Sourav Ganguly, the former India captain, has been signed by Pune Warriors as a replacement for Ashish Nehra, who was ruled out for the remainder of the 2011 season with a finger injury. Ganguly's contract is for a period of one year and is an IPL lifeline to the batsman after he went unsold at the player auction in January, where his base price was $400,000.
Ganguly will be vice-captain to Yuvraj Singh and is likely to join the Pune squad ahead of their match against Mumbai Indians at the DY Patil Stadium on May 4.
"We were waiting for Ashish Nehra's fitness report and ultimately the report came yesterday," Abhijit Sarkar, Pune's team director, told PTI. "I was already in talks with Ganguly and we decided that the amount of experience that Sourav has in cricket will no doubt help the team. So we finalised Ganguly last night.
"He is playing in IPL not for money but to prove a point. Our team think-tank felt that Sourav Ganguly is the best possible option available so we went for him. He has been a fighter and a master of comebacks. We are very much confident that he will prove his worth."
Ganguly played for Kolkata Knight Riders in the first three seasons of the IPL and led the team in two of them, while Brendon McCullum was captain for the other. Kolkata fared poorly in those years and are the only franchise not to make the semi-finals. Kolkata did not bid for Ganguly in January despite his name coming up for sale twice, as they revamped their squad entirely, and the batsman later refused a mentoring role with the franchise.
Pune Warriors are bottom of the ten-team league at present, having lost six consecutive matches after winning their first two. Ganguly has an average IPL record - 1031 runs at an average of 28 and strike-rate of 110 - and could strengthen an under-performing and short batting order.
Bengali actress Riya Sen, who is the brand ambassador for IPL's Kochi Tuskers, was in dilemma about which team to cheer for last evening when Kochi Tuskers were up against Kolkata Knight Riders.
'Today's match being between my heart and soul ...a much anticipated one...gotta lose some to gain some,' she tweeted. She posted a picture of herself with Shah Rukh Khan, the co-owner of Kolkata Knight Riders (left), and also one with her sister Raima.
Raima, meanwhile, did not have to face any such dilemma, and openly supported KKR.
Sushmita Sen, on the other hand, cheered for both teams. 'Now this is an EXCITING match!!! :) GO KKR..GO KOCHI!!!! Fun fun fun!!!! :)))) What's a 20 over game without a nail biting finish!!!;) see d fun of having no favorites..I enjoy both sides n cheer ANY good player!!luv it What a fantastic match!!! Congratulations KOCHI!!! Well played!' she updated.=============================================================
Colombo: Sri Lankan sports ministry's decision to call back its cricketers from the ongoing IPL could lead to "a potentially explosive situation" as far as the board's ties with the BCCI - world cricket's financial powerhouse - is concerned, a leading newspaper here said.
The ministry had on Tuesday asked the Sri Lankan cricketers participating in the hugely popular Twenty20 league to return home early to prepare for the national team's tour of England that gets underway on May 14.
"The latest development is almost certain to create a tense situation in Sri Lanka's ties with the world cricket's financial power house, the BCCI which more or less dictates terms to the ICC and world cricket as a whole," the Daily Mirror opined on Wednesday.
The newspaper further said that the decision was taken after sports minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage's criticism of India's alleged shabby treatment of Sri Lankan politicians at the World Cup final in Mumbai.
In line with Aluthgamage's policy of 'country before IPL', the ministry said a circular would soon be released by the minister that will make national duty mandatory for all Sri Lankan sportsmen above any other commitments.
Ten Sri Lankan cricketers are contracted to various franchises, of which two of them are being led by Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene, the islanders' two senior most players.
Besides Deccan Chargers skipper Sangakkara and Kochi Tuskers Kerala captain Jayawardene, Suraj Randiv, Nuwan Kulasekara, Muttiah Muralitharan, Thisara Perera, Lasith Malinga, Dilhara Fernando, Tilakaratne Dilshan and Nuwan Pradeep are some of the Sri Lankan players involved in the fourth season of the IPL.
"On a recommendation made by the national selection committee I have instructed the secretary of the board to inform the players to return by at least the 5th of May to prepare for the tour," Aluthgamage had said.
"When contracted players of Sri Lanka Cricket represent other tournaments, they should make sure that their priority lies with the national team and this will be strictly adhered to in the future," Aluthgamage had added.
Sangakkara, Jayawardene, Malinga, Dilshan and Kulasekera look certain to be picked for the tour of England. The Sri Lankans are scheduled to leave for the tour on May 10.
The move by the Sri Lankan government is in complete contrast to the one that was taken three years ago when it cancelled a tour of England in 2009 to allow the players participate in the T20 league.
SOURCEThe ministry had on Tuesday asked the Sri Lankan cricketers participating in the hugely popular Twenty20 league to return home early to prepare for the national team's tour of England that gets underway on May 14.
"The latest development is almost certain to create a tense situation in Sri Lanka's ties with the world cricket's financial power house, the BCCI which more or less dictates terms to the ICC and world cricket as a whole," the Daily Mirror opined on Wednesday.
The newspaper further said that the decision was taken after sports minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage's criticism of India's alleged shabby treatment of Sri Lankan politicians at the World Cup final in Mumbai.
In line with Aluthgamage's policy of 'country before IPL', the ministry said a circular would soon be released by the minister that will make national duty mandatory for all Sri Lankan sportsmen above any other commitments.
Ten Sri Lankan cricketers are contracted to various franchises, of which two of them are being led by Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene, the islanders' two senior most players.
Besides Deccan Chargers skipper Sangakkara and Kochi Tuskers Kerala captain Jayawardene, Suraj Randiv, Nuwan Kulasekara, Muttiah Muralitharan, Thisara Perera, Lasith Malinga, Dilhara Fernando, Tilakaratne Dilshan and Nuwan Pradeep are some of the Sri Lankan players involved in the fourth season of the IPL.
"On a recommendation made by the national selection committee I have instructed the secretary of the board to inform the players to return by at least the 5th of May to prepare for the tour," Aluthgamage had said.
"When contracted players of Sri Lanka Cricket represent other tournaments, they should make sure that their priority lies with the national team and this will be strictly adhered to in the future," Aluthgamage had added.
Sangakkara, Jayawardene, Malinga, Dilshan and Kulasekera look certain to be picked for the tour of England. The Sri Lankans are scheduled to leave for the tour on May 10.
The move by the Sri Lankan government is in complete contrast to the one that was taken three years ago when it cancelled a tour of England in 2009 to allow the players participate in the T20 league.
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Match report: Match 22 – KKR v KTK
Kolkata, April 20: Kochi Tuskers Kerala brought an end to Kolkata Knight Riders three-game winning run by trouncing them by six runs in a closely contested game. The Tuskers, who managed a mere 132 while batting first, restricted KKR to a score of just 126.
Earlier, KKR captain Gautam Gambhir won the toss and as has generally been his habit in this IPL, decided to bowl first. The Tuskers got off to a reasonably good start with Brendon McCullum and Mahela Jayawardene adding 49 for the first wicket in 6.5 overs. However, with the fall of McCullum’s wicket, Kochi soon surrendered the initiative. Yusuf Pathan struck repeated blows for Kolkata, dismissing Jayawardene (25), Brad Hodge (2) and Parthiv Patel (9) to leave KTK tottering at 65 for four in 11.5 overs.
Ravindra Jadeja struck a few big sixes to guide the Tuskers past a score of 100. But when Jadeja (29) was caught at the long-on boundary by Pathan off Brett Lee, KTK’s hopes of finishing with a bang disappeared. Shakib Al Hasan, in addition to McCullum, took another couple of KTK wickets to restrict the opposition to 132 for seven in 20.0 overs.
KKR struggled right through their run chase. Barring Manoj Tiwary, none of their top order batsmen managed a score beyond 16. Their big guns - Jacques Kallis, Gambhir, Eoin Morgan and Pathan - scored six, three, ten and eight respectively.
Any chances that KKR might have had of pulling off a win despite their star batsmen failing vanished when Tiwary’s battling knock of 46 (51 balls) was brought to an end by Ravindra Jadeja; Tiwary was stumped by wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel off a delivery down the leg side. KKR were 101 for seven in 16.5 overs at the fall of Tiwary’s wicket
With both Jadeja and RP Singh taking two wickets between them and R Vinay Kumar holding his nerve (KKR required 14 off the last over with two wickets in hand), KTK managed to restrict KKR to a score of 126, thereby registering a six-run victory.
The win propels KTK to third position in the points table. KKR, despite the loss, remain at pole position.
Brief scores: Kochi Tuskers Kerala 132 for 7 in 20.0 overs (Ravindra Jadeja 29, Mahela Jayawardene 25, Yusuf Pathan 3/20, Shakib Al Hasan 3/28) beat Kolkata Knight Riders 126 for 9 in 20.0 overs (Manoj Tiwary 46, Ravindra Jadeja 2/25, RP Singh 2/25) by six runs
Man-of-the-match: Mahela Jayawardene for his innings of 25, excellent captaincy and brilliant run-out of Eoin Morgan.
SOURCE
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Earlier, KKR captain Gautam Gambhir won the toss and as has generally been his habit in this IPL, decided to bowl first. The Tuskers got off to a reasonably good start with Brendon McCullum and Mahela Jayawardene adding 49 for the first wicket in 6.5 overs. However, with the fall of McCullum’s wicket, Kochi soon surrendered the initiative. Yusuf Pathan struck repeated blows for Kolkata, dismissing Jayawardene (25), Brad Hodge (2) and Parthiv Patel (9) to leave KTK tottering at 65 for four in 11.5 overs.
Ravindra Jadeja struck a few big sixes to guide the Tuskers past a score of 100. But when Jadeja (29) was caught at the long-on boundary by Pathan off Brett Lee, KTK’s hopes of finishing with a bang disappeared. Shakib Al Hasan, in addition to McCullum, took another couple of KTK wickets to restrict the opposition to 132 for seven in 20.0 overs.
KKR struggled right through their run chase. Barring Manoj Tiwary, none of their top order batsmen managed a score beyond 16. Their big guns - Jacques Kallis, Gambhir, Eoin Morgan and Pathan - scored six, three, ten and eight respectively.
Any chances that KKR might have had of pulling off a win despite their star batsmen failing vanished when Tiwary’s battling knock of 46 (51 balls) was brought to an end by Ravindra Jadeja; Tiwary was stumped by wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel off a delivery down the leg side. KKR were 101 for seven in 16.5 overs at the fall of Tiwary’s wicket
With both Jadeja and RP Singh taking two wickets between them and R Vinay Kumar holding his nerve (KKR required 14 off the last over with two wickets in hand), KTK managed to restrict KKR to a score of 126, thereby registering a six-run victory.
The win propels KTK to third position in the points table. KKR, despite the loss, remain at pole position.
Brief scores: Kochi Tuskers Kerala 132 for 7 in 20.0 overs (Ravindra Jadeja 29, Mahela Jayawardene 25, Yusuf Pathan 3/20, Shakib Al Hasan 3/28) beat Kolkata Knight Riders 126 for 9 in 20.0 overs (Manoj Tiwary 46, Ravindra Jadeja 2/25, RP Singh 2/25) by six runs
Man-of-the-match: Mahela Jayawardene for his innings of 25, excellent captaincy and brilliant run-out of Eoin Morgan.
SOURCE
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