Cricket mania!!!

IPL Auction 2013

2013-01-23T09:26:00.002-08:00

IPL 6 2013 Auction Players List

Pune Warriors India released 10 players. Jesse Ryder, Sachin Rana, Callum Ferguson, Nathan McCullum, Steve Smith, James Hopes, Tamim Iqbal, Saurav Ganguly (withdrew), Michael Clarke & Graeme Smith are among the main players released.

Delhi Daredevils released 15 players. Robin Bist, Ghulam Bodi, Glenn Maxwell, Aaron Finch, Venugopal Rao, Travis Birt, Colin Ingram & Doug Bracewell are among the main players released.

Royal Challengers Bangalore released 13 players. Mohammad Kaif, Dirk Nannes & Luke Pomersbach are among the main players released.

Rajasthan Royals released 15 players. Johan Botha, Paul Collingwood, Owais Shah, Dinesh Chandimal, Alister McDermott are among the main players released.

Hyderabad Sunrisers released 12 players. Daniel Harris, Darren Bravo, Daniel Christian & Manpreet Gony are among the main players released. ( Deccan Chargers IPL Contract terminated. SUN TV gets new IPL team of Hyderabad named Sunrisers ).

Kings XI Punjab released 8 players. Stuart Broad, James Faulkner, Romesh Powar & Abhishek Nayar are among the main players released.

Mumbai Indians released 7 players. Richard Levi, Clint McKY, Thissara Perera, Dwayne Smith & Davy Jacobs are among the main players released.

Chennai Super Kings released 10 players. Doug Bollinger, George Bailey, Joginder Sharma, Scott Styris, Abhinav Mukund & Suraj Randiv are among the main players released.

Kolkata Knight Riders released 4 players namely Chiraj Jaani, Iresh Saxena, Sanju Samson & Jayadev Unadkat.

Group Stage Matches T20 World Cup

2012-09-13T07:25:00.002-07:00

Tuesday, September 18th 2012

Sri Lanka vs Zimbabwe

14:00 GMT | 19:30 local

Mahinda Rajapaksa Stadium, Hambantota

Wednesday, September 19th 2012

Australia vs Ireland

10.00 GMT | 15.30 Local

R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo

India vs Afghanistan

14.00 GMT | 19.30 Local

R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo

Thursday, September 20th 2012

South Africa vs Zimbabwe

14.00 GMT | 19.30 Local

Mahinda Rajapaksa Stadium, Hambantota

Friday, September 21st 2012

Bangladesh vs New Zealand

10.00 GMT | 15.30 Local

Pallekele International Cricket Stadium

England vs Afghanistan

14.00 GMT | 19.30 Local

Pallekele International Cricket Stadium

Saturday, September 22nd 2012

Sri Lanka vs South Africa

10.00 GMT | 15.30 Local

Mahinda Rajapaksa Stadium, Hambantota

Australia vs West Indies

14.00 GMT | 19.30 Local

R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo

Sunday, September 23rd 2012

New Zealand vs Pakistan

10.00 GMT | 15.30 Local

Pallekele International Cricket Stadium

England vs India

14.00 GMT | 19.30 Local

Pallekele International Cricket Stadium

Monday, September 24th 2012

West Indies vs Ireland

14.00 GMT | 19.30 Local

R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo

Tuesday, September 25th 2012

Bangladesh vs Pakistan

14.00 GMT | 19.30 Local

Pallekele International Cricket Stadium

Super Eights

Thursday, September 27th 2012

Winner Group C vs Runner Up Group D

10.00 GMT | 15.30 Local

Pallekele International Cricket Stadium

Winner Group A vs Runner Up Group B

14.00 GMT | 19.30 Local

Pallekele International Cricket Stadium

Friday, September 28th 2012

Winner Group D vs Runner Up Group C

10.00 GMT | 15.30 Local

R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo

Winner Group B vs Runner Up Group A

14.00 GMT | 19.30 Local

R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo

Saturday, September 29th 2012

Winner Group C vs Runner Up Group B

10.00 GMT | 15.30 Local

Pallekele International Cricket Stadium

Winner Group B vs Runner Up Group C

14.00 GMT | 19.30 Local

Pallekele International Cricket Stadium

Sunday, September 30th 2012

Winner Group B vs Runner Up Group C

10.00 GMT | 15.30 Local

R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo

Winner Group D vs Runner Up Group A

14.00 GMT | 19.30 Local

R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo

Monday, October 1st 2012

Runner Up Group B vs Runner Up Group D

10.00 GMT | 15.30 Local

Pallekele International Cricket Stadium

Winner Group A vs Winner Group 1

14.00 GMT | 19.30 Local

Pallekele International Cricket Stadium

Tuesday, October 2nd 2012

Winner Group B vs Winner Group D

10.00 GMT | 15.30 Local

R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo

Runner Up Group A vs Runner Up Group C

14.00 GMT | 19.30 Local

R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo

Semi Finals

Thursday, October 4th 2012

Winner S8 Group 1 v Runner Up S8 Group 2

14:30 GMT | 20:00 local

R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo

Friday, October 5th 2012

Winner S8 Group 2 v Runner Up S8 Group 1

14:30 GMT | 20:00 local

R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo

2012 t20 World Cup Final

Sunday, October 7th 2012

Winner Semi Final 1 v Winner Semi Final 2

14:30 GMT | 20:00 local

R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo

WARM UP MATCHES T20 World Cup

2012-09-13T07:24:00.001-07:00

Thursday, September 13th 2012

Ireland beat Zimbabwe by 54 runs

Sri Lanka beat West Indies by 9 wickets

Saturday, September 15th 2012

Afghanistan vs Sri Lanka A

04:00 GMT | 09:30 local

Moors Cricket Ground, Colombo

Australia vs New Zealand

04:00 GMT | 09:30 local

NCC, Colombo

Bangladesh vs Zimbabwe

04:00 GMT | 09:30 local

Colts Cricket Ground, Colombo

India vs Sri Lanka

04:00 GMT | 09:30 local

P.Sara Oval, Colombo

Monday, September 17th 2012

Australia vs England

04:00 GMT | 09:30 local

NCC, Colombo

Bangladesh vs Ireland

04:00 GMT | 09:30 local

Moors Cricket Ground, Colombo

New Zealand vs South Africa

04:00 GMT | 09:30 local

Colts Cricket Ground, Colombo

Afghanistan vs West Indies

08:30 GMT | 14:00 local

P.Sara Oval, Colombo

India vs Pakistan

08:30 GMT | 14:00 local

R.Premadasa Stadium, Colombo

Wednesday, September 19th 2012

England vs Pakistan

04:00 GMT | 09:30 local

P.Sara Oval, Colombo

Greatest Indian Cricketers of all time

2012-09-13T07:19:00.000-07:00

Ranjit Singhji: One of the first great Indian cricketing heroes. Singhji was “The cricketer formally known as “Prince”". His most famous exploits include obtaining a UK visa and work permit and inventing the Leg Glance, a move whereby when friends’ sisters walks by in a short skirts you make a sweeping cricket shot action imitation thereby looking at their legs but not getting caught. Famously, Ranjit Singhji once fell ill after a mixing some bad milk in his cup of Darjeeling and could only bowl a single over. In spite of this he got 3 wickets through judicious use of line and length. This is immortalized today in the famous “Corridor of Uncertain Tea”. He names lives on to this day in the form of the tournament named after him, the “Coca-Cola Cup”.

Gundappa Viswanath: Widely considered the greatest left-handed batsmen from Andhra with a moustache to play in the 60s, in Indian History. Played several crucial test innings for India, many times pulling India back from the brink of complete disaster, taking them to mere comprehensive defeats. He was a daring, brave batsman who stood fearless in the face of the quickest bowlers, primarily because he was blinded by his moustache. Renowned for his deft footwork, he once, after being bowled for duck, moonwalked all the way back to the pavilion. His first name means “Fat Papa” in Tamil and this ensured constant victory for India against the Sri Lankans who could not bowl at him with a straight face.

Sunil Gavaskar: The first big international Indian cricket star. Scored thousands upon thousands of runs in a career that spanned several millions of balls left outside off-stump. He was affectionately known as Sunny, the Little Master and that little Prick though the first two were rarely used. He was a tireless team player and inspiring captain who often shouldered a lot of the batting burden and most of the match fees single-handedly. Gavaskar was a cricketer who patiently waited for the loose ball and once did so for three whole days in a limited overs match before stadium security politely asked him to leave. Gavaskar became the captain of India in 1982 taking on the mantle from Srinivasaraghavan Venkataraghavan, an accomplished cricketer himself, who retired from cricket in protest after it became mandatory to wear kits with one’s full name on the back.

Ravi Shashtri: Holds the record for maximum sixes hit in one over with 6 against Tilak Raj in Bombay. Shastri would have hit more but little Tilak had maths homework and a Social Studies test the next day and we all know how bad 7th standard CBSE is. Shastri was one of our first great all-rounders and once, in a remarkable game in the 1987 tour of Ooty and Coimbatore, Shastri bowled himself around the legs. Ravi Shastri was the heartthrob of millions of women in the late 80s and early 90s and was considered a great looker. This has now been found to be an error due to primitive TV broadcasting technology. He is now a well-known and respected cricket commentator. Fiercely patriotic, he recently pegged India to win all the one-days in the South African tour of Sri Lanka.

Kapil Dev: Explosive with the ball, dynamic with the bat and ridiculous with the English language, Kapil Dev was the life of many humorous post-match press conferences. Dev often stood alone in the face of adversity and dragged India out of tight spots. His 175 run innings in Tunbridge Wells is a classic and some of his shots continue to orbit the Earth to this day bouncing off space stations and interfering with TV broadcasts (see Ravi Shastri above.) Kapil Dev was also one of the first few cricketers to make it big in the world of advertising and synonymous with the caption: “Boost is the secret of my enema. Our enema. (Smile)” Nowadays he is a successful entrepreneur and often appears on TV when he roots for India from his heart saying: “India needs to play the games with the heart and the tactics is nice if then the whole together comes… err… boost is the secret of my enema…”

Krishnamachari Srikkanth: A dynamic one-day player who pioneered the technique of repeated letters in one’s name for good luck. Srikkanth was an explosive opening batsman who often stepped out of his crease and swung his bat with great gusto only to be stumped down leg side. He holds the record for maximum consecutives world cups without a haircut (4). Kris Srikkanth was the quintessential South Indian in the team who rapidly learned Hindi while playing for India, leading to an average of well over 4 run outs per match in the process. Today Kris is a passionate cricket commentator who can say “Oh shit, sorry” in over 14 north Indian languages.

Venkatesh Prasad: If Akthar is the “Rawalpindi Express” then for many years Venkatesh Prasad, a key part of the bowling attack, was affectionately called “The Slow Bangalore Passenger That Is Currently Broken Down At Palakkad Station. Passengers approach ticket counter for refund please.” Despite several key wickets, Prasad was not a pacey bowler but instead used a bewildering array of slow, slower and slowest balls to vex batsmen. In the 1992 World Cup he bowled a slow one to Wasim Akram that has not reached the batsman to this day. He was a pioneer of the “Intimidation” school of fielding whereby you do not run for the ball but merely try to stop it by looking at it gravely.

Anil Kumble: Named after the Anil Kumble Circle in Bangalore, where he grew up learning to bowl, Kumble continues to be one of the spinning maestros in the country. However he is not a big mover of the ball but instead unleashes a repertoire of balls so complicated even he does not know what he is doing. He holds the record for having captured 10 wickets in a single test innings but honestly cannot explain how. The author has a particular grouse with Mr. Kumble for having released a shitty cricket video game that the author’s brother forced him to buy. The game has graphics reminiscent of a Rohrschach Test and game play marginally more engaging than digging one’s nose. Kumble is frequently a useful all-rounder and was the first Indian to achieve the “supreme” double of 400 wickets taken and 4000 misfields.

Sachin Tendulkar: No one makes fun of Sachin. Not even me.

Sanjay Manrekar: Manjrekar is an exciting top order batsman with an amazing repertoire of shots. If you play him in that stupid Anil Kumble game that is. In real life he was often called a text-book cricketer, in the sense that watching him bat was like reading a macro-economics text book. Sanjay Manjrekar was full of technique and single-handedly developed 2567 ways of padding upto an off-spinner. His moment of glory was during the Ashes Test of 1994 when Imran Khan approached him and accepted defeat as several of the Pakistani players were collapsing from brain inactivity. Manjrekar valiantly declined and went on to score an astounding century in just under a fortnight.

Venkatpathy Raju: With tremendous movement off the pitch especially in windy gusty weather, Venkatpathy Raju is one of the lightest players to have ever played the game. His bowling, on the other hand, was tricky especially because of a complete lack of speed. Raju bowled with such little pace and his ball took so long to come that batsmen often practiced facing him by getting friends and relatives to courier cricket balls overnight to them through local courier companies.

India wins aginst Pakistan in the U19 world cup quarterfinals!!

2012-08-20T10:40:00.005-07:00

Cricket fraternity congratulated India for their win against Pakistan in the ICC Under-19 World Cup on Twitter.

“Boy that was a stressfull game!! Glad the u19 boys nailed it! Ab santa banta ke joke band karo aur bolo jai harmeet singh and sandeep Sharma,” Yuvraj Singh wrote on Twitter.

Middle order batsman Manoj Tiwary also congratulated the colts and captain Unmukt Chand for the victory over Pakistan.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India believed that the match was worthy of a final.
“What a match! Worthy of an India-Pakistan contest. The Indian colts have made it to the Semi Finals of the U19 World Cup. Well done, boys!”

“well done india u-19. cool head from harmeet but missed aparajith and zol. good? also nice to see some under 19s looking their age,” Harsha Bhogle wrote.

India will now play New Zealand in the semi-final..

SA to host CL T20 in October

2012-06-27T11:29:00.000-07:00

South Africa will host the fourth edition of the Champions League Twenty20 in October with Pakistan's Sialkot Stallions being the new entrant.

The decision to shift the tournament out of India was taken at a CLT20 Governing Council meeting in Chennai last month.

It was also decided that the Mumbai Indians would be included as the fourth Indian team in the eight-team tournament.

The reasons for shifting the tournament to South Africa range from monsoon to Durga Puja celebrations that will coincide with the event.

It will be the second time that South Africa will host the tournament after 2010. Cape Town, Johannesburg, Centurion and Durban will be the venues for the event.

Earlier, GC had also approved the participation of Pakistan's Sialkot Stallions in the tournament. They will take part in the qualifiers to make the cut in the main draw, which will feature four teams from India, two from Australia and one from South Africa.

New IPL champions Kolkata Knight Riders, runners-up Chennai Super Kings and Delhi Daredevils are the confirmed participants for this year's CLT20.

Greatest ODI match of all time.

2012-06-16T00:46:00.003-07:00

The fans had between 22 December 2010 and 2 January 2011 to cast their vote on their favourite game from a choice of 10 memorable matches on ICC's official website or via Facebook or Twitter.

A run-fest at Johannesburg's famous Wanderers Stadium in March 2006. Batting first, Australia made a record 434-4 in 50 overs with captain Ricky Ponting setting the day alight with 164 off just 105 balls.

The mood of the capacity crowd did not improve when SA lost a wicket with just three runs on the board. But then an innings of magic from Herschelle Gibbs (175 off 111) backed up by cameos by Graeme Smith (90 off 55), Mark Boucher (50 not out) and Johan van der Wath (35) saw the Proteas to a scarcely possible winning score of 438 with nine wickets down and one ball remaining. It was a wonderful occasion and truly an ODI never to be forgotten.

Greatest Test team of all time.

2012-06-16T00:36:00.004-07:00

Four Australians, four Indians, two West Indians and one Pakistani have been named in the Dream XI. The final selection is as follows:

Virender Sehwag
Sunil Gavaskar
Donald Bradman
Sachin Tendulkar
Brian Lara
Kapil Dev
Adam Gilchrist (wk)
Shane Warne
Wasim Akram
Curtly Ambrose
Glenn McGrath

Gayle back in his team.

2012-06-16T00:34:00.000-07:00

Chris Gayle is set to put more than a year in the international wilderness behind him when West Indies face England in the opening match of their one-day series at Southampton on Saturday.Gayle has an impressive one-day record, with over 8,000 runs in 228 ODIS including 19 hundreds at an average of nearly 40.

But it is the manner in which the Jamaican left-hander bats that has made him one of cricket's biggest box-office draws.
Indeed when it was confirmed Gayle had made his peace with the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), ticket sales for Saturday's match quickened to the extent of ensuring a near-capacity 14,000 crowd.

At his best, the 32-year-old opener and former West Indies captain is a ferocious, if essentially orthodox, hitter who is capable of driving the world's fastest bowlers straight back over their heads for six.

A strike-rate of 83.95 is testament to Gayle's attacking approach, yet until Wednesday's warm-up match against Middlesex at Lord's he hadn't played for the West Indies for some 15 months since their World Cup quarter-final defeat by Pakistan in Dhaka.

Criticisms of coach Ottis Gibson and senior Caribbean cricket officials led to Gayle's exile by the WICB.However, a meeting earlier this month between the WICB, selectors and Gayle, brokered by Ralph Gonsalves, the Prime Minister of St Vincent, and Baldwin Spencer, the Prime Minister of Antigua, saw him restored to the squad.

Stanford in jail

2012-06-16T00:09:00.001-07:00

Allen Stanford, who bankrolled a USD 20 million T20 match between England and West Indies, has been sentenced to 110 years in prison.

The disgraced American businessman was convicted of defrauding investors.

The Texan financier was convicted of 13 charges of fraud.

He was found guilty of defrauding investors of more than USD seven billion.

The 62-year-old created quite a flutter during his association with the England and Wales Cricket Board which later became an embarrassment for the body. He was arrested in 2009 after an investigation by the United States regulators.

But Stanford has always denied any wrongdoing. He told the District Judge David Hittner at his sentencing hearing: "I did not defraud anybody".

"I'm not here to ask for sympathy or forgiveness or to throw myself at your mercy. I did not run a Ponzi scheme. I didn't defraud anybody."

Prosecutors had demanded a 230-year sentence for the businessman, 'ESPNCricinfo' reported.

Stanford signed a five-year deal with the ECB worth USD 100 million but after fraud cases against him came to light, it left the English Board red-faced.

He was knighted in 2006 but was later stripped of the title.

The greatest ODI team of all time!!

2012-06-15T23:39:00.003-07:00

In total, fans from 97 countries cast almost 600,000 votes on www.icc-cricket.com between 22 December and 2 January to make their views known as to who have been the best ODI players of the past 40 years in the key categories of opening batsmen, middle-order batsmen, wicketkeeper, spin bowlers and fast bowlers.

Three players from Australia and India, two from the West Indies and one each from South Africa, Sri Lanka and Pakistan have made the final dream XI with another Aussie named as 12th man.

The All-Time ODI Dream Team (as voted for by visitors to www.icc-cricket.com) is:

Opening batsmen: Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag (both Ind)
Middle order: Brian Lara, Viv Richards (both WI) and Ricky Ponting (Aus)
All-rounder: Kapil Dev (Ind)
Wicketkeeper: Adam Gilchrist (Aus)
Spinner: Muttiah Muralidaran (SL)
Fast bowlers: Wasim Akram (Pak), Glenn McGrath (Aus) and Allan Donald (SA)
12th man: Michael Bevan (Aus, the player who received the most number of votes without being enough to make the would-be starting XI).

Supporters had a chance to select the dream team from a shortlist of 48 players in different categories. The fans had between 22 December 2010 and 2 January 2011 to to make their selections on ICC's official website or via Facebook or Twitter.

Sachin Tendulkar

Virendar Sehwag

Kapil Dev

Adam Gilchrist

Brian Lara

Ricky Ponting

Vivian Richards

Alan Donald

Muttaiah Muralitharan

Glenn Mcgrath

Micheal Bevan

Wasim Akram

Amazing facts!!

2012-06-09T10:01:00.001-07:00

Did you know that ?

South Africans were the first to introduce TV run outs!

No one has completed an innings at the score of 228!

Graham Yallop, in 1978 was the first man to wear a helmet!

Wasim Akram is the first (an only?) man to perform a hat-trick in both one days and tests!

England and Australia played the first ever one day international at Melbourne in 1971!

Sachin Tendulkar was the first victim of the third umpire. In the Test match!

Hanif Mohammed (Pakistan) batted for 16 hours and 10 minutes - nearly 3 full days - against the West Indies, scoring 337*.

Sourav Ganguly is the only cricketer to have won four successive Man of the Match awards in One-day Internationals.

The first Test match began on 15 March 1877 and had a timeless format with four balls per over. It ended on 19 March 1877 with Australia winning by 45 runs.

The first Twenty20 international was between Australia and New Zealand in 2005.

The Test match between England and South Africa at Durban in 1939 was finally abandoned as a draw on the tenth day because England players had to catch their ship home.

There are 10 ways a batsman can be declared "out" in cricket:

Caught.
Bowled.
Leg Before Wicket.
Hit Wicket.
Timed Out (wonder what is this?).
Handling the ball.
Obstructing the field.
Hit the ball twice.
Run Out.
Stumped

"Timed Out (wonder what is this?) Timed out means a batsman can be declared out if he fails to come to the crease in 5 mins. After a batsman is out, if the next batsman takes more then 5 mins to come to the crease and the fielding team appeals, he can be declared out.

Recalling the winning moments!!

2012-06-02T10:25:00.000-07:00

Sleepless Nights, grey hairs with the same fade of beard… It was a bunch of youngsters given to me along with a GOD.. Everyone mastered their skills but I alone was failing everytime…

But when Sachin walked back into the pavilion with his face down I was upset… I quickly padded up. The whole team was looking at me and Garry alone backed my decision to move up the order.

I was not even able to run but the only thing that flashed my mind was Sachin’s childish face looking at the entire crowd ” OHH sorry, it was my mistake to leave the ground so soon”.. Will anyone like GOD putting his face down in front of his own crowd?? I cant allow that happen…

I controlled my pian and decided to go… and we had the last laugh along with the cry….”
-Mahendra Singh Dhoni

Ever heard of 'paddle broom drive'??

2012-04-23T10:17:00.001-07:00

Dhoni began to play the reverse paddle but then realised the ball was outside leg and then ended up paddling it with a reverse-paddle grip,but the ball ended up going past the keeper!!

Click to watch the video!!

The rise of A B De Villiers

2012-04-23T09:48:00.002-07:00

Abraham Benjamin de Villiers (born 17 February 1984, Pretoria, Transvaal Province, South Africa) more commonly known by his initials AB is a South African cricketer and captain of the South African One Day International (ODI) and Twenty20 teams, having succeeded Graeme Smith in both roles after the 2011 Cricket World Cup. He is also part of Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League.

De Villiers is a right-handed batsman, who, in a very short space of time, has accumulated many runs in Tests including centuries against England, India, the West Indies and Australia. He has been dismissed in the 90s on five occasions in Tests. He still holds the record for most Test innings without registering a duck (78),^[2] before being dismissed for nought against Bangladesh in November 2008. He also holds the record for the highest individual score by a South African batsman in an innings, with 278*. He is an occasional wicketkeeper for the South African cricket team, and is commonly regarded as one of the best fielders currently in international cricket. AB de Villiers blasted the seventh fastest century in ODI cricket, in 58 balls, when he slammed an unbeaten 102 off just 59 balls against India in Ahmedabad in February 2010. He reached the top of the Test Batting rankings in March 2012.

De Villiers (who played for Carrickfergus Cricket Club in Northern Ireland as a youngster) became the second youngest and second fastest South African to reach 1000 test runs after Graeme Pollock and in his test career so far De Villiers has batted, bowled and kept wicket as well.

He made his test debut as a 20 year old on 16 December 2004 against England at Port Elizabeth. He made an impression opening the batting, but was dropped down the order for the second test and also handed the wicket-keeping gloves.

De Villiers has a reputation as an outstanding fielder, typified by a diving run-out of Simon Katich of Australia in 2006, when he dived to stop the ball, and while still lying on his stomach facing away from the stumps, he tossed the ball backwards over his shoulder and effected a direct hit. This has also led people to make further comparisons of him to Jonty Rhodes as he was also one of the finest fielders of his generation.

In 2009 He was nominated for ICC Cricketer of the year and ICC Test Player of the year.

On June 6, 2011, New SA coach Gary Kirsten announced that AB de Villiers will be South Africa's new limited-overs captain

AB de Villiers is a vastly improved batsman.At 25, he has played 52 tests already. In the beginning he would keep wickets, open the batting and play those quick little cameos, but the opposition never really worried about him. But in the last year or so he has became quite a dangerous batsman.

A B de Villiers at ICC awards ceremony

In the fourth season of Indian Premier League, he was contracted by Royal Challengers Bangalore for US$1.1 million. He played for the Delhi Daredevils in the previous seasons.

In the last 2 years he averages 58 and in the last year his average is nearly 65. In the last year he has also scored 5 of his 9 career centuries, 3 of which have come in the 6 tests against Australia and 1 against India, these are the top two teams in the world with quality bowling attacks. One of his hundreds came when South Africa chased that mammoth 400 plus score in the fourth innings in Australia. The man is on the rise, and he can only get better from now on. He is only 25 and has a long career in front of him.

Batting Performance Analysis
Match Type	Matches	Innings	N.O.	Runs	HS	Avg	S/R	100s	50s	4s	6s	Ct	St
ODI	127	127	21	4,998	146	47.15	93.19	13	28	462	88	99	3
Tests	74	133	14	5,457	278	45.86	54.96	13	29	626	42	99	1
Twenty20	36	36	7	680	79	23.45	119.93		4	50	21	35

Best T20 Innings of All Time!!

2012-04-22T03:40:00.000-07:00

Richard Levi (117*)
In only his second T20 international, South African opener Richard Levi, scored a blistering ton against New Zealand in Hamilton. The 24-year-old batsman took charge in the Proteas chase of 174, and helped them reach the target with 24 balls to spare! Thanks to his effort, South Africa was able to level the two-match series after being comprehensively beaten in the first game.

He hit 13 sixes and 5 fours to end the day at 117 not out--the highest score in T20 internationals till date.

Chris Gayle (117)

It's no secret that this Jamaican cricketer is the most explosive T20 player around. While he's left his mark on popular leagues like the IPL, he's also performed exceptionally well in the maroon threads of the West Indies. On one such occasion during the inaugural ICC World T20 in 2007, Gayle batted out of his skin to score 117 runs against hosts South Africa. Thanks to his contribution, the West Indies managed to score 205 in their alloted 20 overs. Unfortunately, this total wasn't enough to outbat a strong Proteas side!

Despite coming in a losing effort, this particular knock remains one of the best T20 matches cricket has ever seen. Gayle hit 10 huge sixes and 7 boundaries during his big innings, and even won 'Man of the Match' honors for it.

Brendon McCullum (116*)

The Kiwi wicketkeeper-batsman is known to be a T20 specialist. He's lit up the scoreboard on several occasions while playing in the IPL as well as for the Black Caps. His best innings of 166 not out came against a formidable Australian bowling attack in Christchurch back in 2010. While McCullum's innings helped the Kiwis put up an impressive 214 runs on the board in 20 overs, the Aussies somehow managed to tie the game that night.

However, McCullum clearly stood out in a sea of slightly above-average performances by his teammates and opponents. He hit 8 sixes and 12 fours during his 56-ball innings!

Tillakaratne Dilshan (104*)

As captain and opener of the Sri Lankan team, Dilshan had to ensure the Australians didn't get a leg up during their 2011 tour. So he set the tone for the rest of the series in the first T20 itself by scoring a brilliant hundred. Dilshan was unstoppable that day, as he employed every shot in the book--and of course, his very own 'Dil Scoop'--to render the Aussie bowlers helpless. Sri Lanka's total of 198 was way too much for the dazed tourists to cope with, who could only manage to score 163 runs.

Dilshan just took 57 balls, 5 sixes and 12 fours to notch up his amazing individual score!

Suresh Raina (101)

The highest run getter in IPL till date, Suresh Raina, is perfectly suited for the T20 format. This southpaw has played several match-winning knocks in the abridged version of the game. However, his 60-ball 101 against South Africa in the 2010 World T20 remains one of his best innings ever. Raina's efforts helped India seal a 14-run win over the Proteas.

He hit 5 sixes and 9 fours during this Man of the Match-winning performance!

Good going for dada

2012-04-21T12:35:00.000-07:00

When the team was in huge trouble with sehwag and pietersen on fire,it was dada who took the bowl to get them back on track and end the match with a comfortable victory.

Warriors, who came into the match on the back of two successive losses, made a watchful start . Uthappa stepped on the accelerator in the third over hitting Pathan for two consecutive fours.Ryder then joined forces with Ganguly, who registered his top score this season, and with some powerful hitting took apart the Daredevils bowling unit.

Ryder then joined forces with Ganguly, who registered his top score this season, and with some powerful hitting took apart the Daredevils bowling unit.Ryder and Steven Smith (34 not out) then added 67-runs for the third wicket and scored briskly that took Pune Warriors to a position of strength.

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