WE CAN DO IT: DHONI

ON THE EVE OF HIS TEAM’S DEPARTURE, DHONI SAYS THE BOYS ARE WELL-EQUIPPED TO DEFEND THE WORLD T20 CROWN

Mumbai: When India won the ICC World Twenty20 in South Africa, just under two years ago, captain MS Dhoni sported long thick hair, an infectious smile and his eyes radiated hope and optimism. Twenty-one amazing months later, Dhoni has the onerous task of defending the crown.
A lot has happened since then. T20 has evolved and has emerged as the money-making monster that threatens to eat up all the other formats of the game. Cash-rich leagues have cropped up and batsmen and bowlers have got accustomed to innovation and dealing with pressure.
Something else has happened too. Dhoni’s hair is now thinner and dare one say greyer. His beard too has traces of grey. The media, who loved Dhoni’s direct and uninhibited style, now expect well-rehearsed and measured responses from the 27-year-old.
It was evident on Friday too as he addressed the media at a suburban hotel, just a few hours before the team left for England. Excerpts:
How do you rate the team’s chances?
Our team has players who are ideally suited to T20. We have specialist bowlers and the best part is we have part-timers who bowled really well in the IPL. They are all spinners and T20 has been good for spinners since 2007. The options allow me the chance to play an extra seamer if I want to. We are quite confident, but we cannot afford to relax and need to play to our potential.
Will the tag of defending champions drag the team down?
No. The IPL will help us here. The Indian players would have played more T20 games than any other side because of the four-foreigner rule. Our guys are more experienced. They have been thrown in different scenarios by the franchisees and that will enable them to deal with that pressure.
Concerns are being raised about the Indians being a fatigued lot…
If you are an Indian cricketer you get used to playing non-stop cricket. We, in India, have the kind of weather where we can play at least eight months in a year. I made my debut in December 2004 and have been playing non-stop. The important thing is knowing what to do and what not to when you get a break. The players are aware of that and they realize what they should do to sustain at this level for a long period of time.
There’s been a mystery over Zaheer’s injury. What’s the status now?
He is not 100 per cent fit at the moment. But he will get fit by the 2nd or the 3rd. We hope to have him fit by the first match of the tournament. (June 6 vs Bangladesh).
Aren’t you worried about the form of the opening batsmen?
Not at all. Both openers are very talented. It just takes an innings of 20-odd to get back in form. I don’t think they are completely out of form though.
And what about the reserve ‘keeper. Shouldn’t there have been one? What happens if you break down?
(Smiles, sarcastically). Hopefully, I won’t get injured. You need to ask the selectors why there is no reserve wicketkeeper.
Are you happy that India are placed in an easy group (with Bangladesh and Ireland)?
Weren’t we in an easy group in the 50-over format in the 2007 World Cup in West Indies? What happened? We lost to Bangladesh and were out. There is no point in thinking about all this.
From the 2007 ICC World Twenty20 to now, how has the T20 game evolved?
Batsmen have become more innovative and aggressive. Scoops over short fineleg and reverse sweeps to fast bowlers are strokes which you never saw before T20 came about. Captains too have begun taking chances like opening the attack with spinners. Basically, these are gambles. There are other changes too. Batsmen don’t look to hit everything from the first ball, they assess the conditions and play accordingly.
And what about Dhoni, the captain. How has he changed in two years?
I have more grey hair. My beard is greying too!

Kumble tips India to retain T20 title

Former India captain Anil Kumble believes that Test cricket is alive and well, despite the rise in popularity of the game’s shortest format.

“As far as I am concerned Test cricket is the ultimate. I have always looked up to Test players mostly for their skill. I’ve always wanted to play Tests ever since I was a child. Twenty20 cricket is hugely popular now, but I think Test cricket, and in fact all three formats, will survive,” the former India captain said at an even here.

Having steered the Royal Challengers Bangalore into the final of this year’s IPL, Kumble gave credit to the youngsters for their performance.

“When I took charge of the team (from Kevin Pietersen), I told my players ‘let’s go out there and just enjoy the game’. That message helped because we won the next two games,” he said.

ever, felt that they could have performed better against eventual winners the Deccan Chargers in the final at the Wanderers in Johannesburg. “I wouldn’t mind swapping the man of the match trophy with the IPL one. We were a just hit away from winning the title, we were so close.” He also said strategy breaks, introduced after The RCB skipper, how every 10 overs, helped the bowling side more than the batting side. “I brought on my regular bowlers and not non regulars immediately after the breaks for getting wickets.” Kumble also tipped India to retain their title at the World T20 Championships, starting in England on June 5, saying they had the most balanced side and the potential to emerge winners again.

“International cricket is such that you are responsible for your own fitness levels. And it’s the same with every team. But then the wickets and pitches are going to be almost similar to South Africa so it won’t be a problem for them to perform.”

Hyderabad’s new Nizams

In the end the all round strength and combative spirit of Deccan Chargers proved to be the difference.

Chargers beat the Bangalore Royal Challengers by six runs to claim ownership of the glittering IPL Trophy.

With 45 runs required off 41 balls the road looked easy and straight for Bangalore Royal Challengers which was made difficult from the moment Ross Taylor chose to pull a ball that got a bit high on him. Venugopal Rao accepted the catch at deep square leg and off the next delivery Virat Kohli lost his balance and Adam Gilchrist whipped the bails of in a flash. Andrew Symonds in a matter of two balls gave another twist to the final. Full credit to Harmeet Singh for picking two crucial wickets and holding on to an excellent catch under pressure.

If ever there a template can be followed when defending a below par score, following what Deccan Chargers did on Sunday at the Wanderers will not be a bad idea. Coming out from the dug out like men possessed the Chargers put an admirable display in the field. Ryan Harris provided pace and R.P. Singh seam and swing. Jacques Kallis after a few streaky boundaries chopped one on to this stumps. Van der Merwe walking in at three and Manish Pandey under a verbal barrage struck on gamely.

Harris who repeated his maiden over act as against Delhi was struck for two new mighty sixes by Merwe and the heat in the middle intensified.

What the players exchanged will never get the MCC’s approval. Pandey trying to cut a ball close to the stumps nicked to Gilchrist and Merwe after adding another six was flummoxed by Pragyan Ojha who went a little overboard with his celebration.

The match hung on a razor edge at the halfway mark.

Pressure can do strange things even to the most experienced. Rahul Dravid in trying to beat the man at 45 was castled. Ross Taylor ensured the asking rate did not rise by much when he struck Ojha for a six and four. The target ahead was not difficult the key was to keep wickets intact but were unable to.

Anil Kumble did what he had done successfully all his career-stare at the opponent right in the eye. After winning the toss and electing to bowl, Kumble sprang a surprise.

But it was a surprise only for those who didn’t know Kumble. He brought himself on in the first over against Adam Gilchrist. It was the mother of all contests.

against each other. Kumble tossed one up and Gilchrist took the bait and played over the ball. Kumble had handed over the advantage to his team exactly two minutes after play started.

Herschelle Gibbs struggled for timing. T. Suman started well but a leading edge when he closed the bat early ensured Symonds walked in much before he would have expected.

Andrew Two fine leaders

FINALS HYDERABAD VS ROYAL CHALLENGERS JOHANNESBURG

Johannesburg: For the second year in a row, the Indian Premier League was won by a team that had a fairytale run to the title. If it was Team Jaipur that went from underdogs to champs last year, this time it was the turn of a squad that could do nothing right last year, Team Hyderabad, to pull off an amazing turnaround.
Hyderabad rose from rock bottom, shaken and stirred, to pull off a sensational victory in the final here at the Wanderers, thus adding another chapter to the sweet irony of lastyear’s wooden spoon holders. If 2008’s number seven and eight teams were destined to make the final, it was perhaps only apt that the number eight won the title. Knight Riders may well derive some hope for next year.
The IPL ended in spectacular fashion as one IT city barely held off the other in a match that went down to the wire. Defending a mere 143 runs, Adam Gilchrist’s men provided the much needed spark to swing their side’s fortunes in an exceptional manner. Some electric fieldwork by Andrew Symonds, Rohit Sharma and Herschelle Gibbs, excellent left-arm spin from Pragyan Ojha and aggressive captaincy by Gilchrist worked wonders. Gilchrist’s hurricane innings in the semifinal had single-handedly given his team a ticket to the final. On the flip side though, it burdened his team with the expectation of a repeat performance. In retrospect, it seemed like the third ball of Hyderabad’s innings had decided the fate of the final when Gilchrist was clean bowled by Anil Kumble, trying to come down the track and completely missing the line.
Kumble’s genius needs a mention despite his team losing at the end. He reserved his best for the allimportant clash and when it came, his figures of 4-16 from four overs grabbed the opposition by the throat.
After Gilly left, scoring runs became tough hell for a seemingly mentally-subdued side. Herschelle Gibbs batted through the innings, anchoring one end. But there was no acceleration forthcoming from the other end. Andrew Symonds briefly flourished, but Kumble cut his innings short. Rohit Sharma too did his bit, but Hyderabad’s 143/6 seemed barely adequate.

The Challengers began their chase well. with Jaccques Kallis providing a stable start, Roelof van der Merwe’s run-rate boost adding meat to the effort and Ross Taylor indulging in some sensible strokeplay. FINAL HYD VS ROYAL CHALLENGERS HYD RISE LIKE A PHOENIX … End IPL II In A Blaze Of Glory
Johannesburg: To the credit of Team Hyderabad, they did not flinch when faced with a situation in the final of IPL II at the Bull Ring on Sunday.
They did it once before against Mumbai Indians in the league stage when they did well to hold their nerve and they did it again when it mattered the most.
Ball by ball they gained in confidence with each falling wicket just as Royal Challengers dug a hole which they found tough to get out of. A target of 144 from 120 balls came down to 100 from 82, 65 from 48 and the sequence remained in that order till the
end. There was always the need to surge but a vigilant Hyderabad, also a bit lucky, never provided the chance.
Two stumpings by Gilchrist, the second one a stunner, along with excellent spells from Ojha and Symonds further dented Royal Challengers. Vijay Mallya’s outfit, though, bat deep with the
likes of Praveen Kumar, Vinay Kumar no mugs with the bat. Not to talk of Robin Uthappa, who till recently was in the Indian scheme of things.
But the tide had turned clearly in favour of Hyderabad with the wicket of Rahul Dravid.

RC CUT CHENNAI TO SIZE

Johannesburg: Lalit Modi may have first conceived the idea of a grand Twenty20 spectacle that the Indian Premier League (IPL) is, but one still has to wonder who is writing the script.
Last year, the team that wasn’t even considered an underdog, criticised for poor player-selection, accused of spending the least among eight franchisees, won the trophy. This year, two teams that had ended up as 2008’s wooden-spooners have done the unthinkable. Royal Challengers and Hyderabad last year’s No. 7 and 8 will clash in the final of IPL 2009.
The two IT cities have surprised the bookmakers which make this T20 extravaganza so exciting and, for the second year in succession, have ensured that anything is possible in this extremely unpredictable format.
It is hard to project a player-versus-player contest here. Will it be Adam Gilchrist’s willow-power against Praveen Kumar and Jacques Kallis’ new ball attack? Rohit Sharma’s finesse or Andrew Symonds’ belligerent hitting against Anil Kumble’s precision? This could also be a battle for youngsters like Virat Kohli and Manish Pandey competing with T Suman and Azhar Bilakhia. On the face of it, this could be anyone’s trophy. The atmosphere at the Wanderers can get quite intimidating when close to 50,000 spectators will fill up the stands.
On paper, Hyderabad definitely look the better side. The loss to Royal Challengers at Centurion on Thursday notwithstanding, they have a top-order boasting of some of the biggest names this format can think of. Even if one of these players — Gilchrist and Gibbs or Symonds and Sharma bats to his full potential, it will be enough to wipe out any opposition. Gilchrist showed precisely that in the first semifinal, cracking one of the best T20 knocks ever.
For Royal Challengers too, the batsmen have been at the helm in the last few matches. In fact, it has been at least one of the top-order men in every game delivering the goods. Ross Taylor did it in a crunch match against the Knight Riders when he struck a 41-ball 81 to take the match away singlehandedly from the opposition. Kallis and Utthappa demolished Mumbai in a partnership that was absolutely dominating. Virat Kohli has been consistent and Manish Pandey, of course, became the first Indian to score a century in IPL the other day.
Scoring runs, as aggressively as possible, will be the key to the game on a track that hardly has anything for the bowlers.

ICC World Twenty20 2009 – About the Event

The ICC World Twenty20 2009 will be the second time a world event for Twenty20 cricket has been held.

The event, which feature 12 teams in the men’s tournament and eight teams in the women’s competition, will be staged in June 2009 at Lord’s, The Oval, Trent Bridge and Taunton.

The inaugural ICC World Twenty20 competition took place in South Africa in September 2007.

The competition, which lasted for just two weeks, was a thrilling event which culminated in India’s dramatic five run defeat of Pakistan at Johannesburg.

There were many memorable matches, not least the tie between India-Pakistan in Durban in the group stages which saw the first bowl out at an ICC World Twenty20 event, Bangladesh’s victory over the West Indies and Zimbabwe’s shock defeat of Australia at Cape Town.