WC team felicitated; Sachin, Durrani honoured

Mumbai: Sachin Tendulkar and former all-rounder Salim Durrani bagged top honours, while the World Cup winning Indian team led by skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni was felicitated by the Cricket Board at it annual awards function this evening.

Tendulkar was bestowed with the `Polly Umrigar Award for India`s best cricketer of 2009-10` and received a trophy and cheque for Rs five lakh, while Durrani was felicitated with the CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award for which he received a trophy, a cheque for Rs 15 lakh and a citation.

Members of the World Cup winning Indian team were felicitated and presented cheques worth Rs two crore each by BCCI president Shashank Manohar and BCCI secretary N Srinivasan.

The support staff of the team too were honoured and presented cheques of Rs 50 lakh each as declared by the Cricket Board earlier.

However, former coach Gary Kirsten, mental conditioning coach Paddy Upton and bowling consultant coach Eric Simmons were absent.

Among those present were members of the 1983 World Cup winning squad, including then skipper Kapil Dev, Balwinder Singh Sandhu, Dilip Vengsarkar, Sandeep Patil and Yashpal Sharma.
On the occasion, Dhoni thanked fans for supporting the team and said that winning the coveted trophy after 28 long years was a proud moment.

"I thank all of you for the support we got throughout the World Cup. Hundred crore people supported us in the country as well as outside. It was a great moment for us.

"When you play for the country, the one thing you want to win is the World Cup. It is a proud moment for all of us. The victory was achieved thanks to the combination of experienced players and youngsters. We exploited the conditions really well. It was a great moment."

After receiving the best Indian cricketer award, Tendulkar thanked his team-members and also lauded the role played by Dhoni and the support staff in India`s second World Cup win.

"Indeed its a great honour to win the Polly Umrigar Trophy once again. I won it few years ago. It wouldn`t have been possible without the support of the Indian team members who are all here. I congratulate the team for becoming number one in Tests which was our dream followed by something
absolutely magical less than two months ago... We won the World Cup.

"It was a combined effort of all the team members and superb leadership exhibited by Dhoni. I also want to thank the support staff. They worked very hard and planned very well. We executed the plans and the results came," he said.

The 38-year-old Tendulkar, who has completed more than two decades in international cricket, scored 1064 runs from 10 Tests at an average of 82 during 2009-10 season. The fine performance included a double hundred and five centuries.

He also scored 695 runs from 12 ODIs at 69.5, inclusive of the first double hundred in ODIs by a male cricketer.

Durrani, who represented India in 29 Tests scoring 1,202 runs at an average of 25 and took 75 wickets, recalled the exploits of Col. Nayudu in a domestic match that he played while representing Rajasthan in 1958.

"I played against Colonel Sahab for Rajasthan. He was representing Uttar Pradesh in the match at Benaras and made 84. In our team we had great bowlers like Subhash Gupte and Vinoo Mankad, and top batmen like Vijay Manjrekar and myself.

"He (Nayudu) hit three sixes, two of them off Mankad over the roof, and the other of Gupte. I still remember that. Its an honour to get the award and I thank the BCCI for it," said Durrani, one of the most popular cricketers of his time who was known to hit a `six on demand`.

After representing Holkar for many years, Col. Nayudu was associated in a coaching role with Uttar Pradesh and had played that match.

In his address, Manohar congratulated Dhoni`s team for becoming the number one Test team in the ICC rankings and for winning the World Cup after 28 years.

"We are all proud of you. It was in 1983 under Kapil Dev that we won the World Cup and proved that India can do it. And it was MSD`s team that did it on April 2nd this year and fulfilled the dream of every Indian," he said.

K Hariharan was named as the `Umpire of the Year` and was presented with a cheque of Rs 50,000.

The other awardees (October 2009-September 2010):

Madhavrao Scindia Award (Highest Scorer in Ranji Trophy): Manish Pandey.

Madhavrao Scindia Award (Highest wicket-taker in Ranji Trophy): Abhimanyu Mithun

M A Chidambaram Trophy (Best Under-16 cricketer): B Aparajith.

M A Chidambaram Trophy (Best Under-19 cricketer): Bhargav Merai.

M A Chidambaram Trophy (Best Under-22 cricketer): Nataraj Behera.

M A Chidambaram Trophy (Best woman cricketer): M D Thirushkamini.

M A Chidambaram Trophy (Best woman cricketer junior): Reva Arora.

Cricket legends come together for Terry Jenner's farewell

Melbourne: Cricketing greats gathered at Adelaide Oval on Tuesday to bid farewell to spin coach and former Australian bowler Terry Jenner, with Shane Warne declaring that he owed his success to his mentor.

Those who bid farewell to Jenner included former batting great Doug Walters, Test wicketkeepers Rod Marsh and Ian Healy, and former Australian captains Ian and Greg Chappell.

Jenner was born in Perth in 1944 and represented Western Australia before shifting to South Australia, where he won three Sheffield Shields.

He went on to play for Australia and took 34 wickets in nine matches over a four-year period, including a Test-best 5 for 90 against the West Indies in Trinidad in 1973.

He also played a single one-day international.
Jenner suffered a massive heart attack while coaching in England just over a year ago and never fully regained his health.

Warne told about 450 mourners at Adelaide Oval that Jenner was a character, and both cricket and life were better to have had him around.

He said Jenner had played a big part in both his personal and sporting lives, and saying goodbye recently was difficult, The Age reports.

“The last chat a few weeks ago was quite tough. We didn’t say a lot but we said enough. I just thanked him for everything he had helped me with. I wouldn’t have been able to achieve without TJ,” Warne said.

Warne also served as a pallbearer at the funeral along with South Australian leg spinner Cullen Bailey.

Jenner died last Wednesday.

England call Dernbach as Anderson's cover for second Test

Cardiff: Uncapped Surrey seamer Jade Dernbach was called up into a 12-man England squad announced on Tuesday for the second Test against Sri Lanka at Lord`s starting on Friday after James Anderson was forced out with injury.

Anderson suffered a side strain during the course of England`s first Test win and the swing bowler was not on the field when Sri Lanka were shot out for just 82 at Sophia Gardens here on Monday to give the hosts an innings and 14 run victory that left them 1-0 up in this three-match series.

Steven Finn, who played in the first two Tests of England`s Ashes win in Australia, retained his squad spot after being the man left out of the final XI from a 12-man party selected for the Cardiff opener.
The tall Middlesex seamer will now aim to see of the challenge from Dernbach in order to make a Test return at Lord`s, his home ground.

England’s squad :

Andrew Strauss (c), Alastair Cook, Jonathan Trott, Kevin Pietersen, Ian Bell, Eoin Morgan, Matt Prior (wk), Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann, Chris Tremlett, Steven Finn, Jade Dernbach.

Eng to reclaim 2nd spot in ICC Test rating

Dubai: England`s stunning victory against Sri Lanka in the first Test in Cardiff has kept it on course to reclaim second position on the ICC Test Championship table for the first time in more than three years.

Although the Test Championship table will be updated only at the end of the series, a 3-0 series win will put England one ratings point ahead of South Africa. England last occupied the second position in November 2007.

England players Chris Tremlett, Jonathan Trott and Ian Bell, who engineered the stunning an innings and 14 runs victory over Sri Lanka, also achieved their career-best rankings in the list released today.

Swann, who bagged 4-16 in the second innings to finish with figures of 7-94, has strengthened his second position on the ICC Player Rankings for Test bowlers, which is still headed by Dale Steyn of South Africa.

Tremlett, who claimed 4-40 in the second innings to earn match figures of 5-121, has gained seven places and is now on a career-best ranking of 27th.

Among the Test batsmen, man of the match Jonathan Trott, who scored 203, has moved up one place to join former Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara in third position.

Ian Bell was also rewarded for his innings of 103 not out with a jump of three places to the 18th position for the first time in his career.
Skipper Alastair Cook also earned 15 ratings points for his innings of 133 which has put him on 818 ratings points and just 38 points behind the pair of Trott and Sangakkara.

Sri Lanka opener Tharanga Paranavithana and wicketkeeper Prasanna Jayawardena moved up one place to 44th spot and six places to 51st position respectively.

Chance for youngsters to step up and perform: Raina

Mumbai: Stand-in India captain Suresh Raina feels that the absence of senior cricketers during the ODI series in the Caribbean will be an ideal opportunity for those who did well in domestic cricket to show their performance at the international level.

"It`s a great opportunity for the youngsters who have done well in domestic cricket. I hope they will do well," said the 25-year-old Raina at the pre-departure media conference of the team on Tuesday sitting alongside newly-appointed chief coach Duncan Fletcher.

The Indian team will be playing in the ODIs without Gautam Gambhir, prolific opener Virender Sehwag, man-of-the-tournament in the World Cup Yuvraj Singh--- all of whom are out with injuries. Regular skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Sachin Tendulkar and senior pacer Zaheer Khan have been rested keeping in mind the gruelling two and a half month tour of England that starts in July.

"I am really honoured to be leading the side. I am happy with the side as we have some very good batsmen in Rohit Sharma, Manoj Tiwary, S Badrinath, Shikhar Dhawan all of whom have done well in first-class cricket.

"Badrinath especially has done well in first-class cricket and deserves to be in the team. I hope we will do well in the West Indies," said Raina who will hand over the reins to Dhoni when he returns for the three-Test series to be held after the conclusion of the five ODIs.

The Indians start the tour with a lone T20 international at Port of Spain on June 4.

Coach Fletcher said he had followed the rotation system when he was the England coach and received criticism from the authorities.

The burly Zimbabwean wants to go slow about this supposed rotation policy.

"While I was in England, I started the rotation policy resting senior guys. I was heavily criticised by the English authorities. It`s important to do that considering the heavy schedule. We need to look into the matter as we go into the future," said the Zimbabwe-born Fletcher for whom it will be his first assignment as the Indian team`s coach after taking over from his protege Gary Kirsten after the World Cup.

"There is a lot of talent in India and my job is to prepare these youngsters. It`s a pleasure to blood them in ODIs," said Fletcher.

Asked about the club-versus-country debate, Fletcher said it`s not specific to cricket.

"That`s the way it is in modern day sports. We have to ensure that all the players are fit enough," he said.

Raina said the Indian team had done very well over the last three years, having climbed to the top among Test nations and winning the World Cup after 28 years.
"There`s always pressure and we have done well under pressure. We have done well over the last three years and have won the World Cup. It`s for us as players to execute the plans of the coach well. We have to play our natural game," he said.

Fletcher did not see the trip as an easy outing though the West Indies are not the same force they were in 70`s and 80`s.

"Any team playing at home is difficult to beat. We should not be complacent," said the new coach who said he intended not to look too far ahead in his job.

Fletcher admitted that beating England and Australia in their den will be the biggest challenge but as of now the focus is on the Caribbean tour.

"Yes, we would like to beat England in England and Australia in Australia. But the first job is the tour of West Indies. It`s very important not to look too far down the road. India have a plan to stay at the top. The young players have the potential and this tour will show the depth of talent we have," he said.

Raina said the West Indies had some good all-rounders in Kieron Pollard and Dwayne Bravo.

Asked about the likely return of Chris Gayle after the first two ODIs for which he had been left out, the southpaw said his team has Ravichandran Ashwin to counter the threat from the West Indian opener.

"We have Ashwin. It`s a good challenge for us," said Raina about his Chennai Super Kings teammate`s success-rate in the just-concluded IPL against Gayle.

He credited Anil Kumble, Rahul Dravid and Dhoni for learning the ropes of captaincy.

"I learnt a lot about captaincy from Anil Kumble, Rahul Dravid and Dhoni. They have captained with a lot of honesty," he said.

Afridi makes quiet exit from cricket

  Huge-hitting Shahid Afridi makes such a noise on the field that they call him "Boom Boom", but the crowd-pleaser is leaving the game quietly after clashing with Pakistan's cricket hierarchy.

The imposing all-rounder, who bowls dangerous leg-spin and smashes sixes for fun, is widely regarded as one of limited-overs cricket's most destructive batsmen, and Pakistan's foremost player.

But Afridi, 31, announced his retirement late on Monday after a row with coach Waqar Younis which saw him stripped of the one-day captaincy, despite taking scandal-hit Pakistan to the World Cup semi-finals in March.

The bearded Afridi, born in the Khyber Agency bordering Afghanistan, cracked the world's fastest one-day century in his first ever international innings, and holds the world record for one-day international sixes -- 289.

In Pakistan, Afridi is so exciting and so popular that once he is out, stadiums can empty out. And uniquely, he completes the package with uncanny spin bowling and brilliant fielding.

The story starts in 1996, when Afridi, aged just 16, hammered a 37-ball century past Kenya in his international batting debut, after not being required to bat in the series opener two days earlier.

The knock made world headlines but there was no place for Afridi in Pakistan's powerful batting line-up as they finished World Cup runners-up to Australia three years later in 1999. Four years later in South Africa, he continued to warm the bench before things got even worse in 2007.

A month before the World Cup, Afridi was banned for two matches on charges of threatening to hit a spectator during a one-day match in South Africa. He ended up watching Pakistan lose to Ireland from the sidelines before playing an inconsequential match against Zimbabwe.

But in 2009, Afridi starred in Pakistan's World Twenty20 win with crucial -- and uncharacteristically responsible -- knocks in the semi-final against South Africa and the final against Sri Lanka.

He took over as Test and one-day captain last year, but abruptly retired from the five-day game after a heavy defeat against Australia at Lord's. He later said he "sensed" the spot-fixing scandal which was to engulf the team.

"When I retired from Test cricket and sensed spot-fixing in the team, I fought against it, and after the fixing episode (I) united the team which was broken and divided," he said on Monday.

His success in galvanising the squad could be seen at this year's World Cup, when he led Pakistan to the semi-finals only to be beaten by eventual champions India.

But after the tournament he publicly criticised Younis over his interference in team selection, prompting his replacement as one-day skipper by Test captain Misbah-ul-Haq.

According to former captain Imran Khan, Afridi has shown unique motivational skills, along with his well-documented batting and bowling exploits. "Afridi is the only man who can motivate and unite the team," Khan, a World Cup-winning skipper in 1992, said during this year's tournament. He can win matches single-handedly."

Wasim Akram, Pakistan's captain during the 1999 World Cup, highlighted Afridi's resilience as one of his greatest assets. "It's remarkable that his best comes when the going gets tough," Akram said.

Afridi scored 6,695 runs in 325 one-dayers and took 315 wickets as a leg-spinner. He has a tally of 1,716 runs and 48 wickets in 27 Tests.

Dernbach replaces Anderson for Lord's Test

  

                                                                                                      

Uncapped Surrey seamer Jade Dernbach was called up into a 12-man England squad on Tuesday for the second Test against Sri Lanka at Lord's starting on Friday after James Anderson was forced out with injury.

Anderson suffered a side strain during the course of England's first Test win and the swing bowler was not on the field when Sri Lanka were shot out for just 82 at Sophia Gardens here on Monday to give the hosts an innings and 14 run victory that left them 1-0 up in this three-match series.

Dernbach was the only addition to the England squad, having seen off the challenge of the already-capped Ajmal Shahzad and Graham Onions and will now compete with Middlesex fast bowler Steven Finn, left out in Cardiff, for a place in the side at Lord's.

The 25-year-old Dernbach has yet to play for any senior England team despite being called up to the one-day squad for the World Cup quarter-final against Sri Lanka in March. Dernbach wasn't selected to for that match but starred for the second-string England Lions by taking nine wickets against Sri Lanka in a recent tour match.

His inclusion means five players in England's 12 man squad -- captain Andrew Strauss, batsmen Jonathan Trott and Kevin Pietersen and wicketkeeper Matt Prior are the others -- were born in South Africa, with Trott, Pietersen and Dernbach all educated in the Republic.

England hope to have Anderson fit in time for the third and final Test against Sri Lanka at the Rose Bowl, starting on June 16 and national selector Geoff Miller said: "It's obviously disappointing to lose Jimmy Anderson for the next Test as he is world-class and the leader of our attack.

"But we're fortunate to have a healthy stock of pace bowlers at present. We're hopeful Jimmy will be available for the third Test but in the meantime we're excited by Jade Dernbach's inclusion.

"Jade is a talented young bowler and after excelling with the England Performance Programme over the winter he enjoyed considerable success with the ball against Sri Lanka while playing for the England Lions prior to the first Test," former England off-spinner Miller added.

Squad:

Andrew Strauss (c), Alastair Cook, Jonathan Trott, Kevin Pietersen, Ian Bell, Eoin Morgan, Matt Prior (wk), Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann, Chris Tremlett, Steven Finn, Jade Dernbach.

Who discovered Mahendra Singh Dhoni?

         Have you ever wondered how Mahendra Singh Dhoni came into the international scene out of nowhere and dazzled with his stunning captaincy and game? If not, here is the account: 

Prakash Poddar, a Talent Research Development Officer (TRDO) - which was functional in the BCCI during the time of Dilip Vengsarkar, spotted Dhoni in 2003.

In 2003, Poddar took a train to catch Kolkata vs Jamshedpur clash, which was of little significance. Poddar went there simply because he had been assigned to watch an under-19 match in Jamshedpur.

Recalling the entire episode, Poddar said, “Mahendra Singh Dhoni was a shy kid. Jyaada baat cheet nahi karta tha. He was after all from Jharkhand, not a cricketing power in domestic cricket, and he wasn’t from a rich family either. He kept to himself.”

“He scored 35 runs but even in that age kya maarta tha ball ko. He had raw power and I felt that if we could guide him well, he could become a good one-day cricketer. But who knew he was destined for such greatness,” he said. 

A TRDO is responsible to attend matches and fill out a form in which they would mention whether the batsman was right-handed or left-handed, if he bowled – pace, spin, swing. At the bottom of the form, there used to be an empty box called recommendations. For most players, this box remained empty.

But for Dhoni, Poddar wrote, “Good striker of the ball; has a lot of power but needs to work on his wicket-keeping. Technically not very good. Is very good at running between wickets.”

Poddar continues, “I felt that if we could regularize the way he used his power, then he would be of some value to Indian cricket. And that is why I recommended him to the National Cricket Academy.”

Vengsarkar, who headed the TRDO committee, stated, “Once a player was recommended, I would go and watch him. It was a lot of matches and a lot of hard work but we were all driven by just one thing: to discover talent that was capable of shining on the international scene."

“There was a lot of talent out there and much of it was flashy. But the deciding factor for me was temperament. If you have that, you will continue to improve,” he added.

By 2003-04, Dhoni was included in India’s A team for Zimbabwe and Kenya tours. A good run in another series against Pakistan A and Kenya attracted Sourav Ganguly and Ravi Shastri. Also, a brilliant innings of 102 off 96 balls, during the Challenger Trophy in Mumbai saw him getting called up for India.

Poddar is extremely proud of what he discovered back in 2003, “Today, he is, to my mind, the greatest player India has ever seen. When we consider where he is coming from and where he has reached, there is no one else who compares. Even now he seems extremely humble and I am happy that I could play a part – as small as it was.”

“But you can see how hard he has worked. His wicket-keeping is now very solid. Then his footwork behind the wickets wasn’t as good but now, he knows exactly what he is doing. And his batting – what can I say – it has turned out to be even better than I could imagine.”

While Dhoni rocketed to heights, Poddar saw his career with the BCCI come to an abrupt end. He was in TRDO for just one year, after that the BCCI never called him again. 

But Poddar has no qualms about it, “Well, at least I managed to give Indian cricket Dhoni. That’s something and that’s my salvation.”

Dhoni praises Vijay, Hussey for laying foundation for victory

Chennai, May 29 (IANS) Chennai Super Kings skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoniheaped praise on his team's opening batsmen - Murali Vijay and Michael Hussey for laying foundation of his team's triumph against the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the final match of the Indian Premier League here Saturday with a century partnership.

'Both Vijay and Hussey gave us a good start and that helped us to sustain the momentum. We didn't want to get desperate to win, but the intent was there. They challenged the fielders and rotated the strike,' said Dhoni after his team Chennai Super Kings's won the final match against RCB by 58 runs.

Vijay (95) and Hussey 63) put on 159 runs in 14.5 overs as the Super Kings went on to post 205 for five in 20 overs. Also, they restricted the Royal Challengers to 148 for eight with Ravichandran Ashwin taking three wickets, including that of opener Chris Gayle.

'Our bowling was good in the first phase of the innings, but we didn't bowl too well thereafter. Ashwin has a big heart and he is not afraid to toss the ball up in the power-play when we have just two fielders in the deep.

'He had good support from other bowlers who picked up wickets, but it was the foundation that Vijay and Hussey laid that eventually helped us to win,' said Dhoni who thus completed a four-in-a-row title triumphs, having earlier won the 2010 IPL and the Champions League, followed by the 2011 ICC World Cup.

Referring to the back-to-back IPL success, Dhoni said: 'Last year, we almost did not qualify for the semi-finals, but this year, we played quite well from the beginning.'

Dhoni's counterpart Daniel Vettori was obviously disappointed at the defeat, but admitted that the Super Kings played better cricket on the day.

'It was a good toss to win, but I thought we didn't bowl too well. We thought a target of 160-170 was gettable, but conceded far too many in the end.

'We did well earlier to top the league, but tonight, I thought the Super Kings played better cricket,' said Vettori.

Vijay was adjudged Man of the Match while Gayle received the Player of the tournament award besides the Orange cap for topping the scorers' list in the league with a tally of 511 runs from nine matches.

Paul Valthathy of the Kings XI Punjab won the prize for the 'best individual performance' for his 63-ball 120 not out against the Super Kings at Mohali.

Seamer Lasith Malinga of the Mumbai Indians topped among the bowlers with a haul of 27 wickets from 14 matches while team-mate and spinner Iqbal Abdulla was adjudged the 'Rising Star' of the tournament for his 16 wickets.

Warne to have bronze statue at MCG

                                                  




Melbourne: Spin great Shane Warne will soon have himself immortalized in a bronze statue outside the Melbourne Cricket Ground, joining 10 other Australian sports stars.
Warne, who recently returned from a fourth season as captain of Rajasthan Royals in theIndian Premier League after announcing he was retiring from all cricket, met on Monday with Melbourne Cricket Club's sculptor Louis Laumen.
The 41-year-old leg spinner tweeted "just finished measurement sitting for my statue at the mighty MCG," on his Twitter page.
Laumen is the sculptor of the 10 statues already erected which include cricketers Donald Bradman and Dennis Lillee.
Warne retired from test cricket in 2007 after playing 145 tests and taking a then world-record 708 wickets.

Never got this sort of respect in Windies: Gayle

He came, saw and all but conquered the IPL but Chris Gayle, the face of this T20 season, is hurt that he is rarely treated with the warmth that he has been shown in India. The Jamaican, who bludgeoned the opposition into submission and literally carried the Royal Challengers Bangalore into Saturday's final against the Chennai Super Kings, was caught up in an ugly row with the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) a few months back.

Chris Gayle was the highest run-getter in this season's IPL with 608 runs that included two centuries.

The WICB was annoyed when the batsman decided to head for India immediately after recovering from an injury that had restricted his game in the World Cup, where the twice former champions failed to reach the semi-finals.
“It’s amazing I can score no runs and still be loved and appreciated round the world. Never get this sort of love and respect in West Indies,” the Royal Challengers Bangalore player tweeted after the big game on Saturday in which he scored a duck.
Fellow West Indian player Dwayne Bravo, who plays for the Chennai Super Kings, hoped Gayle’s knock will shut his critics “May be we are not playing for the national team but the selectors will realise what they are missing,” Bravo said.
Interestingly, Gayle had gone unsold in the players' auction and was called in by Bangalore as an injury replacement. The explosive opener thanked Bangalore for giving him the opportunity.

Domestic players continue to shine in IPL

New Delhi, May 29 (IANS) With the crowds fading, the popularity of the Indian Premier League (IPL) dipped in the fourth season but it continued to be a platform for the cricket crazy nation's domestic talent.

Kings XI Punjab's explosive opener Paul Valthaty, who is yet to make a first class debut,Kolkata Knight Riders all-rounder Iqbal Abdulla, Bangalore Royal Challenger fast bowler Sreenath Aravind and Pune Warriors' Rahul Sharma have been the new stars this season and have staked their claim for a potential national cap in the future.

Valthaty took the IPL by storm with his match-winning 120 runs off 63 balls for Kings XI Punjab against eventual champions Chennai Super Kings in a league match at Mohali. He overshadowed his opening partner and captain Adam Gilchrist on many occasions during the league stages, smashing the ball from the word go with the great Australian batsman being a mere spectator.

Valthay, with 463 runs from 14 matches, ended up as the sixth-highest run-getter despite being inconsistent.

'Paul has an attacking style of play and in such a style results are always inconsistent. I know this because I am speaking through personal experience,' said Gilchrist.

Mumbai's Abdulla also made had a fairytale run and from a bench-warmer emerged as a match winner for Knight Riders.

Abdulla had an impressive Ranji season and continued in the same breadth in the IPL as well.

The left-arm spinner from Azamgarh played a crucial role in the turning the the fortunes ofKolkata Knight Riders, who made their maiden second knock-out appearance after faring poorly in the last three seasons. With 16 wickets in 15 matches, Abdulla was the pick of the bowlers for the Kolkata franchise.

The 21-year-old delivered whenever the team needed wickets in the first six overs and was also handy down the order. Abdulla, who has played for India A, was adjudged as the rising star of the tournament.

'I never thought I will get this award before the start of the tournament. It will motivate me to get into the Indian team,' said Abdulla.

The IPL was also the turning point of Punjab younsger Sharma's career as one time he thought of giving up the game due to a career-threatening facial nerve dysfunction during his stint with the Deccan Chargers last season.

But the leggie has fought back strongly as looked as if he was the lone warrior in Pune Warriors team, who finished ninth in their debut season.

The leggie took 16 wickets in 14 games, conceding a mere 5.46 runs per over, the best economy rate of the season.

'IPL 4 has been the turning point of my career. I had played for Deccan Chargers in previous season and took six wickets in as many matches. But this time, I am extremely happy with my performance. I played well in the Ranji circuit also but unfortunately those matches do not get telecast,' Rahul said.

But among all Indian bowlers, Karnataka boy Aravind was the show stealer. He was the second highest Indian wicket-taker in the IPL with 21 scalps.

Aravind came into the Royal Challengers as a replacement for Dirk Nannes and the made the most of the opportunity that came his way.

'During the last two years, I have been improving a lot on each day by watching the seniors. I can say that in Karnataka, many people are helping me out in domestic circuit.

WI tour an opportunity for youngsters to cement place: Zaheer

Mumbai: Indian pace spearhead Zaheer Khan on Sunday said the upcoming tour to West Indies would be a good opportunity for the youngsters to cement their place in the national squad.

"It is a very good opportunity for young players to showcase their talent. It's a big tour and if they perform well, they can cement their place in the team," he said during a promotional event.

India will play three tests, five ODIs and a lone T20 game during their tour to the Caribbean in June-July.

Senior players such as Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh will miss the entire tour, while Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni will join the team only for Test series.

On the appointment of Suresh Raina as the skipper for the ODIs and T20, Zaheer said," I want to wish good luck to him. He is a very good cricketer and is performing well for the past two years. I hope he does well."

The 32-year-old pacer said Dhoni was enjoying a great run as a skipper. "He is having an amazing run. IPL, Champions League, again IPL and in between the World Cup as well. He keeps things simple. He doesn't complicate things much and maintains calmness. He is a very good captain. I hope that he is even more successful."

Zaheer, who has taken 271 Test wickets and 273 ODI scalps in 78 and 191 matches respectively, said he preferred to rest as he wanted to keep himself fit for the tough series ahead.

"It's obviously a hectic season ahead. We are playing a lot of crucial tours in the upcoming months. Personally, it's crucial for me to keep myself fit - that is the plan. To keep the niggles out and stay on top of it", he said.

"Cricket is my passion. I enjoy bowling," he added. On whether there should be a window for IPL, he said, "We already have a window. It starts in April and goes on around till May, so that's the window."

Asked whether his father, known to be a disciplinarian, allowed him to indulge in fancy hair-cuts when he was young, Zaheer said, "My father has always been a fan of soldier cut. It was the only hair-cut I knew while I was growing up."

Chennai thump Bangalore, maintain IPL supremacy

Chennai: A clinical Chennai Super Kings clinched their second Indian Premier League title in a row with a 58-run thrashing of Royal Challengers Bangalore in a lop-sided final on Saturday.

Opener Murali Vijay cracked 95 runs off just 52 balls to help the defending champions pile up 205-5 before Ravichandran Ashwin removed Bangalore's openers early, ensuring a fine win for the hosts at a packed Chidambaram Stadium.

League-toppers Bangalore, who were seeking their maiden IPL title, folded up at 147-8 off 20 overs.

For Chennai, it was their eighth win on the trot at home this season, underlining their dominance in home conditions.

The home team owed their win to Vijay whose record 159-run stand for the first wicket with Australian Michael Hussey (63) set the platform for a winning total after captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni elected to bat first.

Their stand surpassed the 155-run partnership between Adam Gilchrist and VVS Laxman against Mumbai in the inaugural edition of the IPL in 2008.

"I was concentrating on just converting my start today, as it hasn't always happened this season," said Vijay, named man of the match.

"This (Chennai) is a special unit to be part of and to retain the title feels really great."

Bangalore's chase was derailed early with off-spinner Ashwin (3-16) getting rid of the dangerous Chris Gayle for a duck in the very first over.

Gayle, who still finished as the highest run-getter with 608 runs from 12 innings, offered an outside edge which was snapped up by Dhoni behind the wickets.

Gayle's dismissal triggered a collapse with Bangalore losing their next six wickets inside 11 overs to be reduced to 70-6, a situation from which they could never really recover.

Saurabh Tiwary offered some resistance with an unbeaten 42 but the other Bangalore batsmen simply caved in under pressure.

"It would have been a much better game if we could have put up a bowling performance like on Friday (against Mumbai) but it was not to be," said Bangalore captain Daniel Vettori.

"I think 160-170 would have been chaseable but their openers took the game away from us."

Vijay, pointed out as the weak link in the Chennai line-up after an indifferent run with the bat in the tournament, decided to make amends at the big stage, unleashing six sixes and four fours in his blazing knock.

Hussey also impressed, hitting three sixes and as many boundaries in his 45-ball innings before holing out to Abhimanyu Mithun near the boundary ropes off left-arm spinner Syed Mohammad.

Vijay, who seemed to struggle in hot and humid conditions during the later part of his innings, missed out on a well-deserved century when he offered a simple catch to Vettori off paceman Sreenath Aravind.

Aravind struck again off the very next ball to remove Dhoni, caught off a full toss by Virat Kohli after making 22 which included two sixes in one over by Gayle.

Gayle also picked up two wickets in two balls, sending back Albie Morkel and Suresh Raina in the 20th over with his wily off-breaks.