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GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday April 9, 2015
KKR beat Mumbai Indians in IPL 8 opener NEW DELHI: Gautam Gambhir scored a half-century as Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) defeated Mumbai Indians in the opening match of the Indian Premier League’s eighth season by seven wickets at the Eden Gardens yesterday Chasing 169, KKR lost Robin Uthappa (9) early in the third over following which captain Gambhir and Manish Pandey came together to add 85 runs for the second wicket. Gambhir scored 57 before getting out while Pandey scored a quick-fire 40 off 24 deliveries. Later on, Suryakumar Yadav played a whirlwind of a knock scoring 46 off just 20 deliveries with the help of one four and five sixes to help his side chase down the target in 18.3 overs. KKR finished at 170/3. Earlier, continuing his dream run at Eden Gardens, Rohit Sharma smashed an unbeaten 98 to power Mumbai Indians to 168/3 against defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL 8
Rohit Sharma strikes 98 off 65 balls for Mumbai Indians but ends up on the losing side. (2/18) but Sharma, who had as his bunny en route to Twenty20 cricket tournament opener at Eden Gardens. Put in, the visitors lost two wickets in three balls and looked shaky 37/3 after a fiery spell from Morne Morkel
struck an ODI world record 264 here in November last year, was again in his element. Sharma dissected the field with elegance and picked Indian speedster Umesh Yadav
his 22nd IPL half-century. Sharma’s 98 not out came from 65 balls studded with 12 boundaries and four sixes and was ably supported by New Zealand all-round-
er Corey Anderson, who remained unbeaten on 55 from 41 balls (4x4, 3x6) in a 131run undefeated partnership. After all the hoopla surrounding his action, Knight Riders trump card spinner Sunil Narine did not look his usual self and returned wicket-less with 28 runs from his four overs. The West Indian looked under pressure and the umpire was seen talking to him during his second spell. Narine began with a widish full toss and the Mumbai skipper was quick to punish it for an easy boundary. Sharma had earlier made his intention clear hitting Yadav for three boundaries in the third over. The star Indian opener was at his explosive best when he smashed three fours and one six as Yadav leaked 21 runs in the 15th over. It gave the much needed impetus to MI run-rate that went under six after the three quick wickets and some clever captaincy by Gautam Gambhir.
While Yadav was expensive, Morkel was the pick of the lot and Gambhir made the South African speedster run through his quota of four overs from the High Court end. Morkel dismissed Mumbai Indians star recruit Aaron Finch (5) cheaply when the Australian World Cup-winning opener top-edged one to deep square leg and gave a second breakthrough in Ambati Rayudu (0) in his penultimate over. In-between, Gambhir cleverly brought in Shakib Al Hasan who foxed Aditya Tare (7) with his flight as the Mumbai wicketkeeper stepped out but only to mistime it to long off. But he was severely let down by his fielders. Andre Russell dropped Corey Anderson on 23, a regulation catch at mid-on, while part-time wicketkeeper Robin Uthappa not only missed an outside edge of Sharma but missed a stumping when the Mumbai Indians skipper was on 70.
Wisden: English cricket chiefs ‘repeatedly lost touch’ in 2014 ENGLAND’S cricket leaders “repeatedly lost touch” in 2014, says Wisden editor Lawrence Booth. Writing in the 152nd edition of the yearly almanac, Booth criticises the England and Wales Cricket Board’s handling of the Kevin Pietersen affair. He also raises concerns with the decline of the Test and one-day sides and a fall in grassroots participation.
England internationals Moeen Ali and Gary Ballance are among Wisden’s five cricketers of the year. Yorkshire’s Adam Lyth, Sri Lanka’s Angelo Mathews and New Zealand’s Jeetan Patel make up the list CRITICISM OF ENGLAND PERFORMANCES England’s 2014 started with an Ashes whitewash at the hands of Australia, took
Aintree is all set for the three-day Grand National event
AINTREE is expecting dry, warm weather as its threeday Grand National meeting starts today - with a hint of history in the air. Retiring 19-time champion jockey AP McCoy is riding at the meeting for the final time and will be on Holywell in the Betfred Bowl. He also rides Jezki as the horse takes on fellow former champion hurdler Rock On Ruby and this year’s Cheltenham runner-up Arctic Fire in the Aintree Hurdle. The first action over the National fences sees amateur jockeys compete in the Fox Hunters’ Chase. Sam Waley-Cohen rides leading contender Warne with the jockey looking to add to his fine record of five career wins over the big obstacles. Holywell was fourth in last month’s Cheltenham Gold Cup and renews rivalry with dual King George VI Chase winner Silviniaco Conti, who finished seventh when favourite. (BBC Sport)
Gary Ballance enjoyed a breakthrough year in the England Test side. in losses in 28 matches across all formats, and included a humbling by international minnows the Netherlands in the World T20. “In 2014 English cricket repeatedly lost touch - not just with things it wished had never happened, but with the basic idea that the national team belongs to us all,” said Booth, who went on to link a lack of conviction among ECB decision-makers with the team’s poor form. “The power brokers indulged in mutual backslapping .... It was a nexus of self-preservation - yet, as the wagons circled, the wheels kept threatening to come off.” The ECB declined to comment on Booth’s criticism when contacted by BBC Sport. However, incoming ECB chairman Colin Graves, who is set to take over in May, has already suggested he expects to make sweeping changes to improve the game
THE PIETERSEN FALLOUT Pietersen, 34, was sacked by England after the 5-0 Ashes defeat by Australia and, while the South African-born batsman has said he would like to return to the international fold, his future remains uncertain. “It was typical of a story beyond the ECB’s control that their best moment was not of their own making,” said Booth. “Having searched in vain for the words that justified his sacking, they were gifted a 324-page solution: an autobiography so full of rancour that BBC chat-show host Graham Norton suggested to Pietersen, ‘Maybe, just maybe, team sport’s not for you …’. “All the while, he kept insisting how happy he was in the land of Twenty20 franchises - and agitating for an international recall. The whole thing would have been sad, if it hadn’t been so absurd.”
COOK’S SACKING AS ONE-DAY CAPTAIN Alastair Cook had looked set to lead England into the World Cup - despite a 3-1 oneday series defeat by India in the autumn - after ECB managing director Paul Downton said he would be “surprised” if the batsman was removed as captain. But he was sacked in December, just two months before what turned out to be a disastrous World Cup. “To leave the sacking of Cook so late made little sense,” said Booth. “Trouble was, Cook had become more than just a cricketer: cast by his employers in the role of latter-day saint to Pietersen’s fallen angel, he was now an article of faith. “England overplayed their hand: the Test win over a supine India did not mean Cook would effect a similar transformation of the one-day side. This seemed obvious to everyone - except to the men who run the game.” IMPROVING ASIAN PARTICIPATION The ECB found that the number of people playing cricket in teams fell 7% between 2013 and 2014, from 908 000 in 2013 to 844 000 in 2014. And Booth has called on the ECB to do more to advance the game in Asian communities: “The English game needs an Asian player
to prosper beyond a few Tests here and there. “If the England team really want to unlock their full potential, it is perverse to be so reliant on (white) southern Africans and smash-and-grab raids across the Irish Sea, and so ignore the more natural solution on our doorstep. “There remains a damaging perception among Britain’s South Asian communities that its best young cricketers are not wanted.” CRICKETERS OF THE YEAR All-rounder Ali, 27, was named as one of Wisden’s five players of 2014 in a year in which he took 19 wickets in the Test series victory over India, while 25-year-old Ballance registered three Test centuries and averaged 60.75. Lyth, 27, helped Yorkshire to the County Championship title by leading the scoring charts with 1 489 runs, while spinner Patel, 34, was commended for his 107 wickets for Warwickshire across all formats. And Mathews was included for his influence in Sri Lanka’s first-ever Test series victory in England. Sri Lanka batsman Kumar Sangakkara was named leading cricketer in the world, while Australia batter Meg Lanning is Wisden’s first leading woman cricketer in the world. (BBC Sport)