quick-news

The Rajasthan Royals have been on a revolve in the Indian prime minister League. At the Eden on Tuesday, they steamrolled. The six-wicket victory over the Kolkata Knight Riders confirmed their semi-final berth.Korbo, lorbo, jeetbo re has been a fading anthem for long and following their seventh loss in the tournament on Tuesday it sounded almost farcical. The Kolkata Knight Riders’ hopes are fading fast as they dug themselves a little deeper into a hole with 10 points from 12 matches. Technically though, they are still in with a chance of moving ahead in the rivalry if they win the remaining two matches.

Once Ajit Agarkar gave missing 16 runs in his first over, the stage was set for the burial. Umar Gul brought some cheer with two wickets in the then over, Wriddhiman Saha’s brilliant diving effort sending back Graeme Smith. But that was merely a flicker of hope.The Rajasthan Royals, pegged back slightly in their chase at 69 for four in the 10th over, carried on gallantly through Mohammed Kaif (34 off 31 balls) and Yousuf Pathan (48 off 18 balls). Once Sourav Ganguly gave away 17 runs in the 12th over, the curtain had been drawn. The visitors never looked back.Pathan, who hit five fours and three sixes, took the fight out of the opposition with a brutal innings. It ended all lingering hopes for the Knight Riders. The unbroken fifth wicket pair added 81 runs in 40 balls.Something seemed to be amiss at the Eden on Tuesday evening. This was like Diego Maradona without his No. 10 jersey or Roger Federer missing from Wimbledon action. The rumour doing the rounds since hours of daylight that Shah Rukh Khan would give this match a miss turned out to be true.

If that was not enough, the injured Shoaib Akhtar was compulsory to sit out. After a prolonged discussion it was decided that Gul would play. The Knight Riders, having already been pushed to the wall, needed an inspirational performance at the top of the order to find the right momentum.The modest crowd turnout in comparison to previous matches, though, could have been prompted by the uncertain weather. Shane Warne also didn’t wish to take any chances, prefer to chase a target in the event of a curtailed match.The Knight Riders needed a solid contribution from either Sourav or David Hussey, two of their most consistent performers, to set the ball rolling. Salman Butt provided the first ray of hope when he seemed to carry on with his form from the previous game.

Butt (24 in 20 balls) doesn’t bat in the square Twenty20 mode but has still been successful. Relying more on his conventional cricketing instincts, his 33-run stand in 30 balls with Sourav for the subsequent wicket had things going in the right direction.

Sourav (32 in 34 balls) was circumspect at the start. He was his usual self once he settled down, picking Warne for special treatment. Shielding Hussey from the wily leg-spinner, he took the responsibility of carrying the momentum.Mind games were also being played out in the middle, Warne delaying the deliveries to upset the batsman’s rhythm, especially when Sourav was on strike, by changing field placings and interacting with teammates.Laxmi Ratan Shukla and Wriddhiman Saha tried to step up the scoring rate towards the end but the usual fall of wickets restricted their score to 147. But the surge in the middle overs help them get well from 59 for two after 10 overs. In the end, though, they fell short by at smallest amount 20 runs.

Knights brawl till their last mouthful of air. And if a Kolkata Knight Riders’ team member is to be believed, just like the ancient warriors, they would by no means give up and do all to make it to the last-four phase of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL).“Don’t write us off. We are knights and the battle is still not over,” the player said. “We will fight till the end and give it our all,” he reiterated.Things, on the other hand, look vigorous difficult for the hosts as they take on League toppers Rajasthan Royals in a do or die encounter at the Eden on Tuesday.While the Shane Warne-led side are almost through, the Knight Riders must win all their enduring three match to have any hopes of making it to the knockout round.

With pace spearhead Shoaib Akhtar probable to sit out on Tuesday after bad tempered of a knee injury, things look even more complex for captain Sourav Ganguly.Though the Pakistan speedster has been kept in the 13-member squad, he will undergo a two-day medical scrutiny. In case he fail to make the cut, Umar Gul will be his replacement.“He came to the contest under-prepared… He has given his 100 per cent. But he has a problem with his knee and we will check him for the next couple of days,” coach John Buchanan said on Monday twilight.Sourav, however, in a function later on Monday night, claim that the fast bowler was “fit enough to play.”

Besides the confusion over Shoaib, Nor’wester can also be a main concern for Shah Rukh Khan’s side. On Monday sunset, it rained heavily for about an hour and the Eden outfield became water-logged again.After a lot of testing with the opening slot, it was learnt that Buchanan, after a discussion with captain Sourav, is keen to stick to the Salman Butt-Mohammad Hafeez combination to open against the Royals.However, a lot depends on Sourav’s batting presentation. Though he has been inconsistent in the IPL so far, the vastly experienced captain can run through a bowling attack.The Rajasthan side, in the meantime, are expected to field an extra batsman against the hosts. Former Pakistan captain Younis Khan may be built-in the live XI. With the likes of Shane Watson, Munaf Patel, Yousuf Pathan, Sohail Tanvir and Shane Warne in their ranks, the bowling section looks dense.

run and shell: Mallya and the fine art of discrepancy “We have a team that has a lot of equilibrium now and we should be taken very gravely in IPL.” That was Vijay Mallya speaking after the IPL’s second auction on March 11. The statement may seem incongruous today, when Mallya is letting the world know that he feels let down at being handed a dud team in the form of Royal Challengers.But March 11 wasn’t the first time Mallya had spoken the view that his was a team to reckon with. Even earlier, on February 27, on the sideline of the F-1 in Barcelona, he had held forth on the virtues of his squad to a group of Indian journalists. On that time, it wasn’t just a throw-away line, but a detailed dissectio of Royal Challengers. The liquor baron, for instance, describe Jacques Kallis as the “most excellent (all-rounder) going around” and Cameron White as “young and explosive”. As for Mark Boucher, he supposed the addition of “this hard-hitting wicketkeeper” batsmen meant that “we have a very strong and fair team”. He spoke approvingly of Wasim Jaffer and Chanderpaul as well and said that for the spinners role, “with Anil Kumble at hand we didn’t have to go too far”.Mallya did say that he would have liked to bag Robin Uthappa as well. “I only wish we could have bought Robin Uthappa. But due to budget constraints we couldn’t get him. We would have been 100% total with him. At the moment, we are 95 per cent but I am quite satisfied,” he added. “We have loads of experience in our team and I think that is what is going to count in a long-drawn league,” he concluded. Even as recently as May 7, the day after Royal Challengers CEO Charu Sharma was sacked, Mallya it seems that had no evils with the team per se. A statement issued by him said: “I continue to have faith and self-assurance in all my players led by Rahul Dravid and in Martin Crowe, chief cricketing officer, and his side.” But five days later he was singing a different tune. “My main error was to abstain from the selection of the team,” he was reported as saying. “Since Dravid is such an iconic player, I trusted his judgement. But after the final list, my friends told me it look like a Test team. But I backed both of them thinking that they advised me correctly.”On Tuesday, source close to Mallya suggested that the flamboyant liquor baron had wanted MS Dhoni, Brendon McCullum and Uthappa in his side but had been vetoed by Dravid at the auction.Here’s the no-win situation in that account: Dhoni went to Chennai for $1.5 million, McCullum to Kolkata for $700,000 and Uthappa to Mumbai for $800,000. That’s a combined sum of $3 million for those three players.Bangalore would have had to bid senior for them to get them. Add to that the fee it would have had to pay for Dravid - 15% higher than Dhoni as Dravid is an icon player - and the total for just those four players would have been at least $4.75 million. With a $5 million cap placed on each team for the sale, that would have absent Bangalore with four group of actors. Not very much also.

Harbhajan Singh on Wednesday got absent with a five-match ODI ban for slap his India team- mate Sreesanth during an Indian Premier League (IPL) match.While the off-spinner was also warned by the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) of a life ban for any future misconduct, the pacer was asked to improve his on-field behaviour.Harbhajan seems to have got away lightly. What softened the stand of the hardliners inside the BCCI and the committee itself was his appeal for clemency and an vow from him a few days ago that there would not be any misconduct in the future.The appeal, it is learnt, was made on the advice of well-wishers within the BCCI.Sreesanth, despite his tears in community, also didn’t want the whole thing to be blown out of proportion as it affected his India teammate.A day after BCCI-appointed commissioner Sudhir Nanavati submitted a 14-page report, the disciplinary group acted swiftly to impose the ban on the off-spinner who will now miss the approaching tri-serie in Bangladesh (June 8-14) and two matches of the Asia Cup in Pakistan (June 24-July 6). The disciplinary committee comprise president Sharad Pawar, president-elect Shashank Manohar and vice-president Chirayu Amin met at the cricket centre in Mumbai.The 27-year-old Harbhajan has by now been banned from the ongoing IPL and fined Rs 3 crore match fee for the level 4 offence for the incident which took place in Mohali on April 25.“The group accordingly strong-minded to ban Harbhajan for five one-day Internationals, starting today (Wednesday) and further observed that any further instance of misconduct will invoke a life ban,” the BCCI said in a statement after the trial.“The committee invoked rule 3.2.1 of the BCCI regulations for players, team officials, managers, umpires and administrators. Under this provision, the maximum punishment that can be meted out to a player is a ban up to a maximum of 5 ODIs and/or 3 Test matches,” the statement said.Pawar said a copy of the account was given to Harbhajan who was heard by the committee before a final choice on the quantum of punishment was taken.The BCCI also told Sreesanth to mend his ways. Many in the BCCI are quite fed up with him and some see him as a difficulty youngster. The fact that the BCCI has made Sreesanth’s role in the whole episode community is more than a slap on the pacer’s approach.“The Board is constrained to warn you for your behaviour on the field and in the event you do not get better your behaviour, the Board would be forced to take suitable choice,” the letter written by secretary Niranjan Shah said.“The disciplinary committee also careful Sreesanth. He has to improve a lot and if he is does something similar in future, he will be dealt with a firm hand,” Shah later told reporters.Asked how Harbhajan reacted to his ban, Shah said, “he is okay, he knows that he is guilty and the BCCI has also given a warning that if he gets concerned in any further misconduct, he will be banned for life.“He has learnt his lesson, he knows exactly where he stands,” he added.Shah made it clear that the BCCI would not tolerate any such indiscipline.“It is sure that if any indiscipline is seen on the field the Board would be very strict. It won’t allow itself to be taken for granted,” he said.Nanavati, who inquired into the slapping row, is satisfied with the decision taken by the disciplinary group and said it was quick, appropriate and would set an example.“There are two parts to this choice. First, the choice was quick. To keep any one in tension including the offender and people at big is not proper,” Nanavati said.“The second thing, the sentence is suitable as it is not less not additional. ,” Nanavati said.

Sachin Tendulkar reserved Sanath Jayasuriya absent from bowling duties. And the starving Sri Lankan feasted on the Chennai Super Kings bowlers, lashing 11 sixes in an awesome display of crisp, clean hitting as Mumbai Indians cruised to a nine-wicket conquest in the DLF-Indian Premier League at the Wankhede Stadium here on Wednesday.Jayasuriya’s unbeaten 114 came off just 48 delivery and he hit nine boundaries apart from the 11 sixes. Mumbai Indians, chase 157 for conquest, reached 158 for one in the 14th over in a one-sided meet. Alarming regularity Walking out to bat with Tendulkar — a sight straight out of dream — the Lankan play out the fantasy part by picking the line early against Manpreet Goni and Albie Morkel, clearing the ropes with disturbing regularity.Jayasuriya began the assault with a flicked six to mid-wicket and then step out to scoop the ball in the same region. The Super Kings fielders watched in awe and disappointment as the Lankan rocked on to the back foot to balls pitched around the off-stump and slashed naturally over point and cover. Goni went for 20 in one over, while Morkel appeared helpless as one over yielded 21.Jayasuriya’s bat-speed and timing were so good that he had to just connect the ball to send it soaring into the stands.Tendulkar rotated the strike, scampered across to admire the ‘sixes shower’ from the non-striker’s end. Joginder Sharma broke the reverie by castling Tendulkar, but by then the damage had been done. Mumbai Indians was so far ahead that even Muttiah Muralitharan, twirl the ball at the bowling crease, was no cause for fear.Earlier, the stranglehold exerted by a collective effort from the Mumbai Indians bowlers continued under Tendulkar who took over from Shaun Pollock. A fifth-wicket stand of 95 in 61 balls flanked by Super Kings captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni (43 n.o., 35b, 6×4, 1×6) and the in-form S. Badrinath (53, 33b, 7×4, 2×6) pulled the visitors out of trouble.Pollock set the tone with a forbidden first over, bowling to the field and denying the openers — S. Vidyut and Stephen Fleming — any liberties. He showed admirable mastery over swing and control with a maiden over against Dhoni to walk away with fantastic figures of 4-1-9-1.The wily Dwayne Bravo (two for 37), well supported by the young Dhaval Kulkarni (three for 33), kept the batsmen in check before Dhoni connected Badrinath at the crease. The two negotiated some awkward moments and cut loose towards the end. Kulkarni, feeling the jitters when asked to bowl the 20th over, sent downward three wides in a row. Charmed life Earlier, Vidyut, lucky to see an edge rebound into the third man fence off Aashish Nehra, got cracking by making room for a square cut after Tendulkar opted to unleash his pace bowlers on a lively wicket. Stephen Fleming lived a enamored life, a snick lessening short of slip fielder Tendulkar and beyond a leap wicket-keeper Takawale. Super Kings needed a push from the batsmen as only 23 came after five overs. Fleming responded to the situation with fierce cuts to the cover fence. Kulkarni’s two-wicket burst brought Dhoni to the crease at a critical phase — 57 at the halfway mark of the innings. Tendulkar turned to masterly Pollock and the accurate Nehra to strangle the runs. The South African put the brake on Dhoni with six spot balls in his fourth over. Dhoni delights Dhoni lastly got down to commerce, freeing his arms for influential shots and creating space for the slash past the cover region. Badrinath made space and chipped over short fine-leg and then pulled a short ball from Raje for the first six of the match in the 18th over. Badrinath hit two more sixes, three in all for Super Kings audacity of big-hitters next to the 11 from Jayasuriya unaccompanied.