Tambe hat-trick collars Kolkata

IPL7, MATCH 25—Kolkata suffered a dramatic collapse to lose by 10 runs at Ahmedabad.

Ahmedabad (IANS): Leg spinner Pravin Tambe struck the first hat-trick of the season and skipper Shane Watson picked up three wickets to script Rajasthan Royals' 10-run sensational win over Kolkata Knight Riders in their maiden Indian Premier League (IPL) match at their newly adopted home, the Sardar Patel Stadium in Motera here Monday.

After a 121-run stand between openers Robin Uthappa (65) and Gautam Gambhir (54), Knight Riders suffered a dramatic batting collapse losing six wickets for two runs and could muster only 160 for six in 20 overs while chasing a target of 171. 

Knight Riders also became the first team in the history of IPL to lose a match after scoring a century-run stand while chasing a target.

It seemed Knight Riders had the match in their grasp as they were cruising at 121 for no loss in the 15th over. They needed 49 runs from 35 balls as both Gambhir and Uthappa were going great guns. Gambhir smacked six fours and a six in his 34-ball whirlwind knock while Uthappa hit three sixes and five fours during his 52-all stay. 

But Gambhir's dismissal triggered a batting collapse as Knight Riders lost six wickets for just two runs and were suddenly reduced to 123 for six. 

First it was the triple strike from Watson in the 15th over when he got rid of Gambhir, Uthappa and Andre Russell (1) in five balls to reduce Knight Riders to 122 for three

In the next over, the 42-year-old Tambe picked up his maiden hat-trick in just two legal balls.

Tambe had Manish Pandey stumped by Saju Samson with a wide delivery in the first ball and then took a good catch off his own bowling to get rid of Yusuf Pathan. He completed the hat-trick by dismissing Ryan ten Doeschate with a tossed up delivery that hit the Dutchman's toe for him to be adjudged lbw.

The Knight Riders failed to recover from the deadly blows and it was Shakib-al Hasan's unbeaten 21 in 14 balls that helped them reduce the deficit.


COMPETITIVE TOTAL
Earlier put in, an impressive batting performance by the top-order took Rajasthan Royals to a competitive 170 for six in 20 overs. Opening batsmen Ajinkya Rahane (30) and Karun Nair (44) set the stage with their quickfire 52-run stand in 39 balls.

Rahane struck three fours and a six in his 22-ball knock and was run out in the seventh over with a direct hit from Sunil Narine. Nair and Sanju Samson (37) were then involved in a crucial 53-run stand for the second wicket. The duo not only stole the singles but also ensured that the boundaries kept flowing. 

A smart piece of bowling by Shakib (1/25) broke the partnership. Shakib saw Nair coming down the track and fired it full outside the off-stump with the batsmen stranded in the middle of the pitch and wicket-keeper Uthappa did the rest. 

Watson then launched a late onslaught with his 31 off 20 balls hitting two fours and two sixes to take them to 170. 

Narine was again impressive with his two for 28 while Vinay Kumar conceded 42 runs for two wickets from his four overs.

Can Mumbai end Arabian nightmare?

The defending champions are without a win after four matches this season.

The big picture

There is this joke going around on social media. A judge asks a boy who he would like to stay with - his mother or his father. None, because both of them beat me, he says. "I would like to say with Mumbai Indians, as they beat no one." It has been a horror first one-third of the season for the defending champions, and they are in danger of returning home without a single win from the UAE leg of the IPL.

Till their title win, the criticism of Mumbai Indians used to be that despite having a galaxy of overseas and Indian heavyweights, they would often fall short at crucial stages of a game. But compete they would more often than not, till this season. Scores of 122, 115, 141 and 125 do not win you T20 games, unless your bowling has an exceptional day. The one time Mumbai Indians bowled first in UAE, they conceded 163.

Mumbai Indians have had running problems with the opening partnership in several seasons, and this season has been no different. By their fourth game, they realised that the man who has reinvented himself successfully as a limited-overs opener for India is also an option at the top of their order. Before that, Rohit Sharma was coming in with too much to do after the pair of Michael Hussey and Aditya Tare had failed to provide the kind of starts their side needed.

With fewer games per side this season, Mumbai Indians cannot really afford to keep piling up the losses. Sunrisers Hyderabad are in only a slightly better position with one victory. Their batting looked top-heavy coming into the season, and the fears have come true so far, with a thin middle order unable to step up when the powerful batsmen do not fire upfront. At least the strengths and weaknesses are clearer in Sunrisers' case. Mumbai Indians, as has been the case in the past too, seem to be misfiring without any standout reason.

Players to watch

Rohit Sharma replaced Ricky Ponting as captain last season and led Mumbai Indians to their maiden IPL title after years of disappointment. He then had a productive Champions Trophy and has finally started to deliver on his long-standing promise for India. He has an army of advisors off the field in the Mumbai Indians support staff but his challenge is to filter the gallons of inputs he must be receiving and translate it into a turnaround quickly.

Rohit can turn to the experience of 2013 but this is new territory for Shikhar Dhawan the captain. Further, his own limited-overs form hasn't been great coming into the tournament. He had to sit out an ODI in New Zealand and was also left out for the knockout stage of the World T20. Not only will he have to revive his side's campaign as its leader, he will also have to contribute majorly with the bat, something he has not managed so far.

Stats and trivia

    Mumbai Indians have the least number of 50-plus scores this season - one, made by Rohit Sharma
    Amit Mishra's economy-rate of 9.48 is the worst this season among specialist spinners who have played more than one match

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Narine-Maxwell clash key in battle of shaky line-ups

Punjab vs Kolkata — Kings XI have won five out of 11 games between the two teams.

The big picture — Kings XI Punjab and Kolkata Knight Riders come into this game on the back of contrasting wins. While Kings XI thrashed Sunrisers Hyderabad by 72 runs, Knight Riders broke out of jail during a two-run win against Royal Challengers Bangalore, an outcome influenced by their fielding as the opposition's batting.In form: Glenn Maxwell

The shadow of Glenn Maxwell's form looms over this match too, after his 43-ball 95 but Knight Riders would have taken note of two things from the game against Sunrisers - first, Dale Steyn and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, the side's best bowlers, had just nine balls at Maxwell in all.

Second, the scores of the other Kings XI batsmen showed how untested the rest of the line-up is. Moreover, no one really knows how they can play if the pivotal Maxwell falls early. Depending on their breakthroughs and the way Knight Riders manage their bowling, it sets up a fascinating sub-contest between Maxwell and David Miller and Sunil Narine and Morne Morkel.

A shaky batting order is not a problem area for the Kings XI exclusively. The longest Knight Riders' openers have lasted together is 10 balls and their Indian batsmen have also been diffident. The relatively weaker Kings XI bowling offers a chance to strike form.

Players to watch:

Kings XI's costliest buy at the auction, Mitchell Johnson, hasn't quite hit the peaks he found in the IPL last year, where he took 24 wickets in 17 games for Mumbai Indians. There's a big decision to be made on how he plans the next phase of his career, but for the time being, Kings XI need an inspiring rally from him if they are to deal with the reputation of being extravagant with the ball.

Knight Riders' opening pair of Gautam Gambhir and Jacques Kallis occupy the top two spots on the list of batsmen with most ducks in the IPL. In four innings right before the IPL, Gambhir had tallied 162 runs, which is why his recent failure looks even starker.

For a captain whose leadership thrives with his own performance - he was one of the top run-getters in the league when Knight Riders won the title in 2012 - a return to form is imperative at this stage.

Stats and trivia:

In 65 innings, Glenn Maxwell has faced 348 dot balls out of a total 898 balls faced.

In three seasons for Rajasthan Royals, Yusuf Pathan had scored 1011 runs with a hundred and six fifties. In three IPL seasons with Kolkata Knight Riders, he has 809 runs and just one fifty, which came in last year's edition.

Kings XI have won five out of 11 games between the two teams. [CYCIPL]

Details of IPL tickets for UAE matches

The UAE is buzzing with the excitement of making its IPL debut. With preparations in full swing, the online sale of tickets has commenced from today (Thursday, April 3, 2014) on www.iplt20.com andwww.ticketmaster.ae.

You can also avail the tickets at selected Lulu Hypermarkets in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah, from Sunday, 6 April 2014, whilst stadium box-office sales will start on Thursday, 10 April 2014.

For Hospitality and Corporate Boxes, please contact - hospitality@iplt20.com

The tickets will be available in different denominations. The minimum price for the Abu Dhabi matches is AED 20 for a single match and AED 30 for double-headers. In Dubai, a ticket for one match will start at AED 30 and AED 50 for double-headers. In Sharjah, tickets will start at UED 30 for a single match, and AED 40 for the double-headers.

Refer to the table below for further details of the ticket prices -

Abu Dhabi		Single Header	Double Header
Type	Entry	Ticket Price (AED)	Ticket Price (AED)
South Grandstand - East	South East Gate	60	100
South Grandstand - West	South West Gate	60	100
South Panoramic Stand  - East	South East Gate	80	125
South Panoramic Stand  - West	South West Gate	80	125
South Premium - East	South East Gate	200	300
North Stand - East	North East Gate	40	60
North Stand - West	North West Gate	40	60
East Mound	East Mound Gate	20	30
West Mound	West Mound Gate	20	30
Marquee - South Stand	South West Gate	750	1000
Corporate Box	VIP Entrance	1250	1500
Dubai		Single Header	Double Header
Type	Entry	Ticket Price (AED)	Ticket Price (AED)
Green - Upper Stand	Zone B - Gates B12 -14	30	50
Green - Lower Stand	Zone B - Gates B12 -14	30	50
Orange - Upper Stand	Zone D - Gates D20 -22	30	50
Orange - Lower Stand	Zone D - Gates D20 -22	30	50
Purple - Lower Stand	Zone C - Gates C15 -19	50	80
Purple - Upper Stand	Zone C - Gates C15 -19	50	80
Red - Premium	Zone A - Gates A9	100	150
Red - Premium	Zone A - Gates A4	100	150
Platinum	Zone A - Gates A5	200	250
Corporate Box	Zone A - Gates A2	1000	1250
VIP Box	Zone A - Gates A7	1250	1500
Sharjah		Single Header	Double Header
Type	Entry	Ticket Price (AED)	Ticket Price (AED)
Members Enclosure	Zone 2	150	200
West Stand	Zone 8	80	100
East Stand	Zone 10	60	75
North Stand	Zone 9	30	40
Diamond Box	Zone 6	1500	1500
VIP Boxes	Zone 6	1500	1500
Corporate Box	Zone 3	1000	1250

At CSK, there’s only one captain and it’s Dhoni, says Brendon McCullum

Brendon McCullum

We all know CSK is the only team which haswon the IPL twice in the year 2010 and 2012 under the dynamic leadership of MS Dhoni. Though 4 captains from different countries form the part of the squad, but Brendon McCullum has made it clear who’s the leader at the camp.

“At CSK there is only one captain and that is MS Dhoni. He is the sole decision-maker when it comes to the on-field matters. There is not much team talk about that,” he told IPLT20.com.

“However, as experienced leaders, we are expected to do small things off the field like guiding the younger players and helping out the team-mates with things they need assistance with. On the field there are smaller things like we must not wait for the captain to wave his hands at us asking to step a bit closer or further. We should be able to figure those things out with our experience.”

Commenting on being compared to Dhoni on the basis of the similarities they posses, he said, “Well, there are many things that he and I don’t have in common too. But yes, he is a very nice guy, very humble and one of the best captains in the world. I am pleased to have this opportunity to play under his leadership since there are many things one can learn from the man.”

When asked to take on the responsibility of wicket-keeper in place of Dhoni, he said he was happy that Dhoni was looking over the role.

“Oh, no, I am happy to let him do the job behind the stumps. My body is not up to regular work behind the wickets now. I am glad to be in the same team as Dhoni, who is a brilliant wicketkeeper. I am the backup option if the team requires one.”

Originally published on Sportskeeda.com here

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