DC vs KKR: Kolkata Knight Riders lose Gambhir, Kallis in successive overs

NEW DELHI: Pragyan Ojha scalped Gautam Gambhir after Amit Mishra dismissed Jacques Kallis in the previous over to deliver a double blow to Kolkata Knight Riders in their IPL match at Rajiv Gandhi International stadium in Hyderabad on Tuesday.


Mishra struck in his first over when he had Kallis caught by Ravi Teja at long-off and in the next over Ojha had Gambhir caught behind by captain Kumar Sangakkara.



Gambhir hit a six and 3 fours in his 22-ball 35 before falling to Ojha.

Daniel Christian gave Deccan the first breakthrough when he clean bowled Eoin Morgan with a slower delivery.

Morgan hit a six in his 15-ball 14 before falling to Christian.

The breakthrough came after Sangakkara won the toss and chose to bowl.

Deccan have brought in Dale Steyn in place of Harmeet Singh.

For Kolkata, Jaidev Unadkat is in for Sreevats Goswami, and Mark Boucher replaces Ryan ten Doeschate.

The wicket looks hard and has some grass on it. 

 

read more at : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/cricket/ipl-2011/news/DC-vs-KKR-Deccan-Chargers-opt-to-bowl-against-Kolkata-Knight-Riders/articleshow/8153618.cms

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Ganguly will add value to Pune Warriors, say former players

Sourav Ganguly during the practice for Ranji trophy match in Chennai. (TOI Photo)

KOLKATA/NEW DELHI: Former cricketers feel Sourav Ganguly's vast experience will help Pune Warriors, who are struggling to stay afloat in the Indian Premier League, but caution that the former India and Kolkata Knight Riders captain won't have it easy living up to the hype.

Ganguly, who went unsold in the January auction for the fourth edition, has replaced injured fast bowler Ashish Nehra for the remaining IPL. He will play under the captaincy of Yuvraj Singh.

Warriors are languishing at the last position in the IPL with only two wins from their eight matches.

Bengal's Ranji Trophy winning captain and former national selector Sambaran Banerjee described it as a "great news."

"It's good to hear that he will be back in action. With his experience he will be asset."

"Now everyone will look forward with much interest to the Kolkata Knight Riders and Pune Warriors clash. And I think Kolkata fans will be divided between the two teams. A large chunk of people will root for the Pune side as Ganguly is still the darling of the people here."

Asked whether it would be possible for Ganguly to make a mark in the Twenty20 league now at his age and after being away from competitive cricket for a year, Banerjee said: "Nobody is expecting him to perform as he did in 1996 or 1999. His body cannot take that. But look even Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar are playing fine. If Ganguly can play at 60 percent of his ability, he will be an asset for Pune." 

 

read more at :http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/cricket/ipl-2011/news/Ganguly-will-add-value-to-Pune-Warriors-say-former-players/articleshow/8151868.cms

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You just don’t write Dada off, do you?

New Delhi: No sooner did Sourav Ganguly confirm that he is back in the Indian Premier League and will play in black for debutants Pune Warriers, that the world is abuzz.

And a-twitter.

For on the social networking site Twitter, the Prince of Kolkata zoomed up to figure on the worldwide trends list for quite some time on Tuesday. He was trending a notch below Abbotabad, the sleepy Pakistan garrison town made famous by Osama bin Laden’s death yesterday.

The classy southpaw has since given way to other trends on that very competitive list, but on the India list "Sourav Ganguly" is still trending way up there and so is "Dada." Not to be scoffed at. 

For all the 10 IPL team owners who had left Sourav Ganguly unbid for in the auction for season 4, an eye-opener on Dada’s drawing power perhaps.

read more at :http://sports.ndtv.com/ipl/news/item/172918-you-just-don%E2%80%99t-write-dada-off-do-you

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All hail the Prince

New Delhi: Sourav Ganguly's much awaited entry into the fourth edition of the Indian Premier League has set the web abuzz.

The former skipper of the Kolkata Knight Riders has been roped in by the Pune Warrirors and is expected to join the Yuvraj Singh led team by Tuesday night. Congratulatory messages on twitter though have been coming thick and fast with celebrities joining fans to express their joy in seeing the Prince of Kolkata return.

"Hohoho! Ganguly playing the IPL after all! Will he be the Warrior that can salvage the Pune sides fortunes??!! tweeted anchor-actress Mandira Bedi. Actress Minissha Lamba also tweeted on the news of Dada joining ranks of the Pune outfit. "What a dilemma for Kolkata to see their very own #Dada play against them...who will they cheer for, the leader or the team? #KKR.

Fast-bowler Wayne Parnell also expressed his excitement in having Ganguly join as the vice-captain of his side. "Excited to hear the news that Ganguly is joining Pune Warriors. I'm sure his presence will do working for us youngsters in the squad."

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Ganguly turns warrior

Ganguly, who previously played in the tournament for the Kolkata Knight Riders, has agreed a deal until the end of May.
The 38-year old batsman has replaced injured paceman Ashish Nehra, whose finger injury has ruled him out for the rest of the season.

Surprising 

Having appeared for the Knight Riders in the first three seasons of the IPL, Ganguly was left without a club this year after he remained unsold in the player auctions.
His move to the Warriors will come as a surprise, though, after Ganguly swore off all future competitive cricket following his IPL snub.
Just three months ago, the cricketing veteran said there was "no possibility of playing cricket any more".
Warriors director Abhijit Sarkar said: "We were in touch with Sourav but we were waiting for Nehra's report which arrived yesterday.
"He will join us as soon as possible and start practising with the team. The team management will decide when he will take the field for us."

read more at :  http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,15815_6911067,00.html

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