Top run getters in 20-20 Internationals

Player	Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	BF	SR	100	50	4s	6s
Misbah-ul-Haq (Pak)	14	13	6	398	87*	56.85	312	127.56	0	3	26	17
BB McCullum (NZ)	18	18	2	396	59	24.75	313	126.51	0	1	40	17
Shoaib Malik (Pak)	16	15	3	383	57	31.91	307	124.75	0	2	29	13
RT Ponting (Aus)	13	12	2	374	98*	37.40	278	134.53	0	2	36	11
GC Smith (SA)	12	12	2	364	89*	36.40	286	127.27	0	3	52	7
KP Pietersen (Eng)	14	14	1	363	79	27.92	244	148.77	0	1	39	8
ST Jayasuriya (SL)	11	11	1	341	88	34.10	221	154.29	0	3	40	15
A Symonds (Aus)	13	10	4	337	85*	56.16	198	170.20	0	2	33	10
PD Collingwood (Eng)	14	13	0	330	79	25.38	235	140.42	0	2	22	15
G Gambhir (India)	10	9	0	312	75	34.66	239	130.54	0	4	37	6

Note: - The updated records are still posting date

Highest wicket takers in 20-20 Internationals

Player	Mat	Overs	Mdns	Runs	Wkts	BBI	Ave	Econ	SR	4	5
Umar Gul (Pak)	13	47.4	1	244	20	4/13	12.20	5.11	14.3	2	0
Shahid Afridi (Pak)	15	57.3	2	351	19	4/19	18.47	6.10	18.1	1	0
DL Vettori (NZ)	11	44.0	0	238	18	4/20	13.22	5.40	14.6	1	0
Abdur Razzak (Ban)	10	38.0	1	240	18	4/16	13.33	6.31	12.6	1	0
NW Bracken (Aus)	14	45.5	1	300	18	3/11	16.66	6.54	15.2	0	0
JS Patel (NZ)	11	33.1	1	269	16	3/20	16.81	8.11	12.4	0	0
SM Pollock (SA)	12	40.3	1	309	15	3/28	20.60	7.62	16.2	0	0
CRD Fernando (SL)	13	46.0	3	337	15	3/19	22.46	7.32	18.4	0	0
HS Baidwan (Can)	7	21.0	1	144	14	4/19	10.28	6.85	9.0	1	0
M Morkel (SA)	8	29.5	0	189	13	4/17	14.53	6.33	13.7	1	0

Note-Records are updated till the posting date

Mumbai Indians vs Rajasthan Royals Match 2 IPL (2010) Updates

Toss – Mumbai Indian won the toss and elected to BAt first.

Teams

Mumbai: Sanath Jayasuriya, Sachin Tendulkar (C), Ambati Rayudu, Saurabh Tiwary, Ryan McLaren, Aditya Tare (W), Rajagopal Sathish, Lasith Malinga, Harbhajan Singh, Ali Murtaza, Zaheer Khan
Jaipur: Graeme Smith, Naman Ojha (W), Yusuf Pathan, Swapnil Asnodkar, Paras Dogra, Dimitri Mascarenhas, Abhishek Jhunjhunwala, Shane Warne (C), Kamran Khan, Shaun Tait, Amit Uniyal

Mumbai Indians Innings

• Mumbai Indians lost 1st wicket in 4th over – 1-38 (Jayasuriya, 3.3 ov)
• A Uniyal to S Jayasuriya, OUT! LBW! Slower delivery on the off, Jayasuriya is deceived and the ball strikes him low on the pads. The fielding side are asking the question. Umpire Koertzen raises his finger.Mumbai Indians have lost their first wicket.
• Mumbai Indians: 50 runs in 4.5 overs (35 balls), Extras 6

Kolkata Knight Riders beat Deccan Chargers by 11 runs

 Deccan Chargers vs Kolkata Knight Riders – Match 1

Played at Dr DY Patil Stadium, Mumbai, 12 March 2010
Result – Kolkata Knight Riders beat Deccan Chargers by 11 runs

Kolkata Knight Riders Innings			R	B	4s	6s	SR
	Manoj Tiwary	c R Sharma b Chaminda Vaas	0	1	0	0	0
	Brad Hodge	c H Gibbs b Jaskaran Singh	13	9	1	1	144.44
	Sourav Ganguly (C)	c P Ojha b Chaminda Vaas	0	3	0	0	0
	Cheteshwar Pujara	c Pragyan Ojha b RP Singh	10	16	2	0	62.50
	Owais Shah	Not Out	58	45	3	3	128.89
	Angelo Mathews	Not Out	65	47	5	4	138.30
	Wriddhiman Saha (W)
	Laxmi Shukla
	Murali Kartik
	Charl Langeveldt
	Ishant Sharma
	Extras	(b 0,lb 8,w 6, nb 1)	15
	Total	(4 wickets; 20 overs)	161	(8.05 runs per over)

Fall of Wickets (Kolkata Knight Riders):
1. 0/1 (0.1 ov) Manoj Tiwary, 2. 0/2 (0.4 ov) Sourav Ganguly, 3. 31/3 (4.4 ov) Cheteshwar Pujara, 4. 31/4 (5.1 ov) Brad Hodge

Bowling	O	M	R	W	Econ
Chaminda Vaas	3	1	22	2	7.33
RP Singh	4	0	35	1	8.75	(w 3)
Jaskaran Singh	4	0	35	1	8.75	(w 1)
Pragyan Ojha	4	0	19	0	4.75
Andrew Symmonds	4	0	26	0	6.50	(w 2)
Tirumalsetti Suman	1	0	16	0	16.00	(nb 1)

Power Play: 1-6

Deccan Chargers Innings			R	B	4s	6s	SR
	Adam Gilchrist (C)(W)	c Manoj Tiwary b B Hodge	54	35	3	3	154.29
	VVS Laxman	c & b Murali Kartik	22	14	2	1	157.14
	Herchelle Gibbs	c A Mathews b C Langeveldt	19	24	2	0	79.17
	Andrew Symmonds	c S Ganguly b Ishant Sharma	5	9	0	0	55.56
	Rohit Sharma	c B Hodge b Angelo Mathews	13	12	2	0	108.33
	Anirudh Singh	c & b Laxmi Shukla	14	14	1	0	100.00
	Tirumalsetti Suman	Not Out	7	9	1	0	77.78
	Chaminda Vaas	b Charl Langeveldt	0	1	0	0	0
	Jaskaran Singh	Not Out	4	4	0	0	100.00
	RP Singh
	Pragyan Ojha
	Extras	(b 4,lb 1,w 5, nb 2)	12
	Total	(7 wickets; 20 overs)	150	(7.50 runs per over)

Fall of Wickets (Deccan Chargers) -
1. 61/1 (5.5 ov) VVS Laxman, 2. 9/2 (11.1 ov) Adam Gilchrist, 3. 102/3 (12.2 ov) Herschelle Gibbs, 4. 116/4 (14.1 ov) Andrew Symonds, 5. 128/5 (16.2 ov) Rohit Sharma, 6. 141/6 (17.6 ov) Anirudh Singh, 7. 142/7 (18.3 ov) Chaminda Vaas

Bowling	O	M	R	W	Econ
Charl Langeveldt	4	0	26	2	6.50	(w 3)
Ishant Sharma	4	0	31	1	7.75	(nb 1, w 1)
Laxmi Shukla	3	0	30	1	10.00
Murali Kartik	3	0	17	1	5.67
Angelo Mathews	4	0	27	1	6.75	(nb 1, w 1)
Brad Hodge	2	0	14	1	7.00

Power Play: 1-6
Series: India Premier League T20 Series 2010
Venue: Dr DY Patil Stadium, Mumbai
Date: Friday, March 12, 2010
Umpires: Rudi Koertzen (SA),Russell Tiffin (ZIM) and Brian Jerling (SA)
Referee: Andy Pycroft (ZIM)
Man of the match: Angelo Mathews
Toss – Deccan Chargers have won the toss and elected to BOWL first.
Teams
Hyderabad: Adam Gilchrist (C) (W), Herschelle Gibbs, Andrew Symonds, VVS Laxman, Rohit Sharma, Anirudh Singh, Tirumalsetti Suman, Jaskaran Singh, Chaminda Vaas, RP Singh, Pragyan Ojha
Kolkata: Sourav Ganguly (C), Brad Hodge, Cheteshwar Pujara, Manoj Tiwary, Owais Shah, Angelo Mathews, Wriddhiman Saha (W), Laxmi Shukla, Murali Kartik, Charl Langeveldt, Ishant Sharma

IPL-2010

IPL 2010 Preview - Deccan Chargers

Team Owner: Deccan Chronicle

Deccan Chronicle is a Hyderabad-based media organization, involved primarily in printing and publishing newspapers, and periodicals along with advertisement services. Established in 1938 Deccan Chronicle is the number one daily in Andhra Pradesh and the fourth most read English daily in India.  It enjoys the readership of more than a million people within the world.  It is also the only Indian newspaper with an international edition from London.  Deccan Chronicle’s venture into the Chennai market produced spectacular results within three months of its launch in March 2005 as it took over more than half the market share of the English dailies. 

The media group acquired the Hyderabad-based franchise from the IPL for $107 million on January 24, 2008. Later, another media group, Group M India picked up a 20 percent stake in the franchise.

Squad: Adam Gilchrist (Captain & wicket-keeper), Harmeet Singh, Bodapati Sumanth, Azhar Bilakhia, Herschelle Gibbs, Ryan Harris, VVS Laxman, Mitchell Marsh, Monish Mishra, Pragyan Ojha, Kemar Roach, Ashish Reddy, Venugopal Rao, Rohit Sharma, Rahul Sharma, Anirudh Singh, RP Singh, Dwayne Smith, Tirumalasetti Suman, Andrew Symonds, Ravi Teja, Chaminda Vaas, Arjun Yadav

Coach: Darren Lehmann

The Australian World Cup-winning cricketer replaced former India cricketer and fielding coach Robin Singh ahead of the 2009 season. It was a move inspired by the change in leadership and it worked wonders. Adam Gilchrist and Darren Lehmann played together for long and the franchise administration’s belief in the paring opened the pathway to success for them.

Playing in India after the South African sojourn last year will be a new challenge. Lehmann played for the Rajasthan Royals in the first season of the IPL and he enjoyed success then under Shane Warne, so he will know a trick or two for success in the sub-continent as well.

2009 Record: IPL Champions
2008 Record: Eighth

From one end of the spectrum to another, that is how anyone would describe the Deccan Chargers in the two seasons of IPL so far. The first season was nothing much to write home about except that this team was perhaps the biggest disappointment in the history of cricket where eleven players have been randomly been chosen to form a team. With the likes of Gilchrist, Gibbs, Styris, Symonds, Afridi and Vaas in the side, they were expected to steamroll one opposition after another. But all they could bring home were two wins and a lot of questions to be answered for the most expensively assembled team in the competition.

A change in administration, support staff and leadership along with change in host nation brought them some much needed cheer and luck as it turns out. When they started the second season under Adam Gilchrist in South Africa, they were unbeaten in their first four games and many saw them as contenders early. A mid-season slump meant that instead of topping the league charts they only ended up fourth and just about qualified for the semi-finals, ahead of Kings XI Punjab on run-rate.

Once in the knock-outs though, they were a team transformed as Gilchrist’s 85 off 35 balls took care of the Delhi Dare Devils and a spirited effort in the final helped them trump the other high flying team of the tournament, Bangalore Royal Challengers. No one though begrudged Gilchrist and his men the victory deserving their efforts.

Strengths & Weaknesses:

Their biggest strength continues to be their batting line-up. VVS Laxman was said to be the one weak link there but his performances in South Africa last year combined with his experiences in the English county circuit have more than made up for his shortcomings. He now plays the pivotal role in the innings while the likes of Adam Gilchrist, Herschelle Gibbs, Andrew Symonds and Rohit Sharma have the license to go after the bowling.

Symonds and Gibbs are two big names for them who haven’t yet produced the magic that we know they can. They have had the odd innings which lit up the games but a consistent run of good form throughout the tournament is what is being asked of these two fantastic players. Gilchrist got his last time around ending the highest run getter with 495 runs.

Their bowling really clicked in the helpful conditions in Africa but this year’s tournament may reveal more weak areas this time around. RP Singh was the Purple Cap winner with 23 wickets to his name but this time around he is not in the same kind of rhythm and form, while the Indian wickets can be a back breaker for any bowler in the T20 game. Chaminda Vaas is now slower than most but has lost none of his guile though it remains to be seen how much of him they will use.

The one player the Deccan Chargers will miss this time round is Fidel Edwards. The West Indian fast bowler did good damage with the ball in South Africa but injury will keep him out this time around. In that sense, their new purchase at this year’s auction should be an ideal replacement. In his short stint in international cricket, Kemar Roach has made a name for himself and the best we know of him is when he rattled the Australian captain Ricky Ponting with his pace earlier in the winter. A repeat performance in the IPL will raise his and his team’s stock much higher.

Their home matches will not be played in Hyderabad due to political problems but in Vishakhapatnam, Cuttack and Nagpur. Now that is good in two ways – one, the teams hasn’t had much luck in Hyderabad in the first IPL season or even in the 2009 Champions League T20. So a change of locale should suit them just like last year. And two, the pitch at Hyderabad is one of the best batting pitches in the country. Playing elsewhere would afford their spinners much more turn and Pragyan Ojha will be rubbing his hands in glee at the prospect. 

IPL 2010 Preview - Royal Challengers Bangalore

Team Owner: Vijay Mallya


The Bangalore-based UB Group is a corporation of diverse companies having a sharp focus on the brewery and alcoholic beverages industry. Under the chairmanship of Vijay Mallya, the group has flourished into a conglomerate of over 60 companies in India and abroad. In India, they market most of its beer under the name Kingfisher, which is also the name of their domestic-cum-international airlines. Apart from being a dogged businessman, he also has a passion for cars and sports, especially Formula One and horse-racing. He is the first Indian to own a Formula One team, Force India.

The Bangalore franchise of the IPL was won by Vijay Mallya, who paid USD111.6 million for it in the auction held in 2007. It was the second highest bid for a franchise, next only to Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries' bid of $111.9 million for the Mumbai team.

Squad: Anil Kumble (captain), KP Apanna, Balachandra Akhil, Mark Boucher (wicket-keeper), Rahul Dravid, Dillon Du Preez, Sreevats Goswami, Jacques Kallis, Virat Kohli, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Praveen Kumar, Vinay Kumar, Abhimanyu Mithun, Eoin Morgan, Manish Pandey, Kevin Pietersen, Steven Smith, S Sriram, Dale Steyn, Ross Taylor, Robin Uthappa, Roelof Van Der Merwe, Cameron White.

Coach: Ray Jennings

Ray Jennings's career as a keeper-batsman almost entirely spanned South Africa's year of isolation. He was South Africa's number one choice behind the stumps for more than a decade, but limited to only 14 appearances for his country against rebel touring sides. When South Africa returned to the fold he was expected to be handed the gloves, even though he was then 38, as much as a reward for his service as anything, but the selectors opted to pick Dave Richardson.

Jennings, a fitness fanatic and disciplinarian, started coaching at Gauteng before moving to Easterns and from there to South Africa A. His appointment as South Africa's coach came in October 2004, surprising many as he had a reputation as speaking too bluntly for some of a more sensitive nature which has more than once landed him in hot water. He didn’t have a very successful stint with them and after the first season disaster replaced Martin Crowe as the coach of this IPL franchise, where he has had much better results.

2009 Record: Runners-up    
2008 Record: Seventh
Their story so far in the IPL has been no less exciting than the eventual 2009 champions Deccan Chargers. They had gotten off to the worst start possible in 2008. They were not only defeated on the ground but in a way humiliated on their home turf when Kolkata Knight Riders’ Brendon McCullum (158 not out off 73 balls) ground them into submission in the first ever IPL game. It was a crushing blow from which they really couldn’t recover and there were problems galore during the tournament’s course as they managed only four wins to finish a lowly seventh. Only one of their frontline batsmen, skipper Rahul Dravid managed to score more than 300 runs in the tournament and they had to even bench their costliest foreign player, Jacques Kallis, due to his poor form. The failure incensed owner Vijay Mallya so much that he announced a host of changes for the second season.

In South Africa last year, they started well with a win in their first game under new captain Kevin Pietersen but a string of four losses meant that they were once again staring at an early exit from contention. That is when Pietersen had to leave for England duty and Anil Kumble became their third captain in two seasons. Kumble’s intensity had an immediate impact on the team as they won seven out of their remaining nine games to finish third in the league and qualify for the semis.

In the semi-final, they shocked 2008 finalist Chennai Super Kings by six wickets and were well on their way in the final as well, having restricted Deccan Chargets to just 143 in their twenty overs. But the pressure of the chase got to them and they ended runners-up by a mere 6 runs. Even so, Vijay Mallya couldn’t have been happier with his team’s performance.

Strengths & Weaknesses: 

A major headache awaits Anil Kumble and Ray Jennings when they sit to pick their first choice eleven. It is a problem of plenty and not a bad one to have unless it affects the balance of the side, which is exactly the point here. The foreign players for this side are all match winners in their right and it will be a major riddle to select the best four out of them. Sample this list: Jacques Kallis, Ross Taylor, Roelef Van der Merwe, Mark Boucher, Dale Steyn, Dillon Du Preez, Steven Smith and Cameron White. And this list doesn’t include Kevin Pietersen, new signing Eoin Morgan and Jesse Ryder. While the first two will be away for most part due to international duties, the Kiwi is out injured.

Even so, selecting four of those remaining names means that the balance of the side will be seriously tinkered with every time they have to make a change. This will place a lot of onus on the Indian players, young and old. And unless the whole equation comes out right, they will struggle to find the right combination on the Indian pitches. Why are pitches important here? Because playing in South Africa allowed their foreign players to have a bigger say in the scheme of things than they did in the first season.

Jacques Kallis and Ross Taylor especially were changed players. Though Taylor might yet again fire in the batting friendly conditions here again in India, Kallis may struggle a bit with his bowling. The other question mark pertaining to him is whether he can regain his touch with the bat from last year when it seemed he could do no wrong as a 33-year-old T20 player.

And so the pressure to perform will be high on the likes of Robin Uthappa, Manish Pandey, Virat Kohli, Praveen Kumar, Abhimanyu Mithun, Vinay Kumar and Sreevats Goswami. A couple of these players have had a brilliant domestic season, Kohli has been making waves on the ODI scene but again the untested ones remain a problem. Rahul Dravid and Kumble were exceptional last year and so they would have to be this season as well. With their age, form and fitness again a bit of a talking point, it remains to be seen if the Bangalore Royal Challengers can go one better than last time.