Supreme Superstars make it two in row

The sixth match of the ICL20s Indian Championship featured the resurgent Ahmedabad Challenge the supremacy of the formidable Chennai Superstars at the LB stadium Hyderabad. The engrossing battle that delivered a very high standard of cricket from both sides saw the Chennai Superstars emerge winners by 35 runs. With this win Chennai Superstars made it two in a row making them one of the favorites for the title. Russel Arnold was declared man of the match for his stability personified 46 runs.
Earlier in the evening Damien Martyn, won the toss for the Rockets and elected to field. The Superstars got off to a disastrous start, with some sloppy running between the wickets seeing Harvey and Hariesh back in the dugout in the first couple of overs, leaving the Superstars reeling 5/2 in the second over. Eighteen runs off the fourth over from debutant Kunal Lal had the Superstars right back on track. Vignesh was at his swashbuckling best taking the score to 65 in the 7th over, ably supported by the experienced Arnold on the other end. Vignesh's cameo of 38 runs finally came to an end in the 8th over by Sodhi and included 2 fours and 3 sixes. A brilliant piece of fielding at gully from Murray Goodwin saw the end of Jesuraj to leave the Superstars in a bit of a bother at 82/4 in the 10th over. The loss of wickets had no effect of the Superstars' batting Juggernaut and the legendary Michael Bevan "role play definition" for his side was on full view with Sathish & Arnold playing according to the situation taking the score to 130 at the 15th over mark. At the 16th over stage the Superstars were placed at 135 /5 when a minor power failure had the VJD rule implemented, curtailing the Superstars' innings at that stage & setting the Rockets a target of 143 in 16 overs.

The Rockets reply was off to a shaky start with Rockets' performer of their previous encounter Aziz, snapped in the very first over by Shabbir Ahmed. The cheap dismissal of Ryan Campbell for 5 in the 4th over was not helping the Rockets cause and had the side in serious trouble at 15/2 at the end of the 4th over. The resurgent Reetinder Sodhi got into the repair act in company of Martyn taking the score to 44/2 at the 7th over mark. An eventful 8th over had some vintage Martyn strokes taking 15 runs off the pacy Hayward. At the half way stage of their innings the Rockets were placed at 59/2 needing another 84 runs off 48 balls and eight wickets in hand, making it a fascinating high pressure encounter. The Classy Martyn was playing a top of the drawer innings brining his well deserved fifty in the 11th over. The dangerous71 run partnership between Sodhi & Martyn for the third wicket was ended with a smart piece of fielding from Hayward, finding Sodhi short of his ground for a well made 22 in the 12th over. The quick dismissal of the Rocket's' skipper in the same over got the upper hand back to the formidable Superstars. With four overs to go the top standard match had the Rockets' needing an uphill task of 55 runs from 24 balls.

Lions hunt down Champs in low scoring thriller

The 5th match of the ICL 20s Indian Championship featured the inform Chandigarh Lions take on the revamped Mumbai Champs at the sparkling ICL facility, LB Stadium Hyderabad. Pat Symcox in his pitch report read a sporting track on offer with good carry, making it conducive to stroke-play. The classic low scoring encounter that went right down to the wire saw the Lions scamper home by two wickets. Sarabjit Singh was declared Man of the Match for his unbeaten knock of 41.

Earlier in the evening, Lions' Skipper Cairns won the toss and elected to field, wanting to take first advantage of the fresh pitch. Some tight bowling in the first couple of overs from the Lions, saw the experienced Tuffey do what he has done all his career, getting a wicket in his first over by scalping the Champs skipper Astle, leaving the Champs in a bit of a bother at 7/1 in the second over. Tuffey struck again sending back the dangerous Raviraj Patil to the Champs dugout without troubling the scorers.

A middle order collapse in form of wickets of the batting mainstay Hasan Raza for 8 and Taufeeq Umar 17, left the Mumbai innings in absolute tatters at 36/4 in the eight over. A twenty eight run partnership between Powar and Morris looked promising till the experienced Mongia trapped Morris in the 12th over, leaving Mumbai struggling to get over the Lions strangle at 64/5. The gritty south-paw Kiran Powar, was holding one end and a fighting innings of 45 off 42 balls including five fours and one six, saw the Champs fold their innings at 135/6 in their allotted 20 overs. For the Lions, Tuffey was the most successful bowler ending with figures of 2/25.

The Champs bowlers came out firing all cylinders and some controlled seam bowling saw the sub continent specialist Kasprowicz strike early sending back the dashing Vincent for only 1, with the Lions score on three. Kasper struck again trapping the Lions anchor-man TP Singh in the fourth over to bring the match back wide open. Astle brought himself on in the 7th over and it was just the tonic the Champs needed; scalping three wickets, including the wicket of the dangerous Elliott who had got off to a flier with 38 runs off 32 balls; leaving the Lions in deep trouble at 55/5 in the 10th over. Astle was bowling in the zone scalping skipper Cairns, as his fourth victim to give the Champs the upper for the first time in the match.

Astle ended his four over spell with magical figures of 4/19. With five overs to go, the Lions were placed at 85/6 needing another 51 runs off 30 balls leaving the low scoring encounter wide open. A spirited seventh wicket partnership of 56 runs between Sarabjit Paul & Andrew Hall got the Lions backing the game. The last over saw the match placed preciously with the Lions, needing eight runs off 6 balls and two wickets in hand.

In the end the nail bitter saw the brilliant Sarabjit power the Lions home with a mighty six off the fourth ball of the last over. His unbeaten match winning innings of 41 runs off 22 balls included three fours & sixes.

Tigers hunt down Champs to score a four wicket victory

The penultimate round- robin match of the ICL 20-20 domestic tournament featured the resurgent Mumbai Champs take on the spirited Royal Bengal Tigers at the Lahari Resorts ground Hyderabad. In a match dominated by the bowlers, saw that Tigers scamper home to a four wicket victory, helped by a fighting lower middle order knock of 28 runs from the bat of Ali Hamid Zaidi. Zaidi’s knock won him the man of the match award.

Earlier in the day Jadhav won the toss and elected to bat. Quick dismissals of the in form Jadhav & Morris at the top of the innings saw the Champs in a bother at 2/30 in the 6th over. With the exception of Narsinha, none of the Champs batters contributed to the batting cause resulting in the Champs fold their innings at a paltry 116/6 in their allotted 20 overs. For the Tigers Tarafdar, Ahmid & Shibsagar scalped two wickets each.

The Tiger’s reply to the modest target started on a disastrous note, with pacer Burkul sending the experienced Deep Dasgupta back to the Tigers dug out in the 2nd over. Quick dismissal of Gavaskar, followed by the scalping of Jhunjhunwala & SG Das by prodigal Champs’ leggie Sridhar Iyer, had the Tigers in deep trouble at 5/63 in the 13th over.

However a fighting 27 run partnership between Zaidi & Mihir Diwakar paved way for the Tigers to scamper home on the penultimate ball of the match by four wickets.

Mumbai Champs, triumphant in "trans -metro" battle against Delhi Giants.

The nineteenth match in the ICL 20 -20 domestic tournament featured the highly anticipated trans- metro battle between the Mumbai Champs & the Delhi Giants. In the end it was the resurgent Mumbai side, marshaled by new skipper Dheeraj Jadhav that came out tops by a comprehensive margin of 32 runs. It was the tall 6foot 3 inch Champs' leg spinner Sridhar Iyer, engineering the victory with his sparkling 18 run ( off only 5 balls) & three wicket spell.

Earlier in the day Giants skipper JP Yadav won the toss and invited the Champs to take first strike. Champs lost their inform opener Morris early in the first over leaving the Mumbai side in a bit of a bother at 1/3 in the first over. However a sparkling knock of 54 runs from the talented Dheeraj Jadhav; coming into the tournament from a successful stint in the English domestic tournament saw the Champs come back right into the match.

Solid middle order contributions from Narsinha ( 20 runs ) & Khirid ( 28 runs ); followed by a late onslaught from Sridhar Iyer whose five ball innings delivered 18 runs including two fours & one six, helped the Champs set the Giants a competitive target of 158 runs.

In reply both the Giants openers (Bali 34 runs & Mishra 26runs) came up with solid contributions putting the Giants on target for the chase. However the quick dismissals of the Giants batting backbone, Abbas Ali & skipper JP Yadav created a lethal blow for the Giants chase. A quick polishing act by the towering leg spinner Iyer followed his brilliant batting cameo with a match winning spell of 3/5. This solid display helped Champs register their second straight win of the tournament by a comprehensive margin of 32 runs.

Lions maul Rockets by 5 wickets to move towards final spot

The Eighteenth match of the ICL 20 -20 domestic tournament featured the formidable Chandigarh Lions take on Ahmedabad Rockets at the Lahari resorts ground Hyderabad. In the end it was the Lions from Punjab who came out tops with a 5 wicket victory, keeping their chances of a berth in the finals alive. The star for the Lions was south paw TP Singh who scored a match winning fifty runs, including six boundaries & one six.

Earlier in the day Sriram won the toss and elected to bat on a good bating surface. A solid 59 run, opening wicket partnership between Dholpure & Sriram put the Rockets in the drivers’ seat. The successive fall of both the openers in the eight over; especially the run out of skipper Sriram put the Lions right back in contention.

The Rockets middle order saw both Sodhi (21 runs) & Jain (17 runs) get off to a start but their wickets in the 14th & 15ht over prevented the Rockets’ from taking advantage of a solid start. In the end the Rockets folded their innings at 133/8 in their allotted 20 overs.

The Lions chase was powered by a cracking half century from TP Singh who built a solid 44 run partnership for the second wicket in company of Gaurav Gupta. A solid skipper’s unbeaten knock of 34 runs by Dinesh Mongia, saw the Lions romp home to a five wicket victory, taking them to their fourth win of the tournament and frontrunners for a berth in the final.

Chennai Superstars Vs Hyderabad Heroes

The seventeenth match of the ICL 20 -20 domestic tournament featured favorites Chennai Superstars take on their arch rivals & hosts Hyderabad Heroes at the Lahari resorts ground Hyderabad. The much anticipated match between the two champion teams saw the Heroes emerge victorious by a comprehensive margin of 7 wickets, largely helped by a fine seam bowling performance from K Sahabuddin & PK Reddy.

Earlier in the day Sathish won the toss and elected to bat with a new opening combination of Hariesh & himself. It proved to be a fatal move with the impressive Sahabuddin picking up both the openers cheaply in his first spell. Reddy proved to be an able bowling partner following up the wickets of Badani & Sarvanan to leave the Superstars in serious trouble at 4/9 in the fourth over.

Quick wickets of Syed Mohammed, Naidu & Vasudevan had the Superstars all but buried and out at 7/41 in the 10th over.

A late repair act by Hemanth Kumar & Vignesh who came up with a 34 run partnership for the 8th wicket brought some respectability to the Chennai total. A fighting 22 from the bat of Kumaran; involved in a crucial 23 run partnership with Jesuraj for the last wicket saw the Superstars fold their innings at a dismal 123 for nine in their allotted 20 overs.

In reply the Heroes lost their in form opener Vinay Kumar early leaving the Heroes in a bit of a bother at 1/6 in the 2nd over.

A cracking half century from the bat of the prodigal Rayudu ably supported by Nag in a 44 run partnership for the second wicket put the Heroes in a commanding position. In the end a solid 22 from captain Binny, saw the Heroes romp home to a seven wicket victory, in turn causing the biggest upset of the tournament.

Mumbai Champs Vs Ahmedabad Rockets

The sixteenth match of the ICL 20- 20 domestic tournament featured the Ahmedabad Rockets take on the Mumbai Champs at the Lahari resorts ground Hyderabad. Champs led by opener Dheeraj Jadhav registered their first win of the tournament, beating the Rockets by 13 runs.

Earlier in the day S.Sriram won the toss and elected to field. For the Champs their inform openers Paul & Morris got off to a good start scoring 43 runs for the first wicket. Morris who has emerged as the most successful batsman for the Champs in this tournament fired a match winning 69 off 62 balls including five fours & three mighty sixes, justifiably winning the man of the match award.

A solid 20, late in the innings from south-paw captain Dheeraj Jadhav saw the Champs set the Rockets a competitive target of 141 runs. The most successful bowler for the Rockets was rookie Kunal Lal who finished his spell at 2/27 in his allotted four overs.

The Rockets’ chase saw opener Sachin Dholpure get off to a good start scoring 28 off 20 balls , however the fall of his wicket in the fifth over gave the Champs the upper hand. With cheap dismissals of the other recognized Rockets batsmen, saw them in deep trouble at 88/6 in the 14th over. The chief architect of the Champs bowling performance was left arm spinner Avinash Yadav, picking up three important wickets in his allotted four overs.

The only other significant batting contribution from the Rockets’ line up came in the form of Pallav Vora’s fighting 20 off 15 balls.

In the end the Rockets feel short of the target by 13 runs helping the Champs register their first win of the tournament.

Hyderabad Heroes register first win of the tournament.

The Fourteenth match of the ICL 20-20 domestic Indian championship featured the Mumbai Champs take on hosts Hyderabad Heroes at the Lahari resorts ground Hyderabad. Both teams came into this match deprived of any wins in the tournament, preceding this match. In the end it was the Heroes who registered a comprehensive six wicket victory marshaled by a cracking half century from opener D. Vinay Kumar. Kumar was declared Man of the Match for his brilliant batting display. Kumar scored a quick-fire 66 off just 45 deliveries in a knock that included 6 boundaries and 2 hits over the fence.



Earlier in the day, Stuart Binny won the toss and put the Champs in to bat first. They got off to a rollicking start with their openers Morris(60) & Subhojit Paul (52), scoring the tournament’s first century partnership for the first wicket. However the departure of the openers’ post the fifteenth over saw the quick wickets of Powar & Khirid, putting breaks on the Champs’ batting juggernaut. A late onslaught from dashing south paw Dheeraj Jadhav (21 runs off 15 balls) saw the Champs set the Heroes a competitive target of 157.

In reply the Heroes got off to a good start with Vinay Kumar & P Shashank Nag taking the attack to the Champs’ bowling with a solid 75-run partnership for the opening wicket. Rock-hard, useful contributions from Captain Stuart Binny & prodigious Ambati Rayudu saw the Heroes emerge victorious by a comprehensive six wicket margin. The highlight of the Heroes win was the crackling half century from D. Vinay Kumar.

Lions roar to eight wicket win over Hyderabad Heroes.

The 13th match of the ICL 20-20 domestic tournament saw the Chandigarh Lions battle it out with hosts Hyderabad Heroes at the Lahari resorts ground Hyderabad. In the end it was the buoyant side from Punjab that registered its third victory of the tournament, comprehensively defeating a lackluster Heroes’ side by 8 wickets. Dinesh Mongia was declared man of the match for his solid 43 runs & one wicket contribution.

Earlier in the day Binny won the toss and elected to bat. Some sharp fielding from the Lions saw the Heroes struggle at 15/2 in the third over with both openers back in the dugout; falling short of their crease. The Heroes never quite recovered from the initial loss and with the exception of Rayudu’s 24 run knock; none of the other top order batsmen contributed to the Heroes’ batting cause. A late recovery from Sahabuddin & PS Niranjan (47 run partnership for the 6th wicket) saw the Heroes fold their innings at 126/7 in their allotted 20 overs.

The Lions chase was largely dominated by a solid sixty-six run partnership between the solid south-paw duo of Dinesh Mongia & TP Singh. In the end the Lions romped home to a comfortable eight wicket victory.

Chennai Superstars beat Rockets to make it four in a row.

The 12th match of the ICL 20-20 Domestic tournament featured the upcoming Ahmedabad Rockets take on heavyweights Chennai Superstars at the Lahari Resorts ground Hyderabad. Both sides came into their respective fourth match with contrasting fortunes: Superstars having registered a clean sweep in all their three league matches, on the other hand Rockets, had registered a solitary win in their three previous encounters.

In the end the superstars romped to their fourth straight win by a narrow margin of four wickets. R Jesuraj was declared man of the match for his stupendous seam bowling spell of 2/17.

Earlier in the day Superstars skipper Sathish won the toss and elected to field. His decision was justified by his opening fast bowler Jesuraj who scalped two wickets in his very first over leaving the Rockets innings in tatters at 2/5.

Captain Sriram & Anshu Jain got into the repair act with a fighting fifty-five run partnership taking the score to 60 in the 10th over. However the wicket of Sriram; castled by his Superstars counterpart Sathish broke the momentum of the Rockets’ batting. With no other significant contribution but for the exception of Sanjeev Martin (28 runs off 28 balls); saw the Rockets fold their innings at a modest 116/6 in their allotted twenty overs. For the Rockets Anshu Jain top scored with 33 runs. The pick of the bowlers for the Superstars was their opening strike bowler Jesuraj who returned with impressive figures of 2/17 in his allotted 4overs.

Bipul Sharma spins Lions to a comprehensive victory.

The eleventh match featured the Chandigarh Lions take on the Royal Bengal Tigers at Lahari resorts ground Hyderabad which was a crucial encounter for both the sides. In the end the Lions scored a comprehensive six wicket victory over their Bengal opponents. The chief architect of the victory was the young left arm spinner Bipul Sharma, who bowled a brilliant spell of 4/8.


Earlier in the day the Tigers' skipper Dasgupta won the toss and elected to bat. The Tigers opened with their successful combination of Dasgupta & Kumar, who put up a solid partnership of 43 for the first wicket. However the fall of Dasgupta in the fifth over put brakes on the Tiger's batting largely due to a destructive spell from Bipul Sharma who gulped the Tigers' middle order with an inspired spell of 4/8 in his three overs. The Tigers never quite recovered from this
jolt and folded their innings at a modest 120 runs.


The Lions successful chase was scripted by opener Chetan Sharma who scored a furious half century & ably supported by T.P Singh. In the end, the Lions marched home to victory by 6 wickets.

Hemant Kumar maintains Chennai Superstars’ supremacy in clash of the Titans.

The 10th match of the ICL 20-20 domestic tournament featured the clash of the domestic heavyweights. The crowds got to see Chennai Superstars & Delhi Giants take on each other at the Lahari Resorts ground- Hyderabad. Both teams came into this match with an unbeaten record .The match was previewed by experts as the best encounter at the round robin stage.

In the end it was the boys from South India, who came up at the top in the great “North VS South” clash between the two domestic titans on the ICL platform. The win was powered by a solid opening partnership of 91 runs between Vignesh & Hemant Kumar resulting in the Superstars maintaining an edge over their arch north Indian rivals. Hemant Kumar was declared man of the match for his superb knock of 80 runs of 48balls, including 10 fours & 3 sixes.

Earlier in the day Giants’ skipper Yadav won the toss and put the Superstars in to bat. Superstars opened guard with their potent combination of Vignesh & Kumar who set the tempo with some daring stroke-play. Their superb 91 run partnership (highest opening stand partnership in the tournament), had the Superstars dictate the pattern of play right from the start of the innings. It was Hemant Kumar & his brilliant innings all the way which helped the Chennai side score 167/ 7 in their allotted 20 overs.

In reply none of the top three Giants’ batsmen got going and were restricted primarily due to a superb bowling spell from Superstars’ pacer Jesuraj, who returned with a match winning spell of 3/10 in his allotted 4 over spell. The Giants’ cause received a further bolt with the quick dismissals of their dependable middle order duo Abbas Ali & JP Yadav. The only significant contributions from the Giants’ stable came from the bats of Dhruv Mahajan 27 (26balls) and a late onslaught from Abid Nabi 41 (15 balls; including 1 four & 5 sixes).

In the end the Giants chase fell short of the target by 24 runs; taking the Superstars to the top of the table with three wins from the same number of matches.

Royal Bengal Tigers’ clinical display destroys Rockets’ citadel.

The ninth match of the ICL 20-20 World Series featured the newly formed Ahmedabad Rockets take on the formidable Royal Bengal Tigers at the Lahari resorts ground-Hyderabad. A clinical display saw the Tigers score a comprehensive 72 runs victory largely assisted by the clinical batting display from their top 3 batsmen; especially a splendid match winning batting display of 79 runs from Rajiv Kumar.

Earlier in the day S.Sriram, won the toss and put the Tigers’ in to bat.

The Tigers opened with a new combination of Rajeev Kumar (promoted up the order owing to his great form that he has carried from a very successful English summer) & Captain Deep Dasgupta. The duo added a solid 41 run partnership before Dasgupta departed for a well made 22. This was an ideal setting for the prodigious Abhishek Jhunjhunwala to display his talent.

It was a perfect batting display from the top three Tigers’ batsmen (Kumar 79, Jhunjhunwala 64, Dasgupta 22), helping them register the highest total of the tournament. The Tigers’ innings finally folded at an impressive 193/4 in their allotted 20 overs.

It was a difficult task for the Rockets right from the beginning and their cause was also, not helped by the loss of wickets at regular intervals. With the exception of Sachin Dholpure; none of the Rockets batsmen got going; resulting in a huge 72 run margin defeat. The Tigers’ captain also showcased the bowling prowess of the team by employing 8 bowlers in the match. With this big win the Tigers are right back in contention and have announced their comeback with a strong all-round performance.

Dinesh Mongia’s roaring performance helps Chandigarh Lions register first win

The seventh match of the ICL 20-20 domestic tournament featured the Mumbai Champs take on Chandigarh Lions at the picturesque Jain international residential school ground. It was an important match for both sides; having lost their respective first encounters in the tournament.

In the end it was the superb all round skills (both bat & ball) from Lions’ skipper Dinesh Mongia, which sealed the match in favor of the Chandigarh Lions. Mongia was also adjudged the man of the match for his stupendous performance, which included two wickets and a match winning innings of 72.


Champs skipper Kiran Powar, won the toss and elected to bat. They opened with a new combination of Morris-Paul who got the Champs off to a steady start adding 34 runs for the first wicket. Quick wickets of Patil, Powar & Jadhav put the blocks on the Mumbai batting not resulting in any momentum. A late onslaught from all-rounder Khirid 26 runs (14 balls) helped Champs fold their innings at 135 /7 in their allotted 20 overs.

The mainstay of the Champs batting was opener Robin Morris who scored a disciplined 46. For the Lions it was Uniyal, Mongia & Luv Ablish who ended with two wickets each.


In reply the Lions got off to a shaky start with both their openers Manish & Chetan back in the Lions dugout by the end of the 4th over. Lions’ batting mainstay TP Singh, was looking in ominous touch scoring 23 off only 15 balls before he was castled by the emerging pace talent Suyash Burkul. Lions’ skipper Dinesh Mongia however had other plans and played a match winning, unbeaten knock of 72 runs (40balls; including 9 fours & 2sixes). The only Mumbai bowler to have any impression on the Lions was Burkul, who returned with impressive figures of 3/22 in his allotted 4 overs.

In the end, largely helped by the Mongia knock and able support of Sarabjeet Singh saw the Lions come out triumphs by 6 wickets & 2 overs to spare.

Rockets bombard Heroes citadel with 7 wicket shock victory.

The sixth match of the ICL 20-20 domestic tournament featured the home team Hyderabad Heroes take on the Ahmedabad Rockets at the Lahari resorts ground Hyderabad. It was an important match for both sides, having lost their respective openers at the tournament.

The Rockets scored a comprehensive 7 wicket victory over their formidable opponents, Hyderabad Heroes; in turn registering one of the biggest upsets on the ICL platform. The chief architect of the Rockets win was their young spinner Sumit Kalia who destroyed the Heroes middle order with figures of 3/16.



Binny won the toss for the Heroes and elected to bat. The Heroes opened with the combination Shashank Nag & Ibrahim Khaleel who added 34 runs for the first wicket. Nag was the first to depart, caught by Sriram off the bowling of Martin for 12.

Khaleel was soon joined by the prodigal Ambati Rayudu to battle it out for the Heroes in the middle.

Both Khaleel (24 runs off 29 balls) & Rayudu (23 runs off 27 balls) failed to capitalize on their good starts, falling to the impressive spinner Sumit Kalia. The 21 year old spinner soon ripped his spinners into the famed Heroes batting-citadel, picking up the scalps of Khaleel, Rayudu & Anirudh Singh to leave the Hyderabad side reeling at 64/3 in the 12th over.

A valiant fight back by captain Stuart Binny (37 off 29 balls) proved insignificant, mainly due to the lack of support from any other Heroes’ batsman. The Heroes finally folded their innings at a modest 124/7 in their allotted 20 overs.

In reply The Rockets got off to a flier mainly due to a sparkling knock from Sachin Dholpure. The Dholpure- Vora combination put on 38 runs for the first wicket which was ended by PK Reddy who scalped Vora for 7in the 6th over. Dholpure played a solid knock, keeping the Rockets in hunt of their maiden win at the tournament. His promising knock (34 runs off 27 balls including 6 boundaries) was cut short by an unfortunate run out in the 11th over.

Significant contributions from Bhima Rao (28 runs off 22 balls) & S Sriram (27 runs off 19 balls) saw the Rockets storm home with three overs to spare.

“Superb Sathish” skippers Chennai Superstars on-track to topping T20 world rankings.

The fifth match of the ICL 20-20 domestic tournament was played in the picturesque setting of the Jain international residential school ground Bangalore and featured heavyweights Chennai Superstars taking on Chandigarh Lions.

The Superstars have generated a lot of interest especially with their present world rankings of No-5 (Batercard power rankings, by Green berry media UK) expected to improve on basis of a good performance at ICL season -2.

In the end the Superstars registered their second straight victory, beating the Chandigarh Lions by 5 wickets. For the Chennai side it was again their supremely talented skipper R Sathish, who played a match winning innings & in turn earning his second consecutive man of the match award.


The Superstars won the toss and put the Lions in, to take first guard. The Chandigarh side opened with the two Sharmas’ (Manish & Chetan). The openers got off to a steady start scoring 27 runs for the first wicket.

Disciplined bowling from the Superstars bowling arsenal kept a tight leash on the Chandigarh batting line not allowing their innings to gain any momentum. Wickets at regular intervals too did not help the Lions batting cause and they were soon left reeling at 6/87 in the 16th over. The only significant contributions for the Lions came from Chetan Sharma 32 runs (28 balls) & Gaurav Gupta 29 (26 balls). A late onslaught from Amit Uniyal 21 runs (off only 11 balls) saw the Lions reach a modest 125 for nine in their allotted 20 overs.



In reply the Superstars got off to a quick start with both Vignesh & Hemanth Kumar getting off to brisk starts. However both the openers could not capitalize on their good starts and were scalped by the much improved, left arm pacer Amit Uniyal.

At the end of the fifth over, Superstars were comfortable placed at 50/1. However the unfortunate run out of Hemang Badani that cut short his promising innings of 19 (11balls) & quick wickets of Saravanan, Hariesh took the steam of the Superstars run chase.

However with Sathish (38 runs off 40 balls) anchoring one end and ably supported by the calm Syed Mohammad (19 runs off 17 balls) saw the Superstars romping home with one ball to spare.

Delhi Giants romp home to second straight victory at ICL 20 -20 Domestic Tournament.

The fourth match in the ICL 20-20 domestic tournament featured the Delhi Giants take on the resurgent Royal Bengal Tigers at the Lahari Resorts ground Hyderabad. Both teams went into their second match after scoring comprehensive wins in their opening matches.

In the end it was the Giants that scampered home with a five wicket victory with two balls to spare. JP Yadav won his second consecutive man of the match award for a solid 38 with the bat.

The Giants won the toss and elected to field to take advantage of the overcast conditions prevailing in Hyderabad. The Tigers received a jolt early in their innings when the experienced Deep Dasgupta was found short of his crease leaving the Tigers score reading 1-2 in the first over. The middle order tried to resurrect the Tigers’ innings with useful contributions from the experience Rohan Gavaskar (22 of 20 balls) & Rajeev Kumar (35 off 39 balls).

Disciplined bowling assisted by some sharp fielding, helped the Giants keep a tight leash on the Tigers scorecard. Rajiv Kumar held the innings well for the Tigers, showing glimpses of his purple patch; especially coming into the tournament after a successful stint in the English domestic competition.

Some big hitting from Mihir Diwakar in the death overs saw the Tigers reach a respectable 136/7 in their allotted 20 overs. For the Giants, it was their spin combination of Abhishek Sharma & wily Ali Murtaza who returned as the most successful bowlers with two scalps each.

In reply the Giants got off to a steady start scoring 30 odd runs off the first five overs. The promising partnership between Bali & Mishra was broken short by the impressive Pritam Das who scalped Mishra for a well made 18. Das looked impressive troubling most of the Giants batsmen and returned with impressive figures of 3/10 in his allotted 4 overs.

For the Giants it was again left to the impressive middle order combination of Abbas Ali (27 runs) & JP Yadav (38 runs) to come up with a match deciding 52 run partnership. Eklak Ahmid caused panic in the Giants dug out with two quick scalps of Abbas Ali & Dhruv Mahajan in the 18th over. However the cool head Yagnik & Sudhindra saw the Giants romp home with two balls to spare.

Delhi Giants diffuse Ahmedabad Rockets in rain interrupted encounter.

The third match of the ICL 20- 20 domestic tournament featured the Ahmedabad Rockets take on the formidable Delhi Giants at the ICL facility; Lahari Resorts Ground, Hyderabad. The rain interrupted match saw the application of the VJD (V Jayadevan) method for rain interruption. In the end Delhi Giants came out tops by 14runs. Giants’ all-rounder JP Yadav was declared man of the match for his attacking batting (22 runs off 21 balls; including 2 fours & a six) & disciplined bowling (0/17 in 4 overs) spell.

The Rockets won the toss and elected to bat on the freshly laid track. Left arm pacer Shalabh Srivastava (Delhi Giants), made full use of the helpful conditions sending back both the Rockets openers to the Ahmedabad dugout without troubling the scorers.

The Rockets were soon in further trouble when their batting mainstay S Sriram was foxed by the spin musketeer Ali Murtaza for 3. It was then left to the Rockets’ international stalwart Reetinder Singh Sodhi in company of Anshu Jain to resurrect the Rockets innings. Just when Sodhi’s stroke play was taking the game away from the Giants, the wily Murtaza struck again scalping Sodhi for a well made 43 (31 balls, including 7 fours & 1 six).

A handy 56 run partnership between Sanjeev Martin & Bhima Rao for the sixth wicket saw the Rockets set the Giants a target of 131 runs.

In reply the Giants got off to a confident start with both Bali & Mishra taking the total to 31 in the 4th over. Rockets struck back in the match through medium pacer Baburao Yadav, who scalped the prized wicket of Bali for 20.

Mishra did not last long (13runs) and was Baburao’s second victim of the match in the 6th over. It was then left to the experienced duo of JP Yadav & Abbas Ali to take forward the Giants chase. At the ends of the 11th over Giants, were comfortable placed at 78/2, with both Abbas & Yadav looking good at the crease.

It was at that point that the rain gods intervened, washing out the chances of any further play. The VJD method was applied to declare the Giants as winners by 14 runs.

Royal Bengal Tigers start with a win, upset Hyderabad Heroes in their opening tie.

The second game of the ICL 20-20 Domestic Tournament was played at the Lahari Resort, Hyderabad featuring the home team, Hyderabad Heroes, against a new look Royal Bengal Tigers. The Royal Bengal Tigers hit the right notes in their maiden game, recording a 42-run win. The Tigers put up a clinical performance with the bowlers backing the contribution of their middle order batsmen to fold the Heroes’ innings for 115 after setting a competitive 157.

Taking a cue from the first game that was played between Chennai Superstars and Mumbai Champs, the Hyderabad Heroes too, elected to field after winning the toss in order to extract some early juice. The Heroes’ got early breakthroughs dismissing opener Zaidi (6) and the highly talented Jhunjhunwala (1) inside the first five overs.

With two wickets down and the run-rate far below from being convincing, Bengal’s skipper Dasgupta and the experienced Rohan Gavaskar showed maturity as expected and steadily built a partnership. Deep Dasgupta departed in the ninth over for 20 and Gavaskar carried on with Rajiv Kumar (15) and SG Das (31). A late cameo by MS Diwakar helped Tigers cross 150. The right-hander changed the course quickly blasting 33 from just 18 balls with 1 four and three sixes before getting out on the penultimate ball to PK Reddy. The new ball bowlers for Hyderabad shared five wickets between them with Sahabuddin claiming 3-31 and Reddy taking 2-25.

The Hyderabad Heroes launched their chase well with both the openers getting good starts. However, Shahank Nag was the first one to depart off Eklak Ahmid’s bowling for 19. Ibrahim Khaleel than had a steady partnership with Ambati Rayudu before a run out by agile Jhunjhunwala brought an unexpected end to Rayudu’s (14) campaign. The picture started to look bleak as the Heroes kept losing wickets in quick succession. Unlike the Tigers, the home team’s middle order failed and six of their batsmen got out in single figures. PL Das picked two wickets in the final over to end Hyderabad Heroes’ campaign for 115. Eklak Amid bagged three wickets from four overs, while Ahmed and Das took two wickets apiece.

Chennai Superstars start ICL season -2 campaign, with a win over Mumbai Champs

The first match of the of the ICL 20-20 domestic tournament was played in the picturesque setting of the Jain international residential school ground Bangalore and featured heavyweights Chennai Superstars taking on Mumbai Champs. In the end it was the Chennai side that came up triumphs by 18runs, largely helped by a sparkling half century from captain R Sathish (58 off 46 balls; including 9 fours) & four Mumbai scalps by T Kumaran (4/28).

The Champs won the toss and elected to field, looking to take advantage of the virgin track. The Superstars got off to a disastrous start and were left reeling at 2/3 at the end of the second over. It was left to captain Sathish & dashing south paw Hemang Badani to resurrect the Superstars’ innings. Helped largely by the 76 run partnership of the two experienced campaigners; Superstars folded their innings at 143 /7 in their allotted 20 overs.

In reply, the Mumbai Champs lost wickets at regular intervals, largely wrecked by some disciplined bowling from Kumaran & Vignesh. The only significant contributions for the Champs came from their left hand opener Dheeraj Jadhav (36 runs off 36 balls) & a lower middle order fight back from Khirid & Paul (43 run partnership for the seventh wicket). In the end the Champs fell short of the modest target by 18 runs.