CLT20: KKR cruise past RCB by 9 wickets

Bangalore: Riding on unbeaten half-centuries by Jacques Kallis and skipper Gautam Gambhir, Kolkata Knight Riders registered a convincing nine-wicket win over the Royal Challengers Bangalore in their must-win Champions League encounter here on Thursday.

Kallis clobbered 64 off in just 47 deliveries, while Gambhir struck 55 in 32 balls.

Chasing a competitive 170 runs for victory, KKR got off to a terrific start, with Kallis and wicketkeeper-batsman Brad Haddin, who scored a quick-fire 42 off 27 deliveries.

Gambhir joined Kallis with the score on 62 and the two batsmen kept the scoreboard ticking without losing any further wicket. Gambhir, as expected, took more chances than Kallis and hit three fours and four sixes during his innings. But the South African batsman was not far behind as far as the strike rate was concerned and hit four boundaries and one six during his knock.

With the Challengers' demolition, KKR somehow stay alive in this competition. Now a lot will depend on their next game against the Warriors, which they have to win by a huge margin while hoping for other teams to slip in the race for the semi-finals.

RCB, on the other hand, made life difficult for themselves after their second loss on the trot. They also need to win their remaining two matches to make it to the last-four.

Earlier, a splendid innings by skipper Daniel Vettori alongside Raju Bhatkal helped RCB post a challenging 169 for nine.

They were 91 for six at one stage, but Vettori launched a swift yet brutal counter-attack on the KKR bowlers in the company of Bhatkal. The duo added 61 runs in only 5.2 overs as Gautam Gambhir's bowlers lost the plot at the death. The last six overs produced 75 runs for RCB.

Vettori was out on the last delivery of the innings after smashing 44 off 23 balls with the help of two sixes and five fours. Bhatkal contributed a useful 25 from 18 balls, including two fours and six.

Before that, KKR captain Gambhir won the toss and elected to bowl. Jaidev Unadkat was brought into the side in place of off-colour L Balaji. They had also included medium-pacer Shami Ahmed into their playing eleven.

Brett Lee, who has had a torrid time in the last few games, bowled a maiden first over to the dashing Chris Gayle (25).

However Gayle broke the shackles in the very next over from Brett Lee, hitting him for two sixes. He hit another six but it was Jacques Kallis' brilliant yorker that castled the former Windies skipper.

In the very next over, the dangerous Virat Kohli was undone by a short-pitched delivery by Lee. He got out without troubling the scorers.

Saurabh Tiwary (18), during his brief stay, tried to rescue the RCB innings, before he too was holed out in the deep trying to pull Yusuf Pathan.

Iqbal Abdulla then struck with the wickets of Mayank Agarwal (13) and Mohammed Kaif (5).

Bhajji dropped, Sachin rested for Eng ODIs

Chennai: The BCCI Selection Committee on Thursday showed the door to out-of-form off-spinner Harbhajan Singh by ignoring him in the 15-man squad, while resting Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag for the first two ODIs of the five-match series against England.

The Kris Srikkanth-led Selection Committee instead called up young leg-spinner Rahul Sharma, while retaining R Ashwin in the squad as the specialist off-spinner. Medium-pacer S Aravind was the other new face in the new-look Indian team.

Gautam Gambhir also returned to the ODI squad after having recovered from the concussion he suffered during the Test series on the tour of England.

Vidharba paceman Umesh Yadav and Jharkhand speedster Varun Aaron too figured in the team announced by the new BCCI secretary Sanjay Jagdale after a marathon meeting of the selection committee here.

The national selectors have picked as many as five fast bowlers and three spinners in Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin and Sharma.

Other than Tendulkar and Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Rohit Sharma, Zaheer Khan, Munaf Patel and Ishant Sharma - all of whom are nursing injuries - were not considered.

Karnataka pacer Aravind has taken 68 wickets from 20 first class matches with an average of 27.11 in his career so far with five for 49 being his best effort. In Twenty20 cricket, he has taken 37 wickets in 28 matches at an average of 18.72.

Twenty four-year-old Sharma, a leg break bowler who plays for Punjab, made an impression in the last IPL with his economical bowling and was similarly rewarded for his performace in the domestic arena.

The lanky spinner, who overcame a facial nerve dysfunction which effected his vision early in his career, has taken 16 wickets in nine first class matches. His Twenty20 record is better having scalped 29 wickets in 28 matches at an economy rate of 6.40.

The selectors opted to give Sharma an opportunity rather than go for the more experienced spinners such as, Pragyan Ojha, Amit Mishra and Piyush Chawla.

The first ODI of the five-match series will be played in Hyderabad on October 14, while Delhi will host the second game on October 17. Mohali (Oct 20), Mumbai (Oct 23) and Kolkata (Oct 25) will stage the other three matches.

Kolkata will also conduct the lone Twenty20 match against England on October 29.

Squad:

MS Dhoni (c/wk), Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Gautam Gambhir, Ajinkya Rahane, Parthiv Patel, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Praveen Kumar, Varun Aaron, Umesh Yadav, Vinay Kumar, S Aravind, Rahul Sharma, Manoj Tiwary

CLT20: Bravo stars in CSK's win over Cobras

Chennai: Dwayne Bravo smashed two sixes and three fours on his way to an unbeaten 46 off 25 balls as the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) came from behind to beat the Cape Cobras by four wickets in a Group A Champions League Twenty20 match on Wednesday.

Chasing a victory target of 146, Chennai got home with two balls to spare with Albie Morkel being the other not out batsman on six.

Staring down the barrel at 77/5, Bravo put on 43 runs with captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni to lead Chennai's fightback after part time spinner JP Duminy took 4/20 to put the Cobras in the driver's seat.

Dhoni chopped one on to his stumps off the bowling of Vernon Philander with Chennai still requiring 26 off 14 balls.

Bravo then hammered a six and two fours off Dale Steyn as seventeen runs were scored in the penultimate over bowled by Dale Steyn to all but settle the issue in CSK's favour.

There were no hiccups With a mere six runs required off the last over and Bravo and Morkel took the defending champions home with two balls to spare.

CSK openers Murali Vijay and Mike Hussey gave their team a good start, adding 41 runs for the first wicket. But Vijay was caught by Justin Kemp off Philander in the fifth over. He made 14 off 10 balls.

Cobras' captain Kemp's gamble of introducing J P Duminy into the attack paid off straightaway as Michael Hussey was stumped by wicket-keeper Dane Vilas after scoring 29 off 24 balls.

Chennai lost their third wicket in the eighth over as S Badrinath (2) fell off Duminy's last delivery.

By the 12th over, half the CSK side was back in the pavillion as Duminy accounted for Wriddhiman Saha (6) and Suresh Raina (20) in one over to take his tally to four.

Earlier, electing to bat, Owais Shah and Duminy chipped in with useful contributions to help Cape Cobras post a modest total. Cobras, who at one stage looked set to score over 170, were done in by pacer Morkel, who put the breaks on the visitors' scoring rate by claiming two important wickets.

At the end of 16th over, Cobras were comfortably placed at 124 for three, thanks to some brisk batting by Shah and Duminy, but once the former (45 off 38 balls) fell to Morkel, Cobras lost the plot, losing wickets at regular intervals.

Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin got rid of Richard Levi (6) off his first delivery when he had the opener trapped to provide Chennai their first breakthrough.

The Cobras slumped to 40 for two in the fifth over as Herschelle Gibbs (18) too departed, miscuing a Doug Bollinger delivery, but not before playing some exquisite strokes.

After the departure of both the openers, Dane Vilas (18) and Shah kept the scoreboard moving with occasional fours as the South African T20 champions crossed the 50-run mark in the seventh over.

As the batsmen were settling down, Dwayne Bravo bowled Vilas with a slower one that straightened after pitching.

Vilas struck a four and a six in his 19-ball knock.

But the loss did not stop Shah from taking risks as he first plundered two consecutive fours off Bollinger in the 11th over and then hit slow left-arm orthodox Shadab Jakati for a huge six over long-on to keep the scoreboard ticking.

Shah and J P Duminy (29), who came at the fall of Vilas, took the team past 100 in 12.4 overs.

Duminy got a reprieve in the 16th over when Jakati dropped him off his own bowling, when he was on 29.

However, Duminy failed to capitalise on the dropped chance as he was caught by Jakati at short fine-leg in the next over off Morkel.

Cobras were dealt a big blow when the in-form Shah too departed in the same over, caught at midwicket by Hussey off Morkel.

Once Duminy and Shah departed, Cobras struggled to get off the blocks against a disciplined bowling effort, led by Morkel as they scored just 16 runs off the last four overs.

For Chennai, Morkel, Bravo and Bollinger accounted for two wickets each, while Ashwin chipped in with one.

CLT20: NSW beat T&T in super over

Chennai: Moises Henriques turned out to be the unlikely hero for New South Wales Blues (NSW) as the 2009 champions edged out Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) in the super over in their Champions League Twenty20 Group A clash on Wednesday.

With 17 runs required for a win off the last over of the match, Henriques struck three fours as NSW finished with 139/8 in reply to T&T's total of 139/6.

Henriques once again starred for the Blues, this time around in the super over as he struck the last four balls bowled by Ravi Rampaul for boundaries.

Needing 19 runs of their super over bowled by Steve O'Keefe, T&T fell four runs short of their target as Lendl Simmons was caught by David Warner at the long-off boundary off the last ball.

Earlier, New South Wales bowlers produced a disciplined show after opener Simmons' initial blitzkrieg to restrict Trinidad and Tobago to 139 for six in their Champions League Twenty20 encounter.

Opting to bat, Simmons (41 off 39 balls) along with Adrian Barath put on 41 runs before left-arm spinner O'Keefe provided the breakthrough by getting the latter bowled in the seventh over.

Barath hit three fours for his 15 runs, which came off as many balls.

Darren Bravo (6) did not last long as he was shown the door by Moises Henriques for the addition of just 13 runs.

Bowling the 12th over, Henriques dealt the Caribbean outfit another blow when he had the well-settled Simmons trapped in front with the T&T total reading 69.

NSW seemed to be at the top of their game having removed the top three in the T&T line-up, but Daren Ganga and Dinesh Ramdin stabilised the innings with a 37-run partnership for the fourth wicket.

Both Ganga and Ramdin however failed to make use of the starts, getting out for 21 and 19 respectively.

While Ganga struck one four and a six, Ramdin found the fence three times.

That T&T managed to reach 139 from 112 for five in the 18th over, was due to some sensible batting by Kevon Cooper and Ravi Rampaul.

While Cooper scored 12 off nine, Rampaul used the willow effectively to eke out a quickfire 15 off seven deliveries with the help of two boundaries.

Henriques was the most successful of the NSW bowlers, finishing with figures of two for 27 in 4 overs, while Pat Simmons, Mitchell Starc and O'Keefe chipped in with a wicket each.

CLT20: Redbacks beat Kolkata by 19 runs

Hyderabad: Callum Ferguson struck 70 off just 40 balls and put on 84 runs for the fourth wicket with Daniel Christian (42 off 31) as South Australia Redbacks comfortably beat the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by 19 runs in a Group B clash at the 2011 Champions League Twenty20 competition on Tuesday.

The last nine overs of the Redbacks innings produced 111 runs as they ended up with an imposing total of 188/5 off their twenty overs.

The score proved to be well beyond the reach of KKR who could only manage 169/9 to fall well short of their winning target.

Fireworks by Ryan ten Doeschate (32 off 19) and Rajat Bhatia (21 off 22) towards the end of the innings saved Kolkata the embarassment of a heavy defeat, however the Redbacks were never at any stage threatened by the opposition batsmen.

Manoj Tiwary was the highest scorer for KKR scoring 40 off 31 balls with two fours and as many sixes.

Gary Putland (3/31) and Daniel Harris (3/42) shone with the ball for South Australia sharing six wickets between them.

For KKR, it their second consecutive defeat after having lost to Somerset by five wickets in their tournament opener.

On the other hand, the win opened South Australia's account in the tournament following their 50-run loss to Warriors in the opening match.

Chasing the steep target, KKR were never in the hunt as they lost wickets at regular intervals.

KKR's chase started on a shaky note, losing three wickets including captain Gautam Gambhir, inside the 50-run mark.

Opener Manvinder Bisla (13) showed promise hitting Nathan Lyon for three fours in the first over before he was cleaned up by Kane Richardson in the next.

Shakib Al Hasan (13) and Gambhir (9) failed to live upto their reputation and were dismissed cheaply as KKR slumped to 51 for three after seven overs.

Jacques Kallis (20) and Tiwary raised visions of a fightback stitching 35 runs off 25 balls for the fourth wicket before the former was snared caught and bowled by Harris.

Big-hitting Yusuf Pathan (5) and Tiwary then departed in consecutive overs to make life difficult for KKR.

But towards the end, Ten Doeschate and Rajat Bhatia played good little cameos to bring down the defeat margin for KKR.

Earlier, Ferguson scored an unbeaten half-century while Christian made a quickfire 42 to help South Australia post the challenging total on a slow Rajiv Gandhi stadium wicket.

Ferguson mixed caution with aggression to anchor the South Australia innings. He struck five boundaries and four sixes during his unconquered knock.

The 48-ball 84-run fourth-wicket stand between Ferguson and Christian was the highlight of South Australia innings.

Christian matched his partner stroke for stroke and hit four fours and two sixes during his 27-ball stay.

For KKR, Laxmipathy Balaji picked up two wickets for 27 runs.

Captain Micheal Klinger and Harris gave a brisk start to South Australia's innings raising 40 runs in just five overs.

But just when it was time to capitalise both the batsmen gave away their wickets.

While Harris miscued a cross-bated heave to give a simple catch to Iqbal Abdullah off Balaji's bowling, Klinger was run out in search of a risky single.

Cameron Borgas (14 off 13) too departed early, caught by Balaji at deep square leg off Pathan.

Ferguson, however, grabbed with both hands the life he got in the 13th over on individual score of 18 when Kallis dropped him at the long-on boundary off Pathan.

Ferguson added salt to Pathan's wound by spanking him for three boundaries and a six to pick up 20 runs of his next and innings' 15th over.

Christian was not to be left behind as he hit Abdullah for a four and six to notch up 15 runs of the next over.

Both the batsmen used their long handle to great effect towards the end to score a mammoth 50 runs of the last three overs.

South Australia skipper Klinger had earlier won the toss and elected to bat first as both teams looked to get their first victory in the main draw of the tournament.

While KKR went into the match with an unchanged side, the Redbacks left out Shaun Tait and Adil Rashid from their playing eleven.

CLT20: Mumbai pip T&T in last ball thriller

Bangalore: Ambati Rayudu scored a cautious 36 to help Mumbai Indians register a thrilling one-wicket win over Trinidad and Tobago in their Pool A Champions League Twenty20 match at Bengaluru. Chasing a score of only 99 runs, Mumbai Indians sealed the match in the last ball with only one wicket in hand.

Rayudu hit three boundaries in his innings of 35 off balls to help Mumbai chase down the target on the last bal of their quota of overs.

Despite facing a relatively small run chase, the Indians collapsed to a total of just 33-5 before Ambati Rayudu and Lasith Malinga (15) lead IPL franchises fight back to set up a thrilling fashion.

With 11 runs needed off the final over the Mumbai looked on course for victory when Malinga dispatched Sherwin Ganga (0-31) second delivery for a six straight down the ground.

With the pressure mounting Malinga and Rayudu were then both run out, before Yuzvendra Chahal (2) came to the crease and scored the two winning runs from the final ball of an amazing game.

Ravi Rampaul took three and Sunil Narine took two as T&T fought back after they were bowled out for 98 in 16.2 overs.

Earlier Harbhajan Singh produced an impressive spell of three wickets to help Mumbai Indians bundle out Trinidad and Tobago for a paltry 98. Harbhajan picked the wickets of Denesh Ramdin (0), Darren Bravo (18) and Sherwin Ganga (2).

Sri Lankan pacer Lasith Malinga also chipped in with two wickets for 22 runs, while Abu Nechim, James Franklin and Kieron Pollard too accounted for one wicket each to help their team's cause.

Jason Mohammad top scored with a 27-ball 23 for Trinidad and Tobago, studded with a four and a six.

Electing to bat, the Caribbean outfit looked set for a blazing start with opener Adrian Barath (11), who was in a punishing mood from the word Go, blasting a couple of fours in the first over off Malinga.

However, the Sri Lankan pacer came back in his second over and uprooted his stumps with a beautiful yorker to deal the first blow.

Simmons hit a six and 2 fours in his 18-ball 21 before getting run out as his foot was on the line but he didn't ground the bat when the bails were removed by Mumbai wicket-keeper Ambati Rayudu.

Bravo, blasted a couple of sixes to help them reach their first fifty. But Franklin removed Darren Ganga at the other end with Rajagopal Sathish taking a good catch as the visitors slipped to 57 for 3 in seven overs.

Thereafter it was left for Harbhajan to continue the damage as he struck thrice in his next three overs to reduce the visitors to 78 for six in 12 overs.

Once the top and middle order collapsed, the Caribbean outfit never really recovered with wickets falling in quick succession.

England end with a whimper

Hosts shot out for 88 in 16.4 overs as series finishes all square

England's incredible summer finished on a rather disappointing note with a 25-run defeat in the second Twenty20 game against the West Indies.

The hosts, who had won the opener by 10 wickets, seemed on course to complete a 2-0 triumph in the NatWest Series when they restricted their opponents to 113-5 at the Oval.

However England's batsmen fell well short in reply, four run outs not helping their cause, as they were bowled out for 88 - their lowest ever T20 total.

Debutant Garey Mathurin did the early damage, taking 3-9 from his four overs, before the final three wickets fell for just five runs in the space of 12 balls, fittingly the last of them being the run out of Jade Dernbach.

While the defeat does not take the gloss of a fine campaign for England, there will be concerns at their failure to knock off such a small target.

They struggled against the unknown quantites of left-arm spinner Mathurin and Krishmar Santokie - a left-arm seamer who has still yet to play a first-class game.

Openers Alex Hales and Craig Kieswetter were unable to match their efforts from the first game, making just two and 10 respectively off the back of unbeaten half-centuries at the same venue on Friday night.

Mathurin bowled Ravi Bopara (three) and Jonathan Bairstow (four) to leave England 44-4 before the first run out put paid to Samit Patel's stay in the middle, the all-rounder failing to beat Devendra Bishoo's direct hit.

Ben Stokes did his best to keep the home team in contention, including clobbering a superb six off the bowling of Bishoo. The leg-spinner, however, gained his revenge when he trapped the left-hander lbw for 31.

Tim Bresnan carelessly lofted Andre Russell to Mathurin at long-off to make it 60-7 and from then on panic set in, leading to three late run outs.

Jos Buttler's first knock in international cricket was ended when West Indies skipper Darren Sammy caught him backing up too far, while skipper Graeme Swann sold the impressive Scott Borthwick (14) down the river with a bad call.

Last man Dernbach then became the fourth man to be caught short of his ground to close the innings after just 16.4 overs.

Few could have predicted such an outcome at the halfway stage, the West Indies having limped along to a total some way short of the 125 all out they managed two days earlier.

England opted to pick Borthwick for his Twenty20 debut and the leggie did not let them down, picking up 1-15 from his four overs.

Patel - who opened the bowling alongside seamer Bresnan - also prospered with his left-arm spin on a worn pitch, taking 2-22, though it was a surprise that Swann only opted to give himself two overs.

Marlon Samuels started slowly but managed an important run-a-ball 35 not out, putting on 34 for the fifth wicket alongside skipper Sammy.

The partnership ended when Sammy was well caught in the deep by Borthwick in the closing stages, but an unbeaten 12 from Russell at the end gave the West Indies a late boost. In the end, though, they had more than enough.

Paine, Hastings out of ODIs

Duo to miss one-day leg of South Africa tour

Wicketkeeper Tim Paine and all-rounder John Hastings have been ruled out of Australia's limited-overs teams for next month's tour of South Africa.

The duo both require surgery on injuries which will rule them out of two Twenty20 and three one-day internationals, which get under way with the opening T20 clash in Cape Town on October 13.

Wicketkeeper-batsman Paine has been struggling with a long-term finger injury and Australia team physiotherapist Alex Kountouris said: "Tim Paine injured his right index finger batting at training with his Tasmanian state team four weeks ago.

"He sustained a fracture in a similar part of the same finger late last year and required surgery.

"Tim has been resting the injury in recent weeks but is still experiencing considerable pain. His surgeon has advised that the fracture is healing slower than expected and may not heal without surgical intervention. As such, Tim will be undergoing surgery later this week.

"He is likely to need an extended recovery period following surgery and will not be available for selection for the T20 and ODI tour of South Africa."

All-rounder Hastings picked up a shoulder injury with his state side after returning from Australia's tour of Sri Lanka and has been ruled out for an unspecified period.

"He has had ongoing shoulder pain since this incident and has been unable to return to training," Kountouris explained.

"He has consulted a surgeon who has recommended surgery. It is possible that he will have surgery sometime in the next week after further assessment from the surgeon.

"His return to cricket will be dependent on the management approach pursued."

CLT20: Gibbs shines in Cobras' win over NSW

Chennai: Herschelle Gibbs plundered a sparkling half-century to lead Cape Cobras to a seven-wicket win over the New South Wales in their Champions League Twenty20 clash at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Saturday.

Gibbs scored a brilliant 55 off 47 deliveries with five fours and two sixes as the Cobras chased down the Blues' total of 135 with 16 balls of their innings remaining.

Gibbs took his time to find his range on a two-paced pitch and he scored just one run off the first 11 balls that he faced. But hs soon was at his best as he changed the gear of the play by slamming a six and two fours off an over from fast bowler Pat Cummins as Gibbs brought up his 19th T20 fifty off 41 deliveries.

Gibbs seemed certain to see his team to victory but with just 24 runs needed to win Gibbs was dismissed in the 15th over when he hoisted a slower ball from Cummins to a leaping Moises Henriques at long-on.

Richard Levi and Gibbs shared in a first-wicket stand of 88 off just 9.3 overs before Levi, who had set the early pace in scoring 43 off just 27 balls chanced his arm once too often when he slapped a slower ball from Henriques straight to David Warner at long-on.

Owais Shah (3) departed five runs laterbefore Gibbs' departure left the Cobras on 112 for three. But JP Duminy (14 not out) and Justin Ontong (11 not out) knocked off the remaining runs with few difficulties.

Earlier Shane Watson and David Warner gave NSW a rollicking start, racing off to 41 for the first wicket in just under five overs. But the Australian outfit lost the grip after the dismissal of their top three batsmen.

Some disciplined bowling, especially by Vernon Philander (2/21) and Justin Kemp (1/18), only made life difficult for NSW who had won the inaugural edition of the tournament in 2009.

Robin Peterson (1/20) and Dale Steyn (1/26), too, returned with economical figures after the early onslaught.

While Watson top-scored for NSW with a 29-ball 34, which included four boundaries and a six, his partner Warner made 20 off 13 balls. The left-hander hit two fours and a six.

After Charl Langeveldt (2/38) and Peterson dismissed Warner and Watson respectively, Daniel Smith kept the scoreboard moving but his dismissal to Philander at a crucial juncture spoilt NSW's plans.

Smith slammed 24 off a mere 16 deliveries and struck two fours and a six.

Much was expected of skipper Simon Katich, but he failed to deliver when it mattered, falling prey to Kemp.

Steven Smith and Moises Henriques made 16 and 18 respectively to take NSW to a respectable score.

Langeveldt and Philander finished with two wickets apiece while Peterson, Steyn and Kemp took a wicket each.