Kings XI Punjab defeat Kochi Tuskers Kerala by six wickets

NDORE: Before the match the equation was simple – winner stays, loser exits. In this knockout situation it as important for the respective captains to raise the bar and lead from the front to inspire their team members. Mahela Jayawardene may have won the battle between the two captains in terms of run-scoring but his 76-run effort failed to inspire his teammates. Eventually, the chapter closed on Kochi Tuskers Kerala's IPL-4 campaign as the team went down by six wickets to Kings XI Punjab. Punjab were propelled by a dynamic knock from Dinesh Karthick which made the difference between the sides.


Kings skipper Adam Gilchrist made just 9 off 15 balls but his side overcame the initial hiccups to keep themselves in the hunt at the packed Holkar Stadium here on Friday. The fifth victory in their 11th match helped Kings XI Punjab stay afloat in the competition as they took their points tally to 10. It is still a long way to go for them but back-to-back wins must have raised their hopes of reaching the play-offs.

Chasing a challenging target of 179, Kings XI were in a spot of bother as they lost their star opening pair – Gilchrist and Paul Valthaty – with just 31 on the board. However, Karthick turned the match on its head with a swashbuckling 69 off just 33 balls. Overlooked for the West Indies tour, he took the Kochi attack to the cleaners to score a point or two. Karthick's 111-run stand for the third wicket with Shaun Marsh (42; 30b) at a breathtaking speed shattered Kochi's hopes. The fall of Karthick and Marsh in succession raised hopes for Kochi but by then the damage was already done.

David Hussey (21; 15b) and Mandeep (15; 10b) completed the formalities with seven balls to spare. RP Singh's efforts went in vain. The left-arm paceman captured all the four wickets to fall but lacked support from his fellow bowlers. S Sreesanth was the major culprit as he not only bowled badly but was also pathetic in the field and dropped a crucial catch on the boundary.

Earlier, put in to bat, Kochi wasted a flying start to post 178-7 despite a 52-ball 76 by Jayawardene. At one stage, they were heading for a 200-plus total.

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Coach Fletcher isn't Duncan the dictator

CHENNAI: Duncan Fletcher has done his homework well.

He knows there's no point in trying to be the all-powerful boss when he is dealing with the rock stars of Indian cricket. Rather, it's better to be a backroom boy and play the role of facilitator.

During his first interaction with the Indian media on Friday morning, Fletcher said he had been in constant touch with Gary Kirsten in trying to know more about the Indian players and how to go about his job. He wanted to make it clear he didn't want to be the dictator of the team. "This is a big challenge of my coaching career. But my job is not that of a dictator. I am a great believer that as a coach you offer advice and it works with some players and sometimes it doesn't. But I have had relatively good success and hopefully I will be able to help," Fletcher said.

The Zimbabwean's biggest success story was England. He took up the assignment when they were in the doldrums and under his stewardship, they went on to win the Ashes in 2005. Fletcher struck an excellent rapport with skipper Nasser Hussain and he is hoping to do the same with MS Dhoni.

"I always had a high regard for Dhoni. While he is very skillfull as a player, his handling of the players on the field has also been excellent. Having worked with other good captains, I am really looking forward to do the same with Dhoni."

It was Dhoni's chemistry with Kirsten that worked wonders for India over the last three years. Fletcher made it clear that he was going to follow the Kirsten model. "Gary's philosophy is pretty similar to mine. When he took over as India coach, he took advice from me. Now I have done the same, talking to him as well Eric Simons (the bowling coach). I am looking to take forward the good work that has already been done," Fletcher said.

BCCI secretary N Srinivasan confirmed that it was on the recommendations of Kirsten that Fletcher had been brought on board. "He came highly recommended by many people, particularly Kirsten. He comes in with a big reputation and I do not think it was a difficult decision for BCCI to make," the secretary said.

Asked about his problems with Kevin Pietersen, the 68-year-old said he had "handled enough big players". "It's all about man management. The first thing is that you have to gain their respect and once that is done, half the battle is won. Having travelled around with the South African side when they toured India and when India was there in South Africa, I observed the players. I have taken my notes and I hope to put that into good use," the new coach added.

Fletcher also made it clear that he won't push seniors into retirement. His philosophy is that a player should play as long as he is good enough and that "India are very fortunate to have so many quality senior players". "But the bench strength is also exciting and I am looking forward to working with them," Fletcher said.

He was originally scheduled to take over from the England series, but Fletcher informed that he will do it from the tour of the Caribbean itself. There are quite a few important tours coming up and he wants to spend as much time with his new wards as possible. And he is looking forward to build a pace attack (much like England) that will serve India for a while.

"It is important to have a strong bowling attack but it does not come overnight. It took me about three or four years to develop that with the England team. Developing pace bowlers is probably one of the hardest things to do in cricket," Fletcher said.

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Kohli lauds Gambhir's leadership skills

BANGALORE: Virat Kohli is a young man with a wise head on his shoulders. Of late he has taken to responsibility in the most heartening way. So it was wasn't a surprise when he spoke about how it would be take the field in the ODI series against the West Indies next month as defending World champions.

"Reputation is at stake," he agreed. "But we just want to concentrate on doing the things right on the field and am sure the results will follow. We have a good enough side, we have really talented players in the team and if everyone shares equal amount of responsibility and pressure, I think we are going to come out with good performances," said Kohli.

"Obviously, with the senior players not being there, it is an added responsibility," he said of his own role in the side in the absence of Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag. "You need to be more wary of how you go."

That said Kohli was certain that in the absence of Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who has at last been given a most deserved break from cricket, Gautam Gambhir would do a great job.

"I have played under him before and he is a very good captain. He motivates the players to give their 100 percent in the field and I think that's his best quality that I observed in the New Zealand series we played in India," said Kohli of Gambhir's captaincy.

"Plus his leadership skills are good because he takes his plans into the field and he knows what plan to go with and obviously he has a Plan B as well. He has a great temperament and in pressure situations, he always backs his bowlers and always keeps asking all the team members to give a 100 percent in the field which he does as well."

Kohli was finished as yet. "The kind of attitude, the kind of aggression he has in himself, he channels it to all the players as well," said Gambhir's fellow Delhiite who's no slouch himself when it comes to aggression.

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Gambhir to lead India in West Indies ODI series

CHENNAI: After days of speculation, it finally emerged on Friday that MS Dhoni will opt out of the ODI tour to the Caribbean. The World Cup-winning skipper, who will get a much-need break, informed the selectors of his decision during the selection meeting here on Friday. Gautam Gambhir will lead a depleted squad in his absence.

Even before the IPL got underway, Dhoni had said that he would like to rest "at some point of time". With the hectic IPL format leaving no time for a breather, Dhoni has given the ODI series against the West Indies a miss in order to be fresh for the Test matches and a long England tour that follows. "He said he needs a break and we want to get him for the Tests with his batteries recharged," a selection committee source said.

In Dhoni's absence, Gautam Gambhir will get his second opportunity to lead the side. The BCCI is planning to make him the long-term vice-captain and feel this series will be a good stage-rehearsal. With Virender Sehwag out with injury and Sachin Tendulkar and Zaheer Khan also being rested, the pressure will be on the Delhi left-hander to lead from the front in the five-match ODI series and a lone T20 international.

There weren't too many surprises in the actual squad, with the selectors deciding to give more weightage to domestic performances than the IPL. That helped leg-spinner Amit Mishra clinch the third spinner's berth in the squad ahead of Rahul Sharma. "Mishra is a proven customer. Let these guys play for a while longer, their chance will definitely come," the source added.

The spin attack will be led by two offies, Harbhajan Singh and R Ashwin. In the absence of Zaheer and Ashish Nehra, the pace attack comprises of Munaf Patel, Ishant Sharma, Vinay Kumar and Praveen Kumar.

The big gainer has been Subramanium Badrinath, who walks into the squad on the basis of a fantastic domestic season and a fine run in the IPL. In a rich vein of form, there was no way he could have been overlooked. "It's a great opportunity for me to come back into the ODI squad after three years. I'm basically a top-order batsman and I love playing at No. 3 or No. 4. But I'm ready to play in any slot that my captain wants me to," a happy Badrinath told TOI.

In Dhoni's absence, Parthiv Patel walks in as the No. 1 wicketkeeper but the selectors threw in a surprise by selecting Bengal's Wriddhiman Saha as the second man ahead of Ambati Rayudu, who has done a great job for Mumbai Indians and even earned Sachin Tendulkar's praise. "Wicketkeeping is a specialist's job. It's a long tour and we wanted to have a specialist for back-up," chairman of selectors Krishnamachari Srikkanth said.

Squad: Gautam Gambhir (C), Suresh Raina, Parthiv Patel (wk), Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, S Badrinath, Rohit Sharma, Harbhajan Singh, R Ashwin, Praveen Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Munaf Patel, Vinay Kumar, Yusuf Pathan, Amit Mishra, Wriddhiman Saha.

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