New Zealand star Daniel Vettori has got a new role in the Indian Premier League Season 7. He has been signed by RCR as the coach for 2014 season as a replacement of South African Ray Jenning.
This is not the first time that a New Zealand player has been appointed as an IPL coach. Earlier Stephen Fleming and John Wright have coached Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians respectively.
Apart from the team coach, bowling and fielding coaches have also been appointed. Allan Donald will be the bowling coach where as Trent Woodhill will play his role as a fielding coach.
Match 76 Final – Chennai Super Kings v Mumbai Indians
Date – Sun May 26
Time – 14:30 GMT | 20:00 IST
Venue – Eden Gardens, Kolkata
Toss – Mumbai Indians elected to bat
Result – Mumbai Indians won by 23 Runs
Today in the much awaited final of IPL 2013, Mumbai Indians won the toss and elected to bat first. Mumbai got off to the worst possible start as they lost Dwayne Smith on the 4th ball of the innings when the team score was just 4. Aditya Tare got out for a duck leaving Mumbai at 8/2 in 1.1 overs. Captain Rohit Sharma was the next to go as he got out for just 2 leaving Mumbai in all sorts of problems at 16/3 in 3.2 overs. Dinesh Karthik and Ambati Rayudu then came the teams rescue and the duo took the score past 50. Just when they started to look dangerous, Morris bowled Dinesh Karthik leaving Mumbai at 52/4in 9.3 overs. Once again the responsibility to bail his team out of crisis fell on the shoulders of Kieron Pollard and he played a superb innings of 60 off 32 balls (4×7,6×3) and along with Rayudu (37 off 36 balls) and Harbhajan Singh (14 off 8 balls) helped Mumbai post a total of 148/9 in 20 overs.
IPL 2013 Champions
Chasing 149 to be the IPL 2013 winner, Chennai Super Kings also got off the worst possible start as they lost Michael Hussey and Suresh Raina in the very first over and the score read 2/2 in 0.5 overs. The woes did not end as they lost Subramaniam Badrinath in the second over and CSK were reduced to 3/3 in 1.4 overs. Murali Vijay and Dwayne Bravo then tried to bring CSK back in the race as the duo took the score to 35 when Dhawan got the wicket of D Bravo. Ravindra Jadeja then played a lose shot and fell to Harbhajan Singh soon followed by Murali Vijay. With scorecard reading at 39/6 in 7.3 overs, the only hope for CSK was captain MS Dhoni. Though wicket kept falling at the other end and CSK looked down and out as CSK were 58/8 in 11.3 overs, MS Dhoni stood firm on one end. CSK needed 76 to win from last 6 overs and had 2 wickets in hand. Mumbai looked in total control but MS Dhoni and Ravichandran Ashwin made sure that CSK fights till the end and Mumbai need to sweat hard for the win. The duo added 41 runs before Ravichandran Ashwin got out in the 18th over leaving CSK at 99/9. MS Dhoni completed his half century but the lone warrior for CSK could not ensure his team’s victory and finally CSK were able to score 125/9 and thus Mumbai Indians won the IPL 2013 title by defeating CSK by 23 runs.
Match 76 Final – Chennai Super Kings v Mumbai Indians
Date – Sun May 26
Time – 14:30 GMT | 20:00 IST
Venue – Eden Gardens, Kolkata
Despite the controversy surrounding the IPL 2013, stage is all set for the grand finale today between two times champions Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians at the famous Eden Gardens.
Mumbai who have been the second consistent team after Chennai Super Kings will be eying the IPL trophy as today they will be looking to avenge their 2010 defeat at the hands of CSK. Chennai who have been in all sort of controversies due to the management will be looking to keep those things at bay and win today to bring cheer to the faces of their fans.
Today’s mega final will witness the best of IPL as both teams have players who can single handily change the game. While Mumbai fans will be hoping to see Sachin on the field today after recovering from his wrist injury, CSK fans will be more than happy to see Sachin’s back.
Players To Watch Out For
Mumbai Indians – Dwayne Smith, Rohit Sharma and Dinesh Karthik.
Chennai Super Kings – Michael Hussey, Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni.
Chennai Super Kings are into the IPL finals 5th time out of 6 seasons and if they manage to win today, it will be their third title win. On the other hand, Mumbai will be winning their maiden title today if they show the nerves of steel today and don’t choke under the pressure.
Match 75 IPL 2013 Qualifier 2 – Rajasthan Royals vs Mumbai Indians
Date – Fri May 24
Time – 8:00 pm i.e 14:30 GMT | 20:00 IST
Venue – Eden Gardens, Kolkata
Toss – Rajasthan Royals elected to bat
Result – Mumbai Indians won by 4 wickets
Today in the qualifier for IPL 2013 finals, Rajasthan Royals won the toss and elected to bat first. Openers Rahul Dravid and Ajinkya Rahane added 44 runs in 6.3 overs for the first wicket stand. Rahane was the first to fall as he was bowled by Harbhajan Singh for 21 off 18 balls. Dravid and Shane Watson then added 16 runs when Harbhajan striked yet again to claim the priced wicket of Shane Watson. Exactly 6 balls later, Malinga got the wicket of Sanju Samson for a duck leaving Royals at 64/3 in 9.4 overs Captain Dravid and Stuart Binny then tried to steady the innings but Harbhajan Singh got the wicket of Dravid who scored 43 off 37 balls. Royals were reduced to 87/4 in 12.1 overs and they needed some one to anchor the innings. Stuart Binny scored 27 off 17 balls before falling to Pollard and in the same over Kevon Cooper got out after scoring 4 leaving Royals at 108/6 in 15.3 overs. Once again it was Brad Hodge who along with Dishant Yagnik came to the team’s rescue. Hodge scored 19 off 20 balls where as a cameo of 31 off 17 balls by Yagnik helped Rajasthan Royals post a total of 165/6 in 20 overs.
Chasing 166 to enter the finals of IPL 2013, Mumbai Indians got off to a flying start as the openers Dwayne Smith and Aditya Tare added 70 runs in 9.1 overs for the first wicket stand. Aditya Tare got out after scoring 35 off 27 balls which included 3 fours and 2 sixes. Mumbai Indians were placed at 73/1 in 10 overs and needed 93 to win from last 10 oves. Dwayne Smith and Dinesh Karthik played superbly and took the team score past 100. D Smith completed his half century and along with Karthik took the team score to 125/2 in 14.1 overs. Captain Rohit Sharma was bowled by Trivedi and Mumbai were placed at 128/3 in 15.5 overs. Needing 37 to win from 4 overs with 6 wickets in hand, the match was set for an interesting finish as Binny strike and got rid of dangerous Dwayne Smith. Smith departed after scoring a brilliant 62 off 44 balls. Kieron Pollard then scored 11 off 6 balls before getting out. Mumbai needed 26 to win from 3 overs and the team which was well placed till the 15th over started to choke. But a superb 11 ball 17 by Ambati Rayudu and winning six by Harbhajan Singh helped Mumbai win the match by 4 wickets and move to the finals of IPL 2013.
Match 75 IPL 2013 Qualifier 2 – Rajasthan Royals vs Mumbai Indians
Date – Fri May 24
Time – 8:00 pm i.e 14:30 GMT | 20:00 IST
Venue – Eden Gardens, Kolkata
Today in the second qualifier of IPL 2013, it will be a do or die situation for both teams, Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals as the winner will take onCchennai Super Kings in the finals of IPL 2013 on Sunday where as the loser’s dream will end today.
Mumbai who lost their first chance to qualify for the finals when they lost their match against Chennai would be hoping that they make the most of this second chance. Mumbai who have been in the top fours teams since last three seasons need to remove the tag of chokers as they fail to deliver in crunch matches. Even in the previous match against Chennai, Mumbai crumbled under pressure and lost the match by 57 runs.
On the other hand, Rajasthan Royals have impressed everybody with their performances, though they are demoralized by the spot fixing charges against three players, Darvid lead Royals know this is the chance to regain the lost glory. In the last match against Sunrisers, Royals looked down and out at one stage but they bounced back to win the match and move to this qualifier. This act of coming back from stages where other teams crumble under pressure is the strength of Royals and will cause headache to the Mumbai Indians.
Players to Watch out For
Mumbai Indians
Batsmen – Sachin Tendulkar, Rohit Sharma, Dinesh Karthik,Dwayne Smith and Kieron Pollard
Bowlers – Mitchell Johnson, Lasith Malinga Harbhajan Singh and Pragyan Ojha
Rajasthan Royals
Batsmen – Rahul Dravid, Ajinkya Rahane, Shane Watson, Stuart Binny and Brad Hodge.
Bowlers – James Faulkner, Siddharth Trivedi
