RCB are on top...... :-)

Yesterday's IPL match was very crucial for the top 4 four teams. The top four teams before the match were,
1. Chennai Super Kings
2. Royal Challengers Bangalore
3. Mumbai Indians
4. Kolkata Knight Riders

Before their 14th IPL match, it was already known that these 4 teams are into playoffs. Now the fight was to get into first 2 positions to gain advantage. If they could not, atleast they should get into first 3 positions to get an entry to Champions League. It was already known that RCB and CSK are into Champions League even if they loose the match. There were so many combinations possible like, if CSK wins, RCB will end up 3rd. if CSK looses, RCB comes first and CSK ends up 2nd only if their net run rate is better than MI. On the other hand, If KKR wins against MI, they have chances to get into 2nd or 3rd position depending upon how CSK looses against RCB. If MI wins, KKR ends up 4th position there by missing Champions League this time.

Yesterday first match was played between RCB and CSK. CSK put up a total of 128 runs only as they could not face RCB's bowling attack. It was skipper MS Dhoni who helped to put up this total. He quick fired to score 70 runs in just 40 deliveries that included 3 fours and 6 sixes. For RCB this total was not that challenging. Chris Gayle who is at top form scored a magnificent 75 runs in just 50 deliveries that included 4 fours and 6 sixes. He was unbeaten till the end of the innings. RCB scored 129 runs in 18 overs and won the match by 8 wickets. After this win there was a swap in the ranking RCB were back on top and CSK on 2nd.

In the second match, KKR played well a put up a total of 175 runs on board. All the batsmen contributed runs which helped in building in this total. In reply to this, MI also played equally good and chased the target successfully in the last delivery of the innings. There was one over from Lakshmipathy Balaji where he conceded 21 runs in just 6 deliveries which turned the match in favor of MI. MI won the match by 5 wickets. After the second match, the rankings table remained same with RCB topping the table.

Another Gayle's show

Royal Challengers Bangalore were in a bad position as they lost 3 matches continuously and one match got tied. After the arrival of Chris Gayle things changed, RCB have won 5 matches continuously. The best part was, in almost all the games Chris Gayle was mainly responsible for the victory. He has won 3 man of the match awards in this 5 matches.

Today, Royal Challengers Bangalore played against Rajasthan Royals at Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur. The toss was won by Virat Kohli who is the acting captain for Daniel Vettori in his stead and he chose to field first.

Shane Watson and Rahul Dravid opened the batting innings for RR. The start pretty good and they were playing aggressively. Shane Watson got out when RR's total was 73 runs which was a solid foundation for them. Rahul Dravid also got out in the same over. After this things went little slow and the run rate dropped down little bit. But as the overs were passing the pressure was on the RR as they were really struggling to find a boundary. In the end, Rajasthan Royals some how managed to put up a total score of 146 runs on board for the loss of 6 wickets (RR - 146/6, 20 over). But this score was not enough as the big man Chris Gayle who is in form can easily chase it down.

RCB gave a flying start with openers Chris Gayle and Tillakaratne Dilshan. Both started off well and were belting the RR bowlers in every angle possible. In 6.3 overs, RCB scored 68 runs just before Tillakaratne Dilshan who scored 38 runs in just 24 deliveries got out by giving a catch to Ross Taylor. After the fall of first wicket, RCB slowed down their scoring rate and played magnificently to chase down the target. RCB in 17 overs, scored 151 runs and lost only 1 wicket (RCB - 151/1, 17 over). The man in form Chris Gayle was unbeaten scoring 70 runs in just 44 balls that included 7 fours and 4 sixes. Skipper Virat Kohli was also unbeaten scoring 39 runs 34 deliveries that included 3 fours and 1 six.

Royal Challengers Bangalore won the match by 9 wickets with 3 overs to go. Man of the match was Sreenath Aravind for taking 3 important wickets. Chris Gayle has moved to 2nd position in leading runs scorer list 2011. The best part is that he has played only 6 matches so far. On the other hand Virat Kohli also moved up to 4th position in the list. As of now, RCB are in second position with 7 victories and a tie.

Rajasthan Royals outplay Mumbai Indians

On Friday, Rajasthan Royals played their home match against Mumbai Indians at Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur. The toss was won by Shane Warne and he chose to bowl first.

Davy Jacobs and Sachin Tendulkar opened the batting innings for the MI. The start was pretty good, but they likewise the wickets were also started to fall. Not even a single batsman showed his performance in this match. Everyone failed to play their trademark shots as well. Even Kieron Pollard, Andrew Symonds who love to hunt the ball failed in this match. Mumbai Indians could not resist the bowling attack done by Rajasthan Royals and they finally ended  scoring a total of just 94 runs on board in 20 overs with the loss of 8 wickets (MI - 94/8, 20over). Johan Botha was the most economical bowler whose economy rate was just 3 runs per over and took 3 wickets. Apart from him, other bowlers also bowled well.

Rajasthan Royals in reply, chased their target of 95 runs in 18.1 overs with the loss of 3 wickets (RR - 95/3, 18.1over). Shane Watson scored 26 runs and Johan Botha who bowled an awesome spell, batted magnificently  as well. He scored 45 runs in 39 balls that included 2 fours and a six. Ali Murtaza was economical from MI side but failed to take a wicket.

Rajasthan Royals won the match by 7 wickets. Man of the match was Johan Botha for hitting 45 runs, taking 3 wickets and a catch.

Another bad day for Delhi Daredevils

Today, Delhi Daredevils lost one more match and the worst thing was it was an home match. They played against Kolkata Knight Riders ( the most hated team by me at the moment) at Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi. The toss was also favoring to Delhi Daredevils. But they made a wrong decision: they took fielding first. Still Delhi Daredevils are at the bottom of the ranking table.

Kolkata Knight Riders opened their batting innings with their openers Jacques Kallis and Shreevats Goswami. There was no aggressive start given by them, it was just a stable opening with ball to ball run rate. The wickets were falling in quick intervals. Gautam Gambhir also could not make it big today. It was Manoj Tiwary's day as he helped the team to put up a decent total on board. In the end there was some contribution given by Ryan ten Doeschate. In 20 overs, KKR scored a total of 148 runs and lost 7 wickets (KKR - 148/7, 20 over). Manoj Tiwary was unbeaten till the end scoring 61 runs on board. Irfan Pathan was the most economical bowler with a economy rate of just 4 runs per over and took 1 wicket.

This target did not look challenging for the Delhi Daredevils as it was chase-able total and the advantage was that it was their home ground. Opener David Warner did not play well today and the skipper Virender Sehwag took the charge and scored some beautiful knocks. After the departure of Sehwag, Delhi middle order got collapsed and lost wicket very quickly. At one point of time they had lost 6 wickets and scored only 85 runs. The lower order batsmen could not outplay the bowling attack of KKR and they tried very hard to chase the total. In the end, they failed to chase the target and ended up scoring a total of 131 runs loosing 9 wickets in 20 overs (DD - 131/9, 20 over). Iqbal Abdulla took 3 wickets.

Kolkata Knight Riders won the match by 17 runs. Man of the match was Manoj Tiwary.

Todays action

Ahhhhh!!! today was one of the day that had lot of actions. First thing is, it is Saturday. I slept at around 3:15 A.M. and woke up around 11:05 A.M.

After readying myself, i went straight away to my office and had my breakfast cum Lunch at 12:00 P.M. After this next place i visited was Employee Care Center (ECC). I was there till 6:00 P.M. where i played pool from 12:25 P.M. till 4:30 P.M. I enjoyed myself there, sometimes played very good shoots and sometimes worst shots. Victory and defeat as well. After coming out from pool table, i landed at GYM where i did workout for my back for 45 minutes with little bit exercises for my abs. Once i was done with my workout, straight away went to dormitory removed my gym clothes and wore my swimming costume and went for swimming. Did swimming for 15 min and was back to dormitory where i took bath.  Then i dressed up went to canteen and had some juices just to energize myself as i was fully exhausted.

Then i went to my ODC and rested for 25 min at my desk. During this time i unlocked my PC and started checking for mails and blogs. At 6:45 P.M. i left office, took my bike and left to home. After coming home, i spent some time on Facebook. Meanwhile, the IPL match started which was between Delhi Daredevils and Kings XI Punjab. The match so interesting that i spent almost all the time watching the match itself. In entire 40 overs, there were 433 runs scored in total by both the teams. Plenty of sixes and fours and full excitement and masti. Finally had my dinner at Andhra Mess and came back home and watched the remaining match. Delhi Daredevils won the match. Now i am lying on my bed and writing this article to publish it to everyone.

I hate SRK and his team KKR

Now a days i have started to hate Kolkata Knight Riders team itself. The reason behind this is that SRK. Yes it is because of Sharukh Khan after his statement where he told that "KKR has to win the cup dedicated to Sourav Ganguly". This was the statement that put me into rage on SRK.

If he wanted to win this IPL then why the hell he did not even care to bid the legend???? Once the things are passed away then never and ever should turn back. He left DADA and now he wants him to come and watch the match to support KKR. This is full of bullshit and everything is business in here.

In reality what i feel is, Eden Garden made a record of lowest audience presence in history and hence less collection of money. SRK does not want like this to happen again and hence now he is playing this new trick just to improvise his business. But we people (fans of DADA) always want to see him play and he is a legend whom not to be forgotten at all. No DADA, no support to KKR.

IPL 2011: CSK vs KTK

Yesterday, a match was played between Chennai Super Kings and Kochi Tuskers Kerala at Nehru Stadium, Kochi. The match was delayed due to rain and later it was restricted to 17 overs. KTK won the toss and they chose to field first.

Michael Hussey and Murali Vijay opened the batting innings for CSK. Hussey did not play for long time as he departed after scoring only 8 runs. Suresh Raina came in and batted well to score a half-century. There were some good contribution from the middle order batsmen as well. In 17 overs, CSK put up a total score of 131 runs and lost 4 wickets (CSK - 131/4, 17 over). Vinay Kumar was economical bowler but did not pick up a any wickets.

KTK needed 134 runs to win by D/L method. Brendon McCullum and Mahela Jayawardena started the batting for KTK. The run rate at the start was pretty good. After the departure of the openers, Parthiv Patel, Brad Hodge, Ravindra Jadeja played magnificently and the eased the pressure off. In just 15 overs, they managed to score a total of 135 runs with the loss of 3 wickets (KTK - 135/3, 15 over). Ravichandran Ashwin picked up 2 wickets.

Kochi Tuskers Kerala won the match by 7 wickets. Man of the match was Brendon McCullum for giving a magnificent start which eased off the pressure to other batsmen.

This is KTK's second vistory in the IPL. Earlier they stunned Mumbai Indians by winning against them and now CSK. Chennai Super Kings got their second blow and in the earlier one, Paul Valthaty destroyed CSK's bowling attack by chasing one of the biggest total of the tournament.

IPL 2011: DC vs RCB

Today, only one IPL match was played. It was between Deccan Chargers and Royal Challengers Bangalore at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad. The toss was won by Royal Challengers Bangalore and they let Deccan Chargers to bat first.

Sunny Sohal and Shikhar Dhawan opened the batting innings for DC. They started off very well and the start looked pretty awesome. Zaheer Khan picked his first prey and it was Sunny Sohal. Skipper came in and played some good knocks till Dhawan was there. After that he gave some standing to Bharat Chipli who played a magnificent innings. After the departure of the skipper Sangakkara, the birthday boy JP Duminy entered the crease and played some good shots. Finally Deccan Chargers put up a good total or 175 runs on board for the loss 5 wickets in 20 overs (DC - 175/5, 20 over). Bharat Chipli scored a unbeaten 61 runs from just 35 balls that included 5 fours and 3 sixes. Zaheer Khan took 3 wickets.

As the total was little high, the pressure was on the RCB. The start was slow and more over they lost their first wicket in the second over itself. It was a biggie Tillakaratne Dilshan and after this Zaheer Khan was sent to bat but even was back in the same pace scoring a duck. In 11.1 overs, RCB lost 5 wickets and scored only 56 runs. The match had almost slipped from them to DC. Pujara and Virat Kohli played some good knocks and put up a partnership which helped RCB to get back confidence. This partnership was their last hope but it went in vain when Pujara got out. Things changed and DC became more dominant. RCB ended up scoring a total of only 142 runs and lost 9 wickets in 20 overs (RCB - 142/9, 20 over). Virat Kohli was the top run getter for RCB, he scored 71 runs in 52 deliveries that included 5 fours and 3 sixes. Manpreet Gony and Dale Steyn took 3 wickets each.

Deccan Chargers won the match by 33 runs. Dale Steyn was the man of the match.

IPL 2011: KXIP vs CSK

Chennai Super Kings and Kings XI Punjab played their second IPL match of the season at Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali, India. Adam Gilchrist won the toss and he chose to field first.

Aniruda Srikkanth and Murali Vijay opened the batting innings for CSK. In the very first delivery from Praveen Kumar, Aniruda Srikkanth got lbw out and returned to pavilion. Suresh Raina came in, but even this went into vain. In the very second ball of the innings even Raina got out giving a catch to Paul Valthaty. At this point of time, CSK were 0/2 in 0.2 over. This was the worst opening given by CSK team in any IPL. Soon Murali Vijay and Subramaniam Badrinath joined together and started to attack the bowlers in every angle. Murali Vijay scored 74 runs from 43 deliveries and Subramaniam Badrinath scored 66 runs from 56 deliveries. After the departure of Murali Vijay, skipper MS Dhoni came in and just quick fired to score a magnificent 43 runs in just 20 balls. CSK put up a total score of 188 runs with the loss of 4 wickets in 20 overs (CSK - 188/4, 20 over).

Paul Valthaty and Adam Gilchrist opened the batting innings for KXIP. I was eagerly waiting for Gilly to play some magnificent shots but his partner Valthaty did not let him as he himself was firing each and every delivery. Gilly did not play big even today and he departed scoring only 19 runs and i was in full disappointed. It was Paul Valthaty's day as he kept on his momentum going, his partners gave him enough support but the partnerships were not building that much though. At one point of time, it look almost impossible for the KXIP to win the match, but Valthaty made the difference. He just played awesome right from the beginning of the innings till the end. He scored his IPL maiden century and remained unbeaten scoring 120 runs in just 63 deliveries that included 19 fours and 2 sixes. In 19.1 over KXIP successfully chased the target scoring 193 runs with the loss of 4 wickets (KXIP - 193/4, 19.1 over).

Kings XI Punjab won the match by 6 wickets. Man of the match was Paul Valthaty who was solely responsible for winning the match.

This was highest total score scored by any team in this IPL season and the highest chase as well.

IPL 2011: MI vs RCB

On 12th April, Mumbai Indians played against Royal Challengers Bangalore at M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru. The toss was won by Mumbai Indians and they chose to field first.

Mayank Agarwal and Tillakaratne Dilshan opened the batting innings for RCB. In the very first ball of the innings, Lasith Malinga bowled and yorker length delivery to Mayank Agarwal and bowled him. He departed getting a duck and the batting team became quite upset with Malinga's bowling attack. Virat Kohli came in and did not survive for a long time. He only scored 12 runs from 19 deliveries. AB de Villiers and Dilshan put up some good partnership that helped RCB to come out of the critical situation. AB de villiers scored 38 runs before getting caught and bowled by Kieron Pollard. Dilshan managed to put up a half-century and remained unbeaten scoring 59 runs in 52 deliveries that included 4 fours and 2 sixes. In 20 overs, RCB managed to put up a total score of 140 runs for the loss of 4 wickets (RCB - 140/4, 20 over). 


The total was not a big or challenging one for the Mumbai Indians as they have a pretty aggressive batting line-up. Right from the start of the innings, MI batsmen started to play some big shots. Davy Jacobs scored 22 runs and departed. Dirk Nannes picked up his wicket and gave 0 runs in his first over. Dirk Nannes after this over did not bowl as he got injured. Sachin Tendulkar and Ambati Rayudu put up a unbeaten partnership of 110 runs. Sachin Tendulkar remained unbeaten scoring 55 runs and Ambati Rayudu remained unbeaten scoring 63 runs. In 18.3 overs, Mumbai Indians managed to chase the target successfully scoring a total of 143 runs for the loss of 1 wicket (MI - 143/1, 18.3 over).

Mumbai Indians won the match by 9 wickets. Man of the match for Sachin Tendulkar. This victory has made Mumbai Indians to move to the first place of the ranking table. I am really disappointed with my home teams performance. They have lost a match, that too at their home ground.

Ahhhh!!!!!! now Gambhir will face MS Dhoni.....

In the finals of the ICC World Cup 2011, India became the new champions by defeating their sub-continent team Srilanka on Saturday, thereby breaking the winning jinx of the Aussies. Australia won 3 titles continuously 1999, 2003 and 2007. In the quarter finals Aussies played against India and finally got defeated by the Indians. The defending champions had to quit the tournament and return to home empty.

In the finals, Gautam Gambhir and MS Dhoni played magnificently and  helped the team to chase the total successfully. Gautam Gambhir could not get his century as he got out after scoring 97 runs. Similarly, Indian skipper MS Dhoni scored a unbeaten 91 runs but could not get a century. Both Gauti and Dhoni were awesome with bat in finals which helped team India to lift the trophy after 28 years. Finally Sachin Tendulkar's 20 year dream came true.

Now the IPL season has began, The matches will be starting from Tomorrow i.e, 8th April. The match will be played between Chennai Super Kings and Kolkota Knight Riders. The best part in this is, Gautam Gambhir and MS Dhoni will be competing against each other. The team mates who put up a great partnership will be now pulling each others leg in this IPL 2011. 

What ever it is, the IPL fever is started now. My support will always be to Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Results on Sunday for 2 new IPL teams

Five bidders have lined up for the 2 new IPL teams for the IPL edition 4 which will be played in 2011. On Sunday morning the bids will be opened & the results will be announced by afternoon. Sources have confirmed 4 bidders (Videocon, Sahara India, the Adani Group and a Pune consortium of Cyrus Poonawala and Ajay Shirke), the fifth one is not yet confirmed, but the it is believed that it would be Jaypee Group.