IPL Preview: Bangalore vs Pune

Pune Warriors will have to pull up their socks and perform as a team when they take on a confident Royal Challengers Bangalore at the M Chinnaswamy stadium on Friday.

 Teams (From):

Pune Warriors: Yuvraj Singh (capt.), Robin Uthappa (wk), Murali Kartik, Abhishek Jhunjhunwala, Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, Deeraj Jadhav, Eklavya Dwivedi, Ganesh Gaikwad, Harpreet Singh Bhatia, Harshad Khadiwale, Kamran Khan, Mithun Manhas, Mohnish Mishra, Rahul Sharma, Sachin Rana, Shrikant Wagh, Shrikant Mundhe, Imtiyaz Ahmed, Jesse Ryder, Graeme Smith, Wayne Parnell, Alphonso Thomas. Tim Paine, Callum Ferguson, Mitchell Marsh, Jerome Taylor, James Faulkner.

Royal Challengers Bangalore: Daniel Vettori (capt), Mayank Agarwal, Sreenath Aravind, Arun Karthik, BN Bharath, Raju Bhatkal, AB de Villiers, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Nuwan Pradeep, Muralidharen Gautam, Chris Gayle, Mohammad Kaif, Abrar Kazi, Zaheer Khan, Virat Kohli, Charl Langeveldt, Abhimanyu Mithun, Ryan Ninan, Asad Pathan, Luke Pomersbach, Cheteshwar Pujara, Rilee Rossouw, Jamaluddin Syed Mohammad, Saurabh Tiwary, Johan van der Wath, Jonathan Vandiar.

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IPL Preview: Rajasthan vs Mumbai

Rajasthan vs Mumbai in the IPL- Head to Head

Mumbai Indians have won three and lost two out of five played against Rajasthan Royals in the IPL - winning % 60.00.

Overall IPL record

Mumbai have won 28 and lost 21 out of 49 contested in the IPL - winning % 57.14.

Rajasthan have won 27 and lost 21 out of 49 contested in the IPL - winning % 56.12 (Tied one).

Brief Results:

 

Date	Toss   Venue	Won by
7.5.2008 26.5.2008  14.5.2009 13.3.2010  11.4.2010	Mumbai Mumbai(DYP)     Raj.   Jaipur  Raj.   Durban Mumbai Mumbai(Brab) Raj.   Jaipur	Mumbai     Rajasthan Rajasthan Mumbai Mumbai

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Kolkata fight rear to keep Delhi bottom

Kolkata Knight Riders 148 for 7 (Tiwary 61*) beat Delhi Daredevils 131 for 9 (Abdulla 3-25)

It was a sweet return for Gautam Gambhir as Kolkata Knight Riders beat Delhi Daredevils by 17 runs to nick up their fourth win in the IPL in Delhi on Thursday.

Manoj Tiwary is the Man of the Match

Manoj Tiwary: I thank the bat sponsor for giving me a great bat, and I'm clever to get the big hits. Gambhir keeps forceful me to play till the end, and that's what I did. Shah Rukh is very helpful, he gives us the motivation. I would like to continue and add in every game.

Gambhir: It was very significant to get the impetus with us, the guys show a lot of extreme anxiety and it worked out. I didn't be expecting so much of spin, Abdulla did really well with the ball and Tiwary set it up initially, hope he continues his good run. It was very important for us to protect this practical total. My heart and soul is with KKR now, it is not with Delhi any longer and you need such changes.

Sehwag: The batsmen didn't take the everyday jobs, Kolkata played better than us and that's why they won. I am still trying to get the mixture right, it is not working at the instant and hope that we'll turn it approximately in Kochi.

The Knights make merry - They required getting a win below their belt, a fine innings from Manoj Tiwary gave them some expect, and some good bowling by Lee and Co. has helped KKR end up on the winning side. Comprehensive stuff, one must say. Sehwag in progress off really well, but wickets kept falling. It was hard for the lower order to keep up to the required run rate and they fell 17 runs short. And with this win, KKR move up to the second place in the points table.

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Misbah stay calm to secure series win

Rain delays W. Indies, Pakistan one-day cricket

Pakistan 177 for 7 (Misbah 62*, Rampaul 4-32, Bishoo 3-42) beat West Indies 171 (Simmons 51, Ajmal 3-29, Wahab 3-38)

Pakistan suffers a setback in their bid for a series-clinching victory in the third One-day International next to West Indies here at Kensington Oval Thursday.

Rain delayed the start of the match on the day that the island celebrates their national heroes, including famous former West Indies all-rounder Garfield Sobers.

The Pakistanis guide the five match series 2-0, following an eight-wicket victory in the first ODI last Saturday at the Beausejour Cricket Ground in St. Lucia, where they also won the second ODI by seven wickets.

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Harbhajan: I am existing for WI tour

Off-spinner Harbhajan Singh on Thursday said that he would be accessible for the Indian cricket team's accommodating tour of West Indies but not aware of the plans of other senior players.

"I have no idea from where the news (of senior players opting out of West Indies tour) has poured in. As far as I am concerned I am available for the tour," Harbhajan told journalists ahead of his IPL side Mumbai Indians' match against Rajasthan Royals on Friday.

"As far others are worried neither I have talked to anybody and nor any body has talked to me. We will be playing three tests there and I don't want to miss any of those," he said.

Talking about the winning streak of the Mumbai Indians, Harbhajan said that he was happy the way things were going.

"I am happy with the way belongings have gone till now. We have been throughout uneven patches but one or the other has been clever to pull us through. Like in the last match Rohit Sharma and Andrew Symonds batted well to help us to sensible score which could be protected," he said.

Asked about the good form of Rajasthan Royals captain Shane Warne, Harbhajan said, "He is great cricketer and best spinner. I myself would be talking to him and get tips so that I can extend my international career." Harbhajan praise his team-mate Ambati Rayudu, saying that the young person is a "special talent".

"It would also be a confront for youngsters like Rayudu to face a great spinner (in Warne). He (Rayudu) is a particular talent and we always knew that. He was unluckily lost in between but lately he has been performing arts well. He is capable of filling in the big shoes of great Indian batsmen like VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid," he added.

Talking about his own role in the side, Harbhajan said that it had not distorted much. "Me and seniors like Sachin try and build the team like an element and inspire confidence in the youngsters by telling them to be part of think tank," said Harbhajan.

Asked about the sharp fielding of Mumbai Indians which has help them win a few matches, Harbhajan said that the players have respond to the drills of field coach Jonty Rhodes.

"We have South African Jonty Rhodes as the fielding coach and boys have respond well. In the preceding match it was the fielding rather my five wickets haul which had won the match for us."

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Shahid Afridi not happy with ranking system

Pakistan's incomplete overs captain Shahid Afridi on Thursday said that he is not fulfilled with the One-day rankings system, presently practical by the ICC.

His sadness stem from the recent statement by the ICC that even if Pakistan, which lead the five-match ODI series 2-0 against the West Indies, manage to whitewash the series, it will not earn them a single rating point and they will still be placed at its current ranked sixth position.

"I can't recognize this system. There should be some advantage for the visiting sides as winning a sequence is never easy for them no matter who they're playing against," Afridi told "The Express Tribune" newspaper from Bridgetown.

Afridi question the system that offers little prize against lower-ranked opponent. Even a 4-1 or 3-2 win against the ninth-placed West Indies means a drop in points for Pakistan since they are probable to beat the hosts.

"It's really hard to prosper under the current ranking system. I have little clued what it is based on," Afridi said. Afridi is not the first captain to criticize the ICC Ranking System, which also drew criticism from past Sri Lanka captain Kumara Sangakkara who termed it as unjust.

Afridi, however, said that in spite of the dissatisfaction over the ratings system, his team remained listening carefully on winning the series next to the West Indies. "We'll give our best to seal the series, which is our main focus. It will boost the confidence of the young team."

He also spoke his approval over the presentation of the young people on the tour. "I'm happy with the presentation of the young players and they are step up to the challenge," said Afridi.

Afridi said he is hopeful for a better show from left-arm fast-bowler Junaid Khan, who made his international first appearance on the continuing tour and has played two ODIs and a Twenty20 but is yet to take a wicket.

"It's not appropriate to wait for a youngster to become a star overnight. He needs time and optimistically he would get better in the remaining matches," he said.

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Sania Mirza bats for Indo-Pak cricket tie

Sania Mirza advocate continuation of cricketing ties between India and Pakistan, saying such a move can help in humanizing relations between the two countries.

"The very fact is evidently people love it. You say that in the (ICC Cricket World Cup) semifinal (in Mohali between the two teams). I think it can make the relations between the two countries better. It's understandable, you have the two Prime Ministers watching (together), so it's good stuff," Sania said.

"I don't know why not. I am telling there is scarcely any difference whether I am married to an Indian or a Pakistani person." Sania, who got married to Pakistan cricketer Shoaib Malik in April last year, also emphasised on the positives of getting married to a sportsman.

"Being wedded to a sportsman, it's actually is a approval in a lot of ways. Because a lot of times, you don't need to explain a lot of things and they just go with it. You don't need to explain the force; you don't need to give details why you need to sleep at 10. These are things that are small, but they do reason issues," the tennis ace said.

Sania also thanked Shoaib for his hold up in times of need. "The fact is that Shoaib has been a huge support to me, he has helped me a lot coming out of a difficult stage, when I didn't know what to do. As far as personalities are worried, both are different.

"We have our share of... We are very different personality. He is extremely calm and I almost get motivated because of that," she said.

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