ESPNcricinfo previews the 11th match of IPL 2012 between Delhi Daredevils and Chennai Super Kings in Delhi

The Preview by Devashish Fuloria09-Apr-2012

Match facts

Tuesday, April 10, Delhi
Start time 2000 (1430 GMT)

Big picture

Delhi Daredevils have played Chennai Super Kings twice at the Feroz Shah Kotla, and both times the Daredevils have posted imposing totals (187 and 185), only for the Super Kings to overhaul them. The Daredevils’ overall record at their home ground isn’t impressive either – they have lost 13 of their 23* games here.But when they take the field on Tuesday, the Daredevils will be relieved to have Mahela Jayawardene and Kevin Pietersen joining them. Both batsmen were in good form in the recently concluded Test series and should find a place in the playing XI that appeared a bit low on ammunition in Bangalore. At the bowling front, Umesh Yadav, who had a bout of cramps in the last game, is available for selection and will add sting to the attack with Morne Morkel and Doug Bracewell. If Irfan Pathan can support the trio with his swing bowling, this line-up has the ability to spice up even a slow pitch at the Kotla.Super Kings struggled in their first game against Mumbai Indians but found their groove against Deccan Chargers. Their well-oiled batting artillery has power hitters all the way down to No.8. However, MS Dhoni hasn’t hit a boundary in the first two matches and he is due for some big shots in this game.The match has the potential of turning into a bat-out, however, the subplot – a contest between Daredevils’ pace attack and Super Kings’ slow bowlers – could be just as interesting to watch.

Players to watch

Mahela Jayawardene scored 354 runs in the two Test matches against England and he brings that form and ability to score quickly with nimble shots. Besides bringing solidity to the team, Jayawardene’s presence could help Virender Sehwag relax.R Ashwin has bowled seven overs for 32 runs in his last two games for Super Kings without a wicket. As a lead spinner, he has been economical, but with big names in the opposition, will he rise to the challenge?

2011 head-to-head

Last year, the two teams played each other only once, in Chennai, where a Dhoni onslaught (63 off 31 balls) helped the Super Kings beat a Sehwag-less Daredevils by 18 runs.

Stats and trivia

• Suresh Raina has hit 79 sixes in his IPL career, which is second behind Adam Gilchrist’s 83.
• Virender Sehwag’s strike rate of 169.15 is the highest in IPL, six points more than Chris Gayle’s.
• Super Kings lead Daredevils in the head-to-head 4-3.
• Daredevils’ home record is the second-worst, after Deccan Chargers.
  

  Quotes

  “I know the Delhi Daredevils fans would have liked the Colombo Test to end in three or four days so that we could play last night’s [April 7] game against Royal Challengers Bangalore. But KP and I had other ideas.”

  “I try to think what the batsman might want to do before each delivery. But I’ll stick to bowling flat and quick. Taking wickets in one match doesn’t mean I will suddenly start tossing up the ball.”
  *Includes three Champions League matches

Half-centuries from Tom Maynard and Zafar Ansari helped Surrey maintain their winning start to the CB40 as they overcame Durham by 60 runs at The Oval.

20-May-2012
ScorecardZafar Ansari boosted Surrey’s total with a brisk 60•PA Photos

Half-centuries from Tom Maynard and Zafar Ansari helped Surrey maintain their winning start to the CB40 as they overcame Durham by 60 runs at The Oval.After winning the toss and electing to bat Surrey were in trouble on 47 for 3 – with Mitchell Claydon taking all three wickets in 12 balls – but Maynard’s 77 steadied the ship and Ansari’s unbeaten 60 helped the hosts to 221 for 7.Durham lost wickets at regular intervals to undermine their chase and they were all out for 161, with Jade Dernbach, Stuart Meaker, Matthew Spriegel and Gareth Batty claiming two wickets apiece.The win was the third of the campaign for Surrey, the defending CB40 champions, and keeps them top of Group B, while Durham slipped to their first defeat.Steven Davies, Rory Hamilton-Brown and Jason Roy all made bright starts, but Claydon left the hosts reeling. Davies, attempting to cut, was caught behind and two overs later, Hamilton-Brown was bowled on the walk, trying to repeat the stroke that had just brought him a boundary off Graham Onions. In the eighth over, Roy crunched two successive fours off Claydon, who had his revenge when he found some extra bounce and the 21-year-old batsman edged behind.Maynard added 58 in tandem with Zander de Bruyn but, in the space of four balls, de Bruyn was bowled through the gate by Gareth Breese and Spriegel was undone by a turning delivery from Scott Borthwick. Maynard then joined forces with Ansari, putting on 85 in 15 overs for the sixth wicket. Having taken the batting powerplay at start of the 34th over, Surrey added 62 runs in the final six overs.Maynard eventually went, caught low down at extra cover off Onions for a magnificent 77 off 94 balls, though not before Ansari had lifted Claydon over midwicket for six. Ansari then took charge, bringing up a 51-ball half-century, which he celebrated by pulling Onions for a maximum and finished unbeaten on 60 off 55 deliveries.In reply, Durham lost Phil Mustard, miscuing Dernbach to Roy at mid-off, in the third over. Ben Stokes swung Meaker over backward square leg for six only to be stumped off Spriegel, who struck again four overs later when Mark Stoneman was caught down the leg side to make it 59 for three.Without taking any undue risks, Gordon Muchall and Paul Collingwood combined to add 61 in 14 overs. But the pendulum swung in Surrey’s favour in the 28th over when Collingwood was bowled for 32, looking to sweep off-spinner Batty.With Will Smith playing on to Jade Dernbach and Muchall picking out Maynard at long-on off Batty having made 41, the visitors were left needing 89 off the last nine overs.Things went from bad to worse for Durham when Breese had to retire hurt with an injury to his right ankle. Liam Plunkett defiantly launched Dernbach straight back over his head for six, but ran out of partners when Meaker bowled both Onions then Claydon.

The PCB has hired a psychologist Maqbool Babri to help banned fast bowler Mohammad Amir with his rehabilitation

Umar Farooq09-Jun-2012The PCB has hired a psychologist to help banned fast bowler Mohammad Amir with his rehabilitation. Amir was released from jail in February after serving half of his six-month sentence for his role in the spot-fixing scam and was banned from cricket till 2015 by an ICC tribunal.The PCB is keen to welcome Amir back to top-flight cricket once he has served his ICC ban. The PCB chairman Zaka Ashraf has been insisting that Amir would be given financial support while undergoing rehabilitation.”A psychologist, namely (Maqbool) Babri, has been hired for Amir,” PCB director education Wasim Bari told ESPNcricinfo. “PCB has been planning for his educational programme and is starting with the psychologist to support him after the fallout of the spot-fixing scam.”He will have sessions as a part of his psychological rehabilitation and later will decide his further educational programme,” Bari said. “The influence of the incident obviously added some ill feelings and memories with Amir that need to be sorted out to give him a fresh state of mind.” He didn’t reveal the duration of the programme or when it starts.Soon after Amir’s release from jail, he decided not to appeal against the ICC’s ban before the Court of Arbitration for Sport. The ICC advised him to undergo a rehabilitation programme, and recently he appeared in an educational video on behalf of the ICC’s Anti-Corruption and Security Unit.The PCB arranged a rehab programme starting with Babri, who will be a familiar face for Amir. Babri, a psychotherapist and a certified clinical hypnotherapist, had earlier been hired during Pakistan’s conditional camp in 2009 before their victorious World Twenty20 campaign.”It’s a challenge for me but I will do my best to counsel Amir so that he can find his way back to international cricket,” Babri told . “Amir is an exceptional talent and we must help him regain his place.”

Ian Bell continued his excellent recent form with a half-century at Edgbaston as he returned to red-ball cricket

Jon Culley at Edgbaston12-Jul-2012
ScorecardSteve Magoffin eventually forced a mistake after Ian Bell had made a half-century•Getty Images

Seven of the last 12 days of scheduled cricket at Edgbaston had been complete washouts, including four days of international cricket, so in a summer in which spectators have been grateful for any entertainment, the 65 overs possible before another wet weather front announced its arrival were well received, not least because they contained more evidence of the wonderful form in which England’s Ian Bell currently finds himself.The only disappointment was that it amounted only to 57 runs, ending unexpectedly with a mistimed pull that went straight to the fielder at midwicket. The ball before had been driven past mid-off with superb timing, bringing him his 10th boundary, but Steve Magoffin, Sussex’s Australian seamer, then served up a shorter delivery, effectively a long hop. It should have been despatched but perhaps Bell was taken a little by surprise.Nonetheless, Bell had served his own purpose, which was to keep himself ticking over ahead of next week’s opening Test against South Africa. After a run of six scores of 53 or above in eight innings, including the brilliant 126 at the start of the one-day series against West Indies, he has hardly looked a batsman in need of practice and was given the option to miss this match, in common with his clubmate, Jonathan Trott, who chose to rest.But Bell took the view that form against the white ball is not necessarily the same as form against the red ball and decided to play, which was all the more commendable given that his wife, Chantal, who is expecting their first child, had a morning appointment to undergo a routine ultrasound scan that he also wanted to attend. In the event, aided by a 12 noon start, he was able to do both.”It’s all down the individual, whatever gets you in the right frame of mind for a Test match,” he said. “With the weather we have had it is good to get any time in the middle. I have been feeling in good nick and I just want to keep that going.”I’ve never felt that nets give me the best preparation for a Test match. I don’t know whether that makes me a bit old school but I always feel that if I can get 50 in the middle it gets me in a better place than a hundred nets. If we go to The Oval and we have to train indoors, say, at least I’ve got this under my belt.”It was a bit of a scramble getting here. I didn’t arrive on the ground until half an hour before the start and Jim Troughton was ready to go in at three if necessary. But Ashley Giles and Jim were brilliant. They said to take all the time I needed and slot in where I could, but it worked out well in the end.”It took Bell a while, in the event, to shake off his one-day instincts, as Monty Panesar discovered when his erstwhile England colleague went down the pitch to him twice in his first few deliveries. Panesar had been bowling well, as he has for much of the season, and it looked as though Bell wanted to take an aggressive approach, perhaps to knock the left-armer out of his rhythm.In fact, Bell had to fight against himself, to rein himself in, but it did make for entertaining viewing and Panesar’s figures took something of a hit as a result.Troughton, as captain, would have been pleased to be 175 for 3. His decision to bat first, given that the field has taken so much water, looked to be a slight gamble, but Varun Chopra and Will Porterfield batted sensibly and had put on 66 before the latter, looking well set, was leg before to Panesar, playing back to a ball that skidded through the rough.James Anyon and Naved Arif Gondal struggled with their line for Sussex but Magoffin was dangerous and Panesar tight and challenging. He had Chopra well tied down at one stage and claimed him as his second victim just after lunch. Chopra seemed unhappy with umpire Steve Gale’s leg before verdict, perhaps thinking he was too well forward, but these days the benefit of the doubt is less readily awarded.

Cricket Australia chief James Sutherland has said Australia will ‘need to adjust to’ the conditions in the UAE for their upcoming series against Pakistan, but the adjustment they must make will not be ‘that significant’

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Jul-2012Cricket Australia (CA) chief executive James Sutherland has said Australia will ‘need to adjust to’ the conditions in the UAE for their upcoming series against Pakistan, but the required adjustment will not be ‘that significant’.Australia are set to play three Twenty20s and three ODIs in the UAE in in August and September, with the matches beginning in the late evening to avoid the worst of the daytime heat. The heat and the decision to start the one-dayers at 6pm – meaning the scheduled finish is 1.45am – continue to be an issue with the Australian Cricketers’ Association (ACA) though.”It’ll be hot, but the sun’s not going to be shining and that’s probably the really important factor there,” Sutherland told . “In terms of the hours, it’s not ideal but at the same time it’s just an adjustment that the players will need to [make]. It’s the same for both teams.”There are many people in the world who work different hours and these will be different hours for our players, unconventional hours for cricket perhaps. But the game’s only going a couple of hours later than it would ordinarily, so I’m not sure that adjustment is really that significant.”CA officials will visit the UAE next week, to assess the conditions. There had been much debate over the actual make-up of the series, which is a ‘home’ series for Pakistan. The ACA had expressed its concerns about playing ODIs in such hot weather, prompting the series to be changed to a six-match Twenty20 affair, which was approved by the ICC in June. However, the PCB then approached the Australian board, putting forward a request to review the composition of the series once again. ESPNcricinfo understands that the series’ broadcaster had objected to six Twenty20s for commercial reasons. The new schedule was announced by the PCB earlier this month.The venue of the series had also been an issue. It was initially scheduled to be played in Sri Lanka but Pakistan were forced to search for an alternate venue after Sri Lanka backed out in May, citing the clash in the dates with the inaugural Sri Lanka Premier League.

India’s openers performed far better against Zimbabwe than they did against West Indies, setting up a platform for a match-winning total

The Report by George Binoy in Townsville14-Aug-2012
ScorecardKamal Passi’s all-round show was one of the highlights of India’s win•ICC/Getty

India’s openers performed far better against Zimbabwe than they did against West Indies, setting up a platform for a match-winning score despite a middle-order slowdown at Tony Ireland Stadium. In a match they had to win to stay in theUnder-19 World Cup, Unmukt Chand and Prashant Chopra delivered a 139-run partnership, and a last-over thrash from medium-pacer Kamal Passi converted an average total into a competitive one.Passi carried the momentum from his five-ball 24 through the lunch break and into his bowling, taking the first four wickets to fall during a six-over spell thatseverely set back the Zimbabwe chase. At 30 for 4 in the 12th over, there was too much lost ground to recover, and although allrounder Malcolm Lake scored a century that gave India a scare, he had no support and Zimbabwe were dismissed 63 runs short. Passi returned to take two important wickets during the final ten overs, finishing with 6 for 23.India made two changes to their XI from after the loss to West Indies. Left-arm spinner Harmeet Singh was unwell and medium-pacer Rush Kalaria was left out. Their spots went to Passi and Ravikant Singh, the third seam bowler. Chand lost the toss once again and Zimbabwe chose to bowl on a fresh pitch, the one closest to the grandstand. It meant one square boundary was significantly shorter than the other.Zimbabwe’s new-ball bowlers, Kyle Bowie and Curthbert Musoko, didn’t have the pace to harry the India openers and they pitched too full too often. Chand was able to drive his first ball, from Bowie, to the cover boundary. Chopra began more slowly, getting his eye in before cutting a short ball from Musoko to the point fence.Unlike against Ronsford Beaton and the other West Indians, India’s openers were able to come on to the front foot, and were also given width when the length was short. The powerful drives and cuts began to flow and after ten overs, India were 56 for 0 with 12 fours, 11 on the off side, one on the leg. In the 11th, Chand upper cut Luke Jongwe, as soon as he came on to bowl, over the shorter point boundary. In the 20th, he hoisted Musoko on to the top of the grass banks beyond the wide long-on boundary to take India to 115 for 0.Both openers made half-centuries, Chand off 46 balls and Chopra off 70, and it wasn’t until Zimbabwe brought on their fourth bowler, Lake, that they got a breakthrough. Lake caught a skier off his own bowling after Chopra top-edged a pull against the short ball. Chand fell in the 30th over, lofting the legspinner Peacemore Zimwa to long-off, and India slowed down drastically after that.Lake continued to keep the batsmen in their crease with his length and Campbell Light, who was introduced only in the 40th over, dismissed three more batsmen with short balls. India were only 237 for 5 at the start of the final over, for which Musoko replaced Light, and lost Vijay Zol to its first ball.Passi took guard and then began to swing at everything. He made good contact too. The ball disappeared to the midwicket and fine-leg boundary repeatedly and that flourish brought 24 runs.Forty-five minutes later, Passi was in action again. He got Kevin Kasuza to edge a short ball to the wicketkeeper, bowled Massasire with a full one that swung, had Matthew Bentley caught behind with a bouncer, and Ryan Burl pulling to the man at deep midwicket. His first spell was 7-1-15-4.After Passi left centre stage, Lake occupied it, single-handedly reviving a cause that was almost lost by the 14th over. A left-hand batsman, Lake stayed firm at one end, adding 87 runs for the fifth wicket, with Luke Jongwe, to give Zimbabwe hope. Jongwe was run out in the 32nd over, though, and Lake sat on his haunches in disappointment. He stepped it up after that, hitting four fours and two sixes in the 36th and 37th overs. Sandeep Sharma, however, bounced back from that beating by dismissing Mayavo in a two-run over, leaving Zimbabwe needing 94 in 12 overs with three wickets left.As he began to run out of partners, Lake tried to farm the strike as well, but the task ahead of him was too much for one person. Passi, in the first over of his second spell, trapped Bowie lbw for a first-ball duck, and in his next had Lake caught at cover. The two best performers from each team had the final say in the game.

Despite declarations from both teams to try and force a result, the first unofficial Test between New Zealand A and India A in Lincoln ended in a draw

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Sep-2012
ScorecardDespite declarations from both teams to try and force a result, the first unofficial Test between New Zealand A and India A in Lincoln ended in a draw. India needed two wickets and New Zealand 41 runs from a maximum of 20 overs, when play was called off due to bad light.India, from an overnight 132 for 2, got to 208 for 4, before declaring just over an hour into the day’s play. That meant New Zealand needed 314 from a maximum of 82 overs. First-innings centurion Tom Latham could not fire again in the chase, but a 149-run between George Worker and Neil Broom meant the hosts were in relative control at 169 for 1. However, once Jaydev Unadkat had Broom caught on 72, India struck with regularity to get back into the game. New Zealand lost seven wickets for the next 101 runs in 19 overs, to be reduced to fighting for survival. Vinay Kumar was the pick of the India bowlers, taking 3 for 47 in a tight spell.The second unofficial Test will be played from Wednesday, at the same venue.

Four former cricketers resigned from their administrative positions in the Mumbai Cricket Association yesterday

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Oct-2012Four former cricketers resigned from their administrative positions in the Mumbai Cricket Association yesterday. The list includes selector Milind Rege, and MCA’s Cricket Improvement Committee (CIC) members Balwinder Singh Sandhu, Nilesh Kulkarni and Karsan Ghavri.Former Mumbai cricketer Rege, who has been an MCA selector since 1980s, was reportedly not happy with the MCA’s decision to appoint Abey Kuruvilla as the chairman of the senior selection committee. Kuruvilla’s name was recently proposed by the MCA for the post of national selector, but BCCI appointed Sandeep Patil from the West Zone.”Why did they make me chairman [last season]?” Rege said in . “When your agenda is not Mumbai cricket and something else, then there is no point in continuing. The selection process was being questioned – this I have never experienced. When there is no respect and only humiliation, then it is time to go.”Rege said he doesn’t aspire to become a national selector and therefore his focus is only on Mumbai cricket.Sandhu, Kulkarni and Ghavri also resigned saying that the purpose of the CIC was not being served. “I was contemplating [resignation] for some time, but was hoping things would improve. It didn’t happen and that’s why I resigned,” Sandhu said.Kulkarni said that he gave his best for Mumbai cricket but was not happy in the current MCA environment.

JP Duminy, the injured South Africa middle-order batsman, has wished his successor well for the rest of the tour of Australia

Firdose Moonda12-Nov-2012JP Duminy, the injured South Africa middle-order batsman, has wished his successor well for the rest of the tour of Australia. Duminy will be out of action for three to six months after rupturing his left Achilles’ tendon and will be likely be replaced by either Faf du Plessis, Dean Elgar or specialist wicketkeeper Thami Tsolekile in the starting XI.”I’d tell them to just to take the opportunity with both hands,” Duminy said in Brisbane, where his surgery was deemed a success. “These sorts of opportunities don’t come around often and you’ve got to make the most of them. They are quality players, they’ve proven themselves on the domestic scene and they definitely deserve their position. Whoever gets the opportunity, I’m sure they will do this team good.”Duminy’s words of wisdom come from personal experience. He was handed a Test debut during South Africa’s 2008-09 tour of Australia when Ashwell Prince broke his hand on the eve of the first Test. Duminy scored a half-century in South Africa’s chase of 414 and followed it up with a 166 at the MCG to win the series.His other chances have also come through injury to another player. In New Zealand, in March, Duminy made his Test comeback after Jacques Kallis was ruled out with a stiff neck. He responded with a century. In July, Duminy was handed a more regular spot when Mark Boucher had to retire after an eye injury and Duminy was named the No. 7 batsman. He scored a gritty 61 at Lord’s in South Africa’s rise to No. 1 in the world.With his success, he understands a replacement could have the same experience but is hopeful of a comeback next year. “It is a bit of a setback for me but I’ve still got a long career ahead,” he said. “I’m pretty positive about these things. Over the next four to six month months, it’s about me putting in the hard work and making sure I come back to full strength. The last few months have been a really good part of my career and hopefully on my return, I can follow up on that.”Duminy was in a particularly purple patch after the tour of England, was fitter than he had ever been and recognised as a team-man by his colleagues. Such was the faith in his ability that he was going to be trusted to be the only spin option at the first Test at the Gabba, despite being a part-timer, as South Africa left out Imran Tahir.He ended up playing no part in the match as the top-order batted out day one and he was injured in the after-play warm-downs. “It was a bit freakish,” he said while recalling the incident. “I like to get out after a days’ play and get the blood flowing in the legs a bit. A few of us were doing shuttles and some run through and unfortunately on one of the turns, I turned pretty quickly and the Achilles’ snapped.”Initially I thought a ball hit me on the back of the foot or somebody slapped me with something because I heard a bit of a click sound. But when I turned around and noticed nobody was behind me and I knew something was wrong.”Duminy was carried off the field by bowling coach Allan Donald and physiotherapist Brandon Jackson and taken to hospital immediately where X-rays revealed the extent of the injury. He was operated on on Saturday morning and released the next day. He is still in Brisbane and attended the fourth day’s play but will return home to Cape Town over the weekend.”I am feeling a bit more jetlagged than before actually,” Duminy said. “But the surgery went well and the doctors were quite pleased with the way things went. Now, it’s just about me getting used to a long recovery period.”

Saeed Ajmal and the Adelaide Strikers will be the chief beneficiaries of the Pakistan board’s decision to allow their players limited participation in the BBL

Daniel Brettig in Adelaide20-Nov-2012Saeed Ajmal and the Adelaide Strikers will be the chief beneficiaries of the PCB’s decision to allow their players limited participation in the BBL after the Sydney Sixers terminated Umar Akmal’s contract.The Strikers had originally intended to call on Ajmal for only the first game of the tournament and then regain him for the final stages, a plan that remains possible. However the Sixers were unhappy to have Akmal’s original three-game stint cut to one and are now looking elsewhere.Jamie Cox, the director of cricket for the South Australian association, said Ajmal’s re-confirmed availability was a relief after several days of frantic phone-calls trying to keep Pakistan’s No. 1 spinner in the picture for the tournament.”The arrangements work for us at the moment, they work for us better than some of the other sides because we had originally intended for Saeed to be here for the first game anyway,” Cox said. “We’re still working on how that works for the latter end of the tournament, but for them to reverse their decision we’re very grateful.”I know CA have been involved there, which has been great. To have him in our team albeit how brief it turned out to be will be pretty exciting. We’re hoping we can free that up for the back-end of the tournament where hopefully we’re well and truly alive and challenging for the trophy.”Pakistan are at liberty to put out whatever program they like and we understand that’s how it works with international players, but we’re always keen to try and find whether there was an opportunity for him to reconsider and fortunately in this case they have, and we’re very grateful. It’ll hopefully work very well for us.”The PCB had earlier denied permission for Ajmal, Shahid Afridi and Akmal to play in the Big Bash League to ensure their participation in its own local tournament. But, upon Cricket Australia’s request, it reconsidered its stand and allowed them to play the initial stages of the tournament. Due to the scheduling, Akmal was found to be available for just the opening game of Sixers’ campaign.”While it would have been great to have Umar here for the start of the BBL season, the short time frame offered is not in the club’s best interest and we have decided to see if a suitable replacement is available rather than continue down this path,” Stuart Clark, the Sixers’ general manager, was quoted as saying by . “We are confident our strong roster will be able to cover the loss of Umar should we not find a suitable replacement.”