IPL: Malinga fires Mumbai to 8-wkt victory

Updated at: 1959 PST,  Sunday, April 10, 2011

NEW DELHI: Lasith Malinga grabbed five wickets in a superb exhibition of fast bowling to set up Mumbai Indians' eight-wicket win over Delhi Daredevils in an Indian Premier League match on Sunday.The Sri Lankan, known for bowling accurate yorkers, finished with 5-13 off 3.4 overs as Sachin Tendulkar's Mumbai Indians dismissed Virender Sehwag's Delhi Daredevils for 95 in the Twenty20 tournament. Naman Ojha (29) and Venugopal Rao (26) were the main contributors for Delhi, who could not even bat their full quota of 20 overs. Five batsmen failed to open their accounts in a dismal batting performance.Mumbai did not face any difficulty in achieving a modest target, winning their opening match with more than three overs to spare at the Ferozeshah Kotla ground in New Delhi. Tendulkar (46 not out), who added 68 for the unfinished third-wicket stand with Rohit Sharma (27 not not), ended the match when he drove seamer Irfan Pathan through the covers for a four.Malinga jolted Delhi with two wickets in three balls when he bowled Australian David Warner and local boy Unmukt Chand in his opening over to reduce the hosts to 11-2.

Delhi suffered a big setback when captain Sehwag was run out for 19 following Tendulkar's direct-hit at the striker's end.

Malinga then returned for his second spell to get two more wickets in one over, again in the space of three deliveries, when he bowled Rao and South African Morne Morkel.

The fast bowler ended the innings when he had last-man Ashok Dinda caught by New Zealander James Franklin at mid-off.

India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, who opened the attack, finished with 2-14 off three overs.

Brief scores
Delhi Daredevils 95 in 17.4 overs (N. Ojha 29, V. Rao 26; L. Malinga 5-13, H. Singh 2-14) lost to Mumbai Indians 99-2 in 16.5 overs (S. Tendulkar 46 not out, R. Sharma 27 not out) by eight wickets.

Read More

Miandad rejects batting coach offer

KARACHI, Apr 9: Former Pakistan captain Javed Miandad has turned down an offer from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to take over as the batting coach of the national cricket team. The director-general cricket of the PCB confirmed that he had informed the board that he would not be able to immediately join the team and accompany them on the tour to the West Indies because of prior commitments."As it is, I believe you cannot change the technique or style of a batsman once he is in the national team. I think the main job of the batting coach is to guide the batsmen in different matches on how to adjust to different pitches and how to counter specific opposing bowlers," Miandad said. The former Pakistan coach said while he was always available to serve Pakistan cricket, he would not be able to go to the West Indies "I am committed for a few months but I am there to guide the players in the training camp and work with the youngsters in the National Cricket Academy. I will discuss taking this responsibility full time after the West Indies tour," Miandad added. However, the sources close to Miandad said that he was not comfortable with the idea of working in a support staff team headed by chief coach Waqar Younis. "Miandad believes that if he is to be successful as a batting coach he will require independence to implement his plans," the source said "Miandad being a very senior player also obviously wants certain powers to work as batting coach," the source added.

Read More

Bangalore spoil Kochi’s IPL debut

Updated at: 1534 PST,  Sunday, April 10, 2011

KOCHI: AB de Villiers smashed a quickfire 54 as the Royal Challengers Bangalore spoilt the Indian Premier League debut of Kochi Tuskers Kerala with a six-wicket win on Saturday.Chasing a stiff 162, Bangalore overhauled the target with eight balls to spare in the high-scoring thriller at the Nehru Stadium, with de Villiers' 40-ball unbeaten half-century the pick of the batting.Bangalore looked in trouble at 137-4 in the 18th over but de Villiers held his nerve and Asad Pathan hit three fours in a row to pull off a fine win for the team, which is owned by multi-millionaire liquor baron Vijay Mallya.Batting first, Kochi rode on a rollicking 80-run opening stand between Brendon McCullum and Venkatsai Laxman to pile up 161-5 off 20 overs.McCullum, the first century-maker of the IPL, hammered 45 off 32 balls and Test specialist Laxman carted a 26-ball 39 with two fours and two sixes to underline his worth in the shortest format of the game.New Zealand left-arm spinner Daniel Vettori was the most impressive among the Bangalore bowlers, giving away just 17 runs while taking one wicket in his four overs.Kochi, led by Sri Lankan Mahela Jayawardene, is one of the two debutant teams in the this year's lucrative Twenty20 competition alongside Pune Warriors.Scores Kochi Tuskers Kerala 161-5 in 20 overs (B. McCullum 45, V. Laxman 36, B. Hodge 27) lost to Royal Challengers Bangalore 162-4 in 18.4 overs (AB de Villiers 54 not out, M. Agarwal 33) by six wickets.

Read More

Australia beat Bangladesh by 60 runs in ODI opener

Updated at: 1720 PST,  Saturday, April 09, 2011

DHAKA: Michael Clarke celebrated his captaincy debut with a responsible century as Australia raced to an emphatic 60-run victory over Bangladesh in the opening one-day international on Saturday. The stylish middle-order batsman, leading in his first one-day series after replacing Ricky Ponting as skipper last month, scored 101 for his sixth one-day hundred to help his team post a challenging 270-7 on a slow pitch.Bangladesh never looked like achieving the target despite half-centuries from opener Tamim Iqbal (62) and skipper Shakib Al Hasan (51), finishing at 210-5. The Bangladeshi captain completed 3,000 one-day runs during his knock.Mushfiqur Rahim (44 not out) and Mohammad Mahmudullah (28 not out) were the other notable contributors for Bangladesh, who now trail 1-0 in the three-match series. The last two one-dayers will be played in Dhaka on April 11 and 13.Clarke, who cracked two sixes and six fours in his 111-ball knock, earlier propped up the innings just when Bangladesh looked like restricting Australia to a modest total with their tight spin bowling.Australia, who lost to India in the World Cup quarter-finals, were struggling at 138-4 in the 30th over before the skipper added 84 runs for the fifth wicket with Michael Hussey (33).Clarke, needing five runs off the last three deliveries of the innings to complete his hundred, smashed paceman Mashrafe Mortaza for a six over mid-wicket before being caught in the deep off the next ball.Left-arm spinner Suhrawadi Shuvo, who dismissed Hussey and Steven Smith (one) in the same over, was the most successful bowler with 3-44.Bangladesh, electing to field after winning the toss, struck in the fourth over when Mortaza, who missed the World Cup due to a knee injury, bowled Brad Haddin for 10.Opener Shane Watson (37) and Ponting (34) then dominated the attack with attractive shots. The opener hit Mortaza for a four and a six off successive balls before lofting spinner Abdur Razzak over mid-wicket for a six.Ponting also looked in excellent touch, cracking three successive fours off Mortaza and hoisting Shuvo over long-on for a six. His brilliant cameo ended when he was run out going for a third runWatson, who added 65 for the second wicket with Ponting, also fell when looking well set as he was trapped lbw by Razzak after hitting two sixes and three fours

Read More

IPL: Rajasthan thrash Deccan by eight wickets

Updated at: 1942 PST,  Saturday, April 09, 2011

HYDERABAD: Johan Botha showed rare skill with the bat to guide Rajasthan Royals to an emphatic eight-wicket victory over a listless Deccan Chargers in the Indian Premier League on Saturday.The South African spinner hit eight fours and a six in his unbeaten 67 off 47 balls as Rajasthan overhauled Deccan's 137-8 with seven balls to spare at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.Botha, a surprise promotion to number three in the batting order, shared 52 runs with veteran India batsman Rahul Dravid (28) and another 58 with New Zealand's Ross Taylor (21 not out).Earlier, Deccan were off to a confident start after being put in to bat by Rajasthan skipper Shane Warne but lost their way against Siddharth Trivedi and Amit Singh, each picking three wickets.Australian spin legend Warne, who led Royals to a surprise title triumph in the inaugural IPL edition in 2008, chipped in with two wickets, including that of dangerman JP Duminy (14).Kumar Sangakkara's new stint as Deccan skipper got off to a poor start as he edged Trivedi behind the wicket for a duck.Australian Daniel Christian, one of the most expensive buys in the auction this year with a price tag of $900,000, hit two sixes in his 19-ball 26 before falling to Trivedi. Brief scores:Deccan Chargers 137-8 in 20 overs (D. Ravi Teja 28, D. Christian 26; S. Trivedi 3-15, A. Singh 3-35) lost to Rajasthan Royals 141-2 in 18.5 overs (J. Botha 67 not out, R. Dravid 28) by eight wickets.

Read More

Clarke ton helps Australia post 270-7 against BD

Updated at: 1417 PST,  Saturday, April 09, 2011

DHAKA: Michael Clarke hit an impressive century in his first match as captain to help Australia post a challenging 270-7 in the opening one-day international against Bangladesh on Saturday.Clarke, leading in his first one-day series after replacing Ricky Ponting as skipper last month, made a responsible 101 after Bangladesh threatened to restrict Australia to a modest total with their disciplined spin bowling.Australia, who lost to India in the World Cup quarter-finals, were 138-4 in the 30th over before Clarke propped up the innings with a vital 84-run stand for the fifth wicket with Michael Hussey (33). Clarke, needing five runs off the last three deliveries of the innings to complete his sixth one-day hundred, smashed paceman Mashrafe Mortaza for a six over mid-wicket before being caught in the deep off the next ball.He hit two sixes and six fours in his 111-ball knock.Left-arm spinner Suhrawadi Shuvo was the most successful bowler with three wickets for 44 runs, including those of Hussey and Steven Smith (one) in the same over.Bangladesh, electing to field after winning the toss on a slow pitch, tasted success in the fourth over when Mortaza, who missed the World Cup due to a knee injury, bowled Brad Haddin for 10.Opener Shane Watson (37) and Ponting (34) then dominated the attack with some handsome shots. The opener hit Mortaza for a four and a six off successive balls before lofting left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak over mid-wicket for a six.Ponting also looked in excellent touch, smashing three successive fours off Mortaza and hoisting Shuvo over long-on for a six. His brilliant cameo ended when he was run out going for a third run.Watson, who added 65 for the second wicket with Ponting off just eight overs, also fell when looking well set as he was trapped lbw by Razzak after hitting two sixes and three fours in his 32-ball knock.The remaining two one-dayers will be played in Dhaka on April 11 and 13.

Read More