THE HIMALAYAN MAIL , JAMMU SPORTS MONDAY APRIL 07 2014 8 No shaking off the albatross for YUVRAJ Sunrisers prevail in On Friday, Shivam Sharma came on anyone. But Yuvraj carries the burden of as Kings XI Punjab's third-change his Rs 14 crore ($2.33 million) price tag. bowler to deliver his first in senior He didn't ask for it, but it hangs like rain-hit game . After conceding a single to AB Coleridge's albatross around his neck. On a frustrating evening with against intelligent from de Villiers off his first ball, he bowled You might say his situation is compa- four rain stoppages, sensational , Irfan five successive deliveries to Yuvraj rable to that of Fernando Torres when he death bowling and a cameo from Pathan and . Singh. arrived at Chelsea for £50 million three set up an eight- Their ending - 11 runs off the For four of those five deliveries, years ago and scored just one goal in 18 win (Duckworth-Lewis last three overs - was in stark Yuvraj failed to put bat on ball. Twice he appearances in his first season there. But method) for Sunrisers contrast to the sprightly start, a was beaten by turn while trying to Chelsea's ability to spend money on against Delhi result of 's defend. Once he missed a sweep and sur- other players wasn't restricted by the Daredevils at the Feroz Shah cameo in his first IPL appear- vived a loud lbw shout. The one ball he extravagant transfer fee they paid for Kotla. This was the fourth con- ance as an opener. Pietersen was did manage to connect with popped into Torres. They already had a squad full of secutive loss for Daredevils on hesitant early on and in danger the off side off the leading edge of his big names, to which Torres was merely their home ground in this IPL. of a being run-out a few times, bat. It was a troubling from a one expensive addition. Sunrisers gave away just 22 but looked to be getting his troubled player. It came to an end in Royal Challengers , on the in the last five overs, restricting groove back when he punched a Shivam's next over, with an edge to slip other hand, had Rs. 30.5 crore left to Daredevils to 143 for 7, before square drive off Bhuvneshwar off an attempted slog over the leg side. spend after retaining , Chris their own chase was shortened Kumar for his first boundary. After that 11-ball torment, Yuvraj's stats Gayle and AB de Villiers. They had to first to 117 off 15 overs, then 97 After Quinton de Kock fell to for the IPL season looked like this: 144 build more than three-quarters of a full of 12 overs and finally 43 off Steyn, Pietersen took charge, runs in eight innings at an average of squad with that amount. They splashed five. smacking a six and four each off 20.57 and a of 102.12. 46% of it on one player, Yuvraj. It was Daredevils nearly clawed and Moises Right through the season, Yuvraj has clearly bound to impact how the rest of back into the game, as Rahul Henriques in successive overs to struggled for fluency, struggled to hit the their squad shaped up. Shukla dismissed guide Daredevils to their best gaps. He sits in 27th place among the Yuvraj is clearly in terrible form, and with Sunrisers still needing 18 Powerplay period of the tourna- highest run-getters list for the season, but it might be best for both himself and his off 10 but Naman Ojha and ment. Against Mishra, though, he's 10th on the list of batsmen who have team if they leave him out of the next David Warner ensured there he mistimed a drive straight to faced the most dot balls. few games. Considering how much they were no further hiccups. Warner when was dis- cover, giving the bowler his Among those ten batsmen, all of spent on him, though, doing so would be put away a full toss and Ojha 100th IPL wicket. whom have faced 70 or more dot balls an admission of botched auction strate- missed but Daredevils held followed it up with a slog over Duminy back and sent Laxmi Mayank Agarwal squandered this season, only (3.17 gy. deep midwicket that brought the a start leaving the rebuilding to dots per over) has played out dot balls There's no harm in admitting a mis- Shukla in at No. 5. The all- equation to six off the last over. rounder added 55 runs with , who scored 39 more frequently than Yuvraj (3.06 dots take, but who would Royal Challengers Ojha's six off Laxmi Shukla took off 30. Karthik kept the strike per over). But Sehwag has hit a four or bring in, considering the thinness of their Dinesh Karthik but the innings Sunrisers home with four balls struggled for impetus, specially turning early on and made the six once every 5.14 balls. Yuvraj's corre- squad? Looking through the names in it, to spare. most of a reprieve at fine leg to sponding rate is once every 8.29 balls. there's only one that stands out. He is a after the first, hour-long rain Daredevils in many ways break. Both Karthik and Shukla scoop Steyn for a six over the Only David Warner has found the left-hand batsman, like Yuvraj, and he is ended up paying the price for same region. He swatted Karan boundary less frequently (once every 10 an Under-19 star, like Yuvraj was. fell in the 17th over, leaving steadfastly pigeon-holing two of Duminy and 18 Sharma for a six and a four after balls). But he has only played out 2.20 There is no guarantee Vijay Zol will bat their best batsmen this season as the resumption of play but fell to dot balls every over. like that fresh-faced, teenage Yuvraj, but balls between them to give finishers. They were a comfort- Daredevils some sort of a finish. a well-judged catch by Steyn at These are clear signs that Yuvraj is you would have to think he would do able 87 for 2 in the ninth over the long-off boundary. struggling for form. It could happen to better than Yuvraj's current avatar. Unsurprisingly, they floundered 's home Ganguly advises Kohli, and Praveen's nightmare Kohli has to find a way to stay fresh - Ganguly domestic T20 tournament, the Syed Mushtaq Ali around India and around the world. But we were streak ended at 10 Royal Challengers Bangalore began IPL 2014 Trophy, Praveen said. "I played the Syed Mushtaq looking forward to giving back to the Chepauk with two wins in two games. Since then, they've Ali Trophy and a few corporate matches. My only [crowd]. We are devastated. as we were really It's a tight Saturday prime-time IPL match involving the two one match in six. Their captain, Virat Kohli, India motive was to get as much match practice as I can looking forward to those games. highest profile franchises in the tournament. Guess who deliv- and limited-overs' golden boy over the past couple under my belt. I wanted to put in all my efforts and "Though has been home away from ers when it's a big game? MS Dhoni is perhaps the best finisher of years, has three ducks in eight innings. Former keep myself in sync with the game. I knew my home and we have played there beautifully, there in the limited-overs game, and when Super Kings India captain thinks the two are shoulder, which had troubled me in the past [and was an element of returning back to the Chennai needed a big hit in the final over, he duly obliged, as he has so interconnected, with the challengers of leading kept him out of the India team recently], would faithful. We won't be able to do that this year. We many times in the past. It came down to 11 off the last over, and Royal Challengers affecting Kohli's . only get better the more I bowl. will carry that with us and hopefully put up a cou- Dhoni responded by calmly whacking a six over deep midwick- "Kohli is realising that the combination of cap- "I was extremely happy when I got a call from ple of good performances at Ranchi and move on. et before wrapping up the victory with three balls to spare. taincy and batsmanship is a bit different and he to represent them in the IPL. I But as I said the team is sad not to be going back The last time Mumbai Indians lost an IPL game at the must quickly find a way to make that mental couldn't sleep that night, and all of a sudden, I to our fan base." Vohra will have to wait his turn - Bangar was back in 2012, so long ago that their adjustment," Ganguly wrote in his column in became a lot more positive. I have been playing openers were and Herschelle Gibbs. The 10- The biggest surprise to come out of the fran- Times of India. "It's not a tough thing to do and my international cricket for close to seven years now, game winning streak at home was built on muscular batting and chises' player retentions this year was the case of advice to him would be to decide on a plan [for the ment for the injured , said not being and it was a great moment for me when I realised depth in the bowling, neither of which were in evidence today. Manan Vohra. The young Punjab batsman was one team] at the start of the game, shut it out complete- picked up at the auction in February left him in a that I will be back in action." of only two uncapped players retained across eight After the peerless Lasith Malinga had produced another mess mentally. In an interview with the IPL web- superb Twenty20 burst to drag them back into the game, ly and direct all his mental energy and space CSK 'devastated' to miss out on Chepauk teams. Kings XI Punjab had said then that Vohra site, Praveen said he even went as far as to stop Mumbai had to turn to for the final over. towards scoring runs for himself, though he is games - Fleming was in the mould of ' Sanju leaving his house due to the "negativity" that had #BreachTheFortress Super Kings had been tweeting all day, and bound to get affected at times for wrong decisions. will not play at their Samson, prompting his retention. While Samson when the fortress had to be defended from Dhoni in the final "He will also realise, in due course, that a lot of set in. "Obviously, I was very disappointed when I home ground, the MA Chidambaram Stadium (or has played all eight of Royals' games this season, over by amiable medium-pace, there was only going to be one captaincy and tactics happens out in the middle was not picked in the auction. It was a shocking Chepauk), in IPL 2014 because of the Vohra is yet to play once for Kings XI. winner. and it's also about being aware of situations. On the moment for me. I was dejected for the first week- Cricket Association's prolonged deadlock with the Kings XI coach Sanjay Bangar said the quality Mumbai didn't help their cause by again keeping their whole he has to find a way to relax and stay fresh and-a-half. municipal corporation over the legality of the con- of Indian batsmen Vohra was competing with biggest guns in the holster too long - came in because too much of worrying can drain you out "There came a point when I actually stopped struction of three new stands in the stadium in the meant he had to miss out, and he'll have to wait his towards the end of the 12th over, Kieron Pollard got a look-in mentally." getting out of my house, thinking what people lead-up to the 2011 World Cup. This, Super Kings turn yet. "Manan is competing with Virender only in the 18th, and Corey Anderson even later. When Rohit Not being picked at auction left Praveen would talk about me and feared if they would ask coach said, was "very disappoint- Sehwag and Cheteshwar Pujara. He'll have to walked in, the run-rate was still hovering around six. The inclu- depressed me different kinds of questions. I was gutted that I ing". "I say this on behalf of the team, I announce wait," Bangar told the Telegraph. "We [also] have sion of worked better than the ill-fated experi- India pacer , who played his hadn't got a chance to play on a platform where I our disappointment that we can't go back," Shaun Marsh who hasn't been able to get a game. ment with Ben Dunk, but they will still expect quicker innings first game of the tournament on Saturday, only have been playing for so long." Fleming said after Super Kings' game against It's my job to keep them motivated and to make than a run-a-ball 38 from their specialist overseas batsman. after Mumbai Indians brought him in as a replace- He kept himself going by taking part in the Mumbai Indians. "We enjoy amazing support all them understand that all decisions are taken keep- ing the team's interest in mind." Very disappointed not to play Shivam Sharma grabs awaits in Chennai: Stephen Fleming Chennai Super Kings’ chief coach Stephen Fleming said the his ticket out of obscurity cyclone team has been left devastated by the IPL authorities’ decision to shift the former champions’ Last July during his first major coaching assign- Maxwell home games to Ranchi from ment, Sanjay Bangar, the Kings XI Punjab head coach, their citadel — the M A and three other experts spent three weeks with 20 talent- Odisha may be one of the Chidambaram Stadium in ed youngsters at the in worst-hit states in India when Chepauk. Bangalore. It was a camp for those who had impressed in the it comes to tropical cyclones, Chennai’s matches were previous season's domestic Under-19 competition but were no but there is one storm they shifted after the Tamil Nadu more eligible to compete at the junior level. wouldn't mind hosting again Cricket Association failed to get and again. By some strange the requisite NOCs to host the Shivam Sharma, the little-known allrounder who made his debut IPL scheduling, they have matches on May 18 and 22. for Kings XI on Friday, was one of them. Shivam had a superb junior landed two Kings XI Punjab “We are very disappointed record in that season, with a batting average of 82 and home games despite being not to play in Chennai. I say this Dhoni took a couple of runs, mer New Zealand Test captain of 20, besides captaining Delhi Under-19. almost 1900 km away from on behalf of the team, announce then hit West Indian Pollard for explained. Chandigarh, the capital of our disappointment that we can’t a six over mid-wicket and a Fleming hinted that Mumbai Most of the other players from that camp in Bangalore went on to play in the Punjab. And they won't be go back. We enjoy amazing sup- boundary to pull his side past the might have missed an additional 2013-14 . But thanks to a chaotic selection policy in Delhi cricket, complaining after what hap- port all around India and around finish line in a thrilling finale. spinner to complement Shivam wasn't even picked in the Ranji probables or in the Delhi Under-25 side. pened few days back when the world. But we were looking Super Kings’ victory also Harbhajan on the Wankhede Glenn Maxwell made a forward to giving back to the inflicted on the hosts their first track which gave appreciable While Shivam was disheartened due to the lack of recognition, Bangar had mockery of the bigger Chepauk (crowd). We were dev- defeat at the Wankhede Stadium grip and turn to the slow bowlers marked him as one for the future. As a result, despite Shivam having only played boundaries to lead the team astated as we were really look- since the beginning of last sea- when explaining why they Delhi club cricket all through the previous season, Bangar called him for a Kings ing forward to those games,” to 231, the highest total this son’s IPL. included Samuel Badree at the XI selection trial in Chandigarh. Fleming said after last night’s year. A similar mouth-water- Fleming said his side was a cost of the performing Ben match against Mumbai Indians. power-oriented team with the Hilfenhaus. ing prospect awaits the "That camp has been a turning point in his cricketing journey so far," Naresh “Though Ranchi has been likes of , who “We had wanted to give Cuttack crowd, now surely Jain, Shivam 's coach, told ESPNcricinfo a day after Shivam marked his IPL home away from home and we top-scored with 57 in 51 balls, Badree an opportunity for some behind the Kings XI team debut with the prize scalps of and Albie Morkel. "Having been have played there beautifully, and Dhoni (22 ), in it time. Ben Hilfenhaus has been just as the rest of the country, sidelined from the bigger assignments for no fault of his, Shivam was very dis- there was an element of return- along with smart batsmen like doing a good job for us. We just appointed, but the Kings XI selection trials gave him the much-needed confi- as Maxwell and Co prepare ing back to the Chennai faithful. Brendon McCullum and Suresh thought, looking at our games dence that he was as good as anyone else of his age." to take on Knight We won’t be able to do that this Raina to blend beautifully with coming up there would be an Riders' Narine and Co. year. We will carry that with us the power game exhibited by the opportunity for Badree to play Hailing from a lower middle-class family in Delhi, Shivam has been training Although they are faced and hopefully put up a couple of other two. more of a role. in the Vidya Jain Cricket Academy in the north-western suburb of Rohini. Jain with a daunting task, Knight good performances at Ranchi “I love his (Smith) power. “Not just about today but was coach of Shivam's school and has been mentoring him since then. Jain Riders can take solace in a and move on. But as I said the Power is the key for top order about progressing in the tourna- stresses that Shivam is "a genuine allrounder". "You cannot conclude whether he few facts. Firstly, their bowl- team is sad not to be going back batting. The McCullums and ment; even in the semi finals is a better batsman or a bowler. He is special," Jain said. "He has a great ability ing has been the only one to our fan base,” he added. Rainas are very efficient. They what type of team we can put out to read the game and is a natural leader." which has tasted success Fleming described the provide very good foils. If Smith on the park. It was time to try it against Kings XI batting this team’s stupendous four-wicket gets on top of the bowler with 3- and make sure we got those After Shivam was picked up by Kings XI Punjab for his base price of Rs 10 year. Secondly, they have a victory over Mumbai as a “blue 4 sixes an over, we don’t worry bases covered. lakh, Jain was constantly reminding his favourite ward to be patient. "Not that he settled top order that has, for collar day” for the hard work it about dot balls. The other play- Fleming also praised needed to be told but we were just discussing that he needed to wait for the first now, mitigated some of their required to breach the home ers don’t get flustered and do Dhoni’s skills as a finisher in the opportunity to showcase his talent." batting problems. Both team’s fortress in the Indian what they know. Power would limited-over games at all levels and Robin Premier League. catch up of cricket. When the opportunity came, it was against one of the most destructive batting Uthappa have been among “It was a really blue collar “We are a pretty powerful side. “He has got wonderful skills line-up, the Royal Challengers Bangalore. That too at one of the smallest grounds runs in the team's last two day. We had to really work hard Sometimes it’s hard to be efficient. to finish the game Look at his in India, which is not known to assist spin. But Shivam first foxed Yuvraj with a outings and now the team with the ball and with the bat. Today they tried to manoeuvre composure! That stands out classical offspinner's - forcing a left-hander to edge one that goes away just needs their middle order We knew it was round about a Harbhajan (Singh) and worked more than anything else. He just from him straight into slips - and then enticed Morkel into a false stroke to finish to wake up. Thirdly, a loss to par score. We kept the momen- very hard. If you don’t have power backs himself to get 10, proba- with notable figures of 4-0-26-2. Kings XI may not hurt their tum going, did not get bogged you get stranded. bly 15, may be even 20 runs in chances much - everyone's down. I prefer both sides’ per- What we tried to do is to pro- that last over and he just paces "You have seen how clean his action is losing to them - but a win formances rather than an easy vide power game with some himself and gives confidence to and how skilful he can be with the ball. I am could be a huge bonus. one if we are lucky,” said smarts around it. the guys at the other end. sure he will show his prowess with the bat Lastly, it's a chance to get Fleming after the two-time for- “We know we are not yet a “His composure under in the coming days. Let's hope he gets an used to the conditions in mer champions stormed home in complete package but are cer- intense pressure when the game opportunity to show his worth." a thrilling finish in the last over Cuttack as their next match, tainly working hard towards that is on the line is something we bowled by Kieron Pollard. against Mumbai Indians, has sort of ability. Some days it’s really treasure as a side, and it’s Needing 11 in the last over to going to come off, some days just not a one or two off, he does been rescheduled to the overtake MI’s 157 for 6, Super it’s not. I am particularly proud it not once but regularly for all venue. Kings skipper Mahendra Singh of today’s performance,” the for- sides he plays for. It’s a gift.