Former India skipper Sourav Ganguly is likely to lead the Kolkata Knight Riders in the third edition of the Indian Premier League.
Ganguly led in the inaugural tournament in 2008, but was controversially replaced in 2009 by Brendon McCullum - a decision that the then coach John Buchanan made.
Ganguly met franchise owner Shahrukh Khan in England when he was there to watch the ICC World Twenty20 Championship, and they discussed the captaincy as well as the appointment of a new coach for the team for the next season of the twenty20 tournament.
According to sources, the KKR management would like to announce the decision later, sometime in the middle of August once the new coach is appointed.
Even as an official announcement is awaited, sources said that there could be a major reshuffle with former India coach Wright likely to replace John Buchanan as the Knight Riders coach, while former Australian middle-order batsman Michael Bevan will be on the coaching panel.
The decision has likely come about because the two other best suited candidates for captaincy - Brendon McCullum and Ricky Ponting - will both be on national duty, since New Zealand and Australia are slated to play each other during the IPL.
Saturday, July 25, 2009
GANGULY BACK AS A CAPTAIN OF KOLKATTA KNIGHT RIDERS
SANGAKKARA STEERS SRI LANKA TO A DRAW
Kumar Sangakkara hit an unbeaten century to steer Sri Lanka to a draw in the final Test against Pakistan here on Friday and win his first series as captain.
The left-hander made 130 not out as Sri Lanka, faced with a world record target of 492, defied the Pakistani bowlers to finish with 391-4 on the fifth day at the Sinhalese sports club.
The rock solid Sangakarra's 19th Test century featured a fourth-wicket stand of 122 with Thilan Samaraweera (73) and 114 for the unbroken fifth with Angelo Mathews (64 not out).
Sri Lanka clinched the series 2-0, their first at home against Pakistan after five unsuccessful attempts, and provided Sangakkara with a winning start as captain after he took over from Mahela Jayawardene in April.
Sangakkara hung on for nearly seven hours on a placid pitch to frustrate Pakistan's bid to record a face-saving win ahead of the five-match one-day series starting at Dambulla on July 30.
The two teams went into the last session of the match with Sri Lanka needing 154 runs from a possible 38 overs to record a record-breaking win and Pakistan requiring six wickets.
The hosts gave an indication they would prefer to settle for a draw when they made just 76 runs from 26 overs in the two hours after lunch.
Play was finally called off when 15 overs remained with Sri Lanka needing a further 101 runs.
It was the first time in the series that play went into the fifth day after the tourists lost the first Test in four days and the second in three.
Sangakkara and Samaraweera, who resumed the day at 183-3, batted through the morning session to take Sri Lanka to 262 without further loss by lunch.
The pair made a cautious start in the morning, scoring 50 runs in 21 overs before Pakistan captain Younus Khan took the second new ball as soon as it was due in the 81st over.
Samaraweera welcomed the change by driving the first delivery from Umar Gul to the cover fence and executing another perfect off-drive from the last ball of the over.
Sri Lanka suffered a setback soon after lunch when Samaraweera strained a hamstring while taking a single and called for a runner.
Samaraweera was dismissed when he failed to read a straight ball from off-spinner Saeed Ajmal and nicked an easy catch to wicket-keeper Kamran Akmal.
Scoreboard
Pakistan 1st innings 299
Khurram Manzoor 93, Mohammad Yousuf 90, T. Thushara 5-83
Sri Lanka 1st innings 233
K. Sangakkara 45, M. Jayawardene 79, D. Kaneria 5-62
Pakistan 2nd innings 425-9 decl
Shoaib Malik 134, Kamran Akmal 74, R. Herath 5-157
Sri Lanka 2nd innings
T. Paranavitana c Alam b Malik 73
M. Warnapura c Malik b Kaneria 31
K. Sangakkara not out 130
M. Jayawardene c Akmal b Kaneria 2
T. Samaraweera c Akmal b Ajmal 73
A. Mathews not out 64
Extras
b1, lb7, nb9, w1
18
Total
for 4 wkts
391
Fall of wkts
1-83, 2-139, 3-155, 4-277
Bowling
Gul 12-0-65-0 (nb5), Aamer 21-5-46-0 (nb1), Younus 8-0-25-0 (w1), Ajmal 43-9-95-1, Malik 14-1-38-1 (nb3), Kaneria 36-3-114-2
Thursday, July 23, 2009
SAKIB’S CAPTAIN INNING LEADS BANGLADESH TO THEIR FIRST OVERSEAS SERIES WIN
Bangladeshi stand-in captain Shakib Al Hasan led from the front with 96 not out as his side beat the West Indies in the second and final test here on Monday and he declared the 2-0 series win was the biggest thing for the cricket side in nine years.
Shakib hit the winning runs in style with a six to seal a first ever series win away from home - admittedly against a weakened and inexperienced West Indies side after the senior players boycotted the series over a pay dispute - and the first time they have won two successive tests.
Shakib and Raqibul Hasan made 65 - both career bests - to set things up for the Tigers, as they successfully chased 215 for victory to win by four wickets and claim only their second ever series win.
Bangladesh were wobbling on 67 for four about half-hour before the tea break, but Shakib joined Raqibul and they put Bangladesh solidly on course for victory with a stand of 106 for the fifth wicket either side of tea.
Raqibul reached his 50 from 74 balls, when he steered Dave Bernard Jr to third man for his seventh fourth.
About 25 minutes later, Shakib arrived at his landmark, when he drove Kemar Roach for his seventh boundary and the first of three in succession in the fast bowler's 11th over.
But Raqibul became the fourth of five wickets for 55 runs in 16 overs for Darren Sammy, when he gave an easy return catch with Bangladesh still needing 44.
He batted for a shade under three hours, faced 99 balls, and struck eight fours and one six.
Diminutive wicketkeeper/batsman Mushfiqur Rahim joined Shakib and inched Bangladesh closer in the 40 minutes he spent at the crease before he too, drove back a simple return catch to Sammy to leave the Tigers 14 short of the magic number, but they had no last-minute jitters and duly crossed over the threshold.
Before lunch, Bangladesh had made a steady start and reached 17 without loss, after they completed the demolition of the West Indies batting, following a delayed start.
Shakib, who also captured the Man-of-the-Series award, finished with five wickets for 70 runs from 24.5 overs, and fellow left-arm spinner Enamul Haque Jr ended with three for 48 from 17 overs.
FLINTOFF LEADS ENGLAND TO VICTORY
Andrew Flintoff took five wickets as England finally ended their 75-year wait for an Ashes victory at Lord's with a 115-run win over Australia on the final day of the second Test here on Monday.
Victory saw England take a 1-0 lead in the five-Test series having clung on for a draw in Cardiff.
Australia set a mammoth 522 to win - a target that had they achieved it would have surpassed the fourth innings Test world record victory total of 418 for seven made by the West Indies against Australia in Antigua in 2002/03 - were bowled out for 406 shortly before lunch on the fifth day.
Fast bowler Flintoff, who before this match announced he would retire from Test cricket at the end of this series, took five wickets for 92 runs in 27 overs, including three for 43 in 10 overs Monday.
It was only the third time in the 31-year-old all-rounder's 77-Test career he'd taken five wickets in a Test innings.
Off-spinner Graeme Swann provided good support with four for 87.
Michael Clarke did his best to deny England with a superb innings of 136 but ultimately could not prevent the hosts beating Australia in a Test at Lord's for the first time since 1934, when they won by an innings and 38 runs.
Australia resumed on 313 for five, 209 runs adrift of their target, with Clarke 125 not out and Brad Haddin 80 not out.
But starting again is never easy and they were unable to add to a stand worth 185 with Haddin out for his overnight score.
Haddin edged the 10th ball of the morning, fast bowler Flintoff's fourth, straight to Paul Collingwood who took a good low catch at second slip.
Flintoff was now fired up and hit Clarke on the head with a bouncer, as the batsman took his eye off the ball, before beating him on the outside edge.
New batsman Mitchell Johnson was fortunate on four, after being completely deceived by a Flintoff slower ball that struck him on the pad, that veteran umpire Rudi Koertzen, standing in his 100th Test, had correctly called no-ball.
But it was Swann who, with his second ball Monday, took the wicket England craved when he beat Clarke in the air as the batsman went down the pitch and bowled him off-stump to end the Australia vice-captain's innings of more than five hours.
Flintoff then bowled Nathan Hauritz for one as the batsman shouldered arms and Australia were 363 for eight.
Flintoff, the star of England's 2005 Ashes series win, though then completed only the third five-wicket haul of his Test career when he bowled Peter Siddle, and celebrated by going down on one knee with his arms outstretched after leaving his side on the brink of victory.
Fast bowler Johnson, who'd struggled with the ball, defied England with a 62-ball fifty.
But Swann, who dropped a difficult caught and bowled chance off Johnson, bowled him for 63 to seal England's victory.
ICC Champions Trophy Schedule-Fixtures 2009
ICC Champions Trophy 2009 will be played in South Africa. The sixth edition of ICC Champions Trophy will be played in Johannesburg and Centurion from September 22nd to October 5th.
Last time in Champions trophy there were total 21 matches played but this time it is down to 15 numbers of matches.
All eight teams are divided into two Groups A and B. India, Pakistan, Australia and West IndiesSouth Africa, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and England are in group B. Each team will play with one another in their corresponding groups and the top two teams from each group will advance into the semi finals.
The following are the two groups:
Group A: Australia, India, Pakistan, West Indies
Group B: South Africa, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, England
ICC Champions Trophy 2009 Fixtures (All timings are mentioned in GMT+05:30)
Tue 22 Sep (D/N)
18:00 PM
Group B – Sri Lanka v South Africa
SuperSport Park, Centurion
Wed 23 Sep (D/N)
18:00 PM
Group A – Pakistan v West Indies
New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg
Thu 24 Sep
13:00 PM
Group B – South Africa v New Zealand
SuperSport Park, Centurion
Fri 25 Sep (D/N)
18:00 PM
Group B – England v Sri Lanka
New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg
Sat 26 Sep
13:00 PM
Group A – Australia v West Indies
New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg
Sat 26 Sep (D/N)
18:00 PM
Group A – India v Pakistan
SuperSport Park, Centurion
Sun 27 Sep
13:00 PM
Group B – New Zealand v Sri Lanka
New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg
Sun 27 Sep (S/N)
18:00 PM
Group B – England v South Africa
SuperSport Park, Centurion
Mon 28 Sep (D/N)
18:00 PM
Group A – India v Australia
SuperSport Park, Centurion
Tue 29 Sep (D/N)
18:00 PM
Group B – England v New Zealand
New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg
Wed 30 Sep
13:00 PM
Group A – Pakistan v Australia
SuperSport Park, Centurion
Wed 30 Sep (D/N)
18:00 PM
Group A – India v West Indies
New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg
Fri 2 Oct (D/N)
18:00 PM
1st Semi Final – A1 v B2
SuperSport Park, Centurion
Sat Oct 3 (D/N)
18:00 PM
2nd Semi Final – A2 v B1
New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg
Mon 5 Oct (D/N)
18:00 PM
Final – 1st Semi Final winner v 2nd Semi Final inner
SuperSport Park, Centurion
