Amit Mishra leads DareDevils to victory

Gautam Gambhir on way to his 79 at the Kotla on Thursday. (PTI)

New Delhi: Unsung leg-spinner Amit Mishra came up with a spectacular hattrick in the last over as Delhi DareDevils returned to winning ways in a 10th round IPL at the Kotla Thursday.

With Deccan Chargers raising visions of giving a good chase to the DareDevils score of 194 for four, Mishra turned out to be the stumbling block for the fearsome Hyderabad batsmen, who launched an all out attack from the very beginning.

Mishra, who gave two crucial blows in the middle overs by removing Afridi (33 in 14 balls) and Gibbs (22) in the middle overs, made the biggest impact towards the end to give his team a 12-run win.

The Chargers were 180 for six at the end of the 19th over and everyone hoped for a nail-biting finish. But Mishra had other ideas as he removed Ravi Teja, Pragyan Ojha and RP Singh in the first three deliveries of the dramatic final over. This was Deccan’s eighth defeat in the tournament.

Mishra joined Laxmipathy Balaji (Chennai Super Kings) to take the second hattrick of the tournament.

The Chargers started the chase in great fashion as Adam Gilchrist and Afridi struck 20 runs in the first two overs before the Australian was sent back by compatriot Glen McGrath.

Thereafter, Afridi, Gibbs and Rohit Sharma kept on the run chase but for Mishra’s guile. The young spinner first removed an increasingly dangerous Afridi, and then got rid of Gibbs to break the backbone of the Chargers innings.

Enjoying a fabulous run in the tournament, Rohit looked set to take on the rival bowlers. But he was bowled around the legs by Farvez Mahroof to bring an end to Hyderabad’s chances.

Later, Venugopal Rao made some effort to revive the innings but he never looked like a serious contender to turn the match around.

Earlier, the Delhi top order once again came good to pile up 194 for four against a toothless bowling attack that could offer little resistance to inform batsmen like Gautam Gambhir and Shikhar Dhawan.

The two Delhi left-handers, who failed in their last match against Kolkata Knight Riders, left a lasting impact on the cheering spectators with a 133-run second wicket partnership after skipper Virender Sehwag was dismissed in the first over.

Though Sehwag’s exit came as a big relief for Deccan Chargers, their joy was shortlived as Gambhir and Dhawan launched on onslaught that resulted in both the batsmen racing to half centuries in no time. While Gambhir slammed 79 in 48 deliveries with the help of seven fours and three well struck sixes, Dhawan remained unbeaten on 68.

Won't go to India if not allowed to play in IPL: Shoaib

OUT IN THE COLD: Pakistan's banned fast bowler arrives to face the tribunal at Pakistan Cricket Academy on Monday.

Banned pacer Shoaib Akhtar says he is keen to play in the Indian Premier League but getting the nod to play in the twenty20 venture would not stop him from pursuing his appeal against the five-year ban imposed on him.

"I am waiting for the IPL order myself as I am keen to play some cricket. But if I don't get permission to play for the Kolkata team I have no intentions of going to India in any capacity," Shoaib said.

Shoaib told Pakistan’s Geo TV that he would continue to fight his battle to clear himself regardless of whether he gets a chance to play in the Indian Premier League or not.

Shoaib is awaiting a final word from the governing council of the IPL on whether they are ready to allow him to play for the Shahrukh Khan owned, Kolkata Knight Riders team.

The three-member appellate tribunal headed by Justice (retd) Farrukh Aftab yesterday rejected an application from Shoaib's lawyers to stay the ban imposed on him by the PCB.

But the tribunal said it had no objection to Shoaib playing anywhere outside Pakistan till the proceedings of the tribunal resume on the appeal filed by the fast bowler against the ban in June.

Rajasthan score win in IPL

Shane Warne has launched a scathing attack on Sourav Ganguly in the Indian Premier League, claiming the former Indian skipper wasn't playing in the spirit of the game when he refused to walk, after he was caught in the deep.

Warne led the Rajasthan Royals to their fourth straight win, pushing the team to equal top of the competition.

They beat the Kolkata Knight Riders by 45-runs, with the coach and captain grabbing one wicket and fellow Aussie Shane Watson taking 2 for 22.

But Warne was ropeable when Ganguly stood his ground after South African captain Graeme Smith claimed a catch at deep midwicket.

The leg spinner got his revenge shortly after, Ganguly was dismissed off Warne's bowling during the next over.

Meantime, West Australian Shaun Marsh was the star for the Kings XI Punjab in their 7-wicket win over the Deccan Chargers.

He smashed 84 from just 62-balls.

PL, ICL great for Indian cricket, says Jacques Kallis

NEW DELHI: It's taken a Jacques Kallis, Wisden's Leading Cricketer of the Year, to finally mention IPL and ICL in the same breath. His team, Bangalore Royal Challengers, might be struggling in the tournament, but a day after losing yet another game - this time to the Delhi Daredevils - Kallis was all praise for India's new T20 leagues.

"The IPL and (rebel) ICL will turn out (to be) immensely beneficial for Indian cricket. It's giving their younger players, some of whom have yet to establish themselves in even domestic cricket, a chance to rub shoulders with icons of the game in dressing rooms. It's an immense advantage. If this had happened when I was younger I would have benefitted immensely," he said.

The all-rounder, however, was at a loss to explain what, apart from money, the established stars of the game were gaining. "The crowds have been very good," was all Kallis mustered, before the astute observer in him took over: "I think T20 is the future of cricket. At three hours, it's even shorter than a baseball game. But I honestly don't know how long the One-day format will survive."

Kallis has been a vocal critic of player burnout and the ICC's frenzied Future Tours Programme, but on Thursday it was his SA and Bangalore team-mate Mark Boucher who took up the cause, saying: "The IPL is huge even in SA. This tournament needs to be on schedule. I've seen quite a few ICC officials here who agree the tournament is an unqualified success. If so, they need to make it good for the players. Maybe the ICC and the player unions can sit down for a chat."

We're not a Test team: Dravid
Stung by four losses in five games and a team boasting of Test stalwarts who have struggled to adapt, Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper Rahul Dravid said his team would have to recoup to bounce back in the IPL. Pointing out that the squad had been unlucky so far - they lost to Team Chennai by 13 runs and to Delhi Daredevils by 10 - Dravid said, "I think we lack the X-factor. I don't agree we're a Test team in T20 clothing.

“We almost pulled it off against Chennai and Delhi. I think our fifth bowler is giving away too many runs. Misbah-ul Haq is also waiting, he will also get a game." Backing his skipper, Kallis said: "Leading a side in T20 is the most difficult job because you have no time to react. Our openers haven't clicked. It's frustrating. But Dravid is as good as anyone I've played under."

IPL frenzy may hurt Bollywood box office

MUMBAI: IPL’s overwhelming response in terms of ratings may hurt Yashraj Films, considering it’s next big release Tashan, releasing 25 April will be pitted against this newly-popular form of cricket. The estimated Rs 30-crore movie, trade analysts and leading multiplex operators feel, may struggle to garner a big audience due to matches scheduled in the afternoon and prime time. This will have an impact on the 3 pm, 6 pm and 9 pm shows, which are the key drivers at the box office. Also with Friday, Saturday and Sunday becoming critical in terms of revenue exploitation, distributors are tense considering the cricket frenzy. Last weekend, while no major films were released, Ajay Devgun’s directoral debut U Me aur Hum fell to the 15-20% occupancy level, resulting in the trade branding it a flop. It had witnessed a poor opening at 30-35%. The Rs 25-crore film may bring in only Rs 9 crore through ticket sales. If one accounts for all the other exploitation rights, the film is expected to make a loss of Rs 8-9 crore. On the other hand, Krazzy 4 which opened with a 70% occupancy level, fell drastically to 20-25% in terms of collections towards the end of its first week. The grand IPL launch also did not help, despite no new release this week. The Rs 10 crore film is expected to make close to Rs 7-8 crore at the box office and a further Rs 5 crore via other rights such as satellite, music and the home market, resulting in a small profit of Rs 3-4 crore. The negative rub off on revenues of movies at the box office may extend to the Big B-starrer Bhootnath releasing on 9 May, which is the next big ticket movie in the offing. In the overseas market, U Me Aur Hum has beaten Krazzy 4, unlike the domestic box office. Krazzy 4 grossed close to Rs 3 crore in 3 days in the overseas markets as opposed to U Me Aur Hum clocking Rs 6 crore in the same period. The majority of these revenues came in from North America and UK. According to Tam Media Research the inaugural match in Bangalore between Shah Rukh Khan’s Kolkata Knight Riders and Vijay Mallya’s Bangalore Royal Challengers on Friday fetched a rating of 8.21, with 12.5-million people tuning in to watch the match. The following two matches played between Chennai Super Kings Vs Kings XI Punjab and Rajasthan Royals Vs Delhi Daredevils, clocked 4.97 TRP and 5.58 TRP, respectively. As the matches move into the second stage shortly, Bollywood is indeed going to face stiff competition from the cricket-cum-entertainment bonanza that IPL seems to offer. The year has been dry for Bollywood, with only the Saif Ali Khan-Bipasha starrer Race putting up a good show. Bollywood has yet to see a mega blockbuster film at the box office in 2008.

Subhash Ghai slams IPL!

The Indian Premier League rage is only growing by leaps and bounds! Not just cricket lovers but the T20 Cricket tournament has also managed to get the Bollywood stars and their followers get hooked on to the entertaining form of Cricket!

Amidst all this hype and hoopla, one Bollywood filmmaker who begs to differ as far as his take on IPL is concerned is none other than showman Subhash Ghai!

“I agree I am not a cricket fan but I know that it is a sport which has to be given the stature of a sport! IPL has made cricket into a business and nothing else, however cricket has become a business all over! IPL is a real match between money makers and not cricketers”, said Ghai.

He further jokingly added, “You’ll be surprised to know that inspite of the fact that I don’t follow cricket much, three of my films have been named after renowned Cricketers... Kalicharan, Vishwanath and now Yuvraj!”

We probed the filmmaker as to which sport fascinates him more than cricket and he excitedly replied, “Football and cinema are my two passions... these two are my only love.”

Kolkata Knight Riders, has tied up with the online gaming venture of Anil Ambani's Reliance ADA group

Shah Rukh Khan has tied up with Anil Ambani's Reliance ADA group (Reuters Photo)

MUMBAI: Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan's Indian Premier League (IPL) team, Kolkata Knight Riders, has tied up with the online gaming venture of Anil Ambani's Reliance ADA group to host a cricketing zone on the team's official website.

Commenting on the tie up, the spokesperson of the online gaming portal Zapak.com said the reason to choose Shah Rukh was in keeping with the hugely popular film star's background as an avid online gamer.

The move aims to create a community of Kolkata Knight Rider's fans. The company also said that it would be spending Rs one crore on the marketing initiatives and the tie up projects for co-branding. The portal would be supplying content for the IPL team's website.

Presently, there are only two games hosted on the website and eight more would be added. The company may add more games after seeing the response to the hosted games. The games can be accessed absolutely free on the website.

Speaking on the partnership, Shah Rukh Khan said, "We were looking for someone who could capture the essence of cricket and at the same time promote Knight Riders as the best IPL club. Zapak.com with their custom-built games around Knight Riders will give the gamers an opportunity to feel and be a part of Knight Riders."

The online company already hosts 18 cricket based games on its portal, and claims to have recorded more than 80,000 users playing cricket on its website everyday.

Kolkata Knight Riders is a franchise of the Indian Premier League. It was bought by Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan's Red Chillies Entertainment in partnership with actress Juhi Chawla and her husband Jai Mehta. The team is led by former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly and coached by former Australian coach John Buchanan.