Dhoni, 9 other Indians nominated for ICC awards

Mumbai,
Mumbai, Sep 2 (PTI) India's splendid run in Test and one-day cricket in the past one year was Wednesday amply reflected in the ICC's Annual Awards nominations as captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and nine other cricketers were listed in various categories.

Dhoni was nominated in three categories - ICC Cricketer of the Year, Test Player of the Year and ODI Player of the Year awards- while Gautam Gambhir, Harbhajan Singh, Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Sing and Yuvraj Singh were some of the other top players to make the list in different categories.

Gambhir and Harbhajan Singh were the other Indian nominees for the prestigious Cricketer of the Year award.

VVS Laxman joined the trio of Dhoni, Gambhir and Harbhajan to be in the line for the Test Player of the Year award while Yuvraj and Sehwag were also in the fray for the honour of ODI Player of the Year.

TOI

Dhoni, Nehra best performers in West Indies

New Delhi, July 6 (PTI) India paceman Ashish Nehra made a memorable comeback after four years, topping the wicket takers list, while skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni became the highest scorer in the four-match ODI series against West Indies.

By virtue of amassing 182 runs from three innings with an average of 91, Dhoni became the numero uno batsman of the series that India won 2-1 yesterday.

Nehra bagged six wickets from three outings to finish the series with an economy rate of 5.84.

The left-arm Delhi pacer, seeking to consolidate his place in the national side, capitalised on humid conditions in the West Indies to make the batsmen's life miserable.

Nehra shared the wicket takers list along with West Indian pacer Dwayne Bravo.

They are followed by young West Indian pacer Ravi Rampaul, India all-rounder Yusuf Pathan and the hosts Jerome Taylor, all picking up four wickets each.

Kirsten faces BCCI backlash

The Cricket Board today took strong exception to coach Gary Kirsten's comments in the media that Mahendra Singh Dhoni was ready for Test captaincy and asked the South African to concentrate on his job only.
BCCI Secretary Niranjan Shah has categorically told Kirsten to avoid airing his personal views in media and focus on his job of coaching.
"As per the rules and regulations, Kirsten should not have spoken such things in the media, it is not his job. We have the selectors to decide who should be the captain," Shah told reporters.
"His job is to coach the Indian team and not give interviews on the selection matters or the captaincy. His comments have not gone down well with those concerned because he is an important member of the support staff. But I will still give him a benefit of doubt," Shah said.
He also dismissed the notion that Kumble should hang up his boots.
"Anil is a great cricketer and he knows well when to quit. As long as he is in form, I don't think the selectors are going to drop him," he said.
Kirsten had told a television channel earlier this week that ODI skipper Dhoni was ready to take over the Test captaincy from Anil Kumble.
"He (Dhoni) is ready for it (Test captaincy) but there is no need to rush as of now. Anil (Kumble) has done an exceptional job, he is a great leader and he is toiling in many overs for India. He is prepared to do 30 overs in a day. But he is on the other side of the physical side of the game.
Shah said Kumble was doing well and the selectors were not contemplating any change at the helm of the Test team.
"Anil Kumble is a great cricketer. He knows when he should bow out or give up the captaincy. Right now he is bowling very well and the selectors will never drop him or change the captaincy," he said.
When asked if Yuvraj Singh, who is struggling with the bat, should take a break from international cricket, the Board secretary expressed hopes that the left-hander would soon rediscover his form.
Shah further added that the decision to include or exclude a player from the team was that of the selection committee.
"Our selection committee has been doing the job with great responsibility. Let them select the team," Shah added.

source: www.mid-day.com

Cut-price Gony outshines pricey stars

Cricinfo staff

May 31, 2008

When Ishant Sharma went for US$950,000 at the IPL auction in February, Manpreet Gony's name would have elicited a blank stare from most Indian cricket aficionados. You couldn't blame them either. In five first-class games, Gony had just 13 wickets, and there were no howls of protest when he was signed by the Chennai Super Kings rather than his home franchise, the Kings XI Punjab.

On Saturday night, with a global audience watching, he returned to silence the thousands that had been given Punjab flags to wave in the stands. He had finished the league stage with 14 wickets, twice what Ishant managed, but he saved his best for the biggest game that he's ever played in.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni had gambled by opening the bowling with Muttiah Muralitharan, but after a relatively tidy over, he sensed that pace was the key to settling the contest. With Makhaya Ntini back to his spring-heeled best at one end, Gony was unleashed from the Garware Pavilion End.

It took Gony just two balls to justify his captain's faith. When he moved one away from Kumar Sangakkara, there was little response from the Chennai fielders and only a half-hearted plea from his side. Astonishingly though, Sangakkara walked, as Adam Gilchrist had in a World Cup semi-final against Sri Lanka at Port Elizabeth five years ago.

In his next over, Gony landed the big fish. It was a short delivery and when Yuvraj got into position for the pull, Chennai fans must have feared the worst. Few hit the ball harder, and most eyes had already veered towards the rope by the time Murali stuck his hands out to take a blinder. At 28 for 3, the game was slip-sliding away from the men in red and grey.

When he next stepped up to the bowling crease, Gony came up with what must count as the T20 equivalent of a tiger sighting - the maiden over. And he wasn't bowling to some chump either. Irfan Pathan can wallop the ball a long way, but he couldn't even play it out of the circle as Gony bowled the perfect length at lively pace. And though Mahela Jayawardene finally tapped one behind point for four in his final over, the match had effectively been decidedly two balls earlier, when a catastrophic mix-up sent Pathan on his way.

Gony's delight as he whipped off the bails was palpable, and his spell a true reflection of the manner in which Chennai have revived their season after a really sticky patch. His 16 wickets are the second highest for an Indian fast bowler and it was no surprise that his name came up for consideration when the squad was being chosen for the tri-series in Bangladesh and the Asia Cup.

Compared to what he has gone through recently off the field, bowling six dot balls would have been a breeze. He and his wife lost their first child, a boy, 15 days after he was born. For him, the IPL hasn't just been a chance to stake his cricketing claim, but also an opportunity to move on. Jayawardene lost a younger brother to cancer when he was a star in the making, and has often spoken of how that traumatic experience helped him to treat what happened on the field with equanimity. The man who shredded his team's hopes tonight would probably be inclined to agree.

© Cricinfo

Chennai Super Kings seal semi-final spot

May 27, 2008; Chennai Super Kings 148 for 3 (Raina 54*, Dhoni 37) beat Deccan Chargers 147 for 8 (Rao 46, Teja 40) by seven wickets
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

Suresh Raina's unbeaten 54 sealed the semi-final spot for the Chennai Super Kings (file photo)

Mahendra Singh Dhoni lost the toss but everything else went right for his team, beginning with some tight bowling, as the Chennai Super Kings won the match against the Deccan Chargers and a spot in the semi-finals at the expense of the Mumbai Indians. Chennai will face Kings XI Punjab, whom they have defeated twice in the league games, in one semi-final, while Rajasthan Royals take on Delhi Daredevils in the other.

Chennai had conceded 211 against Rajasthan in their previous game but the bowlers were up to the task this time as Deccan's final attempt to win at home win went awry. Adam Gilchrist, Herschelle Gibbs and Shahid Afridi made a combined total of 14 runs, and though Venugopal Rao and Ravi Teja propped them up to 147, it wasn't enough. Chennai had an early wobble, but Suresh Raina, who came in to bat in the fourth over, steered them home with an unbeaten 54.

Chennai's opening bowlers were on the mark from the start: Makhaya Ntini bowled with pace and got good bounce and carry, while Manpreet Gony, the team's leading wicket-taker, stuck to an impeccable length on off stump and bowled through his four overs for 21. And they reaped the rewards soon, as both Gibbs and Gilchrist found the fielder at third man - Gibbs with a slash, and Gilchrist with a thick outside-edge.

Deccan's early runs came mainly in singles and Scott Styris, who has had a terrible tournament, seemed to be getting into rhythm with boundaries in the arc between midwicket and mid-on till he was bowled by Muttiah Muralitharan while trying to hit one across. At 57 for 3 after 10.1 overs, Deccan needed a partnership and Rao and Teja came up with a 76-run stand that lent respectability to the eventual total. Muralitharan was hard to get away but the two went after Balaji in the 14th over, which cost 14.

They managed to up the run-rate with a boundary every over, and Rao, often at the centre of Deccan's rearguard actions, hit one to bring up the 100 in the 16th over. There was a flurry of runs in the 18th as well, as Teja slashed one high into the stands off Ntini in an over which cost 15. That he still ended with figures of 1 for 24 off his four indicated just how frugal he was in his first three overs.

That burst was followed by a flurry of wickets, including three - one of them a run-out - in three balls in the 19th. The crowd had chanted Afridi's name but he lasted two balls as Deccan limped to 147.

Deccan, and Mumbai, needed a wicket early and RP Singh nearly got the breakthrough as Stephen Fleming fended at one that swung away, but both Gilchrist and Styris were late to react. Fleming and his fellow left-hand opener Parthiv Patel cashed in when the bowlers erred: short and wide deliveries were dispatched for fours. P Vijaykumar then decided to go round the wicket, and it worked, as Fleming got a thick outside-edge while trying to force a drive through the covers.

Deccan Chargers were always playing catch-up after an abysmal start. In their first ten overs, they had managed only 57 runs (click here for a larger image) © Cricinfo Ltd

In came Raina and he soon found his rhythm, slapping one riskily in the air through the covers, before punching one through the same region. Afridi was brought into the attack as early as the fifth over, and he put a brake on the scoring. At the other end, Raina got consecutive boundaries in Sarvesh Kumar's first over, but the pressure applied from Afridi worked as Parthiv played straight to cover in Sarvesh's next, Afridi taking the catch.

Raina was joined by Dhoni, and the 55-run stand between the two put Chennai on course for victory. Dhoni started with two streaky boundaries - he hit one straight to Sarvesh first-up, who fluffed a chance, and followed with a thick outside-edge which flew to the third-man boundary. With left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha and Styris managing to curb the runs, Dhoni decided to take a few risks. He stepped out to deposit Ojha over long-on, and after a miscued pull nearly landed in Gibbs' hands at midwicket, he cut Styris for four. Afridi came back with 52 needed off 42 balls, and Dhoni hit one dead-straight for four, before Raina powered a shorter delivery over midwicket for six.

Chennai were cruising towards the target, but had a brief wobble after Dhoni found Gibbs at long-on. That Ojha over, the 16th, went just for three, and when Styris conceded the same in the next, Chennai were left needing 28 off 18. Another tight over and Deccan could have still been in the hunt, but Raina found the gap at midwicket as Ojha bowled a full toss. He was dropped by RP in the 19th over, and hit the winning six - which brought up his fifty - as Chennai reached their target with four balls to spare.

While Dhoni and Co were relieved and celebrated the win, Gilchrist looked ahead after a disastrous first season, in which last-placed Deccan won just two of their 14 games. "I do not have any excuses. It depends which way you look it.," he said. "It's not end of the world. We should settle down, make a self-assessment and think over where we went wrong and plan for the future."


Source: © Cricinfo Mathew Varghese is an editorial assistant at Cricinfo