Mumbai Indians winners on social media

MUMBAI: As the Indian Premier League ( IPL-4) draws to a close, Mukesh Ambani-owned Mumbai Indians (MI) have gathered the most amount of support across social media platforms followed by liquor baron Vijay Mallya's Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). According to a report by NM Incite, a Nielsen McKinsey company, among the players, Indian skipper MS Dhoni has emerged as the most discussed player on social media websites with the West Indian star Chris Gayle taking the second spot. Interestingly, Dhoni's Chennai Super Kings (CSK) beat Gayle's RCB in the playoffs to book a place in Sunday's final.

On the brand front, Samsung, Vodafone, Cadbury and Volkswagen top the list of brands which were the most talked about on blogs, discussion boards and online forums, said the report which was shared with TOI.

"In this edition of the IPL brands have created campaigns that are capable of engaging the digital consumer effectively. We find that this triggers positive buzz which can result in increased purchase intent," said Adrian Terron,VP, Nielsen.

Although, social networking websites like Facebook and Twitter have become part of every brand's marketing strategy, blogs and forums have also been used by brands increasingly, said the report. The report was generated by analyzing data collected by monitoring social media channels from the start of the tournament till May 13.

Samsung, which ran television campaigns during the IPL for its smartphone, Galaxy Tab, as well as its 3G phone, Hero, backed it up with increased online activity in this year's tournament. It also advertised during the live streaming of IPL matches. "Given the committed viewership that the IPL generates, we used the platform to launch five new campaigns so that we could generate the visibility as well as create awareness around these products online," said Ranjit Yadav, country head, Samsung Mobile & IT.

While CSK captain Dhoni was the most popular on international forums, the domestic blogs and boards had RCB's Gayle topping the charts. Indian and international players were a part of the list of players leading online discussions with Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly featuring on it.

"When compared to the World Cup, brands haven't necessarily managed to draw similar linkages between themselves and the players that endorse them this time around," said Nielsen's Terron. Besides, the Mumbai and Bangalore teams, CSK and Shah Rukh Khan's Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) were also able to create a sense of community online. Even the two new franchises, Kochi Tuskers and Pune Warriors, appear to have garnered a fifth of social media mentions, said the report.

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Sachin, Yuvraj and Gambhir ruled out of West Indies tour

CHENNAI: There's always a twist to the tale when it comes to national selection committee meetings these days. The Indian cricket fraternity was eagerly awaiting the result of the fitness test of Gautam Gambhir, but by the time the selectors came out of the meeting, there were a couple of more blows awaiting the fans.

Not only was Gambhir ruled out, Sachin Tendulkar and Yuvraj Singh, too, opted out of the series opening the door for the likes of Virat Kohli, Abhinav Mukund and S Badrinath.

While Tendulkar wants some time off from a hectic schedule to be with his family, Yuvraj is suffering from an upper respiratory infection, with a small patch of pneumonitis in the left lung. With Yuvi and Gambhir opting out, two openings were created in the ODI squad as well and the selectors inducted Shikhar Dhawan and Manoj Tiwary in for the five-match series.

Predictably, Suresh Raina will lead the side with Harbhajan Singh being his deputy in the ODI squad. VVS Laxman, on the other hand will be the vice-captain for the Tests.

The selectors, though, made it clear they have nothing against Gambhir for opting to play for KKR and thus aggravating his injury. "There have always been injury issues and we have to live with it. Our job is to work with the options in hand and we have done that," chairman of selectors Krishnamachari Srikkanth told TOI.

Once it was made official Gambhir won't be going, TN lefty Abhinav Mukund was drafted into the Test squad. Mukund has amassed 1,211 runs in the first-class season and the selectors felt "the time was ripe to give him the break".

It will be an all Tamil Nadu opening combination with M Vijay being the other specialist in the line-up. Parthiv Patel, who pipped Wriddhiman Saha to the post for the second wicketkeeper's slot, will be the back-up opener.

But Tendulkar and Yuvraj's decisions to opt out came as a bolt from the blue for the selectors and that put them in a bit of a tricky situation. They didn't know beforehand that these two players won't be going and that's why it took them a while to finalise the Test squad. But the selectors don't think the team will do badly in the series. They feel that there's a nice combination of youth and experience and most of the new boys like Kohli and Badrinath will get to play in the first XI.

"The tour will provide us with the perfect platform to see how these boys shape up," Srikkanth said. The pace quartet for the Tests comprises Zaheer Khan, Sreesanth, Ishant Sharma and Munaf Patel, the three spinners are Harbhajan Singh, Amit Mishra and Pragyan Ojha.

Test squad: MS Dhoni (capt), VVS Laxman (vc), M Vijay, Abhinav Mukund, Rahul Dravid, Virat Kohli,S Badrinath, Harbhajan Singh, Ishant Sharma, Sreesanth, Amit Mishra, Pragyan Ojha, Zaheer Khan, Munaf Patel, Suresh Raina, Parthiv Patel (wk).

Limited-overs squad: Suresh Raina (capt), R Ashwin, S Badrinath, Harbhajan Singh (vc), Virat Kohli, Praveen Kumar, Amit Mishra, Munaf Patel, Parthiv Patel (wk), Yusuf Pathan, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Ishant Sharma, Rohit Sharma, Vinay Kumar, Manoj Tiwary, Shikhar Dhawan.

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Gayle blitz takes Bangalore into IPL final

Royal Challengers crushed Mumbai Indians by 43 runs to enter the IPL final in Chennai today.

Put into bat RCB rode on a whirlwind 47 ball 89 by Chris Gayle to pile up an imposing 185 run total. The RCB bowlers then bowled brilliantly taking wickets at regular intervals. The Mumbai batsmen hardly looked settled with the middle order collapsing at crucial moments.

Sachin Tendulkar (40) was the only Mumbai batsman who showed some grit but after his departure, it was all over with wickets crumbling at regular intervals.

Sachin was stumped by an excellent delivery by Syed Mohammad which turned sharply and for once even suprised the batting maestro.

Sreenath Aravind picked up two wickets at the start to to dent Mumbai Indians run chase.

Blizzard was the first to depart when he was caught at long on by Mayank Agarwal in the fourth over. Harbhajan soon followed when he was caught by Pomersbach at midwicket.

Earlier, Opener Chris Gayle butchered Mumbai Indians bowlers with a whirlwind 89 as Royal Challengers Bangalore posted an imposing 185 for four in the second qualifier of the Indian Premier League here today.

Gayle blasted nine fours and five sixes in his 47-ball innings and shared a 113-run opening partnership with Mayank Agarwal (41) in 10.4 overs to set the foundation for a big score for Bangalore at the MA Chidambaram Stadium here.

Sachin Tendulkar's decision to bowl first backfired as Gayle took the Mumbai attack by the scruff of its neck and helped RCB amass 111 in first 10 overs.

Mumbai came back strong in the second half and dismissed four of their batsmen in quick succession and did well to restrict the Royals inside the 200-mark.

Gayle gave Bangalore a blistering start, accumulating 27 runs in the first over off Abu Nechim studded with three fours and a six, besides a wides four behind the keeper.

Taking a cue from Gayle, young Mayank also clobbered Harbhajan Singh for a couple of boundaries through short third man in the second over.

Tendulkar then turned to Lasith Malinga but there was no respite for Mumbai as Gayle smashed his first ball through covers and then flicked one across the fine line boundary.

Mayank brought up the first fifty in 3.2 overs with a huge six over long on off Harbhajan and followed it up with a nice-looking four through point as RCB reached 57 in 4 overs.

Munaf Patel also rolled his arms but there was no difference in the result as Gayle clobbered him for a boundary between mid on and midwicket and managed to pick up another four across short fine leg.

Malinga pulled things a bit in the next over but Gayle was simply unstoppable as he blasted Patel across extra over for another four in the next over.

Rohit Sharma was then introduced into the attack but Mayank welcomed him with a four and a six as he bleded 14 runs in the eighth over.

Gayle too continued his blitzkrieg punishing Pollard for another boundary in the next over to not only bring up the hundred for Bangalore but also reached his personal score of 52 in 27 balls.

Pollard finally gave Mumbai something to chew on by dismissing Mayank in the fourth ball of the 11th over but not before Rohit had dropped him in the first delivery.

However, there was no respite for Mumbai as Gayle blasted three sixes in the space of four balls spread across the 13th and 14th over.

The former West Indies skipper first sent Pollard soaring over long off in the last ball of the 13th over and then hammered Harbhajan over deep midwicket in consecutive balls as RCB reached 145 for one in 14 overs.

Gayle was dismissed by Munaf in the next over with James Franklin taking a good catch at long on but by then the damage was done. Virat Kohli (8) also couldn't stay long and was sent packing by Nechim in the 16th over.

Malinga then pulled off a brilliant diving catch at short third man off Munaf to dismiss Luke Pomersbach (4) as Bangalore slipped to 157 for four in 16.2 overs.

However, AB de Villiers (21) and Saurabh Tiwary (8) stayed in the crease and took Bangalore close to the 200-mark.

Getting Gayle early will be top priority for Mumbai

CHENNAI: It's a matter of winning one more game to reach the final and the play-off between Mumbai Indians (MI) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) promises to be a cracker of a contest at the MA Chidambaram stadium on Friday. It's a great chance for RCB to reach the IPL final for the second time while Mumbai Indians, it's an opportunity to make their second straight summit clash.

Mumbai Indians, after winning back-to-back matches against Kolkata Knight Riders, are on a high and the Sachin Tendulkar-led side will look to carry the momentum into Friday's game. But RCB are a tough opponent and despite losing matches at the league stage, they have showed the gumption to fight back at crucial periods.

Royal Challengers owe their turnaround in IPL 4 to Chris Gayle. The Jamaican has almost single-handedly put the side into the play-offs. Gayle was ignored by all franchises during the IPL auction and was dropped from the West Indies squad for the home series against Pakistan. But the former Windies skipper, who replaced Australian pacer Dirk Nannes in the RCB squad, has dazzled with his whirlwind batting. Gayle is a great threat to any team and MI will need to keep him silent.

Mumbai Indians, too, have plenty of big-hitters in the squad. The likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Ambati Rayudu, Rohit Sharma, Aiden Blizard and James Franklin are in good nick and will definitely be a challenge for Daniel Vettori's boys. Tendulkar has been the lighthouse for his side, guiding youngsters like Sharma and Rayudu in the tournament.

Royal Challengers lost a close game against the Chennai Super Kings in the first playoff in Mumbai. Despite posting a formidable 175 on the board, they failed to stop the marauding defending champions. The likes of Zaheer Khan and Daniel Vettori looked patchy and the two have to pull up their socks if they wish to beat Mumbai Indians at Chepauk.

Most teams have played at least two spinners in the tournament but RCB have lacked the second spinner who can complement Vettori. Their bowling has mainly revolved around Zaheer but the Indian spearhead has not been at his best so far. But Zaheer is experienced and is capable of bouncing back. "As far as the second spinner is concerned, we have Gayle who has been supporting me well and I'm happy with Zaheer's form too. He has produced wickets upfront and has been exceptional with the ball so far," Vettori said.

Teams (from):

Royal Challengers Bangalore: D Vettori (capt), V Kohli, M Agarwal, S Aravind, Z Khan, B Arun Karthik, G Muralidharan, A Mithun, Mohd Kaif, R Ninan, A Pathan, C Gayle, AB de Villiers, C Langeveldt, L Pomersbach, S Tiwary, J van der Wath, S Mohammed, R Roussow, J Vandiar, A Kazi.

Mumbai Indians: S Tendulkar (capt), A Rayudu, Harbhajan, R Sharma, T Suman, M Patel, A Blizzard, K Pollard, L Malinga, A Symonds, D Jacobs, J Franklin, D Fernando, R Price, A Nechim, A Tare, A Murtaza, D Kulkarni, P Suyal, R Satish, S Kanwar, S Yadav, Y Singh.

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Injured Gautam Gambhir to miss West Indies tour

MUMBAI/NEW DELHI: Caught in the midst of a raging club-vs-country debate after he played the IPL eliminator game for the Shah Rukh Khan-owned Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) against Mumbai Indians on Wednesday, Gautam Gambhir has told the BCCI that he will be unavailable to lead India to the Caribbean.

Even as a controversy raged over whether Gambhir's IPL franchise had hidden the extent of his shoulder injury, the board said it was still to take an official call on the matter.

According to sources, Gambhir, who was supposed to stand in for regular skipper MS Dhoni in the ODI and T20 series against the West Indies, told the board on Thursday that he was "unable to take the load". This followed KKR physio Andrew Leipus's letter to the BCCI revealing the player's chronic shoulder and groin injuries. Leipus has advised the Delhi opener 4-6 weeks of rest.

Caught on the wrong foot, the BCCI asked Gambhir to clarify as to why he had played the IPL eliminator. He reportedly said he "didn't know" the exact nature or seriousness of the injury. Sources said Gambhir felt it would be better to rest for 4-6 weeks instead of aggravating his condition and risking a longer lay-off. Suresh Raina is likely to lead the squad now.

Meanwhile, even as the player refused to further clarify the matter, a comment he made at a press conference hinting that he had been kept in the dark about the seriousness of his injuries sparked a war of words between the BCCI and KKR. The issue has raised serious questions over who was responsible for hiding the nature of Gambhir's injuries - the franchise, the cricket board or the player himself. Sources suggested that once Leipus's report was leaked and it became apparent that he may not be able to tour the Caribbean, Gambhir may have had no choice but to play the IPL eliminator game, which KKR lost.

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Tendulkar's Mumbai bid for IPL final

CHENNAI: Sachin Tendulkar's Mumbai Indians are hoping the momentum from back-to-back wins will carry them into the IPL final in Friday's qualifier against Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Mumbai looked in danger of missing the play-offs but two victories against Kolkata Knight Riders have revived their campaign in the glitzy Twenty20 competition.

A win against Bangalore will take Tendulkar's men into a Saturday's title clash against defending champions Chennai, and offer them a chance to avenge their defeat against the same rivals in last year's final.

"It's obviously a knockout game for us," said Mumbai coach Robin Singh on Thursday. "We have done pretty well against Bangalore in the few outings we have had in the past.

"But this is a fresh game and we have to start from scratch. We have to refocus and regroup because the stakes are really high."

Bangalore will be counting once again on hard-hitting West Indies opener Chris Gayle to fire with the bat.

Gayle has been instrumental in guiding Bangalore to the play-offs, having scored 519 runs from 10 innings at a strike rate of 184 after joining the franchise as a replacement for the injured Dirk Nannes.

"You can't ignore the fact that Gayle is in terrific form," said Singh, a former India all-rounder.

"But we have been bowling exceptionally well. You have to back yourself to bowl well against anyone. We have thought about how we want to go about things. We have our own plans ready for what we would like to do."

Bangalore captain Daniel Vettori also praised Gayle but dismissed the suggestion that his side were too dependent on the muscular left-hander.

"We know Chris has played well and he has been the main scorer for us this season, winning so many games for us. But we have other batsmen like Virat Kohli who have stepped up and performed when needed," Vettori said.

"So if Gayle has an off-day, we are still confident that we can win games."

Mumbai are high on confidence following a spectacular last-ball victory against Kolkata in the final league game and another by four wickets with four balls to spare in the first play-off on Wednesday.

But Mumbai may bring in Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds to replace West Indies batsman Kieron Pollard, who has just 143 runs from 15 matches with a high score of 28.

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