Match schedule for Season II of the DLF Indian Premier League

Tuesday 24, February 2009
The DLF Indian Premier League today announced the match schedule for Season II of the DLF Indian Premier League, which is due to commence on April 10th 2009.

The Opening Ceremony and inaugural match of the Season will be hosted by last year’s winners namely the Rajasthan Royals at Jaipur, where they will clash against Sehwag’s Delhi Daredevils in the opening fixture.

Lalit Modi, Chairman & Commissioner, Indian Premier League said “I am happy to announce the schedule for the season II of the DLF Indian Premier League with the opening ceremony & the inaugural match in the pink city, home of the defending Champions the Rajasthan Royals. Jaipur has always been close to my heart and I promise the people of Jaipur – an opening ceremony the likes of which has not been witnessed in India ever before with some truly world class entertainment.”

The two Semi-Finals will be played out in Chennai and have been scheduled on Thursday, May - 21st and Friday – May 22nd respectively at the M. A. Chidambaram Stadium at Chepauk.

The Grand Final will once again be hosted by Mumbai on Sunday – May 24th 2009.

The Hyderabad Deccan Chargers have further confirmed that they will host their home games at two separate venues namely Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi Stadium and the ACA and VDCA Stadium at Visakhapatnam.

All day matches are from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. and the night matches are from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m.

Attached below is the tentative Match Schedule for Season II of the Indian Premier League 2009…….

Friday, 10-Apr-09
Rajasthan Royals vs Delhi Daredevils, Jaipur

Saturday, 11-Apr-09
Kolkata Knight Riders vs Deccan Chargers, Kolkata
Chennai Super Kings vs Royal Challengers, Chennai

Sunday, 12-Apr-09
Delhi Daredevils vs Kings XI Punjab, Delhi
Mumbai Indians Vs Rajasthan Royals, Mumbai

Monday, 13-Apr-09
Deccan Chargers vs Chennai Super Kings, Hyderabad

Tuesday, 14-Apr-09
Royal Challengers vs Kolkata Knight Riders, Bangalore

Wednesday, 15-Apr-09
Kings XI Punjab vs Mumbai Indians, Mohali

Thursday, 16-Apr-09
Deccan Chargers vs Delhi Daredevils, Hyderabad
Chennai Super Kings vs Rajasthan Royals, Chennai

Friday, 17-Apr-09
Mumbai Indians vs Royal Challengers, Mumbai

Saturday, 18-Apr-09
Kings XI Punjab vs Deccan Chargers, Mohali
Kolkata Knight Riders vs Delhi Darevils, Kolkata

Sunday, 19-Apr-09
Mumbai Indians vs Chennai Super Kings, Mumbai
Royal Challengers vs Rajasthan Royals, Bangalore

Monday, 20-Apr-09
Kolkata Knight Riders vs Kings XI Punjab, Kolkata

Tuesday, 21-Apr-09
Delhi Daredevils vs Mumbai Indians, Delhi

Wednesday, 22-Apr-09
Rajasthan Royals vs Deccan Chargers, Jaipur

Thursday, 23-Apr-09
Royal Challengers vs Kings XI Punjab, Bangalore

Friday, 24-Apr-09
Mumbai Indians vs Kolkata Knight Riders, Mumbai

Saturday, 25-Apr-09
Delhi Daredevils vs Royal Challengers, Delhi
Chennai Super Kings vs Kings XI Punjab, Chennai

Sunday, 26-Apr-09
Rajasthan Royals vs Kolkata Knight Riders, Jaipur
Deccan Chargers vs Mumbai Indians, Vizag

Monday, 27-Apr-09
Kings XI Punjab vs Royal Challengers, Mohali

Tuesday, 28-Apr-09
Mumbai Indians vs Delhi Daredevils, Mumbai

Wednesday, 29-Apr-09
Kings XI Punjab vs Rajasthan Royals, Mohali
Chennai Super Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders, Chennai

Thursday, 30-Apr-09
Deccan Chargers vs Royal Challengers, Vizag

Friday, 1-May-09
Chennai Super Kings vs Delhi Daredevils, Chennai

Saturday, 2-May-09
Mumbai Indians vs Deccan Chargers, Mumbai
Kolkata Knight Riders vs Rajasthan Royals, Kolkata

Sunday, 3-May-09
Kings XI Punjab vs Chennai Super Kings, Mohali
Royal Challengers vs Delhi Daredevils, Bangalore

Monday, 4-May-09
Deccan Chargers vs Rajasthan Royals, Hyderabad

Tuesday, 5-May-09
Delhi Daredevils vs Chennai Super Kings, Delhi

Wednesday, 6-May-09
Rajasthan Royals vs Kings XI Punjab, Jaipur
Kolkata Knight Riders vs Mumbai Indians, Kolkata

Thursday, 7-May-09
Royal Challengers vs Deccan Chargers, Bangalore

Friday, 8-May-09
Kolkata Knight Riders vs Chennai Super Kings, Kolkata

Saturday, 9-May-09
Rajasthan Royals vs Mumbai Indians, Jaipur
Kings XI Punjab vs Delhi Daredevils, Mohali

Sunday, 10-May-09
Deccan Chargers vs Kolkata Knight Riders, Hyderabad

Monday, 11-May-09
Delhi Daredevils vs Rajasthan Royals, Delhi

Tuesday, 12-May-09
Mumbai Indians vs Kings XI Punjab, Mumbai
Chennai Super Kings vs Deccan Chargers, Chennai

Wednesday, 13-May-09
Kolkata Knight Riders vs Royal Challengers, Kolkata

Thursday, 14-May-09
Rajasthan Royals vs Chennai Super Kings, Jaipur
Delhi Daredevils vs Deccan Chargers, Delhi

Friday, 15-May-09
Royal Challengers vs Mumbai Indians, Bangalore

Saturday, 16-May-09
Delhi Daredevils vs Kolkata Knight Riders, Delhi
Deccan Chargers vs Kings XI Punjab, Hyderabad

Sunday, 17-May-09
Rajasthan Royals vs Royal Challengers, Jaipur
Chennai Super Kings vs Mumbai Indians, Chennai

Monday, 18-May-09
Kings XI Punjab vs Kolkata Knight Riders, Mohali

Tuesday, 19-May-09
Royal Challengers vs Chennai Super Kings, Bangalore

Thursday, 21-May-09
Semi Final 1, Chennai

Friday, 22-May-09
Semi Final 2, Chennai

Sunday, 24-May-09
FINALS, Mumbai

Note: Please note this is a tentative schedule and subject to change

Source:http://www.iplt20.com/match-schedule-for-season-ii-of-the-dlf-indian-premier-league.html

No batsmen took the responsibility: Dhoni

CHRISTCHURCH: India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni flayed the irresponsible batting by his teammates and felt the temptation of hitting sixes in a small ground did them in against New Zealand in the first Twenty20 Internationals on Wednesday.

In a match where 24 sixes -- new record for a Twenty20 International -- were hit, none of the Indian batsmen, barring the possible exception of Suresh Raina (61), showed any application, which annoyed Dhoni.

The Indian captain said the team was in unnecessary hurry and there was a lack of responsibility among the batsmen.

"We failed to realise that it's a 20-over game. At times people think there is not enough overs but it's a decently long game," Dhoni said.

"We failed as a team today. Nobody took the responsibility to stay in the middle, especially when we lost 2-3 quick wickets. Somebody should have stayed there, knocking the ball here and there.

"It's important to have wickets in hand so that you can capitalise on the last five overs. It was a learning experience for us," he added.

Warning teammates against taking things lightly, Dhoni said, "You just cannot go through the motions. A batsman hitting the ball nicely doesn't mean I too would go out and try the same."

Criticising the tendency to go ultra-aggressive, Dhoni said, "We have big-hitters in our side, that's a huge advantage. But at times we tend to go with the flow, we have to be careful about that.

"At times, you have short ground and you want to hit more sixes than fours and most of our batsmen was looking to hit sixes, not concentrating on singles or fours," he said.

In contrast, Dhoni was happy with the way his bowlers tried to defend a none-too-impressive total.

"It was a tough wicket, good for batting and I'm happy with the way they bowled. It was good to see Harbhajan Singh bowling well. He returned after a long time and it was nice to see him in rhythm," Dhoni said.

His opposite number Daniel Vettori singled out Brendon McCullum, who was adjudged Man of the Match for his sedate unbeaten 56, for special praise and also hailed the bowlers for taming India's star-studded batting line-up.

"The way Brendon handled the chase, it was really great. (Martin) Guptill also played his natural game and we proved we are a decent Twenty20 side.

"Our bowlers also did a fantastic job by restricting India to 160-odd. We knew they have some exceptional players and they would put pressure on us," Vettori said.

McCullum, on his part, said he learnt the importance of singles in a Twenty tie after the recent series against Australia and it stood him in good stead today.

"Against Australia, we didn't get enough singles and went for big hits only. We learnt from there.

"Initially, we thought we would have to chase 300. After all they are the Twenty20 world champions," he said.

Source:http://cricket.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Dhoni-rues-six-hitting-temptation/articleshow/4190007.cms

Indian rebel league mulls legal action over recognition

MUMBAI: India's rebel Twenty20 league is considering legal action after failing in the latest bid for recognition because of staunch opposition by the Indian board, former India skipper Kapil Dev said on Wednesday.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) was unsuccessful in its bid to end a dispute between the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the Indian Cricket League (ICL) after a meeting held in Johannesburg on Monday proved fruitless.

"As a sportsman, I don't like matters of sport being decided in court, but with the talks failing (again), we may have no choice but to take recourse to law," Kapil Dev, chairman of the Indian Cricket League (ICL), said.

"I can't understand who has given the BCCI the right to be the sole authority for promoting cricket in India. The ICL too is doing just that, so why should our boys be punished? That, to me, is not justice."

The ICL's application to be recognised as unofficial cricket would now be discussed at the ICC Board meeting in April.

The ICL, bankrolled by one of India's largest media firms, launched the league following India's triumph in the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup in 2007.

It signed overseas players, particularly from Pakistan, New Zealand and Bangladesh.

However the BCCI, concerned the league would undermine its position, refused to recognise it and persuaded other national boards to ban players who signed up.

Source:http://cricket.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Indian-rebel-league-mulls-legal-action-over-recognition/articleshow/4189032.cms

India start Kiwi tour with a loss

CHRISTCHURCH: Suresh Raina's fighting unbeaten 61 went in vain as world champions India began their New Zealand tour on a dismal note with the hosts thrashing them by seven wickets in the first Twenty20 match on Wednesday. Put into bat, India recovered from a mid-innings slump to post a competitive 162 for eight but that proved insufficient as the Kiwis overhauled the target with seven balls to spare.

Brendon McCullum (56 not out), Martin Guptill (41), Ross Taylor (31) and Jacob Oram (29 not out) were the notable performers for the hosts who have taken a 1-0 lead in the two match T20 series.India started off with a flourish but failed to sustain the tempo to find themselves in trouble at 61 for five by the eighth over. Some lusty hitting by Raina and Harbhajan Singh (21) at the end provided some respectability to the total.

Raina and Harbhajan Singh stitched 61 runs for the eighth wicket, the highest partnership in the innings. Teen sensation Ishant Sharma struck in the first ball of his first over, trapping left-handed Jesse Ryder (1) to give India the kind of start they needed.

Source:http://cricket.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/quickiearticleshow/4189732.cms

Commonwealth boxing postponed

NEW DELHI: The Commonwealth boxing championships, slated to be held in the November-December this year has been postponed. It will now be held in 2010, either in the last week of February or the first week of March.

The Indian Amateur Boxing Federation (IBF) has been forced to take this step as it's not sure that the venue — Talkatora stadium — will be ready in time.

"We will decide on the fresh dates of the event once it is clear that it is not clashing with the World Youth Games to be held in Iran. If it is, then we will shift it accordingly," IBF secretary Col PK Muralidharan Raja told TOI.

Commonwealth Games organisers are under pressure because of delays in several projects for the Games to be held next year in October. Construction delays also forced this year's World badminton championships to be moved to Hyderabad.

Source:http://sports.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Commonwealth-boxing-postponed/articleshow/4185494.cms

Police mull reckless driving rap for Pistorius

JOHANNESBURG: South African police are considering charges of reckless driving against triple Paralympic champion Oscar Pistorius, who suffered injur ies to his face in a boating accident, a report said on Tuesday.

Vanderbijlpark police are investigating a case of reckless and negligent driving against Pistorius, The Beeld newspaper said, quoting police spokesman Kinnie Steyn.

"The police are investigating the possibility that Pistorius did not hit a floating object like a tree trunk, but collided with a pier," Steyn said in the Afrikaans newspaper report.

He said police divers found the boat Pistorius was driving at the bottom of the river, near a pier which had been ripped from its posts.

Pistorius's manager, Peet van Zyl, said that doctors were confident that the star athlete will make full recovery.

"Doctors are quite confident that he will make full recovery... Doctors have not given a specific recovery time," he said on public radio Monday.

Pistorius suffered minor injuries to his face Saturday after a boat accident on the Vaal river, south of Johannesburg.

The 22-year-old, known as the "Blade Runner" after the carbon fibre blades that have replaced his lower legs, underwent an operation and has been placed on a ventilator in an intensive care unit of the hospital.

Pistorius was unable to compete in the Beijing Olympics but made up for that by winning the 400 metres, 100m and 200m at the Paralympics.

Pistorius, known as the fastest man on 'no legs', fought a court battle with athletics ruling body the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) over his right to compete at the Beijing Olympics which he won.

However, he failed to qualify, and is set on competing at the 2012 Games in London.

Source:http://sports.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Police-mull-reckless-driving-rap-for-Pistorius/articleshow/4182725.cms

Paes-Dlouhy ousted from Dubai event

DUBAI: Third seeds Leander Paes and Lukas Dlouhy made a shock first round exit from $2,233,500 Dubai Tennis championships after losing 4-6, 6-2, 8-10 to unseeded pair of Simone Bolelli and Ivo Karlovic.

Paes-Dlouhy made a spirited comeback after going down in the first set but lost it in the closely fought super tie-breaker.

They squandered three breakpoints in the first set to hand the lead to their Italian-Croatian rivals but pulled up their socks and outplayed them in the second to draw parity.

However, Bolelli and big serving Karlovic edged past their fancied rivals in the deciding tie-breaker to book a quarterfinal berth for themselves.

Mahesh Bhupathi and Prakash Amritraj are also in the fray with their respective partners.

Bhupathi and Mark Knowles of Bahama, seeded second, will play their opener against UAE's wild card entrants Hamoud Abbas and Mahmoud-Naden Al Baloushi.

Amritraj and his Pakistani partner Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi have been given a wild card entry and they will begin their campaign against Czech Martin Damm and Robert Lindstedt of Sweden.

Source:http://sports.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Paes-Dlouhy-ousted-from-Dubai-event/articleshow/4182670.cms

Saina Nehwal fit for All-England Open

NEW DELHI: Saina Nehwal, who had recently injured her playing shoulder, passed the fitness test on Tuesday for the upcoming All England Open badminto n tournament. She was given the clean chit by physiotherpaist Heath Matthews, who had put her on a five-week rehabilitation programme.

Matthews, who is also training the Indian boxers Akhil Kumar and Jitender Kumar in South Africa at the Durban Sports Precinct for the next two months, came here to assess the world No.10 and will also accompany Saina to the tournament. He will rejoin the boxers in South Africa after the All England championship.

Matthews had inspected the rotator cuff tendinitis of Saina right after it occurred and had listed out the dos and don'ts to get 100 per cent fitness for the prestigious $200,000 Super Series event to be held in Birmingham from March 3-8.

Matthew's regimen involved strengthening of the rotator cuff and also general body fitness like endurance-training, strength-training, hour-training and flexibility.

Saina followed the routine assiduously while training with her coach P Gopichand.

"I would've been very surprised if she would've not recovered from the injury. More importantly, she was confident of overcoming it... She even enjoyed the routine that I gave her which was very important. She is a little stiff now but is going to be fine by the time we leave for England on Saturday," Matthews said TOI from Hyderabad.

Source:http://sports.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Saina-Nehwal-fit-for-All-England-Open/articleshow/4185530.cms

Bhupathi-Knowles advance to Dubai quarters

DUBAI: Second seeded Mahesh Bhupathi and Mark Knowles sailed into the quarterfinals of the $2,233,500 Dubai Tennis championships after an easy 6-3, 6 -1 win over UAE's Hamoud Abbas and Mahmoud-Naden Al Baloushi.

The Indo-Bahamian pair hardly broke a sweat in their win against the wild card entrants.

They will next take on Rik De Voest of South Africa and Dmitry Tursunov of Russia.

Another Indian in the fray is Prakash Amritraj, who along with Pakistani partner Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi, got a wild card entry into the prestigious event.

They will begin their campaign against Czech Martin Damm and Robert Lindstedt of Sweden.

Leander Paes and Lukas Dlouhy were sent packing by unseeded pair of Simone Bolelli and Ivo Karlovic.

Source:http://sports.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Bhupathi-Knowles-advance-to-Dubai-quarters-/articleshow/4187101.cms

De Villiers not interested in wicket-keeping

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - AB de Villiers is not interested in becoming South Africa's full-time wicketkeeper as he wants to concentrate on becoming the world's best batsman.

"I don't want to keep wicket, I want to bat at number four for my country and take the responsibility of scoring hundreds," De Villiers, who kept wicket at the start of his test career, said on Tuesday.

"If I took over the gloves I would have to bat six or seven, and you're not going to be the world's best batsman playing in that position. I want the opportunity to score double hundreds and push my average to 60."

De Villiers sometimes fills in for Mark Boucher in one dayers and there have been suggestions that if he took over the role permanently, it would allow South Africa to include JP Duminy and Ashwell Prince in their batting line-up.

But the 25-year-old, who will play his 50th test when the first test against Australia begins in Johannesburg on Thursday, said he did not want to experiment with his role in the team.

"I'm very happy and proud to play 50 consecutive tests. I've worked hard to get here and in the next 20 tests I'm going to work on getting my average to 50," said De Villiers, whose test average currently stands at 41.57.

De Villiers said the South Africans would have to be at their best if they were to beat Australia, despite winning the recent series Down Under.

"Australia are still very dangerous and can beat any team, any time. We will be focusing on our own games and sticking to the basics, which we'll have to do brilliantly."

De Villiers, who has scored 3201 runs in his 49 tests, said he expected batsmen to have a tough time at the Wanderers.

"There's normally a bit more swing here, it favours the bowlers more. So Dale Steyn and the boys should have a good advantage and the batsmen will have to be up to scratch," De Villiers said.

Source:http://www.cricbuzz.com/component/latest_cricket_news/Story/10918/de-villiers-not-interested-in-wicket-keeping/