SPORTS
Afternoon Despatch & Courier www.afternoondc.in
MUMBAI | MONDAY, MAY 12, 2014
29
C
UTTACK: Skipper Gautam Gambhir again led by example with a match-winning half-century as Kolkata Knight Riders remained in contention for playoff berth with a comprehensive nine-wicket win over table toppers Kings XI Punjab in an IPL encounter. Chasing a modest target of 150 on a featherbed, Gambhir anchored the chase to perfection with a wellcrafted unbeaten 65 after Robin Uthappa provided the momentum with a 28-ball-46. Such was their domination that the match ended with two overs to spare. Credit should also be given to legspinner Piyush Chawla (3/19) for his brilliant bowling in the middle overs after Virender Sehwag had set the tone for Punjab with a 50-ball72. KKR now have eight points and remain in the mix while KXIP got a timely wake-up call ahead of their bigger battles in the knock-out stages of the competition. It's been a roller coaster ride for Gambhir who started the tournament with a hat-trick of ducks and now has completed a hat-trick of half-centuries. He now has 23 halfcenturies across seven IPL editions --- maximum by any player till date. He changed his approach letting Uthappa dominate in the beginning and played himself in before going for the attack. Gambhir faced 45 balls hitting seven fours and more importantly finished off the match staying at the crease right till the end. He added 82 runs for the unbroken second wicket with Manish Pandey (36 not out). Uthappa continued in blazing form as he hit a flurry of boundaries
KNIGHTS RAISE THEIR ARMOUR Gambhir guides KKR to a nine-wicket win over KXIP
in the Powerplay overs with skipper Gambhir holding one end up. The floodgates opened in the third over bowled by Sandeep Sharma in which Uthappa got three boundaries. A flick, followed by two lovely drives. The next over from Mitchell Johnson was even better as he started with a pulled six. The shot was mist-
imed but had enough meat to carry it over the ropes. It was followed by three punchy boundaries as 19 came of that particular over. The powerplay yielded 55 runs and by then KKR had won half the battle. Earlier, Virender Sehwag showed glimpses of his usual attacking self during his knock of 72 but Kings XI Punjab had a rare batting collapse
Understood my role wasn't needed as captain or player: Sammy By Faisal Kamal
N
EW DELHI: Asserting that he had no choice but to retire from Test cricket, hard-hitting West Indies all-rounder Darren Sammy said his role was not needed as captain and player in that format and IPL had nothing to do with his decision. "It was something I thought about after I discussed with the selectors. After listening to the management and teams' views about the way they needed to move to the next level in Test cricket, I understood that my role wasn't needed as captain or player. This was the way forward," Sammy told PTI in an interview. Sammy, who remains as the T20 skipper, decided to retire from Test captaincy on Friday when the selectors anounced Denesh Ramdin as his replacement. The 6 feet 5 inches tall player said it's best to read the writing on the wall. "Now West Indies cricket is at a new dispensation. It has a new force and direction and I am no longer required to play a role in Tests. I had no choice but to retire from Test cricket," said Sammy. The news of his Test axe might have been bitter pill to swallow for the Sunrisers Hyderabad player, who is busy with IPL, but Sammy insists that the lure of T20 cricket is not the reason behind his decision. "I am having a great time in IPL. But my decision was not based on IPL or things like this. It was solely on the direction the Test team was heading and there were no plans for me as a captain and as a player," clarified Sammy.
It is the first time that West Indies cricket has different leadership in all the three formats with Dwayne Bravo as the ODI skipper. Sammy opines that it's always better to accept change. "It is not about right or wrong. I was captain at point of stage of all formats. I was aksked to captain at a time when the team needed stability. Change is inevitable. Sometimes we might not like it. Sometimes we may not agree with but we have to accept it," said the medium-pacer. While Sammy's Test career may have lasted just 38 matches - 30 as captain, new skipper Ramdin is already a veteran of 56 Tests and 109 ODIs. Sammy believes that Denesh's choice is the way forward for the West Indies Test cricket.
as they managed a below-par 149 for eight after being put into bat. KKR captain Gautam Gambhir's decision to field was vindicated by his bowlers. While Sehwag's 50-ball-72 was the highlight of the Kings innings, the failure of the middleorder, once Maxwell was dismissed, became apparent. Gambhir's decision to include Morne Morkel
BRIEF SCORES: Kings XI Punjab 149/8 in 20 overs [Virender Sehwag 72, Piyush Chawla 3/19] lost to Kolkata Knight Riders 150/1 in 18 overs [Gautam Gambhir 63 not out, Robin Uthappa 46] by nine wickets.
I stopped stepping out of my house after IPL snub: Praveen questions. But slowly, I started getting out and all the negativity faded off. I was gutted that I hadn't got a chance to play on a platform where I have been playing for so long," added an emotional Praveen. But fate had other plans for Praveen as MI management opted to replace an injured Zaheer Khan with him and the Meerut-born player was relieved to be back in the IPL dugout. "I was extremely happy when I got a call from Mumbai Indians to represent them in the IPL. I couldn't sleep that night, and all of a sudden, I became a lot more positive. It was a great moment for me when I realised that I will be back in action," said Praveen. The Uttar Pradesh pacer used all his experiUMBAI: After missing out on ence to good effect at the Wankhede initial IPL action, Praveen stadium here on Saturday night Kumar made an instant impact against CSK when he picked up two against Chennai Super Kings, albeit wickets at an economy rate of just in a losing cause, but the Mumbai over seven. Having scalped the Indians medium-pacer said he still prized wickets of dangerman gets the goose bumps when he Dwayne Smith and Brendon Mcthinks about his snub during the Cullum, Praveen revealed that he February auctions. had done his home work. "I was very disappointed when I "I was watching the IPL matches was not picked in the auctions. It at home. I was watching how was a shocking moment for me. I Dwayne was going about his batting was dejected for the first week-and- and kept a tab on his weaknesses. I a-half, but started to calm down as noticed that he was playing the inthe days passed by," Praveen told swinger well in all those matches IPL's official website. and had difficulties playing the "There came a point at that time outswinger. It was strange that when I actually stopped getting out tonight he was playing the of my house, thinking what people outswinger better and had probwould talk about me and feared if lems playing the inswinger," said they would ask me different kinds of Praveen.
M
Royal Challengers Bangalore’s Yuvraj Singh plays a shot during his innings of 83 runs off 38 deliveries against Rajasthan Royals at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Sunday. The Bangalore team scored 190/5.
(2/20) and Piyush Chawla (3/19) in the playing XI was justified as they picked five wickets for 49 runs in eight overs between them.