Match 55: Delhi Daredevils v Deccan Chargers

Venue – Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium, Delhi

Head to Head: Delhi Daredevils – 4; Deccan Chargers – 2

Delhi Daredevils

Depending upon the results of the first match between Chennai and Punjab, this match will assume significance. If Chennai win, this match will become a virtual quarter-final with the winner moving to second spot while the loser will have to hope Kolkata doesn’t win by a huge margin against Mumbai tomorrow. If Chennai lose, then both Delhi and Deccan have a better opportunity to qualify. Delhi will have the home advantage and their biggest strength will be the presence of two quality spinners in Amit Mishra and Daniel Vettori as compared to one for Deccan in Pragyan Ojha. The Delhi wicket is a tired pitch with low bounce and two paced that will make the job difficult for the batsmen to counter spin. Delhi can also use the services of Virender Sehwag and Tillakaratne Dilshan as they did against Chennai to put the brakes on the scoring.

Best bet for Delhi Daredevils: Virender Sehwag – 9/10

Tillakaratne Dilshan – 8/10

Gautam Gambhir – 8/10

Amit Mishra – 8/10

Daniel Vettori – 8/10                                     

Deccan Chargers

Deccan would like to win to make the sailing easier, however their hot and cold performances will concern captain Gilchrist. Rohit Sharma has been the only consistent performer for Deccan while Gilchirst will be disappointed with his other overseas players Gibbs and Symonds who has played little role in victories. Especially Gibbs form is a big concern which may see him sit out once again while Mitchell Marsh is likely to be continued with.

Best Bet for Deccan Chargers: Adam Gilchrist – 9/10

Rohit Sharma – 9/10

Pragyan Ojha – 8/10

Ryan Harris– 8/10

Andrew Symonds – 8/10

Match 40: Royal Challengers Bangalore v Deccan Chargers

Indian Premier League 2010, Day 29

Match 40: Royal Challengers Bangalore v Deccan Chargers

Venue – Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore

Head to Head: Royal Challengers Bangalore – 3; Deccan Chargers – 2

Royal Challengers Bangalore

The tournament has reached the business end of it but the two finalists of IPL 2 are facing each other for the first time this season. It’s a must win match for both team as a win for Bangalore will give them a sigh of relief as they will take one step further towards the semi-final spot while for Deccan a win will keep the their hopes alive. Bangalore will look to bring Dale Steyn in that will make Cameron White sit out. A move that will also prompt another change to bring in Manish Pandey in place of Abhimanyu Mithun to maintain the balance of the side.

This is Bangalore’s real chance to pay back their defeat in the finals at Wanderers as a Bangalore win will knock Deccan out of the tournament. Anil Kumble has indicated that there will be a shuffle in batting order which means that Rahul Dravid will be back at his usual one down position while Robin Uthappa will play lower down the order.

Best Bet for Royal Challengers Bangalore: Kevin Pietersen – 9/10

Rahul Dravid – 8/10

Dale Steyn – 8/10

Robin Uthappa – 8/10

Anil Kumble – 8/10

Deccan Chargers

A must win game for the defending champions. Captain Gilchrist holds the key as a big knock from him will put Deccan in a winning situation. Except one fifty Gilchirst has been playing little attractive cameos but failed to convert them into big ones. Gibbs should get his place back replacing Dwayne Smith and should open the innings with Gilchirst while Laxman should bat at number three. Deccan’s fringe players like Suman, Venugopal Rao, Bhilakia and Anirudh Singh have not come to the fore and this has hurt Deccan badly. In such a situation, Gilchrist will require to do a Warne in inspiring these lesser known players to perform.

Best bet for Deccan Chargers: Adam Gilchrist – 9/10

Rohit Sharma – 8/10

Herschelle Gibbs – 8/10

Chaminda Vaas – 8/10

Andrew Symonds – 8/10

Match 22: Rajasthan Royals v Deccan Chargers

Indian Premier League 2010, Day 15

Match 22: Rajasthan Royals v Deccan Chargers

Venue – Sardar Patel Stadium, Ahmedabad

Head to Head: Rajasthan Royals – 3; Deccan Chargers – 1

Rajasthan Royals

The Royals look resurgent with two consecutive wins and will fancy their third against defending champions Deccan Chargers. Though the two wins have come against the two teams struggling in the tournament, Shane Warne will look to capitalize on the momentum gained out of those victories. For Rajasthan, form of their foreign players Michel Lumb and Shaun Tait will be a welcome one, after poor run in the previous matches.

After a blistering 100 in their first game, Yusuf is due for a match winning knock, however opposition bowlers will fancy their chance with short deliveries against him. Munaf had a poor outing in his last match but being considered a senior bowler he is likely to get another chance.

Best Bet for Rajasthan Royals: Shane Warne – 9/10

Michel Lumb – 8/10

F Faizal – 8/10

Yusuf Pathan – 8/10

N Ojha – 7/10

Deccan Chargers

Adam Gilchrist will be pleased with his team’s performance after losing their first match. There will also be a sense of comfort and confidence for Deccan Chargers after winning the first set of home matches in Cuttack. Their batsmen have been in good form, but one aspect that will bother Gilly is the form of his strike bowler of IPL season last year RP Singh. However RP’s poor form is shadowed by stupendous bowling by pro Chaminda Vaas who is likely to keep his place in the eleven despite the presence of pace sensation Kemar Roach in the squad. Another area of concern will be the opening partner for Gilchirst. VVS Laxman did a decent job before getting injured in a freaky incident and had to miss a few matches. But he is fit and likely to take back his place replacing Monish Mishra who failed to deliver in his first IPL outing.

Best Bet for Deccan Chargers: Andrew Symonds – 9/10

Adam Gilchrist – 8/10

Chaminda Vaas – 8/10

Rohit Sharma – 8/10

T Suman – 7/10

Match 11: Deccan Chargers v Kings XI Punjab

Indian Premier League 2010, Day 8

Match 11: Deccan Chargers v Kings XI Punjab

Venue – Barabati Stadium, Cuttack

Head to Head: Deccan Chargers – 0; Kings XI Punjab – 4

Deccan Chargers

It’s been an even-out result for Deccan Chargers with one win and one loss. This is their home match but Chargers are yet to win a home match in IPL. Will Cuttack be lucky? Only time will tell. Their batsmen have shown form but no big contribution from any except half-centuries from Gilchrist and Symonds. Much awaited wait for Kemar Roach is now over but Gilchrist has the headache of who to leave out among Gibbs, Symonds and Vaas all of whom have contributed immensely in the two matches played. Chargers have quality swing bowlers, but their problem has been bowling at the death.

Best Bet for Deccan Chargers: Chaminda Vaas – 9/10

Adam Gilchrist – 8/10

Rohit Sharma – 8/10

T Suman – 7/10

Andrew Symonds – 7/10

Kings XI Punjab

Losing both their matches Kings XI will look to take inspiration from their past performances against Deccan Chargers. Four out of four speaks volumes for a side that is desperate to kick-off their points tally. Batting was their concern in the first game, but Sangakkara’s faith was answered with a powerful display against Bangalore but bowling has been below par in the absence of Brett Lee. With too many big strikers in Deccan’s line-up it will be yet another challenge for Kings XI before they can end up on the winning side.

Best Bet for Kings XI Punjab: Yuvraj Singh – 9/10

Kumar Sangakkara – 9/10

Ravi Bopara – 8/10

Sreesanth – 7/10

Irfan Pathan – 7/10

Gilchirst confident of defending title

Deccan Chargers captain Adam Gilchrist on his arrival in India sounded confident of his team defending the Indian Premier League (IPL) title. He thinks that the new members of the squad and the high team spirits as they put up last season are important to be successful this year. “We’ve got a great bond that is a legacy of last year’s victory. It’s certainly something that will be an asset for us. We are very excited about the new players. I am looking forward to playing positive and entertaining cricket again,” Gilchrist told Deccan Chronicle, a daily owned by the owner of the Deccan Chargers team.

West Indian Kemar Roach and Australian teenager and son of Geoff Marsh, Mitchell Marsh has been roped in by the Chargers for this season. On their inclusions Gilchrist said, “We’ve made up for the loss of Fidel Edwards with the inclusion of Kemar Roach – he was very impressive during West Indies’ series in Australia. Then there is young Mitchell Marsh, an exciting talent who has captained the Australian Under-19 team to the World Cup triumph recently. Marsh is a hard-hitting batsman and a good bowler. We’ve got some superb youngsters among the local players as well – Monish Mishra and Rahul Sharma to name a couple, have been very impressive during our practice sessions.”

On the other hand the Aussie expressed disappointment in not playing any of their home matches in Hyderabad but was confident it will not bring them down in spirits. “It is extremely disappointing that we won’t be playing in front of the home crowd, that’s frustrating. I do feel for the Hyderabadi people. But I don’t see that as a negative about how we will go about our cricket. We will try and focus on the grounds where we are going to play.” Hyderabad as a venue was ruled out due to political unrest in the state over the formation of separate state of Telengana.

Indian Premier League 2010 Teams Preview – Deccan Chargers

Team: Deccan Chargers

Owners: Deccan Chronicle

Bought for: USD 107 million

Captain: Adam Gilchrist

Coach: Darren Lehman

Home Ground: Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad

IPL 2009 Result: Winners

IPL Record: Played – 30, Won –11, Lost – 19, Tie – 0, No Result -0

Best Batsman IPL 2009: Adam Gilchrist – Runs: 495; S/R: 152.3

Best Bowler IPL 2009: RP Singh – Wkts: 23; RPO: 6.98

Build Up:

The African safari for Deccan Chargers saw nothing less than a fairytale ending. Adam Gilchrist taking guard as captain and Darren Lehmann as coach saw a miraculous transformation in the team’s performance as they played flawless cricket throughout the tournament. Adam’s leadership came to the fore as youngsters like Rohit Sharma, Harmeet Singh and T Suman blossomed in confidence.

This year, the owners have done well to rope in West Indian Kemar Roach to add pace into their attack in place of injured Fidel Edwards. The team also has the likes of big hitters in Herschelle Gibbs, Andrew Symonds and Dwayne Smith all of whom are likely to travel India despite security concerns. However, the Chargers are not playing in their home ground in Hyderabad due to political turmoil in the city. But this can be a blessing in disguise for the team as they have lost all their 10 matches at home so far.

Watch Out For:

Adam Gilchrist – The wicket-keeper batsman might have been retired from international cricket, but counting him out will only be a foolish thing to do, and the opposition will know that. Adam Gilchirst is Deccan’s highest run scorer in IPL and the veteran will look to continue is blazing form this year too. The team will depend a lot on the starts he provides to post challenging totals on board.

Rohit Sharma – Rohit was elevated to vice-captaincy by the team management and he didn’t disappoint them. He provided solidarity to the middle-order and also with a decisive bowling option under wet conditions. The youngster will look ahead for a successful IPL 3 to make a comeback to the Indian team.

Dark Horse:

VVS Laxman – Not many will give thumbs up to his stylish right-hander to excel in this format. However, Laxman has played some vital knocks for Deccan in the previous editions and his present good run of form will prove vital for the defending champions.

The Squad:

Adam Gilchrist (Captain), Herschelle Gibbs, Andrew Symonds, Ryan Harris, Dwayne Smith, Kemar Roach, Chaminda Vaas, Mitchell Marsh, VVS Laxman, Rohit Sharma, RP Singh, Pragyan Ojha, Venugopal Rao, Dwaraka Ravi Teja, Tirumalasetti Suman, Arjun Yadav, Harmeet Singh, Anirudh Singh, Rahul Sharma, Mohnish Mishra, Azhar Bilakhia, A Ashish Reddy, Bodapati Sumanth

AP minister asks Deccan to boycott IPL

Indian Premier League (IPL) and controversies just seems can’t keep away from each other. This time it’s from the Andhra Pradesh sports minister Komatirreddy Venkat Reddy who has asked the Hyderabad franchise Deccan Chargers to pull out of IPL if any matches were moved out of the city. The inaugural match between the home team, also the defending champions Deccan Chargers and Kolkata Knight Riders was shifted to Mumbai after political unrest in Hyderabad on the Telengana issue.

In a story published in Deccan Chronicle, the same group who owns the Deccan Chargers franchise, the sports minister was quoted from a letter written to Sharad Pawar, ICC vice-president and former BCCI president, saying the state government is guaranteeing maximum security for IPL matches. However later in the day Reddy took a stronger stand in his interview to an English news channel saying, “We have requested Deccan Chargers not to play in the IPL if the inaugural match and the remaining four matches are shifted out of Hyderabad.”

Meanwhile PK Iyer, one of the owners refused to comment on the matter. Similarly the IPL is also yet to make any statements on the issue. Of late, the IPL is facing security problems in the city of Mumbai and Hyderabad, however the Indian home ministry has promised full-fledged security for the tournament. In Mumbai the Shiv Senas have threatened the entry of Australian cricketers in protest of Indians living in Australia getting attacked.

As of now there are four Deccan Charger’s matches scheduled in Hyderabad, two in Vishakapatnam and the inaugural match in Mumbai. Three months back, the one-day match between India and Sri Lanka was shifted to Nagpur due to security concerns. Similarly the two matches scheduled in Hyderabad between England and Indian women’s team is now shifted to Mumbai and Bangalore. A week back no spectators were allowed inside the stadium for the Duleep trophy final between South Zone and West Zone.

Home challenge for Deccan ahead of qualifying

Match 12: Group A

Deccan Chargers v Trinidad and Tobago, Hyderabad

Indian Premier League (IPL) champions Deccan Chargers are not only up against a vibrant Trinidad and Tobago side that rocked the Somerset side in their first game of the tournament, but also against their own woeful record at their home ground. The Chargers lost all their seven matches at home during the first edition of the IPL and the jinx continued when they lost their match against Somerset Savers earlier this week. Deccan will be counting on their richness in experience while Trinidad and Tobago will depend on their hyper active bunch of players to see them through.

A win for Deccan will see all three teams tied on two points each. The Caribbean team has a very good net run-rate of +2.200 while Deccan’s net run-rate of -0.200 is better than Somerset’s -1.000 in which case the two teams competing today will qualify to the next stage. On the other hand Deccan has to lose for Somerset to qualify.

Best bet for Deccan Chargers:

Adam Gilchrist – 9/10

RP Singh – 8/10

Andrew Symonds – 8/10

Rohit Sharma – 8/10

Best bet for Trinidad and Tobago:

Dwayne Bravo – 8/10

Lendl Simmons – 8/10

Darren Ganga – 7/10

Denesh Ramdin – 7/10

Deccan Chargers lose Smith too

Dwayne Smith, the West Indian all-rounder, has decided to represent English county team, Sussex, over his Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise, Deccan Chargers, in the upcoming Champions League held in India.  Smith becomes the second player after South African Herschelle Gibbs to opt for an alternative to the Chargers. However Gibbs will be playing for his home side Cape Cobras whereas Smith is an overseas player for Sussex.

Sussex emerged the winner in England’s domestic Twenty20 tournament that concluded earlier this month. The other team to qualify from England is Somerset. Sussex is also upbeat about availability of Indian leg-spinner Piyush Chawla, whose IPL team Kings XI Punjab failed to qualify for the tournament. On the dark side, Murray Goodwin, the team’s mainstay in the batting order cannot take part due to his ties with rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL).

With Smith and Gibbs opting out of Deccan Chargers, the IPL Champions are in further trouble as their vice-captain Rohit Sharma injured his shoulder in a domestic tournament a couple of days ago is in danger of missing out the tournament. While Deccan is losing out on players with international experience, Sussex has eight players with experience at the highest level.  Mark Robinson, Sussex coach said, “This is a great chance for us to pit our wits against the world’s best. It will be a great challenge for what is still quite a young squad. It will be a test of the squad’s mental and physical toughness and will be a fantastic learning curve for the whole side.”

Sussex is grouped with Australia’s New South Wales and South Africa’s Diamond Eagles in Group B. the team is slated to play both their league matches in Delhi’s Feroshah Kotla stadium on October 11 and 13 and will move on to Hyderabad for their next round. Sussex captain Mike Yardy said, “It’s a fantastic honor to be the first club captain to take Sussex to an international competition. We’ve got a strong squad that should suit Indian conditions and we’re all very excited about this great opportunity.”

Sussex Squad: Mike Yardy (Captain), Rageeb Aga, Yasir Arafat, Will Beer, Ben Brown (Wk), Piyush Chawla, Joe Gatting, Rory Hamilton-Brown, Andrew Hodd (Wk), Chris Hopkinson, Ed Joyce, Chad Keegan, James Kirtley, Chris Liddle, Robin Martin-Jenkins, Chris Nash, Matt Prior (Wk), Ollie Rayner, Dwayne Smith, Luke Wright

Gibbs in for Cobras

Cape Cobras got a big boost as Herschelle Gibbs decided not to represent Deccan Chargers in Champions League while another South African team Diamond Eagles has decided to go with a complete pace attack for the upcoming tournament in India. The decision from Gibbs will leave a big hole in Deccan’s line-up as the opening batsman played a prominent role in taking them to Indian Premier League (IPL) title earlier this year.

Cobras CEO Andre Odendaal said, “The Chargers confirmed over the weekend that Herschelle would not be in their squad and we are thrilled that a player of his pedigree will now be in the team.” However the move is set to cost Cobras USD 200,000 that they were about to receive from Deccan but Andre said, “t means a loss of potential income, but our first priority has always been to go to India to win.”

On the other hand, Eagles have named fast bowlers Dillon du Preez, Ryan McLaren, CJ de Villiers, Obus Pienaar and Charl Pietersen in their squad. Du Preez and Ryan McLaren have IPL experience with Royal Challenger’s Bangalore and Mumbai Indians respectively however they have been included in the squad. Eagles now await confirmation over Du Preez from his IPL franchise Bangalore on his availability.

South African captain Graeme Smith will lead Cobras in the tournament which also includes other international players in JP Duminy, Charl Langeveldt, Vernon Philander and Justin Ontong. Eagles are a young team will be lead by Boeta Dippenaar which also includes wicket-keeper Morne van Wyk and off-spinner Thandi Thshabalala with international experience.

Eagles coach Sarel Cilliers said, “We definitely put an emphasis on bowling in limited-overs matches and I believe they can win matches for us. The bowlers must put pressure on the batsmen and work as a unit.”

Cape Cobras Squad: Graeme Smith (Captain), Derek Brand, Ryan Canning, Henry Davids, JP Duminy, Sybrand Engelbrecht, Herschelle Gibbs, Claude Henderson, Rory Kleinveldt, Charl Langeveldt, Richard Levi, Carl Nieuwoudt, Justin Ontong, Vernon Philander, Francois Plaatjies, Andrew Puttick, Gurshwin Rabie, Leonard van Wyk, Stiaan van Zyl, Monde Zondeki

Diamond Eagles Squad: Boeta Dippenaar (Captain), Morne van Wyk (Wk), Dean Elgar, Reeza Hendricks, Ryan Bailey, Rilee Rossouw, Adrian McLaren, Dillon du Preez, CJ de Villiers, Jandre Coetzee, Ryan McLaren, Thandi Tshabalala, Shadley van Schalkwyk, Victor Mpitsang, Allan Kruger, Con de Lange, Charl Pietersen, Wendell Bossenger, Aubrey Swanepoel, Obus Pienaar

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