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ESPNcricinfo previews the chances of the teams in the Friends Life t20 South Group

Vithushan Ehantharajah26-Jun-2013Essex (14-1)
Overseas players: Hamish Rutherford, Shaun Tait
T20 pedigree: Three visits to Finals Day but still yet to play in the showpiece match, Essex possess enough fire power to win this competition. Why they haven’t is a bit of a mystery, especially considering their personnel.
Prediction: Rutherford and Tait reinforce a line-up boasting Owais Shah, Ryan ten Doeschate, Graham Napier and an internationally rejuvenated Ravi Bopara. They are one of the few sides whose hopes don’t rest on the success of their overseas signings but given their topsy-turvy season so far, that might not necessarily be a good thing. Quarter-finals should be a minimum – outsiders for the title.Hampshire (10-1)
Overseas players: Sohail Tanvir
T20 pedigree: One of the few teams in the world that fully appreciate this form of the game and much of that is down to their skipper Dmitri Mascarenhas. The last three years have seen them win the competition twice, with a semi-final finish sandwiched in between.
Prediction: No county has defended the domestic Twenty20 title and it’s doubtful that Hampshire will change that. Mascarenhas is fighting a continuing battle with injury but, provided they can manage his situation well, they could become only the tfourth team to make four Finals Day appearances in a row.Kent (20-1)
Overseas players: Brendan Nash, Vernon Philander
T20 pedigree: Quarter-finalists, winners, runners-up and semi-finalists from 2006 to 2009, inclusive, Kent have shown that a consistent method can garner results in the madness that is Twenty20.
Prediction: The wise heads are still there, but the bodies are older and perhaps even getting out of the group will be seen as a bonus. Darren Stevens continues to prove just how valuable a cricketer he is after his 44-ball hundred helped Kent chase down a world record 336 for victory in the YB40 against Sussex. Then again, with Philander, anything is possible.Middlesex (18-1)
Overseas players: Adam Voges, Kyle Mills
T20 pedigree: One win and one quarter-final place. Their focus in the last couple of years has been regaining their Division One status in the Championship and, with that achieved and consolidated, they will be keen to excel in the cup competitions.
Prediction: Their batting line-up shows that a change of game can elicit a change of form; much of the middle-order that has faltered in the Championship has excelled in the YB40. Dawid Malan, Joe Denly and Neil Dexter have enjoyed the freedom of limited-overs cricket, while youngsters like James Harris, the hard-hitting Adam Rossington and Paul Stirling – ranked the eighth-best ODI batsman in the world – can be game-changers.Surrey (9-1)
Overseas players: Ricky Ponting, Glenn Maxwell
T20 pedigree: The inaugural champions, they reached the first four Finals Days but have failed to get out of the group on the last six occasions. Their financial clout always gives them a chance, particularly in this form, and the acquisition of Maxwell will excite.
Prediction: Would a win be so crazy? The romantic narrative that sport often throws up would surely be Surrey lifting the trophy at Edgbaston after a season of discontent, not to mention the tragedy of last year. Their fans and the rest of the country want to see just how good Jason Roy, Steven Davies, Jade Dernbach, Zafar Ansari and Matthew Dunn can be and this competition gives them the chance to show that the future at The Oval is bright.Sussex (8-1)
Overseas players: Scott Styris, Dwayne Smith
T20 pedigree: Semi-finalists last year, Sussex were victors in 2009 with a well-balanced side, much of which has remained in place at Hove. Smith was man of the match against Somerset that year and his re-signing, along with that of Styris, bodes well.
Prediction: Luke Wright’s consistency and the acquisition of Chris Jordan add some snap to their bowling attack, along with Chris Liddle providing variation with some skiddy left-arm seam. Will Beer’s improvement with the bat should have him nailed-on as the spin option and gives Sussex the total package that should have them gunning for Finals Day.Odds from bet365.com

India captain Harmanpreet Kaur scored her seventh ODI fifty to guide the side to a five-wicket win over Bangladesh in the first ODI in Ahmedabad

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Apr-2013
ScorecardIndia captain Harmanpreet Kaur’s seventh ODI fifty guided the side to a five-wicket win over Bangladesh in the first of the three ODIs in Ahmedabad.Chasing 195, India had a sluggish start and Harmanpreet came in to bat when the score was 37 for 2 in the 13th over. An 83-run partnership for the fourth wicket between Harmanpreet and Anagha Deshpande revived the chase for India. Once Deshpande was out for a 50-ball 47, Harmanpreet and the lower middle order took India home with four balls to spare. Harmanpreet’s unbeaten 63 came off 100 balls and had only three fours.Earlier, Bangladesh chose to bat first and scored 194 for 9. They began at a fair pace but lost their openers quickly. Rumana Ahmed (38) and Lata Mondal (39) steadied the innings, but their partnership of 57 took 98 balls, slowing down the innings. After the pair was dismissed, captain Salma Khatun held one end up, bringing up her first ODI fifty. She received little support from the other end, however, as the Indian bowlers, led by left-arm spinner Ekta Bisht, dismissed the middle and lower order. Khatun was unbeaten on 75 at the end of the innings and her 82-ball knock included 11 fours. Bisht finished with 3 for 27 while Shubhlakshmi Sharma picked up two wickets.

Wahab Riaz has said he is desperate to bowl on the lively South African pitches, ahead of the limited-overs leg that starts on March 1

Umar Farooq28-Feb-2013Pakistani left-arm fast bowler Wahab Riaz has said he is desperate to bowl on the lively South African pitches, ahead of the limited-overs leg that starts on March 1. Riaz was not part of the Test side that was blanked 3-0 by South Africa and has worked hard on his fitness in this period.”I am super fit at the moment and in the best form,” Riaz said. “I have a lot to offer to my captain and coach. I am desperate to bowl on the surfaces in South Africa. I can bowl fast, and conditions are well suited for me to bowl reverse swing as well.”His last ODI appearance was against India during the Asia Cup in 2012. He was selected as part of the Pakistan squad that toured India in December last year, but didn’t make it into the playing eleven. The selectors however, have retained him for the South Africa ODIs and T20s, and he is likely to make it to the XI.Riaz admitted the time away from international cricket was frustrating, but he kept himself match fit. He recently recorded his best first-class figures of 9 for 59 in a Quaid-e-Azam trophy match.”I have managed myself very well. I have been playing hockey for the last one-and-a-half months to build up my thighs for the South African grounds, which are a bit harder. I recently took nine wickets in an innings, which shows my form,” he said. “It always feel good when the selectors tap your shoulder to give you a go, but it’s frustrating when you are not able to make it to the XI.”Riaz, 27, impressed during his debut series 2008 against Zimbabwe. He also had a good start to Test cricket, taking a five-for against England in August 2010. He picked up his maiden ODI five-wicket haul during the World Cup semi-final against India, but was not able to cement his place.”I know things weren’t right sometimes, and I wavered and leaked so many runs,” he said. “When you are representing your country, you are pumped up and trying to give your hundred per cent. Some days nothing works in your favour, but you move on and come back after working on your deficiency.”Fast bowlers are always emotional and aggressive – they need time to settle. I still have a case to prove, and I believe this South Africa tour will be an ideal opportunity for me to showcase my abilities.”

Ramnaresh Sarwan will take over Leicestershire’s four-day captaincy from Matthew Hoggard for next season

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Dec-2012The career of Matthew Hoggard, the former England bowler, would appear to be drawing to a close after Leicestershire announced Ramnaresh Sarwan would take over the four-day captaincy for next season.Hoggard, who joined Leicestershire in 2010, will enter the final year of his contract in 2013. He has now relinquished the captaincy in all three formats and, at the age of 35, his playing days could be numbered after a 16-year career. He described the change as the “right time to be handing over the reins”.Hoggard led Leicestershire to a third T20 title in 2011 but only took 24 first-class wickets at 28.79 in 2012 – the second-lowest haul since his first full season in 1998 – and stood down from the one-day captaincy in July, with Josh Cobb taking up the role.Cobb will now be vice-captain of the Championship side, which will be led by Sarwan, who committed himself to Leicestershire by extending his one-year deal to a three-year arrangement.Chief executive, Mike Siddall, said it was an opportunity to “put a succession plan in place for the future”, with head coach Phil Whitticase adding: “I’ve really enjoyed working with Matthew over the past three years, especially during our successful T20 campaign. It is important for everyone to get behind Ronnie as we look to take the club forward.”

Preview of the third ODI between India and England at Ranchi

The Preview by Abhishek Purohit18-Jan-2013Match factsJanuary 19, 2013
Start time 1200 (0630 GMT)MS Dhoni will have the chance to demonstrate his hitting in front of a home crowd in Ranchi’s first ODI•BCCIBig PictureChirkunda is a small border town in Dhanbad district of the Indian state of Jharkhand, where a future national icon came to play a local tennis-ball cricket tournament in the late 1990s. There are hundreds of towns like Chirkunda across Jharkhand, which has mostly made the news for Maoist unrest and political instability. And many people from many such towns will feel pride in the story of a boy from their capital Ranchi, who rose and rose from anonymity.That boy, MS Dhoni, now returns to his hometown as India captain, World Cup winner, to play in Ranchi’s first ODI. To say that Ranchi is an emotional place right now is an understatement. And it is not an overstatement to say that Ranchi gets whatever attention it does mostly because it produced Dhoni.For the moment, between Ranchi and Dhoni, the series itself has taken a bit of a backseat. England, of course, will know that their bowlers have taken a battering, a good part of it from Dhoni himself, in both the previous ODIs in Rajkot and Kochi. While their batsmen managed to just outdo India’s in the first ODI, they fell woefully short in the second, against swing and spin alike. The Kochi loss bore traces of the old England and why they have lost 17 of their previous 20 ODIs in India – unable to control the rampaging home batsmen and unable to tackle the sticky local conditions.England already know that this is not exactly the India side of old, which was extremely difficult to overcome on home soil. The personnel, especially the batsmen, might not have changed drastically, but times certainly have for Dhoni and his team.Form guide(Most recent first)
India WLWLL
England LWLWW
In the spotlightThousands lined the route from the Birsa Munda airport to the team hotel in Ranchi to catch a glimpse of MS Dhoni, who has said he wasn’t expecting such a tremendous reception, and felt “humbled”. Dhoni is one of the very few India cricketers to come somewhat close to Sachin Tendulkar in terms of popularity and adulation, as well as in his ability to shut himself off from it all. There is no doubt he could feel overwhelmed when he walks out to the middle in the city he grew up in. There is also no doubt that he won’t allow his game to be affected by the emotions of the thousands who will be screaming out his name from the stands.Kevin Pietersen is in some form. His magnificent 186 on a Mumbai turner proved that last November and the way he walked down the pitch and hit balls from off to leg in Rajkot and Kochi reinforces the case. But both those knocks have been terminated in the forties. Pietersen can’t be denied for too long.Team newsTim Bresnan missed the Kochi ODI with a niggle and, if fit, should return in place of Chris Woakes. Will England persist with Jade Dernbach? The fast bowler got the wicket of Dhoni in Rajkot and had kept India in check in the batting Powerplay before he and his bag of variations fell apart at the death.England (possible) 1 Alastair Cook (capt), 2 Ian Bell, 3 Kevin Pietersen, 4 Eoin Morgan, 5 Joe Root, 6 Craig Kieswetter (wk), 7 Samit Patel, 8 Tim Bresnan, 9 James Tredwell, 10 Jade Dernbach/Stuart Meaker, 11 Steven FinnAmid all the local excitement, Dhoni was hit on the right thumb while batting against the bowling coach Joe Dawes in the nets. That was the end of his practice as he received ice treatment, but he is expected to be fit to play. With Shami Ahmed not doing badly at all in the four overs he got in Kochi, India can be expected to stick to a winning combination.India (possible) 1 Gautam Gambhir, 2 Ajinkya Rahane, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Yuvraj Singh, 5 Suresh Raina, 6 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 Ishant Sharma, 11 Shami Ahmed.Pitch and conditionsThe Jharkhand State Cricket Association stadium has hosted just two first-class games, both of which were drawn. The curator has been quoted as saying he expects the side batting first to make around 350 on the “sporting wicket”. Winter has started to wind down in the east of the country, with Jharkhand experiencing milder weather over the past few days. The curator does not expect dew to be a major factor. A light drizzle is forecast for later in the evening.Stats and trivia Before Rajkot, the last time England beat India in India in an ODI was in April 2006, in Ranchi’s neighbouring city of Jamshedpur. Ranchi will become India’s 42nd ODI venue.Quotes”Very high marks, let’s say nine out of ten. I haven’t given a perfect ten because even the best can be improved … the good players can become even better, so also stadiums and facilities.”

Shahid Afridi, the Pakistan allrounder, has been ruled out of the second ODI against Australia in Abu Dhabi, but is expected to recover in time for the third ODI to be played on September 3

Umar Farooq31-Aug-2012Shahid Afridi, the Pakistan allrounder, has been ruled out of the second ODI against Australia in Abu Dhabi, but is expected to recover in time for the third ODI to be played on September 3. Left-arm fast bowler Junaid Khan is likely to replace Afridi in the XI – the only change expected in the Pakistan line-up. Afridi sustained a back strain during the practice session on Thursday.”He picked up a back strain yesterday night [Thursday] during the practice session,” Pakistan team manager Naveed Akram Cheema told ESPNcricinfo. “So far, he isn’t available for today’s game as he has been advised indefinite rest by the doctor. I can’t say much about the next game but if he recovers in time, he will definitely be in the side. We have ample options to replace him but I can’t reveal the team’s plan. It will be revealed at the toss.”During the first ODI in Sharjah, Afridi bowled his 10 overs for 37 runs and picked up the wicket of Australia opener Matthew Wade. However while batting, he was out off his first ball, sparking a lower-order collapse that left them defending a moderate total of 198. Australia won that match by four wickets in the 49th over.

Cricket Australia has moved to revamp its strength and conditioning structure by appointing Andrew Weller to the newly created position of physical performance manager

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Aug-2012Cricket Australia has moved to revamp its strength and conditioning structure by appointing Andrew Weller to the newly created position of physical performance manager. Weller, 48, has spent the past decade working with AFL clubs and has been the high performance manager at the Gold Coast Suns for the past four years.In his new role he will oversee the strength and conditioning programmes across all Australian teams, which will mean working closely with the state associations as well as the national squads. A physical performance coach, who will be responsible for the Australia team when on tour and during their home summer, will be appointed in the coming weeks and will report to Weller.”Andrew has been at the Gold Coast Suns from the beginning and was instrumental in creating their strength and conditioning programme,” Pat Howard, Cricket Australia’s general manager, team performance, said. “Previous to this he was the rehabilitation manager at the St Kilda Football Club.”Andrew will be responsible for all strength and conditioning programs across all of the Australian teams, both male and female. He will be a key liaison person between these national programs and their home state programs. Andrew will implement a consistent long term delivery across all of Australian cricket working with the states, the youngest elite players all the way to the national teams.”Weller said: “I’m really looking forward to the challenge of working with Cricket Australia, its high performance squads and the sports science teams within the states. Over the last decade I’ve worked in AFL and I’m sure I can bring innovations from that sport to cricket as we continue to develop the high performance culture around the Australian cricket teams.”Keeping Australia’s young players – especially the fast bowlers – fit and firing will be one of the key challenges of the new physical performance manager and coach.

A round-up of the latest round of matches of the Vijay Hazare Trophy

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Feb-2012South ZoneBangalore’s Rajinder Singh Institute Ground witnessed an epic chase, as Andhra overhauled Goa’s 383, incredibly, with eight balls to spare. It was the sixth-highest match aggregate – 768 – in List A history. The match included three centuries – 139 by Goa’s Rohit Asnodkar, and 115 and 104 by the Andhra pair of Venugopal Rao and AG Pradeep respectively.Opting to bat first, Goa were carried by the third-wicket partnership of 144, off 23.2 overs, between Asnodkar and Reagan Pinto. Asnodkar hit 20 fours and a six before he was dismissed by Sneha Kishore. Goa continued scoring at breakneck speed, especially the eighth-wicket pair of Shadab Jakati and Robin D’Souza, who added 77 off the last four overs. Sneha Kishore was the only bowler to return with an economy rate of less than six (he took 1 for 59), while S Srinivas conceded a century – 2 for 103 off his ten overs.The Andhra openers, Prasanth Kumar and Syed Sahabuddin, gave the team the launch pad with a stand of 112 off 11.1 overs. Four quick wickets put the game in Goa’s control, but the stand of 195, off 23.4 overs proved to be a massive shock to the system for Goa. Venugopal and Pradeep scored at over eight an over, and when Pradeep was dismissed, Andhra needed just 44 off 52 balls. Pradeep hit four sixes in his 104, off 69 balls. Venugopal and Bharat Reddy finished things off in the penultimate over. Ganeshraj Narvekar was the only bright spot for Goa’s otherwise sorry bowling effort, finishing with 4 for 56.The other team from the state of Andhra Pradesh, Hyderabad, wasn’t so lucky though. In another high-scoring game, at the Jain International Residential School Ground, the hosts Karnataka piled on 343 for 7, led by Robin Uthappa’s 120 and Ganesh Satish’s 90. Coincidentally, Uthappa and Satish also added 144 off 23.2 overs, just like Asnodkar and Pinto did in the other match. The Karnataka duo’s second-wicket stand laid the groundwork for a massive score. Satish and Abhimanyu Mithun added a quick 48 for the fourth wicket. Andhra managed only 240 in their reply, because the batsmen couldn’t give their captain Ravi Teja enough support. Teja’s 110 went in vain, and the next-highest score in the innings was BP Sandeep’s 38. Karnataka’s find of the tournament, Ronit More, followed up his six-wicket haul on debut with 5 for 31 to keep Hyderabad to 240.Tamil Nadu recorded their third win in the tournament, beating Kerala by 61 runs at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. S Anirudha’s 82 set the platform for Tamil Nadu to score 284 for 8. KB Arun Karthik hit a quick 56 off 50 balls at No.3, before the lower order, led by K Vasudevadas, took the team to a competitive score. For Kerala, Robert Fernandez hit 86 off 94 balls but the middle order failed to give him enough support. The seam-bowling duo of R Jesuraj and C Ganapathy took four wickets each to give Tamil Nadu a comprehensive win.East ZoneAt Eden Gardens, Jharkhand’s 280 for 6 was barely enough to test the hosts Bengal, as Laxmi Ratan Shukla plundered 151, off 96 balls, to guide his team to a seven-wicket win with nearly 12 overs to spare. Jharkhand’s Ishank Jaggi, coming in at No.3 as early as the second over, stayed till the end to hit 129, off 144 balls. Shami Ahmed, East Zone’s star in the Duleep Trophy final, took four wickets but conceded a whopping 86 off ten overs. He was supported by Saurabh Tiwary and Kumar Deobrat, who both compiled 40s. Like the Australians found out at Hobart today, a score of 280 wasn’t enough. Shukla smashed eight sixes and 16 fours in his knock before he was bowled by Shahbaz Nadeem in the 31st over. Wriddhiman Saha and Anustup Majumdar then added an unbeaten 74 off 7.4 overs to seal the chase.Orissa recorded a comprehensive 95-run win at the Jadavpur University Complex in Kolkata against Tripura. Biplab Samantray played a captain’s knock for Orissa, top scoring with 78, He was supported by Govind Podder, who made 55, to help push the score to 291. Rana Dutta took four wickets, but leaked 74 off his ten overs. The Tripura batsmen failed to make starts, the highest score being 42 by the opener Samrat Singha. The left-arm spinner Paresh Patel was the best bowler for Orissa, taking 4 for 30.Central Zone
An unbeaten century by Udit Birla helped Madhya Pradesh beat Rajasthan in a tough chase at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Ground in Nagpur. In their pursuit of 225, MP were struggling at 60 for 4 in the 19th over but Birla stepped up and saw his team through. He struck nine fours in his 129-ball knock, and was supported by Harpreet Singh, who made 33 in a 78-run stand. Then Ankit Sharma assisted Birla, scoring a quick 30 in a stand worth 74 which ultimately won the game for MP. The ton was Birla’s first in List A cricket.In the Rajasthan innings, Jalaj Saxena was the chief wicket-taker, taking 4 for 40, including the wickets of the two half-centurions Robin Bist and Puneet Yadav.Vidarbha sealed a five-wicket win over Uttar Pradesh in Nagpur. A series of steady and useful contributions took UP to 229 for 7 in their 50 overs. Mohammad Kaif made 40, Ali Murtaza made 46 in a slowish innings and captain Piyush Chawla provided the surge in the late overs, smashing 69 in 43 balls, striking five fours and four sixes. However, his effort was in vain.Opener Akshay Kolhar led the way for Vidarbha in the chase, making 73 and put his team on course after the loss of two early wickets. He added 86 with Hemang Badani (40) and though the hosts were reduced to 151 for 5 at one stage, Vidarbha were able to claw their way out of the difficult position. Apoorv Wankhade (48 not out) and Urvesh Patel (30 not out) put together 83 at better than a run-a-ball and saw their team through with 31 balls to spare.North Zone
Delhi continued their good run in the tournament, beating Himachal Pradesh by eight wickets at the Feroz Shah Kotla to register their third straight win. A collective bowling effort helped them skittle out HP for 103. Parvinder Awana led the way with three wickets and Pawan Suyal, Pradeep Sangwan and Rajat Bhatia picked up two each. The highest score in the HP innings was 24 by Vikramjeet Malik. HP were reduced to 88 for 8 at one stage but the tail helped them get beyond the 100 mark. The win was secured with ease, opener Shikhar Dhawan making an unbeaten 55 to seal the game in the 26th over.Haryana overcame Services by 52 runs at the Palam B Ground in Delhi, despite an unimposing albeit competitive score. The Haryana innings was littered by steady contributions but they kept losing wickets at regular intervals. Persistent strikes meant that Haryana were left struggling at one stage, at 105 for 6, but Kuldeep Hooda rescued them with an unbeaten half-century. He added 54 with Mohit Sharma and found good support from Jayant Yadav, with whom he added an unbeaten 74. That partnership took Haryana to 223, a score they successfully defended.Yadav picked up three wickets in the chase and Hooda and Harshal Patel took two each to rattle Services. The only significant resistance came from Sanjeev Mishra, who scored a half-century but there was little support from the other end. Though opener Tahir Khan, and Narender Singh and Suraj Yadav in the lower order, got starts, the batting couldn’t measure up to what the Haryana bowlers offered. Services were bowled out for 171.Jammu and Kashmir put up a fight but could not overcome Punjab at the Palam A Ground in Delhi. Their bowlers, particularly Ram Dayal and Raman Dutta, had done a good job to bowl out Punjab for 224, picking up three wickets each, but the batsmen failed to scale it down. For Punjab, half-centuries from Chandan Madan and Amitoze Singh proved crucial in taking their team to a competitive score. J&K, in the chase, were very much in it, reaching 109 for 3 in the 28th over but they began to slip from there on. Rajwinder Singh took three wickets and Bipul Sharma chipped in with two; J&K were reduced to 113 for 7. Parvez Rasool kept the team afloat with a half-century at No.9 and a half-century stand with Dutta for the final wicket but all J&K could manage in the end was 205 for 9.

The Deccan Chargers bowlers strived to earn their side a maiden victory in this season of the IPL but, even on a slow pitch that turned, they did not have enough runs to defend

The Report by George Binoy22-Apr-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsGautam Gambhir held the first half of the chase together•AFPThe Deccan Chargers bowlers strived to earn their side a maiden victory in this season of the IPL but, even on a slow pitch that turned, they did not have enough runs to defend. The upshot was a fifth consecutive defeat for the home side while Kolkata Knight Riders drew level with the other top teams in the tournament with their fourth win. The finish, however, was far more tense and hard fought than was expected after Chargers had been limited to only 126.For the briefest of periods, Chargers looked like posting a stronger total. And then, though wickets did not fall in a heap, the scoring-rate began to splutter and the innings stuttered. The odd boundary would be followed by periods of low productivity, depriving Chargers of all momentum. The Knight Riders’ chase followed a similar pattern – at no stage did the batsmen consistently dominate the bowling. However, they kept the situation under control by staying abreast with the asking-rate, ensuring the pressure did not get too intense to handle.While Gautam Gambhir and Jacques Kallis were steering the chase, Knight Riders were in control. Then Gambhir mis-hit Anand Rajan to mid-off, leaving his team on 64 for 3 in 9.5 overs. Yusuf Pathan clouted one six off the spinner Ankit Sharma before trying to slog the next ball and getting bowled. Kallis, however, stayed calm and in the company of Manoj Tiwary took Knight Riders slowly but steadily towards their target.Things came to a head when Kumar Sangakkara brought back Dale Steyn for his final over, with 26 to defend off 24 balls. Kallis drove hard at the first ball, and edged past the keeper for four. The second, he edged to the keeper. Steyn, now pumped, bowled with hostility at Debabrata Das. He then got into a minor confrontation with Tiwary, who came towards the bowler to exchange words after playing to mid-off, and then had to scramble back as Kumar Sangakkara threw at the stumps but missed.The pressure built up in the 18th over – Knight Riders scored only 3 off four balls – and 17 were needed from 14 deliveries. Then Das lofted Veer Pratap Singh towards long-on, where Rajan ran in but misjudged the catch, costing his side a wicket and two runs. Chargers, whose coach Darren Lehmann had said they fielded like 14-year olds earlier in the week, had fluffed their last chance.The start in Cuttack had been delayed by a little more than an hour because of rain, but no overs were lost. Before the interruption, however, both captains had got what they wanted at the toss, with Sangakkara saying he would have batted after Gambhir chose to bowl. Sangakkara did not go on to have a good day, losing his middle stump to L Balaji after a scratchy 12 off 15 balls.Shikhar Dhawan, on the other hand, was spunky at the start. In the third over, he heaved Yusuf, who had opened the bowling with his offspin, over wide long-on for six. Little did Chargers know that it would be the innings’ only six, until Steyn hit one in the 20th over. Dhawan also pulled and drove Brett Lee powerfully for four, gathering five boundaries in his first 22 balls. Little did Dhawan know he would not hit another one in his next 28.Chargers had made 30 for 0 after four overs when the slowdown began, with Sunil Narine and Balaji operating with discipline. After Sangakkara fell, Dhawan and Parthiv Patel batted without dominating the bowling. Parthiv was eventually run out in the 12th over, but even Cameron White, who replaced Daniel Christian for this game, could not improve Chargers’ situation. He fell slogging Lee to deep square leg; Lee’s last two overs, the 15th and 17th, yielded only four runs.Dhawan had anchored the innings but he too was going nowhere, and his struggle ended when he mis-hit a full toss from Rajat Bhatia to deep midwicket. He was gone for a run-a-ball 50. He would say later that the pitch was hard to bat on. Knight Riders also found batting tough, but they were tough enough to get over the line.

Rajasthan will be without their swing bowler Deepak Chahar for the Ranji Trophy Elite quarter-final clash against Hyderabad starting on Monday, because he’s down with jaundice

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Jan-2012Rajasthan will be without their swing bowler Deepak Chahar for the Ranji Trophy Elite quarter-final clash against Hyderabad starting on Monday, because he’s down with jaundice. Chahar made the headlines last season when he took a record 8 for 21 on Ranji debut to skittle out the same opponents for 21.Rajasthan batsman Aakash Chopra was hopeful their strike bowler will be available for the next match, should the defending champions progress.”He is a good prospect and his presence would have given us psychological edge since he was the one who had floored them single-handedly in our first match last season,” Chopra told . “He is suffering from jaundice and that would leave him very weak. Hopefully he would be available for the next match.”Hyderabad qualified for the Elite knockouts after advancing from the Plate league, and Chopra said his team should guard against complacency especially since they’re playing on Hyderabad’s home turf.”We beat Hyderabad hands down when they came here last season but we would not underestimate them,” Chopra said. “They would be playing at their home ground and any team which qualifies for quarter-finals must be a good team. We won’t be complacent and we are thinking about one match at a time.”