Chennai Will meet Rajasthan Royals in tomorrow’s final in Mumbai.
It was one-sided semi-final but again it’s been down to a team effort. A highly disciplined bowling attack did the job before Parthiv and Raina finished it off. Chennai have now beaten Punjab in all three matches between the two sides and will need to gear up for Rajasthan tomorrow.

No hugs for the Punjab side from Priety today. It’s been a disappointing effort but they can hold their heads high for the consistency they’ve shown through the league phases. They’ve been one of the most balanced sides in the tournament and strung together some fine wins. On the big day, though, it wasn’t to be.
Yuvraj Singh being booed again. This is really not in good taste from the Mumbai crowd. “We had to play well in the first 5 to 7 overs,” he says. “I think it was a good wicket to bat on. We didn’t bat well and didn’t do well under pressure. We’ve had a great tournament, very proud of the boys, especially Shaun Marsh. It’s been a learning experience as a captain. We’ve been the best team in the tournament except against Chennai.”

Dhoni gets the cheers. Mr Popularity. “The bowlers were upto the mark, bowled really well,” he says. “Overall the intensity was good and the batting again got the start we needed. It was a good team effort. Fielding has improved as the tournament as gone on. If I say I don’t feel pressure, I would be lying. If you walk upto a bowler and act is if you’re worried it gets to him. So I act as if I’m not. Around 150 people came from Chennai and we got some good support from the Mumbai crowd too.”

Man-of-the-Match Makhaya Ntini: “So far it’s been a great challenge. I think everyone in Chennai has appreciated that. I have always smiled and don’t show any pressure, make the ball talk. We knew that this wicket is going to be up and down so we needed to hit it as hard as we can. I cannot wait for tomorrow.”

Teams: Kings XI Punjab vs Chennai Super Kings (Semi Final 2)
Venue: Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
Toss: Kings XI Punjab (Elected to bat)
Result: Chennai Super Kings won by 9 wkts
Read the rest of this entry »

After a cracker of a semi-final at Wankhede yesterday between Rajasthan Royals and Delhi Daredevils, the action now shifts to the second semi-final between the Chennai Super kings and the Kings XI Punjab. Yuvraj’s men definitely have the upper hand after a spectacular victory in their last match against Rajasthan Royals - but Chennai are no pushovers and Dhoni and his boys will be ready to topple the mighty Punjab team.

The two teams’ fortunes in the Indian Premier League; While Punjab cruised into the semis, Chennai after a good start haven’t been too convincing enroute.

But Chennai has got the better of Punjab so far, with victories in both the league matches and captain Yuvraj Singh is well aware of the threat.
Read the rest of this entry »

The Rajasthan Royals suffered a blow ahead of the Indian Premier League finals tomorrow with South African batsman and opener Graeme Smith ruled out of the match due to a hamstring injury.
“Unfortunately, he (Smith) is out for tomorrow’s game. We have to make the big decision to make on who will open the innings with Swapnil (Asnodkar),” Rajasthan Royals captain Shane Warne said today at an event organised by Advanced Hair Studio, of which he is a brand ambassador.

“Yunus Khan and Kamran Akmal come to my mind as being likely to open in the finals,” Warne said.
Read the rest of this entry »

Teams: Delhi Daredevils vs Rajasthan Royals
Venue: Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
Toss: Delhi Daredevils (Elected to bat)
Result: Rajasthan Royals Won by 105 runs
Man of the match: Shane Watson
Read the rest of this entry »

Rajasthan are in the finals defeating Delhi Daredevils by huge 105 runs.
Smith and Asnodkar got them off to a cracking start and then Watson and Yusuf provided the big hits towards the middle and the end of the innings. Delhi’s chase hinged on Sehwag and Gambhir but Watson’s opening spell, during which he picked up Delhi’s top three, finished the game as a contest. Warne was a treat to watch, he was turning the ball square and the batsmen had no clue how to counter him.
This was Shane Watson’s match. Imposing himself on the first semi-final, he boosted Rajasthan Royals with an electric fifty before rattling Delhi Daredevils’s top order with an outstanding opening spell. Shane Warne had complained about being deprived of home advantage but his side adjusted perfectly to the conditions at the Wankhede Stadium, putting on the show that illustrated exactly why they have been the stand-out team in the competition.

Delhi were like a side struck with stage fright. Their bowlers were rattled by a brand of unconventional strokeplay - even the peerless Glenn McGrath went wicketless for 38 runs - before their batsmen succumbed against a disciplined attack. Virender Sehwag decision to field may come under scrutiny but Rajasthan’s ruthless efficiency might have steered them to the final either way.

Match facts
Friday, May 30
Start time 20.00 (local), 14.30 (GMT)

The Big Picture
The irony of the Indian Premier League’s first semi-final is that Delhi have Rajasthan to thank for their place in the final four. Stuck on 15 points after 14 matches, Delhi needed Rajasthan to beat Mumbai in Jaipur and only after Mumbai’s final-ball choke was Delhi’s spot secured.

Ironic because Rajasthan have lost to only three teams in the IPL - Punjab, in a dead rubber; Mumbai; and Delhi, their semi-final opponents, in their first match of the tournament. Rajasthan were crushed in that encounter at the Feroz Shah Kotla by nine wickets and 29 balls to spare. They settled scores with Delhi during the home game , but that victory too looked improbable until Shane Watson blitzed 74 off 40 balls.
Read the rest of this entry »

1. Sohail Tanvir (Pakistan/Rajasthan Royals)

Tanvir has undoubtedly been the best bowler in the DLF Indian Premier League so far. Sohail Tanvir has picked up 21 wickets from nine games and is the League’s highest wicket taker. Needless to say, Rajasthan have found a real gem.
Read the rest of this entry »

Virender Sehwag finds himself in a spot of bother ahead of Delhi’s IPL semi-final against Jaipur with the Board of Control for Cricket in India rapping him on the knuckles for comments he made at a press conference soon after Delhi had qualified for the semi-finals.

Niranjan Shah, the board secretary, sent Sehwag an official communication where he made it clear the board was not impressed with Sehwag. “Dear Viru, I wish to draw your attention to your interview in print media advising on selection matters,” Shah began his letter. “You are aware that as a contracted player, you are nor supposed to talk on policy matters of the Board, particularly on selection of the team where you are one of the players eligible for selection.”
Read the rest of this entry »

BCCI chief Sharad Pawar shot down Lalit Modi’s grand plans to have the IPL twice a year and said the crammed ICC calendar leaves no such scope. Days after Modi, the IPL chairman and commissioner, said that from 2011 onwards, he would like to see the IPL twice a year, Pawar categorically dismissed such a possibility. “We have just got one window from the ICC per year. The calendar is ready for next seven years, so there is no scope,” Pawar told a TV channel.

Incidentally, star batsman and Delhi captain Virender Sehwag too is against having two IPLs a year.
Source:PTI