Indian Cricket Team Updates |
- It was all about giving Brad Hodge strike: James Faulkner
- I was nervous before my first ball: Vikramjeet Malik
- Sunrisers Hyderabad fought hard: Darren Sammy
- Sunrisers Hyderabad fought hard: Darren Sammy
- Rajasthan Royals’ man of steel – Brad Hodge: IPL2013
- RR's Rahul Dravid eyes IPL 2013 Title
- RR vs SRH - Eliminator Report & Stats: IPL 2013
| It was all about giving Brad Hodge strike: James Faulkner Posted: 22 May 2013 11:11 PM PDT  He has been performing with the ball for the Rajasthan Royals, but in the Eliminator of the Pepsi Indian Premier League 2013, James Faulkner's batting skills were called upon against Sunrisers Hyderabad. And the young Aussie came out trumps in that tense situation. With six wickets down and 31 runs required to win off 25 balls, Faulkner joined Brad Hodge (54 off 29) at the crease and helped take the team across the line with four balls to spare. (Also Read: RR vs SRH - Eliminator Report & Stats: IPL 2013) While speaking to IPLT20.com later, Faulkner who has, on occasions found himself at the receiving end of Hodge's batting prowess in his country's domestic circuit said that, he was glad to be on the same side at the senior Pro. Excerpts from the interview: On whether the similar conditions when they beat SRH at Sawai Mansingh Stadium were at the back of the mind Yes, but it wasn't at the back of the mind. It has obviously been a tough week for everyone involved but to get over the line there was an amazing feeling. Brad Hodge was the man of the moment and he thoroughly deserves it. On his batting and playing a supporting role to Hodge It is pretty much the bat and the ball in the end. At the end of the innings there is always going to be pressure and it is a matter of how you cope with it. The partnership (33 runs) was obviously good on Wednesday night. Brad Hodge pretty much sealed it for us. His innings was unbelievable. I have, at the other end, myself been playing domestic cricket against him but it is good to be at the same end this time. On the partnership It was just a matter of getting bat on ball. I didn't get off to the best start on my first three. After I struck my first boundary my confidence grew a little bit but it was all about getting Hodgey on strike. At the end of the day he hit over the fence two times in a row and we won the game so it was a good feeling. On the crucial wicket of Shikhar Dhawan and his plans for the SRH opener I wouldn't want to give too much away from our plans. It was pretty much about the basics in the end. To change the pace, back of length Yorkers is pretty much what every other death bowler tries to do. On being in contention for the Purple Cap I am not really fussed about that. It is all about the franchise and I am lucky enough to get an opportunity this year and play some games of cricket for the Royals. I am really enjoying my time here so far and hopefully will continue for a few more days. source: iplt20.com | ||||||||||||||
| I was nervous before my first ball: Vikramjeet Malik Posted: 22 May 2013 11:06 PM PDT  Brad Hodge might have stolen all the limelight with his fiery batting that took the Royals to a thrilling four-wicket victory against the Sunrisers Hyderabad, but one of the notable performances that should not be given a miss is that of medium-pacer Vikramjeet Malik. Malik, who plays for Himachal Pradesh and was scouted by the Rajasthan Royals before the start of the tournament has not been a regular fixture for the franchise. But given the day, given the moment and thrown the ball to, Malik did not disappoint. (Also Read: RR vs SRH - Eliminator Report & Stats: IPL 2013) "I got a hint that I would play the match against SRH a day before and was asked to be ready for the game," Malik said, as he spoke to IPLT20.com. "It was only on Wednesday that Rahul Dravid confirmed the decision after looking at the pitch. Rahul bhai and Shane Watson motivated me before the game and asked me to stick to my basics," added Malik. Before playing against the Sunrisers, Malik featured in just one game which was against the Chennai Super Kings. Malik said he felt like a kid who warmed the bench for most part of the season, and felt like it even when he got a chance to play. "When I played against Chennai Super Kings in my first game this year, I felt like a newbie. It felt as if I was back in 2009 when I first played for the Kings XI Punjab, but the feeling got better when I got a game playing for Rajasthan Royals this year and I am happy I performed well against SRH." Having said that he felt like a newbie, when asked if he was confident of a good show coming into a crucial game, Malik said he was more nervous but at the same time confident. "I was nervous before bowling the first ball of the match. I got a chance to play a match after a long gap and I decided to bowl according to my strength and not try anything fancy. I did not get any wickets in the lone game I played before this match, but I had bowled well which gave me the confidence to perform well in the big game." Malik bowled three overs in the game and got two early wickets, that of Parthiv Patel and Hanuma Vihari which put SRH straightaway on the back-foot. By getting two quick wickets in his very first spell, Malik's job was done. "My main job was to give my team a good start with the ball. I told myself, that if the captain gave me the ball it was my responsibility not to disappoint my captain. I am glad I lived up to the expectations and picked two crucial wickets up front." When asked why the Royals did not complete his full quota of four overs even after such a good spell of bowling, Malik said, "There were other bowlers in the team who had bowled well throughout the tournament. They had more experience of bowling under certain circumstances and that could be the reason why I was held back. My job was done the moment I gave my side a good start." Malik who has the experience of 65 first class games and over 250 wickets to his name thanked the Rajasthan Royals management for the chance to play in the IPL. "I owe a lot of credit to the Rajasthan Royals. They had seen me perform in the domestic competitions and backed me for my skills. I have had a decent run this year in the domestic circuit and I was asked by the management to play to the best of my ability." Malik has represented the Kings XI Punjab before joining the Royals and described the whole IPL journey as a learning experience as he said, "Brett Lee has helped me when we were both with Kings XI Punjab. I have always loved fast bowling and it is great to have pacers like Shaun Tait in the side wherein everyday you get to learn a lot." Malik also found inspiration in Glenn McGrath and said he had learnt a lot watching the Aussie legend play. "Glenn McGrath has been my biggest inspiration. I have learnt a lot from watching him on TV. Over the years there have been fast bowlers like Waqar Younis and Wasim Akram who have been great bowlers, but McGrath has inspired me the most." Up next, the Royals face Mumbai Indians and Malik vowed not to disappoint. I am not sure if I will get a chance to play in the next game, but if I do I will make sure that I put up a good performance for my captain and my side." source: iplt20.com | ||||||||||||||
| Sunrisers Hyderabad fought hard: Darren Sammy Posted: 22 May 2013 11:00 PM PDT  The Sunrisers Hyderabad showed a lot of character and nerves of steel as they scrapped their way into the Playoffs of the Pepsi Indian Premier League 2013. However, the Cameron White-led team lost the eliminator to Rajasthan Royals, but not without a fight. SRH, who had more often than not, defended small totals in the competition were not able to pull off the feat against Brad Hodge's onslaught at the Feroz Shah Kotla on Wednesday night. (Also Read: RR vs SRH - Eliminator Report & Stats: IPL 2013) After the four-wicket loss, in a last over finish while defending 132 runs, Darren Sammy spoke to IPLT20.com about the game. The West Indian smashed three sixes in his 21-ball 29 and then took a superb catch to send back the dangerous Shane Watson and followed up with wickets of Dishant Yagnik and Stuart Binny to keep the team in the contest. While speaking to the official website, he highlighted the fighting spirit and the efforts of his team in the sixth edition of the IPL. Excerpts from the interview: The Sunrisers have successfully defended small totals this season; how confident was the team of defending 132? We were quite confident but Hodgey played amazingly in the end. I didn't land my deliveries properly in the right areas and we lost the game. We fought hard. Nobody can fault the efforts that Sunrisers have put in. A new franchise coming into this IPL, going to the Playoff and almost making it in the end was good. We have a great bunch of guys. It has been a wonderful season for us. We will keep our heads up and we will come back next year and play more cricket. Are you one of the on-field captains for SRH? We saw you discuss and give inputs to the captain and speak to bowlers? No! I think it is my natural way of playing. Whether I am captain or not I share my ideas with whoever is in-charge and I try to encourage team-mates. And everybody who are on the field acts like a captain as well. We have gelled really well together. Our bowling obviously carried us through this tournament and we came a bit short on Wednesday but like I said we will keep our heads up. It has been a good run for us and the guys should be proud of what they have achieved in this IPL. What is it like batting in the middle? It was a difficult to score runs on the wicket. We got 130 odd but it was more or less 145 -150 to be sure. But we did come out and made a game out of it. We nearly crossed the hurdle but unfortunately these things happen in cricket. We shall wish all the three teams the very best and may the best team win in the end. You had a partnership developing with Shikhar Dhawan and both got off to good starts.But both weren't able to convert those into bigger scores. What went wrong? To me that was the most disappointing part of the game. Because I felt, had me myself or (Thisara) Perera or even Shikhar batted through we would have gotten that 140-150 that we were looking for and it was a silly run out. And we learn from these things and hopefully we will have more games to play for Sunrisers and we will get to play against the Royals sometime next year. What was Moody's advise during the time out? We have been in these situations many times before. I think that this is the first time in this tournament that we have not defended 130 in this tournament and he just kept reminding us to keep to our plans out there. Which is to bowl dead straight on the wicket and it worked for us and we really brought ourselves back into the game but we just didn't have enough mettle for us to carry us to the line. How do you keep yourself motivated and calm? We enjoy the game. We go out there and we leave everything else off the field whether we score 160 or whether we are three for the loss of two wickets. Somebody always comes through for us. And that is the hallmark of a team. Anytime somebody can chip in for us. We see Tom Moody briefing the team during strategic time outs. Tells us about his briefings? Tom has been excellent for the franchise. He, Waqar (Younis), VVS Laxman and Kris (Krishnamachari Srikkanth); they have all been brilliant in the way we plan. We always got a lot of information and analysis. It has been a whole team effort this season. And the franchise owners, they are loving, they are always here supporting the team and it is just like a family. And the way we go out there and played, everybody plays for each other, we support each other and that's why we were in the Playoff. source: iplt20.com | ||||||||||||||
| Sunrisers Hyderabad fought hard: Darren Sammy Posted: 22 May 2013 10:58 PM PDT The Sunrisers Hyderabad showed a lot of character and nerves of steel as they scrapped their way into the Playoffs of the Pepsi Indian Premier League 2013. However, the Cameron White-led team lost the eliminator to Rajasthan Royals, but not without a fight. SRH, who had more often than not, defended small totals in the competition were not able to pull off the feat against Brad Hodge's onslaught at the Feroz Shah Kotla on Wednesday night. (Also Read: RR vs SRH - Eliminator Report & Stats: IPL 2013) After the four-wicket loss, in a last over finish while defending 132 runs, Darren Sammy spoke to IPLT20.com about the game. The West Indian smashed three sixes in his 21-ball 29 and then took a superb catch to send back the dangerous Shane Watson and followed up with wickets of Dishant Yagnik and Stuart Binny to keep the team in the contest. While speaking to the official website, he highlighted the fighting spirit and the efforts of his team in the sixth edition of the IPL. Excerpts from the interview: The Sunrisers have successfully defended small totals this season; how confident was the team of defending 132? We were quite confident but Hodgey played amazingly in the end. I didn't land my deliveries properly in the right areas and we lost the game. We fought hard. Nobody can fault the efforts that Sunrisers have put in. A new franchise coming into this IPL, going to the Playoff and almost making it in the end was good. We have a great bunch of guys. It has been a wonderful season for us. We will keep our heads up and we will come back next year and play more cricket. Are you one of the on-field captains for SRH? We saw you discuss and give inputs to the captain and speak to bowlers? No! I think it is my natural way of playing. Whether I am captain or not I share my ideas with whoever is in-charge and I try to encourage team-mates. And everybody who are on the field acts like a captain as well. We have gelled really well together. Our bowling obviously carried us through this tournament and we came a bit short on Wednesday but like I said we will keep our heads up. It has been a good run for us and the guys should be proud of what they have achieved in this IPL. What is it like batting in the middle? It was a difficult to score runs on the wicket. We got 130 odd but it was more or less 145 -150 to be sure. But we did come out and made a game out of it. We nearly crossed the hurdle but unfortunately these things happen in cricket. We shall wish all the three teams the very best and may the best team win in the end. You had a partnership developing with Shikhar Dhawan and both got off to good starts.But both weren't able to convert those into bigger scores. What went wrong? To me that was the most disappointing part of the game. Because I felt, had me myself or (Thisara) Perera or even Shikhar batted through we would have gotten that 140-150 that we were looking for and it was a silly run out. And we learn from these things and hopefully we will have more games to play for Sunrisers and we will get to play against the Royals sometime next year. What was Moody's advise during the time out? We have been in these situations many times before. I think that this is the first time in this tournament that we have not defended 130 in this tournament and he just kept reminding us to keep to our plans out there. Which is to bowl dead straight on the wicket and it worked for us and we really brought ourselves back into the game but we just didn't have enough mettle for us to carry us to the line. How do you keep yourself motivated and calm? We enjoy the game. We go out there and we leave everything else off the field whether we score 160 or whether we are three for the loss of two wickets. Somebody always comes through for us. And that is the hallmark of a team. Anytime somebody can chip in for us. We see Tom Moody briefing the team during strategic time outs. Tells us about his briefings? Tom has been excellent for the franchise. He, Waqar (Younis), VVS Laxman and Kris (Krishnamachari Srikkanth); they have all been brilliant in the way we plan. We always got a lot of information and analysis. It has been a whole team effort this season. And the franchise owners, they are loving, they are always here supporting the team and it is just like a family. And the way we go out there and played, everybody plays for each other, we support each other and that's why we were in the Playoff. source: iplt20.com | ||||||||||||||
| Rajasthan Royals’ man of steel – Brad Hodge: IPL2013 Posted: 22 May 2013 10:53 PM PDT  Excitement, thrill and at the end of it, euphoria took centre stage when Rajasthan Royals' Brad Hodge whacked Darren Sammy's second ball of the last over for a six. The result; Rajasthan Royals booked a place in the Champions League T20 and more importantly got a step closer to the final of the IPL. (Also Read: RR vs SRH - Eliminator Report & Stats: IPL 2013) The man of the moment, the man at the centre of all the action to take RR to a thrilling victory, was Brad Hodge, a T20 veteran of sorts with 5548 runs in the shortest format of the game; the most by any batsman. It was a night when Hodge's year's of experience in this format was put to test and how well the Australian succeeded. "It was a close contest and that is exactly where you need your experience to get a team over the line," said Hodge, visibly excited with a broad smile on his face as he was up for a chat with IPLT20.com. "This is the most thrilling game I have ever played in the IPL. I have played for KKR and the Kochi Tuskers Kerala in the past editions. This is the first time with RR and I am delighted to win the game for the team. "We are just a step away from the all important final," exclaimed the Australian. When RR won the game, there was emotions galore in the dug-out. There was fist pumping in the air by the players and the support stuff even as the players ran to the centre of the pitch to give their hero of the day a pat on the back for keeping his cool and holding his nerve in such a tight contest. Not surprisingly, RR captain Rahul Dravid was a happy man as he gave Hodge a tight hug in appreciation. "Rahul was delighted when I walked back to the dug-out. It has been an emotional week for us, an emotional week at the bench and it is a really good result for Rajasthan Royals and especially for Rahul Dravid," expressed Hodge. The win did not come easy for the Royals. They lost half their side under sixty runs chasing 133 against the Sunrisers Hyderabad who have fancied themselves, defending low totals in the tournament. Hodge accepted that his side was under pressure when they lost the plot midway. "The wicket was a fraction slow that suited the type of cricket SRH have been playing through the tournament. We wanted to try and be aggressive early on in the innings. We got a decent start but faltered mid-way. It did not go according to the script, but I am glad we got there in the end." The Royals lost wickets at regular intervals and also the ploy of throwing the youngsters to difficult situations almost backfired with the likes of Dishant Yagnik, Sanju Viswanad and Stuart Binny all going back without any notable contributions. Hodge was just happy they could get over the line at the end of it. "We were slightly under pressure while chasing the stiff target. We found ourselves in a bit of a hole and needed a few shots to come off well to get the asking rate down. Thankfully, we got a couple of shots in the stands which helped us get over the line." Rajasthan Royals now face Mumbai Indians in their next fixture and a win would get them one step closer to the final. "Everyone wants to play in the final and it is satisfying to see that you are just a step away from the final. We have had a great season this year and have been one of the top teams in the competition and it was only fitting that we got a chance to play and get closer to grabbing the trophy," Hodge said. source: iplt20.com | ||||||||||||||
| RR's Rahul Dravid eyes IPL 2013 Title Posted: 22 May 2013 10:33 PM PDT  Led by the calm, composed and methodical Rahul Dravid, Rajasthan Royals have made their way to the Qualifier II of the Pepsi Indian Premier League 2013. (Also Read: RR vs SRH - Eliminator Report & Stats: IPL 2013) The former India captain has worked diligently with the coach and support staff to chart the path for the Jaipur franchise's success. They worked out the details with painstaking effort and spent time with each individual player to ensure role clarity and emphasised on team work. Leading from the front, the RR skipper worked out ways to utilise the resources available to him to their maximum potential. Dravid, who thrives on planning and the intellectual aspect of the game spoke to IPLT20.com after their thrilling victory over the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Eliminator about the 'fairytale' run that the Royals have had in the sixth edition. Excerpts from the interview: Congratulations on a great season so far and an amazing victory in the eliminator! What has it been like mentoring and working with youngsters? It has been a great journey. It has been amazing for us to be in this position to play a qualifier and get a chance and great a crack at the IPL title. With the side that we have; it's a great feeling. It's amazing for us. It's like a fairytale! Brad Hodge had spoken about his role lower down the order and yours at the top. Things have gone according to plan. How has the team gone about successfully executing plans and strategies? If it doesn't come off it doesn't look very good but when it comes off on days like this all that planning, all that thought, all that effort everything seems worth it. We have got two big players – (Shane) Watson and (Brad) Hodge we have got to try and see how we balance them and all of us have to bat around them. And it worked out brilliantly on Wednesday. Watson gave us a bit of a flying start and Hodgey was there to finish it off. What a brilliant innings! You have always spoken about the contributions of Paddy Upton and Monty Desai. Please take us through their roles I think Paddy, Monty, Zubin (Bharucha) have been a great team this year. They have worked really hard with lot of the players. I think we have created a great environment around the team that has allowed a lot of the youngsters to express themselves and to play freely, to enjoy their cricket most importantly and I think that is showing in the results. The players in your squad have always spoken about the role clarity that you have given to them which in turn has helped them perform. How did you go about it? It is just about having conversations with people, youngsters. Zubin and Paddy have really helped me in that area as well. This is a process that has started even before the IPL. We have had conversations with the youngsters. We have decided on what roles they can play. And let's be honest we don't have big stars so we have to get the best out of our youngsters and we have worked really hard on trying to do that and when it comes off you feel so satisfied. Players who you think have a good potential moving forward? Stuart Binny has had a great season; Sanju Viswanad has been fantastic this year for us. Ajinkya (Rahane) as usual has been a star, to just mention a few of these guys who you think are going to become really good players. What has it been like captaining in T20 vis a vis in the Tests and one-dayers? Captaining your country has been the greatest honour that you can ever have and I think nothing can take that away. But this has really been two enjoyable years for me. I have really loved working with the franchise. I think Rajasthan Royals is a really professionally run good franchise and we try to get the best out of ourselves and the best out of our resources. And there is a lot of planning and intelligence involved and that is really up my street and that is something that I really enjoy. We are seeing that there is a lot of planning and strategy in T20 now. Your thoughts Yes, I think you have got to be smart and clever in this form, in any form of the game and as more and more T20 games are being played you see more and more tactic evolved and people being smarter specially with field placing. I think the bowlers have bowled really well this year and they have come back and done a really good job. So you see new things but in the end it is a game, about performances and you need to perform when it matters in critical situations. We have been lucky as a team that whenever we have been down we have always found someone who has stood up. Your batting... I have had some good innings! But for me, it has not really been about my personal batting this year. It has been about the team and the success that the team has had; has given me so much happiness. I don't know how many runs I have scored and I don't even count the runs that I have scored but it has really been about the team and I am so happy that we have been able to achieve our potential and I think we can have another couple of good days, who knows! source: iplt20.com | ||||||||||||||
| RR vs SRH - Eliminator Report & Stats: IPL 2013 Posted: 22 May 2013 10:17 PM PDT Match Report: Rajasthan Royals progressed to the second Qualifier after they defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad by four wickets in the eliminator at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium in Delhi.
Chasing 133, Rahul Dravid got RR rolling with two gorgeous strokes through mid-wicket off Dale Steyn. Ishant Sharma got SRH the first breakthrough as Dravid (12) was caught by Karan Sharma of a leading edge. Shane Watson hit two boundaries off Ishant Sharma in the fourth over and then Ajinkya Rahane hit a six off Ishant Sharma before Watson smashed two boundaries. RR made 44 from their Power Play. Watson (24) was sent back by Karan Sharma as Darren Sammy pulled off a stunning catch at the mid-wicket boundary. Sammy then knocked back Dishant Yagnik's (0) off-stump. The collapse continued as Rahane (18) was deceived in flight, reached out and chipped one straight back to Amit Mishra. Stuart Binny (2) was bowled by Sammy in the tenth over. At the halfway stage, RR were 57 for five, still requiring 76 runs.
Brad Hodge plundered 18 runs off Karan Sharma in the 14th over as he hit two sixes and a boundary. Needing 34 needed from 30 balls, Steyn trapped Sanju Viswanadh (10) leg before. Faulkner (11*) struck a couple boundaries to reduce the equation to 15 from the last two overs. Thisara Perera bowled a tight 19th over, conceding only five runs, to leave RR to score 10 off the last over. Hodge (54*) sealed the match with two massive sixes as RR reached the target with four balls remaining. Earlier, SRH won the toss and elected to bat. RR struck first blood as Parthiv Patel (1) miscued Vikramjeet Malik to Viswanadh in the very first over. Malik struck again as Hanuma Vihari (1) hit one straight to Kevon Cooper at mid-on to leave SRH two down in the third over. Shikhar Dhawan and Cameron White consolidated, adding 52 runs.
White (31) slammed a boundary off Siddharth Trivedi before perishing the next ball caught by Cooper. After a few quiet overs, Sammy got a move on as he slammed a six off Watson. Dhawan (33) trying to improvise, only managed to scoop Faulkner to Trivedi at short fine-leg. In the 17th over, Sammy launched Cooper for a six, before Perera followed suit and put him into the crowd. Sammy (29) then pulled Watson for a six before he was run out, courtesy a brilliant throw from the deep. Perera (11) then departed edging one off Watson to the wicket-keeper. SRH eventually finished at 132 for seven.
Man-of-the-match: Brad Hodge Brief Scores: Sunrisers Hyderabad 132 for 7 (Shikhar Dhawan 33, Vikramjeet Malik 2-14) lost to Rajasthan Royals 135 for 6 in 19.2 overs (Brad Hodge 54*, Darren Sammy 2-27) by 4 wickets.
Stats Highlights: 3: Number of times James Faulkner dismissed Shikhar Dhawan in three games - twice caught by Ajinkya Rahane and once by Siddharth Trivedi. 5: Number of sixes hit by Brad Hodge in the match; equaled the combined total of all other batsmen in the match. 10.34: Karan Sharma's economy (runs per over conceded) against Rajasthan Royals in IPL2013. Against all other opponents in the tournament his economy was a mere 5.52 219: Number of dot balls bowled by Dale Steyn in IPL2013 – most by a bowler in a single edition of IPL. 5548: Runs scored by Brad Hodge in Twenty20 format- most by any batsman. He went ahead of Chris Gayle's tally of 5512 runs.
Presentation: White: Ebbed and flowed in those last few minutes, mixed emotions, Hodgey showed his true class. Good show from us through the tournament but disappointed to lose from here. We will be back next year, fighting harder. We weren't relying on any one person so that was a good thing. Dravid: Been a pretty difficult week for us but to play a game like this and win was good. Didn't bat too well in that period between 7th-10th over, but it's a young side and they will learn. Hodge put his hand up and got us through. These games are competitive and there's always going to be a bit of a needle. Mumbai is a very good side, in some ways the pressure is on them. In many ways we have a moneyball team and will look to get going at Eden Gardens. Brad Hodge is the man of the match: Was looking to get the Chris Gayle distance than the Hodge distance in the 19th over! Quite a frustrating week last and so was a good thing to dust it off and play cricket. There's been a lot of celebration going on in the tournament and I was just trying to show that I have got children too with my celebration.
source: iplt20.com |
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