Transcendence

Sehwag hit 5 sixes in a magnificent display of batting as he amassed 80 against a hapless Kochi. 157/7 is not a bad score and Delhi achieved this with Sehwag's brilliance. Sreeshant bowled with fire and struck twice and when V Rao, another hitter in from, was out, Delhi was tottering at 35/3. Then a good partnership between Sehwag and Yogesh Nagar helped Delhi to amass 157. Sehwag began sedately and was on 31 runs off 32 balls ! Then he broke loose, slamming Jadeja for two consecutive sixes. The shots he is capable of came to the surface and his innings was a treat to watch. Hooks, cuts and pulls of a high calibre ruled over a hapless Kochi attack. Vinay Kumar was hit for 15 in the 15th over and Akhil for 18 in the next. Then Sehwag lofted Pawar for six and out to V Kumar, trying to repeat the shot. His belligerence lifted Delhi to 157, after being at one stage 62/3 off 13 overs ! On that treacherous wicket, Kochi's only hope was to fire with their top order. Which never came o

Kolkotta produced a professional display of bowling and batting and scored over the out of form Punjab. With ths win, they jumped to the top of the IPL Points Table. Incidentally, 119 seems to be a magic figure. Pujab could only muster 119, setting an easy target for Gambhir's men. In the other match, wanting 158 for victory, Kochi could only make 119 ! Both Kochi and Punjab will have to do their homework right, in order to rise to the top ! 119/6 Punjab scored. Tight bowling and fielding is not an excuse for Punjab, even though Kolkotta did precisely that. Abdullah rose to the occasion with 2/19 An unconquered 85 run partnership off 75 balls between Gambhir ( 45 off 44 balls ) and M Tiwari ( 34 off 41 balls ) saw Kolkotta home, as the small target was inadequate for Punjabi bowlers to defend. Tiwari and Gambhir both continued their superb form. Tiwari's average is a wonderful 109! There were some scares for the home team, Kolkotta, as they lost two wickets for just 35 runs.

Kohli continued to be in sublime form, as Bangalore sank Pune by 26 runs ! He is now the wearer of the Orange Cap, having surpassed Sachin as the highest scorer in IPL 2011, with 294 runs. Sachin is ranked second with 276 runs. Pune won the toss and fielded and Bangalore played some fanatastic cricket. Gayle and Dilshan started very well, putting on 57 for the first wicket. Gayle charmed the Bangalore crowd with some lusty hitting, four fours and four sixes. When he left at 74, Kohli took over. Kohli's 67 was full of exquisite shots, as he also blasted four sixes and four sixes. Bram Villiers scored a sweet 26 off 20 and S Tiwari hit 14 off 8. A mammoth 181 was piled up by the in form Kohli, Gayle and Villiers ! Kamran Khan was hit off his length and his 3 overs yielded 47 runs. Rahul Sharma, was the pick of the bowlers and it was he who got rid of Gayle and Dilshan. Thomas took two wickets ! Pune started slowly and never seemed to be catching up with Bangalore. Their main impact

Can you believe it ? The formidable Mumbai strangled for 94/8 by the wiles and guiles of Warne & Co ? MI is a team fancied by many experts to win the IPL Trophy ! They were strangled by some superb spin bowling by Menaria who got 2/20 and Botha 3/6. The pacer Amit bowled well for 2/14 and Mumbai could not even cross 100. Amit bowled Jacobs with a beauty and Sachin danced down the wicket to young Menaria and was stumped. A Rayudu, who was in great form, was caught and bowled by Menaria and Mumbai were 46/3! Then Rohit Sharma was out to Warne and Pollard was trapped lbw by Botha. Symonds was bowled by Botha for 17 and Mumbai were in dire straits at 81/6. Satish holed out to Botha, Malinga was bowled by Amit. The only consolation for Mumbai was the six hit by Bajji off the last ball and Mumbai finished at an abysmal 94/8 ! When Rajastan batted Dravid was caught by Sachin off Munaf and Shane Watson fell to Malinga. Those are the only two wickets which fell and now Botha is playing well

Both Warner and Sehwag were out and now DD are 71/3 off 12.3 overs. 78 runs off 45 balls and the match is wide open! At the moment it seems to be Advantage Kolkotta. Will it regress to the mean ? Time alone can tell. Since cricket is a game of grand vicissitudes, it is difficult to tell. Some sixes will bring the pressure on the KKR bowlers and some wickets can put pressure on the DD batsmen ! Now the Required Rate is more than ten runs per over, a difficult task ! Travis Birt tries to loft Y Pathan and holes out. DDD 75/4 ! V Rao was the last batsman who showed some resistance but when he perished that was more or less the end of the Delhi challenge. Sehwag 34 off 23 was the only batsman who impressed. For Kolkotta, Tiwari continued to be the unsung hero as he played a character innings of 61 not out and enabled KKR to reach 148. Iqbal Abdullah shone for Kolkotta as he scalped three wickets for 25 off his allotted 4 overs. Special mention must be made of Balaji who clean bowled the d

KKR are 108/5! Except for Manoj Tiwari who is on 45 not out, none of the Kolkotta batsmen impressed. Umesh Yadav bowling above 140 kph struck twice removing Y Pathan ( who was caught by his younger brother ) and Eoin Morgan. Kallis was bowled by Irfan and Goswami was caught Ojha bowled Agarkar. Only Tiwari ( still going strong on 46 ) impressed. Yousuf was out for 5 and Tendo has just come in. Gambhir was out for 18 off Hopes and suddenly Kolkotta found themselves too deep in the mulligatawny soup ! They were going strong at 80/2 and suddenly lost three priceless wickets, that of Gambhir, Yousuf and Morgan ! Kolkotta has been restricted to 148 by the Delhi seamers, Irfan, Yadav, Morket, Agarkar and Hopes. Now DDD want 149 to win.

The Pune coach, Geoff Marsh continues to be concerned about their top order and said that it is their weakest link. Pune is waiting for the return of G Smith and Paine. "The top order is our weakest link. Our bowlers are not getting enough runs to bowl at. You want to score runs and you have to be smart at it. You cant hit the ball to the fielders all the time". "We lost a lot of wickets early. With a poor start like this, you put a lot of pressure on the middle order" he said. Meanwhile, Bollinger has said that CSK is confident of S F spot. KKR is also confident of SF spot, says Dave Whatmore, the KKR coach. Today KKR is pitted against DD and the odds are DD 1/1 and KKR 4/5. Handling fame at 17 has been very hard, says India's wonder kid, Virat Kohli " I could not handle it at all, honestly. Suddenly you are in the limelight, with tags like blue eyed boys. It does have an impact". Kohli admitted that he learnt from mistakes and when he realised that h

DC would have been 14/3, if the superb delivery of Sreeshant which bowled Sanga was not called a no ball. R P Singh bowled superbly, swinging the ball both ways. He got Sunny Sohal lbw for one and then induced Dhawan to loft one into the hands of Raiphy and DC were 2/6. Chipli was taken by Vinay Kumar and DC were 20/3. Cameroon White joined Sanga and now there is a retreiving partnership and DC are 82/3. Ishant Sharma is making a great comeback nowadays.He is bowling at 150 kph and has lateral movement. In a fine display of blistering pace and swing, he bowled DC to victory, skittling out the Tuskers for a paltry 74! His incredible figures of 5/12 is the third best in the IPL. We have to understand that Ishant is facing immense competition from Varun Aaron, who clocked 153 kph. Umesh Yadav bowled at 150 kph. So his aim to bowl faster is paying rich dividends. Gavaskar says he has rediscovered himself and will lead the Indian pace attack in the years to come. Let us not forget his gre

A great partnership between Badrinath and Raina saw Chennai catapult to second spot. Badri remained not out with 63 and Raina with 34 as Chennai amassed 145/2, in response to 141/6 of Pune. For Pune, Yuvraj remained not out with 61, with four blistering sixes. Pune never really got going, being 4/41 at one stage. Then Uthappa scored 31 and when he got out, Pune were 83/5. Then Yuvraj took over and then Pune reached a respectable 141. Few have appreciated Badri. He continues to be in superb form and his 63 not out steered Chennai to victory. Ably partnered by Raina, he steered Chennai to a resounding win over a tired Yuvraj's team. Chasing 142 was easy and it was proved by Badri and Raina, as Chennai coasted to a 8 wicket victory. The Chennai seamers bowled well to restrict the Warriors. For Pune, Yuvraj shone with the bat and was 62 not out. None of the other batsmen impressed. Doug Bollinger bounced out the openers and was adjudged Man of the Match for his superb 3/21. Badri is no

Dilshan tried to hit Dinda and was out caught behind for nought ! Virat Kohli hit Dinda for two fours and in the next over of Irfan, hit him for four fours ! Magnificent batting by the Indian No 4! He is now 25 not out off just 10 balls. Gayle hits Morkel for four and then lofts him for six and RCB on their way. They are now 62/1. Gayle pulls Hopes for four and then in trying to repeat the shot holes out to V Rao and RCB are 85/2. Virat Kohli drives for a couple, Dave Warner throws down the stumps with a direct hit and Villiers is run out for 5. Now S Tiwari has joined the in form Kohli, who has hit six fours and two sixes. Kohli is now clean bowled by Morkel. What a turn around. RCB were sailing smoothly. Now Gayle, Kohli and Villiers are all gone ! 65 runs required from 65 balls and RCB are 96/4. Pujara lofts the spinner Nagar into the hands of Warner and RCB are 107/5. The way the game changed was incredible. Gayle and Kohli were going great guns when Gayle was dismissed. Then Villi

The dangerous Warner was beaten and bowled by Zaheer and Delhi are 34/1. Sehwag is still there with 22, even though he is troubled by Arvind. Hopes have come in at No 3. DDD is a feared team now, as they amassed 231 against Punjab ! The fielding standards of the local indian players have improved considerably, as they work under international coaches. Their entire skill set is improving, as they come in contact with world class cricketers. IPL therefore has done a lot of good to Indian cricket. Not only Indian players but all players are immensely benefited by IPL. Sanjay Manjrekar, ex Indian batsman, says " Thank God for IPL " ! Not only is IPL good for players, it is also good for commentators, for the hospitality industry, for airlines and for tourism in general. It is win, win for all ! An incredible thing has happened now. Sehwag is run out and Kotla is quiet! Wade and joined Hopes. Hopefully, Hopes will play a good innings and DDD are 67/2. Abhimanyu Mithun was ecstatic

Delhi's players were seen practising at Delhi Stadium on Monday. Delhi takes on mighty Bangalore today at 0800 PM. If this match was earlier, it would have been a Clash of the Dwarfs ! Now Gayle has lit IPL with his presence. His 102 not out pulled Bangalore out of slumberland and shook the West Indian Board to the core. The WI selectors did not know what hit them. This is a man who scored a hundred at the first match of the first T20 WC ! No wonder he did it again for IPL. "He wont be the only man in form" said Greg Shippard, the coach of the DDD. " You cannot do much if he gets going, just hope he mis-hits or skies it....They are almost half the Delhi team, aren't they? It is like playing Old Delhi and New Delhi. They will also be on familiar ground. Hopefully we are beginning to develop some momentum after our last win". On the contrary, Vettori was exuberant that Bangalore has got Gayle. Said the wily NZ all rounder " Gayle's inclusion is a co

The Roman Calender used the solar years of 365.25 days. In the Indian Calender, many years exist. We have the Solar Year - of 365.25 days ( Sam Vatsaram ) Lunar Year - 29*12 days ( Indha Vatsaram ) Stellar Year - 27*12 days ( Nakshatra Vatsaram ) Anu vatsaram pari vatsaram indha vatsaram eva cha Samvatsarm vatsarascha vaidhooryeva prabhashathe Since the Ecliptic or the Zodiac is tenanted by 12 Signs of 30 degrees and 27 constellations or Nakshatras, one stellar or sidereal ( " pertaining to the stars ") month is 27 days and one Stellar Year is 12*27 = 324 days.This stellar month stem from Beta Arieties ( Aswinit ) to Zeta Piscium ( Revathi ) and is of 27 days. Hence if we calculate Sai's age, he was 96 when he left his body. He had lived 30, 834 days, from his birthdate from 23 Nov 1926 to 24042011. We get 95 years and 54 days and Sai was in his 96th year. In Indian Astrology, there are many who calculate planetary periods using solar ( 365.25 days) , lunar (

Hussey scored a scintillating 61, as Chennai scored 140/5. We dont know what happened to CSK batting, but there it is at just 7 per over. We are not saying 150 is a bad score, but then scores over 200 have been recorded. Dhoni was out for 26, dancing down the wicket and getting stumped. Now Badrinath and Aniruddh are playing and they are 142/6 at the end. The last over by J Taylor was superb and he claimed the wicket of Aniruddh. He took 3/30 and Thomas took two wickets ! Pune need 143 to win. It is gettable, but then cricket is a game of grand vicissitudes. Disciplined bowling by Chennai saw Pune tottering. They defended 142 runs well with a superb fielding and bowling performance. Dhoni's team has batted first and won many matches and this quality makes Chennai a cut above the rest ! Cometh the hour and cometh the man and it was the hour of Albie Morkel. He was sadly out of form and was dropped from the SA squad. But today he came back to form with a magnificent performance. It w

Sai left earth at 0740 AM, Sunday, Uthrashada, Sapthami Thidhi. At that time Taurus was rising, Taurus was his Eighth House, He being born in Libra. May His soul rest in peace. Patham Udayam or the 10th Rising of the Sun is very auspicious, as the Sun is in deep exaltation ! He was indeed a Maha Purusha ! He was born with Libra rising, like Bhagavan Ramana Maharishi, with Mars in Aries, forming Rucha Maha Yoga. Jupiter is debilitated in Capricorn, but Retrograde, equalling exaltation. He was an embodiment of Love, Compassion and Service.

Rajastan crushed Kochi by 8 wickets with a superb display of bowling. Kochi could only score 109 and Rajastan won with 8 wickets to spare. The royal brain of Warne, one should admit, was behind this success. He led from the front with a three wicket haul and Tuskers could not get out of his royal grip. His decision to field first was was validated as Kochi was shot out for 109. Mahela admitted that Kochi didnt bat well. "It was going to be a tough task with the dew, we needed another 20-30 runs more, we didn't bat well and they bowled well up front," the Sri Lankan said after the match. "We needed to take wickets and not give them momentum. Rahul and Watson showed their experience and played really well. We tried our best. We didn't had a good day in the office. Hopefully we will come back. "After the start we had, I thought 120-130 was a good score, but we couldn't execute, but plenty to learn from this. We have to adapt to good conditions. It is a clos

Mumbai got off to a fantastic start, when Sachin and Jacobs put on 47 for the first wicket off 5 overs. Then Jacobs top edged Ishant into the hands of Ojha and MI were 47/1 ! Then Tendulkar hit two superb fours off Ishant and Sachin is now 23 off 15 balls! The strategic timeout proved to be Mumbai's nemesis. Sachin tried to loft one and it ended in the hands of Steyn, Rayudu lofted one into the hands of Dhawan off Mishra. And Kieron Pollard glided one into the hands of Sanga off Ojha. From 70/1 to 70/4 ! Now there is a fifty partnership between the in form Sharma and Symonds and they have taken the score to 132/4, with some glorious shots off 18 overs ! Symonds pulls on for four and lofts another for six, off Steyn. Symonds takes a couple and MI are 144/4! Next ball is smashed by Symonds for four and MI are 148/4! Sharma lofts Christian for six and takes a single and now MI are 155/4. Sharma lofts Christian for two sixes and reaches his fifty ! Sharma hits Christian again and MI f

146 run partnership for the opening wicket is the highest in the IPL in this season. Warner and Sehwag cracked blistering half centuries as Delhi piled up a mammoth 231. Both hit four sixes each and their attacking role was later on taken by V Rao, who finished 28 not out ! It was glorious batting. Sehwag has asked for a green top and got it and then proved his class. Delhi had a menacing pace attack in Morkel, Aaron ( the fastest in India, who clocked 153 kph ), Irfan and Agarkar. Agarkar took two wickets, while the others took one wicket each. 231/4 happens to be the highest this season. 146 runs were scored off 11.4 overs, when Sehwag fell. Warner fell at 179 and Delhi was on their way to a mighty total. Like Marius amidst the ruins of Carthage, Shaun Marsh braved the might of Delhi pace bowling, with a scintillating display of batting. He hit 6 sixes in a great innings of 95. But that couldnt save Punjab, who went down by 26 runs ! Punjab could not match the blistering tempo set up

Sanga said that Sachin's decision should be respected. Sachin may not play today due to the worsening health situation of Satya Sai Baba, the yogi of Puttaparthi. "If Sachin does not play on Sunday because he is worried about Sathya Sai Baba, his decision should be respected. You should always show a support towards personal decisions." "There are many followers of Sai Baba in Sri Lanka too and they are also anxious. So I think it's a personal decision and should be respected." Sachin joined thousands of devotees praying for the speedy recovery of the ailing Guru. Tendulkar tweeted "I m praying for Shri Sathya Sai Baba's quick recovery. Hope everyone will join me in praying for his return to good health." Sachin turns 38 on Sunday and a very happy birthday was wished by Sanga. "I wish him a very happy birthday" said the formidable Sri Lankan.

Great spin bowling by Devendra Bishoo was responsible for Pak defeat at the hands of WI. He took 4/17 and Pak crashed to their first defeat in the T20 series. Pak was beaten by seven runs in their inaugural one day match. Umar Akmal, the all round genius, scored 41 and Asad Shefiq chipped in with 25, as the Pakis were restricted to 143/9 by some excellent spin bowling by Bishoo. Shahid Afridi said " I think the pitch was good for batsmen and I dont know why we missed this opportunity. We are not building any partnerships. This is what has been missing for us for a few months. Bishoo bowled really well, and all of their bowlers delivered in the right areas." Bishoo was chosen Man of the Match, after his great haul of 4/17 off his allotted four overs, changed the game in WI's favour !

The TV serials were destroying societal life when IPL zoomed on the horizon. The Audience's fascination with IPL is adversely affecting the TRPs ( Television Rating Points ) of TV serials. After India's WC triumph, many speculated that interest in IPL will wane. ( But we, in our columns, predicted that IPL will be a huge success ! ). But such fears seemed to be unfounded, as IPL has now more TRPs than TV serials ! Initial numbers for 15 matches indicate that IPL has started on a firm footing. With an average of 5.16 rating for the first three matche played on Ap 8 and 9, IPL recorded higher ratings, than the WC, which stood at around 3.5. The second week average for 12 IPL matches played from Apr 10 to Ap 16 stands at 4.2. Says N P singh, COO< Multi Screen Mddia which owns Max, the IPL's official broadcaster. "The average rating for last season was 4.7. This season the first match was sampled by 55.8 million viewers as compared to 42.6 million last year. Hence goin

MI are 103/3 and Rohit Sharma has just scored his fifty with a magnificent six ! Sachin was out to Bollinger for 5 and Satish was out to Morkel for a duck! MI were 13/2. Cometh the hour, cometh the man and the man proved to be Rohit Sharma. He has played a scintillating knock of 53 not out ! Class will tell. Rohit Sharma and Badrinath shone for MI and CSK ! Sharma's 87 was a superb innings while Badrinath's was simply magnificent. But then it was Bajji's 5/18 which turned the tide in favour of Mumbai. He clean bowled Albie Morkel, had Ashwin caught at long on and made Joginder Sharma top edge him. Bajji struck thrice in one over. The Mumbai Indians fought hard against the character innings played by Badrinath ( 71 not out ). Badrinath played responsibly and saw that he was running out of partners ! Chennai finished at 156/9 ! Badrinath looked like a forlorn figure, as his team mates surrendered meekly to Bajji & Co. He off drove Munaf for a four and his late cuts wer

Gayle has just lofted Shakib for two mighty sixes and he has announced his arrival thus. Now RCB are 74/0 ! Dilshan is giving him fantastic support and if KKR do not get a break, they are in for big trouble ! Such is the impact of impact players ! Gayle is now 43 off 24 balls and is going great guns. Gayle deflects one magnificently and it goes for four. He moves up to 47. He smashes another six and crosses 50. Many feel that Gayle will turn around RCB's fortunes ! Dilshan is out and Kohli has just hit an exquisite four. The next ball Kohli lofts for six ! It is said that the presence of impact players like Gayle, Pollard, Pathan etc affect the confidence of the bowlers ! Gayle is on 92 off 47 balls, with seven sixes and eight fours. Dilshan was out for 32. Has Gayle changed IPL ! He smashes the next ball for four and is now 96 ! Gayle takes a single and is now 97 no. This sounds like great revenge. In the 2008 IPL first match, Brendon McCullum smashed 115, thus routing Bangalore.

KKR are batting well and now are 114/2. Pathan has just hit a six and the crowds are going bersek. Gambhir is proving to be Michael Bevan like batsman and is now 40 not out. Pathan has lofted another six and KKR are 128/2. Bangalore won the toss and put KKR in to bat off 16 overs. Gayle was included for van der Warth while KKR brought in Haddin and Unadkat for Bisla and Lee. Kallis scored 40 and was superbly caught by Gayle, a diving superb catch off Vettori. Haddin was out for 18 and Gambhir was joined by the hard hitting Yousuf Pathan. Both are now there, the left handed solid bat and the right handed Baroda Bomber. 4 more overs to go and we can expect a massive score. ! Gambhir tries to hit Aravind and holes out to Dilshan and KKR are 139/3. Pathan blasts Aravind for four and then clobbers his over long off for six and the next ball, a full toss, he hits past point for four. KKR now 154/3. Pathan turns Zaheer for four and now KKR are 160/3. Pathan was eventually out to Aravind for 4

Jup Sun Mar Mer Moo Ket Ven RASI Rah LA Sat Jupiter will move over to Aries on May 8th, and in Sachin's horoscope, he will move to the favourable 5th. ( LA means the Lunar Ascendant or the Moon Sign, as Sachin's birth star is Poorvashada or Pooradam ). Now Sachin has added more trophies. A century in IPL , in T20 and being a member of the WC winning team ! Now he is eyeing another laurel, the IPL Trophy. Can MI, the no 1 favourites, pull it off ? He has an average of 236 ! He was only out once, for 35 in the last match. His other scores are 46 no, 55 no, and 100 no ! The Heavens favour Sachin and may he go on creating records !

Vicissitudes or changes in fortunes are part of Life. Life is cyclical and we find that fortunes fluctuate. In Astrology, this is symbolised by the Transits of Jupiter. In the First House, he brings problems galore ( nana dukham) In the Second, he brings prosperity ( vitha samriddhi) In the Third, he brings loss ( thritheeye brahmatho sira ) In the Fourth, he brings loss of kingdom ( chathurthe pandava bhrishta ) In the Fifth, he brings wealth ( putra dhanaptim ) In the Sixth, he brings problems from the jealous. ( ripu badham ) In the Seventh, he gives enjoyments ( bhogan ) In the Eighth, he gives health hazards ( rogan ) In the Ninth, he brings fortune ( dhanaptim) In the Tenth, he brings loss of position and wandering about ( dasame darika vadham ) In the Eleventh, he brings gain In the Twelth, he brings loss ( Dwadase ravano hanti ). Whatever he has taken away when in the 12th and the 1st, he redeems and restores when he is in the 2nd. Similarly whatever he has taken away when in t

RCB's Gayle said " Back in Kolkota, looking to make my debut for RCB and yes against KKR, what a world, lol ! Interesting but I am so Royal ! Now sweet azz India ! Rohit Sharma of MI became the became the sixth player to complete 1200 runs in the IPL. The right hander has scored 1217 at an average of 32.02 in 49 matches. The Sri Lankan Board had allowed their players to play in IPL till May 18th. There was a brother sister combine at the IPL, as Punjab's Aussie recruit, Nathan Rimmington, and his reporting sister Ricki-Lee were conspicous by their presence. Said Nathan " Rikki sort of followed in my footsteps. She would bowl to me when we were playing cricket in the backyard of our house as kids. And like any other young sibling, who looks upto my older sibling, she followed me into the game". The brother and sister represent Queensland. While the brother has not yet tasted high level cricket, Rikki has played for Australia U19 team. " As ki

Jup Sun Mar Mer Moo Ket Ven RASI Rah LA Sat Jupiter will move over to Aries on May 8th, and in Sachin's horoscope, he will move to the favourable 5th. ( LA means the Lunar Ascendant or the Moon Sign, as Sachin's birth star is Poorvashada or Pooradam ). Now Sachin has added more trophies. A century in IPL , in T20 and being a member of the WC winning team ! Now he is eyeing another laurel, the IPL Trophy. Can MI, the no 1 favourites, pull it off ? He has an average of 236 ! He was only out once, for 35 in the last match. His other scores are 46 no, 55 no, and 100 no ! The Heavens favour Sachin and may he go on creating records !

Gayle said he joined the IPL because WI board ignored him. He was forced to accept an offer by RC Bangalore, as he was not sure about a place in WI team. He was injured during the World Cup. He paid for all medical treatment in Britain, before returning home to Jamaica, where he started a rehabilitation programme with his personal trainer. "Some players were selected for a training camp in Barbados, but I never got a call" said the dashing West Indian southpaw, who is capable of winning a T20 match singlehandedly. "Nobody spoke to me, so I decided to leave it alone"

Punjab posted the highest score in IPL 2011, 195/7. Valthaty and Shaun Marsh hit 3 sixes each and Valthaty became the wearer of the orange cap, overtaking Sachin. He has now scored 247 runs against Sachin's 236 ! In 15 overs, Punjab were 169/2, but then Rajastan came back into the game. In the first five overs, Punjab blasted 71/1 ! Praveen Kumar shot out Watson for 24 and Asnodkar for 9. Dravid was bowled by Harris for 8. Gilchrist was bowled by a no ball from Siddharth Trivedi and Valthaty was caught in the slips off a no ball from Tait ! These two reprieves cost the Royals dear as both Gilchrist and Valthaty exploded and punished their bowlers to all parts of the field. Valthaty blasted Trivedi for three fours and two mighty sixes. In that over, Trivedi yielded 25 runs and suddenly Punjab had posted 50 on the board in fastish time. When Gilchrist fell, Valthaty slowed down but Shaun Marsh, in superb form , continued to make the scoreboard moving at a fantastic pace. W

Kochi Tuskers won both matches when they chased. But today they are batting first and Mahela said he is confident that his team will put up a decent score. Let us see what will happen. Tuskers could only get 132, as the Kolkotta spinners, Pathan and Shakib restricted them to a low total. Pathan reduced Kochi from 45/0 to 65/4, taking six Kochi wickets for 48 runs. But Kochi's spinners struck back - Powar, Murali and Jadeja - and restricted them to 126/9 ! Kochi won by 6 runs and moved to No 3 position of the IPL Table. The Kochi formidable opening pair scored 26 in the first three overs. In comparison, Kolkota was unimpressive, scoring only 20 runs in the first four overs and losing Kallis and Gambhir in the process. Kallis fell for the hook for the second consecutive time and Gambhir played inside the line and had his stumps uprooted by R P Singh. In the next over, Jadeja removed the off stump of Bisla. Tiwari and Morgan found the going tough against some accurate spin bowling by

Look at Sachin's scores. He was 46 not out, 55 no and 100 no in all the three matches he played. So one thought that he will be undefeated today. That was not to be as he got out at 35. Now Mumbai needs only 7 runs to win off 8 balls ! Rayudu played a swashbuckling innings of 37. One run was needed and Rohit Sharma smashed one into the crowds and MI won ! Symonds, out of touch with cricket for seven months, smashed some fours and came back into form. It was a mediocre performance from Pune against highly rated favourites, Mumbai. The Pune batsmen were foxed by the spin of Murtaza. With Murtaza at one end and Nechim on the other, J Ryder fell. M Patel returned with the superb figures of 3/8 and MI's performance delighted Shaun Pollock, the bowling coach. Nechim gets some skid off the surface and this trapped Ryder, whose pull ended in the hands of Sachin.

Pune is batting rirst. Jesse Ryder is now facing Murtaza. There is now a confident appeal against Ryder, but then his feet was in. Yuvraj opted for batting, even though almost all captains are taking fielding first, to know the target. Shastri opined that 194/9 is a far better score than 164/3 ! He is advising both Maharashtra sides to go in for 200, rather than solidly for 160 odd ! Jessie Ryder lofts one into the hands of Sachin and Pune are 16/1. Next ball Manhas flashes and is caught behind and Nechim strikes two tremendous blows ! Munaf Patel started the next over and clean bowls T Paine and Pune ( who made Punjab 9/4 and Kochi 13/3 ) are 17/3 ! The Pune captain is out next ball and Pune are 17/4 ! That is why most of the captains take fielding, with the possible exception of Dhoni. But then Dhoni is an intellectual captain who knows how to rotate the bowlers and win by bowling and fielding. Uthappa, not deterred by the situation, lofts one for four. But he is another pinch hitter

KKR is a new resurgent team, under an innovative captain, Gambhir. Kolkotta is now respected, after some great wins. The Kolkotta crowd may be back at the Eden Gardens. Now they face a team which is reputed for creating upsets and are giant killers at the Eden today. Three great wins have brought momentum to KKR and they are looking for their fourth win. Both KKR and KTK started the competition with losses and were struggling in the bottom of the IPL Table. Both have turned around magnificently. The Knights have not committed mistakes in the last three matches. Also the Tuskers, who have beaten both Mumbai and Chennai. Both have momentum on their favour and this makes today's match thrilling to the core. Both depend on batting. The bowling of both cannot be compared to the bowling of Mumbai or Chennai. Both seem to be equal with strengths and weaknesses. Meanwhile, Mahela said that the DL system should be reviewed. " To my limited knowledge, they take the average scores and w

Geoff Marsh, the Pune coach, feels that a total of 150 plus is OK on the Wankhede track. "It looks like a very good wicket. We have to score at least 150 plus. But we will have to see how it plays in the first six overs and then reassess the target." said the former Aussie btasmen, whose son Stuart Marsh is playing for Punjab. Though Mumbai is a great side, hailed as the No 1 favourites to win IPL 2011, they are not unbeatable. "In their last four games, counting last year's final, they have won two and lost two. They are a very good side and have the advantage of retaining four players. But they showed they could be beaten in the last game." the formidable Aussie said. He said he is ready to take on the redoubtable Sachin on his home ground. "Every cricketer in the world wants to play against him. "It would be a sad day when he's not playing. It would be good to remind ourselves when he's not playing." The former opener said that followi

Shaun Marsh opined that Paul Valthaty' aggressive batting is something worth going miles to see. Marsh may have lost the opening slot to him, but he is an admirer of Paul and is not complaining. "Paul is batting really well in this season and he is a fantastic player. He has done well for the Punjab team in the last two games which helped us secure two subsequent wins. He put us in a winning position in the last two games. I am looking forward towards watching him bat again." said the classic Australian. Marsh was the wearer of the Orange Cap in IPL 2008. He said he is happy with his batting slot and wants to be in the Aussie side. . "I had a great first IPL and had a lot of fun. I had few injuries which somewhat made my ride a little bumpy one. I am confident that I can find the same rhythm and body right this time. "I am feeling pretty good at the moment. It was a bit frustating (getting injured) but you can't do much with the injury situation. Obviously

In the Bangalore match, between RCB and RR, the rain gods stopped play and incessant rain made both teams take each points. Both RCB and RR are struggling and is trying to come out to the top of the IPL Table. Now KKR, Mumbai, Pune, DC and Kochi are on top of the list with some stellar performances.

Helped by a blisteing 62 by Sunny Sohail, a sedate 49 by Sanga and a hard hitting 31 not out by Cameroon White, DC posted a good 168 batting first. DDD will have to chase and get 169 for victory. Everything depends on Sehwag and Warner, even though there are others who can redeem Delhi. DC uplifted themselves to the fourth position of the IPL with some disciplined bowling and fielding. DDD went back to their old form, as they lost Sehwag for 12. Dave Warner continued his good form and scored a brilliant 51. None of the other batsmen impressed. It was Harmeet Singh who struck some lethal blows, removing the dangerous Sehwag and Aaron Finch. V Rao could not repeat his magic and was out for 21. The bowling of Ojha, MIshtra, Steyn, Christian and Harmeet did create problems for DDD. For his brilliant 62, Sunny Sohail was adjudged Man of the Match. The Man of the Match said " I thought I had to play through the full T20 overs, I have played here before, but could not score much, so I de

The IPL cannot be called a revolution, but must be credited for creating great content for the masses, something which football or hockey in India cannot provide. The Kochi stadium refurbished can compare with any other in India and the crores which went in for the renovation does indeed display splendour. Sony did show the beautiful boat rides on the magnificent Vembanad Lake. The beautiful islands of Kochi does display a splendour which can enchant all. Many Kochiites are happy that big time cricket is here to stay, but there are concerns that corporation tax levied is a bit high and Ahmedabad may be the alternative venue planned for IPL V. But rain tainted yesterday's play and the match was reduced to 17 overs. It was a good toss to win and Mahela elected to bowl. This has become a fashion for the captains to take fielding, as you can know the target in advance. Since all teams have excellent Test batsmen playing in their sides, a target of 180 or above will not pose much of a

Chennai looks the most balanced side in the IPL. Hussey and Vijay are in great form. So is Dhoni. Add Suresh Raina, Albie Morkel and Badrinath. Amongst bowlers Ranadiv is now back in form. Ashwin, Jakati, Albie and Southee are effective bowlers. Chennai has scored more than 180 runs in the last two matches. And minnows Kochi is taking on such a formidable side. Still the Tuskers are trumpeting against the roar of the Super Kings at their home venue, the Kochi Stadium. But the Tuskers are not a side to be dismissed lightly. Did they not defeat the formidable MI? Now they have momentum and their fanbase is increasing. You must have seen the great reception they got at the Kochi Airport after defeating Mumbai ! John Hastings, the giant all rounder, is ready to don the garb for Kochi. McCullum and Mahela are in great nick. Also Jadeja and Hodge. But then their bowling gives scope for alarm and despondency. Murali, Sreeshant, V Kumar, RP - these bowlers have not been at their best. Only Ja

He pole vaulted into stardom. His 120 off 63 balls left the experts gasping for breath. The opposition looked devastated. And when he shone with the ball in taking 4/29, the IPL fans were stunned. He scored 75 in the same match, powering Punjab to victory. Paul Chandrasekhar Valthaty. Adam Gilchrist, the Punjab captain said that batting with the new sensation is great fun. " He worked hard in our camp and pre-tournament practice matches. I was trying to hang in with Paul. It was nice to get that partnership. The way Paul was going the total wasnt enough. He has had a very busy couple of days with messages and all, but he has dealt with it very well. We complemented each other very well through phases. I was giving him the strike early on, but later he did the same. It was a tough chase. If you play as well as Paul did, you end up winning easier. They had a very experienced bowling line-up, very pleasing for our batsmen to come through". Meanwhile, Valthaty said he was inspire

Yuvraj continued his brilliant all round form with a blistering 66 not out, with five sixes and took four Delhi wickets, but his all round excellence went in vain,as Delhi coasted to their maiden win. Jesse Ryder, another impact player, was also at his best as he blasted 60 with five sixes and Pune piled up a mammoth 187/5! Delhi wanted 188 to win and it seemed that Sehwag alone would do it. But then Sehwag fell, clean bowled by Ryder for 37. David Warner scored a brilliant 46 with two sixes. And then Delhi was in dire straits at 120/5, when Venugopal Rao took over the reins. Venugopal Rao blasted 3 sixes and one four in a scintillating innings of 31. Finch scored 25 and Delhi won by 3 wickets. "We did not bowl well in the death overs", said Yuvraj. "You have to give it to Delhi. They played really well under pressure. We did not take wickets in the first six and did not bowl well in the end overs. I was thinking of spinners in the death overs but in the end your main bo

Rajastan Royals were bowled out by Kolkotta for 81. It was the ex Indian pacer Balaji's day, as he grabbed 3/15 ! Dravid did not play and Shane Watson opened the innings. He was bowled by Balaji and the first wicket fell at 24. Paunikar was stumped by Bisla off Iqbal Abdulla for 15. Two run outs saw RR plunge to 43/4 ! Ross Taylor fell to Pathan, stumped again by Bisla and RR were in dire straits at 67/5. Balaji shattered the stumps of Rahane. While Shane Warne remained unconquered, Shakil Al Hasan shattered the stumps of Amit Singh and Shaun Tait. And Lee uprooted the stumps of Siddharth Trivedi and RR were all out for 81 ! Kolkotta crowd back to their feet and cheering ! Kolkotta won comfortably with Gambhir on 35 not out and M Tiwari on 30 not out. Balaji took 3/15 and became Man of the Match. He produced a super delivery to clean bowl Shane Watson, the formidable all rounder in his first over and then he cleaned up the lower order later. It was great bowling on the part of the

Gilchrist won the toss and took fielding and restricted DC to 165. We have seen chase of 183 yesterday, a successful chase, by Kochi. So 166 is not a great score by any means. Now Punjab are 96/0, with Valthaty going strong and Gilchrist giving him admirable support. Vlathaty is 45 not out and Gilchrist is 44 not out. Earlier Paul Valthaty took 4/29, bowling military medium stuff. So he may get Man of the Match Award. Gilchrist smashes a six to bring up his fifty and Punjab's score crosses 100. They are now 103/0. The Punjab coach,Michael Bevan said that there is tremendous talent in India. He was commenting on Paul Valthaty's performance. This is the second time he had done it ! Paul Valthaty, powered Punjab to yet another win with a superb all round performance. He took 4/29 and then scored 75 blistering runs and powered Punjab to victory. The Deccans, with the best bowling combination in the tournament - Steyn, Sharma, Gony & Mishra, if not Ojha - could do nothing agains

Hussey began his 1PL 2011 career with a superb, scintilling knock, like the blistering innings he played against Pak in the T20 2010. Hussey was responsible for powering Chennai to 183, setting a target of 184 to Bangalore. Bangalore cracked under pressure ! Bangalore's fielding was below par and Hussey was let off when he was on 8. He went to score 83 not out. The support bowlers of Bangalore gave 101 runs off nine overs ! When Chennai started, except for Kohli and Bram Villiers, no batsmen impressed. Their muddled thinking and bungling cost them the match ! When Bangalore batted, Morkel removed the dangerous Dilshan. AUK Pathan was bowled by Southee for 14 and M Agarwal was removed by Ashwin when the score was 31. Bangalore was faced with 13/14 runs per over as the required rate and lost the match by 21 runs ! The Australian Effect is here in IPL. The Kangaroos are back from the BD tour and are active in the fourth edition of the IPL. It is a paradox the Dilshan, the highest scor

Vishu is a glorious Agri Festival for Keralites, as the Sun enters the Vernal or Spring Equinox, the First Second of Aries. So also it proved on the cricket field, as minnows Kochi beat Sachin's impregnable Mumbai side ! The Tuskers are 116/0, a great response to the 183 target set by formidable Mumbai. Sachin was 100 not out in a score of 182/2. McCullum is on 57 and Mahela is 52 not out. Even Slinga Malinga faltered before his ex skipper and the grand hitter, McCullum. Keralites are celebrating the Sun's entry into the Vernal Equinox, known as Vishu. Will this be a Vishu gift for the Keralites? McCullum smashes the Slinga for a four and KTK are 123/0! Today seems the day of the batsmen, Gambhir scoring 75 no, Kallis 80 no, Sachin 100 no and now the Kerala Tuskers 127/0! Malinga shatters the stumps of Mahela and KTK are 128/1 ! McCullum lofts Pollard for four and KTK move on to 155/1! KTK need 28 off 19 balls ! Jadeja is giving him excellent support and McCullum is on 81 ! MI