Indian Cricket Team Updates

Highveld Lions vs Sydney Sixers Final Statistical Highlights CLT20-2012: 0 Number of matches lost by the Sydney Sixers in the tournament out of the six they played. The Sixers thus became the first team to remain undefeated during a CLT20 campaign. 1 Sydney Sixers provided the first instance of a side opening the bowling with two spinners (Nathan McCullum and Steven O’Keefe) in a CLT20 match. Incidentally Janaka Gunaratne and Sanath Jayasuriya opened the bowling for Ruhuna against Trinidad & Tobago in 2009 and against Leicestershire in 2011 respectively in Qualifier games. 9 Lions’ total at the fall of the fourth wicket – the worst start for any side in a CLT20 match. Central Districts and Mumbai Indians had lost their first four wickets with only 16 runs on the board against Wayamba in 2010 and Trinidad & Tobago in 2011 respectively. 10 Sydney Sixers’ win is the first by 10-wickets in CLT20 history. There have been three instances of nine-wicket wins in...

Highveld Lions vs Sydney Sixers Final Match Report CLT20-2012: On a fabulous evening in Johannesburg, the Sydney Sixers were crowned the new CLT20 champions. In the title clash at the New Wanderers Stadium, the Sixers defeated the Highveld Lions to take home the magnificent CLT20 trophy and the winner’s cheque of USD 2,500,000. The home team, the Lions, had to be content with the runners-up cheque of USD 1,300,000. On a fantastic pitch at the New Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg, the Sydney Sixers put the Highveld Lions in, restricted them to 121 and then cruised past the finish line in 12.3 overs to register a resounding 10-wicket victory. Needing to score at just over six runs an over, the Sixers’ opening pair of Brad Haddin and Michael Lumb started cautiously. But once both batsmen had gauged the conditions and seen off the early burst from the new-ball bowlers, they opened their shoulders and sent the Lions fielders on a leather hunt. Both batsmen were let off...

Sydney Sixers vs Titans 2nd Semi Final Statistical Highlights CLT20-2012: 3 Number of times a side has chased the winning target off the last ball of a CLT20 match. Somerset beat the Deccan Chargers by one wicket in 2009 and the Mumbai Indians beat Trinidad & Tobago also by one wicket in 2011. In addition, Somerset also beat Auckland off the last ball of the match (by four wickets) during the 2011 Qualifiers. 25 Number of balls taken by David Wiese to score his fifty – fastest fifty in the CLT20 2012. Chennai Super Kings’ Faf du Plessis had raced to his fifty off 27 balls against the Mumbai Indians at Johannesburg on October 20. 72 Runs scored by Titans in last 4 overs (17th to 20th) – the most scored by a side in CLT20 history. Mumbai Indians had scored 70 runs against Guyana at Durban in 2010 edition. 100 percent – the Sydney Sixers’ win record in CLT20 2012 – five wins in five games! 164 Sydney Sixers pulled off the highest successful chase in CLT2...

Sydney Sixers vs Titans 2nd Semi Final Match Report CLT20-2012: Sydney Sixers prevailed by two wickets in a last-ball thriller against the Titans to win the second semi-final of the Karbonn Smart Champions League Twenty20 2012. The Australian team will now take on the Highveld Lions in the final at the Wanderers on Sunday. While the win was a complete team effort on the part of the Sixers, Man of the Match, Steve O’Keefe stood out with his all-round performance. After returning with an economical bowling spell of 0-19 in four overs, the left-arm spinner got his team to a brisk start with the bat. He scored 32 off 21 balls with six fours during his 54-run opening stand with Michael Lumb. The Sixers were cruising along in their chase of 164 runs at 85 for 1 in 8.1 overs when O’Keefe was clean bowled by Eden Links. There were no notable partnerships thereafter and the Sixers seemed to be throwing away a game that was in their grasp. A little bit of panic set int...

Delhi Daredevils vs Highveld Lions 1st Semi Final Statistical Highlights CLT20-2012: 1.75 Chris Morris’ economy (4-0-7-2) is the best for any bowler in the main CLT20 matches (excluding Qualifiers). Wayamba’s Rangana Herath had also returned identical figures against Central Districts at Port Elizabeth in 2010. 3 Number of fifties scored by Gulam Bodi in this edition of CLT20 – first batsman to do so. 3 Number of batsmen, who were dismissed caught and bowled in Delhi Daredevils innings – David Warner, Ross Taylor and Naman Ojha. Never before in CLT20 history more than one batsman was out caught and bowled in a team innings. 4 Number of times the Delhi Daredevils have reached the knock-out stage in IPL/CLT20. However they have never won any event yet! Here’s a brief account of how DD have fared in various knock-out games: In 2008 they lost to the Rajasthan Royals by 106 runs, in 2009 they lost to the Deccan Chargers by 6 wickets, in 2011 they lost to the Kol...

Delhi Daredevils vs Highveld Lions Semi Final 1 Report CLT20-2012: The Delhi Daredevils bowed out of the Karbonn Smart Champions League Twenty20 after losing to Highveld Lions by 22 runs in the first semi-final at Kingsmead.  The Virender Sehwag-David Warner (21) opening pair got separated on just the third ball of the innings, as the Indian opener slogged himself out for a golden duck. The Australian left-hander combined with Kevin Pietersen for 35 runs, before top-edging Chris Morris and presenting him with a return catch. The Lions tightened the noose after dismissing both DD openers and gave away only 13 runs from the sixth to ninth overs. The pressure kept mounting and Unmukt Chand succumbed to it. Irfan Pathan was sent ahead of Ross Taylor to get a few quick runs but managed only a run. Later Dirk Nannes took a brilliant catch off his own bowling to dismiss Taylor and Naman Ojha was taken in the same fashion by Jean Symes. Delhi Daredevils stared down the b...

Titans vs Delhi Daredevils Match 20 Report CLT20-2012: The final Group fixture of the Karbonn CLT20 2012 – between the Titans and the Delhi Daredevils – had to be abandoned without a ball being bowled because of intermittent rains. Soon after the Titans skipper Martin van Jaarsveld had won the toss and opted to field first, the skies opened up. It continued to rain until 18:45 local time, at which point the umpires decided to abandon the match. Earlier in the evening, the Perth Scorchers defeated the Auckland Aces. That result meant that this match would be restricted to being an academic engagement – the outcome not having any bearing on the semi-finals qualification. With the two points from this match, the Delhi Daredevils finish with 12 points and placed at the top of the table, while the Titans finish second in the Group A standings with 10 points. The Delhi Daredevils now take on the Highveld Lions in the first semi-final at Durban on October 25, while the Titans w...

Perth Scorchers vs Auckland Aces Statistical Highlights CLT20-2012: 1 Mitchell Marsh missed a T20 match for the Perth Scorchers for the first time. 4 for 24 – Michael Bates’ figures are the best for any New Zealand side in the main event of the CLT20. Fellow teammate Azhar Mahmood had taken 3 for 16 against the Kolkata Knight Riders at Cape Town on October 15. 10 Number of matches after which a side batting first won a T20 match at Centurion. 66 Dot balls bowled by Kyle Mills in CLT20 2012 – most by any bowler. The all-time record is of 84 dots held by Trinidad & Tobago’s Samuel Badree in the 2011 edition. 264 Runs scored in the match – second lowest in a match in CLT20 2012 where both teams batted their allotted 20 overs. The lowest remains 260 for 15 in Sydney Sixers-Mumbai Indians match at Durban on October 22. Brief Scores:  Perth Scorchers 140-7 in 20.0 overs (Paul Collingwood 38, Marcus North 37, Michael Bates 4-34) beat Auckland Aces 124-8 ...

Perth Scorchers vs  Auckland Aces Match 19 Report CLT20-2012: The Perth Scorchers drew the curtains on the Auckland Aces’ campaign in the Karbonn CLT20 2012 after they registered a 16-run win at the SuperSport Park in Centurion. Needing 141 to win, the Aces lost wickets at regular intervals and could only muster 124 in their 20 overs. A win here would have meant the Aces would remain in contention for a place in the semi-finals. However, that was not to be. Despite losing Lou Vincent early in the innings, Martin Guptill and Azhar Mahmood put the innings back on track with a 49-run partnership. Both players kept finding the boundary regularly; in one particular instance, Azhar Mahmood even hit Paul Collingwood for three boundaries in an over. But left-arm spinner Michael Beer brought his team back into the contest when he snapped up both batsmen. He dismissed Guptill with a fantastic delivery; the 28-year-old threw the ball up in the air, got it to turn and bounce and tak...

Sydney Sixers vs Mumbai Indians Statistical Highlights CLT20-2012: 66  Number of dot balls faced by Mumbai Indians batsmen – second most in a team innings in CLT20 2012. Kolkata Knight Riders batsmen had faced 70 dot balls against Delhi Daredevils at Centurion on October 13. The 66 dots are also the most for Mumbai Indians in a CLT20 match, beating the record of 65 dots against New South Wales at Chennai in 2011. 65.15  Sachin Tendulkar’s dot-percentage in the tournament (he could not score a run off 43 out of the 66 balls he faced) – highest for any batsman in a single CLT20 tournament having faced at least 50 balls. Somerset’s Justin Langer had a dot-percentage of 64.29 in the 2009 edition. 30  Mumbai Indians’ score after the first six overs – lowest powerplay score for any side in CLT20 2012 that did not lose a wicket! 24  Number of wickets taken by Lasith Malinga in CLT20 - most by any bowler. He was earlier on par with Doug Bollinger with...

Sydney Sixers vs  Mumbai Indians Match 18 Report CLT20-2012: The Sydney Sixers extended their winning streak in the Karbonn CLT20 2012 by one more after they beat the Mumbai Indians by 12 runs at Kingsmead today. After opting to bat first, the Sixers posted a modest 136 and then kept the Mumbai Indians down to 124. It was by no means a convincing performance with the bat by the Sixers. After opting to bat first, they were given a solid start by their openers. Michael Lumb chanced his arm on a sluggish track and dominated the partnership with Peter Nevil. The 33-run opening stand was broken when Lumb was caught on the midwicket fence; he made 28 from 22 balls and hit four boundaries in his knock. Nevill departed shortly after; and when skipper Brad Haddin departed two deliveries later – cutting a short delivery from Munaf Patel straight to point – the Sixers had frittered away a good start to slip to 40 for 3. Nic Maddinson helped himself to two boundaries and as ma...

Chennai Super Kings vs  Yorkshire  Statistical Highlights CLT20-2012: 25   Years 330 days – Suresh Raina’s age while captaining Chennai Super Kings for the first time in a CLT20 match. He became the youngest to captain a side in CLT20. Victoria’s Cameron White held the previous record at 26 years 64 days. (Mahela Udawatte captained Ruhuna in a CLT20 qualifier match at the age of 25 years 62 days). 22  Number of wickets taken by Doug Bollinger in CLT20; he equalled Lasith Malinga’s record for most wickets in CLT20 . 7  Number of batsmen in Chennai Super Kings who scored their runs at a strike-rate of 100 or more – highest in an innings in this edition of CLT20.  4  Number of batsmen to score two fifties in this edition of CLT20. Gary Ballance joined Jacques Rudolph (Titans), Gulam Bodi (Lions) and Azhar Mahmood (Auckland). 6  Number of Twenty20 games MS Dhoni has played as a non-captain. The other five were before he too...

Chennai Super Kings vs  Yorkshire  Match 17 Report CLT20-2012: The Chennai Super Kings finished their Karbonn CLT20 2012 campaign on a happy note after they beat Yorkshire by four wickets. After putting Yorkshire in to bat first, the IPL outfit restricted their opponents to 140 and then knocked off the required runs in 19 overs. Though the Chennai Super Kings lost the wickets of Faf du Plessis and Murali Vijay early in the run-chase, they recovered through a 48-run partnership between S Badrinath and Suresh Raina. The pair accumulated runs with ones and twos, apart from hitting the odd boundary and helped the momentum swing back in their team’s favour. At 74 for two at the end of 11 overs, the Chennai Super Kings certainly held the edge and it was their game to lose. However, against the run of play, Raina perished when he was beaten by a slower delivery from Oliver Hannon-Dalby and holed out to the man at deep cover; the left-hander hit only one boundary and o...