Rajasthan Royals stunned Hyderabad IPL in a thriller

Unforgettable match! What a performance! Andrew Symond’s powerful century failed to save Hyderabad Deccan Chargers in a high scoring T20 IPL cricket match at Uppal Stadium in Hyderabad. Shane Warne hit 2 sixers and 1 four to score a sensational victory over favourite Hyderaabd. Collective scintillating batting performance by Rajasthan Royals stunned Hyderabad IPL in a high scoring tense match. Graeme Smith, Yusuf Pathan and Mohammad Kaif played sensible knocks to chase a huge target of 215 set by Deccan Chargers. With this defeat, Hyderabad is almost out of semi-finals of Indian Premier League.

Rajasthan Royals defeated Hyderabad IPL by 3 wickets. Despite wonderful bounce back by Hyderabad in the last overs, Shane Warne’s cameo sealed the result in Jaipur’s favour.

Verdict: Best match in the Indian Premier League. This tense match tested the leadership skills of both captains but Laxman falters at crucial point of time. Ironically Warne shines in that period. Australians dominance over IPL is continuing.

IPL T20 Cricket Score Board:

Hyderabad Deccan Chargers: 214/5 in 20 overs.
Rajasthan Royals: 217/7 in 19.5 overs.
IPL Cricket Match result: Jaipur won by 3 wickets.

Man of the Match: Yusuf Pathan.

IPL T20 Cricket match review:

Hyderabad innings key moments:

1. Adam Gilchrist, VVS Laxman and Shahid Afridi once again failed for Deccan Chargers.

2. Andrew Symonds rescued Hyderabad by hitting 117 runs in just 53 balls. He scored century in just 47 balls. He hit 11 fours and 7 sixers.

3. Robin Sharma provided crucial support to Andrew Symonds (36 runs in 30 balls).

4. Andrew Symonds won the war against Shane Warne.

5. Australians are dominating almost every game in Indian Premier League. Mathew Hayden, Michael Hussey, Shane Watson and Andrew Symonds single handily won matches for their teams. Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne chipped in with ball. Gilchrist and Brett Lee still need to fire for their teams.

Jaipur innings key moments:

1. Yusuf Pathan and Graeme Smith hit Vaas for 22 runs in his second over despite loss of Kamran Akmal early.

2. Yusuf Pathan scored sensational half century in just 21 balls. He provided ideal platform for Jaipur batsmen to chase big target.

3. Rajasthan Royals reached Hundred in just 8.3 overs by losing just 1 wicket. Smith and Pathan are giving scant respect to Hyderabad bowlers.

4. Andhra Ranji pacer Kalyankrishna took the crucial wicket of Yusuf Pathan at a crucial period of match. Last match hero Shane Watson joined Graeme Smith in middle. These two wickets are crucial for Jaipur to chase big total.

5. Yusuf Pathan scored 61 runs in 28 balls. He hit 4 fours and 6 sixers. Good statistics.

6. Shane Watson fell cheaply to Shahid Afridi. Man of the match heroes like Brendon McCullum, Shane Watson and Michael Hussey failed in their next matches.

7. Mohammad Kaif hit 3 sixers in the bowling Andrew Symonds in the 15th over.

8. Shahid Afridi is once again saviour for Hyderabad. He took vital wicket of Mohammad Kaif who scored a cameo knock of 34 runs in 16 balls. Afridi also took the important wicket of Graeme Smith in the same over. What will happen? Ravinder Jadeja is still at crease.

9. Graeme Smith scored 71 runs in 45 balls but he fell at crucial time. Can Hyderabad charge from now onwards?

10. Kalyankrishna dropped easy catch of Ravinder Jadeja. Did he drop match?

11. Jaipur needs to score 23 runs in 12 balls. Another tense match. It is moving on similar lines of yesterday’s match between Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians.

12. Advantage Hyderabad. Jadeja fell cheaply to RP Singh for 1 run.

13. As he did in Twenty20 cricket world cup in South Africa, RP Singh bowled a wonderful over in dying minutes.

14. Rajasthan needs to score 17 runs in the last over. Laxman gave ball to Andrew Symonds.

Jaipur captain Warne scored 2 sixers and 1 four in the last 3 balls to stun Hyderabad in an unforgettable sensational match at Uppal stadium in Hyderabad.

IPL Cricket match final analysis:

Sensational stuff from Shane Warne, Jaipur captain. Poor captaincy from Hyderabad’s VVS Laxman. Shane Warne capitalised on Laxman’s mistake (of giving final over to Symons) and produced a breath taking batting performance. Hats off to inspirational leadership from Shane Warne. Hyderabad need to win all the remaining four matches to enter into semi-finals.

Shane Warne, the coach, the captain and the Guru, has silenced critics like me with fine performances in the last 2 matches.

Lessons from IPL T20 teams

Indian Premier League already witnessed some exciting contests and wonderful performances from world cricket stars. But teams like Hyderabad surprisingly lost both matches due to lack of proper planning. Everyone can learn cricket/real life lessons from these IPL T20 matches.

Lessons from Indian Premier League cricket matches:

1. Hyderabad Deccan Chargers: This is a classic case of fall from grace.
A. You need a motivational leader to win a contest. A weak leader like Laxman is a minus point.
B. You need proper planning and unbiased selection to win in any sport.
C. You need a team which is strong in all departments. Hyderabad bought 4 hard hitters and forgot about other departments.
D. You need bench strength in case of emergency. What will they do when Symonds will not available in the last weeks of May?

2. Kolkata Knight Riders:
A. It has exciting passionate owner like Shahrukh Khan (He is like Mark Cuban of NBA).
B. It has inspirational leader like Sourav Ganguly who will not settle for second place.

3. Jaipur IPL: Shane Warne is doing magic both on and off the field with his bowling, inspiring captaincy and tactical coaching. A genius leader like Warne can spot ability in young cricketers and raise their game level.

4. Delhi Daredevils: They believed in true world class players but not bits and pieces. Bowlers like Glenn McGrath and Mohammad Asif are giving superb starts with their accurate bowling. Class is permanent.

5. Bangalore Royal Challengers: They too believed in world class bowlers like Dale Steyn, Anil Kumble, Nathan Bracken and Zaheer Khan. True all-rounder like Praveen kumar is an additional bonus. But they picked world class test batsmen for Twenty20 cricket games.

6. Mohali IPL: They picked players for advertisement needs. Yuvraj picked wayward bowler like Sreesanth because of friendship which cost them both matches.

7. Mumbai Indians: When a real icon like Sachin Tendulkar will not play, their game plans will not work and team members will miss that “some thing”. But they tried their best in both matches. Return of Sachin will change the fortunes of Mumbai Indians.

8. Chennai Super Kings: What you will need when you have a cool, glamorous and inspiring captain like Dhoni in your team? What you will need when you have talented and committed players like Hayden and Hussey in your ranks?

Most awaited matches:

1. Chennai Super Kings Vs Kolkata Knight Riders.
2. Delhi Dare Devils Vs Chennai
3. Kolkata Vs Delhi IPL.

We will learn new lessons after seeing the results of above match. Mathew Hayden will miss Man of the tournament award due to Australia's tour of West Indies.

IPL T20 Preview: Deccan Chargers Vs Rajasthan Royals

Hyderabad will play against rejuvenated Jaipur IPL at Rajiv Gandhi stadium in Hyderabad. This is a match between two of the weakest teams in Indian Premier League. Hyderabad unexpectedly lost first two matches despite strong squad due to poor team selection. Rajasthan Royals rose to the occasion against Mohali under inspirational Shane Warne leadership. South African Captain Graeme Smith will play in this match which is good news for weak Jaipur team.

Hyderabad is the most disorganised team in the Indian Premier League cricket. It is “Valencia” of Indian Premier League. Can this completely demoralised team bounce back on home ground against weak Jaipur team? Virender Sehwag brutally exposed weak Hyderabad attack; can Graeme Smith play that role for Jaipur?

Interesting battle:

1. Adam Gilchrist and Andrew Symonds Vs Shane Warne. Who will win will decide match result.

Hyderabad Deccan Chargers:

Hyderabad which was hampered by “4 foreign player” rule did nothing to overcome that deficit. They need to pick ideal T20 batsmen from young generation. Currently its bits and pieces bowlers will not help them much going forward in bowling department.

Team strengths:

1. Big hitting foreign batsmen.
2. Rohit Sharma – Fine knock against Delhi.

Weak points:

1. Poor team selection and lack of planning in batting order.
2. Uninspiring captaincy from VVS Laxman and is becoming a big burden in batting.
3. Selection politics.
4. When will Symonds and Gilchrist fire?
5. Lack of good bowlers.
6. Absence of ideal T20 batsmen.

Probable IPL Squad: VVS Laxman, Adam Gilchrist, Ravi Teja, Andrew Symonds, Rohit Sharma, Shahid Afridi, Chaminda Vaas, RP Singh, Pragyan Ojha and Sanjay Bangar. I am unable to find another Twenty20 batsman in this team. So they will pick Arjun Yadav.

Rajasthan Royals:

Jaipur batting is strengthened by addition of Kamran Akmal and Graeme Smith. But poor form of Kaif is a big worry along with fielding. Graeme Smith will strengthen the weak top order of Jaipur.

Key players:

1. Shane Warne – Inspirational captain and intelligent coach.
2. Shane Watson – Good T20 all rounder.
3. Graeme Smith.
4. Ravinder Jadeja – Young hope.

Probable squad: Shane Warne, Shane Watson, Kamran Akmal, Mohammad Kaif, Taruwar Kohli, Pankaj Singh, Munaf Patel, Yusuf Pathan, Siddharth Trivedi, Dinesh Salunkhe and Graeme Smith.

Verdict: Result will depend on how well one exploits the weaknesses of opposition. Change in batting lineup may change the fortunes of Hyderabad. Hyderabad's foreign players need to justify their price tag. Can they justify?

Delhi decimated Hyderabad IPL

Delhi captain Virender Sehwag destroyed Hyderabad bowling attack to seal an emphatic victory for Delhi Daredevils. Delhi defeated Hyderabad by 9 wickets in a one sided match with 7 overs to spare at Uppal stadium in Hyderabad. Shikhar Dhawan once again played good supporting role to decimate Hyderabad in just 13 overs. This is a clinical and brutal knock from Delhi captain. Hyderabad’s fall from grace is unbelievable.

Hyderabad didn’t learn any lesson from Kolkata match. Once again they selected accumulators and recommendation candidates. What can one expect from a team like this one? It is waste to write about their management. Glenn McGrath- Mohammad Asif troubled Hyderabad Deccan chargers with their accurate bowling. Except Rohit Sharma, no one looked comfortable at crease. Despite losing Gautam Gambhir early, Delhi never looked uncomfortable in chasing this small target. Delhi along with Chennai and Kolkata are looking as hot favourites to win inaugural IPL T20 tournament.

Toss: Hyderabad won the toss and chooses to bat first on the flat batting surface.

IPL T20 Cricket match scorecard:

Hyderabad Deccan Chargers: 142/5 in 20 overs.
Delhi Daredevils: 143/1 in 13 overs.

Match Result: Delhi Daredevils won by 9 wickets.

Man of the match: Virender Sehwag (first by an Indian player).

IPL T20 Cricket Records:

1. Sehwag scored highest runs in a single over. He hit 30 runs (3 sixers and 3 fours) in Symond’s over. He broke the Rohit sharma’s record who earlier scored 26 runs in Maharoof’s over.

2. Virender Sehwag is the first man to win the Man of the match award in Indian Premier League.

3. Virender Sehwag missed the fastest century in Indian premier League by 6 runs. He scored 94 runs in 41 balls. Captain’s knock.

4. Delhi Daredevils won both their matches by 9 wickets. World class bowling attack is their big strength.

Highlights of Hyderabad Innings:

1. Glenn McGrath bowled first over maiden. Is it really Twenty20 cricket?

2. Mohammad Asif took the crucial wicket of Adam Gilchrist in his first over. Genuine bowlers can succeed in any form of cricket. He also took Laxman’s wicket. Laxman is becoming a big burden for Hyderabad team as he is not an ideal T20 player.

3. Now it is Symonds Vs McGrath. Symonds hit 2 successive fours in McGrath’s bowling. Can Symonds save Deccan Chargers?

4. Painful innings of Venugopala Rao finally ended. He scored 14 runs in 22 balls.

5. Maharoof took the crucial wicket of Andrew Symonds with a beauty.

6. Hyderabad is in deep trouble. Poor selection of players. They didn’t learn any lessons from Kolkata match. Hyderabad is the most over rated team in IPL.

7. Shahid Afridi disappointed Hyderabad crowds. He scored just 2 runs in 7 balls. Rohit Sharma is waging a lone battle. Hyderabad is now 60/5. Deep trouble.

8. Congrats to Rohit Sharma who scored 66 runs in 36 balls with 6 fours and 4 sixers. He created new IPL record by scoring 26 runs in a single over of Maharoof.

9. Why did you select Arjun Yadav? He came at no. 8. Management has no belief in this “Recommendation” candidate. But still they are playing him. Why? Only God will save Hyderabad IPL.

10. Hyderabad scored 52 runs in the last 3 overs. Thank to Rohit Sharma’s cameo knock.

Highlights of Delhi innings:

1. Delhi opening pair Gautam Gambhir and Sehwag started well by scoring 14 runs in RP Singh’s over.

2. Pragyan Ojha dropped Sehwag on 13. Costly mistake. He dropped match.

3. RP Singh took the crucial wicket of in-form Gautam Gambhir. Sharp bounce back from RP Singh.

4. Sehwag and Shikhar Dhawan are going strong in cool and composed manner. Hyderabad needs a couple of wickets. Cricketers like Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Robin Uthappa, Ravinder Jadeja and Shikhar Dhawan are future hopes of Indian Cricket.

5. Delhi crossed 50 runs in 6.1 overs. Hyderabad is in deep trouble on home ground. From strong favourites to weak team – what a transition? Weak captain and worst selection.

6. Virender Sehwag scored 30 runs in Andrew Symonds over – 3 fours and 3 sixers. Delhi won this match by 9 wickets in just 13 overs.

Hyderabad Deccan Chargers Squad: VVS Laxman, Adam Gilchrist, Venugopala Rao, Andrew Symonds, Rohit Sharma, Shahid Afridi, Arjun Yadav, Sanjay Bangar, RP Singh, Chaminda Vaas and Pragyan Ojha.

Delhi Daredevils Squad: Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Shikhar Dhawan, Shoaib Malik, Dinesh Karthik, Manoj Tiwary, Rajat Bhatia, Glenn McGrath, Mahesh, Maharoof and Mohammad Asif.

Things I can’t able to understand:

1. Why Hyderabad is selecting an accumulator like Venugopala Rao? It is almost a suicidal decision. Laxman and Venugopala Rao are spoiling the tempo of Hyderabad innings in the initial overs and are wasting crucial power plays with their dogged play. Bad captaincy and worst team selection.

2. Hyderabad can do well without VVS Laxman, Arjun Yadav and Venugopala Rao. But is it possible?

Hyderabad will need to do massive changes to their squad. They don’t have depth in the bowling to defend small totals. They should discard players like Arjun Yadav, VVS Laxman (!?) and Venugopala Rao and bring in talented young players like Ravi Teja to change their fortunes.

Top 10 T20 Cricket stars of IPL in first week

Indian Premier League grabbed the attention of Indian cricket lovers in the first week itself. Brendon McCullum and Mike Hussey helped to raise awareness about IPL with fine centuries. IPL grabbed more TRP ratings than family soaps in the prime time, according to latest TV ratings. Whether cricket purists like it or not, IPL is here to stay and will expand to new cities. More International players will play in the coming years and may announce retirements if ICC will not accomodate IPL in the futire calendar.

Twenty20 cricket is mainly a batsmen game. So my top 10 cricket stars list mostly comprising of batsmen. Bangalore showed strong bounce back after a demoralising loss against Kolkata in the initial match. Kolkata won the both matches and is showing fine all-round performance. Foreign players (Australian and South African cricketers) shined in the first week of IPL T20 cricket tournament. Keepers like Brendon McCullum and Mark Boucher played match winning knocks in the first week. Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Rohit Sharma are big disappointments in the first week. Despite Yuvraj’s brilliant batting, Mohali lost both matches.


First week IPL stats:

1. Happiest man: Shahrukh Khan.
2. Top team: Kolkata Knight Riders.
3. Best batsman: Brendon McCullum.
4. Innings of character: David Hussey.
5. Best brothers: Michael Hussey & David Hussey.
6. Worst pitch: Eden Gardens.
7. Big disappointment: Ricky Ponting and MS Dhoni.
8. Some things never change: McGrath’s accurate bowling and Sreesanth’s way ward bowling.
9. Worst organisation: Cricket Association of Bengal.
10. No. Of Man of the match awards won by Indian Cricketers: Zero.

Top 10 T20 Cricket Stars in the first week:

1. Brendon McCullum: Unforgettable innings in the first match.
2. Michael Hussey: Silenced critics who doubted his skills in T20 cricket.
3. David Hussey: Best innings in terms of character.
4. Gautam Gambhir: Lone Indian hope.
5. Shikhar Dhawan and Suresh Raina: Young Indian heroes.
6. Mark Boucher: Crucial match winning knock against Mumbai.
7. Yuvraj Singh: Captaincy knock but team falters.
8. Ishant Sharma: India at last found a real fast bowler.
9. Andrew Symonds: Patient innings on a difficult pitch. Can any one stop him on a batting pitch? 10. Praveen Kumar: Real all-rounder and only positive thing for Bangalore in the first match.

Please share your picks. I hope Indian cricketers will play well in the coming weeks.

Can Deccan Chargers bounce back to beat Delhi?

Hyderabad Deccan Chargers who lost the thriller against Kolkata Knight Riders will try to prove their mettle against Delhi Daredevils. It is a match between world class batting line up of Hyderabad Deccan Chargers and superb bowling attack of Delhi daredevils. This match under floodlights will surely entertain 40,000+ Hyderabad crowd with run feast by batting giants.
Stadium: Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Uppal, Hyderabad. Team who wins the toss will bat first. Any score below 200 can be easily achievable. Hyderabad team with many big hitters has slight advantage.

IPL T20 Match live: From 8 PM onwards on Set Max.

Watch live streaming on web at www.iplt20.com (Offical website of Indian Premier League)

www.stickcricket.info (Unofficial live streaming).

Favourite: Hyderabad Deccan Chargers.

Crucial players:

1. Andrew Symonds who played patient knock in testing conditions at Eden Gardens will explode on this batting track.

2. Gautam Gambhir: He is the best Indian cricketer in T20 and One day matches from Twenty20 Cricket world cup. He is scintillating form.

3. Shahid Afridi: How many sixers will he hit? Count on. He can change match course with both bat and ball.

4. Mohammad Asif: His combination with Glenn McGrath is a nightmare for any batting lineup. We have to see how Gilchrist will attack them on batting paradise?

Hyderabad IPL squad analysis:

New players available: Shahid Afridi and Herschelle Gibbs.

Strong points:

1. Adam Gilchrist & Andrew Symonds – Good form.

2. Big hitters like Gibbs and Shahid Afridi. Afridi will also strengthen bowling Attack.

3. Ravi Teja is to Hyderabad what Shikhar Dhawan is to Delhi.

4. Home ground and audience support.

Weaknesses:

1. Weak bowling attack.

2. Lack of world class spinner. Shahid Afridi may help in this regard.

3. Selection politics.

4. Rohit Sharma – poor form.

Probable squad:

VVS Laxman (Captain), Adam Gilchrist, Raviteja, Andrew Symonds, Shahid Afridi, Sanjay Bangar, RP Singh, Rohit Sharma, Chaminda Vaas/Kalyan Krishna, Pragyan Ojha and Gibbs/Styris/Venugopala Rao.

Coach: Robin Singh.

Delhi Daredevils:

New players available: Md. Asif, Shoaib Malik and Abdur Razaaq.

Strong points:

1. Glenn McGrath – Superb nagging spell against Jaipur.

2. Shikhar Dhawan – Attacking underrated batsman.

3. Virender Sehwag – Match winner on his day.

4. Daniel Vettori – World class spinner and useful batsman.

5. Shoaib Malik in the middle order – cool customer.

6. Maharoof – Man of the match against Rajasthan Royals.

Weaknesses:

1. Absence of big hitters in the middle and late order.

Probable Squad:

Virender Sehwag (Captain), Gautam Gambhir, Shikhar Dhawan, Shoaib Malik/Mohammad Asif, Maharoof, Dinesh Karthik, Daniel Vettori, Glenn McGrath, Manoj Tiwary, Rajat Bhatia and Mithun Manhas.

Coach: Gregg Shipperd.

Hyderabad is looking strong in batting while Delhi has world class bowling attack. Match result will depend on how Hyderabad big hitters will tackle Glenn McGrath, Asif and Daniel Vettori. Hyderabad management should not indulge “selection politics” to win this match and need to play their best local players. Hyderabad should open with Gilchrist- Raviteja to build a solid platform while Delhi’s hopes will depend on Sehwag-Gambhir opening pair