Chennai, March 15  The following is the scoreboard of an Indian Premier League match between Deccan Chargers and Chennai Super Kings here Sunday:

Deccan Chargers:

Adam Gilchrist b Ashwin 38 (17b, 3 x 6, 4 x 4)

VVS Laxman (run out – Raina/Dhoni) 12 (11b, 2 x 4)

Herschelle Gibbs (run out – Morkel) 45 (36b, 1 x 6, 5 x 4)

Andrew Symonds (run out – Hayden) 50 (43b, 3 x 6, 3 x 4)

Rohit Sharma (not out) 19 (10b, 1 x 6, 2 x 4)

Tirumalasetti Suman (not out) 10 (5b, 2 x 4)

Extras (b-2, lb-3, w-9, nb-2): 19

Total (for 4 wkts, 20 overs): 190

Fall of wickets: 1-55 (Gilchrist, 4.4); 2-55 (Laxman, 4.5); 3-150 (Gibbs, 17.2); 4-160 (Symonds, 18.1).

Bowling: Albie Morkel 4-0-41-0 (1w); Sudeep Tyagi 1.5-0-39-0 (2nb); Muttiah Muralitharan 4-0-28-0 (4w); Ravichandran Ashwin 4-0-26-1 (2w); Lakshmipathy Balaji 4-0-36-0 (1w); Justin Kemp 2.1-0-15-0 (1w).

Chennai Super Kings:

Murali Vijay b Vaas 03 (6b)

Matthew Hayden c RP Singh b Vaas 17 (11b, 2 x 6)

Suresh Raina c Gilchrist b Vaas 06 (3b, 1 x 4)

Subramaniam Badrinath c RP Singh b Ojha 05 (12b, 1 x 4)

Justin Kemp st Gilchrist b Ojha 22 (16b, 1 x 6, 1 x 4)

Mahendra Singh Dhoni b Symonds 42 (29b, 2 x 6, 3 x 4)

Albie Morkel (not out) 42 (26b, 3 x 6, 1 x 4)

Ravichandran Ashwin c RP Singh b Rohit Sharma 0 (1b)

Lakshmipathy Balaji c Anirudh Singh b RP Singh 15 (10b, 1 x 6, 1 x 4)

Muttiah Muralitharan lbw Symonds b 01 (2b)

Sudeep Tyagi (not out) 03 (4b)

Extras (w-3): 3

Total (for 9 wkts, 20 overs): 159.

Fall of wickets: 1-12 (Vijay, 2.1); 2-18 (Raina, 2.4); 3-31 (Hayden, 4.1); 4-32 (Badrinath, 5.3); 5-70 (Kemp, 9.6); 6-108 (Dhoni, 14.6); 7-115 (Ashwin, 15.3); 8-136 (Balaji, 17.5); 9-137 (18.1).

Bowling: Chaminda Vaas 4-1-21-3; Rohit Sharma 4-0-27-1; RP Singh 3-0-30-1 (2w); Pragyan Ojha 4-0-28-2; Jaskaran Singh 1-0-16-0; Thirumalasetti Suman 1-0-8-0; Andrew Symonds 3-0-29-2.

New Delhi, March 15  Mumbai Indians captain Sachin Tendulkar, his Delhi Daredevils counterpart Gautam Gambhir and Kings XI Punjab skipper Kumar Sangakkara have been fined $20,000 each for their teams’ slow overrate in the Indian Premier League matches played Saturday.

An IPL release said Tendulkar was fined after the Mumbai Indians “were assessed to be two overs behind their required rate” during their four-run win against Rajasthan Royals at Mumbai’s Brabourne Stadium.

“Under the IPL’s Code of Conduct relating to minimum over rate offences, Tendulkar was fined $20,000 by match referee Andy Pycroft,” the statement said.

In the game at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium at Mohali, both the Kings XI Punjab and Delhi Daredevils were each assessed to be one over behind the required rate.

Fines were slapped on both the captains by match referee Srinivas Venkataraghavan.

With Gambhir leading from the front with a knock of 72, Delhi Daredevils beat Kings XI by five wickets.

Earlier, Kolkata Knight Riders captain Sourav Ganguly was fined an identical amount for his side’s slow over rate during the tournament opener against defending champions Deccan Chargers at the D.Y. Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai Friday.

Skipper Gautam Gambhir led the batting charge with a brilliant 54-ball 72 as Delhi Daredevils opened their Indian Premier League campaign on a winning note snatching a five-wicket victory over Kings XI Punjab in a thrilling encounter in Mohali on Saturday.

Delhi first restricted the Punjab side to 142 for nine, thanks to nice bowling by pacer duo of Dirk Nannes (2/12) and Farveez Maharoof (2/37), and then overhauled the target with just one ball to spare at the floodlit PCA Stadium.

Gambhir, who raced to his half-century off 40 balls, hit nine boundaries and one six, while he got good support from Mithun Manhas, who came out with an unbeaten 31 off 24 balls.

With 17 runs required from the last two overs, Manhas first cracked a four off Yusuf Abdulla and then Gambhir hit him for a huge six over the long-off region.

But left-arm pacer Irfan Pathan struck in the final over, off which Delhi needed four runs to win, removing Gambhir as Mahela Jayawardene took a well-judged catch.

With the scores leveled and two balls to go, Manhas finished the match with a brilliant square cut that sent the ball to the fence. Delhi made 146 for five.

However, chasing the 143-run target Delhi started on a disastrous note as they lost two wickets in the second over of the innings in the form of opener Virender Sehwag (8) and their Sri Lankan import Tillakaratne Dilshan (0).

Earlier Punjab was put in to bat and Ravi Bopara waged a lone battle as his 48-ball 56 helped Kings XI Punjab gather 142 for nine.

Bopara, who struck seven fours and a six, joined hands with Pathan (21) to pull the Punjab side out of the pit when they were struggling at 44 for four after 6.1 overs.

Besides the duo, only two others — captain Kumar Sangakkara (17) and Sreesanth (15) — could manage a double-digit as the Punjab team kept losing wickets in regular intervals.

via ddinews.com

Karachi, Jan.27 (ANI): After captain Mohammed Yousuf, swashbuckling Pakistan all rounder Shahid Afridi too has highlighted the lack of unity and team spirit in the national squad.

Speaking during a television programme, Afridi said players are trying hard to come out good against Australia in the ongoing series, but they are not playing as a unit.

“Players are only concerned about their own performance. Muhammad Yousuf has failed to gel the team together because players’ preference is to play for themselves, not for the team,” The News quoted Afridi, as saying.

He said following the team’s deplorable performance Down Under, senior ‘non-performing’ players should make way for younger players.

“Whoever not performs, be it Shahid Afridi, Younis Khan or Umar Gul, should make way for new talent,” Afridi said. (ANI)

Sydney, Jan.27 (ANI): The Australian cricketers decision to give a miss to the third edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is both wise and promising, feels noted columnist Peter Roebuck.

In an article for the Sydney Morning Herald, Roebuck opines that the Australians are fully aware of the workload that is before them, especially in the context of an Ashes series later in the year, and therefore, have shown wisdom in not putting in their hat for the IPL-3 auction held earlier this month.

“Clarke (Australian vice-captain) is on top of his game, his decision not to offer his services to IPL is sound and selfless. In any case he is not as well suited to the 20-over game because he depends more on alacrity than power. Brutal boundaries are not his go,” says Roebuck.

“Ponting, Peter Siddle, Mitchell Johnson and Michael Hussey have also held back. Doubtless they have noted the toll. Doubtless they have the Ashes in mind. It is a promising sign,” he adds.

“Moreover, no heed will be taken of players complaining about workloads who play cricket overseas in their spare time,” Roebuck says.

He believes the Australians have shown commendable professionalism against opposing teams like the West Indies and Pakistan this summer.

“Ricky Ponting’’s team is fuelled not so much by anger or passion as by the simple desire to win, an approach less likely to run dry. Accordingly they have held their form in this (one-day) version of the game through several continents and all sorts of conditions. Nor have they ever regarded 50-over cricket as a sideshow. Trophies have been won, strong opponents subdued and their position at the top of the rankings reinforced,” says Roebuck.

“In every respect, Australia’’s consistency has been impressive. No point pushing the envelope, though. Now might be a fine chance to give older hands like Shane Watson and Michael Clarke a smoko. Plenty of hard days lie ahead,” he said.

Pakistan has faced a long and unrewarding tour and seems to be running out of steam. Australia have some leeway and might as well use it, he concludes. (ANI)

Cape Town, Jan.27 (ANI): Mickey Arthur, among the most successful international cricket coaches of modern times, quit mentoring the South African cricket team because of the pressure that was being put on him to include more black players.

South African cricket is in turmoil again because of racial issues in selection. Arthur left the job he has filled with distinction for nearly five years only four days before his team leaves for an important tour of India.

Suggestions in South Africa that his going was prompted by differences with captain Graeme Smith, can be discounted. Arthur and Smith forged a vibrant team.

According to The Independent, Arthur appears to have been persuaded to walk because he has been worn down by the requirements of selection policy.

Although 18 years have passed since South Africa re-entered the international fold, transformation has never been fully effected.

The coach who helped to engineer seminal away Test series wins in both Australia and England has been under constant scrutiny bordering on instruction to ensure South Africa’’s team is racially mixed.

In some ways, this has been easy to achieve lately with several of the batting stars being non-white.
But it also became a tenet of government policy, and by extension of Cricket South Africa, that the team should include not only non-white faces but also players of a discernibly black African extraction.

The unwritten agreement that there be at least one black player in the team was easily met when fast bowler Makhaya Ntini was in his pomp.

Ntini’’s demise, however, has been swift and definite. He played his 100th Test match in the first match of the recent series against England and, on strict merit, should not have made it to his 101st.

Although he was rightly omitted afterwards Arthur probably suspected he was on borrowed time.

Flanked by his long-time ally Smith and Gerald Majola, the chief executive of CSA, Arthur will deliver his reasons for departing today in his home town of East London.

Arthur and Smith have done their utmost to meet the demands while also arguing that they must field a team capable of winning.

Smith now has to build a relationship with a new coach, starting with the temporary incumbent for the India tour, the academy head Corrie van Zyl.

Arthur, barring a position at home, will probably want to coach only in England or Australia.

Islamabad, Jan.27 (ANI): Pakistan Sports Minister Ijaz Jakhrani has urged the Indian government to initiate an inquiry into the Indian Premier League (IPL) auction fiasco.

Jakhrani said while it was quite clear that the ‘snub’ was deliberate and influenced by certain quarters, New Delhi must come out with the actual details regarding the issue.

“We want the government of India to intervene in this issue and let us know who were responsible in keeping Pakistan cricketers away from the IPLFrom day one our stance is that the IPL decision was an influenced one,” The Daily Times quoted Jakhrani, as saying.

Referring to Home Minister P. Chidambaram’s statement that the decision to ignore Pakistani players was a ‘disservice’ to the game of cricket, Jakhrani said his (Chidambaram’s) remarks was a positive sign and it vindicates Islamabad’s stance.

“The statement makes it crystal clear that there was involvement of a third player in influencing the IPL auction,’ he added.

The IPL has already denied any government interference and stated that the T20 league officials had never said that the Indian government did not grant permission to the Pakistani players.

Eleven Pakistani players, including the cream of the Shahid Afridi-led reigning Twenty20 World Cup squad, were in the IPL auction 3 fray, but none of the eight IPL franchisees took interest in them, fearing the chill in Indo-Pak relation might worsen, resulting in non-participation of these players. (ANI)

Islamabad, Jan.27 (ANI): Temperamental Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar is aiming to play in the T20 World Cup, which is scheduled to be held in May in the Caribbean, to prove his critics wrong.

Akhtar’s close friends and his domestic team mates told PakPassion.net that he is training hard and is likely to take part in a 50 over tournament, starting next month, to prove his fitness for the T20 World Cup.

The Rawalpindi Express believes that he still has some cricket left in him and is eager to make a come back in the national squad, they said.

“Akhtar believes he has been written off too soon and by too many and he wants to make a comeback to the national team. He wants to work hard on his fitness and play regularly for KRL(domestic team) in the coming weeks and to take part in the training camp. He feels that he still has something to offer the Pakistan team,” Akhtar’s team mates said.

With young pace sensation Mohammed Aamir performing well and bowlers like Mohammed Sami and Rana Naved-ul-Hasan making a comeback in the team, it would be a tough task for Akhtar to regain his spot.

However, Umar Gul’s lacklustre performance in the recent past could open the gates for Akhtar, who last represented Pakistan in a T20 match against Australia in Dubai in May 2009. (ANI)

Australia secured a series win against Pakistan on Tuesday by emerging victorious in the third one-day international played at the Adelaide Oval here.

Australia defeated Pakistan by 40 runs. Replying to Australia’’s 286 for six in 50 overs, Pakistan folded up for 246 in 47.4 overs. For Australia, fast bowlers Ryan Harris (5/43) and Clint McKay (3/48) played leading roles in facilitating the victory for the home side.

For Pakistan, the main scorers were Umar Akmal with 59, Shahid Afridi 40, Fawad Alam and Naved-ul-Hassan with 33 apiece.

Earlier, Australia were helped to their mammoth total by Shaun Marsh (83 with seven boundaries) and vice-captain Michael Clarke (80 with three boundaries). Middle-order bat Michael Hussey scored 49 with five boundaries and a six. Skipper Ricky Ponting scored a duck. Umar Gul and Naved-ul-Hassan claimed two wickets each.

Pakistan slipped to 4 for 101 at the 25-over mark, and from their the chase to keep the series alive faltered. (ANI)

Chennai: According to the latest reports, Sri Lanka all-rounder Angelo Mathews will miss the rest of the One-Day International series in India because of injury.

The Sri Lanka team has said on their website that the recovery is expected to take up to four weeks.

The third match will be played in Cuttack on Monday. Uncapped all-rounder Thissara Perera was named as Mathews’ replacement on a tour that has already seen four bowlers return home injured.

The medium-pacer strained his right quadriceps during his match-winning 37 not out in Friday’s second ODI, which the tourists won by three wickets to level the five-match series 1-1.