IPL 2009 South Africa

Can Deccan break the winning momentum of Delhi?

Deccan Chargers vs Delhi Daredevils

May 13, 2009

Deccan Chargers will be wary of the superior Bowling Efficiency of Delhi Daredevils when they face each other in the return league today.

Deccan Chargers (DC) has bolstered their Batting Momentum (168) in the presence of Andrew Symonds. Symond’s (BM of 74) has anchored the middle order well and also provides an alternate bowling option. Hard hitting during the death overs by Dwayne Smith provides DC the stability in batting. Induction of Chaminda Vaas into the playing eleven has also strengthened the Bowling Efficiency (BE) of DC. RP Singh and the new found wizardry of Rohit Sharma will be exploited in this match too. The team, has thus, improved their performance with every match, as shown by the table below.

Table 1: DC Batting Momentum and Bowling Efficiency

Opponent	vs RR	vs KXIP	vs MI	vs CSK	vs RR
BM	230	242	168	98	105
BE	339	169	256	46	203

Delhi Daredevils, on the other hand, can boast of a superior Bowling Efficiency (198). But Ashish Nehra and Dirk Nannes need to provide impetus to the low QuickStart Bowl (20) of DD which could play a significant role in restricting DC during the first 6 overs. The BM (184) of DD is heavily dependent on the good performance of David Warner and AB de Villiers. Their BM has dwindled in the last few matches which can be a worrying factor, as illustrated by the table below.

Table 2: DD Batting Momentum and Bowling Efficiency

Opponent	vs KKR	vs MI	vs KKR	vs CSK	vs DC
BM	140	130	213	179	210
BE	252	325	76	244	252

It remains to be seen if DD can continue their winning streak against an improved DC.

Source : castrolcricket.com

Tough Luck for KKR Continues

Bangalore Royal Challengers vs Kolkata KnightRiders

Match No- 41,May 12, 2009

Brutal Ross Taylor power Bangalore Royal Challengers to a 6-wicket win over Kolkata KnightRiders (KKR) to keep their chances alive in this year’s IPL.

Set to chase a reasonably high target of 174, openers Jacques Kallis and Jesse Ryder gave Bangalore Royal Challengers (BRC) a useful partnership of 58 runs providing stability. Kolkata KnightRiders bowlers came back strongly during the middle overs when spinners Murali Karthik and Ajantha Mendis rolled some tight overs in tandem. However, Taylor dented any hopes of KKR with his aggressive powerplay. He, along with Mark Boucher, notched up 54 runs in 22 balls for the 5th wicket partnership, to take the match away from KKR’s hands. Taylor, for his performance, earned the Man of the Match award.

Earlier, Brendon McCullum finally came good with the bat hammering a BM of 110. Though KKR didn’t have a great start, but David Hussey (BM of 68), playing his first match in this IPL, batted with controlled aggression and along with McCullum provided stability in the middle for KKR. McCullum then cut loose in the death overs to take KKR score to 173, their highest total in the tournament.

But nothing went right for KKR, as Taylor connected well with the bat and stole the match for BRC.

Shane Warne may miss rest of IPL 2009

Defending champions Rajasthan Royals' chances of making the semi-finals in the second edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) has
suffered a serious set-back with skipper Shane Warne likely to miss the rest of the tournament due to a hamstring injury.

Warne, who is also the team's coach, was injured when he was batting against Deccan Chargers on Monday night. Rajasthan Royals lost the match by 53 runs. Warne required a runner while batting and will probably need 10 days to recover.

In Warne's absence, Graeme Smith is likely to lead the side.

Rajasthan Royals director of coaching Darren Berry said: "I think it is a balancing act that will be our focus to get it right. We can field just four overseas players and it is a difficult thing to manage. We have now put ourselves under pressure."

Rajasthan Royals have already lost fast bowlers Kamran Khan and Amit Singh because of suspect action.

Royal Challengers will hope to bounce back against Knight Riders

CENTURION: Bangalore Royal Challengers would be looking to pound on a hapless Kolkata Knight Riders to return to form when they clash in an Indian Premier League match on Tuesday.

They have lost their last two matches to Rajasthan Royals and Mumbai Indians and need to regroup quickly.

Anil Kumble's team would take heart from their previous win against Knight Riders that not only snapped their four-match losing streak, but brought them back in the tournament with three successive wins.

Challengers, however, will have to sort out their batting problems which has been inconsistent. The batsmen have not fired collectively.

In their last match against Mumbai Indians, the Challengers bowling attack managed to restrict the strong batting side to 157.

The batting was again a letdown as they could reach only 141.

Ross Taylor was brought back to the side but it did not produce results. They have changed the opening combination many times in the tournament but none has clicked.

In the last two games, Wassim Jaffer and Virat Kohli opened the batting with Jacques Kallis, but the combinations did not click.

Kallis and Robin Uthappa produced a stunning performance in Challengers' first clash with Mumbai Indians, but since then have failed in two matches.

"We lost too many wickets early and that is one area where we need to improve," Kumble said.

As for Knight Riders, they will be playing for pride after losing their eighth match.

Nothing seems to be working for the Knight Riders and skipper Brendon McCullum is running out of options.

They lost two wickets in the first over against Daredevils and could never recover from there.