Amazing Morkel snatches victory for Delhi Daredevils

Amazing bowling performance from Morkel (this time from Morne Morkel and not his brother Albie Morkel) inspired a great win for the Delhi Daredevils against the Rajasthan Royals in the IPL 2012 match today.

 

IPL Delhi Daredevils' player Morne Morkel's inspired performance took them to an improbable victory over the Rajasthan Royals

Pics courtesy:  PRAKASH SINGH/AFP/GettyImages

Rajasthan Royals were chasing a target of 153 and were going along easily courtesy of another great innings by Ajinkya Rahane. Only 15 was required of 12 balls when Morne Morkel bowled a great penultimate over for the Delhi team giving away only 3 wickets and taking Hodge's prized wicket too.
Rahane tried hard but could score only 10 runs in the last over and Rajasthan Royals were beaten by only one run!!!

Today there was one another splendid bowling performance by Dale Steyn for the Deccan Chargers but it was for a losing cause. Steyn's hot bowling took Mumbai Indians by surprise as they found him too hard to handle. Steyn's figures of 2 for 10 doesn't show how well he has bowled. It should have been 3 for 9 but for a dolly catch miss by Amit Mishra.

 

Deccan Charger's Dale Steyn bowled an inspiring spell against the Mumbai Indians today

Poor Dale Steyn... he must be feeling that he got a raw deal by playing for Deccan Chargers.. his bowling spells should be winning matches but instead the rest of the Deccan Chargers team is giving it up so easily with many easy runs and dropped catches!!

Today's IPL Performances: Dale Steyn's bowling and Morne Morkel's penultimate over

De Villiers engaged to girlfriend Danielle Swart in Taj Mahal

South African ODI cricket captain AB De Villiers got engaged to his girlfriend Danielle Swart in the beautiful Taj Mahal earlier this month.

De Villiers shared the good news on Twitter, saying: "Got engaged to the girl of my dreams, Danielle Swart, at the Taj Mahal 2 days ago. It was an amazing experience! Will share some pics soon."

Here is the picture of De Villiers and his fiancee Danielle Swart in front of the Taj Mahal.

 

South African cricketer AB De Villiers got engaged at Taj Mahal to his girlfriend Danielle Swart

De Villiers, who took over the reins as the Proteas' ODI and T20 captain from Graeme Smith last year, asked Swart to marry him in front of the Taj Mahal in India.

 

De Villiers showing the picture of him and Danielle Swart taken infront of the Taj Mahal

Pic courtesy: Dirk Nannes :)

Letitia Greyling, De Villiers's agent, has confirmed the engagement.
"AB asked Danielle on Sunday in India to marry him and she said yes. He is very happy."

 

Newly engaged De Villiers and Danielle Swart being interviewed by Sid Mallya in his show NO BOUNDARIES

The couple met each other about six years ago on Swart's father's lodge outside Bela-Bela (Warmbaths).
Although they've remained close friends since then, their love only blossomed about a year ago.

 

AB De Villiers and his girlfriend Danielle Swart attending Graeme Smith and Morgan Deane's wedding

 

Wishing AB De Villiers and his fiancee Danielle Swart a great life together

Sachin Tendulkar becomes an MP

Earlier this week Sachin Tendulkar was nominated in India's upper house of Rajya Sabha for seat as Member of Parliament. President Pratibha Patil validated his admission and approved Sachin's nomination for a seat in India's upper house of parliament. This makes Sachin Tendulkar to be the first active sportsman in the parliament house. The 39-year-old Tendulkar became the first cricketer to score 100 international centuries in March.

 

Sachin Tendulkar becomes the first sports person to be an MP in the Rajya Sabha

Tendulkar met the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday and was offered a seat in the upper house's nominated category. He accepted the offer and his name went from the prime minister's office to the home ministry, and then the office of the President, who formally approved the candidature. 

Tendulkar will fill one of 12 seats in the Rajya Sabha that are reserved for those persons "having special knowledge or practical experience in respect of such matters as literature, science, art and social service."  Previous nominated MPs, who serve a six-year term, include the musician Ravi Shankar, the singer Lata Mangeshkar and the artist MF Husain.

 

Sachin Tendulkar accepted to be a Member of Parliament

Lots of people supported this move but it was met with a few criticisms.. the biggest from fellow retired cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar who felt Sachin can't fit into this role as he doesn't have enough experience in this. Anyway, I treat it as a honor for him and he might learn a few things which could be good. He could also contribute what he knows. Lets see how it goes :)

Celebrities at IPL 2012

IPL 2012 saw a few celebrities coming to the stadium to watch the IPL matches and supporting local IPL teams..

Here are a few pictures of celebrities who came to watch IPL 2012 edition matches..

 

Sahara Force India drivers Nico Hulkenburg and Paul di Resta with the owners Vijay Mallya and Subrata Roy, and Sri Lankan spin wizard Muralitharan

 

 

Subrata Roy brings tennis star Sania Mirza and her husband cricketer Shoaib Malik to watch his Pune Warriors' team take on Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore on April 17th

 

IPL 2012 - Indian tennis star Sania Mirza cheering for Pune Warriors in Bangalore against the RCB team

 

Bollywood heroine Priyanka Chopra danced at the IPL 2012 Pune stadium inauguration

 

Bollywood star Bipasha Basu dances at the IPL 2012 edition during the Pune stadium opening

 

Kings XI Punjab owner Priety Zinta dances at the IPL 2012 edition

 

Bollywood celebrity Saif Ali Khan watches IPL 2012 match

 

Kolkata Knight Riders' owner Shah Rukh Khan at the stadium watching his team playing in the IPL 2012 edition

Pics courtesy: APPhotos and pics from the internet..

Ganguly's wild run and an allround victory for Pune Warriors

Ever see Ganguly run so fast like today after Pietersen's victory?? That should be ranked second amongst Ganguly's special moments after his shirtless act after the Natwest series victory in Lords.. :)

It has to be Dada's day today... Whatever Sourav Ganguly was doing today turned out to be a master stroke.... be it his batting, promotion of Smith, bowling, field placements.. everything went for him today...
Ganguly was due for some good performances in this IPL 2012 but what a match-winning performance it was today.

Picture this - Ganguly running rather sprinting like a 100meters champion.... taking off after Pietersen got bowled off the very first ball Dada bowled in this IPL.

 

Pune Warriors' captain Sourav Ganguly starts his wild celebration run after the dismissal of Delhi Daredevils Kevin Pietersen which was the turning point in the match today

A swashbuckling knock from Jesse Ryder (86 runs) and an all-round performance by Sourav Ganguly (41 runs and 2 wickets) gave Pune Warriors a convincing 20-run win over Delhi Daredevils in the Indian Premier League (IPL) game at the Ferozeshah Kotla in New Delhi today.

Dada got the wicket of Pietersen who was in a dangerous mood and the allrounder Irfan Pathan.. He should have got a 3rd wicket too but for Mathews' drop catch.

 

Ganguly's famous run after taking the key wicket of Kevin Pietersen in th IPL match

 

Dada being mobbed by his Pune Warriors' teammates after his celebratory run taking Pietersen's wicket

Pics courtesy: AP Photo

Delhi Daredevil's captain Virender Sehwag said in the presentation ceremony that he has never seen Ganguly running so fast like how he did today after taking Pietersen's wicket.

 

Sourav Ganguly taking off his shirts after India beat England in Lords during the famous Natwest Series...This act ranks first amongst Ganguly's finest moments :)

After the Natwest series famous celebration that Ganguly did by taking off his shirts, this amazing run celebrating Pietersen's wicket would probably rank second... 
I was also pretty amused by the way Ganguly's hair was behaving :)  There is something fishy in it ;) you know what I mean.. hehe..
Hail Dada!!  Looking forward to many such moments :)

Sourav Ganguly torments umpire Asad Rauf

IPL Umpire Asad Rauf had a tough time at the office today officiating as an umpire for the IPL match between Pune Warriors and Delhi Daredevils in the Ferozshah Kotla ground in New Delhi on April 21st 2012. The chief tormentor in this was Sourav Ganguly of Pune Warriors who kept hitting the ball in Asad Rauf's direction as Rauf ran for cover. This happened not once but twice...

First, Rauf was standing at square leg when Ganguly's powerful sweep caught him off guard and hit him hard on his hands. He couldn't move fast to avoid the hit..
The second time Ganguly charged down the track and hit a straight shot for four which made Asad Rauf fall trying to avoid the ball. He even signalled the four lying flat on the ground. Rauf also humorously signalled for a helmet for protection.

Check out the video of Azad Rauf's troubles with Ganguly's shot in IPL T20's official site at this link... 

All in a day's work for poor Asad Rauf :) 
If T20 is the future of cricket, then we might see umpires in full protection with helmets and guards in the near future... 

Kevin Pietersen scores century number 2 in IPL 2012

We've got centurion number 2 in the IPL 2012 edition.... Kevin Pietersen, the swashbuckling English batsman scored his first T20 century against the Deccan Chargers to take his Delhi Daredevil's team to a great victory.
IPL 2012 witnessed its first century just three days ago in the form of Ajinkya Rahane's century.

Pietersen took just 64 balls to score the 103 run and hit 9 sixers in all. Pietersen also hit the winning runs in the form of his 9th sixer to take his score to 103 runs and remained not out.

 

Delhi Daredevil's Kevin Pietersen acknowledges the crowd after scoring his first T20 century against the Deccan Chargers in IPL 2012

 

Pietersen hit 9 sixers in his amazing century making it the second century in the IPL 2012 after Ajinkya Rahane scored the first one

Pics courtesy: MANAN VATSYAYANA/AFP/Getty Images

Kevin Pietersen mentioned that his first T20 century will be his favourite one too... and said its an amazing feeling to score century in this form too.

Looking forward to some more centuries this year.. My next bet would be Gayle.. he might not be far behind.. :)

Gayle sixers.. stay away from them :)

IPL 2012 edition got a Gayle special.... 5 sixers in an over by Royal Challenger's Chris Gayle against Pune Warriors' spinner Rahul Sharma.. it was a special innings which took Royal Challengers to an improbable victory in the last over... courtesy another beautiful innings by AB de Villiers in the end.....

 

IPL 2012 - Chris Gayle hit 5 sixers off Rahul Sharma's over

Chasing 183 for victory after Pune Warriors posted a challenging score of 182 for 6, Chris Gayle started slowly but then quickly shifted gears to score five sixers in one over of Rahul Sharma who has got the best economy rate in IPL. Royal Challengers Bangalore came back into the game courtesy of the Gayle-storm innings but his wicket shifted the match in Pune Warriors. But, AB de Villiers and Saurabh Tiwary scored 24 runs of the final over by Ashish Nehra to snatch an amazing victory.

 

De Villiers celebrates after taking RCB to an improbably victory against Pune Warriors in the IPL 2012 edition

Pics courtesy: Manjunath Kiran/AFP/Getty Images

One of the five sixers that Gayle scored off Rahul Sharma hit a girl spectator and broke her nose. But thankfully, she was quickly taken to Vijay Mallya's hospital and treated quickly for a fracture.  Gayle and Mallya visited the injured girl at the hospital and made her happy. She was even given a free tickets for RCB's  Bangalore matches.

I hope there wouldn't be any more freakish injuries due to the Gaylestorm :) Its best to avoid those hits...
Love watching Chris Gayle's hits.. looking forward to more sixers from Gayle. 

Centurion Ajinkya Rahane - IPL 2012 gets its first century

IPL 2012, the fifth edition, got its first century today in the form of Ajinkya Rahane of Rajasthan Royals who scored a swashbuckling century against Bangalore Royal Challengers at the Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore.

 

Ajinkya Rahane of Rajasthan Royals scored the first century of this IPL 2012 against the Royal Challengers Bangalore

Pics courtesy: Manjunath Kiran/AFP/Getty Images

Ajinkya Rahane showed his class and temperament during this innings as he initially settled down to build partnership with Dravid and then took over the responsibility of hitting some quality shots with Owais Shah who supported him with a quickfire 60. Atlast the Royals amassed a total of 195 runs in their 20 overs, a score which the Royal Challengers found difficult to chase and they folded out for 136 runs.

 

IPL 2012 saw its first century by Rajasthan Royal's Ajinkya Rahane who scored an unbeaten 103 off 60 balls with 12 fours and 5 sixes

Pics courtesy: Manjunath Kiran/AFP/Getty Images

Enroute to his first IPL century, Rahane also smashed six consecutive fours off an over of S Aravind, which is a first in Twenty20 history. Ajinkya Rahane ended up wioth an unbeaten 103 off 60 balls with 12 fours and five sixes.

I hope the selectors would've taken a note of this innings and the one before where he narrowly missed his century.... These innings were of supreme quality stroke making and deserves to be rewarded with a longer run in the Indian squad.

IPL Controversy: Marlon Samuels reported for suspect action

Yet another IPL controversy and topic of discussion this year as Pune Warriors' all-rounder Marlon Samuels of West Indies has been reported for a suspect action after the Pune Warriors' game against Chennai Super Kings yesterday.

 

 Pune Warriors' part time bowler Marlon Samuels reported for a suspect bowling action in IPL 2012

Marlon Samuels who bowls part-time offspin has been reported following his spell against Chennai Super Kings on Saturday, according to a media advisory posted on the tournament's official website IPLT20.com.
The suspected ball could be his fast deliveries which he bowls at a speed of a fast bowler. 


As per the IPL's official site, Marlon Samuels has been reported for bowling certain deliveries with a suspected illegal action during the DLF IPL match against Chennai Super Kings, played in Pune on 14 April 2012.
The bowler was reported by on-field umpires Aleem Dar and Bruce Oxenford, along with third umpire Vineet Kulkarni, at the conclusion of the match.

Under the IPL Suspected Illegal Bowling Action policy, Samuels may continue to be selected to play and bowl for Pune Warriors India in the DLF IPL 2012 season but should he be reported a second time, he will be suspended from bowling for the remainder of the season.

If you remember, Samuels was reported for a suspect action earlier playing for West Indies too in the year 2008 in one of the test matches against South Africa. He was cleared by the ICC for bowling in international cricket after he went for a remedial work.

Albie Morkel blitz - CSK beats RCB

What an incredible match it was!! Chennai Super Kings vs Bangalore Royal Challengers.... This was the match of the tournament so far by a huge margin....

Chasing a target of 208 set by the Bangalore Royal Challengers, I thought it was out of their reach when they were requiring 43 runs in the last two overs with Dhoni just getting out. Who would have thought that an over from Virat Kohli with Albie Morkel just coming in would cost 28 runs!! Amazing finish from Albie and Bravo...

 

Albie Morkel's blitz in the end took Chennai Super Kings to an improbable win against the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL 2012 tournament

Chris Gayle went all guns blazing in the first half for the Royal Challengers with Virat Kohli giving good support. But, a responsible innings from Du Plessis and supported by Dhoni set up the finish for Albie and Bravo...

 

Ravindra Jadeja of CSK is ecstatic after scoring the winning runs against the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the match of the IPL 2012 so far

 

 

IPL Superstar for Chennai Super Kings Faf du Plessis played an important role in CSK's win over RCB in IPL 2012

Turning Point: Albie Morkel's 19th over burst for 28 runs of Virat Kohli's medium pace bowling.

It was an important victory for the Chennai Super Kings and Dhoni as they can't afford to lose 3 out of 4 matches and languish at the bottom of the table.

 

IPL season 5 - Match of the tournament so far - Captains Dhoni and Vettori in the presentation ceremony after the CSK's incredible win over RCB

Pics courtesy: AFP and Getty Images

As for the Bangalore Royal Challengers, they do have a great team and hope they do well in their remaining matches.

Yuvraj Singh back in India after treatment

Good news for cricket fans... Indian world cup superstar and allrounder Yuvraj Singh returned home to India after completing a successful cancer treatment.  He returned home to a rousing welcome from adoring fans and was received by his mother Shabnam Singh at the Indira Gandhi International Airport, in New Delhi.

 

Yuvraj Singh tweets his return to India

Yuvraj was diagnosed with a rare type of cancer called "mediastinal seminoma" which is a germ-cell tumour located between his two lungs.  Yuvraj had three sessions of chemotherapy in Indianapolis, at the IU Simon Cancer Centre at the Indiana University Medical Centre, under Lawrence H Einhorn, who headed the treatment of cycling champion Lance Armstrong in 1996. He finished the last chemo session in mid-march, and his response it had left his medical team "fairly confident" that he would not suffer a relapse. He had spent a few days in London while recuperating from the side effects of the treatment.

 

Yuvraj Singh was received by his mother Shabanam at the New Delhi ariport

"He is absolutely fine and will rest at home for another 10-15 days," his mother Shabnam Singh told reporters at the airport.

 

Yuvraj Singh showing thumbs up as he reached India after a successful cancer treatment

Pic courtesy: AFP Photo

Flashing a victory sign and a smile, Yuvraj walked through patiently towards a white Audi SUV, which drove him to his home from the airport.

"Yuvi- Got well soon ?. Welcome back home my brother after winning a tough battle with cancer," Sachin Tendulkar wrote on his Twitter page.  Tendulkar, who is nursing his injured finger, had met the left-handed batsman in London last month.

 

Sachin Tendulkar's twitter message to Yuvraj Singh

Virender Sehwag and Kevin Pietersen are planning to meet Yuvraj this week. 

"I am very happy Yuvraj is back. We all prayed for him. In the coming 2-3 days I will go and personally meet him," Virender Sehwag said during a promotional event.

"I was lucky enough to speak to Yuvraj last night before his return from London. I plan to meet him this week," Englishman Kevin Pietersen said.

Question: What did Yuvraj had for food after he returned to India?
Yuvraj Singh had gobhi-ka-parathas after his return to India...

Wishing Yuvraj for a successful rehabilitation and hoping to see him in the field soon...

IPL Controversy : Harbhajan & Munaf argue with umpire

IPL is never out of controversies.. and there was another controversy witnessed today evening with Mumbai Indians captain Harbhajan Singh and bowler Munaf Patel argued with umpire and made him overturn his decision..

The incident happened when Deccan Chargers captain Kumar Sangakkara got an inside edge of Munaf Patel's delivery onto his stumps and deflecting again onto the stumps from the keeper Dinesh Karthik's pad. The square leg umpire JD Cloete of South Africa declared it as not out since he thought that the stumps were disturbed off the keeper's pads. But, the big screen showed the truth leading to Harbhajan Singh and Munaf the bowler arguing for a long time making umpire Cloete to refer to the third umpire.

 

Munaf Patel arguing with umpires to refer Sangakkara's dismissal to the third umpire

Pic courtesy: NOAH SEELAM/AFP/Getty Images

According to me, this is truly against the spirit of cricket.. Umpires are bound to make mistakes and even though that was a mistake from the umpire to start with by not referring, the players are not allowed to argue and threaten the umpire to refer. I didn't expect this from veteren international cricketers like Bhaji n Munaf.   Am sure the match referee will have something to say today..

I don't think Mumbai Indians will get any points today for the IPL Spirit of cricket award..

Definitely rooting for Deccan Chargers in this match after what happened.. Go Chargers go!!!

Updates: Mumbai Indians won courtesy to a brilliant batting and final over heroics by Rohit Sharma though Steyn bowled his heart out...
Also, Mumbai Indians fast bowler Munaf Patel was fined 25 percent of his match fee and received an official warning and reprimand for breaching the Indian Premier League (IPL) Code of Conduct during his team's match against Deccan Chargers on Monday night.
Mumbai Indians captain Harbhajan Singh also received an official warning and reprimand for breaching the Code of Conduct during the same match.
Both players admitted the Level 1 offence (Article 2.1.3) of showing dissent at an Umpires decision and accepted their respective sanctions.

Pietersen and Swann square series for England

Phew.. I still love test cricket..  Tremendous effort from the English team to square the series against Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka... In the end, the 1-1 result in this 2 match test series would be fitting enough.. but would have loved to see another match to decide the winner.... but for the IPL I think this series would have got one more match..

 

 Andrew Strauss and Mahela Jayawardene sharing the test series trophy in Colombo after England drew the series 1-1

 

Kevin Pietersen - the star of the second test match scoring the winning sixer to win the second test match against Sri Lanka in Colombo

Pics courtesy: Cricinfo and Tom Shaw/Getty Images

Some amazing performances in this series:

Man of the Series Mahela Jayawardene - A star player.. showed his class with vital runs in all the innings this series..
Man of the Match Kevin Pietersen - Another star player showed his amazing power and controversial switch hit play in the second test match
England's spin king Graeme Swann - Showed his class in the Sri Lankan soil... with match winning performance in the second test and a good performance in the first one too
Sri Lankan spinner Rangana Herath - Becoming a very good player with each match he plays.. picked up 5 wickets in both the innings in the second match and did well in the first one too.

Controversy: Kevin Pietersen warned for switch hit

Kevin Pietersen was warned during the second test match against Sri Lanka in Colombo for time wasting. He was warned after Tillakaratne Dilshan pulled out of his delivery stride twice when Pietersen shaped to 'switch-hit' in an over.

 

Dilshan pulled out of his delivery stride as Pietersen shaped to switch-hit

Dilshan twice refused to bowl after Pietersen reset his position at the crease before the bowler’s delivery,

Umpire Asad Rauf delivered an official warning to the England batsman after the second instance of Dilshan pulling out of his delivery stride. This warning was delivered under Law 42.10 (Batsman wasting time). A further warning would have resulted in five penalty runs being awarded against the batting team.

 

Switch-Hit Controversy: Umpire Asad Rauf warning Kevin Pietersen for time wasting

However, Pietersen shrugged off the controversy quickly as he plundered the Sri Lankan bowler to complete a powerful 151.

 

Pietersen acknowledges the crowd after scoring a swashbuckling century

Pietersen said, “I don’t find the shot difficult but, like I said, when I first played it against New Zealand all those years back, I don’t think the batter should get penalised because I’m taking the biggest risk”.

“But there’s no issue, I just got my timing wrong. The umpire said it was a warning because I moved my hands too quick and I was OK with that. But they are such minor issues they don’t affect the state of the game at all.”

 

Kevin Pietersen switch hits Dilshan for a six during his century against Sri Lanka in Colombo

 

Kevin Pietersen switch hit controversy lead to a warning against Sri Lanka

Pics courtesy: Getty Images, AP Photo and other sites

Since Kevin Pietersen unveiled the switch-hit in an ODI against New Zealand in 2008, it has been one of the most discussed topics in the Laws of the game. But, the MCC Law gave the green signal and as per the new law, the batsman may switch his grip or stance once the bowler’s back foot had landed in his delivery stride.

Inspite of all these controversies, Pietersen's switch-hit is an awesome shot and something that should be appreciated more.. not everyone could do that... 

Katy Perry at IPL 5 Opening Ceremony

International Pop Diva Katy Perry of US came to India to perform at the IPL season 5 inauguration ceremony held at the YMCA stadium in Chennai on April 3rd.

Here are some of the pictures of the pop diva Katy Perry performing at the IPL 5 opening ceremony.

 

US Pop singer Katy Perry sings at the IPL 5 opening nite event in Chennai

US pop singer Katy Perry dressed up in Bollywood clobber as she took to the stage to launch the Indian Premier League. She dazzled with a power packed performance on her super-hits like ‘Fireworks’ and ‘California Girls’.

 

Doug Bollinger of Australia teaches some batting skills to US pop singer Katy Perry at the IPL 5 opening ceremony in Chennai

 

Katy looked a little unsure when Australian cricketer Doug Bollinger cuddled up to her to perfect her batting technique

 

Katy Perry meets IPL Chairman Rajiv Shukla

 

International pop singer Katy Perry poses for press before her IPL inaguration night performance in Chennai

 

Katy Perry strikes a pretty pose besides a Nataraj idol in Chennai

 

A stunning Katy Perry, international pop sensation, at the DLF IPL 2012 Opening Nite event held in Chennai on April 3rd

Pics courtesy: BCCI and AP Photos

Moving over to the IPL 2012 season 5 matches.... May the best team win :)