Deccan Chargers vs Kolkata Knight Riders take on each other in the 32nd match of the league and both the teams wish to win today’s match to improve the rankings.
New Delhi, May 10 (PTI) Missing his long time on-field rival Sachin Tendulkar, retired Australian fast bowler Glenn McGrath hopes to bowl at the master batsman when Delhi Daredevils and Mumbai Indians face off again in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
“Hopefully, Sachin will be fit in the next match. I wish him best of luck,” the legendary pacer told PTI.
Talking on the sidelines of a fashion event in the capital last night, McGrath said the Mumbai team was dearly missing Tendulkar.
“If Sachin comes to the Mumbai side, it will add extra pressure on the rival team as the little champion has the capability to win matches on any given day, he said.
The Australian said the Delhi Daredevils was a balanced side and was one of the strong contenders for the title.
“We have a good combination of youth and experience. Losing the last match against Chennai felt bad but we played some good cricket,” said McGrath.
Delhi Daredevils captain Virender Sehwag exuded confidence that his side would lift the IPL title.
“We have performed very well till now and the boys are enjoying the IPL format. We are sure that we will win the IPL,” he said.
Source :ptinews.com
Melbourne, May 10 (PTI) Australian captain Ricky Ponting today hit out at Harbhajan Singh, saying that the Indian off-spinner has been unmasked by his attack on teammate S Sreesanth.
Ponting said people can now make their own judgment on Harbhajan after the slapping row since it involved his own teammate.
“The (slapping) incident was him dealing with a guy that he has probably played 20 Tests with,” Ponting, who had a brief stint with Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League during which the slap-gate took place, said.
“After this latest issue in India, I think people should be making their own judgments about Harbhajan. He has again done something wrong,” Ponting told ‘Herald Sun’.
The Sydney fiasco involving Harbhajan and Andrew Symonds is more than three months old but Ponting remained incredulous at how Harbhajan got off with a slap on the wrist after being charged with racially abusing Andrew Symonds.
Harbhajan was initially suspended for three Tests but after an appeal received a 50 per cent match-fee fine on a lesser charge.
“It certainly wasn’t the outcome that we expected. He ended up being fined 50 per cent of his match fee. As it is, I will cop a 20 or 30 per cent match-fee fine most one-day games because I am behind in the over rates,” Ponting said.
Source: ptinews.com
Harbhajan Singh has received support from an unlikely quarter. Spin wizard Shane Warne has come forward in support of beleaguered Harbhajan Singh, who got into trouble after having slapped his Indian team-mate S Sreesanth in an IPL match.
Shane Warne, who is leading Rajasthan Royals in ongoing IPL, said that the ill-tempered Indian tweaker should not be punished and should be given another chance to redeem himself.
“He should certainly be given a chance to redeem himself considering his international career in mind,” Warne said in an interview.
The support from Warne comes at a time when the Indian spinner’s fate depends on Justice Sudhir Nanavati’s report which would be submitted to the board on Tuesday.
Source: cricket.zeenews.com
Bangalore: A boyish face that masks nerves of steel. A small frame that packs a punch with the bat. Mahela Jayawardene is a man of many parts strung together by a thread of genuine warmth. The Sri Lankan skipper, a key player in the Yuvraj Singh-led Kings XI Punjab, believes that the DLF-Indian Premier League will enhance cricketers’ skill-sets.
“We haven’t played a big deal in the Twenty20 format and this tournament will improve our skills, not just in Twenty20 but in all versions of the game,” said Jayawardene.
He also hopes that the IPL will get a slot in the ICC calendar. “You need to have the best players in this tournament and if the ICC can come up with a slot, it will help the game. Through the Twenty20 format, you can develop the game in non-cricketing Nations like China and the U.S.,” Jayawardene said.
On crowd response
On the local crowd response, he added: “In Mohali, our supporters back us. In this first season, they will applaud a good performance. But in Hyderabad when Viru (Sehwag) got a fifty, no one applauded! Slowly you will get that city-loyalty but once the IPL is over, everyone will support their National team.”
What about sharing the dressing room with Brett Lee and other Aussie players, considering the tension that prevailed during Australia-Sri Lanka matches?
“Off the field we had good conversations with the opposition players and now we have these guys in our dressing room and we are playing against our own players like Murali, Vaas and others. From a Lankan point of view it is great to share the dressing room with legends, for instance Maharoof with McGrath in Delhi.”
A challenge
When talk veers to Sri Lankan cricket, he admits that it will be a challenge to fill the huge boots of Sanath Jayasuriya, Vaas and Muralitharan. “Their exit, as and when they leave, will leave a hole in the team. For the last 10 years we have built the team around them and when they leave, we have to build the team around whatever we have got,” Jayawardene said.
He banks on Kumar Sangakkara to cope with the transition stage. “Sanga has been our most consistent player and I am lucky to have him as a deputy. We are good friends trying to take Sri Lankan cricket to the next level,” Jayawardene said.
With a total of 14,946 international runs spread over 95 Tests and 272 ODIs and captaining a side that has made steady progress, Jayawardene believes in staying humble. “You shouldn’t be depressed when you go through a bad patch and you shouldn’t go overboard when you are doing well. You just keep your feet down and work hard.”
Privileged lot
The 30-year-old, who loves Sri Lankan music, believes that he and his teammates are privileged to make a difference in a nation struggling with internal strife.
“As cricketers we stay away from all political activity and sport has no barriers in terms of religion, caste or region. Every country has its own little problem in its backyard.
“So it is not just Sri Lanka alone and we are hoping that in the future we can live peacefully. Right now it is a very beautiful island and we are improving as a nation,” said Jayawardene.
Source:island.lk