India will bounce back, says Gambhir

Galle: With the humiliating loss in Colombo still rankling the Indian cricket team, Indian opener Gautam Gambhir today asserted that the visitors will find a way to tackle the menacing spin duo of Muttiah Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis in the second cricket Test starting July 31 here.

"We had a bad Test but now we are very positive. We want to come hard at the Sri Lankans. They have a quality spin attack... Muralitharan is a legend. It will be a fantastic battle because we have guys who can play good spin," Gambhir said.

The Indians lost the match in less than four days after collapsing against Mendis and Muralitharan but Gambhir insisted that the spin duo was "not unplayable." "You have to bat according to your strength. Mentally you have to be very sound when your are playing at this level. The wicket looks similar to the one in Colombo," he said.

'Murali bowled like a dream'

Mumbai: India’s last Test tour in Sri Lanka in 2001 is not remembered extensively because of a variety of reasons. Most importantly because India fielded a second-string side due to injuries to key players such as Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Javagal Srinath, Anil Kumble and Ashish Nehra.

The only saving grace for the Indian team was the opening pair of Shiv Sundar Das and Sadagoppan Ramesh. India started of on the wrong note in the very first Test match, losing by a thumping 10-wicket margin. According to Ramesh, the primary reason for the humiliating loss was the fact that India missed Kumble’s services.

“We obviously missed Kumble since Harbhajan was emerging on the scene but wasn’t confident of leading the spin-attack,” Ramesh told cricketnirvana.com. 1985 Recap | 1993 Recap | 1997 Recap Scorecards: India in Sri Lanka 2001

This was surprising because just a few months prior to this series, Harbhajan had bowled himself into history books with his match-winning spells against Australia at home.

”Harbhajan was obviously high on confidence after we had beaten Australia at home but he was under too much pressure, especially since the media was comparing him with Muralitharan and building a battle between them.”

The inexperience in the Indian middle-order made the then Indian coach John Wright base his strategy around the opening pair of Das and Ramesh. In his short international career, Ramesh was a naturally flamboyant player but in this series he was not the same.

“I was told by my coach John Wright to put my head down and bat throughout this tour. It was an obvious game plan and I was told to bat out time. Shiv Sundar Das gave me fantastic company and I thought we formed a steady combination.”

The high point of the Test series for the visitors came when they managed to square the series at Kandy in the second Test. This was despite the fact that pace spearhead Javagal Srinath had to return home due to a finger injury.

“When everyone was writing us off it was a great feeling to chase a target of 264 runs against Muralitharn in his prime. The key was the way Ganguly and Dravid tackled Murali. The win really lifted the morale of the team.”

But India were brought back down to earth in the series-deciding Test at Colombo. After Das and Ramesh put on a 100-plus stand, Murali weaved his magic to leave the Indians in a spin.

“We lost the Test match because Muralitharan bowled like a dream and picked up 8 wickets on the very first day. That is where we lost the initiative and the series.

As a parting shot Ramesh recalls what he believes was the best ball he ever faced, during the second innings of the third Test match.

“The delivery pitched on and around the off stump area, spun viciously and clipped my leg stump. I could not believe what happened.”

Royals plunges Chargers to third successive defeat

Hyderabad: Andrew Symonds' fastest hundred went in vain as Rajasthan Royals notched up a thrilling three-wicket win over Deccan Chargers in their Indian Premier League encounter here today.
Shane Warne (22) repaid Symonds in the same coin by hitting him for two successive sixes in the final over to script his team's victory.
Chasing 215 to win, Royals overhauled the target with a ball to spare with Warne coming up with a 22-run cameo off just nine balls.
Requiring 17 runs off the final over, Warne wielded willow to great effects as he twice hit Symonds over the ropes to seal a nail-biting win.
Royals made a befitting reply through Yousuf Pathan (61) Greame Smith (71) and Mohammad Kaif (34).
The hosts had piled up 214 for five, largely built around Symonds' unbeaten knock of 117 runs, after put in to bat by rival skipper.
Pathan and Smith, who made his IPL debut today, shared a crucial 98-run partnership for the second wicket.
Required run-rate soared after the departure of Pathan, who hit six sixes and four boundaries, but Kaif hit three sixes in 15th over bowled by Symonds to keep the target within their reach.
Afridi (3/27) removed Kaif and Smith in the 17th over and conceded just six runs to turn the tide in favour of the hosts and it could have been three wickets for Afridi had Kalyankrishna not dropped Ravinder Jadeja. R P Singh then castled Jadeja with a perfect yorker apart from effecting a run out Salunke (1) in the penultimate over and it looked Chargers would finally taste the victory.
However, it was anti-climax for the hosts who plunged to their third successive defeat following gritty batting by rival skipper.
Earlier, Symonds hit the fastest hundred of the tournament through some lusty hitting and weaved 111-run fourth-wicket stand with Rohit Sharma (36).
Symonds hit an unbeaten 117-run knock, studded with seven sixes and 11 boundaries off 53 balls, making full use of a dropped chance at the individual score of 75.
Paceman Munaf Patel and spin-great Warne bore the brunt of the Symonds fury as they conceded 55 and 47 runs in their quota of four overs. Chargers' skipper VVS Laxman came to open the batting with Australian Adam Gilchrist and the duo put on 22 for the first wicket before Yousuf Pathan's double strike in the third over.
Royals skipper Shane Warne brought in Pathan early in the innings and the bowler responded with two wickets in an eventful over.
Pathan dismissed the dangerous Gilchrist (13) on the second ball of the over as the Australian came forward, got deceived in the air, and was stumped by wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal.
Shahid Afridi then joined his skipper and hit a six and a boundary before handing a catch to Ravinder Jadeja at mid-on while attempting a big shot.
Laxman (16) and Symonds then put on 43 runs for the third-wicket, which not only helped hosts to recover from 32 for two but set the platform for the big score.
Laxman bacame vicitm of Warne as he offered a caught and bowled chance while flicking, which the leggie accepted gleefully.Yousuf Pathan failed to latch on a catch off Siddharth Trivedi at point giving the Australian a chance to notch up his hundred in just 47-balls.
And he did it in style by lofting the rival skipper Shane Warne for a huge long-on six, during his superb innings, which made the rival bowlers look like ordinary.

We need to change the gameplan: Laxman

Hyderabad: Deccan Chargers captain VVS Laxman today expressed disappointment over his team's third sucessive defeat in the Indian Premier League and said they need to devise a new gameplan to do better in the tournament."It is definitely disappointing. The game was fluctuating. We need to look at changing the bowling plan," Laxman said after his sides' three-wicket loss against Rajasthan Royals.
Laxman said they still believed in capabilites of Andrew Symonds, who hit a stunning hundred but failed with the ball.
"We still have confidence in him. Because of him we could cross the 200-run mark. Last two overs were crucial. Shane Warne made all the difference," he said.
Symonds bowled the last over of match in which Shane Warne hit two sixes to seal his team's victory.

IPL Match Results: Deccan Chargers v Delhi Daredevils,Rajasthan Royals v Kings XI Punjab

Deccan Chargers vs Delhi Daredevils

Big guns fail again as Deccan score 142

20 overs Deccan Chargers 142 for 8 (Rohit 66, Asif 2-19) v Delhi Daredevils

DEL: 37/1

5.0 Overs

Delhi need 106 runs in 90 balls

Rajasthan Royals v Kings XI Punjab

Rajasthan Royals 168 for 4 (Watson 76*, Jadeja 36*) beat Kings XI Punjab 166 for 8 (Yuvraj 57, Warne 3-19) by six wickets

Shane Warne left Kings XI Punjab in a spin with figures of 4-0-19-3 ... © Getty Images

Australian domination in the IPL continued as the two Shanes - Watson and Warne - starred with bat and ball respectively to power Rajasthan Royals to their maiden victory in the tournament, fittingly in front of their home crowd at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium. Shane Warne's 3 for 19 restricted Kings XI Punjab to what appeared to be a par score of 166 but the target was overhauled fairly comfortably, thanks to a fiery 49-ball 76 by Watson, supported by an unbeaten 36 by the young Ravindra Jadeja.

Rajasthan were pegged back early in their chase, losing their openers with the score on 19. Sreesanth induced a thin edge off his first delivery to send back Mohammad Kaif, while Yusuf Pathan returned a leading edge while trying to whip Brett Lee across the line. Kamran Akmal, fresh off a Twenty20 international for Pakistan against Bangladesh on Sunday, fended off a verbal assault from Sreesanth before falling to a well-judged catch by Piyush Chawla running backwards at deepish mid-on.

The fall of the third wicket put Watson on the defensive briefly. Sensing the need to build a partnership, he held one end up and waited patiently for the bad deliveries. Irfan Pathan got a couple to beat the bat but Punjab weren't prepared for the onslaught that was to come. One particular heave from Watson was so powerful it split the bat in half and yet just carried on over the long-on boundary. Wielding a new bat, Watson took on James Hopes, lofting one over his head on one knee, before nearly decapitating Irfan with a straight drive.

That shot dented not only Irfan's psyche but also that of the Punjab side as Watson and Darren Lehmann added 51 off 39 balls. The partnership got the home crowd more animated as Watson approached his fifty by launching one over the roof at cow corner. However, just before the stroke of 100, Lehmann was squared up by an Irfan delivery which jagged back in sharply.

The dismissal brought Jadeja, one of India's Under-19 stars, to the middle and his reputation as a big hitter was justified with some cracking strokes through the off side. As if armed with a license to destroy, he flat-batted Sreesanth past the covers before lashing the same bowler past deep backward point. Lee too wasn't spared and the ball scorched to the boundary almost as quickly as the ball left his hand. The pair brought up their 50 stand off a mere 29 balls before Watson aptly sealed the deal with a whip past midwicket.

Punjab had the luck with the toss but their power-packed top order, boosted by Mahela Jayawardene's inclusion, couldn't quite push on, with the exception of Yuvraj Singh. The flat deck left very little margin for error and the Punjab batsmen picked up boundaries aplenty by merely driving through the line, adjusting easily to the length of the ball. Karan Goel and Kumar Sangakkara showed scant respect to Siddharth Trivedi and Munaf Patel, fetching boundaries regularly. Unfortunately, both perished against the run of play. Munaf had the last laugh, sending Goel's off stump out of the ground with a yorker while Warne ended Sangakkara's eight-ball cameo with a sharp return catch. Hopes, fresh after his 71 in the opening game, became Warne's second victim after attempting a slog. Hopes was subdued by the fall of wickets at the other end and his attempt at hitting out only cost him his wicket.

Yuvraj, the Punjab captain, signalled his arrival with a blazing straight drive off his first ball. Rajasthan however had only themselves to blame for not halting his charge. Lehmann spilled a skier at mid-off when Yuvraj was on 15 and there was further shock when Mohammad Kaif, one of the safest catchers, made a complete mess of a straightforward chance at point with Yuvraj at 29.

Yuvraj greeted Trivedi's return with a merciless biff past extra cover before taking on the spinners. Dinesh Salunkhe and Yusuf were clattered on the roof over deep midwicket, his third six bringing up his half-century. However, it was 'that' man Warne again who stemmed the rot, cleverly cutting back on the pace and deceiving Yuvraj on the sweep. While the other spinners were getting pasted, Warne kept the pressure from his end and gave little away. Punjab had lost three wickets for no run and it took a 11-ball 24 by Piyush Chawla to push them to what turned out to be only a satisfactory score.

• Kings XI Punjab innings
• Kings XI Punjab: 50 runs in 5.4 overs (34 balls), Extras 0
• Kings XI Punjab Innings: 1x5 ball over (8th over, D Salunkhe, called by Umpire Aleem Dar)
• Kings XI Punjab: 100 runs in 12.4 overs (77 balls), Extras 3
• Yuvraj Singh: 50 off 29 balls (6 x 4, 3 x 6)
• 5th Wicket: 50 runs in 38 balls (Yuvraj Singh 49, IK Pathan 5, Ex 0)
• Kings XI Punjab: 150 runs in 19.1 overs (116 balls), Extras 3
• Innings Break: Kings XI Punjab - 166/8 in 20.0 overs (PP Chawla 24, WA Mota 1)

• Rajasthan Royals innings
• Rajasthan Royals: 50 runs in 5.1 overs (37 balls), Extras 7
• 4th Wicket: 50 runs in 37 balls (SR Watson 32, DS Lehmann 17, Ex 2)
• Rajasthan Royals: 100 runs in 11.2 overs (76 balls), Extras 10
• SR Watson: 50 off 35 balls (3 x 4, 4 x 6)
• Rajasthan Royals: 150 runs in 15.5 overs (104 balls), Extras 11
• 5th Wicket: 50 runs in 29 balls (SR Watson 19, RA Jadeja 31, Ex 2)

Player of the match SR Watson (Rajasthan Royals)

IPL, Crickinfo, Indian Premier League, Rajasthan Royals,Punjab Kings, Deccan Chargers, Delhi Daredevils

Magnificent Hussey inspires Chennai win

Chennai Super Kings 240 for 5 (Hussey 116*, Raina 32, Badrinath 31*) beat Kings XI Punjab 207 for 4 (Hopes 71, Sangakkara 54) by 33 runs

	Michael Hussey clobbered an unbeaten 114 as the Chennai Super Kings piled on a massive total (file photo) © Getty Images

A pair of Australians, in what was more Pura Cup action than IPL, treated a buzzing Mohali crowd to a run-filled Saturday clash as the bandwagon moved north. Unfortunately for Kings XI Punjab, James Hopes' 32-ball 71 couldn't overhaul a massive target of 241, while the Chennai Super Kings had their Western Australia specialist Michael Hussey to thanks for a massive total. His scintillating unbeaten 116, another superb exhibition for this juiced-up format, left Punjab a mountain to climb and with Yuvraj Singh dethroned early they could only muster 207 for 4.

"We'll just have to put runs on the board and pressure on Yuvraj," was Mahendra Singh Dhoni's reason for batting first on what looked a dry pitch and 20 overs later his team had reason to feel confident. Walking in at No. 3 after Brett Lee's pace and bounce accounted for Parthiv Patel, Hussey looked on as Matthew Hayden's cameo came to end. Then Dhoni, the most expensive player in the IPL, flopped for 1 though replays suggested an inside-edge onto pad. But Hussey, preferred to Stephen Fleming today, was immediately dancing down to hit Lee through extra cover and past midwicket.

His cool head and ability to put away the average deliveries kept runs ticking over on a speedy outfield and his handling of the slow bowlers was superb. Piyush Chawla wasn't allowed to settle, his first ball sailing over mid-on for six, and Suresh Raina took a cue with a pull for maximum and a lovely straight-driven four. The Hussey-Raina stand, a blend of soft-handed pushes and some crowd-pleasing pulls, yielded 66 in five overs. Raina's 32 from 13 balls was a powerful effort before he fell attempting a fourth six.

	Michael Hussey scored just seven runs behind the wicket in his whirlwind knock © Cricinfo

Hussey, however, wasn't flustered by the loss of wickets. Hopes was hit for a straight six, Wilkin Mota's military medium was clubbed over mid-on, and Hussey celebrated a drop by Sreesanth with ten in two balls. Irfan Pathan took his second wicket by yorking Jacob Oram - a dismissal which was celebrated with a raucous din - but Hussey motored on with effortless biffs down the ground. His seventh six, again lofted straight, took him into the 90s and two balls later the landmark was duly reached with a single off Lee. It took just 50 balls. Hussey celebrated with two more sixes and, with some help from a gung-ho S Badrinath, Chennai took 25 off the final over.

Hopes took to Punjab's daunting target with steely-eyed gusto, adding 56 in 5.5 overs with Karan Goel. He was quick to latch on to anything fractionally short, the pick being flat sixes over backward point and deep square leg off Manpreet Gony. Hopes raised a 24-ball half-century, the fastest of the tournament, to keep Punjab near the asking rate. Dropped by P Amarnath off his own bowling, Hopes hammered Joginder Sharma for powerful boundaries and with Kumar Sangakarra sensibly farming the strike, he even slogged Muttiah Muralitharan for six. But Amarnath had his revenge when long-off held an easy catch and with that, ultimately, went Punjab's hopes.

The run-rate was more than 13 when Yuvraj joined Sangakkara, and two scorching sixes were followed by a tame hit down long-on's throat. Sangakkara swung the bat around during a feisty 54, meshing paddles and pulls with aplomb, but fell to Murali in the 18th over as the chase was snubbed.

The tournament opener in Bangalore began and ended with Brendon McCullum's blitzkrieg but Hussey proved there was plenty of oomph to go around with a spectacular hundred of his own. His brother David, who famously ribbed him for fetching a higher price, made just 12 in the first match and you can imagine his sibling sending him a text message after this stunning effort. The IPL is certainly abuzz.

Tags : Michael Hussey,IPL,Indian Premier League,Chennai Superkings, Punjab Kings,Iplt 20,ipl match result

Kolkata Knight Riders vs Banagalore Royal Challengers Scorecard

Twenty20 match

Indian Premier League - 1st match Bangalore Royal Challengers v Kolkata Knight Riders

2007/08 season

Played at M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore, on 18 April 2008 - day/night (20-over match) Result : Kolkata Knight Riders won by 140 runs

	Kolkata Knight Riders innings (20 overs maximum)			R	B	4s	6s	SR
		SC Ganguly	c Kallis b Khan	10	12	2	0	83.33
		BB McCullum	not out	158	73	10	13	216.43
		RT Ponting	c Kumar b Kallis	20	20	1	1	100.00
		DJ Hussey	c White b Noffke	12	12	1	0	100.00
		Mohammad Hafeez	not out	5	3	1	0	166.66
		Extras	(b 4, lb 4, w 9)	17
		Total	(3 wickets; 20 overs)	222	(11.10 runs per over)

Did not bat LR Shukla, WP Saha, AB Agarkar, AB Dinda, M Kartik, I Sharma

Fall of wickets1-61 (Ganguly, 5.2 ov), 2-112 (Ponting, 12.1 ov), 3-172 (Hussey, 17.1 ov)

	Bowling	O	M	R	W	Econ
	P Kumar	4	0	38	0	9.50	(1w)
	Z Khan	4	0	38	1	9.50
	AA Noffke	4	0	40	1	10.00	(1w)
	JH Kallis	4	0	48	1	12.00	(1w)
	SB Joshi	3	0	26	0	8.66
	CL White	1	0	24	0	24.00	(1w)

	Bangalore Royal Challengers innings (target: 223 runs from 20 overs)			R	B	4s	6s	SR
		R Dravid	b Sharma	2	3	0	0	66.66
		W Jaffer	c Ponting b Dinda	6	16	0	0	37.50
		V Kohli	b Dinda	1	5	0	0	20.00
		JH Kallis	c Kartik b Agarkar	8	7	0	1	114.28
		CL White	c Saha b Agarkar	6	10	0	0	60.00
		MV Boucher	c Kartik b Ganguly	7	9	1	0	77.77
		B Akhil	c Ponting b Agarkar	0	2	0	0	0.00
		AA Noffke	run out (Agarkar/Saha)	9	10	1	0	90.00
		P Kumar	not out	18	15	1	2	120.00
		Z Khan	b Ganguly	3	8	0	0	37.50
		SB Joshi	c McCullum b Shukla	3	6	0	0	50.00
		Extras	(lb 8, w 11)	19
		Total	(all out; 15.1 overs)	82	(5.40 runs per over)

Fall of wickets1-4 (Dravid, 1.1 ov), 2-9 (Kohli, 2.2 ov), 3-24 (Kallis, 4.5 ov), 4-24 (Jaffer, 5.2 ov), 5-38 (Boucher, 7.5 ov), 6-38 (Akhil, 8.2 ov), 7-43 (White, 8.6 ov), 8-57 (Noffke, 11.1 ov), 9-70 (Khan, 13.1 ov), 10-82 (Joshi, 15.1 ov)

	Bowling	O	M	R	W	Econ
	AB Dinda	3	0	9	2	3.00	(2w)
	I Sharma	3	0	7	1	2.33	(1w)
	AB Agarkar	4	0	25	3	6.25	(4w)
	SC Ganguly	4	0	21	2	5.25	(1w)
	LR Shukla	1.1	0	12	1	10.28	(2w)

Toss Bangalore Royal Challengers, who chose to field first Points Kolkata Knight Riders 2, Bangalore Royal Challengers 0 Twenty20 debut AB Dinda (Kolkata Knight Riders) Player of the match BB McCullum (Kolkata Knight Riders) Umpires Asad Rauf (Pakistan) and RE Koertzen (South Africa) TV umpire AM Saheba Match referee J Srinath Reserve umpire VN Kulkarni

Match notes

• Kolkata Knight Riders: 50 runs in 3.6 overs (26 balls), Extras 10
• 1st Wicket: 50 runs in 26 balls (SC Ganguly 5, BB McCullum 35, Ex 10)
• BB McCullum: 50 off 32 balls (5 x 4, 3 x 6)
• Kolkata Knight Riders: 100 runs in 10.6 overs (68 balls), Extras 14
• 2nd Wicket: 50 runs in 38 balls (BB McCullum 27, RT Ponting 19, Ex 4)
• Kolkata Knight Riders: 150 runs in 14.6 overs (94 balls), Extras 17
• BB McCullum: 100 off 53 balls (8 x 4, 7 x 6)
• 3rd Wicket: 50 runs in 28 balls (BB McCullum 35, DJ Hussey 12, Ex 3)
• Kolkata Knight Riders: 200 runs in 18.6 overs (118 balls), Extras 17
• BB McCullum: 150 off 70 balls (10 x 4, 12 x 6)
• 4th Wicket: 50 runs in 17 balls (BB McCullum 45, Mohammad Hafeez 5, Ex 0)
• WP Saha kept wicket in the Bangalore innings

Tags : Kolkata Knight Riders vs Banagalore Royal Challengers,Scoreboard,Indian Premier League, ,IPL, KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS, Chennai Superkings,