Sachin likely to miss IPL debut

April 20: As the Indian Premier League extravaganza enters Day 3 on Sunday, it's the big match in Mumbai which is getting all the attention and all eyes are on one man. Mumbai Indians skipper Sachin Tendulkar, may be unavailable for the match as he is ailing from a groin injury. So, will it be an advantage for the Bangalore Royal Challengers at Wankhede on Sunday?

If Tendulkar is deemed unfit to play, then the mantle of captaincy will fall on none other than Harbhajan Singh which will be a huge honour for the tweaker. Sachin Tendulkar's absence due to injury could well turn out to be what the doctor ordered for a battered Royal Challengers, after being trampled by Sourav Ganguly's Kolkata Knight Riders in Bangalore in the IPL opener on April 18. Another positive for Rahul Dravid's side is the arrival of Shivnarine Chanderpaul, which will give their batting line-up a huge boost.

Dravid may be looking to bounce back in the tournament with a win against the Mumbai Indians, but punters are backing the home side in a battle that will see two big names from India Inc pitted against each other.

Tendulkar's absence will definitely be bemoaned by the Mumbai fans, if he doesn't take to the field but the presence of Sanath Jayasuriya and Robin Uthappa will ensure the fireworks fly at the Wankhede. It is a contest that will see the two business tycoons - Dr Vijay Mallya and Mukesh Ambani - who pitted against each other, in what promises to be a crackling match.

Sachin Tendulkar may miss the Mumbai Indians match against Royal Challengers but the punters are favouring Mukesh Ambani's side with odds of 1.61 to that of Dr Vijay Mallya's Royal Challengers with the odds of 2.20

'I am the good luck factor of Kings XI': Preity Zinta

NEW DELHI: Glamorous Bollywood actress Preity Zinta on Saturday described herself as the "good luck factor" of her IPL-owned franchisee - Kings XI Punjab.

Zinta, 33, whose team is taking on the Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led Chennai Superstars in an IPL match at the Mohali Cricket on Saturday, was quoted by media reports as saying: "My involvement with the team is total. I am extremely passionate about our team. I believe I am the team's good luck factor, so I want to be there for everything."

"Bollywood and cricket remain the biggest draws in our country. The IPL will witness the marriage of entertainment and cricket. It will be a great fusion and the possibilities are endless. I am excited about it," she added.

Zinta, the star of countless Bollywood movies, is seen to symbolise all the glitz and the razzamatazz and the tamasha of a game that India's cricket board believes is set to revolutionise the game across the globe.

Her 76 million dollar team is coached by Tom Moody and will take on the Chennai Superstars, which has the likes of Australian opener Mathew Hayden and is coached by former South African cricket captain and opener Keppler Wessels.

Zinta, a convent-educated graduate in criminal psychology known for her outspoken views, said that with both Yuvraj Singh and Brett Lee in her team, and with Tom Moody as coach, she believed she had some of the best players in the game.

Asked why she had got involved in the IPL, breaking new ground in the sport, she said she had been a sports person all her life:

"My father used to have tournaments his name in Himachal Pradesh. I wanted to set up a sports school in Himachal. Then, I heard about the BCCI opening up an avenue for private participation in the IPL and I jumped at it. It's a matter of great pride for me to be able to promote the game at grassroots level," she said.

Others in the Kings XI Punjab team are Australian all-rounder James Hopes and the New Zealander Kyle Mills.

Facing them in the Chennai Super Kings, owned by Indian Cements, will be, in addition to Hayden, MS Dhoni, former New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming, Muttiah Muralitharan and South Africa spearhead Makhaya Ntini.

Australians will be to the fore in tonight's other big game between the Rajasthan Royals based in Jaipur and captained and coached by Shane Warne, and the Delhi Daredevils, whose mainstay is Glenn McGrath.

Both are planning major stadium spectacles as they begin their quest for a share of the more than four million dollars in prize money that is up for grabs in 59 matches played over the next 45 days.

We will bounce back strongly: Dravid

MUMBAI: Rahul Dravid sounded confident of his team Royal Challengers of Bangalore bouncing back from the mauling they received on Friday in the IPL lung-opener against Sourav Ganguly-led Kolkata Knight Riders.

"We will come back strongly. There are 13 more (league) matches to be played," the former India skipper said ahead of Sunday night's battle here against Mumbai Indians, led by Sachin Tendulkar.

Bangalore lost by 140 runs to Kolkata and their bowlers were hammered to all corners of the field by New Zealand's wicketkeeper-batsman Brendon McCullum who registered the highest-ever T20 score when making an unbeaten 158.

Dravid said his team had some injury worries, especially the groin strain suffered by fast bowler Ashley Noffke, while seeing the positive side with the availability of West Indian veteran batsman and ex-skipper Shivnarine Chanderpaul for the tie.

"Shiv would strengthen the team. We have some injury concerns. We would take a call on Noffke's groin injury tomorrow," he said.

Dravid, asked about their rivals for Sunday's match, said he was not concerned about individuals.

"They are a strong side".

Bangalore team's coach Venkatesh Prasad hoped his team members would be more consistent than what they displayed on Friday at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.

Rajasthan Royals are a hit

MUMBAI: The fishermen at Moragaon in Juhu are original inhabitants of Mumbai, but when it comes to the Indian Premier League they will be rooting for the Rajasthan Royals.

A local teen by the name of Shrideep Mangela, who has featured in the under-19 and under 22 tourneys for Mumbai, has been selected to play for the Shane Warne-led Rajasthan Royals side.

Mangela won selection after former Indian coach Greg Chappell identified him as being among the most talented players in the country in a Cricket Star hunt last week.

Ever since that announcement, the community, not necessarily known for its affinity towards the gentleman’s game, has taken a liking to the Twenty20 version. Rajesh Mangela, an office bearer of the Moragaon Macchimaar Vividh Karyakari Samiti, a representative body of the local fisher-folk, said “we are eagerly awaiting to see Royal take the ground.

Even though Shrideep is not expected to feature in the matches immediately, the community will support for the Royals in all their matches. We surely can do this much for a team that is promoting talent from our region,” he said.

Talk of IPL, sixes and fours, cover drives and Yorkers, has suddenly engulfed the region. In fact, many, especially youngsters, turn out to watch Shrideep practice in the nets at the nearby Conwood ground.

As for the boy himself he is quietly confident of making an impression. The southpaw, whose stroke play matches the elegance and ease of a Yuvraj Singh, says he is raring to play and learn alongside heroes like Shane Warne. Ask him who is his favourite batsman, and the confident lad will say he has modelled his game on the West Indian great Brian Lara.

Shrideep’s brother Mundeep also plays for the Mumbai Ranji team, and the two brothers are already heroes for the community. Shrideep’s friend Vasudev Keni, who also practices with them at times, says that many kids in the area have taken to cricket because of the two.

Appreciative of the locals’ support, Shrideep’s father Ganpat says his family would like to give back to the community. “If my two boys make it big in cricket, we will build a playground for promoting local talent,” he says.

Hussey's knock did us in: Yuvraj

MOHALI: Smarting from the 33-run defeat in their IPL opener, Kings Punjab XI skipper Yuvraj Singh said it was Chennai Super Kings batsman Michael Hussey's unbeaten century that did the hosts in.

Terming Hussey's knock as "outstanding", Yuvraj said his team could have had a chance had James Hopes occupied the crease a bit longer.

"It was a bit too much, he was simply outstanding," Yuvraj told reporters after the match when asked to comment on Hussey's 54-run ball knock of 116.

Yuvraj felt giving away 70-plus runs in the final five overs, with 25 in the last over, also did not help their cause.

He, however, praised the way his batsmen Hopes (71) and Kumar Sangakkara (54) batted, saying if one of them would have made a century, results could have turned in their favour.

"We needed somebody to bat like Hussey. I also felt that if I had stayed at the crease for few more overs, it could have been achieved,"said Yuvraj, who made 23 before falling to Joginder Sharma.

He said if any batsman has a day like Hussey or Brendan McCullum, whose heroics in Bangalore on Friday amazed everyone, it would make the task of opposition all the more difficult.

Meanwhile, Hussey said he had great fun and he enjoyed being the anchor of the innings.

"I played according to the situation. But I believe it was a great team effort altogether and everyone played well," he said, adding the short boundaries had also helped his cause.

Kolkata Knight Riders piled 222 in Bangalore on Friday and on Saturday the Chennai side amassed 240. Asked if 300 is a possibility, Hussey said, "I don't know. We never thought 400 was possible in ODIs, but we got it and then South Africa got even better of us. In this format, you cannot draw a boundary."

About facing compatriot Brett Lee, Hussey said, "At his pace it is never fun to face him. His pace was hard. But there were no words exchanged between us."

Asked that he was not a favourite at the IPL auction and if he now felt he had proved a point by scoring a ton in his first match of the league, Hussey said, "I just enjoy being here and I never cared about the money part of it. It's good to see some of the young Indian guys rubbing shoulders with foreign players and some of their own top players. I simply enjoy cricket and love playing in the IPL."

Sachin yet to decide about playing

Uncertainty continues to persist over Sachin Tendulkar leading the Mumbai Indians in their IPL opener against Bangalore Royal Challengers in Mumbai, with the champion batsman insisting he would take a call on the matter only on Sunday.

"We have to wait and see how I feel tomorrow. If I am ready I will play," Tendulkar said on Saturday on the eve of the match.

If he was unable to play then vice captain Harbhajan Singh would lead the team and would have his ears open for inputs from two other international captains in the team - Sanath Jayasuriya and Shaun Pollock, the master batsman said.

"Both I and Harbhajan, who would lead the team if I am unable to play, will be open to ideas. That's the way it should be," he said.

Tendulkar said he had already had a talk with his teammates from overseas on the vociferous vocal support they can expect from the Mumbai crowd.

"I have talked to them about the long tradition that Mumbai cricket enjoys when we had 'tika' ceremony the other day. I have told them that it will be an experience they should relish when the Mumbai crowd gets behind them. I told them to enjoy and not get overwhelmed by such support," he said.

Tendulkar was referring to his mentor Ramakant Achrekar applying 'tilak' to all the players with a mixture of Shivaji Park mud mixed with the 'sindoor' from the temples of Mahalaxmi and Siddivinayak and the holy water from Mount Mary Church in Bandra, near his residence.

Chennai Super Kings beat Kings XI Punjab by 33 runs in Mohali

There was no looking back for Kings XI, even though the players tried their best to save the game. Despite the good chase the Kings XI Punjab lost by 33 runs. They made 207 runs. Kings XI lost their king Yuvraj Singh as they reached the 150 mark against Chennai Super Kings.

Chennai Super Kings have got rid off Yuvraj Singh, openers James Hopes and Karan Goel. Captain Yuvraj Singh hit 23 runs before Amarnath caught him at deep extra cover off Joginder Sharma. Kings XI opener and Australian all-rounder James Hopes fell after scoring 71 runs off 33 balls while Karan Goel made 24 runs.

Hopes hammered Super Kings bowlers before falling prey to P Amarnath. He kept hopes alive for his side despite losing his opening partner Karan Goel to Manpreet Gony in the sixth over. On the other hand, riding on a ferocious knock of Mike Hussey, Chennai Super Kings managed to put a huge total of 240/5 in the Twenty20 encounter with Kings XI Punjab.

Despite losing five wickets Chennai Super Kings scored at a brisk pace against Yuvraj Singh's Kings XI in Mohali, all credit to the Australian batsman Hussey.

Hussey slammed his hundred in 50 balls and kept one end intact as he was running out of partners at the other end. Suresh Raina (32), Matthew Hayden (26) and S Badrinath (31*) were other batsmen who contributed to the total of 240.

Irfan Pathan was pick of the bowlers who took wickets of Mattew Hayden and Jacob Oram while Lee, Hopes and Mota picked one wicket each. Skipper MS Dhoni could not contribute much as James Hopes caught him plumb infront of the wicket.

Teams:

Chennai: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Matthew Hayden, Parthiv Patel (wk), S Badrinath, Michael Hussey, Suresh Raina, Jacob Oram, Joginder Sharma, Manpreet Gony, P Amarnath, Muttiah Muralitharan.

Punjab: Yuvraj Singh (Captain), Karan Goel, James Hopes, Kumar Sangakkara, Simon Katich, Pankaj Dharmani, Irfan Pathan, Brett Lee, Piyush Chawla, Wilkin Mota, S Sreesanth.