Saturday 4th June, 2011 15 IPL Team of the Tournament

BY SHAHIDA JACOBS Gayle to good effect. He never tried to anywhere in the Chennai line-up. The did the business with the ball and pulled 1. outdo his partner and played his natural Super Kings’ formidable top order rarely off a couple of remarkable displays with (Bangalore Royal Challengers) game. He was also handed extra responsi- failed, but when they did, Badrinath was the willow. 12 matches: 608 runs at 67.55; bility when given the captaincy in the there to pick up the pieces along with cap- It was his 28 runs from 10 balls against 8 , economy-rate 6.77 absence of the injured Daniel Vettori. tain Mahendra Dhoni. Bangalore that helped the Super Kings to His best effort was his 70 from 44 balls His form led to a call-up to both the sneak over the finish line in the first he Bangalore Royal Challengers in the first Qualifier against the Chennai Test and ODI squads for the upcoming Qualifier, while his 15 scalps saw him fin- won only one of their first five Super Kings. Unfortunately Bangalore’s tour of the West Indies. Don’t be sur- ish 11th on the top -taking list. Tgames, but that was before bowlers and fielders failed to defend the prised to see him play a starring role dur- Could there be a possible recall to the Hurricane Gayle blew into town. The left- 175 runs they had on the board. The ing the tour. South African limited-overs squad on the hander announced his arrival to IPL4 in heartbreak on Kohli’s face after the defeat cards...? stunning fashion, smashing a 55-ball 102, was clear to see. 6. Mahendra Dhoni which included seven sixes and 10 fours, (, 8. Ravichandran Ashwin to set up an easy win over the Kolkata 4. Shaun Marsh wicketkeeper and ) (Chennai Super Kings) Knight Riders. Three games later he was (Kings XI Punjab) 16 matches 392 runs at 43.55 16 matches: 20 wickets, at it again as his 107 from 68 balls helped 14 matches: 504 runs at 42.00 Dhoni is ’s main man at the economy rate 6.15 Bangalore to destroy the Kings XI Punjab The Kings XI went from bottom moment and everything he touches turns dwellers to potential top-four finishers on to gold. It was no surprise that he was by 85 runs. Former West Indies skipper and the the back of the Australian’s heroics with once again the standout captain in the Gayle’s brilliance turned the IPL’s MVP, Chris Gayle the bat. With captain IPL. His ability to read the game, whether Challengers’ campaign around and they were. went from early-season strugglers to the struggling in most games, Marsh was shuffling the order or changing often forced to keep Paul Valtathy compa- his bowlers around, was streets ahead of His economy rate was the best for any team to beat in IPL4, winning seven bowler who played in more than two games on the trot to finish top of the ny from very early on. most other skippers. His highest score of 95 was in the high- He is one of the most natural finishers games and his ability to extract extra standings. His explosive starts also gave bounce helped him outfox many batsmen. the rest of the batsmen the freedom to scoring defeat at the hands of the Delhi in the game, but he also has an uncanny Daredevils, but his and the Kings XI’s ability to be at his best with the bat when express themselves. It wasn’t just with 10. Lasith Malinga the bat that Gayle starred. He sent down best moment in the tournament was their his team needs it the most. His 70 from 40 penultimate group match at Dharamsala balls against Bangalore in the group () his fair share of overs and chipped in 16 matches: 28 wickets, with crucial wickets. It’s no surprise that when they took the Bangalore Royal stage was a prime example of this. Challengers to the cleaners. Marsh Chennai were struggling at 79 for six economy rate 5.95 the Challengers failed with the bat in the Malinga does it time and time again. final after Gayle went out cheaply. smashed 79 as he shared the first double- in the Indian His unorthodox action makes it easy to Premier League with Gilchrist. land several balls in the wrong area, yet 2. he somehow always manages to land it (Mumbai Indians) close to the batsmen’s toes. Just to empha- 5. Submramaniam Badrinath Sachin Tendulkar 16 matches: 553 runs at 42.53 sise that point, more than half of his dis- The Little Master continued where he (Chennai Super Kings) 16 matches 396 at 56.57 He was Mr Dependable for the Super missals came as a result of him hitting left off in the World Cup as he propelled the timber. the Mumbai Indians to the top of the Mike Hussey, and Murali Kings with the ball in this year’s IPL. He Vijay all scored more runs for Chennai sent down 63 out of a possible 64 overs There was no looking back for the Sri standings during the early stages of the Lankan after he opened the tournament tournament. He was the early pacesetter this season, but Badrinath was often the this season and the only reason why he man to push their score a little higher in didn’t have the full quota was because one with five for 13 against the Delhi for the Orange Cap and it took four Daredevils. He formed an excellent part- innings to finally dismiss him after he the final few overs or see them over the of Chennai’s games was shortened by finish line when chasing. rain. nership with , who finished opened his campaign with 46 not not, 55 with 22 wickets. and 100 not out. What makes his performances in this He’s was was often asked open the His maiden IPL century, which came year’s IPL even more impressive is the by Dhoni and he usually respond- fact that he was asked to bat just about ed by giving his captain the opening wick- 11. Sreenath Aravind during a losing cause against the Kochi (Bangalore Royal Challengers) Tuskers Kerala, was without doubt one of et. Despite bowling in the Powerplays, he bagged an excellent economy rate of 6.15. 13 matches: 21 wickets, the highlights of the IPL4. Although he economy rate 8.00 The icing on the cake came in the final failed to really post big scores in the lat- With the exception of Sharma and ter half of the tournament, he was still for Ashwin, when he took just three balls after 15 overs, but Dhoni smashed six to get rid of Chris Gayle. The key to his Aravind, the other players in the IPL XI the only Mumbai batsman to consistently are all international stars/old IPL heads. chip in with runs. sixes and three fours to push them to a success? Taking the pace off the ball respectable total. when bowling to the Windies opener. Although Aravind is 27, he is still a rook- 9. Rahul Sharma ie at this level in terms of games played. 3. Virat Kohli Very few people outside of India had (Bangalore Royal Challengers) 7. (Pune Warriors) (Chennai Super Kings) 14 matches: 16 wickets, heard of him before the start of tourna- 16 matches: 557 runs at 46.41 ment, but by the time the final finished Kohli pushed his team-mate Gayle all 15 matches: 15 wickets, economy rate 5.46 economy rate 8.48; 138 runs at 23.00 Deccan Chargers spinner Amit Mishra on Saturday he was Bangalore’s standout the way for the Orange Cap. He was bowler. Bangalore’s shining light with the bat as Several pundits were surprised that picked up three more wickets than Morkel was one of the four players that Sharma and is perhaps a tad unfortunate While Zaheer Khan kept things tidy at they struggled to pull off victories at the one end by starving the batsmen of runs, start of the tournament. Although the Chennai opted to retain for IPL4. not to make our Team of the However, there can no longer be any Tournament, but when you consider how the tall fast bowler picked up the wickets. West Indian grabbed most of the head- His ability to mix things up with slower lines once he entered the fray, Kohli often doubt about his value to the team. In pre- rubbish Pune Warriors were in their vious editions he was more known for his debut IPL season then it shows just how balls out of the back of the hand was one made sure he used the platform laid by of the main reasons for his success. Sri Lanka’s Lasith Malinga explosive batting, but this time around he incredible the 24-year-old’s performances Patel eyeing England recall Close to a third, to retire Samit Patel is determined to ty, racking up a well constructed It is not only in the limited- get himself back into the hundred. overs arena that Patel sees him- England squad sooner rather The 26-year-old is now looking self succeeding either, with the early, to play in IPL! than later, ‘cricket365.com’ report- to make the next step up with a right-hander confident he has the ed on its website, Thursday. call into the full England squad. game to deliver on the Test stage. Patel has not played for “It is definitely another chance “I have been put down as a England since 2008, with his for me to push my international one-day cricketer but I don’t Players want harsher spot-fixing penalties questionable fitness criticised by claims - massively so,” he told think my first-class record is and given as a rea- Nottinghamshire’s official web- shabby either,” he explained. BY RUSSELL PALIPANE percent of them do not have confi- son for his exile. site. “It compares pretty well with Five-year bans handed to three dence in the ICC to treat this infor- However, having made an “I would be very disappointed others and it’s still my ambition mation confidentially,” commented effort to shed some of the weight if I didn’t make the one-day to get in the England team across Pakistani cricketers for spot-fixing offences were too lenient, accord- May. that has come under such scruti- squads this summer. all forms of . May said the vast majority of ny, the all-rounder was rewarded “But I know I haven’t done “I just have to get my head ing to a survey conducted by the Federation of International the 45 players polled were more with a spot in the England Lions enough yet. I need to keep going down and get on with it and keep comfortable reporting corruption team that faced Sri Lanka in a in the right direction. scoring the runs. You can’t really Cricketers’ Association, ‘crick- et365.com’ reported on its website, approaches to their team manager, warm-up match prior to the first “Now I’ve hit some form, I argue with what was said before. than to the ICC Anti-Corruption Test. want to keep it going for as long I just have to work hard in the Thursday. Over three-quarters of respon- Unit. The Nottinghamshire man as I can which can then help me gym and show the right attitude Meanwhile, nearly a third of made the most of the opportuni- play international cricket.” so they can’t ask for any more.” dents to the Federation of International Cricketers’ players said they would retire Associations (FICA) players’ sur- early from international cricket, to vey, said the bans meted out to the play exclusively in the Indian Pakistani trio of Salman Butt, Premier League, citing fears over Mohammad Asif and Mohammad fixture clashes curbing their par- Couples fears Woods’ Aamer were inadequate. ticipation in the money-spinning The trio, accused by Britain’s event. injuries will derail his ‘News of the World’ of conspiring “The to deliberately bowl no-balls as continues to be popular with the Nicklaus record chase part of a ‘spot-fixing’ betting scam players and its superior pay struc- last year, were banned by the tures continue to challenge play- ers’ priority over international BY MICHAEL MCCARTHY International Cricket Council (ICC). cricket,” added the Australian. Much of the specu- Couples himself All deny wrongdoing and are “When players are able to earn lation surrounding has battled back appealing the verdicts at the over 10 times their annual salary Tiger Woods’ fall from injuries through his Swiss-based Court of Arbitration from their boards, for just seven world’ s No. 1 golfer to career. He said about for Sport (CAS). weeks cricket in the IPL, it would FICA chief executive Tim May No. 12 has swirled Woods: “The vast number of players be foolhardy of boards to continue around his mental At Tiger’s age (35), want significant penalties to be to schedule international matches national cricket. state, following a I’m more concerned invoked against those who are during the IPL and expect players Players cited the major issues divorce from wife Elin about his body than found guilty of serious corruption to remain loyal to the board and facing the game as governance, Nordegren and the his game. His game offences,” FICA chief executive international cricket,” Tim May corruption and an overkill of media frenzy over his will come back. But Tim May, was quoted as having added. international cricket, while only a extramarital affairs. it’s hard to come back said. The survey also found that 54 single-figure percentage said deci- But Fred Couples when you’ve got knee “Whilst 100 percent of players percent of the players would retire sions made at ICC Board level worries that its problems and hip say that they will report any cor- from one or more formats of the were in the wider interests of the Woods’ continuing problems and Achilles rupt approaches made to them, 20 game, because of too much inter- game. series of knee and problems and all that Achilles. problems, stuff...I don’t think he not his head, that swings violent at it. I could ultimately don’t think he does Nationalised Services Amateur Carrom from June 7 derail his bid to tie or anything different or surpass Jack than (Masters champ) The Nationalised Services expected to take part in this boards and state banks about the Nicklaus’ record of 18 Charl Schwartzel Carrom Association (NSCA) will year’s championship. On the five schedule regarding this year’s major championships. when they swing. I conduct its annual Amateur days, seven events will be worked championship. Woods has 14 — but just think his knee is Carrom Championship on June 7, off. Those who have not received hasn’t won one since a little tender and he’s 8, 9 and 14 and 16 at the Sri Lanka Among them are: Women’s the required information should Tiger Woods walks slowly after hitting on the seventh the 2008 U.S. Open. It’s got to get it right so he Carrom Association headquar- Singles and Doubles and Men’s contact the General Secretary of tee during the first round of The Players Championship still unclear if he’ll can come out and ters, Reid Avenue, Colombo. Singles and Doubles. the NSCA, Sunanda Kodagoda, on golf tournament Thursday May 12, 2011 in Ponte Vedra tee it up in the 2011 start to play every day About 180 participants repre- The NSCA has already tele. number 0718204770 or Games Beach, Fla. Woods withdrew after nine holes because of U.S. Open this month. feeling good. senting 22 nationalised services informed the nationalised servic- Secretary, N. D. P. C. leg injuries. institutions in the island are es institutions, corporations, Wijegunawardena, on 0714424941.