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[ramshorns]

Deccan Chargers face Kings XI Punjab tomorrow

Hyderabad (PTI): Buoyant after registering their first win of the tournament, the Hyderabad Deccan Chargers will take on Kings XI Punjab in the Indian Premier League with both the sides depleted due to the exit of their Australian imports.

The Chargers notched their first victory in the tournament against Mumbai Indians on April 27 after losing three consecutive matches against Kolkata Knight Riders, Delhi Daredevils and Rajasthan Royals.

Captain VVS Laxman would be under considerable pressure as the fans in his native city expect some fireworks from him. His highest score in the series so far has been 37.

The team will be at a disadvantage as Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds has left for home to join his team for a training camp ahead of the tour of the West Indies.

South African opener Herschelle Gibbs is likely to replace him.

In the absence of Symonds, retired Aussie star Adam Gilchrist, Laxman, Pakistani swashbuckler Shahid Afridi and Gibbs will shoulder the responsibility of making big scores for the team.

Gilchrist hit a scintillating century in the match against Mumbai Indians and the team banks heavily on him. Though Afridi is the highest wicket taker for the team so far, his batting has remained lackluster.

Afridi's highest score in the series has been 10 and will be expected to hit some lusty blows in tomorrow's match.

The Kings XI Punjab, meanwhile, has won two of the four matches it has played so far and looks strong with Kumar Sangakkara, Yuvraj Singh, Simon Katich and James Hopes doing well with the bat.

Irfan Pathan is the highest wicket taker for the team but Brett Lee's departure will add to the pressure on Pathan and new-ball bowler S Sreesanth.

The pitch at the Rajiv *hi stadium is ideal for batting and the team chasing a target is expected to have an edge.

Teams (from):

Deccan Chargers: VVS Laxman (Captain), Sanjay Bangar, Haldhar Das (wk), H Gibbs, Scott Styris, Adam Gilchrist (wk), Andrew Symonds, D Kalyan Krishna, Pragyan Ojha, D Ravi Teja, PM Sarvesh Kumar, Shahid Afridi, Rohit Sharma, RP Singh, Chamara Silva, Chaminda Vaas, Y Venugopal Rao, P Vijay Kumar, Arjun Yadav, Nuwan Zoysa.

Kings XI Punjab: Yuvraj Singh (Captain), Ajitesh Argal, Piyush Chawla, Pankaj Dharmani, Rishi Dhawan, Irfan Pathan, Nitin Saini, Vikram Singh, Tanmay Srivastava, Karan Goel, James Hopes, M Jayawardene, Simon Katich, Uday Kaul, Luke Pomersbach, Kumar Sangakkara, Sunny Sohal, Sahil Kukreja, Brett Lee, Shaun Marsh, Kyle Mills, Wilkin Mota, Ramesh Powar, Ramnaresh Sarwan and S Sreesanth.

[ramshorns]

Get runs to silence Sree, says Laxman    
 
Hyderabad, April 30: Kings XI Punjab would be without two of its best players — tearaway fast bowler Brett Lee and reliable batsman Simon Katich — for the game against Deccan Chargers on Thursday but Hyderabad captain VVS Laxman is not taking it easy. Lee and Katich have left for Australia to attend a national camp in preparation for their tour of the West Indies. “Brett Lee is a world class bowler but you cannot be complacent because he is not there. They’ve got a very good bowling line-up in Sreesanth, Irfan Pathan and VRV Singh, who are top class bowlers,” Laxman said on match eve.

Asked how his team would deal with a volatile Sreesanth, who has been slapped by Harbhajan Singh recently after he apparently abused the Mumbai players during the match, Laxman smiled and quipped: “Get runs against him.” Elaborating further, Laxman felt to play in the spirit of cricket meant not to cross the line. “As long as you don’t get personal it’s ok. Controlled aggression is the key word.”

Moving over to the game, Laxman said Mohali was an in-form team, just like his. “They have been playing well in the last two games, which they won convincingly. Saying that, we should concentrate on our own strengths and if we play to our potential we will definitely beat them,” he said, adding “We had two good practice sessions and I am very happy with the preparations.”

Talking about the desire to win at home, Laxman said, “We had two disappointing losses here but the match against Rajasthan Royals was close, it could have gone either way. We would love to win at home for the crowd, who would be yearning for a positive result.”

The Chargers captain did not think his side would be handicapped after losing Australian hard-hitter Andrew Symonds, who has had to report for national duty. “Symonds is one of the best players in world cricket, a match-winner. We all saw how he played against the Rajasthan Royals. But we have got good replacements in three overseas players who also have been match-winners for their respective countries. It will be a great opportunity for them to show their potential and talent tomorrow,” he said.

Asked if Shahid Afridi could be promoted up the batting order, Laxman did not reveal much. “Afridi is a dashing batsmen who can turn around a match on his own. We will use him according to the situation and in a place where gets an opportunity to win the game for us,” he said. As for his own batting, the right-hander thought “the important thing is to maintain a healthy strike rate. I was pleased with my effort in the last game, in which I scored 36 in 25 balls. If I can maintain a strike rate of more than 100 I would be very pleased.”
 

[ramshorns]

Chargers should take charge

A. Joseph Antony

Kings XI, without its Antipodeans, looks a depleted side 

— Photo: H. Satish


 
AGGRESSIVE DUO: Batsmen of the calibre of Herschelle Gibbs and Shahid Afridi, seen at a practice session on Wednesday, should ensure that Deccan Chargers does not miss the services of the belligerent Andrew Symonds.

HYDERABAD: If a play is known by its cast, the stars taking the stage for the Deccan Chargers will again bring in the crowds when it faces Kings XI Punjab in their Indian Premier League match at the Rajiv *hi international stadium on Thursday.

Billed as the finest act even before the extravaganza got under way, the Hyderabad troupe fumbled with its lines in the first three appearances. Fickle as fans can be, the cheers turned to jeers. After that demeaning defeat to Delhi Daredevils, hooligans among the host supporters hurled water bottles, aiming one such projectile even at the cheerleaders, who had until then, entertained them.

Virtuoso performance

One virtuoso performance at the D.Y. Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai changed all that. Adam Gilchrist, adept at dismantling attacks, showed that even if his vigil behind the stumps may have waned, his reflexes before them had lost none of their sheen, amply illustrated by the 10 sixes with which he studded that explosive century.

While this bowling decimator’s current form will be cause for much cheer in the Chargers’ camp, that unbeaten 109 against the Mumbai Indians would have only underscored his class.

Sans Andrew Symonds, who has returned home for national duty, another swashbuckler will step in, quite capable of playing the perfect foil for Gilchrist. If that 111-ball 175 he cracked in the Johannesburg one-dayer to overhaul Australia’s mammoth 434 is anything to go by, Herschelle Herman Gibbs should be raring to celebrate his arrival with a knock as cavalier or Caribbean in content.

Even if it’s still early to say Chargers’ low-profile captain V.V.S. Laxman has already outdone three of the five icons in the league with his unbeaten 36 against the Mumbai Indians.

The wristy wizard’s opening the innings with Gilchrist could be an indication of his growing composure in this condensed form of the game.

The wait for some magic from his willow will certainly be worth the while.

The Afridi factor

If Shahid Afridi hasn’t turned volatile with the bat thus far, his bowling has made up for it. His wrist spin should complement the wiles of Chaminda Vaas, the restrictive craft of Pragyan Ojha or the penetrative capabilities of R.P. Singh on the bowling front.

With the departure of Australians Brett Lee and Simon Katich and New Zealander Kylie Mills, Kings XI Punjab will look up to the triumvirate of Yuvraj Singh, Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene to shore up its batting.

Each of them possesses the wherewithal to turn a match around.

Shorn of its imports, the Mohali side nonetheless wears a depleted look and will need to summon all its resources to take on the host, who on the face of it, should call the shots on home turf.

The teams (from): Deccan Chargers: V.V.S. Laxman (captain), Adam Gilchrist (wicket-keeper), Herschelle Gibbs, Shahid Afridi, Chaminda Vaas, Scott Styris, R.P. Singh, Rohit Sharma, Sanjay Bangar, Arjun Yadav, D. Kalyanakrishna, Pragyan Ojha, Chamara Silva, Nuwan Zoysa, D. Ravi Teja, Sarveesh Kumar, Venugopala Rao, P. Vijay Kumar.

Kings XI Punjab: Yuvraj Singh (captain), Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara (wicket-keeper), Ramnaresh Sarwan, Shaun Marsh, Irfan Pathan, Ramesh Powar, S. Sreesanth, Piyush Chawla, Luke Pomersbach, Ajitesh Argal, Pankaj Dharmani, Rishi Dhawan, Karan Goel, Uday Kaul, Sahil Kukreja, Wilkin Mota, Nitin Saini, V.R.V. Singh, Sunny Sohal, Tanmay Srivastav.

[justforkix]

My XI:

Mohali

Tanmay
Dopes
Goel
Sanga
Yuvi
Sarwan/Jayawardane
IP
PC
VRV
SS
another bowler

Deccan

Gilly
Gibbs
VVS
Rohit
Afridi
Arjun Yadav
Bangar
Vaas/Zoysa
Ojha
RPS
Kalyankrishna

[Zacked]

Kings XI Punjab have won the toss and decided to bowl first

Kings XI Punjab (Playing XI): Karan Goel, Kumar Sangakkara(w), Mahela Jayawardene, Yuvraj Singh(c), Ramnaresh Sarwan, Tanmay Srivastava, Irfan Pathan, Piyush Chawla, S Sreesanth, Ga*eep Singh, Shaun Marsh
Deccan Chargers (Playing XI): Adam Gilchrist(w), Herschelle Gibbs, VVS Laxman(c), Shahid Afridi, Venugopal Rao, Rohit Sharma, Sanjay Bangar, Rudra Pratap Singh, Pragyan Ojha, Doddapaneni Kalyankrishna, Nuwan Zoysa

[Blwe_torch]

Punjab!

[ruchir]

VVS on fire !!!!

[Zacked]

5.3 Singh to Laxman, FOUR, edged just wide of a diving Sangakkara, Laxman flashing off the back foot and looking on thankfully as the ball deviates away from a leaping 'keeper for four 
5.2 Singh to Laxman, no run, this one's shorter and stops on him, he shapes to work it across the line but it goes in the air to mid-on, landing safely before the man there 
5.1 Singh to Laxman, FOUR, too full outside off stump and Laxman deals with as best he knows, getting to the pitch and caressing it all along the ground past extra cover, excellent 


Laxy 37 off 24 balls woow... lol

[poondu]

Chawla 

[Zacked]

Rohit Sharma... Awesome Batting 

[Zacked]

Brilliant Catch By Shaun Marsh... too good

[kingcool1432]

Where did they find this Marsh chappie from? I know he is Geoff Marsh's son, but his first class records are good but not so-awesome-we-need-to-get-him good. If you want to pick promising young players from domestics why go all the way to Australia for that and use up limited overseas-players slots?

[Zacked]

But he is playing well... NO?

[kingcool1432]

"Zoysa comes back. Interestingly, not one bowler has bowled two overs on the trot." 

[ruchir]

Only 13 replies, now 14, on the match thread of VVS team? Not good at all....

[dextrous]

im already kind of burned out on IPL...and there are what 40 more matches to go 

[ramshorns]

I think Deccan was 25 runs short.  No two ways about it.

Their overseas siginings have not been living upto their billing.

Gilly --      Inconsistent thus far despite the 100 -- 
Afridi --    Nothing to write home about.
Gibbs --   First game a forgetable one.

This is a team that is built on batting and unless the above players live up to their reputations nothing Laxman does as skipper matters, unless he makes decision like that one game where he used Symonds in the 20th over.

This game squarely falls on the big bats failing to deliver.  164 on the batting beauty is just not good enough which ever way you look at it.

Rohit Sharma as usual is great.  What a pick up and what a perfomance from the kid thus far. 

I would want to see Ravi Teja in the next game in place of Rao.  Let us hope they tap into the youngster.

[ruchir]

Actor Emran Hashmi being kissed by cheergirls before the start of the IPL T20 match between Deccan Charges and Kings X1 Punjab at Rajiv *hi International Cricket Stadium, Uppal in Hyderabad on Thursday.

[LosingNow]

DC will not make the semis..they need to win 7 or 8 out of the remaining 9 matches, IMO.

What a disaster!!!!

[gouravk]

worse is the fact that DC, KKR, MUI and BRC are all in the same boat. which means semis might be decided pretty soon.

[Blwe_torch]

don't count out KKR and Mumbai so soon.
BRC and DC are done for this cycle for sure.

[gouravk]

kkr are going down headlong in the abyss. at least BRC and DC are where they were from the start.