out. So that situation had come about. It is important to claim their two-three key players and that is what we did on Tuesday. You get wickets at crucial junctures in a match. What is the key to your success? Depending on the situation and speaking to Mahi bhai (MS Dhoni) I try to bowl. He tells me what can happen and how the wicket is assisting. And that is the advantage that we try to take. After ten overs the ball was not coming on to the bat. So we were trying to bowl slow deliveries and in the right areas so that they don't get boundaries. Which was your favourite wicket today? Obviously Pollard's wicket! If he had stayed at the crease longer than maybe we would even have lost the game. Thankfully we got his wicket at the right time when we needed it. Michael Hussey's contribution has been vital to the team's success. Your thoughts He has given us very good starts when opening, with stands of 50 plus. In the middle overs too he rotates the strike and it is a very good thing that we have got an opener like him. It is good that he has contributed so well throughout the season and we hope in the final too he plays a good long innings and helps the team win. There were a lot of CSK supporters at the stadium waving yellow flags, giving a you the feeling of home a crowd. Your thoughts We have been champions and have been doing well for so many years and we have a lot of fan support. We will try and win it for our fans. That is the only gift we can give to them. They come into the stadiums and support us in all sorts of weather so we hope that we can give them that gift. What was your planning for Pollard? He is strong on the on-side, leg-side. The plan was to bowl to him outside off and make him stretch for his big shots. I was trying to keep the ball outside his reach and also was bowling slow to that he struggles with his timing. And what was the plan for Smith who was well settled at the crease? The same was for Smith because in that innings the sixes that he hit were over mid-wicket and mid-on. So our effort was to bowl to both of them outside the off-stump because he doesn't play much over covers or the cut shot. The idea was to bowl to him in that area and give him one run and get the other batter on strike. How are you feeling not getting much of an opportunity with the bat yet? I am waiting that whenever I get the opportunity I should be able to make a good contribution to the team. But actually if I don't get to bat, it means top three-four batsmen are doing well and it helps the team win. I am ready to bat whenever the opportunity presents itself I will try to help the team to get into a good position and win. If I get batting in the final I will focus and try to play my game. source: iplt20.com | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| I have enjoyed batting with Hussey: Suresh Raina Posted: 21 May 2013 11:09 PM PDT  With his swashbuckling innings, interspersed with five boundaries and sixes each, Raina who has amassed 548 runs from 17 games so far helped put CSK in a commanding position after MS Dhoni opted to bat first. The youngster who has been part of the franchise since the inception of the tournament spoke about the key to the team's success as they stake their claim to the trophy for the third time. After beating the Mumbai Indians at the Feroz Shah Kotla to book a place in the IPL final for the fifth time in six seasons, Raina spoke to IPLT20.com about his innings and the Chennai Super Kings. Excerpts from the interview: On his innings It is important how you bat under pressure. And I have always enjoyed batting with (Michael) Hussey. He is such a nice player, and is amazing when it comes to delivering in pressure situations. I have learnt a lot from him in the middle. The batting is coming good now and hope we do well in one more game (final). On whether the plan was that Hussey holds up one end while he attacks? No nothing like that. I am an experienced player so I knew that I had responsibility on me and when you do well under pressure like I have done before; when you deliver when given the responsibility it feels good. But the plan was the more we bat till the end the better. And since both of us are left-hand batsmen and they have Mitchell Johnson and Harbhajan Singh and their overs were over. (Pragyan) Ojha had to bowl. And since we have had good partnerships in recent games we are used to batting together and hopefully in the coming match also we can do well. On the six off Lasith Malinga I knew he would bowl a Yorker. He didn't have any other option and when the Yorker is not perfect and if you get a full toss then it gets hit. That is my strength and I have been playing against Malinga for a few years now and have been successful against him in one-dayers, and also in Sri Lanka. I have played many games against him so I know his game plan. But he is a big player and the pressure is there. Tuesday was my day and I was successful. On his day he will do well. On it not just being about luck but the planning and work involved in his consistent performances Yes there is hard work and prayers of the family and blessings of the fans. You feel good when you do well for your team and (Stephen) Fleming feels happy, Hussey feels happy, skipper feels happy. All these senior players are happy. Everyone's emotions are attached because it could be the last year for some players and then there will be a new season. But when the team is together as a unit it gives strength and everyone enjoys each others success. Today I did well, Hussey and Jadeja did well. The success mantra of our team is that we enjoy each other's success. Having lost both league matches to MI what was the plan in Qualifier 1? Stephen Fleming has said that we had lost both the matches to MI in league so Tuesday it was important that we balance it. It was a pressure game for both teams. We are playing in Delhi, a different venue for both, support is fifty-fifty. But at the same time I have played in this region and spent a lot of time here, so that helped. In a pressure game whoever gets tense first will lose the battle. But they are good side and they have one more game to go. Hopefully it will be good if we get to play the final against them in Kolkata. On the importance of mental strength to succeeding in T20 and in crucial matches More than mental toughness I would say it is all about fitness. How you enjoy on the field. You see how each and everyone is improving their game, fitness is important. I believe in hard work. One has to go out there and field and bring in energy into the team. I have always played like that. If you are low on the inside your best doesn't come out. When the intensity is good then you get to see quality cricket. The skipper also feels what we have discussed is happening. Twenty20 is all about your fitness, all about your approach to the game. People feel twenty overs is less time but this is high intensity cricket. It is not easy at all. On the key to CSK's success in tough and crucial games Flemings way of thinking is amazing. He has played over hundred Tests and he knows when you are losing and when you are succeeding. What to do off the field. I am learning a lot from him. And then MS Dhoni (who has done so well for India) and the youngsters in the team are doing well. And everyone cares about each other. Our support staff, Greg King and Tommy are doing much for the team despite various difficulties, some at the personal level. It is a kind of sacrifice. And when you sacrifice something is only when God gives you something. And we I think that is what we have done, our franchise and our support staff. On Michael Hussey's role A big role! He has got the Orange Cap. He is a very humble guy. He thinks for the team and it is good. On CSK having match winning players who have always performed when needed. God has been kind. When you get the opportunity you have to perform in a pressure situation. As a professional cricketer, the coach, captain, franchise and team all expect that you do well. So when someone performs the expectations from that person increases and I like that. Hope we do well in the next game as well. On CSK being in the IPL final for the fifth time It has been a very good effort by the team and especially our coaching staff. We have done well and feel good now. There is one more game to go. There are three days in between so there will be a lot of thinking going on. We have a lot of hard work to do. The Kolkata wicket is not easy, you will have to work hard. I hope if we practice there for a day it will help. God willing things will be good. Let us see what happens. source: iplt20.com | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Can’t wait to play the final at Eden: Michael Hussey Posted: 21 May 2013 11:04 PM PDT .jpg "Michael Hussey-CSK vs MI-qualifier-1-IPL-2013") This team is about consistency. Consistent in performances and consistent the way they write their scripts game after game, year after year. With a history of being slow starters in the IPL and then 'peaking at the right time' Chennai Super Kings always seem to have a knack of getting those big performances when required the most. (Also Read: CSK vs MI - Qualifier 1 Report & Stats: IPL 2013) This year too, they began with a few slow starts, only to go on to make it to the business end and stamp their authority in a tournament that they have almost made their own. With a comprehensive 48-run victory against the Mumbai Indians in Delhi, Chennai Super Kings now hold the record of five appearances in the final of the IPL. This year, much of the credit has to be given to their most consistent batsman Michael Hussey who has been the nucleus for the side. Time and again he has raised his hand up and given the much needed impetus at the top to take CSK to huge totals or chase down targets more often than not. It came as no surprise on Tuesday that Hussey went to on to register his sixth half century this season and become the highest run-getter for the season. He along with Suresh Raina put up an unbeaten 140-run stand for the second wicket to take CSK to a formidable target of 192 which was always a mountainous task for the Mumbai Indians. With just a step away from lifting their third title, CSK's most consistent bat, Michael Hussey is eager than ever to lay his hands on the coveted Trophy. In a chat with IPLT20.com, Hussey talks about his consistent run, the pride of being a Super King, and the final at the Eden Gardens where he just can't wait to play. Here are excerpts from the interview: Yet another good day on the field, it has almost become like a habit to score runs for you. Is it tough to cultivate such a good habit? I am not sure about that but I have to say it was a very good team performance. Murali Vijay started really well and we had a good partnership together in the beginning, and then Suresh Raina came in and continued on. I always believe the key to batting is partnerships and I am glad we got our partnerships going against MI. You have had a number of partnerships with Suresh Raina. Does the presence of Raina at the other end make batting easier for you? I really enjoy batting with Raina. He is a fine player and he scores so quickly which takes the pressure off me. We talk together a lot out there as to which bowler we should target and how we should play different situations. We have a good rapport which really helps. Personally, do you think this is the best you have been striking the ball amongst all IPL seasons? That is a tough one to answer. I cannot say if it is that way. But it has been good fun to play for CSK and I have really enjoyed it. It has been nice to be able to contribute to certain team wins and get us into the position of being in the grand final. I do not really think too much about how I am going personally. It is more about how much I can contribute to a team win. What was the talk in the dressing room going into the game against Mumbai Indians? The talk was to enjoy and do the basics really well which was the main message coming through. We knew it was a big occasion to play against a great team. We have got a lot of experienced players in the dressing room who have played a lot of T20 cricket and they understand what their roles are and it was important that everyone played their role on Tuesday night. We are glad that the plans were executed and we came out winning. From 69/0 in the first ten overs, getting to 192/1 at the end of twenty overs; was it a plan to start off the innings slow and then get aggressive towards the end? We would have loved to be close to a hundred in the first ten, but it does not work that way. Mumbai Indians have very good bowlers, so it is not easy to come and smack them around. The plan was to get set and try and dig deep with a partnership so that we could go severe towards the end once we got used to the conditions. Five out of six times in the finals for CSK; how special is to be a part of yet another final? It is a great achievement by the team, to make it to the final so many times. Making it yet again this year too is a fantastic feeling. It is just great to be in another final and obviously we want to win. We give ourselves every chance of winning the final. All set for the final at the Eden Gardens? Yes! I can't wait to get there. It is a fantastic opportunity, fantastic occasion and a fantastic ground. I am really looking forward to it. Winning the final is all I care about now. There are three very good teams fighting out there for the final spot, and it is going to be interesting to watch who makes it over the next few days. source: iplt20.com | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| CSK vs MI - Qualifier 1 Report & Stats: IPL 2013 Posted: 21 May 2013 10:57 PM PDT Match Report: Chennai Super Kings booked their berth in the Pepsi IPL Final for the fourth consecutive season with a convincing 48-run victory over Mumbai Indians at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium in Delhi. Batting first CSK posted a mammoth 192 riding on a record-breaking partnership between Michael Hussey and Suresh Raina, before their bowlers bowled out MI for 144. (Also Read: We want to book our place in finals: Fleming #Qualifier1 #IPL6)
Smith launched two monstrous sixes off Chris Morris as he brought up his fifty in just 21 balls – the third fastest effort in IPL history. Smith (68) deposited Ravichandran Ashwin over the ropes before miscuing Ravindra Jadeja to Suresh Raina at point. At the halfway stage, MI were 92 for two, still requiring 101 runs.
Earlier CSK won the toss and elected to bat. Hussey got CSK rolling with a boundary off the first delivery. Vijay opened his account with consecutive boundaries off Munaf Patel in the second over. Hussey followed it with two more boundaries off Malinga as CSK made 47 from their Power Play. Pollard got the breakthrough as Vijay (23) was caught in the deep.
Brief Scores: Chennai Super Kings 192 for 1 (M Hussey 86*, Kieron Pollard 1-28) defeated Mumbai Indians 144 all out (Dwayne Smith 68, Dwayne Bravo 3-9) by 48 runs.
732: Runs scored by Michael Hussey in IPL 2013 – second most by any batsman in a single edition of IPL, after Chris Gayle's 733 in 2012. 414: Runs scored by Suresh Raina against Mumbai Indians in IPL – most by any batsman. He went ahead of Jacques Kallis' tally of 403 runs.
354: Number of boundaries (fours and sixes) hit by Suresh Raina in IPL. Now only Chris Gayle is ahead of him with 384 boundaries. 86: Runs scored by Michael Hussey in the match – highest individual innings for Chennai Super Kings against Mumbai Indians in IPL. The previous best was Suresh Raina's unbeaten 83 at the Brabourne Statdium in 2010. 67: Runs scored by Chennai Super Kings in last 5 overs of the match – most by a team against Mumbai Indians in IPL2013. Incidentally there have been six instances of a team scoring 65 or more runs against Mumbai Indians in the last five overs. Four of them have been by Chennai Super Kings. 56: Runs scored by Mumbai Indians in first 6 overs - maximum they have scored in Power Play overs in IPL2013. 28: Number of wickets taken by Dwayne Bravo in IPL2013. He now shares the record of taking most wickets in a single edition of IPL with Lasith Malinga, who had an identical tally in 2011.
14: Number of catches taken by Dwayne Bravo in IPL2013 – most by a fielder in a single edition of IPL. AB de Villiers and Rohit Sharma shared the previous record with 13 catches in 2009 and 2012 edition respectively. 9: Number of batsmen who got out caught in Mumbai Indians' innings. This equaled the IPL record of most such dismissals in a team's innings. 5: Number of times Chennai Super Kings have reached IPL final. No other team has done this more than twice! 1: Suresh Raina became the first Indian batsman to aggregate 4000 runs in Twenty20 cricket. 1: For the first time Mumbai Indians managed to take only one wicket in an IPL match despite bowling full 20 overs.
Rohit: There's always a second chance, but disappointed the way we played. Dinesh and I got out at the wrong time, had a wonderful start but didn't capitalise. Not a good sign. Kolkata will be a different surface but we have had a good set of results there so hope it goes well. Dhoni: We had a decent support last time we played in Delhi. Always good to have the support. We always tell our players that when you get a start, you need to grab it. Thought we were 10 runs short. Hussey gave us a good start but Raina gave us the edge in the middle of the innings. Sir Jadeja has declined us to tweet about him, so no more tweets about him! Michael Hussey, Star Sports, champion of the match (which I think is the man-of-the-match): Lucky we got some fine players down the order, so I know there are some hitters down. Anything can happen in T20 on any day so I go about my business. I am sure the Australian team will be fine without me. Purple Cap for Bravo. Orange for Hussey. Chennai in final.
source: iplt20.com |
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