IPL 2011: Delhi Daredevils lose to Deccan Chargers by 16 runs

New Delhi: Delhi Daredevils' first win at home in season four of the Indian Premier League (IPL) remained elusive as they went down to Deccan Chargers by 16 runs at the Ferozeshah Kotla here on Tuesday. It was an all-round performance by Deccan Chargers, who climbed to the fourth spot in the IPL after their second win from five matches. Daredevils failed to move out of the ninth spot as they crashed to their third loss in four matches.

For the Chargers, skipper Kumar Sangakkara showed the way with a classical, yet fiery, 49 and along with Man of the Match Sunny Sohal (62) added a valuable 92 runs for the second wicket that took the 2009 champions to a competitive 168 for four from 20 overs. None of the Daredevils' batsmen, barring opener David Warner (51), could get a big score and were restricted to 152 for seven from 20 overs.

The Chargers were disciplined in their bowling, picking up wickets at regular intervals and made sure that Daredevils skipper Virender Sehwag (12) departed early. Pacers Daniel Christian and Harmeet Singh picked up two wickets each while fast bowling spearhead Dale Steyn went wicketless but conceded just 24 runs from his full quota to show that he is the vital cog in the Chargers' bowling.

Daredevils' most consistent performer Venugopal Rao (21) failed to come good and Yogesh Nagar struck an 11-ball 23 but it was not enough. Warner's 48-ball knock was the only highlight of Daredevils innings. He hit five fours and a six but didn't get any support from the other end as the hosts failed to put up a decent partnership.

The only noteworthy partnership was the 52-run stand between Rao and Warner but once leggie Amit Mishra struck to remove Rao, it was a lonely and a futile battle for Warner. Earlier, the 92-run second-wicket stand between Sohal and Sangakkara set the platform for a late charge by Cameron White, who remained unbeaten on 31 off 25 balls.

Delhi boy Shikhar Dhawan hit Ashok Dinda for two consecutive fours in the first over, but couldn't carry on the form as he chopped back to his stumps an away going delivery from Irfan Pathan in the second over. Sohal and Sangakkara then joined forces to get the innings back on track. The left-handed Sangakkara played some classical shots in his 35-ball stay, during which he hit eight fours and a six.

The former Sri Lankan captain came down on off-spinner Shahbaz Nadeem, hitting him for a six and two fours for a 16-run over. Sohal also matched Sangakkara and hit eight fours and six during his 41-ball innings. The partnership was finally broken by Dinda after Aaron Finch took an excellent catch to get rid of Sangakkara in the 12th over. Sohal also departed soon with Finch taking another good catch off Nadeem.



IPL 2011: KTK vs CSK: Kochi Tuskers Kerala beat Chennai Super Kings by 7 wickets

KOCHI: Brendon McCullum exploded at the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium and destroyed Chennai Super Kings on Monday. The Kiwi scored another match-winning 47 off 33 balls as Kochi Tuskers Kerala, chasing 132 in a rain-hit 17-over game, scripted their second win in IPL 4. The underdogs have now accounted for the two hot favourites - CSK and Mumbai Indians - in the space of a week.

Wicketkeeper-batsman Parthiv Patel (34 off 26 balls) played a good supporting role after McCullum's fireworks as the Kochi team underscored captain Mahela Jayawardene's claim that they had enough talent on the bench. The seven-wicket win for the home team came with two overs to spare.

McCullum carted Albie Morkel for two sixes in his first two overs and Jayawardene greeted offie Ashwin by hitting him for a six and a four. But Ashwin had the last laugh when he had the Sri Lankan in the same over. McCullum hit two more sixes before he perished to Ashwin, going for a big shot over long-off. Brad Hodge and Ravindra Jadeja gave the finishing touches to Kochi's victory.

Earlier, CSK weathered the vagaries of the wicket at the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium and a rain interruption to post a competitive 131 for four in 17 overs on the strength of a stroke-filled 50 (40 balls, 5x4, 1x6) from Suresh Raina. Unusual April rain in Kerala had reduced the match by three overs after Mahela Jayawardene opted to field first. The revised target after a 95-minute break for the home team was 135.

Jayawardene's decision to bowl first was influenced by the upsets created by Punjab and Kochi in the first week of IPL-4 chasing big totals. He had a second reason to do so as he reckoned that there would be some life early on for the fast bowlers. Midway through the CSK innings, the Kochi captain might have found a third reason by default to justify his decision to field first as rain interrupted the match when the visitors were 65 for two after nine overs.

Barring a couple of authentic cover drives by Murali Vijay, the CSK batsmen found more edges than hits.

IPl 2011: Deccan charge to maiden home victory

Accurate spells of fast bowling from the entire cast of seamers helped Deccan Chargers inflict a convincing 33-run victory over Royal Challengers Bangalore, who have now suffered two losses in a row. In the process, they laid to rest the curse of never having won a match at the Rajiv Gandhi International stadium in history of the IPL.

Chasing the second-highest total in the tournament so far, Bangalore's batsmen looked hapless throughout and had it not been for a battling half-century by Virat Kohli, they would have ended up in tatters. The four-man seam attack of Dale Steyn, Manpreet Gony, Ishant Sharma and Daniel Christian combined ruthlessly picking up eight of the nine Bangalore wickets.

Tillakaratne Dilshan started off with a streaky boundary, a thick outside-edge off a seaming delivery from Ishant that raced through third man. But Ishant pitched the next ball perfectly on a length and hit the seam hard. Dilshan slashed wildly only for a thin edge to travel into the gloves of Sangakkara, who eventually ended the evening with five catches. If Sangakkara made the right decision to bowl Ishant's four overs in one spell, Steyn - acting as the on-field bowling coach - made sure the Indian kept hitting a good length and avoided getting distracted bowling bouncers.

A surprise move, actually ridiculous, by Bangalore to send Zaheer Khan in at No. 3 lasted three deliveries, before Steyn demolished the Indian's furniture with a fast swinging full toss. Mayank Agarwal tried pulling hard against a short-pitched delivery from Gony which climbed too fast and was caught easily at mid-on. AB de Villiers and Saurabh Tiwary, two proven match-winners, had miserable evenings. The South African was deceived by Gony's outswinger and Sangakkara happily accepted another offering behind the stumps when Tiwary tried to slog sweep against the legspin of Amit Mishra, but ended up skying an easy catch, pouched safely once again by the Hyderabad captain.

Only Kohli lasted the distance, keeping a calm head on his shoulders, while picking the right balls to hit to keep Bangalore's flame of hope from being doused early on. A few good shots - including a raging straight six charging Mishra, and a fierce slog-sweep to go to fifty - were the highlights of his innings. But except for Cheteshwar Pujara, who should have batted up the order, none of the Bangalore batsmen applied themselves to stand up to the challenge.

If Bangalore's batting seemed out of sorts, the Hyderabad men were solid and certain. Barring Shikhar Dhawan, who failed for the second match in a row, the rest of the hosts' batsmen played smartly and kept pushing the run-rate consistently.

Having failed to convert his starts in the first two matches, the onus today was on Sangakkara to keep the middle order intact. And he came up with his most fluent innings to date, playing with a straight bat while building a valuable 50-run alliance with Sunny Sohal for the second wicket, which was the highest for any wicket for Hyderabad so far in the tournament.

Sohal hit the first six of the match and then got out attempting a second one, but Sangakkara played with measured aggression. He took advantage of a couple of easy full-tosses from Daniel Vettori early on, then rotated the strike smartly to keep the pressure on the bowlers, before charging Dilshan to hit an elegant six straight over the bowler's head, his best shot. If Bangalore felt they could wrest the control after Sangakkara's (tame) exit - he tried to chip a fuller and wider delivery from Johan van der Wath - Chipli quickly washed away those aspirations.

He had started with two powerful pulls, both off the back foot, one a six (against Dilshan) and next over a four (off S Arvind). But his biggest victory came when he got the measure of Zaheer.

The bowler of the World Cup was smashed for 22 runs in the nine balls Chipli faced. The onslaught included four fours, the last three coming back-to-back. The first one was slapped straight down the ground to the sight-screen, followed by a bottom edge which raced past the fine-leg ropes. And when Zaheer tried a sleight of hand by coming up with a slower delivery, Chipli, with a steady head, punched a handsome cover drive for another four to march to two runs short of a half century, which he duly completed. It was an innings of impact which caught Bangalore by surprise, and set his team up for that elusive first home win.

IPlL News: We were hungry for a win: Gambhir

Kolkata, April 12, 2011 [IANS] : After clinching the first victory of the IPL season 4, Kolkata Knight Riders Captain Gautam Gambhir on Monday said, his team was hungry for a win.

“Our team was hungry for a win. It was really magnificent to play at the Eden Gardens in front of such a crowd. We played much better cricket than the last game. The most important thing in the game is how you finish the game,” said Gambhir while talking to reporters at a post match press conference.

Gambhir was lavish in praising KKR bowler Iqbal Abdulla who picked up three vital wickets.

Asked about the difference in strategy that took KKR to its much anticipated win in the IPL, he said: “There was not much difference in strategy. We just played better cricket.”

“The main thing is not how you start the game but how you finish it. If you look at all great wins you will see how match has been finished plays the key to the win,” said Gambhir, who played a crucial role in India’s victory over Sri lanka in the World Cup final earlier this month.

When asked whether he felt that 163 was defendable on this wicket, Gambhir said “Yes, absolutely, we felt that the score was defendable,” Kolkata Knight Riders had lost their first match of the competition to Chennai Super Kings by two runs.

IPL News: Sanga calls for better approach from batsmen

Kolkata, April 12, 2011 [PTI] : After slumping two losses in a row, Deccan Chargers skipper Kumar Sangakkara on Monday said his batsmen need to rethink their approach to get their campaign back on track in the ongoing Indian Premier League match.

Chasing 164 for victory against Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens on Monday, Deccan made a slow start to their innings and lost quick wickets in the beginning and towards the end to eventually lose the match by just nine runs.

“Our batsmen now have to start rethinking and attack slow bowlers,” Sangakkara said about Deccan batters’ slow approach towards Knight Riders left-arm spinner Iqbal Abdulla, who returned with impressive figures of three for 24 from his four overs.

“He (Abdulla) is not a bad bowler and he managed to bowl a couple of good overs at the start. We need to bat a bit smarter. A few less mistakes would have got us over the line,” said the Sri Lankan wicket-keeper batsman.

“They batted well to get there. But it was a getable score if we had a better start. We lost wickets at regular intervals,” he added.

Sangakkara conceded that Deccan gave a 15 runs extra but backed pacer Ishant Sharma, who was lacklustre against Knight Riders.

“We gave away about 15 runs too much. Ishant is bowling well. We have a good pace combination and there is no worry there,” he said.

The Deccan skipper said that his team is just one win away from making their presence felt in the tournament.

“As a team we need just one win under our belt,” Sangakkara said.

IPL News: Botha stars in Rajasthan's victory

Deccan Chargers were up against the mother of all jinxes. They had never won a game in front of their home crowd in Hyderabad, and had finished second-best in each of their six prior games against Rajasthan Royals. Things did not change at the end of their IPL 2011 opener against a limited, but inspired outfit, once again led well by Shane Warne. Sidharth Trivedi choked Deccan's run flow with a canny spell of slow bouncers, before Johan Botha, elevated to the No. 3 spot, guided them past the target of 138 in the 19th over.

Botha walked out to a pressure situation, after Amit Paunikar was snared by a vicious Dale Steyn away seamer in the sixth over, with the run-rate less than a run-a-ball. Clearly limited as a batsman, Botha resorted to singles unless bad balls came along. When they did, he ensured they were sent to the boundary. Pragyan Ojha was swept, Daniel Christian was scythed through the covers, Amit Mishra was reverse-swept and Steyn was pulled emphatically as the run-rate began to pick up. Rahul Dravid, however, continued to struggle and was eventually snared by a Steyn slower ball.

Amit Mishra piled on the pressure with a tight follow-up over, leaving Bangalore needing 54 off the last six overs. With the game in the balance, Botha glanced Christian for four before Ross Taylor laced into Mishra in the 16th over, cutting fine for four and lashing over deep square-leg for six. 32 required off 24 and advantage Rajasthan.

Steyn was not done though, producing an fourth over over that went for just two, including three successive slower balls that Botha could not get away. Ishant Sharma, who had looked zippy until then, let the game slip with a shoddy 18th over that was plundered for 15 runs. The over began with a no-ball and included a slew of length balls, the last of which Taylor catapulted over midwicket.

Rajasthan could afford a couple of slip-ups in the chase, thanks to their excellence in the field earlier in the day. Deccan's top order seemed ill-equipped to deal with the lack of pace on the pitch: Ishank Jaggi kept going hard at the ball, but could not succeed, against the seamers' discipline. Shikhar Dhawan looked to crunch boundaries through the off side, but just when he began to size up the conditions, he slogged Amit Singh straight to deep midwicket.

Thereafter Trivedi and Warne then put their side in control. Kumar Sangakkara has had a hectic week, losing the World Cup final, standing down as Sri Lanka captain and taking charge of the Deccan side. His stint with the new franchise got off to a poor start, though, as he edged an effort ball from Trivedi behind. When Bharat Chipli inside-edged a heave across the line, Deccan were in some strife and things got worse when Jaggi dragged Warne to long-on. Shane Warne evoked sights of his dominance over Daryl Cullinan as he reduced JP Duminy to groping and fumbling cluelessly against his sliders. Daniel Christian and Ravi Teja tried to inject some late momentum, but the final score of 137 meant the hapless Hyderabad crowd will continue to wait for a home win.

IPL Schedule : Cool de Villiers crashes Kochi party

Royal Challengers Bangalore 162 for 4 (de Villiers 54, Tiwary 26) beat Kochi Tuskers Kerala 161 for 5 (McCullum 45, Laxman 36) by five wickets

Five blistering sixes from AB de Villiers, and his 52-run partnership with Saurabh Tiwary, won the night for Bangalore Royal Challengers.

The first came in the ninth over in which Sreesanth leaked 15 runs as Bangalore moved to 80 for 2. It was a full delivery, off a free hit, and de Villiers went down on a bent knee to paddle-scoop it for a stunning six over fine-leg. The next blitz from him came after spinners Muttiah Muralitharan and Ravindra Jadeja choked up the run flow in the next few overs. With 33 runs required from the last three overs, de Villiers imposed himself against Raiphi Gomez, who was asked to bowl his first over in that pressure situation. The second delivery was smashed over midwicket, the fifth disappeared over long-off and the final delivery was bulldozed over long-on. Game over.

It wouldn't have been an easy decision for Mahela Jayawardene, Kochi's captain, to turn to Gomez but RP Singh's poor effort in the 15th over must have forced his hand. With 59 runs needed from the last six overs, RP Singh bowled a poor over. The first delivery was outside leg stump and Saurabh Tiwary shoved it to the fine-leg boundary. The second was a wide, the third was spanked to the straight boundary, and he kept bowling length and went for 15 runs.

Bangalore played the waiting game well; they saw out Muralitharan and treated Jadeja with some caution as they knew the seamers could be taken for plenty. It was the same resolve that saw them come back in the game with the ball and restrict Kochi to 161 after Brendon McCullum and VVS Laxman had added 80 runs in the first nine overs.

McCullum and Laxman are as different as a Bollywood masala flick and art-house cinema, but they combined superbly to lay a good platform. McCullum was the McCullum the world knows: aggressive, adrenaline-pumping and audacious as ever. He sashayed down the track in the first over to slap a Zaheer Khan delivery over extra cover, but really exploded in the second over against Dirk Nannes. A blasted off drive was followed with a slashed boundary but it was a thunderous pull over the midwicket boundary that really tested the lung power of the home crowd.

Laxman has been itching for the IPL to start to prove his worth in the shortest format of the game. There were a few lovely hits: a late cut for four against Tillakaratne Dilshan, lofted on drives on a bent knee and a couple of flicks, but it was a flat-batted thumping six over long-on that really declared his ambition to do well in this tournament. It was a short-of-length delivery from Abhimanyu Mithun, who must have been really shocked to see Laxman back away and flat-bat it over the boundary.

However, slowly, and surely, Bangalore began to claw their way back. In the final delivery of the ninth over, Laxman slog-swept Dilshan straight to deep midwicket, and in the 12th over, McCullum fell, top-edging a paddle scoop off Virat Kohli. Suddenly, the slow bowlers began to apply the squeeze. The legspinner Asad Pathan combined well with Kohli to keep Brad Hodge and Mahela Jayawardene in check. Jayawardene tried to break free against Daniel Vettori but was stumped in the 15th over, and Brad Hodge was yorked by Zaheer Khan in the 18th over.

It was left to Jadeja, who showed maturity in his shot selection, preferring the straight hits down the ground instead of across-the-line heaves, to push the score along. He did his bit with the ball too but it didn't prove enough.

Sriram Veera is a staff writer at ESPNcricinfo

IPL Schedule : IPL Schedule 2011

Apr 8 8PM . Chennai Super Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders Chennai
Apr 9 4PM . Deccan Chargers vs Rajasthan Royals Hyderabad
Apr 9 8PM . Kochi v Royal Challengers Bangalore Kochi
Apr 10 4PM . Delhi Daredevils vs Mumbai Indians Delhi
Apr 10 8PM . Pune Warriors vs Kings XI Punjab Navi Mumbai
Apr 11 8PM . Kolkata Knight Riders vs Deccan Chargers Kolkata
Apr 12 4PM . Rajasthan Royals vs Delhi Daredevils Jaipur
Apr 12 8PM . Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Mumbai Indians Bangalore
Apr 13 4PM . Pune Warriors vs Kochi Navi Mumbai
Apr 13 8PM . Kings XI Punjab vs Chennai Super Kings Mohali
Apr 14 8PM . Deccan Chargers vs Royal Challengers Bangalore Hyderabad
Apr 15 4PM . Mumbai Indians v Kochi Mumbai
Apr 15 8PM . Delhi Daredevils v Kolkata Knight Riders Delhi
Apr 16 4PM . Chennai Super Kings v Royal Challengers Bangalore Chennai
Apr 16 8PM . Deccan Chargers v Kings XI Punjab Hyderabad
Apr 17 4PM . Rajasthan v Kolkata Knight Riders Jaipur
Apr 17 8PM . Pune Warriors v Delhi Daredevils Navi Mumbai
Apr 18 8PM . Kochi v Chennai Super Kings Kochi
Apr 19 4PM . Delhi Daredevils vs Deccan Chargers Delhi
Apr 19 8PM . Royal Challengers Bangalore v Rajasthan Royals Bangalore
Apr 20 4PM . Mumbai Indians v Pune Warriors Mumbai
Apr 20 8PM . Kolkata Knight Riders v Kochi Kolkata
Apr 21 8PM . Kings XI Punjab v Rajasthan Royals Mohali
Apr 22 8PM . Mumbai Indians v Chennai Super Kings Mumbai
Apr 23 4PM . Kolkata Knight Riders v Royal Challengers Bangalore Kolkata
Apr 23 8PM . Delhi Daredevils v Kings XI Punjab Delhi
Apr 24 4PM . Deccan Chargers v Mumbai Indians Hyderabad
Apr 24 8PM . Rajasthan Royals v Kochi Jaipur
Apr 25 8PM . Chennai Super Kings v Pune Warriors Chennai
Apr 26 8PM . Delhi Daredevils v Royal Challengers Bangalore Delhi
Apr 27 4PM . Pune Warriors v Chennai Super Kings Navi Mumbai
Apr 27 8PM . Kochi v Deccan Chargers Kochi
Apr 28 4PM . Kolkata Knight Riders v Kings XI Punjab Kolkata
Apr 28 8PM . Rajasthan Royals v Mumbai Indians Jaipur
Apr 29 8PM . Royal Challengers Bangalore v Pune Bangalore
Apr 30 4PM . Kochi v Delhi Daredevils Kochi
Apr 30 8PM . Mumbai Indians v Kings XI Punjab Mumbai
May 1 4PM . Rajasthan Royals v Pune Warriors Jaipur
May 1 8PM . Chennai Super Kings v Deccan Chargers Chennai
May 2 8PM . Delhi Daredevils v Kochi Delhi
May 3 8PM . Deccan Chargers v Kolkata Knight Riders Hyderabad
May 4 4PM . Chennai Super Kings v Rajasthan Royals Chennai
May 4 8PM . Pune Warriors v Mumbai Indians Navi Mumbai
May 5 4PM . Kochi v Kolkata Knight Riders Kochi
May 5 8PM . Deccan Chargers v Delhi Daredevils Hyderabad
May 6 8PM . Royal Challengers Bangalore v Kings XI Punjab Bangalore
May 7 4PM . Kolkata Knight Riders v Chennai Super Kings Kolkata
May 7 8PM . Mumbai Indians v Delhi Daredevils Mumbai
May 8 4PM . Royal Challengers Bangalore v Kochi Bangalore
May 8 8PM . Kings XI Punjab v Pune Warriors Mohali
May 9 8PM . Rajasthan Royals v Chennai Super Kings Jaipur
May 10 4PM . Kings XI Punjab v Mumbai Indians Mohali
May 10 8PM . Deccan Chargers v Pune Warriors Hyderabad
May 11 8PM . Rajasthan Royals v Royal Challengers Bangalore Jaipur
May 12 8PM . Chennai Super Kings v Delhi Daredevils Chennai
May 13 8PM . Kochi v Kings XI Punjab Indore
May 14 4PM . Mumbai Indians v Deccan Chargers Mumbai
May 14 8PM . Royal Challengers Bangalore v Kolkata Knight Riders Bangalore
May 15 4PM . Kings XI Punjab v Delhi Daredevils Dharamsala
May 15 8PM . Kochi v Rajasthan Royals Indore
May 16 8PM . Kolkata Knight Riders v Mumbai Indians Kolkata
May 17 8PM . Pune Warriors v Deccan Chargers Pune
May 18 4PM . Kings XI Punjab v Royal Challengers Bangalore Dharamsala
May 18 8PM . Chennai Super Kings v Kochi Chennai
May 19 8PM . Pune Warriors v Kolkata Knight Riders Pune
May 20 8PM . Mumbai Indians v Rajasthan Royals Mumbai
May 21 4PM . Kings XI Punjab v Deccan Chargers Dharamsala
May 21 8PM . Delhi Daredevils v Pune Warriors Delhi
May 22 4PM . Royal Challengers Bangalore v Chennai Super Kings Bangalore
May 22 8PM . Kolkata Knight Riders v Rajasthan Royals Kolkata
May 24 8PM . Qualifier 1 Mumbai
May 25 8PM . Eliminator Mumbai
May 27 8PM . Qualifier 2 Chennai
May 28 8PM . Final Chennai

IPL News: CSK beat Knight Riders in a thriller

Chennai: Mahendra Singh Dhoni's inspired captaincy again played a key role as champions Chennai Super Kings snatched a dramatic two-run victory against Kolkata Knight Riders to open their campaign in the 2011 Indian Premier League on a strong note here on Friday.

Three stumpings, a run out and shrewd bowling changes at the death underlined Dhoni's Midas Touch as the Knight Riders, chasing Super Kings' total of 153 for four, collapsed to 151 for seven despite a classy knock by Jacques Kallis (54) and some late blitz by Manoj Tiwary.

A chancy but valuable knock of 64 by opener Anirudha Srikkanth, who was dropped twice, held the Super Kings innings together after Dhoni won the toss and opted to bat against a severely depleted Knight Riders, who had just two foreign players in their playing eleven.

At one stage, with Kallis going great guns, the Knight Riders looked certain to cruise to victory, but a dramatic collapse even as Dhoni wrung in quick bowling changes, dashed the visitors' hopes.

Kallis' dismissal, caught at fine-leg off Ravichandran Ashwin was the key moment as a couple of more dismissals, including that of skipper Gautam Gambhir, batting at No.6, run out attempting a second run, put the hosts on top.

Yet, Tiwary and Laxmi Ratan Shulka took 17 off Suraj Randiv in the 19th over, but the former fell in the same over, leaving Knight Riders to get nine off the 20th bowled by Kiwi seamer Tim Southee, who emerged the hero conceding only six, besides dismissing Shukla to leave Super Kings winners by two runs.

Earlier, three dropped catches and three big overs took the Super Kings past the 150-mark after the Knight Riders bowlers had done well to keep the rival batsmen in check in the second part of the innings.

Veteran Kallis proved to be the most expensive and also the most successful bowler for the Knight Riders, taking two wickets in his final two overs, but conceding 34 in his three, 13 of them in his first.

The early loss of opener Murali Vijay did little to check the Super Kings as Raina and Anirudha batted quite freely for a 75-run partnership for the second wicket.

Both batsmen profited from dropped catches. Anirudha was let off when on 11 and 39, and Raina on 13. Yusuf Pathan floored two of these while Eoin Morgan grassed the other.

At the halfway mark, the Super Kings were 78 for one, but thereafter, the Knight Riders came into their own, especially left-arm spinner Iqbal Abdulla who opened the bowling and seamer Lakshmipathy Balaji.

Raina eventually perished and skipper Dhoni threatened to cut loose but top-edged a hook off Kallis, surprised by the bounce and then Anirudha departed, bowled by the South African seamer.

It was another South African, Albie Morkel, who slammed a six and a four to carry Super Kings to a challenging total.

Ipl News: IPL-4 off to a colourful start

Chennai, April 8, 2011 [IANS] : The fourth edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) kicked off here on Friday with a colourful opening ceremony and the 10 captains signing the Spirit of Cricket banner.

Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Shashank Manohar hoped the Twenty20 tournament would provide the breakthrough for many domestic players eager to make a mark in the international arena.

The IPL has been the platform for many domestic players to showcase their talent and pitch for an India cap.

Manohar said he was confident of the event churning up fresh international talent.

“Over the past three seasons IPL has brought up the best cricketing talents from across the world. It is an opportunity for domestic players to work towards the national cap. The last season saw breakthrough performances from youngsters and we are hoping for fresh talent emerging from this edition,” said Manohar at the opening cermony of the

IPL-4 ahead of the match between reigning champions Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders here.

The BCCI chief also congratulated the Indian team for winning the World Cup after 28 years.

“I take this opportunity to thank the effort of the support staff and the fans, whose prayers were also behind this huge achievement. We waited a long time for this.”

“We now have two generation of World Cup heroes which is incredible.”

The IPL has become bigger this time with the two new franchises Kochi Tuskers and Pune Warriors competing alongside eight existing teams in the 51-day tournament.

“I welcome the two new teams – Kochi Tuskers and Pune Warriors. We wish them all the success in the tournament. I look forward to good performances from all teams,” he said.

India’s World Cup winning captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who is also the captain of Chennai Super Kings, was the first to sign the MCC Spirit of Cricket banner. He was followed by other IPL captains.

Breaking News: India chase history but Lankan lions in the way

Mumbai: Armed with the wishes of millions of passionate fans and a never-say-die spirit, India are just one win away from crowning themselves the ODI world champions after almost 28 years as they clash with an equally determined Sri Lanka in the first all-Asian ICC cricket World Cup 2011 summit showdown on Saturday.

More than two decades after their incredible World Cup triumph at the historic Lord's, India find themselves on the threshold of probably their biggest cricketing moment as they brace up for a nerve-wrecking battle for supremacy at the renovated Wankhede stadium.

Both India and Sri Lanka, two Asian giants who have played against each other frequently in recent times, have won the coveted trophy once each and will leave no stone unturned to regain the Cup.

Though there is little to choose between the two teams, India will fancy their chances of putting it across the islanders as they are playing at home and are peaking at the right time after a rather patchy beginning to their campaign.

Both the teams have some injury concerns ahead of the grand finale which will be high on emotions for a variety of reasons and will give one last chance to ageing maestro Sachin Tendulkar to fulfill his dream of winning the World Cup, one silverware that has been missing from his collection.

The match will be the last outing for India's highly respected coach Gary Kirsten who has transformed the team into world-beaters as also Sri Lanka coach Trevor Bayliss, who is set to resign after the World Cup.

It will also be a swansong match for Muttiah Muralitharan, who is racing against time to recover from a knee injury.

The home team has suffered a jolt ahead of the game with Ashish Nehra, who bowled well in the high-voltage semifinal clash against Pakistan in Mohali, being virtually ruled out because of a finger injury.

Similarly, Sri Lanka have injury concerns over Muralitharan and all-rounder Angelo Matthews and have called in Suraj Randiv and Chaminda Vaas as cover.

The hosts are also grappling with a selection dilemma ahead of the summit showdown which will be watched by millions of fans in both the cricket-crazy nations.

The Indians misread the Mohali track and opted for an additional seamer in Nehra at the expense of spinner Ravichandran Ashwin who did a decent job in the two matches he has played so far.

The Mohali pitch assisted the slow bowlers more though the three Indian pacers -- Zaheer Khan, Munaf Patel and Nehra -- bowled well.

The Indians are peaking at the right time having prevailed over defending champions Australia in the quarters and arch-rivals Pakistan in a high-voltage semi-final but it remains to be seen whether they can pull it off when it matters the most.

Captain Dhoni has warned his teammates not to get distracted by the excessive hype surrounding their World Cup campaign and just focus on the job at hand.

"There'll be plenty of things happening around us, but what's important is not to get distracted. We all know what our jobs are as professional cricketers so we'll stick to that and try to play good cricket", Dhoni said.

"The Sri Lankans have a good side and they have done really well in the tournament. We have to play good cricket to beat them. We have to be at our best."

Both the teams appear to be well-balanced on paper though the islanders certainly have a more potent bowling attack, particularly with the presence of spin wizard Muralitharan who will be keen to make an impression in his swansong game.

Muralitharan has been troubled by a knee injury and Randiv has been called in as cover for him, though the team management is confident that he would be fully fit by Saturday.

Although the Indians have a formidable batting line-up and most of them are quite adept in dealing with spin, Muralitharan is a wily customer and will find a way to put pressure on the batsmen if he takes the field on the morrow.

The home team will look to Tendulkar and the flamboyant Virender Sehwag to provide a rollicking start and set the platform for the middle-order to take India to a decent total at the Wankhede stadium track which is expected to suit the batsmen.

Tendulkar has been in good form right through the tournament with 464 runs and his fans will be hoping that he achieves the phenomenal milestone of scoring his 100th international century at his home ground.

Sehwag, who started with a brilliant 175 against Bangladesh, has not really fired after that knock though he has rattled up quick-fire 30s and 40s. India need him to be at his brutal best to take the game away from the Lankans.

India have the depth in their batting but they need to ensure that they don't collapse in the batting powerplay as they had done against South Africa and the West Indies. They, however, made the powerplay count in the last game against Pakistan.

Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, and Raina have enough talent and skill to put runs on the board. Dhoni has been struggling with the bat and will be hoping to make a contribution when it matters most.

Yuvraj, who is having a dream World Cup and has already won a record four man-of-the-match awards, will have a key role to play since he is the player in form both with the bat and ball.

The Sri Lankans, on the other hand, have a settled look to their squad and definitely have the resources to spoil India's party.

Their top batsmen -- Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara, Upul Tharanga and Mahela Jayawardene -- have all been among the runs.

"It means a lot to us. This is what we planned for over two years. We missed a great opportunity in 2007 when we reached the finals and again we've got a great opportunity on Saturday," Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara said.

"We will be preparing for the finals. We don't have to get carried away. We are in the finals and that's great and we need to keep our heads down and keep in mind that there's a lot of work left to be done. Its the biggest day of our lives", he said.

The eventual winners of the flagship event of the game would be richer by USD three million, while the runners-up would take home USD 1.5 million out of the total prize pool of USD 12.52 million.

Sri Lanka have played four one-dayers at this venue, including a league match in this tournament against New Zealand. Out of those four, they have won two and lost two.

Sri Lanka had been beaten by India and defeated them once each in their first two encounters at the ground in 1986-87 and 1996-97.

In two other non-India games, the Lankans were beaten by the West Indies in 1993, while they defeated New Zealand earlier this month.

Teams (Probable elevens):

India: MS Dhoni (captain-wk), Virender Sehwag (vice-captain), Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Zaheer Khan, Munaf Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Harbhajan Singh.

Sri Lanka: Kumar Sangakkara (captain-wk), Mahela Jayawardene (vice-captain), Tillakaratne Dilshan, Rangana Herath, Lasith Malinga, Angelo Mathews, Ajantha Mendis, Muttiah Muralitharan, Thilan Samaraweera, Chamara Silva, Upul Tharanga

On-field Umpires: Simon Taufel and Aleem Dar.

Third Umpire: Ian Gould.

Fourth Umpire: Steve Davis.

Match Referee: Jeff Crowe.

Match starts at 2.30 pm.

PTI