The bomb blasts in Jaipur has cast a shadow of uncertainty over Saturday’s IPL match between the Rajasthan Royals and the Bangalore Royal Challengers in the city. Bangalore have offered to host the game at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.

“We have conveyed our decision to the IPL council,” Martin Crowe, the Bangalore coach, told Cricinfo from Chandigarh, where the rest of the team is currently staying. “The franchises are discussing the issue. A final decision will be made tomorrow. We are going to Delhi tomorrow and will probably head over to Bangalore after a night’s stay in Delhi.”
Read the rest of this entry »

Thrilling match comes to the end when Knight Riders defeats Delhi Daredevils by preventing them to reach small score of 134.Dream debut of Sohaib Akhtar and his magic pace smash Daredevils top batting order which lead devil into the consecutive defeat in IPL.

Shoaib Akhtar made a dramatic IPL debut taking four wickets in a blistering new-ball spell to condemn the Delhi Daredevils to their fourth straight defeat. In what could be a key match in the scramble for a spot in the semi-finals, the Kolkata Knight Riders batting fizzled and they posted only 133 but Shoaib and an inspired fielding effort vindicated captain Sourav Ganguly’s decision to bat first and saw them through to a 23-run win, their third successive triumph.

Read the rest of this entry »

Match No: 35
Teams: Kolkata Knight Riders vs Delhi Daredevils
Venue Eden Gardens, Kolkata
Toss Kolkata Knight Riders (Elected to bat)
 Result: Kolkata Knight Riders won by 23 runs
Man of the Match: Shoaib Akhtar
Read the rest of this entry »

If Ganguly can play T20 he can just about do anything.

Sourav Ganguly has had a chequered career and he has witnessed his fortunes change mercurially barring a prolific spell at the start of his career – his halcyon days lasted from 1996 to 2000 – which was largely stable. He has risen from the ashes at least twice in his career after being rebuffed and that too when no one reckoned he’d make it. Now, after his second resurrection, he seems to have enhanced his repertoire and emerged as a better Test batsman than he ever was. To boot, he clearly is the best T20 batsman among his illustrious Indian team contemporaries strictly - going by his IPL record – except, of course, a certain Sachin Tendulkar.
Read the rest of this entry »

Mr. Mallya has emerged as the most sore looser among all the IPL team owners. But the man can drink to even this dubious distinction as he has enough liquor for perhaps all the joys and afflictions in this world.

His team has firmly ensconced itself at the very bottom of the IPL points table with seven defeats in nine matches. Acres of print and electronic space have been dedicated to strictures of the team’s baffling composition. Now the liquor baron himself has opened a verbal front against his team’s captain, encumbering him with all the blame for the Royal Challenger’s IPL debacle. But then this isn’t the time to play the blame game as the Bangalore Royal Challengers are still playing for pride for that will help them retain some public support.

By washing the Challengers’ dirty Lenin in public, the liquor magnet is sending all the wrong signals to the people who now have one more reason to despise the BRC team. The recent remarks by Vijay Mallya and the Charu-Sharma-pink-slip episode are a colossal PR faux pas. Given Mallya’s glaring lack of public relations virtuosity, I think the team’s PR guy is also terribly out of form. I think Mallya has just reinforced the belief that there is a rift in the side. Also he comes across as a sore looser.
Read the rest of this entry »

Taking advantage of the popularity of Indian Premier League T20, where many players from the Island country are participating, the SriLankan Airlines has announced attractive packages, including match tickets for its travellers.

SriLankan Holidays, the marketing arm of the national carrier, has unveiled packages that include tickets for semi-finals and the final of the IPL, return economy class airfare, star class accommodation with breakfast, hotel transfers, a city tour and fuel taxes.
Read the rest of this entry »

KOLKATA : In an apparent bid to cut cost, the Kolkata Knight Riders team management today “politely” asked five of its players, who are yet to feature in the side’s 14-member squad in any match, to leave the team hotel. ( Watch )

The players are Ranadeb Bose, Cheteshwar Pujara, Sourasish Lahiri, Yashpal Singh and Hokkaido.

One of the players said they were “politely given the option of either staying at the team hotel or going home”.
Read the rest of this entry »

Photo: Cricket.com
New Delhi: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) appointed Appeals Commissioner Sudhir Nanavati has submitted his report on the Harbhajan Singh-S Sreesanth slapgate issue on Tuesday to the cricket board’s Disciplinary Committee.

The Ahmedabad-based lawyer’s 14-page report was prepared after Nanavati recorded statements of Harbhajan, Sreesanth, Match Referee Farokh Engineer and the two on-field umpires - Aleem Dar of Pakistan and India’s Amiesh Saheba.
Read the rest of this entry »

Match No: 35
Teams: Kolkata Knight Riders vs Delhi Daredevils
Time: 8PM IST, 13th may 2008
Venue: Kolkata

Preview-Shoaib likely to debut
This is a crucial match for both teams in their quest to make the Top 4 slots. Kolkata is equal on points with Delhi, but the former is ahead on Net Run Rate. Comeback King Saurav Ganguly has struck form and will be eager to lenghten their mini winning streak of two matches. The Delhi top order batsmen are in good form, but the middle-order of Karthik, de Villiers and Shoaib Malik need to find their touch quickly.
Mini- battles:
A keen contest is likely between Delhi openers Gambhir and Sehwag against their Ranji team-mate Ishant Sharma. Should Shoaib Akthar play this match, Delhi had better watch out for his breakneck speed.
Read the rest of this entry »

Shoib Akhtar Likely to Dubut IPL Match today
Photo: Cricket.com
Kolkata: Delhi Daredevils Coach Greg Shipperd does not think the inclusion of Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar would give any cutting edge to the Kolkata Knight Riders in their Indian Premier League match here on Tuesday.

“Any one in any team could be a match winner in this (Twenty20) format. A fiery spell or a few big hits in an over could well change the complexion of a game. And as far as Shoaib is concerned, I am not sure about his form,” Shipperd told newspersons at the match-eve media meet here on Monday.
Read the rest of this entry »