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Match facts

Sunday, April 28, 2013Start time 2000 IST (1430 GMT)Mahela Jayawardene will hope a change of scenery will bring good fortune to Delhi Daredevils•BCCI

Big Picture

With the tournament only half complete, the match between Delhi Daredevils and Pune Warriors is not quite the battle of the wooden spoons. But both teams will be looking to haul their sputtering campaigns back on track after poor shows in their last respective games.Daredevils squandered any confidence gained from beating Mumbai Indians by losing to Kings XI Punjab. It was a showing consistent with their other six losses in the tournament so far, making the win seem an aberration. The team is still hopeful but their poor run has put them in a place where they have to win each remaining match.Daredevils will be hoping there will be some serendipity for them in Raipur, which hosts its first IPL match. The stadium had hosted one stage of the BCCI’s Corporate Trophy earlier in the year, and the batsmen did well on the surface.For Warriors, the game will be an indicator of whether their players have recovered from the mauling they received from Chris Gayle in their last match. Coach Allan Donald spoke about the mental scarring, but the team has had a few days off to rest and pick up the pieces. Their mix-and-match captaincy formula has hurt them but against Daredevils, their bowling will have a chance to make an impact early on.

Form guide

Delhi Daredevils LWLLL (most recent first)
Pune Warriors LLLWL

Players to watch

Bhuvneshwar Kumar was the only bowler spared from the hammering that Chris Gayle meted out. The youngster has impressed throughout the tournament, picking up early wickets, with his swing bowling. He has plenty of skill to trouble Daredevils’ fragile top order.Mahela Jayawardene has always led from the front and his stint as captain with the Daredevils is no different. He’s taken the flak for some under-par performances and his own batting has been poor. Daredevils need an inspirational performance from him to improve their sinking chances.

Stats and trivia

• Daredevils have won two of the four games they played against Warriors, with one being a no result
• Virender Sehwag is the seventh highest run-getter in the IPL, with 2051 runs from 71 matches at an average of 31.07.
• Yuvraj Singh needs 13 runs to reach 2500 T20 runs.
• Ross Taylor needs 42 runs to reach 1000 IPL runs

Match facts

April 17, 2013
Start time 1600 (1030 GMT)Pune Warriors will hope for another Steven Smith special•BCCI

Big Picture

Pune Warriors against Sunrisers Hyderabad might not be one of the most high-profile matches of the IPL, but both teams have played better than expected already in this competition. While Sunrisers have already recorded wins against Royal Challengers Bangalore (holding their own in a Super Over) and (a much-fancied but underperforming) Delhi Daredevils, Warriors pulled off a huge upset on Monday, beating Chennai Super Kings at Chepauk.The biggest plus for Warriors is that, ever since they broke their 11-game losing streak with a seven-wicket win against Rajasthan Royals on April 11, their batting has managed to put together moderate totals at least. After being bowled out for 104 and 99, they’ve scored over 140 in their next three games. There is still a lot of work to do though; against Super Kings, they looked on target for a lot more than the 159 they ended with, but the middle order, bar Steven Smith, could not build on Aaron Finch’s blitz at the top. Sunrisers will draw confidence from the fact that one of Warriors’ batting flops came against them: when the teams met three days into the tournament, Sunrisers managed to defend 126 at Uppal, with Amit Mishra causing trouble with turn and loop, and Dale Steyn making short work of the lower order.Both teams have decisions to make about their playing XIs. Warriors’ Yuvraj Singh had to sit out of the Super Kings match due to a recurrence of a back problem, and will not be fit in time for Wednesday’s match either. Full-time captain Angelo Mathews – who had to sit out in Chennai due to the ban on Sri Lankan players there – should return, but with Finch, Smith and Mitchell Marsh all doing well, it could be at the expense of stand-in leader Ross Taylor. Warriors must be mulling whether they want to disturb their winning combination at all. Sunrisers have the option of playing the West Indies captain, allrounder Darren Sammy, who arrived from the Caribbean a couple of days ago after the birth of his daughter. However, with Kumar Sangakkara and Dale Steyn being sure starters, they would have to pick between Thisara Perera and Cameron White if they want to play him.

Players to watch

Apart from taking that spectacular boundary catch against Kolkata Knight Riders last season, Steven Smith was one of Warriors’ few bright sparks, scoring 362 runs at 40.22 in an otherwise forgetful 2012. After being made to sit out Warriors’ first four games this season, he produced what turned out to be the match-winning innings against Super Kings. After Warriors had inexplicably slowed down after Finch’s assault, Smith provided the final surge: his unbeaten 39 came off 16, going after Dirk Nannes and Dwayne Bravo. The shot of the game was a reverse-flick for six over third man. If Warriors are to improve on their record this season, Smith will have to play another central role in their campaign.Compared to some other teams in the tournament, Sunrisers have quite a solid bowling line-up: Steyn, Ishant Sharma, Amit Mishra … The same cannot be said of their batting. There’s Kumar Sangakkara and Cameron White, with Parthiv Patel playing the supporting role, but not much else – at least on paper. Hanuma Vihari, Akshath Reddy, Ravi Teja and the other local batsmen, while they have had their moments, are yet to contribute defining innings. At some point, Sunrisers will need them to play a winning hand and it is left to be seen whether they can step up.

Stats and Trivia

• Parthiv Patel needs one more run to get to a 1000 IPL runs. His runs have been spread across stints with Chennai Super Kings, Kochi Tuskers, Deccan Chargers and Sunrisers Hyderabad.
• In Warriors’ previous game, against Mumbai Indians, Ashok Dinda went at 15.75 runs an over – that equaled the record for the most expensive spell in IPL cricket, alongside Varun Aaron’s in the second qualifier in 2012

Quotes

“They can make the last four. They have some big hitters in Uthappa, Finch, Taylor, Smith and Marsh, who can win on their own.”
“Yuvraj is not going to be playing in the next game but hopefully he is ready for the game after that. Obviously he is a big part of our team and it affects the balance of our team when Yuvi doesn’t play.”

ScorecardAkbar-ur-Rehman’s all-round performance helped Karachi Zebras humble Karachi Dolphins by 81 runs, taking them to the final of the Faysal Bank One Day Cup. The Zebras will take on Lahore Lions in the final on Saturday.The Dolphins, with Mohammad Sami and Sohail Khan in their side, won a good toss and opted to bowl. The Zebras had a steady start as Khurram Manzoor (60) and Akbar-ur-Rehman (63) built a solid foundation with a second-wicket stand of 89 runs after the loss of opener Fakhar Zaman (22). The middle order didn’t consolidate well and kept losing wickets regularly. A late cameo from Javed Mansoor (33) propelled the Zebras to a formidable score.Dolphins, with a more experienced line-up, had a wobbly chase as opener Khalid Latif (2) was dismissed by Anwar Ali in the third over and Saeed Bin Nasir (3) was run out in the fourth over. They soon lost five wickets for six runs, going from 82 for 3 to 88 for 8. Top-scorer Shahzaib Hasan (42) and Sarfaraz Ahmed (36) tried to negotiate the Zebras’ disciplined bowling but were bogged by Akbar-ur-Rehman (3-13) and Misbah Khan (3-38). The Dolphins were dismissed for 158 in 43.1 overs.The victory has made the Zebras the most successful side in the ongoing domestic season – they were unbeaten in their title victory during the Quaid-e-Azam trophy in Lahore last month and will now look to maintain their unbeaten streak by beating Lahore Lions in Rawalpindi on Saturday.

ScorecardPeter Siddle sweeps during his innings of 22•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

The Australians lost nine wickets to spin on the first day of their opening tour game in Chennai, but though they were dismissed for 241 their opener and top-scorer Ed Cowan said the team was satisfied with the workout. Jammu & Kashmir offspinner Parvez Rasool, who turns 24 tomorrow, took 7 for 45 for the Board President’s XI on a pitch that offered the slow bowlers assistance.Wicketkeeper Matthew Wade, the Australians’ acting captain, had spoken about the importance of batting long in order to adapt to the local conditions, and everyone got the chance to have time in the middle after he won the toss.Only 11 of the 17-member squad had arrived in India and so Usman Khawaja opened with Cowan, adding 77 for the first wicket before he was caught behind off legspinner Sarabjit Ladda. Cowan was the next to fall, caught behind to become the first of Rasool’s seven wickets. Wade and Steven Smith added 58 for the third wicket but Wade’s dismissal triggered a slide during which the Australians lost eight wickets for 74 runs.”It was a pretty good day. Everyone had a good hit at the top of the order,” Cowan said after the day’s play. “The wicket was turning, so it was good practice against some really talented spin bowlers. The wicket was a bit two-paced. The ball reversed pretty quickly. So it was hard to score but it is a small ground, so a decent score for a first hit out.”It’s easy to call it a practice game, but it is more than that for a lot of us – to come over early, to get the conditions, to get our plans in place against the spinners. It was nice to spend some time in the middle but at the end of the day it’s about scoring some runs, so it was nice to get a few runs as well.”

Sri Lanka coach Graham Ford believes his side is still capable of securing victory in Galle, despite a day of toil for his bowlers on a placid track. Bangladesh made 303 runs on the third day, for the fall of two wickets, with Mohammad Ashraful and Mushfiqur Rahim remaining unbeaten at stumps with 189 and 152 respectively. The visitors trail by 132.”We’re certainly not in the position tonight, where we thought we had to be in,” Ford said. “When we came to the ground this morning, we were hoping for a better day. All credit to Bangladesh and those two batsmen (Ashraful and Mushfiqur). They batted superbly and played Bangladesh into [a] pretty strong position. It’s up to us to break this partnership early in the morning, and if we can get a couple of wickets, the game can change quite quickly.”The Galle pitch has traditionally taken considerable turn from the third day on, but apart from the occasional delivery from Rangana Herath that spat off the surface, the spinners have largely found it as unhelpful as the fast bowlers did.Though the spinners have not been as threatening as usual, Ford expected Herath to become more difficult to play on the final two days. Herath has prospered in Galle in recent years, picking up two ten wicket-hauls at the venue in three matches last year. He had taken 46 wickets at an average of 20.30 at the venue, before this Test.”Herath could factor into the game more, and history here at Galle has shown that with a harder newer ball, he is a lot more effective, and [has] taken a lot of wickets in the last three Tests. Looking at the way they played Herath, he turned the ball today, but the turn was slow and it didn’t help him.”One or two balls went past the outside edge from the spinners, but we didn’t really create a great deal of chances, partly because they batted well, and partly because the surface was very true.”Only eight wickets have fallen in the Test in 271 overs, with five batsmen making hundreds. Ford said this pitch was unlike any other he had seen at the venue. Galle Tests are generally not drawn – 16 of the 21 Tests played here ended in results.”In the Test matches that I have been involved with as coach of Sri Lanka, there’s always been something in it for the spinners. Even with the new ball, the seamers have got a little bit out of it. We expected some bounce in the wicket, which we didn’t really get. The extra dead grass has held the surface together and kept the bounce pretty true.”I came here once as the coach of the South Africa team, and it seemed very flat for the Sri Lankan batsmen, but not so flat for the South African batsmen. Muttiah Muralitharan played a big part in making it difficult for our batsmen on that occasion.”Ford also called for more application from his attack, which was wayward at times, especially towards the end of the day. “We have to take it one session at a time, and we can’t get ahead of ourselves and start dreaming about fancy positions which we can get ourselves into. We got to bowl with a lot of discipline, frustrate and create pressure. If we get those processes in place, things will work out for us.”

West Indies’ captain Merissa Aguilleira was pleased with the all-round effort of her team, and especially the batting, after they routed Sri Lanka by 209 runs in their second match of the Women’s World Cup at the MIG Ground in Mumbai. They were bowled out for 179 in their previous match at the Brabourne Stadium, and three days later, the team put up a total of 368 here.”I must say this is a great example of a team effort,” Aguilleira said. “The batsmen did extremely well leading us upfront. We had a lot of people getting into the act with the bat. After that we followed up with the ball also. I think it was an all-round performance.”The major contribution was Stafanie Taylor’s knock of 171 and she almost carried her bat through the innings. Aguilleira said the team is always confident of putting up a big score when Taylor is in the middle.”We cherish Stafanie because she is such a phenomenal player and whenever she bats we believe that we will be able to get runs. She is very dedicated and we look forward to seeing more such innings from her in the future.”Taylor, who crossed her previous best score of 147, said she wanted to score as many runs as possible and that the thought of scoring 200 had crossed her mind. “My aim was just to go out there and do my best and build an innings with the others. The coach wanted me to score 200 today but unfortunately I was tired. I was trying but I think fatigue got the best of me.”Shashikala Siriwardene, the Sri Lanka Women’s captain, was particularly unhappy with the team’s fielding, as they dropped catches, missed run-outs and gave away many runs in overthrows. “Our fielding let us down very badly. I am very disappointed with it,” she said. “Eighty percent of the singles that they took shouldn’t have been conceded.”Siriwardene had put West Indies in to bat in slightly hazy conditions. But the West Indies batsmen were hardly troubled by the bowlers, who did not get much assistance from the pitch. “At one point I felt that we should have batted first,” she said. “We thought that there was something in the pitch for the bowlers, like the England match. But sometimes we make wrong decisions and we look to improvise.”West Indies struck a total of 34 fours and seven sixes, a majority of them hit by Taylor and Deandra Dottin. Apart from the toss and the fielding, Siriwardene said, one of the main differences in the two teams was the way the West Indies batsmen hit the ball hard. “We all know West Indies players use their power a lot. They can clear the fence at any time. Hopefully we won’t have to face the same problem against India in our next match.”All four teams in Group A have now played two matches, and won one and lost one each, which means net run-rate will come into play. England will now take on West Indies and India will play Sri Lanka on February 5, which will decide which teams proceed to the Super Sixes.

ScorecardShaun Marsh hit four sixes in his 85•Getty Images

Perth Scorchers have breathed life into the Big Bash League with an almost perfect performance at the WACA to crush the unbeaten Melbourne Renegades and keep their finals hopes on track. The home side’s much vaunted batting line-up finally clicked in the manner it did during last year’s campaign, combining for the highest total of the tournament after they were sent in to bat.Shaun Marsh and Herschelle Gibbs put together their second-best ever partnership of 78, only eclipsed by the 95 they combined for against the Renegades in Melbourne last season. That night, Marsh made a breathtaking 99 not out, enough to earn him a recall to the Test team. His form since must have made the twelve months seem like a lifetime. But tonight the confidence returned, although he played second fiddle to Gibbs early on.The South African had gone nine innings for the Scorchers without a half-century. Tonight he set the tone with some extraordinary strokes, moving around the crease to hit powerfully over both the off side and leg. Gibbs crushed 56 in just 39 balls with four fours and four sixes. Marsh was just 19 from 18 when Gibbs holed out off Aaron Finch.It brought together Marsh and Adam Voges. The pair combined for 82 in the Scorchers’ opening match against Adelaide Strikers and tonight they were even better. Their experience and skill yielded 106 runs from 60 balls tonight. What was most astonishing was their ability to score off all bar one delivery of those 60, against the most miserly attack in the Big Bash.Marsh launched four sixes in seven balls late in the innings to ensure the Scorchers posted a towering total of 3 for 187.The Renegades had chased successfully in their first four matches but had not conceded more than 167 before tonight. Their pursuit started poorly as the leading run-scorer of the tournament, Finch, edged debutant Jason Behrendorff behind in the second over. Alfonso Thomas dismissed both Marlon Samuels and Daniel Harris caught behind to leave the Renegades in dire straits at 3 for 24. Wicketkeeper Tom Triffitt pouched all three catches, on his way to five for the night, a T20 record in Australia.Ben Rohrer revived hopes quickly when he struck four fours and a six off Behrendorff’s third over. Rohrer raced to his first half-century of his T20 career off just 32 balls. It is a staggering statistic, given the quality of his play throughout this tournament, yet fitting for a man who continues to fly under the radar.But when Behrendorff exacted revenge on Rohrer the game was effectively over. William Sheridan gifted a catch to mid-on, first ball, to give the debutant three scalps.Thomas returned to claim two of the last three wickets to finish with outstanding figures of 4 for 8. Justin Langer had specifically targeted Thomas as a recruit the moment he took the Scorchers coaching role, and Thomas has repaid the faith with eight wickets in three matches at a single figure average (6.25) and a scrooge-like economy rate (4.91).The Scorchers sneak into the top four for the first time with their third straight victory while the Renegades fall from their tournament-long perch at the top of the Big Bash League table.

Ottis Gibson, the West Indies coach, has blamed the team’s batting for the debacle in the first two matches of the ODI series. West Indies are down 0-2 in the series, and are waiting for their batsmen to get it right against Bangladesh’s spinners in the third game or risk conceding the series after being dominant in the Tests.”Bangladesh has had it easy because we gave our wickets away,” Gibson said. “If we pay a little bit more attention we could be more street-wise against their spinners. If we put on a good score tomorrow [Wednesday], I will still back our bowlers to defend a score.””Bangladesh are an improving one-day unit and it wasn’t easy to win [the ODI series] last year either. We just haven’t produced the quality that we expect from ourselves in this series, and that has to start from tomorrow. We have to produce what we did against New Zealand which was outstanding.”Gibson also defended the composition of the team – West Indies played four allrounders in the second ODI – pointing out that ultimately, it was the top order’s responsibility to lay a base for the big-hitters lower down the order. Chris Gayle, Lendl Simmons, Marlon Samuels and Darren Bravo haven’t quite done that so far and have managed only 99 runs between the four of them in the first two games. That has put pressure on the likes of Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Smith, Darren Sammy and Andre Russell, who have been left to do the recovery task, which they too have failed to do.”We have played with a lot of allrounders this year. They have been successful so when you start to lose, people will say that. It is pretty much the same team that won us the series against New Zealand 4-1.”The top order led by Chris Gayle, Marlon Samuels – they got most of the runs, batted most of the overs. The allrounders were still able to make contributions in the back-end. Our top order hasn’t laid any foundations with any significant scores,” he said.West Indies didn’t leave the team hotel in central Dhaka for training at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium on Tuesday, after a political party called a day-long strike in the country. Gibson said that during this downtime, the team has regrouped, particularly the batsmen who held a meeting to open up about their poor performance in the Khulna ODIs.”We had a full gym programme today, and yesterday afternoon we have had a very strategic batting meeting about the way we played so far. It was a very honest discussion. I think everyone understands our batsmen need to take more responsibility.”But Gibson was frustrated by what has transpired so far in the one-day series. West Indies are yet to cross the 200-run mark and none of their batsmen have managed a single fifty so far. This despite the dominance they have had in the two Test matches and their impressive run since August this year when they swept aside New Zealand at home and won the World Twenty20s.”I am very disappointed. Having done so well in the Test matches, you want to finish this tour and this year on a positive note. We have just not batted like we know we can bat.”We bowled well in spells but the bowlers have not been as consistent as they have been recently. There’s a lot of room for improvement in all three departments.”Gibson said he was also looking forward to see his batsmen go back to basics and take up a lot more responsibility than they have so far in the series. He was particularly bothered with them getting bowled out so early in the second ODI, giving Bangladesh a massive 160-run win.”A team doesn’t become bad and neither is it all doom and gloom for me. We haven’t been able to string together a good batting display so far. Getting bowled out for 17-18 overs to spare is very disappointing so hopefully they can bat most of the overs.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsShane Warne’s night was a train-wreck•Getty Images

The script was written for opening night. It was supposed to be the Warne and Muralitharan show, and the cavalcade of stars in the Melbourne Stars line-up was supposed to prove too strong in the Victorian derby. But no one told Aaron Finch as he stole the show with an audacious century to lead his unfancied Renegades to a comfortable eight-wicket win.Finch, who is the only Renegades player in their entire squad to play in their two victories last season, clobbered an unbeaten 111 from just 65 balls, with 12 fours and four sixes, to run down what appeared to be a competitive total.The star everyone came to see, Shane Warne, had a win at the toss but thereafter his night was a train-wreck. The opposing captain Finch crushed 19 from Warne’s first over, including two enormous sixes. First a slog sweep over midwicket, and then inside-out over cover. The Stars captain later dropped a simple chance offered from Faf du Plessis at midwicket. Warne then returned for a second over only have Ben Rohrer launch him twice into the stands.Rohrer’s cameo was typical of the New South Welshmen. So often underrated and forgotten, he entered with the game still in the balance and compiled a fabulous unbeaten 34 from 20 balls. He was the perfect foil for Finch as the paired mixed brutal power, with perfect placement and exceptional running in their unbroken 75-run stand.Earlier the Stars started brightly after electing to bat. After the early loss of Rob Quiney, Luke Wright and Brad Hodge attacked the eclectic Renegades attack.But at 1 for 74, halfway through the ninth over, a mix-up on a misfield resulted in Hodge being run out by du Plessis. Symbolically, and ironically, the stumps for the BBL feature red LED’s that light up when broken, and the red lights halted the Stars progress.They managed just a run-a-ball over the next four overs against the spin of Aaron O’Brien and Muttiah Muralitharan, before Wright fell for 53 trying to break the shackles with a reverse-sweep. The experience of David Hussey (41) and Cameron White (20) combined to help the Stars to 5 for 167.But in the end Finch made light work of the target as the Renegades ran riot over their more fancied cross-town rivals.