Buy two get one free at Mohali

All student tickets on sale for King’s XI Punjab’s next home game at Mohali have been sold out. In addition to this, the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium which is the home turf of the Kings XI Punjab will offer one free ticket upon the purchase of two tickets, said Chief Executive Officer, Neil Maxwell. This is done with a view to giving incentives to cricket fans.The attendance for the first home game of the King’s XI against the Chennai All student tickets for the next two DLF Indian Premier League (IPL) matches at Mohali have Super Kings, played on April 19 was 60%. He added that the sale of tickets for the second and third matches have increased and are already 50% and 40% sold-out. However this initiative is restricted to the purchase of tickets priced Rs. 750 and Rs. 3000 only and is presently valid only for the next two matches that are played in Mohali. The Yuvraj Singh-led side face the Mumbai Indians on April 25 and the Delhi Daredevils on April 27.Punjab Cricket Association president, Inderjit Singh Bindra was quoted as saying, ''we were the first one to have a day match but a night match makes a lot of difference. We had told the organisers beforehand that the first match should not be a day match but somehow they could not reschedule it.''Bindra, former president of the Board Of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) added, ''We had written three weeks ago that it's unfair to get a day match but now once you lose the tempo you have to work twice as hard to rebuild it.” When asked what the ideal time to start a Twenty20 match was, Bindra said ''eight o'clock is much better timing for cricket and entertainment.''With a view of finding a viable media, Bindra said ''IPL does not want to cannibalise international cricket. International tours would be given priority and moreover we want to co-exist with international cricket.'' He clarified that the IPL “is a domestic tournament. The ICC will be happy to create a window for IPL and we will make a formal request only after this tournament,” he said.

Warne now does with bat; gives Royals 2nd straight win

Shane Warne made a phoenix like comeback from the near obscurity to give his team Rajasthan Royals a thrilling win by hitting two consecutive sixes in the last over off his former team-mate Andrew Symonds. The Royals needed 17 runs in the last over, which they achieved one ball to spare. Just when everything was looking in favour of Royals, first it was Kaif (34), and then Graeme Smith (70), lost their cool and both were holed out at deep mid-wicket off the bowling of Afridi leaving the Royals in lurch. Playing his first match of the tournament Graeme Smith hit an important first half-century off 34 deliveries to keep the hope alive for Rajasthan Royals. Royals have made 139/3 after 14 overs. Mohammad Kaif has joined Smith after the departure of Shane Watson (4). After having played a blazing knock of 61 off 28 balls with six sixes and four fours, Yusuf Pathan gave a simple catch to Andrew Symonds at long-off off the bowling of Kalyankrishna in trying to hit another ball out of the park. His departure has brought Shane Watson, match winner of the last match, onto the crease to join Smith (38 n.o).
Big-hitting Yusuf Pathan scored his first half-century of the tournament off just 21 balls as Rajasthan Royal were cruising along smoothly. Pathan has so far tonked six huge sixes and three fours in his blistering counter-attacking knock. After 8 overs they were 98/1 with Smith (24 n.o) giving Pathan a good company. Chasing a huge target of 215 Rajasthan Royals have started well as Yusuf Pathan (29 n.o) and Graeme Smith (13 n.o) have given them a kind of start they badly needed. After five overs, Royals were 57/1 after losing Kamran Akmal (12) early. Andrew Symonds, who is the second most expensive player of the tournament after MS Dhoni, finally proved his worth by hitting an explosive innings of unbeaten 117 off just 53 balls to guide Deccan Chargers to a mammoth 214/5. His powerful shots (eleven fours and seven sixes) landed every part of the ground as bowlers of the Rajasthan Royals were looking like mere spectators and had no clue whatsoever to check the burly batsman from hitting boundaries. He got an able support from Rookie Indian Rohit Sharma, who made a quick-fire 36, which consisted of three fours and one hit over the fence. After Brandon McCullum and his Aussie team mate Mike Hussey, it was the turn of Andrew Symonds who ultimately bettered their record by hitting the fastest hundred of the tournament with a typical belligerent innings. He has taken only 47 balls to reach the three figure mark. Rohit Sharma (35 n.o), who was initially giving strikes to his senior fellow finally broke free by hitting some magnificent shots. Symonds (87 n.o) is all set to score his first hundred in the T20 format as he was going hammer and tongs and sending the Royals bowlers for a leather hunt all over the park. After 15 overs Deccan scored 148/3 with Rohit Sharma (19 n.o) providing him good support from the other end.
Andrew Symonds has made half-century as his Deccan Chargers also crossed 100-run mark with the loss of three wickets after 11 overs. Symonds (52 n.o) scored these runs in only 28 balls with the help of six fours and two towering sixes. Despite losing two quick wickets in the initial overs, Deccan Chargers have kept their steady run flow with Australian Symonds (34 n.o off 22 balls) was looking in ominous mood. Captain VVS Laxman was giving him good company. After 8 overs Deccan were 73/2. Yousuf Pathan claimed two wickets in his very first overs to deny Deccan Chargers early impetus. After six overs Chargers were 58/2 with dangerous Andrew Symonds was playing on 21. Rajasthan Royals captain Shane Warne have won the toss and decided to bowl first on a placid track against Deccan Chargers in the IPL T20 Championship here on Thursday. Both teams have made one change. Smith comes in for Lehmann while Deccan Chargers have opted to go for the extra seamer, replacing Venugopal Rao with Kalyan Krishna.

Yuvi, Bhajji would be eager to open account in IPL

With no certain word still on Sachin Tendulkar's Indian Premier League debut on Friday, Punjab will be eager to take the opportunity to clinch an elusive win at home turf against Mumbai in Mohali.
The Yuvraj Singh-led Punjab team, having lost both its matches -- against Chennai here and Rajasthan at Jaipur, is bound to be under pressure to record a victory as it will be again playing before their home crowd.
Though Yuvraj is one of the dangerous batsman in this format of the game, he is yet to unleash his real firepower for which he is known. He scored 23 and 57 in his previous two matches.
Other top batsman Mahela Jayawardene is also yet to prove himself while his compatriot Kumar Sangakkara would wish to play a big knock tomorrow.
Punjab's other problem are its strike bowlers, who are yet to live up to their reputation. Right-arm fast bowler Brett Lee finished with similar figures of 4-0-35-1 in his two matches while left-arm pacer Irfan Pathan had figures of 4-0-47-2 in his first match.
S Sreesanth is yet to come good for the Punjab team as he has proved expensive in the six overs he has bowled in two matches without much success.
The spin department, with Piyush Chawla in the forefront, has also failed to click so far. Another keen thing to watch out will be how Yuvraj tackles his state-mate Harbhajan Singh.
Mumbai, who are also yet to score a win, will be hoping that Sri Lankan veteran Sanath Jayasuriya plays a big knock as he has so far scored just 49 runs in his two outings.
Besides, if Tendulkar, Mumbai regular captain currently recuperating from his groin injury, is fit to play tomorrow, it will definitely add to the firepower of the team, also including Robin Uthappa and West Indian Dwayne Bravo.
"I hope Sachin plays in Chandigarh (Mohali)... I can also concentrate on my bowling," said Mumbai stand-in captain Harbhajan Singh after his team lost by narrow six-run margin against Chennai in Chennai on Wednesday night.
Harbhajan along with talented youngster Abhishek Nayar showed grit at the Chepauk. Harbhajan was quite economical but he under-bowled himself with just two overs.
Uthappa has shown that he can be dangerous in this format, but he will need to ensure that he stays at the crease for longer duration to play big innings.
South African Shaun Pollock is another big asset to the team with his wicket taking ability and also chipping in with useful knocks.
As the match will be played under floodlights, Mohali track should suit Pollock and left-arm pacer Ashish Nehra and even right-arm medium pacer Dhaval Kulkarni should be able to move the ball here.
Unlike Chennai, where there was heavy dew on the field on Wednesday night, Mohali ground should be okay. "We don't foresee this problem here. However, still we are prepared to tackle dew in case there is any," PCA curator Daljit Singh said.

IPL encounters: Rival revival

Indian Premier League among other things has been billed as the battle of cities, war of business entities and for the BCCI the biggest money-spinning venture in its history. Of course the amalgamation of the cream of cricketing talent from all around the world in the eight franchisee teams of IPL means some of the most enthralling cricket action has already dished out in the tournament in the first week itself.Apart from this, some old rivalries have been renewed, new challenges and battlelines have been drawn as buddies and teammates became rivals in IPL. Mumbai Mirror analyses some of these mini-battles that have emerged in the first seven matches of the IPL.

Sachin Tendulkar turns 35

The difference between Sachin Tendulkar's 34th birthday and his 35th, which he celebrates on Thursday, could not be starker. One year ago the master batsman, considered to be among the all-time greats of the game and perhaps next only to Don Bradman in stature as a pure batsman, was distraught following India's early and shameful exit from the World Cup and celebrated his birthday quietly at his home with his family. It was a dismal time for Indian cricket as a whole in the aftermath of the disastrous World Cup where the much-hype team led by Rahul Dravid was eliminated in the first round. Tendulkar, true to his fashion, lifted himself as well as the country's cricket from that low by making his bat talk loud in England and Australia to play a leading role in the campaigns in both countries, the oldest rivals in international cricket. The stalwart contributed mightily to the team's Test and ODI victory in Old Blighty as well as a first-ever triumph in the tri-series Down Under after helping India match the world champions step for step in the acrimonous Test series that they lost narrowly to the hosts after a rip-roaring battle. The ace batsman, who in the process also increased his century count to 39 in Tests and 42 in ODIs, besides overtaking Sri Lankan ace Sanath Jayasuriya as the leading run-getter in the 50-over game, has truly bounced back in style after some critics wrote his epitaph in the aftermath of India's dismal display in the World Cup in the Caribbean. The only dark spot surrounding Tendulkar's 35th birthday is that he is continuing to be troubled by his injury woes. He has missed the first two matches in the ongoing Indian Premier League and has been unable to lead the Mumbai Indians team at two of his most favoured venues - Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium and Chennai's Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk. A groin strain that he picked up when guiding India to a fantastic 2-0 triumph over Australia that got aggravated when he chose to play against South Africa at Chennai's Chapauk ground in the first Test last month, left him frustrated. He could take no further part in the series, which the home team squared in the third and final Test at Kanpur. But otherwise, things are looking bright for the ace batsman and his happy frame of mind was visible when he chose to crack jokes with the media at the pre-match conference on the eve of Mumbai Indians' opening encounter against Bangalore Royal Challengers at his home turf here. Tendulkar has also stated clearly that retirement from either Tests or ODIs is the furthest thought occupying his mind currently. Unlike last year, this time he is celebrating his birthday on the cricketing road with his Mumbai Indians teammates who would be wishing fervently he gets back into action at the soonest and turns around the team's plunging fortunes after two straight defeats in the first two ties. With the hectic schedule in store for the team post-IPL, he as well as millions of cricket fans must be praying on his birthday that he recovers fast from his groin injury and remains fit for the remainder of India's long and tough campaigns ahead.

Hayden Leads Super Kings To Victory

Australia opener Matthew Hayden was the lynchpin as the Chennai Super Kings saw off the Mumbai Indians by six runs at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.
Hayden struck 81 from 46 balls as the hosts hit 208 for five after being inserted by Mumbai stand-in skipper Harbhajan Singh.
The Indians lost wickets regularly in reply and, despite contributions of 43 and 45 from Robin Uthappa and Abhishek Nayar respectively, they fell just short, reaching 202 for seven.
Hayden came to life in the third over, with a cheeky flick for four and a colossal straight six off the bowling of Shaun Pollock.
But Ashish Nehra put the brakes on with an over which went for just one, including the wicket of Parthiv Patel and Mike Hussey played on to Dhawal Kulkarni, leaving Chennai on 39 for two.
That brought Hayden and Suresh Raina together but, with Hayden struggling to get on strike, it was the 21-year-old who dominated.
He scored 53 off 37 balls in a century stand before holing out to Dwayne Bravo to give Musavir Khote his first of two wickets.
Hayden struck a succession of boundaries - 12 in total, to go with two maximums - before being run out by Harbhajan.
And captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni (30 from 15) ensured the Super Kings' total went above 200.
Mumbai's response began poorly as openers Luke Ronchi and Sanath Jayasuriya fell early.
Robin Uthappa (43 from 36) steadied the ship before being bowled by Joginder Sharma and Palani Amarnath disturbed the stumps of Pollock.
Then debutant Bravo struck 24 off 16 before falling to an excellent catch from Jacob Oram diving forward to give Sharma his second.
A late burst from Abhishek Nayar (45 not out from 20) took the Indians close, but he had been left with too much to do.