IPL 2014: 4 reasons why CSK lost the Qualifier 2 against KXIP

After registering and emphatic win against Mumbai Indians in the eliminator, Chennai Super Kings couldn't get better of Kings XI Punjab in the race for the finale. They were in the hunt bust lost momentum in the middle overs. Here we look back at the match to analyze what went wrong for Dhoni's men.

Poor planning against Sehwag
The whole world knows that Sehwag's feet are not mobile when it comes to stroke making and he gets in trouble on shot balls. Despite knowing his weakness, the Chennai Super Kings bowlers never tested him with rising deliveries. He was bowled full length balls which he easily dispatched for sixes and fours. MS Dhoni is a clever captain but even his brain went for a toss against the class of our very own Sehwag. Apart from short balls, he has a tendency of driving uppishly on the balls outside the off stumps but to my surprise, the Kings bowlers hardly bowled him there.

Raina's run-out
He was going at a thunderous strike rate of more than 300 against his rivals. The left hand batsman was hitting boundaries for a fun and was simply unstoppable. He scored 87 off 25 balls with 12 fours and 6 sixes to his name. It was his innings which almost took Kings XI Punjab with surprise after they posted 226 for 6 in the allotted 20 overs. However his run-out, changed the momentum of the game completely. If he would have stayed for another five overs, his team was sure of a sixth berth in the finale of the cash rich league.

Wrong shot selection from foreign recruits
Dwayne Smith and Faf du Plessis lost their wickets early in the innings. They could have played sensibly but they looked in a hurray. Apart from them, Brendon McCullum and David Hussey deserves more blame. It was McCullum who was responsible for Raina's run-out. He is experienced enough to know that patience was required after Raina's dismissals as his brutal hitting has brought things in CSK's favor. But to my surprise he ran himself out in the crunch situation. The same could be said about David Hussey who played carelessly, which resulted in his downfall.

Strange Captaincy
I was shocked to see Ravindra Jadeja's arrival after Raina's dismissal. Dhoni could have promoted himself as match was under control but he choose to remain in the dugout which was strange. We have seen in the past that Dhoni comes in if situation demands smart batting. By the time he came to bat, the match has gone into Kings XI Punjab’s favor. Moreover, Dhoni didn't tried hitting balls out of the park from the first ball, which was beyond my understanding. He scored an unbeaten 42 off 31 balls, which is very slow keeping his batting standards in mind.

IPL Qualifier 2 Preview: Kings XI Punjab vs. Chennai Super Kings

These two teams have played good cricket sofar in the Indian Premier League. However, Kings XI Punjab have beaten CSK twice in this year's competition. Will they be third time lucky or are we going to see yellow brigade's dominance?

Kings XI Punjab
They were in top class form in the first half of the event but the last few matches haven't gone their way. Their star batsman Glenn Maxwell has found things tough with some low scores under his belt. Same could be said about Virender Sehwag and David Miller. They need runs from Maxwell and Miller if they want to win this game. Bowlers have bowled well but they too need consistency. The management of this team should play Sandeep Sharma in place of Awana. Sharma has been phenomenal with a new ball.

Chennai Super Kings
MS Dhoni and boys are in superb touch at the moment but when it comes to Punjab based franchise things are different. Ashwin was taken for plenty by Maxwell and Miller in the two games these franchises have played.  He is CSK's main bowler and they need him in crunch situations. If Dhoni is able to get good performance out of his bowlers, CSK will play their sixth final. As far as their batting is concern, the batsmen have chipped in with decent scores. Smith, McCullum, Faf, Raina, Dhoni and Hussey have played their part with mere perfection.

Verdict
I would give both teams 50-50 chances as they are capable of uprooting each other.

CSK
MS Dhoni (c/wk), Srikkanth Anirudha Baba Aparajith, Ravichandran Ashwin, Subramaniam Badrinath, Dwayne Bravo, Akila Dananjaya, Faf du Plessis, Ben Hilfenhaus, Jason Holder, Michael Hussey, Imtiaz Ahmed, Ravindra Jadeja, Shadab Jakati, R Karthikeyan, Nuwan Kulasekara, Ben Laughlin, Ronit More, Albie Morkel, Chris Morris, Dirk Nannes, Suresh Raina, Ankit Rajpoot, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Vijay Shankar, Mohit Sharma, Murali Vijay.

KXIP
Adam Gilchrist (C), Azhar Mahmood, Luke Pomersbach, David Hussey, David Miller, Dimitri Mascarenhas, Manpreet Gony, Nitin Saini, Parvinder Awana, Paul Valthaty, Piyush Chawla, Praveen Kumar, Rajagopal Sathish, Ryan Harris, Bhargav Bhatt, Bipul Sharma, Gurkeerat Mann Singh, Harmeet Singh Bansal, Manan Vohra, Aniket Choudhary, Mandeep Singh, Sandeep Sharma, Siddharth Chitnis, Sunny Singh.
 

Biggest foreign disappointments of the Indian Premier League

T20 format of the game is the most unpredictable one and the Indian Premier League is no different. We were sure of certain players and their success in this edition but they failed big time. Let’s take a look at the biggest foreign disappointments of this year’s IPL.

Steyn gun was quite The number one bowler in the world was at the receiving end in this year’s IPL. He was first taken apart from AB de Villiers and then MS Dhoni and Yusuf Pathan went after him. His Yorkers were hit for boundaries while his length deliveries got brutal treatment. This was the first time when he proved ineffective in the cash rich league. He took just 11 wickets from 14 games and had an economy rate above 7 which is rear with him. He couldn’t help his team with regular breakthroughs, which was one of the prime reasons behind Sunrisers Hyderabad lowly finish in the points table.

Kallis lost his magical touch The veteran all-rounder from South Africa was not able to set stage on fire in the seventh edition of the cash rich league. It seemed that age was getting better of this classy player. He was dropped from the team after playing 8 games. The tally of 151 runs and 4 wickets is hardly what Kolkata needed from their star player. I know comebacks are possible but he is too old to think of this. His IPL career is looking over and it would be great if he is used as a mentor.

Kevin Pietersen failed big time He was bought by Delhi Daredevils to anchor their ship with his batting and captaincy skills but his tenure ended in a failure. He accumulated 294 runs from the eleven games while his side managed just 2 wins in the entire tournament. This is what happens when one stop playing international cricket but in Pietersen’s case, his career was cut short because of his temperament problems.

Chris Gayle never arrived The left-hand batsman was never in touch during his stay at the crease in the seventh edition. He missed few games because of injury but couldn’t deliver after making the return. His trademark shot were missing while his mode of dismissals was almost identical match after match. The big fellow was tied down even by some unknown bowlers. His low scores meant that RCB was never in the reckoning for the playoffs.

Qualifier 1 Preview: Kolkata Knight Riders vs. Kings XI Punjab

The Qualifier 1 was postponed because of rain and was rescheduled for today. Kings XI Punjab have played like champions in the league so far while Kolkata Knight Riders is the most improved team in the cash rich league. Will it be another win for KKR at Eden Gardens or are we going to see some magic from the kings?

Kolkata Knight Riders The Knights have picked in the last few matches with their star players back in form. Robin Uthappa is the leading run-scorer in the Indian Premier League and has looked strong match after match. He is batting like a hero but he needs support from Gautam Gambhir as well. Yusuf Pathan was instrumental in the last match and led his team to victory with the fastest fifty in the history of the league. Manish Pandey has chipped in with useful contributions while Shakib-al-Hasan has made all-round contributions. The bowling unit have been bowling well with Sunil Narine in top form. He is the leading wicket-taker in the league. Vinay Kumar and Morne Morkel have assisted him well in the league matches.

Kings XI Punjab They are the best team in the league with some phenomenal hitters in their ranks. Manan Vohra, Virender Sehwag, David Miller, Glenn Maxwell and George Bailey have dismantled bowling units with their attacking batting. The bowling units of the opposite teams have found impossible to tackle Kings batters. The worrying point is their bowling as things haven’t shaped properly. Mitchell Johnson, and Sandeep Sharma have bowled effectively but not in all the games. Apart from them, their spinners also lack experience.

Verdict The advantage is with Kolkata Knight Riders as the match will be played at Eden Gardens. They have the bowling unit which can easily tame Kings XI Punjab hitters. However, their rivals are no pushovers and any batsman from their team can win the game single handedly. Teams

KKR Kolkata Knight Riders: Gautam Gambhir (captain), Robin Uthappa (wk), Manish Pandey, Yusuf Pathan, Shakib Al Hasan, Ryan ten Doeschate, Suryakumar Yadav, Morne Morkel, Umesh Yadav, R Vinay Kumar, Sunil Narine, Jacques Kallis, Andre Russell, Pat Cummins, Chris Lynn, R Vinay Kumar, Manvinder Bisla, Debabrata Das, Kuldeep Yadav, Sayan Mondal and Veer Pratap Singh.

KXIP Kings XI Punjab: George Bailey (captain), Virender Sehwag, Manan Vohra, Glenn Maxwell, David Miller, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Akshar Patel, Mitchell Johnson, Rishi Dhawan, Karanveer Singh, Parvinder Awana, Beuran Hendricks, Shaun Marsh, Thisara Perera, Lakshmipathy Balaji, Murali Kartik, Cheteshwar Pujara, Sandeep Singh, Anureet Singh, Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Mandeep Singh, Shivam Sharma and Shradul Thakur.

Eight Teams in the IPL: A right balance in the right direction

The total number of franchises in the Indian Premier League (IPL) will not be increased for the next three years. According to me, the cash rich league should continue with eight teams even after 2017. This tournament has set certain values in the market and to guard them, it is necessary to main the tempo which is only possible if number of teams is kept in check. Let's take a close look as in why eight teams is the right way to carry out the proceedings in the near future.
Competition for places
It is a known fact that top talent is limited in the world of cricket and this is the reason why they command high prices in the Indian Premier League. On the other hand, players who are less talented have managed to get millions just because the supply was less and their demand was soaring because of too many buyers in the cash rich league. Teams like Kochi Tuskers Kerala and Pune Warriors especially couldn't perform well as players representing them were not that good. I am not talking about the whole squad but there were players who struggled when exposed to top class cricket. Kochi was sacked after one season while Pune Warriors bid adieu to the league after two pathetic years, where they finished last and second last respectively. Cut to this year's auction and you will see the difference. There were no buyers for Munaf Patel, RP Singh, Subramaniam Badrinath and many more Indians while players like Irfan Pathan and Yusuf Pathan had to go through huge pay cut as they were ordinary in the last season. Apart from the Indians, Mahela Jayawardene, Angelo Mathews and several other big foreign stars remained unsold. This is enough to prove that only top performers will stand in the market if less teams are part of the event.
Less burnout of players
It is because of players that cricket has attained new heights across the globe. They are the real ambassadors of the game, who deserves proper treatment from their bosses. They play throughout the year irrespective of their class and talent. Indian Premier League is very demanding so it is important to keep number of matches in check. The last season had 16 matches for each team as nine teams were in the fray but it has come down to 14 games in IPL-7. It was done because Pune Warriors withdrew their name from the competition. It is evident that if teams are increased after 2017, the number of matches will surely increase which will put more burden on the bodies of the cricketers. This will cause unfortunate injuries which might reduce one's playing career. We have to understand that players are humans and not some robots, who could go on to play for years that too without any rest. It is in the best interest of the league that current pattern is maintained till the time this event is alive and kicking.
Controlled Overdose
Apart from cricketers, fans are the best next thing which has happened to this game. Their continuous presence in the stadiums and in front of the TV screens has made Indian Premier League the best T20 tournament across the regions. We have seen in the past that stadiums had less attendance where Pune Warriors India and Kochi Tuskers Kerala had their matches. Even TV rating took a beating in those seasons. The message was clear that fans don't want less fancied outfits and overdose of the matches. It is good for the future of the tournament that its competitiveness is preserved as it would lead to new success. The administrative people should think from the fan's perspective as well otherwise things would become bad for the IPL.
Monitoring is easy
Indian Premier League is tailor made for controversies. We have seen many unwanted happenings which has marred its image in the past. The last season was jolted by spot fixing incident which was the ugliest thing for the game and its image. Pepsi, the main sponsor of the event, even threatened BCCI with a pull-out but stayed back after getting a promise that such incidents will not be repeated. Is it possible? Yes but it requires proper monitoring. If participating teams are less in numbers, it becomes easy for the organizers to look after the event properly and the same goes for the BCCI and the IPL. The cash rich league is prone to controversies because of its popularity but the BCCI should prepare a proper plan to keep wrong elements away from the game. It would be easy for them to watch out everything if the tournament is retained in its current avatar.
 

Forget Test cricket, go for T20s

May. 26th, 2014

• 4:10 PM

If anyone ask cricketers which is their favorite format, the reply will be Test cricket. It is considered as the purest form of cricket and all the upcoming and current players have a dream of representing their respective countries in this version of the game. Whether it is some powerful cricketing nation or the associate ones, the players from these countries are always interested in Test cricket. Countries like India, Pakistan, Australia, South Africa, England and few more are part of the elite club which got surety of playing five day game but the same couldn’t be said about Ireland, Netherlands, Afghanistan and few more. No matter how hard they try, this format will remain a distinct possibility for them. The smaller teams have gained attention because of their performances in the bigger events. Ireland was able to defeat Pakistan in the 2007 cricket World Cup while they repeated their performance this time against England in the 2011 Cricket World Cup. There have been few more similar stories when it comes to minnows. The recently concluded T20 World Cup in Bangladesh saw one of the similar stories. The hero of the story was the Netherlands team which defeated Ireland, caused problems to New Zealand, had South Africa under trouble and eventually beat England. The orange outfit got better of England in the 2009 T20 World Cup as well.

Teams like Ireland, Hong Kong, Nepal and Afghanistan too had their moments in the qualifying round. The point I am trying to make that T20 has given every nation a chance to compete at the highest level. It is useless to say that associate nations are not talented enough to dismantle bigger teams in the slam bang edition of the game. They have already shown that they can win against any strong team if given a chance. The learning curve in Test cricket is too steep for them and they have a wide gap to fill even in the ODIs. The T20 format is not that old and has given everyone a chance of fulfilling their desires. The shortest format of the game has led to the find of some innovative shots and all the budding cricketers of the cricket playing nations are learning them at the same point of time.  T20 is an easier sport to master as it requires less time. It is the only reason I believe that Test status shouldn’t be the ultimate goal for the new countries. Test cricket is a dated ambition which is not must to survive in the competitive world. I know playing longer versions like Test cricket and the ODIs will help in the short game skills but even this is not mandatory as there are players who have made their international debuts even before playing a first class game in their respective countries. Krishmar Santokie of the West Indies is the latest example in this list. However, the players from under developed nations in terms of cricketing knowledge should be allowed to play in different T20 leagues of the world. Their cricketing boards along with the ICC should draft a formula wherein their number of players are guaranteed a place in the private T20 events. Indian Premier League is the best T20 event across the globe.

The problem is that the franchises of this league have not paid importance to the players who are from the weaker nations. Their names have popped up in the auctions but the hammer has come down as unsold. It is no more a hidden fact that player from Ireland, Netherlands and other countries are immensely talented in the T20 format. I know it is not easy to order T20 leagues to keep certain slots for the players from the small countries but atleast the idea can be explored.  The players from Pakistan and particularly England haven’t been able to participate in different T20 extravaganza due to different reasons which has hampered their progress. England has one of the best and the oldest T20 competition but this is not enough to learn about the playing conditions of the remaining countries. Playing in India will help in developing one’s knowledge about the sub-continent. Aaron Finch, the Australian opener, recently stated that playing with Virender Sehwag has made David Warner a better player.


Sehwag and Warner played together for Delhi Daredevils in the Indian Premier League. If the associates are not exposed to these leagues, they will start falling behind in the format that gives them a chance of competing with the best. Moreover, the governing body of the Champions League T20 could run a qualifying round in which certain number teams from the associate nations play against each other and the winner is drafted in the main draw. If the administrators are interested in expanding cricket beyond the current limit, T20 is their best chance. It is the only format, which has the capability of taking the competition level to new heights and who knows we could see India getting defeated at the hands of Nepal someday.

IPL 2014 Preview: Kings XI Punjab v. Royal Challengers

The Kings are playing like real Royals while the Royals are performing like school kids. Kings XI Punjab have got one of the most dangerous batting units in the competition, which has dismantled bowling arsenal of other teams in a span of few overs. On the other hand, RCB has failed to leave a mark in this year’s event. Will we see another clinical performance from them or will it be RCB’s day?
KXIP
Maxwell has been their star so far. The tall Australian has made life hell for the bowlers with his brutal hitting. He is the leading scorer in the tournament while has also hit maximum sixes.  Apart from him, David Miller, George Bailey and Virender Sehwag has batted sensibly. The best part is this team has performed in almost all the games. Their bowlers too have contributed in the winning cause. Sandeep Sharma is their star performer while the likes of Mitchell Johnson has bowled magnificently well.  These two haven’t let their team down in the previous games.
RCB
This team is lacking big time in all the departments of the game. Is there any inform batsmen? The answer is no. Virat Kohli, Chris Gayle and AB de Villiers have found life difficult that too even against  less recognized bowlers. Yuvarj Singh deserves special mention because of his pathetic display with the bat. He was bought for more than Rs. 14 crore but has failed to justify his price tag. Either he has played to make RCB loose or else he has thrown away his wicket. Should he be axed from the team? The answer is big yes and with immediate effect.  RCB’s bowling was looking good in the first few matches but that has also gone for a toss after landing in India. Verdict
My money is on KXIP because their player are playing superb cricket.

Teams
KXIP GJ Bailey*, Anureet Singh, P Awana, L Balaji, R Dhawan, Gurkeerat Singh, BE Hendricks, MG Johnson, Karanveer Singh, M Kartik, Mandeep Singh, SE Marsh, GJ Maxwell, DA Miller, AR Patel, NLTC Perera, CA Pujara, WP Saha, Sandeep Sharma, V Sehwag, Shivam Sharma, SN Thakur, M Vohra

RCB V Kohli*, VR Aaron, AN Ahmed, YS Chahal, AB de Villiers, AB Dinda, CH Gayle, SB Jakati, T Mishra, JA Morkel, M Muralitharan, HV Patel, PA Patel, R Rampaul, S Rana, RR Rossouw, S Sandeep Warrier, MA Starc, YV Takawale, Yuvraj Singh, VH Zol

IPL 2014 Preview: Rajasthan Royals vs. Sunrisers Hyderabad

Rajasthan Royals have peaked at the right time while Hyderabad based franchise is still finding hard to get into the groove. Royals have played as a competitive unit which has helped them in tough situations. The Sunrisers need to play their brand of cricket rather waiting for the things to happen.

RR
Shane Watson is leading from the front and his players have responded to his calls. Ajinkya Rahane, Sanju Samson, Karun Nair, Steve Smith and the captain himself has held the batting together. The likes of Stuart Binny and Rajat Bhatia have been phenomenal in their all-round roles. James Faulkner, Pravin Tambe, Kane Richardson and Tim Southee have bowled impressively. I am pretty happy with the way they have conducted their performances. They don’t have big Indian names but have managed to upset big teams. Credit should be given to the upcoming players and Rahul Dravid, who has inserted a self belief in the squad.
SRH
AB de Villiers took the game away from them that too in a span of few overs. The match against Royal Challengers Bangalore was in their pocket before AB’s explosive batting. This team has abundance of talent but have failed to register regular wins. One of the main reasons is Shikhar Dhawan and his style of captaincy. Let’s accept the fact that he is not a good captain. It’s high time if Darren Sammy is told to lead the side. David Warner and Aaron Finch can break any team’s resistance while the likes of Dhawan, Sammy , Pathan and Naman Ojha are big T20 players. Their bowling is also well equipped with Dale Steyn leading the charge. Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Karan Sharma have bowled beautifully so far.
Verdict
I will go with Royals as they got everything with them to register another comfortable victory in this year’s IPL.
Teams
RR
SR Watson*, Amit Mishra, Ankit Sharma, AK Bains, R Bhatia, STR Binny, UBT Chand, KK Cooper, BCJ Cutting, JP Faulkner, BJ Hodge, DJ Hooda, Iqbal Abdulla, DS Kulkarni, VS Malik, KK Nair, AM Nayar, AM Rahane, KW Richardson, SV Samson, SPD Smith, TG Southee, PV Tambe, R Tewatia, DH Yagnik
SRH
S Dhawan*, S Anirudha, A Ashish Reddy, RK Bhui, AJ Finch, MC Henriques, JO Holder, MC Juneja, B Kumar, CV Milind, A Mishra, NV Ojha†, P Parameswaran, Parvez Rasool, IK Pathan, AG Paunikar, KL Rahul, DJG Sammy, I Sharma, KV Sharma, DW Steyn, BRM Taylor, Y Venugopal Rao, DA Warner

Share/Bookmark

cricket today magazine is a Expert Writer Of Cricket Match, crictoday india and also write Present Running series india versus new zealand series future match in t20 Wc banladesh and more about cricket new,update,records etc.
Follow me On Social Plugging- Google Plus
IPl Live score t20

• Current Location:India,
• Current Mood: good

IPL 2014 Preview: Delhi Daredevils Vs. Kolkata Knight Riders

These teams have struggled a lot in this year's IPL despite having exceptional talent in their ranks. Delhi Daredevils are unable to solve their ever rising problems while Knight Riders are losing matches from winning situations.
Delhi Daredevils
The problem with them is the lack of consistency from the whole team. If batsmen are scoring runs, then there is some problem with the bowlers and vice versa. They need collective effort in order to register regular victories. The batsmen played their part in the last match against Chennai Super Kings but bowlers will have to take today's match seriously. Skipper Kevin Pietersen will have to lead from the front. Mohammad Shami has bowled wide and short which has caused team a lot. He needs guidance and the same could be said about others as well.

Kolkata Knight Riders
They should first axe Yusuf Pathan who has become a big time burden on his team. He is simply not clicking in the tournament and it's high time that he is shown the door. Apart from his, Gautam Gambhir, Robin Uthappa, Manish Pandey, Shakib-al-Hasan and Andre Russell will have to take their batting seriously. Sunil Narine is bowling well and so is Vinay Kumar. They should include Morne Morkel in the playing XI.

Verdict
I will go with KKR because of their talent in all the departments of the game.

Teams

KKR
G Gambhir*, MS BislaâEUR , PP Chawla, PJ Cummins, DB Das, JH Kallis, Kuldeep Yadav, CA Lynn, SS Mondal, M Morkel, SP Narine, MK Pandey, YK Pathan, V Pratap Singh, AD Russell, Shakib Al Hasan, RN ten Doeschate, RV UthappaâEUR , R Vinay Kumar, SA Yadav, UT Yadav

DD
KP Pietersen*, MA Agarwal, Q de Kock, JP Duminy, Imran Tahir, KM Jadhav, KD KarthikâEUR , S Kaul, Milind Kumar, Mohammed Shami, S Nadeem, JDS Neesham, WD Parnell, HS Sharath, R Sharma, LR Shukla, R Shukla, LRPL Taylor, MK Tiwary, SS Tiwary, JD Unadkat, M Vijay, J Yadav

These teams have struggled a lot in this year's IPL despite having exceptional talent in their ranks. Delhi Daredevils are unable to solve their ever rising problems while Knight Riders are losing matches from winning situations.

The problem with them is the lack of consistency from the whole team. If batsmen are scoring runs, then there is some problem with the bowlers and vice versa. They need collective effort in order to register regular victories. The batsmen played their part in the last match against Chennai Super Kings but bowlers will have to take today's match seriously.
About the Author
cricket today magazine is a Expert Writer Of Cricket Match, crictoday india and also write Present Running series india versus new zealand series future match in t20 Wc banladesh and more about cricket new,update,records etc.
Follow me On Social Plugging- Google Plus
IPl Live score t20
 

• Current Location:India,
• Current Mood: good

IPL 2014 Preview: Delhi Daredevils vs. Kolkata Knight Riders

These teams have struggled a lot in this year’s IPL despite having exceptional talent in their ranks. Delhi Daredevils are unable to solve their ever rising problems while Knight Riders are losing matches from winning situations.
Delhi Daredevils
The problem with them is the lack of consistency from the whole team. If batsmen are scoring runs, then there is some problem with the bowlers and vice versa. They need collective effort in order to register regular victories. The batsmen played their part in the last match against Chennai Super Kings but bowlers will have to take today’s match seriously. Skipper Kevin Pietersen will have to lead from the front. Mohammad Shami has bowled wide and short which has caused team a lot. He needs guidance and the same could be said about others as well
Kolkata Knight Riders
They should first axe Yusuf Pathan who has become a big time burden on his team. He is simply not clicking in the tournament and it’s high time that he is shown the door. Apart from his, Gautam Gambhir, Robin Uthappa, Manish Pandey, Shakib-al-Hasan and Andre Russell will have to take their batting seriously. Sunil Narine is bowling well and so is Vinay Kumar. They should include Morne Morkel in the playing XI.
Verdict
I will go with KKR because of their talent in all the departments of the game.
Teams KKR
G Gambhir*, MS Bisla†, PP Chawla, PJ Cummins, DB Das, JH Kallis, Kuldeep Yadav, CA Lynn, SS Mondal, M Morkel, SP Narine, MK Pandey, YK Pathan, V Pratap Singh, AD Russell, Shakib Al Hasan, RN ten Doeschate, RV Uthappa†, R Vinay Kumar, SA Yadav, UT Yadav

DD
KP Pietersen*, MA Agarwal, Q de Kock, JP Duminy, Imran Tahir, KM Jadhav, KD Karthik†, S Kaul, Milind Kumar, Mohammed Shami, S Nadeem, JDS Neesham, WD Parnell, HS Sharath, R Sharma, LR Shukla, R Shukla, LRPL Taylor, MK Tiwary, SS Tiwary, JD Unadkat, M Vijay, J Yadav

• Current Location:India,
• Current Mood: good

IPL 2014 Preview: Mumbai Indians vs. Royal Challengers Bangalore

India has always been happy hunting ground for the big teams in the Indian Premier League. Mumbai Indians couldn't win even a single game in UAE but registered a comfortable victory in their first match at Wankhede. The same could be said about Royal Challengers Bangalore, who ended their three-match losing streak recently that too at their home ground.  Both teams will play against each other in today's match. Is it going to be two in two for Mumbai at home or are we going to see RCB's dominance.

Mumbai Indians
Their batsmen finally came to the party in the last match against Kings XI Punjab. They had to chase a big score and lost some early wickets but this didn't hampered their confidence as they cruise to their first win of the season. C Gautam, Rohit Sharma, Corey Anderson, Kieron Pollard and Aditya Tare played their part with mere perfection. It was a brilliant effort from the Indians batters, who played quite a few good looking shots. From start to finish, they looked like the winning team. The latest result is enough to boost their confidence for the remaining matches, which could make things difficult for the rivals. Fast bowlers are bowling beautifully but Harbhajan Singh needs to pull up his socks in the spin department.

Royal Challengers Bangalore
AB de Villiers was the only reason behind their dramatic win against Sunrisers Hyderabad. The team had almost lost before AB played one of the best innings in the history of the IPL. The problem for Challengers have been their poor display in the batting department. We haven't seen even a single batsman who has scored on a consistent basis. Yuvraj Singh, Virat Kohli, Parthiv Patel, Chris Gayle and even AB de Villiers have failed to score runs in every game. I know AB was fabulous in the last game but his team need more runs from him rather one or two big effort. Bowling has been their strong point with some exceptional performances. Mitchell Starc has bowled well and spinning sensation Chahal has been a revelation for them so far.

Verdict
Its 50-50 for both teams as they are struggling to play consistent and smart cricket.

Teams

MI
RG Sharma*, CJ Anderson, JJ Bumrah, M de Lange, BR Dunk, CM Gautam†, S Gopal, Harbhajan Singh, JR Hazlewood, MEK Hussey, Z Khan, SL Malinga, SH Marathe, PP Ojha, KA Pollard, AT Rayudu†, K Santokie, LMP Simmons, P Suyal, AP Tare†, AV Wankhade

RCB
V Kohli*, VR Aaron, AN Ahmed, YS Chahal, AB de Villiers, AB Dinda, CH Gayle, SB Jakati, T Mishra, JA Morkel, M Muralitharan, HV Patel, PA Patel, R Rampaul, S Rana, RR Rossouw, S Sandeep Warrier, MA Starc, YV Takawale, Yuvraj Singh, VH Zol

Chennai Super Kings Juggernaut to Battle It Out With Delhi Daredevils

The yellow brigade has been the real flavor of the Indian Premier League because of their consistent performances over the years so how could it be different in 2014. This team is in superb form at the moment with great back to back results. The batsmen are scoring runs while the bowlers are making regular inroads. On the other side, it has been poor season for Delhi Daredevils so far. They were easily beaten in their last match that too on their home turf. Will we see another comfortable win for CSK or will Devils rise to the occasion.

Chennai Super Kings
Brendon McCullum and Dwayne Smith have played exceptionally well as openers. They are playing for the first time in CSK colors but this has not dented their individual heroics. Both of them have blasted bowlers to all corners of the stadiums. Apart from their big shots, they have run quite well between the wickets. Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni have also contributed. The biggest asset has been Ravindra Jadeja who has batted and bowled well till now. R Ashwin has done his job in the spin department while the pace trio have been amazing. Ben Hilfenhaus, Mohit Sharma and Ishwar Pandey have taken lot of wickets in the previous games.

Delhi Daredevils
They have struggled in all the departments of the game despite having some big players in their ranks. Their batting has not come through while bowlers have conceded too many runs. Murali Vijay, Dinesh Karthik and Kevin Pietersen are unable to score runs which have put their team under lot of pressure. Let's hope they get something out of this game which will be played on their home turf.

Teams

CSK
MS Dhoni*� , B Aparajith, R Ashwin, S Badree, DJ Bravo, F du Plessis, JW Hastings, MJ Henry, BW Hilfenhaus, RA Jadeja, BB McCullum, M Manhas, RG More, P Negi, A Nehra, IC Pandey, SK Raina, V Shankar, MM Sharma, DR Smith

DD
KP Pietersen*, MA Agarwal, NM Coulter-Nile, Q de Kock, JP Duminy, KM Jadhav, KD Karthik� , S Kaul, Milind Kumar, Mohammed Shami, S Nadeem, JDS Neesham, WD Parnell, HS Sharath, R Sharma, LR Shukla, R Shukla, LRPL Taylor, MK Tiwary, SS Tiwary, JD Unadkat, M Vijay, J Yadav
The yellow brigade has been the real flavor of the Indian Premier League because of their consistent performances over the years so how could it be different in 2014. This team is in superb form at the moment with great back to back results. The batsmen are scoring runs while the bowlers are making regular inroads. On the other side, it has been poor season for Delhi Daredevils so far.

• Current Location:India,
• Current Mood: good

IPL 2014 Preview: Rajasthan Royals vs. Kolkata Knight Riders

The blue brigade of the Indian Premier League has played competitive cricket in the last few games. Their players are finally justifying their talent on the right stage. Batting and bowling has contributed while fielders have also chipped in with satisfying results. Their opponents are struggling for consistency and have lost quite a few games. Is this going to be another feast for Royals or will KKR be able to stamp their authority?

Rajasthan Royals
I have said many a times that this side is full of talented players. They are lucky to have players like Sanju Samson and Karun Nair in their side. The batsmen are in top form with Ajinkya Rahane, Sanju Samson, Karun Nair, Shane Watson and Steven Smith making useful contribution while the performance of Stuart Binny and Rajat Bhatia has been impressive. The bowling department has also fared well. James Faulkner, Kane Richardson and Pravin Tambe have taken regular wickets, which has held their bowling well.

Kolkata Knight Riders
Their biggest problem is their skipper Gautam Gambhir, who has forgotten how to lead a side. He is unable to control his emotions and is often seen scolding his players. He has been poor with the bat while the same could be said about other batters as well. Manish Pandey, Robin Uthappa, Yusuf Pathan and Jacques Kallis have thrown their wickets while Shakib-al-Hasan needs consistency in his performance. Bowling has also looked ordinary with Sunil Narine, the only bright spot.

Verdict
This match is clearly heading Rajasthan way as they got amazing set of players.

Teams

RR
SR Watson*, Amit Mishra, Ankit Sharma, AK Bains, R Bhatia, STR Binny, UBT Chand, KK Cooper, BCJ Cutting, JP Faulkner, BJ Hodge, DJ Hooda, Iqbal Abdulla, DS Kulkarni, VS Malik, KK Nair, AM Nayar, AM Rahane, KW Richardson, SV Samson, SPD Smith, TG Southee, PV Tambe, R Tewatia, DH Yagnik

KKR
G Gambhir*, MS Bisla†, PP Chawla, PJ Cummins, DB Das, JH Kallis, Kuldeep Yadav, CA Lynn, SS Mondal, M Morkel, SP Narine, MK Pandey, YK Pathan, V Pratap Singh, AD Russell, Shakib Al Hasan, RN ten Doeschate, RV Uthappa†, R Vinay Kumar, SA Yadav, UT Yadav

• Current Location:India,
• Current Mood: good

IPL 2014 Preview: Mumbai Indians vs. Kings XI Punjab

Something has gone wrong with the defending champions as they have lost their five consecutive matches. The batting is not coming through while the bowlers are unable to contain rivals. The team is in total disarray at the moment. On the other hand Kings XI Punjab is enjoying superb run in this year’s Indian Premier League. They are undefeated in the tournament so far and will look to carry on with the winning momentum in India as well. Are we going to see yet another win for them or will it be Mumbai Indians day?

Kings XI Punjab
If their bowlers have leaked runs, their batsmen have done the recovery job while if their batting unit has flattered, the bowlers have come to the party. This has been their success mantra. Virender Sehwag is batting with responsibility while Cheteshwar Pujara has played his part with mere perfection. Glenn Maxwell has been their star batsman while David Miller has scored lot of runs in the crunch situations. Their captain George Bailey is tailor made for T20 and is due for a big score. Mitchell Johnson has led the bowling department pretty well with L Balaji, who has performed exceptionally well. The performance of Sandeep Sharma has surprised everyone as this guy has taken wickets in every match. Rishi Dhawan and Akshar Patel have bowled effectively.

Mumbai Indians
They need some miracle to turnaround their IPL season which has been pathetic. This team is playing some school level cricket with failures after failures. They don’t have even a single positive point in their batting department. Nobody has contributed on a consistent basis. Rohit Sharma, Ambati Rayudu, Corey Anderson and Kieron Pollard have played with the trust of their fans with regular below par scores. If we leave Malinga and Zaheer out, the rest of the bowling unit have leaked runs that too in every game. Harbhajan Singh has bowled economically but has taken just 2 wickets from 5 games, which is ordinary in every sense. The blue brigade will have to do something extraordinary in order to savage their pride. They are out of the top four race.

Verdict
It is the easiest thing to do when u got Mumbai Indians as one of the teams. The match will surely go Kings XI Punjab’s way as their players are in good form.

Teams
KXIP
GJ Bailey*, Anureet Singh, P Awana, L Balaji, R Dhawan, Gurkeerat Singh, BE Hendricks, MG Johnson, Karanveer Singh, M Kartik, Mandeep Singh, SE Marsh, GJ Maxwell, DA Miller, AR Patel, NLTC Perera, CA Pujara, WP Saha, Sandeep Sharma, V Sehwag, Shivam Sharma, SN Thakur, M Vohra
MI
RG Sharma*, CJ Anderson, JJ Bumrah, M de Lange, BR Dunk, CM Gautam†, S Gopal, Harbhajan Singh, JR Hazlewood, MEK Hussey, Z Khan, SL Malinga, SH Marathe, PP Ojha, KA Pollard, AT Rayudu†, K Santokie, LMP Simmons, P Suyal, AP Tare†, AV Wankhade

IPL 2014 Preview: Kolkata Knight Riders vs. Chennai Super Kings

The yellow brigade is in top form with four consecutive wins under their belt. MS Dhoni has marshaled his troops well and the same is expected from him in today’s match. However, Kolkata Knight Riders are still looking for some momentum. Will it be CSK’s day or will KKR register much required win?
Chennai Super Kings
Brendon McCullum and Dwayne Smith have played brilliantly as openers. They have easily dismantle rival bowling by their attacking shots from the first ball. It is going to be very difficult to stop them. Apart from them, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja and MS Dhoni are capable of winning matches in a span of few overs and have displayed this quality in the previous games. R Ashwin is bowling superbly and is getting support from the end as well. Ishwar Pandey, Mohit Sharma and Ben Hilfenhaus have formed a deadly partnership in the pace department.

Kolkata Knight Riders
This team has failed because of their batsmen. If Gautam Gambhir is scoring than others tend to lose their grip and vice versa. Jacques Kallis, Robin Uthappa and Manish Pandey are other offenders from this team. Shakib-al-Hasan and Suryakumar Yadav have batted with responsibility but they need others to click as well. Morne Morkel, Sunil Narine, Vinay Kumar and Piyush Chawla has bowled smartly and intelligently in the tournament so far.

Verdict
I will go with CSK because they got a team, which can easily beat their rivals.
Teams CSK

MS Dhoni*âEUR, B Aparajith, R Ashwin, S Badree, DJ Bravo, F du Plessis, JW Hastings, MJ Henry, BW Hilfenhaus, RA Jadeja, BB McCullum, M Manhas, RG More, P Negi, A Nehra, IC Pandey, SK Raina, V Shankar, MM Sharma, DR Smith

KKR

G Gambhir*, MS BislaâEUR, PP Chawla, PJ Cummins, DB Das, JH Kallis, Kuldeep Yadav, CA Lynn, SS Mondal, M Morkel, SP Narine, MK Pandey, YK Pathan, V Pratap Singh, AD Russell, Shakib Al Hasan, RN ten Doeschate, RV UthappaâEUR, R Vinay Kumar, SA Yadav, UT Yadav The yellow brigade is in top form with four consecutive wins under their belt. MS Dhoni has marshaled his troops well and the same is expected from him in today’s match. However, Kolkata Knight Riders are still looking for some momentum. Will it be CSK’s day or will KKR register much required win? Brendon McCullum and Dwayne Smith have played brilliantly as openers. They have easily dismantle rival bowling by their attacking shots from the first ball.

cricket today magazine is a Expert Writer Of Cricket Match, crictoday india and also write Present Running series india versus new zealand series future match in t20 Wc banladesh and more about cricket new,update,records etc. Follow me On Social Plugging- Google Plus IPl Live score t20

Why Mumbai Indians are losing?

he defending champions have failed to perform in the seventh edition of the Indian Premier League. They have lost five consecutive matches and are almost out of the top four finish. Mumbai Indians are playing with the same set of players, which played an important part in their success in 2013. However, things haven’t gone as per plans in 2014. Let’s take a closer look at the reasons behind their failures.

Poor form of players
Their batsmen have not played well in the first leg of the Indian Premier League. Rohit Sharma, Ambati Rayudu and Kieron Pollard have not scored runs on consistent basis. The real problem has been their habit of throwing away wickets that too cheaply. Rohit Sharma should have batted with more responsibility but so called talented batsman has disappointed once again. The same could be said about Pollard and Rayudu, who were at their best in 2013. In the bowling department, Harbhajan Singh has struggled to take wickets. Cricket is a team game where contribution should come from every individual.

Wrong retention and auction policy
Legends like Anil Kumble and John Wright has made blunders while assisting their team’s management in the retention and the auction process. They should have retained last year’s hero Dwayne Smith and Mitchell Johnson but chose to let them go. The duo has performed superbly so far for their respective teams. Maxwell was with them in the last edition and they had the option of landing him once again but was not considered important. He is the leading run scorer in their year’s event. Instead they choose, Mike Hussey and Corey Anderson, who have proved big time failures. Mike Hussey is getting worse day by day and Corey Anderson has not done anything big after scoring fastest ODI century. I am particularly baffled by their choice of buying Anderson. A batsman needs few good knocks under his belt to be called good and Anderson has not set the international arena on fire after scoring fastest ton in the ODIs.

Big Staff
Anil Kumble, John Wright, Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting and Robin Singh are with Mumbai Indians in some roles which is another problematic area. Players get confuse if they are offered advices from everywhere. It is good to guide players but the advice should come from one or two sources. I know Sachin Tendulkar and Ricky Ponting are the two legends of the game but these two have proved burden so far. We haven’t seen any improvement in the performance of the players which is enough to suggest that the above mentioned duo has been ineffective. cricket today magazine is a Expert Writer Of Cricket Match, crictoday india and also write Present Running series india versus new zealand series future match in t20 Wc banladesh and more about cricket new,update,records etc. Follow me On Social Plugging- Google Plus, IPl Live score t20