IPL Twenty20 Cricket 2010 Live Coverage

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Rajasthan Royals Vs Kolkata Knight Rider : Match Preview

Ground Reality and Pitch:
On a day when rain is foreseen, the 2008 champions Rajasthan Royals battle the Kolkata Knight Riders at Newlands which is also known to be the Lord's of South Africa. This is the home town of the Cape Cobras, who defeated the Rajasthan Royals in the warm-up match.
The pitch, over the past few games, has largely assisted the bowlers. Spinners like Warne, Kumble, Vettori and Ojha have played major roles in leading their teams to victories. Once again, batsmen have to play diligently and cut down the lavish strokes.
Team News:
Rajasthan Royals: After a humiliating defeat in the first match against Bangalore and the second match against Mumbai being rained out, the Royals would look for a turnaround of fortunes. Although they have been good in the bowling department, the batsmen have not come to the party when required. Shane Warne would look at Rajasthan's key batsmen like Smith, Asnodkar and Pathan to fire in the match against Kolkata.
Kolkata: The Knight Riders have been in the news for all sorts of reasons. Starting with John Buchanan's 'Multiple-Captain' theory, their loss against Hyderabad in the first match and the recent blogs by an alleged Knight Riders player, Kolkata never seemed to have things under control. However, the victory against the Punjab team would boost the confidence of the players. Banking on their big players to perform, Kolkata would look to extend their IPL victories.
Due for runs:
Sourav Ganguly: After two batting failures, the former India captain is due to showcase his batting prowess at South Africa. Although he has come good with the ball, Kolkata would expect their 'Prince' to hit form and get to watch the beautiful cover drives flow freely from his bat.
Graeme Smith: The South African captain has not been in his best during the recent times. Being a member of the Cape Cobras in the past, the conditions at Newlands would not be something new to Smith. With a South African crowd to cheer for him, this exciting left-hander would hope to be amongst the runs in the IPL.
Numbers Game:
3:2 - Ratio of IPL 2009 wins at Newlands for the teams batting first over the teams batting second.
16 - The number of wickets taken by spinners in the 5 IPL matches played at Newlands.
Sound Bytes:
Whatever they throw at us, we at Kolkata Knight Riders will be ready for them - Chris Gayle on facing Rajasthan
We were exceptional in our bowling and fielding, but our batsmen could not do well - Warne on the loss to Bangalore
Trivia:
The Kolkata Knight Riders have never won a match against the Rajasthan team.

De Villiers hits first IPL century for Delhi

A brilliant maiden century in the Indian Premier League from AB De Villiers steered the Delhi Daredevils to 189-5 after an early collapse against the Chennai Super Kings on Thursday.

The 25-year-old South African faced 54 balls in a blistering innings in which he hit five fours and six sixes. He took the attack to the Chennai bowlers, who included Sri Lankan spin ace Muttiah Muralitharan and England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff, easily finding runs through the covers and down field.

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Pre Match Preview - RR vs KKR Newlands, Cape Town

Rajasthan Royals (RR) is back at Newlands and after a disappointing opening game at the ground RR will be looking to set things straight. Pitted against them is the in-form Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) who won their previous encounter against the Kings XI Punjab by the D/L method. The way the top order smashed the bowling all over the park in Durban should ring warning bells for the RR bowlers who will be prepared for the KKR blitzkrieg under Shane Warne’s able guidance.

Being in Newlands, RR does have an advantage over KKR. For starters, it is the home ground of South African captain, Graeme Smith. If anyone knows Newlands, it is Smith, and his experience at the ground will come in handy for the team. Says Warne “We are very lucky to have Smith by our side. He knows how to handle Newlands pitches better than anyone else and that makes him a crucial part of the team”. Tyron Henderson has a fair bit of experience at the ground as well and his experience will also come in handy for the team.

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Deccan Chargers victory against Royal Challengers

Deccan Chargers won their second match of the Indian Premier League against Bangalore Royal Challengers by 24 runs at the Newlands stadium in Cape Town on Wednesday, now they are leading the point table!! , also they gets highest total of 184 till now in IPL 2009.

Bangalore Royal Challengers could muster 160/8 in 20 overs as Deccan Chargers won their second tie to lead the points tally. Team Bangalore made a poor start in reply to Deccan Chargers’ 184 as Jesse Ryder was dismissed on the first ball of the innings by Fidel Edwards. Soon, Jacques Kallis was dismissed by RP Singh as he gave an easy catch to Rohit Sharma. At the end of 5 overs, Bangalore Royal Challengers were struggling at 25/2. Robin Uthappa was out after a stunning catch by Ravi Teja who dived to his left to take it. Uthappa made 12 runs. Kevin Pietersen too departed without any spark as he was stumped by Adam Gilchrist on Pragyan Ojha’s delivery. A late charge by Rahul Dravid lifted the Bangalore innings for a while but he too was dismissed when he was playing on 48. Virat Kohli and Praveen Kumar though fought till the end to take the Bangalore Royal Challengers close to a win. While Virat Kohli made 50 runs, Praveen Kumar added 14 runs with the help of 2 sixes.

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