ROBIN UTHAPPA CONFIDENT OF SUCCESS IN IPL

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Robin Uthappa confident of success in Indian Premier League – IPL News

Pune Warriors batsman, Robin Uthappa, says that he is confident of his team's chances of making it into the knock-out stage of the ongoing Indian Premier League.

Pune Warriors, who are one of the most expensive teams of IPL, are placed at 14^th position, as they have just scored four points from nine games. The side will have to win all their remaining matches, in order to reach the knock-out stage of the tournament.

While talking to the media, Uthappa, said, “Cricket is a funny game. Anything can happen. We have still got five games. We need to win all of them. It takes one game to pick yourself and get the momentum.”

Uthappa feels the addition of Ganguly into his side will boost their chances in the league. He said that Ganguly has scored over 11,000 runs in One Day International cricket and his experience will be useful for the team.

Speaking about their match against Mumbai Indians, the right-hander said that the 19^th over which cost them 27 runs, proved decisive in the game’s outcome.

He added, “When you get nine balls in an over, you can surely make it a big over. (Kieron) Pollard made full use of that.”

Uthappa said that they were not pointing fingers at anyone, following the teams’ seven consecutive losses. He explained that his team is trying hard, but it is difficult for anyone to regain momentum after losing seven games in a row.

The Indian batsman added that only a couple of good games will boost the confidence of his side and put it back on winning ways.

Uthappa, said, “When you win you win as a team and lose as a team. We are not pointing fingers at anyone. As a unit we are trying hard. It's difficult when you lose six-seven games in a row to pick yourself up.”

The wicket-keeper is of the view that a team requires total commitment and concentration. He added that a couple of good matches can boost the team’s energy and hopefully, bring them back into the tournament.

KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS V CHENNAI SUPER KINGS

Kolkata Knight Riders v Chennai Super Kings: Match Preview

The Kolkata Knight Riders will be taking on the Chennai Supper Kings in the 48^th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) on May 7, 2011 at Eden Gardens, Kolkata.

Kolkata, owned by Bollywood star Shahrukh Khan, have shown significant progress in this year’s IPL as compared to the previous three editions.

Gautam Gambhir, after being appointed as their skipper, has ignited a new sense of victory in the squad.

However, after losing against the Kochi Tuskers Kerala on May 5, the side will need to triumph against Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his men to take the top spot.

Unfortunately for KKR, their middle order seems to have run out of gas at a crucial juncture in the tournament. Only their openers, Jacques Kallis and Eoin Morgan performed up to the mark while the rest of the squad succumbed in front of the the Kochi attack.

Repetition of such a lackluster performance is not what Gambhir will want to see against Chennai.

Yusuf Pathan, with his weak performance, is another concern for the Knight Riders. Although the all-rounder is quite talented, he has failed to meet expectations. KKR will want Pathan to find his form in the upcoming fixtures.

The two teams are led by quite contrasting skippers. On one hand, Gambhir is hot headed, emotional and short tempered while Mahendra Singh Dhoni is known for his calmness under pressure.

Chennai trounced the Knight Riders the last time they met. KKR will be looking to avenge their defeat.

Players to watch out for:

Kolkata Knight Riders: From the KRR, Gambhir will be looking to lead his side from the front. The inclusion of Mark Boucher will be something to look out for. Jacques Kallis is another batsman who on a good day, can easily lead his side to victory.

In the bowling arsenal, KKR have some big guns like Brett Lee and Lakshmipathy Balaji while Manoj Tiwarydelivers good spin.

Chennai Super Kings: From Chennai, the wicketkeeper/ batsman Dhoni will be key and the way he leads his team will be crucial. Michael Hussey and Suresh Raina will be expected to rise to the occasion. While in the bowling department, Tim Southee has shown much improvement. Murali Vijay and Ravichandran Ashwin will be backing Chennai with spin.

Kolkata Knight Riders (probable XI): Gautam Gambhir (c), L Balaji, Pradeep Sangwan, SS Ladda, Brett Lee,Iqbal Abdulla, Yusuf Pathan, Jacques Kallis, M S Bisla, Mark Boucher, Eoin Morgan.

Chennai Super Kings (probable XI): MS Dhoni, Srikkanth Anirudha, Ravichandran Ashwin, Subramaniam Badrinath, Shadab Bashir Jakati, Suresh Kumar Raina, Timothy Grant Southee,  Scott Bernard Styris, Murali Vijay, Michael Hussey, Joginder Sharma. 

IRFAN PATHAN EYEING FOR A COMEBACK IN THE INDIAN TEAM

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Irfan Pathan eyeing for a comeback in the Indian team: Cricket News

Discarded Indian all-rounder, Irfan Pathan, has said that he is hopeful of making a comeback in the Indian team by proving his worth to the selectors.

The left arm medium fast bowler lost his place in the national side since the last couple of years after a consistent run of poor showings in international cricket with the ball and suffered from some injuries as well.

Pathan said that his first and most important goal is to impress the selectors and return to international cricket. All-rounder added that he wants to contribute as a bowler as well as a batsman for India in international cricket, but understands that he is making a comeback in competitive cricket and needs to give himself some more time.

Irfan said, "For me personal goal is I want to make a comeback to Indian team. My foremost aim is to play for the country and I will make sure that I will do everything to fulfill that dream. I would like to contribute with bat and ball at the same time and I need to have bit more patience because I am playing cricket after a big lay-off.”

The left arm bowler claimed that many cricket analysts have given him a positive feedback which has encouraged him big time. Pathan also admitted that he has gone through a lean patch, but said that good days are to follow now.

"People who know cricket, know that I am heading towards right direction and that is very pleasing for me. The Sun is going to shine really bright in future because I can see and feel good about my bowling which wasn`t happening for the past 2-3 years. Once selectors think that I`m ready for the Indian team they will select me if they think I am important for the team," Irfan added.

Irfan made a huge impact in international cricket at the start of his career, but soon lost the venom in his bowling. He has the potential to make himself visible at the international level and Indian cricket officials would be hoping that he has learnt from his mistakes.

All-round Chennai cruise to fourth straight win

Chennai Super Kings continued their dominance at home and eased to a fourth-successive win in conditions where power play took a backseat to opportunistic strokemaking, and stamina and steady consolidation were more crucial than short outbursts of runs. The sweltering Chennai heat and a slow pitch made it a tiring ordeal for batsmen, and it seemed at one stage that Rajasthan Royals, riding on the back of Rahul Dravid's fluent half-century, would have the better of the contest. But an inspired recovery from Chennai's faltering bowlers and a controlled approach to the chase from Suresh Raina and Michael Hussey set up a comfortable win - their fifth in five games at home this season.

The Rajasthan openers, Dravid and Shane Watson, had displayed excellent determination to occupy the crease and set a strong foundation to their team's innings. The pair ran well between wickets, rotated the strike, picked the gaps to scramble back for the twos, before Dravid took charge against the spinners. He pulled R Ashwin twice in an over to the midwicket fence, reverse-swept and punched Suraj Randiv for three fours in an over to different parts of the ground. The highlight of the first ten overs was his inside-out drive over extra cover off Shadab Jakati, as Rajasthan coasted to 86 in the first ten overs.

Match Meter RR Dravid's shot of the innings: When he lofts Jakati over extra cover in the ninth over, Rajasthan are 69 without loss and on course for a big total CSKRR Spinners lead Chennai fightback Menaria and Botha fall in quick succession, and when Dravid holes out off a tired shot in the 16th over, Rajasthan are 117 for 4 CSK The double-strike: Morkel dismisses Rahane and Taylor off successive deliveries in the 19th over and by the end of the innings, Rajasthan have only managed 61 in the last ten. CSK Nightmare in the field: Binny has an off day, conceding eight runs in the field in third and fourth overs through a misfield and an overthrow. The early pressure after Vijay's wicket is off Chennai CSK Doshi targeted: Raina and Hussey crack two sixes and a four in the 11th over, and it's smooth sailing for the rest of the innings  Advantage Honours even

The trigger for the fightback was a brilliant return catch from Jakati off Watson, as he put his hands up and intercepted a ferocious thwack back towards him in the 11th over. Despite an encouraging run-rate, and with plenty of ammunition left in the batting for a surge at the death, the desire for clearing the ropes overrode any thought of building the innings for a few more overs. Ashok Menaria holed out needlessly against Ashwin, and Johan Botha, who had picked a cheeky boundary, succumbed when he tried to use force against Jakati. Dravid was swimming in sweat in the Chennai heat and fell to a tiring shot, and not long after, the seamers returned to contain the flow further. A couple of fours from Ross Taylor was offset by a double-strike from Albie Morkel in the penultimate over, and Rajasthan only managed 61 in the last ten, losing six wickets.

The wicket of M Vijay was an early boost for Rajasthan but some sloppy fielding, a difficult opportunity that was grassed, and the maturity of the Raina-Hussey combine put paid to Rajasthan's hopes. Stuart Binny conceded eight runs in the field, through a misfield and an overthrow, and was listless with the ball. Raina was let off by Watson diving full stretch in the deep, but otherwise there weren't any opportunities.

Like the Chennai bowlers had done in the first ten overs, Rajasthan's attack erred in line and length, giving the batsmen timely opportunities to pierce the field. Siddharth Trivedi bowled too often down the leg side, and the more accurate Watson and Botha were worked around. With both batsmen settling in well, left-arm spinner Nayan Doshi was carted for two sixes in the 11th over - the same passage in the Rajasthan innings had marked a decisive turn of events. As the shoulders drooped, Binny doled freebies outside off which Hussey cut for successive fours before delivering the same treatment to Menaria on the leg side. Raina's dismissal was against the run of play, but his knock, along with Hussey's, had made a relatively one-sided contest out of a potential cracker.

Duncan Fletcher named India coach

Duncan Fletcher, the former England coach and Zimbabwe captain, has been appointed India's coach, ending weeks of speculation over who would succeed Gary Kirsten. The BCCI announced the decision to give Fletcher a two-year contract after a Working Committee meeting in Mumbai on Wednesday. Eric Simons' tenure as the team's bowling coach was also extended.

Fletcher, though, is unlikely to join India for the tour of the West Indies in June. "The contract with Fletcher is for two years," N Srinivasan, the BCCI secretary, said. "He may not join the team in the West Indies as he has some prior commitments.

"After a lot of thought and consultation, the BCCI president and BCCI secretary placed Fletcher's name before the Working Committee, which the Committee ratified," Rajiv Shukla, the BCCI vice-president, said, adding that the terms and conditions of Fletcher's appointment would be the same as that of Kirsten's.

It has been reliably learnt that Kirsten played an important hand in recommending Fletcher for the job. Also the board consulted some of the senior India players, including captain MS Dhoni, before finalising Fletcher's appointment.

Fletcher, 62, was in charge of England when theybeat Australia in 2005 to regain the Ashes for the first time since 1986-87, and was credited with turning around England's fortunes in Tests during his eight-year stint, first with Nasser Hussain and then with Michael Vaughan.

He was England's first foreign coach and took over in 1999. He oversaw Test series wins in Sri Lanka andPakistan, though Australia thrashed England 4-1 in the Ashes in 2001. Later, with Vaughan, he helped England win their first Test series in South Africa post apartheid and the pair played a critical role in moulding a team that was to win the Ashes in 2005.

England won 42 and lost 30 Tests with Fletcher in charge but their ODI form wasn't as good - winning 75 and losing 82. His tenure reached its lowest ebb during a 0-5 Ashes drubbing in Australia in 2006-07 and a disappointing World Cup campaign, after which he stepped down. One of Fletcher's problems during his England reign was a tetchy relationship with the media, something which Vaughan felt could be a hindrance in his India job as well. "Duncan will work well with all the talent," Vaughan said on Twitter. "His biggest challenge will come from the media ... he has never really understood how it works."

After giving up the England job, Fletcher took up several short-term international assignments. He joined South Africa as a batting consultant in 2008, a role he returned to for the 2011 World Cup, and was in a similar position with New Zealand on their tour of India last year.

England were officially ranked the worst Test team when he took over as their coach, and he will now take charge of a team that won the World Cup earlier this month and is currently top of the Test rankings.

One of the first coaching jobs Fletcher took up was at the University of Cape Town, where Kirsten was part of the team. The pair once again were together at Western Province.

In 1994, Fletcher applied for his first high-profile job - the head coach of South Africa. He was one of the three candidates interviewed. His competitors were Eddie Barlow and Bob Woolmer. Eventually the three-man panel comprising Peter Pollock, Raymond White and Ali Bacher agreed on Woolmer, who stayed in the job till 1999. Fletcher, meanwhile, operated as South Africa A coach for a while before taking up the England assignment.

According to Bacher, Fletcher's style of coaching draws a lot from his playing days."Hardworking, disciplined, very professionally driven and played to his utmost potential even if he was not blessed with extraordinary talent," Bacher said. "He brings the same characteristics to his coaching."

Fletcher has also been known to work on an individual basis with Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis.