In a major setback to the Rajasthan Royals, their opener Graeme Smith has been ruled out of the IPL due to a finger injury. Smith fractured his right middle finger while fielding during Monday's match against Delhi Daredevils in Ahmedabad, and is now in a race to be fit in time for the ICC World Twenty20 which starts on April 30.
Virender Sehwag butchered Rajasthan Royals with a blistering 75 as Delhi Daredevils bulldozed their opponents from Jaipur by six wickets for their second successive win in the Indian Premier League here on Monday.
In his first match as IPL captain, Gautam Gambhir followed up inspired moves in the field with an old-fashioned innings full of sensible strokeplay and saved a glittering batting line-up the blushes in a straightforward chase of 143 on a flat pitch. It was thanks to disconcerting bowling from Dirk Nannes and timely big wickets for Farveez Maharoof that Delhi were chasing a paltry total, but Gambhir had to counter the regularly falling wickets and rising required rate to take his team home.
Mumbai Indians survived a brutal assault by Yusuf Pathan, who struck a belligerent 37-ball century, to record a thrilling four-run victory over Rajasthan Royals in their opening match of the Indian Premier League on Saturday.
Kolkata Knight Riders showed more character than perhaps the first two seasons put together to survive early blows by veterans Chaminda Vaas and Adam Gilchrist at the start of each innings. First Angelo Mathews and Owais Shah added 130 runs from 31 for 4 to put up a fighting total. Their effort was going in vain with Gilchrist rushing towards the target, but their bowlers picked up their game to take regular wickets and allow Deccan Chargers only 51 runs in the last nine overs. Kolkata scored 58 in their last four.
Kings XI Punjab were, on Friday, dealt a severe blow ahead of their opening IPL match against Delhi Daredevils as the Australian paceman Brett Lee has been ruled out of the event for the first 10 days due to an injury.
Lee, who recently retired from Test cricket, has not recovered from his elbow injury and has flown back to his country to receive treatment.
The 3rd edition of the Indian Premier League returns the tournament back to India. Ahead of the cricketing extravaganza that begins tonight, here's a look at all the changes that we shall see in the new season:
Deccan Chargers' skipper Adam Gilchrist is very excited and keen to do well in IPL-3. The defending champions begin their campaign against Kolkata Knight Riders in Mumbai on March 12. In an exclusive chat with ToI on Tuesday, Gilchrist affirmed his team's commitment to play an exciting brand of cricket. Excerpts.
Date Match Venue Time April 21 Semi-Final 1(RCB vs MI) Mumbai 2000 IST April 22 Semi-Final 2(DC vs CSK) Mumbai 2000 IST April 24 3rd Place Play-off DY Patil, Mumbai 2000 IST April 25 FINAL DY Patil, Mumbai 2000 IST
IPL 2010 & IPL 2011
IPL 2011 will comprise of two new teams Kochin & Pune. There will be new auction as & it will be exciting to see who will pick the top players.