Lee powers NSW to Airtel CL T20 title

New South Wales were crowned the inaugural Airtel CL T20 winners after they snapped Trinidad & Tobago's fairytale campaign with a 41-run victory.

In a high-voltage summit clash in Hyderabad on Friday night, New South Wales had the last laugh with Brett Lee as their star performer.

In the title showdown featuring top two teams of the tournament, it was a battle between Caribbean flair and Australian profressionalism.

Put into bat, NSW fumbled and faltered in their innings to slump to 83 for six in the 12th over before finding a messiah in Lee, whose whirlwind 48 off 31 balls, along with Steven Smith's 33, guided them to 159 for nine.

Trinidad & Tobago's chase never gathered momentun and Kieron Pollard's (26 off 15 balls) last ditch attempt was not enough as the Caribbeans side folded for 118 in 15.5 overs.

After his batting heroics, Lee (2/10) was in the thick of action again, claiming two quick wickets to reduce T&T to 21 for three in the first eventful 14 balls.
Lee's second delivery castled the scoreless Wiliam Perkins and the blond pacer returned to catch Lendl Simmons off his own bowling in the next over.

In between, Adrian Barath hit Steve Smith's first three balls for successive fours followed it with a six before returning caught behind off the last delivery.

For T&T, crisis further compounded as Dwayne Bravo (17), and captain Darren Ganga (19) and Denesh Ramadin (16) fell when the team needed them most.

Pollard (26) tried to replicate the form he had shown in the league match against NSW but Nathan Hauritz had other ideas and for T&T, the match was over when Pollard fell in the 15th over.

Earlier, NSW discovered a batting hero in Brett Lee whose stunning 48, along with Steven Smith's 33, took the Australians past the 150-mark after they had slumped to 83 for six inside 12 overs.

Put into bat, NSW never really got going with Ravi Rampaul (3/20) and Dwayne Bravo (2/27) polishing the top order before some poor shot selections did the middle order in.

Down the order, Steven Smith, however, refused to throw in the towel and Lee then came up with a 31-ball blitzkrieg, studded with four fours and five sixes, before falling in the last ball of the innings.

David Warner and Phil Hughes have been key to New South Wales' success in the tournament so far but the left-handed opening pair, for once, proved they too had feet of clay.

Rampaul cleaned up Hughes (3) with the first delivery of his second over and then Bravo combined with an airborne Dave Mohammad to cut short Warner's (19) stay just when the stocky left-hander had started looking his ominous self.

Both the in-form NSW openers back in the hut inside five overs with the score reading a mere 32, this was clearly not the best of starts for the Australian side.

Simon Katich (16) decided to punish Bravo, hitting him for two sixes -- one miscued shot soared over long-on ropes and another effortless pull cleared fine leg -- in the same over before the pacer returned to settle score.

Three balls later, Moises Henriques (4) joined his captain in the hut, holing out in the deep off Kieron Pollard, and NSW were clearly in a hole at 49 for four.

Dave Mohammad removed Ben Rohrer (16) with his first delivery and Rampaul returned to disturb Daniel Smith's timbers in the next over before Lee joined Smith in the middle to steady the ship.

Even after Smith returned, there was no containing Lee who swung his bat to good effect to help the side cross the 150-mark that had looked a distant dream at one stage.

Teams:
New South Wales: PJ Hughes, DA Warner, DLR Smith†, MC Henriques, SM Katich, BJ Rohrer, SPD Smith, B Lee, NM Hauritz, SR Clark, DE Bollinger.

Trinidad & Tobago: A Barath, WKD Perkins, LMP Simmons, D Ganga, DJ Bravo, KA Pollard, D Ramdin†, S Ganga, ND Stewart, D Mohammed, R Rampaul.

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Daren Ganga targets final glory

T&T captain Daren Ganga demanded his players remain focused for one more game after their victory in the semi-finals of the Airtel CLT20 in Hyderabad.

Ganga's side won by seven wickets and will now face New South Wales Blues in tomorrow's final at the same venue.

"We are very happy to get to the final and tomorrow's game is another important one," said Ganga, who steered his side to victory with an unbroken stand of 93 with Dwayne Bravo (58) for the fourth wicket.

"We are not just content with this win and tonight we will be pretty chilled out.

"We had set ourselves goals and we have won five games, five virtual finals. We have got one more to go and once we successfully complete that, then the carnival will start.

"At the toss I believed it would be easy enough for us to chase a target of 170-180.

"We were quite comfortable with that because we knew the nature of this surface.

"The guys did a fantastic job to pull the Cape Cobras back and restrict them to 175.

"We always knew we had the game under control and once we batted well at the top, it was quite easy for Dwayne (Bravo) and myself.

"We had the confidence and we also had the cushion of guys in good form, Kieron Pollard, Denesh Ramdin and Navin Stewart, to come after us.

"It gave us a lot of confidence to play freely and in the end we prevailed."

The Cobras turned in an uncharacteristically shoddy performance in the field, with Lendl Simmons being dropped twice and Bravo dropped on 17.

Cobras captain Andrew Puttick said his team had succumbed to the pressure.

"It would have been a lot closer had we taken those chances," he admitted.

"It's disappointing to go out in this fashion, but T&T were a little bit better than us today and they handled the pressure a lot better.

"We were pretty happy with that score and I think we should have made it a lot more difficult for them.

"We have had a great time in this competition and have learnt a lot from it, pitting our skills against players from all around the world.

"From a players' point of view this tournament has been very good and we hope to come back and go one better next year."

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Sherwin not wary of NSW backlash

Skipper and elder brother Daren Ganga maybe bracing up for a ‘backlash' from New South Wales Blues in the final of the Airtel CL T20 but Sherwin is determined not to let the Blues run them as close as last time.

T&T were down in the dumps against the Aussie outfit in one of the earlier games in the Super Eights before Kieron Pollard rescued the Caribbean side with a sensational half-century.

"We won't let the Blues take revenge. I know they were not very happy with our win against them that night."

Speaking of his own bowling form in the seven wicket semi-final win against the Cobras, Sherwin said he was happy to do what he was asked of.

"I am happy I delivered in a crucial match and did my job well."

The off-spinner opened the bowling for T&T and got rid of Cobras skipper Andrew Puttick early.

The 27 year old said the team's achievement so far in the tournament will have a ‘tremendous impact on cricket in the West Indies'.

"The West Indies had a major slump in the middle and there wasn't a lot of support for the team. A lot of people said cricket had died in the Caribbean.

Our show here in India will once again revive hopes in the Islands."

Sherwin felt it was sheer ‘patriotism' that had seen the side through to the final of the high-profile T20 event.

Having captivated Indian audiences with their flair and charisma, will he and the team have anything to do with the lucrative Indian Premier League?

"Certainly. We will be glad to play in a big stage like the IPL provided there are offers. A lot of the guys have done so well so who knows?"

For now though, Sherwin knows the side's task is cut out. The NSW Blues are Australians and they do not take losing very easily.

That Pollard blitz must still be hurting and Simon Katich and his men will be contemplating redemption.

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Bravo helps T&T book final place

Trinidad and Tobago beat the Cape Cobras by seven wickets to enter into the final of the Airtel Champions League T20.

An unbeaten half-century from Dwayne Bravo overshadowed an all-round performance from JP Duminy as Trinidad and Tobago beat the Cape Cobras in the second semi-final in Hyderabad.

Duminy anchored the Cobras' innings with another unflappable performance, his 61 from 40 deliveries after Herschelle Gibbs' scintillating 42 from 27 balls at the top the order helping the South African side to 175 for five.

Adrian Barath (29) and William Perkins (20) then gave T&T's chase a solid start, while Bravo (58 off 34) and Darren Ganga (44 off 31) put on 93 in an unbroken stand for the fourth wicket as the Caribbean outfit secured their place in the final.
They will take on New South Wales Blues in the final at the same venue on Friday.

Gibbs, who had managed only one run from three previous matches, lost opening partner Andrew Puttick cheaply after a tentative start.

Off-spinner Sherwin Ganga and Ravi Rampaul had conceded only four singles each from their first overs, but Gibbs quickly exploded into action.

The South African opener turned on the aggression in the fourth over, hammering Dwayne Bravo for four boundaries as the Cobras managed 54 from their powerplay.

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Gibbs' innings came to an end when he was bowled by Kieron Pollard and the Cobras briefly looked in danger of collapsing when Henry Davids was brilliantly caught by Dave Mohammad off his own bowling.

Duminy steadied the ship, complementing the big-hitting Rory Kleinveldt (21) in a 34-run stand for the fourth wicket.

Kleinveldt was the second of Lendl Simmons' victims but Duminy accelerated fluently, as the Cobras raced past 150.

Bravo was clobbered for more runs in his third over - the penultimate of the innings which yielded 20 - but the innings finished in an anti-climax of sorts with Rampaul sending down an excellent final over, conceding only two.

Charl Langeveldt, back after suffering a shoulder injury in the Cobras' first match, had begun with a tight first over, but Barath and Perkins launched the chase by ripping into Monde Zondeki.

The seam bowler conceded 30 from his first two overs and, although Perkins was run out, T&T made 57 from their first six overs.

Duminy and Justin Ontong pulled things back with their spin, both bowlers striking in their first over.

The dismissals brought Darren Ganga and Bravo together and the two steadily rebuilt.

T&T needed 61 from 36 and Bravo, who was dropped on 17 by Ontong, launched into an array of strokes to reduce the requirement to 18 from the last three overs.

Bravo reached his half-century with a boundary off Langeveldt and brought up victory with another boundary off Kleinveldt in the final over.

Teams:

Cape Cobras: AG Puttick*, HH Gibbs, H Davids, JP Duminy, JL Ontong, VD Philander, RCC Canning†, RK Kleinveldt, CW Henderson, M Zondeki, CK Langeveldt.

Trinidad & Tobago: A Barath, WKD Perkins, LMP Simmons, D Ganga*, DJ Bravo, KA Pollard, D Ramdin†, S Ganga, ND Stewart, D Mohammed, R Rampaul.

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Katich bowled over by reaching final

New South Wales Blues captain Simon Katich praised his bowlers after reaching the final of the Champions League Twenty20.

NSW claimed a commanding 79-run win over Victoria Bushrangers in the first semi-final in Delhi.

David Warner (48) and Phil Hughes (35) gave NSW a cracking start on their way to a formidable 169 for seven.

Off-spinner Nathan Hauritz, who shared the new ball with Brett Lee, then struck twice in his first over as Victoria's chase suffered an early jolt.

They never recovered from those blows and finished with a meagre 90 for nine.
"We thought of it earlier in the day and we thought he (Hauritz) would be an option to their batsman upfront. He did a great job and it worked," Katich said.

"With that new ball some spun and the others skidded on and it was always going to be hard for their opening batsmen to judge what was going to happen.

"Our bowlers have been fantastic right through the tournament and they are a big reason for our progress so far.

"It was a great team effort all around. Warner and Hughes set the tone early with the bat and the rest of the guys chipped in nicely.

"We tried to break it up, have left-right combinations in the middle overs to the spinners.

"We tried to keep the momentum going right through the innings, even when the ball got softer and made it harder to score towards the end.

"All the bowlers were outstanding and our fielding was really sharp.

"I think we have got consistent performances across the board with both bat and ball and hopefully we can carry that confidence into the final."

South African side Cape Cobras take on Trinidad and Tobago, the only team to have beaten NSW in the competition, in the second semi-final tomorrow.
Victoria captain Cameron White is already looking ahead to the next edition of the tournament.

"We were outplayed by a very good outfit," White admitted. "The pitch was marginally better than the ones we played on here earlier on, but it still wasn't a 160 pitch, although NSW got there.

"We gave away a few too many runs and the only thing we can do is to go back and work hard in Australia and hopefully we can qualify next year.

"I think the future of this tournament is strong and, from our point of view, it's a great experience for some of our guys who haven't been here before.

"We will take plenty of experience away and hopefully it will help us give it a crack again next year."

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Cobras keep faith in Gibbs

If you had blinked at the start of the Cape Cobras innings in the Champions League so far, you were likely to miss Herschelle Gibbs. His appearances have been fleeting - he's scored 0, 1 and 0 - but both the Trinidad & Tobago and Cape Cobras captains, and the batsman himself, were aware of Gibbs' game-breaking potential in Thursday's semi-final in Hyderabad.

Gibbs had opted out of the Cobras' game against Victoria in Bangalore after a security alert at the Chinnaswamy Stadium postponed the start of the game by 100 minutes. He did not leave the team hotel for personal security but appeared to be in brighter spirits today and was optimistic of having an impact in the semi-final.

"I have just been unlucky. I just tend to hit the ball from ball one," Gibbs said. "I like the semi-finals and finals irrespective of what tournament I'm playing. I just like the big moments and that brings the best out of me. It is going to be a good wicket and hopefully I can entertain the home crowd."

Gibbs, incidentally, is one of the major reasons the Cobras are playing the tournament as South African champions. He blasted 87 off 62 balls in the Pro20 final against the Eagles, more than half of his team's total of 147. His captain, Andrew Puttick, hoped that his best batsman could reproduce something similar. "Herschelle is in bit of poor run, but we know if it is his day know he can win us the game," Puttick said.

Gibbs, however, has had a low-key season so far and had an unproductive ICC World Twenty20 as well, scoring only 114 runs in six matches. He also had a poor run at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad, the home ground for his IPL team, the Deccan Chargers. In four innings there during the 2008 IPL, Gibbs made only 67 runs, with a top-score of 47. The Cobras will be hoping for a dramatic turnaround tomorrow.

"We know the quality of Herschelle," Ganga said on the eve of the game against the Cape Cobras. "He has not been on song in recent games but in an important match he might come good, and we are prepared for that."

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NSW cruise into Airtel CL T20 final

New South Wales Blues booked their place in the Airtel CL T20 final with a commanding 79-run win over Victoria Bushrangers in Delhi.

New South Wales skipper Simon Katich won the toss and openers David Warner (48) and Phil Hughes (35) got off to a blistering start, while Katich's 26 ensured a colossal total of 169 for seven on a difficult surface.

Off-spinner Nathan Hauritz, who shared the new ball, claimed two wickets at the start of Victoria's response and Moises Henriques ripped through the middle order with three for 11 as Victorian Bushrangers managed a meagre 90 for nine in reply.

Warner had given NSW a storming start, knocking the new ball around in typically belligerent style.

Shane Harwood and Peter Siddle had begun accurately, but Warner quickly launched into attack and dealt primarily in boundaries throughout his brief, but destructive innings.

The left-hander smashed Harwood for consecutive boundaries in his second over and bludgeoned Siddle for two boundaries and a six over long-off.

NSW made 56 from the powerplay and Warner had contributed 48 in an opening stand worth 62 when he was run out, a mix up with Hughes leaving him stranded yards out of his crease.

There was no let up, however, as Daniel Smith (20) clubbed the first ball he faced for a boundary and Hughes, who had watched while Warner had amassed the runs, turned on an aggressive display.

Victoria sniffed a chance when Hughes fell to Clint McKay and the scoring rate dropped slightly, but Katich's cameo ensured NSW finished with a formidable total.

Hauritz, who shared the new ball with Brett Lee, destroyed Victoria's chase by removing both openers, Rob Quiney and Brad Hodge, for ducks in his first over.

David Hussey (16) and Cameron White (11) were the only batsmen in the top six to reach double figures and attempted a fightback, but their resistance was nipped in the bud.

Both batsmen were snared by Henriques and Victoria were left needing 131 from 56 deliveries when White was dismissed.

Instead, wickets continued to tumble and Henriques returned to claim McKay for his third victim as NSW cantered to victory.

The Teams:

New South Wales: PJ Hughes, DA Warner, DLR Smith†, MC Henriques, SM Katich*, BJ Rohrer, SPD Smith, B Lee, NM Hauritz, SR Clark, DE Bollinger

Victorian Bushrangers: RJ Quiney, BJ Hodge, AC Blizzard, DJ Hussey, CL White*, AB McDonald, MS Wade†, CJ McKay, SM Harwood, JM Holland, PM Siddle

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Delhi Daredevils finish on a high

Delhi Daredevils ended their Airtel Champions League Twenty20 campaign on a high by handing the South African side, Cape Cobras, a 30-run defeat.

Early breakthroughs and regular wickets thereafter vindicated the Cape Cobras skipper Andrew Puttick's surprising decision to field as the Delhi Daredevils struggled with the bat.

Owais Shah helped finish the innings with a flourish with an unbeaten 39, while Dinesh Karthik scored 23 as the home side finished with a modest 114 for six.

The Daredevils, however, defended that small total with aplomb, fast bowler Dirk Nannes claiming three wickets for 19, while spinners Amit Mishra, Tillakaratne Dilshan and Yogesh Nagar claimed two apiece as the Cobras, who are already in the semi-finals, were restricted to 84 in 18.3 overs.

Fast bowler Rory Kleinveldt had rocked Delhi's top order, dismissing both opening batsmen, Dilshan and Gautam Gambhir, in his first over after Monde Zondeki had delivered an excellent over with the new ball.

Dinesh Karthik, one of the few Daredevils batsmen to return with some success in this tournament, revived the innings together with with Manoj Tiwary (19).

Tiwary, one of three changes in the side, provided the early spark, turning Zondeki to fine leg for four, but Karthik's impressive form soon came to the fore.

The wicketkeeper batsman ruined Klienveldt's figures by slamming him for three consecutive boundaries, the first through mid-wicket and the others over cover.

Tiwary, however, fell to Claude Henderson, the left-arm spinner striking in his first over, and Karthik was then run out following a mix-up with Shah as the Daredevils again slumped.

Nagar (10) and Shah lowered their sights and settled for singles as the Daredevils recovered slightly.

The two put on 34 for the fifth wicket, but Nagar perished while attempting to force the pace and the Daredevils crumbled again.

Shah injected some acceleration at the death, blasting Justin Ontong for the only six of the innings and clubbing two boundaries as the Daredevils finished with a modest, but defendable total.

Dilshan, handed the new ball, provided the early breakthrough removing Herschelle Gibbs for a golden duck.

Nannes then sent down a fiery first spell, bowling Puttick with one that kept low, but the Cobras, with Davids and JP Duminy at the crease, seemed to have weathered the storm.

Davids, however, was run out and leg-spinner Mishra struck twice in an over to scalp the dangerous Duminy and the big-hitting Klienveldt and leave the Cobras reeling at 57 for five.

Dilshan then returned to bowl Ontong before Nannes destroyed the tail with two wickets in his final over as the Daredevils eased to victory.

The Teams:

Cape Cobras: AG Puttick*, HH Gibbs, H Davids, JP Duminy, JL Ontong, VD Philander, RCC Canning†, RK Kleinveldt, CW Henderson, M Zondeki, FC Plaatjies

Delhi Daredevils: G Gambhir*, TM Dilshan, KD Karthik†, MK Tiwary, OA Shah, Y Nagar, R Bhatia, A Mishra, PJ Sangwan, DP Nannes, AM Salvi

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CL flop: IPL teams had 'no time to prepare and bond'

NEW DELHI: With the three IPL teams - Deccan Chargers, RCB and Delhi Daredevils - getting knocked out in the Champions League,the event has lost a lot of zing and popularity stakes.

Critics are now also questioning the standard of the lucrative IPL which is part of the Indian domestic calendar. Has the Champions League exposed IPL in some ways?

One of the main reasons for the flop show of IPL teams, according to some players and officials of IPL teams, is the fact that while many foreign teams are playing like cohesive units because they spend a lot of time together, the IPL teams didn't have the advantage of being together for sufficient time.

"In an IPL team, players hardly get time to get used to their teammates so team bonding is difficult. For the Champions League, many key members of the three teams were busy attending national duty and were not available till one or two days before the matches started," a Daredevils player told TOI.

"To play as team, you have to develop an understanding of what the team exactly needs from you and how one can perform as a team. If we are not spending enough time together, then it's a problem. In the IPL it doesn't show because all the teams are more or less at the same level, but that's not the case in the Champions League," the player added.

That also explains to some extent why the IPL teams were looking less than prepared for CL. Several top players did not get enough time to plan and prepare for the T20 event.

Daredevils were also undone by injuries to key men like Daniel Vettori and AB de Villers. Meanwhile, RCB's bowling was weak while Deccan depended too much on a few individuals, like skipper Adam Gilchrist and Andrew Symonds. Another reason was that some leading lights of IPL teams opted to play for teams from their own country, thus weakening the IPL units. All this negated the home advantage that the teams had.

The lacklustre show of the IPL teams have also surprised teams from abroad. "It's a big surprise. It's one of those things which no one thought when we came here," said Jean-Paul Duminy, the Cape Cobras batsman. But he added, "You got to give other teams the credit too. They have shown good form in this tournament."

Meanwhile, Cobras coach, Shukri Conrad opined, "We thought the IPL teams were going to be the favourites at home. So, obviously it's big surprise but T20 is such a game that no one is really favourite. I think the massive crowd added to the pressure of the Indian teams."

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Katich: We need to improve

New South Wales Blues captain Simon Katich says there are still areas to improve upon for the team ahead of their semi-final clash.

"Obviously we are happy. Two games we played in Delhi are outstanding with the ball, in the field and our bowling. We wanted to replicate here in Hyderabad. So there are still areas to improve on," Katich told reporters after the winning against the Somerset Sabres.

He said the semifinal would be a big challenge as all the teams are formidable.

"It is a big challenge because we know that every team that qualified is going to be of great standard. Each game that comes is going to be a big challenge," Katich said.

Katich expressed confidence that his team would put up a good show in Delhi as they were used to playing on a slow wicket in Sydney.

He said losing their earlier League A match against Trinidad and Tobago on October 16 was a wake up call.

"We actually learnt a lot from that match. Sometimes, not the worst things happen to lose a match. We are playing good cricket but it was a wake up call for us. Anything can happen on a given day in Twenty 20 cricket. It was a pretty good thing for us," he said.

Somerset captain Justin Langer admitted that his side did not play well against a world-class team like NSW.

"I think this is probably my last game. Obviously some sadness there. We tried to get on to a flying start. They have got such world-class players like Brett Lee, Stuart Clark.

They played really well. We did not play well at that," he said.

Describing Champions League Twenty 20 as a fantastic tournament, Langer said it can sustain whether it is played in South Africa, Australia or India.

"IPL was successful in South Africa. CL T20 will be successful whether it is in South Africa or Australia or India. There are lots of Indians who will watch cricket," said Langer when asked whether the Airtel CL T20 will be successful outside India.

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Clark helps Blues book semis spot

Somerset's Airtel CL T20 campaign came to an abrupt end as they suffered a convincing six-wicket defeat at the hands of New South Wales in Hyderabad.

A ferocious batting display from Blues opener David Warner, who hit 40 from just 16 balls, helped the Australian state side ease past Somerset's uncompetitive 111 for seven with 49 balls to spare.

After being asked to bat first Somerset's innings was wrecked by three Stuart Clark wickets and they had plummeted further until Zander de Bruyn (23) and Wes Durston's unbeaten 20 helped the county side at least pass the 100-run mark.

Warner then put the Somerset bowlers to the sword, smashing six fours and two sixes during his brief but entertaining innings, and ensure the Blues' place in the semi finals.

Somerset's batting frailties again came to the fore as they suffered another top-order collapse.

Clark, who took over after two tidy overs from Brett Lee with the new ball, removed Craig Kieswetter (13) and departing skipper Justin Langer (five) - who had announced before the Champions League that it would be his swansong with the Sabres - in his first over.

Clark struck again to remove James Hildreth (six), who promised much with an attractive boundary to get off the mark, in his second over.

Arul Suppiah (eight) was then run out and Peter Trego (three) perished while attempting to heave Nathan Hauritz across the line to leave Somerset reeling at 44 for five inside 10 overs.

De Bruyn and Omari Banks (15) briefly arrested the fall of wickets with a 37-run stand for the sixth wicket but both batsmen were dismissed in the space of an over and Somerset were in real danger of failing to cross the three-figure mark.

Durston, who top-scored with a career-best 57 in Somerset's previous game against Trinidad and Tobago, bafflingly was demoted to number eight.

Yet, he drilled two boundaries and a six, the only one of the inning, to help Somerset pass the 100-run mark.

Warner got NSW off to a rollicking start in typically belligerent fashion and dominated an opening stand with Phil Hughes worth 56 off just 28 deliveries.

Warner started with two boundaries in three balls off Charl Willoughby and was particularly harsh on Banks, clubbing the first-change bowler for four and six in his first over.

He slammed Banks for a six and two boundaries off the first three deliveries in the spinner's second over, but Banks hit back to snare the batsman caught by Jos Buttler in the deep.

NSW's line-up then wobbled with Hughes (18) and Daniel Smith (20) falling in one over from De Bruyn and Moises Henriques (eight) quickly after.

But NSW needed only 24 from 10.3 overs at that stage and captain Simon Katich chipped in with an unbeaten 18 to steer his team to victory.

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One bad game costs us semis berth:Kumble

Bangalore Royal Challengers captain Anil Kumble rued that one bad game did his side in.

Kumble said that one bad game, against Victoria Bushrangers, did his side in as they crashed out of the Airtel Champions League Twenty20.

Royal Challengers Bangalore lost to Victoria in their first League B Super Eight match on Thursday and despite Saturday's eight-wicket win over Delhi Daredevils, Kumble's side are out of semifinal contention.

"I thought we played really well in this tournament. The boys showed lots of commitment but one bad game made all the difference. We lost to Victoria Bushrangers and that match cost us a semifinal place," Kumble said after the match.

Kumble, who celebrated his 39th birthday on Saturday, praised Ross Taylor for the New Zealander's superb innings of 65.

"It's a great birthday present though we were playing for pride. Ross (Taylor) played an exceptional innings to take us to victory. Rahul (Dravid) and (Virat) Kohli chipped in," said Kumble.

"It was great to win before the home crowd who came out in large numbers though were out of semifinal contention before this match. We want to prove that this team can win matches," he added.

Delhi captain Gautam Gambhir felt his side were short of 30-40 runs short to put pressure on Bangalore.

"When Virender Sehwag was batting we thought we would score 170 but at the end we were 30-40 runs short. Ross Taylor batted superb and he took the game out of us. Their spinners also bowled really well," a disappointed Gambhir said.

Despite being out of the competition, Gambhir said his side will play for a win against Cape Cobras in their last Super Eight match at home on Monday.

"It's important for us to play well in front of our fans in Delhi. We have to give them something to cheer for," he added.

Man-of-the-match Ross Taylor, a popular player for the Bangaloreans, thanked the crowd for their support.

"When you get crowd support like this it's hard not to entertain. I don't get this kind of reception back home in New Zealand and so have thanks to them.

BRC face DD in the clash of IPL sides

Royal Challengers Bangalore lock horns with the Delhi Daredevils in a potential high-voltage match of the Airtel CLT20.

In a match which would see several cricketing stars in action, the Royal Challengers, who were thumped by Victorian Bushrangers in the League B opener two days ago, just cannot afford to lose today as that would confirm their ouster.

The Bangalore squad looked well-balanced on paper with world-class batsmen and bowlers in their ranks but they have not been able to put their act together in the tournament so far, having won just one game out of four.

Any side which has Robin Uthappa, Jacques Kallis, Rahul Dravid, Ross Taylor, Virat Kohli, Manish Pandey and Mark Boucher would be a formidable batting unit but they have not fired in unison in the two out of four matches.

In the bowling front also, Bangalore boasts of Anil Kumble, Kallis, Dale Steyn, Roelof van der Merwe and Praveen Kumar but here again, except for Kallis, none has been consistent.

Bangalore need an inspired performance from Kumble tomorrow against the likes of his former India teammates Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir.

Incidentally, Delhi Daredevils has a similar concern with its batting.

Their key player Tillakaratne Dilshan is struggling and more importantly, the burden of captaincy seems to have bogged down Gautam Gambhir.

Only Sehwag seems to be enjoying his game, while consistency eludes Dinesh Karthik.
One department which could tilt the balance in favour of the Daredevils could be their bowling with Australian Dirk Nannes carrying over his red-hot form of the Indian Premier League II. He has taken four wickets out of the two group matches.
The Daredevils had also been strengthened by the good showing of retired Australian great Glenn McGrath in their last match against Wayamba of Sri Lanka.
The born-again Ashish Nehra is yet to make his mark in the tournament while Amit Mishra has been average so far.

Squads (From):
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Anil Kumble (c), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Balachandra Akhil, Rajesh Bishnoi, Mark Boucher, Rahul Dravid, Jacques Kallis, Virat Kohli, Praveen Kumar, Manish Pandey, Ross Taylor, Robin Uthappa, Roelof van der Merwe and Vinay Kumar.
Delhi Daredevils: Gautam Gambhir (c), Virender Sehwag, Rajat Bhatia, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Dinesh Karthik, Mithun Manhas, Amit Mishra, Yogesh Nagar, Dirk Nannes, Ashish Nehra, Aavishkar Salvi, Pradeep Sangwan, Owais Shah, Manoj Tiwary.

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Durston: We missed Trescothick

Somerset batsman Wesley Durston admitted that they missed the service of the experienced Marcus Trescothick in their loss to Diamond Eagles.
Trescothick returned home on Thursday midway through the USD six million tournament after a recurrence of his stress-related illness.

"You always going to miss an international player. Marcus is an important player. We miss the experience he brings and his batting. We may need to reshape the batting order," Durston said after the match.

The Eagles bowlers restricted the English outfit to a modest 132 for eight wickets in the Super Eight League B match and then overhauled the target in 18.4 overs at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.

"It's very disappointing to lose. Mathematically, now we have a chance," Durston said.

Somerset's run in the tournament has been far from impressive with the English side just about managing to book a place in the league stage after Trinidad and Tobago beat Deccan Chargers in the last Group A match.

Meanwhile, Eagles vice-captain Shadley Van Schalkwyk praised C J de Villiers, who scalped four wickets for just 17 runs and revealed that the pitch also offered a lot to bowlers.

"I think, it is the ground and the big haul of CJ. If you take early wickets in Twenty 20 cricket, you take the wind out of the sails of the team and you create a little bit of momentum.

"That momentum created by CJ's wickets and just got us through the rest of the innings. We got wickets at regular intervals. When we went out to bat, we knew one partnership is needed to keep the intent going on," Schalkwyk said.

"We had a completely different approach. It was a massive change. In Delhi, you don't know where your next run is going to come from. On a wicket like this, you can trust your instincts a bit more," he added.

Schalkwyk also hinted on maintaining the winning combination in the next match against T&T on Sunday.

"We are going to try pretty much the same thing on Sunday. We will have a conversation, have a look at the game, little bit of planning and just refresh and give it all," he said.

"I don't want to go home with any regret. So we are going to enjoy it and enjoy the moment. It might be a loss and might not be a loss, but it is a fantastic tournament," he added.

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Pollard stuns Blues into submission

Kieron Pollard blasted a sensational 54 off just 18 balls to help Trinidad and Tobago snatch victory from the jaws of defeat against New South Wales Blues.

Pollard struck five fours and as many sixes to single-handedly drag out Trinidad & Tobago from the claws of defeat and seal the win with nine balls to spare.

Apart from Pollard, captain Darren Ganga (32 off 26), Darren Bravo (27 off 24) and Dinesh Ramdin (23 off 13) also shone with bat before the trio fell prey to unnecessary run outs.

For NSW, Brett Lee, Moises Henriques and Doug Bollinger picked up a wicket each.

Earlier, Philip Hughes (83 off 64) and David Warner (63 off 41) made merry against an inexperienced Trinidad & Tobago attack as the duo raised 121 runs for the opening wicket attack to help New South Wales post a mammoth 170 for four.

Dwayne Bravo was the most successful bowler for Trinidad with figures of three for 31, while left-arm chinaman bowler Dave Mohammed took one wicket, giving away 26 runs.

Chasing an imposing 171 for victory, Trinidad & Tobago lost their way after the early burst of William Perkins.

Perkins (16 off 13) showed early promise hitting two boundaries and a six but his over-aggression led to his downfall, caught by Nathan Hauritz off Lee.

Trinidad & Tobago dug a hole for themselves losing two more quick wickets in the form of Lendl Simmons and dangerman Dwayne Bravo.

Simmons was caught in front of the wicket by Bollinger, while Bravo was held at fine-leg by Bollinger off Henriques.

However, Ganga and Darren Bravo were in no mood to give up without a fight as the duo put on 47 runs for the fifth.

Hauritz came for some beating at the hands of the duo as both Ganga and Darren Bravo hit the off-spinner for a six each to give some momentum to the Trinidad & Tobago run chase.

Just when Ganga and Darren Bravo started to accelerate the innings, both the batsmen fell to unnecessary run outs.

But wicketkeeper Dinesh Ramdin and Pollard had other plans as they welcomed Steven Smith with a 15-run over to keep alive the chase.

With Ramdin running himself out, Pollard took the onus on his shoulders and completely changed the complexion of the match in one over.

He demolished Henriques for two back-to-back fours and then followed it up with three sixes to pile up massive 27 runs of the 17th over and reduce the equation for his side.

Needing 16 off 12 balls, Simon Katich made a blunder by handing the ball to Henriques as Pollard clobbered the pacer for a four, two sixes to finish off the match in style.

Earlier, opting to bat Warner and Hughes gave a rollicking start to the NSW innings, scoring 24 runs in the first two overs.

Both the left-handers were in a murderous mood from the word go as they clobbered Ravi Rampaul for three boundaries to pile up 14 runs in the opening over.

Sensing the ease with which the NSW openers were negotiating the pacers, Ganga introduced his brother Sherwin Ganga into the attack in the third over and the off-spinner did justice to his skipper's call, giving away just 17 runs in his four overs.

However, his good work was undone by Darren Bravo at the other end as Hughes struck him for two fours in the same over through midwicket to take NSW to 50 for no loss at the end of the powerplay.

The Caribbean side's problem was further compounded by their bowlers' inability to pick up wickets as Hughes and Warner piled up 71 runs at the halfway mark of their innings.

With wickets in hand, Warner cut loose in the 12th over and hit leg-spinner Samuel Badree for three sixes and a four to notch up his fifty in just 31 balls.

In search of quick runs, Warner's explosive innings, which included five fours and three huge sixes, finally came to an end when Dwayne Bravo caught him off Dave Mohammed.

It could have been double delight for Mohammed had the bowler managed to latch on to the straight forward chance of Hughes in the very next delivery.

The Caribbean side finally got something to cheer about in the final over as Dwayne Bravo scalped Henriques (17 off 10) and Hughes with back-to-back deliveries and then Ben Rohrer in the final ball of the innings.

Hughes was going great guns with 11 fours and a six before he was caught by Pollard off Bravo.

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Diamond Eagles beat Somerset by 5 wickets

HYDERABAD: Decent bowling complemented by disciplined batting scripted Diamond Eagles' five-wicket victory over Somerset, who kissed their semi-final hopes goodbye after losing the League B encounter of the Champions League on Friday.

The Eagles bowlers, especially Cornelius de Villiers (4/17) did a brilliant job - allowing just one significant partnership in the Somerset innings - restricting the English outfit to a modest 132 for eight wickets.

The same discipline was the hall-mark of their chase as Morne van Wyk (47) and Ryan Bailey (29) guided them near the victory mark and their team-mates completed the rest with 1.2 overs to spare. The Eagles got off to an eventful start in their pursuit for the 133-run victory with in-form Rilee Rossouw (13) in the thick of things.

The attacking left-hander, who had slammed a half-century against Sussex, was clearly in a hurry. He came down the track to meet the first ball he received to send it across the rope, while depositing the fourth delivery in the sight-screen for a massive six to make a statement of intent.

Charl Willoughby's torment, however, was soon over as Alfredo Thomas pouched Rossouw's skier at mid-on to see the back of the batsman, who was looking ominous.
Morne van Wyk and Adrian McLaren (13) maintained the tempo, picking boundaries at will and their stance had yielded 30 quick runs when McLaren fell to Willoughby, having hit the bowler for a four in the previous delivery. If van Wyk was perturbed after losing two partners, it did not show as he smote Max Waller for a huge six over mid-wicket.

In keeping with the trend, just when things were looking picture-perfect for the Eagles, came the next setback as captain Boeta Dippenaar (18) holed out to Wes Durston off Waller in the 12th over. The situation merited caution and van Wyk sensibly retreated into a shell, leaving the job of scoring to Ryan Bailey (29).
Both eventually fell in quick succession but by then, the writing was clear on the wall for Somerset and Ryan McLaren and Alan Kruger completed the formality.

Earlier, Wes Durston starred in a 77-run stand with James Hildreth to guide Somerset to 132/8 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.

Recovering from the shock of Marcus Trescothick's sudden departure for home due to stress-related illness, Somerset found themselves in a hole at 52/5 inside nine overs with Corneius de Villiers (4/17) wreaking havoc on their top and middle order.

Durston (57 off 32 balls), who replaced Trescothick, and Hildreth (31) then steadied the ship with a crucial partnership that may not have resulted in an imposing total but at least gave their bowlers something to defend.

de Villiers triggered panic in his first over, trapping opener Craig Kieswater (8) and next man in Arul Suppiah (0) with his fourth and fifth legitimate deliveries, separated by a wide ball in between.

In his next over, de Villiers removed Zander de Bruyn (2) and at 19 for three, the situation looked anything but rosy for the English side.

His team in crisis, a lot was expected from Justin Langer (12), but two back-to-back fours off Shadley van Schalkwyk were all he managed before Thandi Tshabalala castled him with his first delivery.

Alan Kruger then caught Peter Tego off his own delivery before Durston and Hildreth did some damage control job.

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"No replacement for Trescothick"

Somerset cricket director Brian Rose, who believes Marcus Trescothick can be a good captain.

Q: Why did Marcus Trescothick leave?

Ans: Well, it is really disappointing and unfortunate for the team. We all know he has had some real problems, which have been well reported over the last two or three years.

Marcus had been telling me that he wasn't as fit as he should have been in an intense tournament like the Airtel CL T20.

All the teams here needed players who were at the peak of their mental and physical abilities and Marcus was honest when he said that he could not give the team his all.

I think that was very fair and quite strong of Marcus.

Q: Will you be going for any replacement - supposing you reach semis and the final?

Ans: No. We won't be going for any replacement. We have got enough batting strength at the moment. We have one in the 18-year-old Jason Butler. He is also in the under-19 Wolrd Cup team, which is already in Bangladesh.

He will be joining them soon. The reason we have asked him to stay with us is he can gain some experience. But we may not be pushing him straight in front of the huge crowds here.

Q: Having had a fantastic domestic season Trescothick came to India with big hopes and the crowds here wanted to see him - so his departure must have personally disappointed you too?

Ans: Of course it is a huge disappointment for everyone. But the cricket public in England has seen what pressure can do to international sportsmen.

We have several examples of that, Marcus is one.

However, I don't think his professional career is over for Somerset. I reckon he still has good four or five years of cricket left.

In fact I expect him to take over as Somerset captain next year. You will continue to see some great performances from him.

As of now Marcus playing abroad looks doubtful but he will be playing domestic cricket.

Q: Can he be expected to play soon in any competition?

Ans: We will be off for three to four weeks when we go back from the Airtel CL T20.

We start our winter programme in the middle of November. I am sure Marcus will be eager to join us then.

Q: What happens when current skipper Justin Langer leaves?

Ans: Well that is fine. Things move on. We can move on as a club. Yes, he has done a fantastic job; there is no doubt about that. His and the coach Adny Hury's training and coaching methods are different and just brilliant. But we are hoping to go keep going up. The grass is going to grow further.

I think Murali Karthik is doing a great job with our young spinners and I think Treschothik can be a great captain.

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I would love to play in the IPL:New South Wales batsman Phillip Hughes

After a sensational Test debut against South Africa, which yielded two hundreds in his first two Tests, Hughes has been out in the cold, struggling for every breath.

All of 20 years, the southpaw from Macksville in New South Wales Blues is wiser for the entire storm he has gone through.

For now, all that matters for Hughes is playing cricket in any format. The lucrative Indian Premier is one of them.

“I would love to play in the IPL. It is a wonderful format and I understand it is a very thrilling format and playing in India will be a huge challenge.”

Hughes would know a thing or two about India. Currently in India for the Airtel Champions League Twenty20 for the Blues, the youngster has been out on a mission since his omission from the Australian squad after the last of his five Tests against England in July this year.

The much talked about rendezvous with Sachin Tendulkar had its impact on Hughes alright. It showed all the more he glowed.
“Yeah, it was great meeting Sachin. We just had a general chat and it was nice of him to give me three hours of his time.

It was interesting to see the hunger Sachin still has for runs after two decades in the international arena. He is a true legend.”

Both men started playing for their countries at a very young age and it was not surprising to hear Hughes talk of his youth with Tendulkar.

“I did ask him questions about his youth and how he handled all the pressure of being a cricketer. His humility is incredible.”

Life does change in cricket and it has for Hughes. From being a well-talked about cricketer a year ago, the left-handed opener became hot property after his stunning debut.

A duck followed two hundreds. That was incredible too, is it not?

“Well, I think so mate. I was nervous after my first innings duck. I had a few nervous moments and I knew I had to perform.”

The pressure, understandably, would have been immense. South Africa had drubbed the Aussies Down Under, Matthew Hayden had retired and there was already no Justin Langer and Hughes was hailed as the best thing to happen to Australian cricket in this decade even before he had played his first Test!

“I went back to the dressing room after my four ball duck. Those moments at the crease were nerve wracking and I realised that it could not get worse than that. Things could only get better.”

They did until he hit the rocks and faced the heat. The first axe was followed by his first ever controversy (remember the Twitter saga?), but let us steer clear of that.

Now, here is. In India, global cricket stars get the adulations they deserve and Hughes will be no different as his team goes searching for more glory at the next stage of the Airtel CL T20.

The unbeaten 62 against the Sussex Sharks was a fine effort from a young man, trying to find his feet at the big league again. Somewhere in Australia, the selectors would have noted the knock down in their diaries.

The world needs to watch out for him. There will be more from Australia’s youngest Test debutant and if he does live up to it, that will herald a new dawn and a new generation of cricketers who thrive on the traditional format in the days of sizzling, fast cricket.

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Airtel CL T20 is a rare opportunity:Otago Volts captain Craig Cumming

Otago Volts are the only side representing New Zealand. They were beaten in both their Group C encounters, by Bangalore Royal Challengers and Cape Cobras.

Dominic Patrick Franks: Craig, you were drawn in a very tough Group, along with the Challengers and the Cobras. Is the team a little disappointed to be heading home so soon?
Craig Cumming: Yeah, obviously. But having said that we had to play two tough teams and we came up short against both of them. Andrew Puttick's century did us in in the first game and then the Challengers batted beautifully against us. We're a very confident side and we believed that if we played to our potential, we would do well. Unfortunately, that didn't happen.

DPF: Are you excited by the entire premise of this tournament, the best first class cricketers in the world competing in a global club cricket tournament?
CC: It's absolutely fantastic. You're giving opportunities to the players to represent their provinces and states on a world stage and that means a lot to everyone. It's a very rare opportunity to do something like that. There are players who haven't played international cricket and are now getting to experience what they only see on TV in terms of international cricket and the IPL. Now they're a part of it. It's a lifetime experience that you could only dream about. I think the concept is amazing and it's something that will keep growing. I think all the teams here are keen to do well and when they go back home they'll want to win and qualify for next year's tournament.

DPF: How different is it for you as a cricketer playing for your province as opposed to playing for your country?
CC: I wouldn't say you're more proud than when you play for your country because everyone loves representing their country. But it's a different sort of passion playing for your province. You've played for them over a number of years and that's what got you onto the international stage. You have to play well for your province before you play international cricket. Now everyone's back representing their state side, or their provincial side, and it's very exciting.

DPF: How important are the monetary rewards that come with playing in a tournament of this stature?
CC: To be honest it's not about the financial rewards at all. It's the unique opportunity of playing in India while representing your province Otago. We wanted to make the most of that and play good cricket. There's really no thought of money when playing cricket in front of capacity crowds in great stadiums, and that is a reward in itself.

DPF: How big was it for the younger players in your team to play in India and experience first-hand the uniqueness of playing cricket over here in front of crowds that are probably double, maybe three times as large as they are back at home?
CC: That's probably one of the best experiences for the guys. But it's not only that; it's the whole culture of India, the fanatical crowds, the support you get, the welcomes you receive when you come to the hotels, the fantastic food, everything's great and it's just a pleasure to be here. And then there's playing cricket too. You get a lot of players who haven't been here, and they get to witness stuff and hear the noise that they think is there on telly but they're not so sure. It's certainly a pleasure to be here and to play cricket here and I think it can only be this great because it is India.

DPF: As a Kiwi cricketer, who probably isn't paid as well as say an Indian or an Australian cricketer, how happy are you that Twenty20 is throwing up all these different avenues where you can be paid substantially for exhibiting your skills?
CC: As I said before, for a tournament like this our players would come here for free. We came here for what the tournament is all about and to enjoy the experiences. Twenty20 cricket is exciting; it's about franchises, it's about tournaments. It's about players maybe going around the world and playing for different sides, but as soon as you turn up to the ground it's all about playing cricket. Every single player over here, when they turn up at the ground isn't worried about what they're getting paid. They just want to go out there and perform in front of fans. And for us New Zealanders, it gave us a unique opportunity to go out there and be a part of something that we normally only see on TV. It's certainly a format that I think is fantastic. I don't think anyone can predict, or say how far it's going to go. If it keeps being successful, and you keep getting fans then you just can't ignore that.

DPF: You just mentioned that no one can say how far T20 cricket is going to go. What's your personal opinion about the future of this format of the game?
CC: I'm a traditionalist and I think Test cricket is the ultimate test of cricket because of what it is - the skills that are involved, the patience and all those other kind of things. One day cricket has a place too. You saw the Champions Trophy and that was a huge hit and the players really enjoyed playing there, and then you have T20 which is a different format altogether. It's excitement, it's razzmatazz, everyone's on the go, and you can do that for three hours. Back in New Zealand, it gives families a chance to go out together for three hours and watch a game. We don't get the same sort of crowds as we do over here, but it's a good environment and people can leave the work place and go have a few quiet beers at the cricket ground. It's certainly got a place and with the tournaments that we have here like this one, it's fantastic. This is what T20 is made for I think.

DPF: It's a pity that we in India didn't get to see too much of what the Otago Volts are capable of, so before we end would you like to tell cricket fans around the world what the team is like?
CC: We are a side that is very proud of who we represent. We get a lot of support back home from people in Dunedin and we enjoy representing them. We have a lot of fun, we like to smile, we like to enjoy our cricket; we take cricket seriously but we don't take too much else seriously. If you're sitting on the team bus there'll be a lot of banter, and even if the New Zealand boys come back from the national team with a little bit of arrogance in them, it soon gets knocked out of them with a fair bit of abuse. It's a pretty friendly team that plays an exciting brand of cricket. Hopefully we'll win our domestic competition again and come back the next year and the Indian public will get to see a little more of us.

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IPL champions Chargers crash out

Reigning IPL champions the Deccan Chargers were sent crashing out of the Airtel CL T20 after they suffered a three-run defeat to Trinidad & Tobago.

West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo was the hero for Caribbean nation following a match-winning final over when he claimed two wickets and conceded just four runs to ensure his side would take a perfect record into the second round.

Trinidad & Tobago's victory also means Somerset progress from the group, just a day after their English counterparts Sussex were sent home.

Justin Langer's Sabres had beaten the Chargers in their opening match, but lost to T&T which means they would carry no points into the second round.

T&T opener William Perkins smashed 38 off 32 balls at the top of the order to give his side a solid start against a wayward new-ball attack and number seven batsman Kieron Pollard made 31 from 14 balls to help his side post 149 for seven.

Deccan Chargers skipper Adam Gilchrist then struck a blistering 51 off 36 balls, while Venugopal Rao made 30 lower down the order, but the Chargers lost wickets regularly to bow out.

Frontline bowlers Fidel Edwards - who was taken out of the attack in the previous match against Somerset for bowling beamers - and RP Singh struggled for their line early as the hosts leaked runs.

Edwards found some consistency to trap his West Indies team-mate Lendl Simmons (seven) in front, but Singh could not find his groove.

The left-arm seamer sent down three front-foot no-balls and a wide in his second over in which he conceded 15 and Perkins, who had cashed in on two boundaries off Edwards' first over, helped his side off to a flying start.

Gilchrist brought on Tirumalasetti Suman inside the powerplay and the part-time spinner struck with his fourth delivery when he held onto a return catch from Darren Bravo (14).

Skipper Darren Ganga was run out in the same over by Andrew Symonds, who then sent down an excellent first over as the Chargers regained the initiative by restricting T&T to 53 for three at the end of the powerplay.

But Pollard smacked four sixes and a boundary in a 14-delivery 31 to lift T&T's faltering innings.

The Chargers' reply stuttered at the start as VVS Laxman (four), top scorer against the Somerset, number three Abhinav Kumar (one) and his replacement Symonds (two) were sent back cheaply.

Gilchrist, who had begun his onslaught with a six over third man and a four to the fine-leg boundary, eased the Chargers back into contention with 55-run stand with Rohit Sharma (25) for the fourth wicket, but the game swung T&T's way when both batsmen fell in the space of three deliveries.

The Chargers had needed another 64 runs from 47 deliveries at that stage and Rao and Scott Styris put on 39 for the sixth wicket, leaving the home side needing 20 from the last three overs, but Styris (14) was run out and Rao fell shortly later as the chase faltered.

Teams:

Deccan Chargers: VVS Laxman, AC Gilchrist, TL Suman, A Symonds, RG Sharma, SB Styris, Y Venugopal Rao, Abhinav Kumar, PP Ojha, RP Singh, FH Edwards.

Trinidad & Tobago: LMP Simmons, WKD Perkins, DJ Bravo, D Ganga, DM Bravo, KA Pollard, D Ramdin†, S Ganga, D Mohammed, R Rampaul, S Badree.

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