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[ramshorns]

IPL still wide open: Laxman

Jaipur (PTI): Undeterred by the fact that his side has lost five out its seven matches and is second last in the points table, Deccan Chargers skipper V V S Laxman is upbeat for Friday' s match against hosts Rajasthan Royals and feels that the Indian Premier League is still wide open.

Talking to reporters after his arrival here, the stylish Hyderabadi said the format of the tournament ensured that it was still wide open.

"We may have not begun well but still we have chance and tournament is wide open. We lost couple of close matches despite the players giving their best," he said.

"We are not under pressure because we lost to Rajasthan Royals on our own turf. That experience will be handful. We have to play to best our abilities. Play hard and try to win," said the elegant batsman.

On his injury on the right hand which forced him to sit in the previous outing against the Chennai Super Kings, Laxman said he was feeling better.

"It is better now. I will have nets and wait till Friday evening before taking a final call. We have not seen the wicket and will work out after having a look at it."

Talking about the tournament so far, he said, "The top four teams have not done as well as expected but all still have a chance. We have to play better. Some surprises are still on cards. All teams have played each other once and now they know about strengths and weaknesses of others."

Talking about his team's poor showing, Laxman refused to blame it on poor man management.

"Every team member is trying hard. They lost their wickets trying big shots. If we click together and play well we can build big scores," he said.

Laxman also praised the way Rajasthan Royals have maintained their tempo in the tournament.

"Rajasthan Royals have shown mental strength. There is no question of revenge. I hope it will be a good match. The win against Chennai has given us momentum and we know Rajasthan will come back strongly after their defeat last night," he added.

Regarding his own form, Laxman said, "Though I did not do well first two matches, in the last four I have been batting well and stroking well."

[ramshorns]

I have a feeling that VVS will sit this one out.  That is fine.  They have to win no matter who plays.  That is the bottom line.  Unless he is 100% healed and had a couple of good net sessions, VVS should not take the field and hand over the reins to Gilly for this game as well.

[Zacked]

no matter if he plays or not RR gonna win hands down...

[poondu]

Warne considers changes to his side ..

Jaipur: On Friday, the DLF-IPL may just see the participation of its first ever player from England. Handpicked by Rajasthan Royals at the instance of its captain and coach Shane Warne at the second auction, Hampshire’s Dimitri Mascarenhas has so far been a mere spectator of the success of the team. Warne has kept him occupied in the nets with bat and ball and in brain storming sessions since the 30-year-old all-rounder arrived here ten days ago.

Mascarenhas has built a reputation around explosive batting and handy efforts with the ball. Two years ago, Warne had expressed surprise at the fact that England had never, until then, given him a chance in the one-day side — his captain at Hampshire considers him the best ‘finisher’ with the bat in England regards his bowling pretty useful too. Last summer, Mascarenhas had clobbered Yuvraj Singh for five sixes in an over, emphasising his ability with the bat.

Exploring possibilities


Warne may somehow find a place for his Hampshire team-mate against Deccan Chargers on Friday. Faced with the limit of four overseas players in an IPL side, Warne has the option of sacrificing Graeme Smith, Shane Watson or Sohail Tanvir, all key players. It is hard to imagine Warne sitting the match out himself, especially after being beaten hollow by Mumbai Indians on Wednesday at the D.Y. Patil Stadium.

He may also consider changing the man behind the stumps; Pakistan’s Kamran Akmal would be an option in this area. With the Royals scheduled to play three matches in less than a week’s time, Warne would perhaps consider employing key players in a staggered manner. Royals returned home empty-handed from Mumbai on Friday afternoon, unlike in the previous visits to Hyderabad and Bangalore where it had picked up four valuable points, and thereafter outsmarted three opponents at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium at home.

Royals is sitting pretty with ten points, but given the fluctuating fortunes of the teams in competition, it has to clinch two more matches at least, and quickly too, to ensure progress to the semifinals.

After the Royals beat Chennai Super Kings last week here, thanks to Sohail’s superb performance with the ball, Warne said the week starting Friday would be big in terms of the points it can garner.

Flattened by Mumbai Indians, Warne will have to come up with fresh ideas in order to get the better of a rival, which had scored a morale-boosting victory over Chennai Super Kings.

Warne will be also up against fellow Australian Adam Gilchrist who has been instrumental in Chargers’ two wins against the Mumbai and Chennai teams.

Will Laxman play?


Owing to a hand injury, V.V.S. Laxman had handed over charge to Gilchrist at Chennai, and the Hyderabadi has delayed taking a call on his participation. “I will have a hit today and before the start of the match tomorrow.”

“There is plenty of scope in the competition to throw surprising results. Rajasthan Royals is a good team and it will come hard at us tomorrow after the defeat against Mumbai Indians. Each and every player in the team should take responsibility in order to achieve a positive result,” said Laxman.

Asked to comment on reactions from the owners of the teams, Laxman said: “It’s good they are following the performance of teams on a daily basis. Deccan Chronicle has been very good; it has been (supportive of) the team.”

Deccan Chargers was lucky to have sufficient time for a light work out and a net session at the RCA’s Future Cricket Academy. It was overcast throughout the day.

The shower in the evening before the team arrived at the venue was not heavy enough to disappoint Laxman’s team.

The teams (from): Rajasthan Royals: Shane Warne (captain), Graeme Smith, Shane Watson, Sohail Tanvir, Swapnil Asnodkar, Ravindra Jadeja, Yusuf Pathan, Mohd. Kaif, Niraj Patel, Mahesh Rawat, Munaf Patel, Pankaj Singh, Dinesh Salunkhe, Siddharth Trivedi, Dimitri Mascarenhas, Taruvar Kolhi, Kamran Akmal.

Deccan Chargers: V.V.S. Laxman, Adam Gilchrist, Herschelle Gibbs, Scott Styris, Rohit Sharma, Shahid Afridi, Sanjay Bangar, Rudra Pratap Singh, Arjun Yadav, D. Kalyankrishna, Pragyan Ojha, Chamara Silva, Nuwan Zoysa, D. Ravi Teja, S. Kumar, Venugopala Rado, P. Vijaykumar.

Match starts at 8 p.m.

------------------

RR is set for a losing streak...

[ramshorns]

My 11 assuming VVS is fit

Gilly
VVS
Gibbs
Rohit Sharma
Styris
Afridi
Ravi Teja (My favorite)
Bangar
RP Singh
Ojha
Vijay Kumar

If VVS is not playing then Gibbs will open and that place goes to Arjun Yadav because he is a better fielder than Venu.

[LosingNow]

I think the batting line up should be..

AG
HG
RS
Styris
Afridi
Yadav / Ravi Teja
VVS
Bangar
RPS
Ojha
Kalyan Krishna or Vijay Kumar ..depending on who did well in the nets.

They can try replacing Gibbs with Vaas..and then drop Bangar and play both AY and Ravi Teja to prop up the batting. The bowling is weak and a Vaas can play ahead of Gibbs, if Gibbs fails again.

Stryis brings his bowling into the mix otherwise I would never drop Gibbs ..also, he should try bowling RS.

[keep-it-cool]

I dont agree with both line ups - unless DC does not have any penetrative bowler in the wings at all. Why does one need around 8 batsmen in T20 - am being charitable to Afridi and counting him as a batsman here?

-Banger is more a batsman than a bowler
-Yadav does not bowl; dont know about Teja
-DC has been playing with just 4 bowlers .. when it is their batting line up that is filled with stars.

I think DC lacks penetration in their bowling .. RPS has been out of form, but even if he does well, there is just no support. And, they are the last team which should need to bolster the batting .. the top batsmen should just take more responsibility and get an additional proper bowler in.

[Zacked]

PREVIEW

TEAM JAIPUR VS HYDERABAD
Jaipur at home and hungry
Hope To Make Most Of The Advantage


Saibal Bose I TNN

Jaipur: The law of averages seems to have caught up with both, Team Jaipur and Hyderabad. Shane Warne's Jaipur were winning everything, till they lost the last one on Wednesday. It was just the opposite for Hyderabad: They were losing everything till they won the last one a day earlier.
   When the two teams face-off at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium here on Friday, the results of these two matches will very much be there, somewhere in the back of their mind. While one team would want to carry forward their new-found momentum, the other would be keen to regain their lost one.
   There would be another thing on their mind; their 'firstround' match. After having beaten Hyderabad at their home, Jaipur would be wary of a backlash. A revenge match? Hyderabad skipper VVS Laxman does not think so. “That was a close match,” he said. “In Twenty20, it's anybody's game.”
   Laxman himself is unsure whether he would be able to play on Friday. The injured right hand is yet to heal, although he has been feeling better. “We'll take a call tomorrow.” RP Singh did not have much of a 'bowl' at the nets on Thursday.
   A brief shower in the afternoon brought down the temperature, but was too short to affect the ground. If it does not rain again, a full match is a certainty.
   Jaipur are yet to lose at home and that would give them at least a psychological edge over Hyderabad.
   However, predicting the outcome of a T20 match is hazardous. If the tournament so far is any indicator, then there is nothing to separate the two teams. A couple of individual performances is all that would take to decide the winner. And both teams have players who are capable of doing that.
   The Jaipur team could see a few changes, going into Friday's match. Notably, Englishman Dimitri Mascarenhas could well get a match. He has been traveling with the team for over a week now and would be keen to show-case his skills.
   Then there is also Kamran Akmal, who has been practising quite hard, despite having to warm the bench.
   "We have to rotate the players and bring in fresh legs into the side," Warne said after Wednesday night's defeat to Mumbai Indians.
   After the collective failure on Wednesday, a rare thing for Jaipur, Warne would definitely want to try out some new combinations. The skipper reckons three more wins will carry his team into the semifinals and he would be looking for one of them on Friday.
   Hyderabad still have some catching up to do with the leaders and they have already made a start, beating Mahendra Singh Dhoni's Team Chennai last Tuesday. Playing without skipper Laxman, Hyderabad came with a few good performances, with Adam Gilchrist, Scott Styris, Rohit Sharma and Shahid Afridi all contributing to the moral-boosting win. Afridi, in fact regained his destructive touch, smashing an unbeaten 20 off just six balls. With two sixes and two fours, the Pakistani bomber showed what he is capable of. Can Warne's flippers stop him?
   That will be the question as Team Jaipur rework their strategy for Hyderabad's formidable batting line-up, which might just decide to fire on Friday. Jaipur is a bit low on experience and Warne would be aware that the junior might start fumbling when the pressure piles up.
   Here, the skipper's manmanagement skills will once again have a big role to play. The Yusuf Pathans, Ravindra Jadejas, Swapnil Asnodkars and even the Sohail Tanvirs would need a lot of encouragement when the chips are down. In contrast, Hyderabad have seasoned veterans, who have handled pressure at the highest level.
   For Jaipur, Friday could well be a test of character.

[keep-it-cool]

if dimitri plays, ojha better watch out!!

[Zacked]

ive got a feeling that they are gonna rest Watson...

[broadbat]

Which imo would be stupid.

[pipsqueak]

i predict RR's decline from this match onwards. as much as i want DC to lose, i want RR to lose too. hope the match gets washed out.

[gouravk]

yeah I back DC to win this one. RR have outplayed themselves for a bit. I think. And Gilly in form is one thing even a genius like warne can't handle. 

[Zacked]

yeah I back DC to win this one. RR have outplayed themselves for a bit. I think. And Gilly in form is one thing even a genius like warne can't handle. 

he handled him quite well in the first match....

[gouravk]

you forgot the "in form" bit.

[dhruvdeepak]

ROYALS WILL TROUNCE DHAKKANS!!!!!

CMON WARNEY!!!

[LosingNow]

My mantra is simple.. AG captain => DC win. VVS captain => DC lose

[Zacked]

My Mantra is much simpler, No Matter who is Dhakkan's Captaan, RR gonna win 

[LosingNow]

damn .. my flight is delayed..pilot not available yet..go figure!
was hoping to catch the second half ..now will miss the whole match.

[Zacked]

Deccan Chargers (Playing XI): Adam Gilchrist(w/c), Dwaraka Ravi Teja, Herschelle Gibbs, Rohit Sharma, Scott Styris, Venugopal Rao, Shahid Afridi, Sanjay Bangar, Rudra Pratap Singh, Paidikalva Vijaykumar, Pragyan Ojha
Rajasthan Royals (Playing XI): Graeme Smith, Niraj Patel, Yusuf Pathan, Shane Watson, Mohammad Kaif, Ravindra Jadeja, Shane Warne(c), Sohail Tanvir, Mahesh Rawat(w), Siddharth Trivedi, Munaf Patel
By the way, Adam Gilchrist is leading the Deccan side in Laxman's absence.
Rajasthan Royals have won the toss and decided to bowl first

[ramshorns]

Time for Gibbs to open up or get out.  He is just not getting it done at the moment.

[Zacked]

Two lives for him... one catch dropped and one stumping not given

[ramshorns]

Wish Umpire gave Gibbs out on that stumping appeal.

[ramshorns]

It is time to hit out or get out, they are packed with 8 batsman for god's sake.

[ramshorns]

So long Gibbs.  4 straight failures.  Once VVS come back I want that 4th foreign spot to go to Vaas who is now away on family leave for his son's birth.

[ramshorns]

Too slow, they will end up losing the game.

[ramshorns]

Gilly is screwing it up big time.  Too many dot balls.

[Zacked]

Gilly Gone ... YAY

[ramshorns]

I think the foreign signings have screwed Deccan big time.  This guy Afidi needs to benched along with Gibbs and the  local talent tried in the next games.

[Zacked]

Rohit Sharma Gone... WoooOOooooW

[Zacked]

Dhakkan Chargers in dire straits...  another one bites the dust

[ramshorns]

If I were the DC management I would sit with VVS and device an exit strategy for this season.

Just play Gilly and may be Vaas/Zoysa and the rest need to be the local players.

No more of Styris/Afridi/Gibbs since SF is not a realistic goal now.

This way even if you are throwing away the season you are building for the future and exposing your younger players to the big stage. 

They got six more games after this.  This is the time.  DC has 10 years invested into this.  One year means nothing, if you are looking into the future.

From what I understand VVS has full support of the ownership.  He needs to make the tough calls now so that it will be a building block for the future.

I sincerly hope they are not caught up in this hype and money invested into these players for this season and take the hit now.

Ravi Teja, Vijay Kumar, Kalyana Krishna and Ojha need to play all the games from now on.  That is all there is to it.

Sometimes things happen for a reason.

[Zacked]

any reason Bangar was send ahead of Teja and Venugopal

[ramshorns]

Ravi Teja given out LBW for a ball that was not going to hit the stumps.

[ganavk]

..and Warne underbowls Tiwary ??

[pipsqueak]

My mantra is simple.. AG captain => DC win. VVS captain => DC lose

they need a miracle now for this mantra to work.

[LosingNow]

I should be grounded for that mantra to work..

chargers are done!

[LosingNow]

just landed and saw the scores.. how the hell did dc go from 50+ in 6 overs to only 140??? sucks

[poondu]

DC, seriously what a waste.

[gouravk]

that guy afridi - total letdown. it was wrong to rely on him anyway. there is a reason he is not considered reliable in pakistan even after 10 years.