Mahendra Singh Dhoni

Indian Men Failed; Women enter semifinals

2009-06-17T12:53:00.003+08:00

The semi-final line up is confirmed after the last two matches in the ICC World Twenty20 2009 tournament. India once again failed to rise its game and were handed their third defeat in as many games in the super eights stage. The first semi-finals will be played between winner of group E, South Africa, and second placed team in group F, Pakistan. Sri Lanka, winner of group F, will clash with West Indies from group E.

The schedule of semi-finals is as follows:

Jun 18: Pakistan vs South Africa
Jun 19: Sri Lanka vs West Indies

Interestingly, Pakistan is the only team to have reached the semi-finals stage of both the World T20 tournaments, in 2007 and 2009.

ICC Women's World Twenty20 2009
Nature has created men and women to complement each other. They have completely contrasting characters, beliefs and behaviour. This is completely reflected in the World Twenty20 tournament too. The countries that have qualified for the men's semi-finals have failed to reach the last four in women's tournament and vice-versa. South African men won all three matches to finish on top of the group while South African women lost all three matches to finish at bottom of the group.

While Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka and West Indies would be competing in the men's event, it is left to India, Australia, New Zealand and England in the women's tournament.

The schedule of women's semi-finals is as follows:

Jun 18: India vs New Zealand
Jun 19: England vs Australia

It could be much consolation for most of the countries, as at least one of their teams had qualified to the last four stage.

Good Bye England, Hello West Indies

2009-06-16T12:53:00.003+08:00

India have been eliminated from the World Twenty20 2009 tournament. It is a huge disappointment, no doubt, for the defending champions. But, the beauty of any sport is its unpredictability. If everyone can predict the result perfectly, then we would not be able to enjoy the game.

My Predictions went wrong
My predictions had gone wrong for the semi-finalists of the ICC World Twenty20 2009 tournament. I had predicted with confidence that South Africa, Sri Lanka and New Zealand to reach semi-finals. I have also thought the fourth spot would be a fight between India and West Indies and predicted India to edge out West Indies. But, it turns out that India had been eliminated. From the other group, either Sri Lanka or New Zealand will go through. Pakistan has surprised me completely by qualifying as the first team from group F. Sri Lanka is in a very similar situation to South Africa's position in 2007. That time, South Africa was the stronger team coming in undefeated for the last match of the super eights. India defeated them by a big margin and they were out of the tournament. Sri Lanka also comes undefeated, but they are in a must-win situation now due to their poor net run rate.

Is Dhoni to be blamed?
Everyone started to blame Dhoni for the elimination. Many of his decisions were questioned in hindsight. The decision to field first, the decision to drop Ojha and include Jadeja, sending Jadeja ahead of Yuvraj Singh and so on. It is easier said than done. I cannot but sympathize with Dhoni and Jadeja. Jadeja is a good player and he contributed in the bowling department. He picked two of the most valuable wickets, Kevin Pietersen and Ravi Bopara. Yes, he has consumed 35 deliveries for his 25. I should agree a 25 ball 25 would have been ideal. He has taken 10 extra deliveries, which could have been decisive in the end.

Jadeja at No. 4
I have to be honest. When I saw Ravindra Jadeja walking in at No. 4, I was quite happy. I thought the situation demanded some calm and cool play with good running between the wicket. Yuvraj Singh likes to be aggressive and if he fails earlier then India is gone. So, Jadeja is suited for the job and situation, but he failed to become the hero.

Instinctive Captain
Let us not forget that the margin of loss is just three runs, just one hit to the boundary. So, stop complaining and be with the team when they need you the most. We had seen Dhoni take several peculiar decisions earlier, which had paid off. Think about Joginder Sharma bowling the final over in ICC World Twenty20 2007 or bringing Piyush Chawla late in the VB series tournament in Australia. We all said Dhoni is a captain by instinct. Your instincts could fail on a day. This is one such day.

Bye Bye England, Hello West Indies
Let us forget it and move on. With the last match against South Africa today, we will bid good bye to England and start concentrating on the next series. Just ten days break before India takes on West Indies in the one-day series that begins on 26 June 2009.

Leading Wicket Takers: ICC WT20 2009

2009-06-12T13:32:00.005+08:00

The bowlers had been surprisingly effective in the shortest format of cricket. In the initial stages of Twenty20 cricket, the shortest format of cricket was believed to be a batsman's game and bowlers were just adding to the numbers. That belief is changing now and the bowlers are getting as much importance as the batsmen get. Particularly of interest is the success of spinners in T20 format. Every team is almost playing two spinners in their line-up, which was not even seen in the 50 overs format.

The following list provides the top five leading wicket takers in ICC World Twenty20 2009 tournament played in England. The list salutes the best bowlers in the tournament.

Bowler	Matches	Wickets	Average	Economy
Umar Gul Pakistan	5	12	9.16	6.28
Saeed Ajmal Pakistan	5	11	10.18	5.60
Lasith Malinga Sri Lanka	5	11	13.00	7.52
Ajantha Mendis Sri Lanka	5	10	10.00	5.55
Roelof van der Merwe South Africa	5	9	11.77	5.30

Updated on 17 June 2009 after the completion of Super Eights stage

12 June 2009: Take a look at the list. Spinners are occupying the top four slots, which shows clearly how the Twenty20 game is evolving. The spinners are among the wickets.

Leading Run Scorers: ICC WT20 2009

2009-06-11T09:30:00.006+08:00

ICC World Twenty20 2009 tournament moves into the second phase from today. The preliminary rounds are over and the super eight teams are identified. There were two upsets if we consider the team's seedings. Bangladesh, seeded No. 2 in group A, has been upset by Ireland. Australia, seeded No. 1 in group C, has been upset by West Indies.

With the tournament moving into the more competitive super eights, this article will update the top five leading run scorers of ICC World Twenty20 2009 for you. The batsman with most runs is normally considered as the best batsman of the tournament. So, here is the list of batsman with most runs in the tournament:

Batsman	Matches	Total Runs	Average	Strike Rate
Tillakaratne Dilshan Sri Lanka	5	221	44.20	140.76
AB de Villiers South Africa	5	185	46.25	160.86
Jacques Kallis South Africa	4	174	58.00	129.85
Dwayne Bravo West Indies	5	154	51.33	148.07
Kevin Pietersen England	4	154	38.50	152.47

Updated on 17 June 2009 after the completion of Super Eights stage

Schedule of Super Eights: ICC WT20

2009-06-10T10:48:00.002+08:00

Pakistan defeated Netherlands and completes the list of teams for the super eights stage in ICC World Twenty20 2009 cricket tournament held in England. The following is the schedule of matches showing the two groups in Super Eights stage:

Group E:
11 Jun: England vs South Africa
12 Jun: West Indies vs India
13 Jun: West Indies vs South Africa
14 Jun: England vs India
15 Jun: England vs West Indies
16 Jun: India vs South Africa

Group F:
11 Jun: Ireland vs New Zealand
12 Jun: Pakistan vs Sri Lanka
13 Jun: Pakistan vs New Zealand
14 Jun: Ireland vs Sri Lanka
15 Jun: Ireland vs Pakistan
16 Jun: New Zealand vs Sri Lanka

The schedule is very hectic with matches being played everyday. Teams like West Indies, England, Pakistan and Ireland have to play back to back matches with less than 24 hours between the matches.

Prediction for Semi-finals:
At this stage, I believe South Africa, Sri Lanka and New Zealand are favourites to make it to the semi-finals. The last spot may see a tough fight between India and West Indies, with India holding a slight edge over West Indies. So, my teams for the semi-finals would be South Africa, India, Sri Lanka and New Zealand. The semi-final is expected to feature South Africa-New Zealand and India-Sri Lanka.

Teams Qualified for Super Eights: WT20

2009-06-09T11:04:00.004+08:00

Update: Pakistan has qualified as the last team into the super eights after defeating Netherlands in their second group match.

The following teams have already qualified to the super eights stage of the ICC World Twenty20 2009 held in England. I have listed the qualified teams from each group with their respective seeding.

Qualifying Teams to Super Eights Stage
Group A: India (A1), Ireland (A2)
Group B: Pakistan ~~or Netherlands~~ (B1), England (B2)
Group C: West Indies (C1), Sri Lanka (C2)
Group D: New Zealand (D1), South Africa (D2)

So, seven teams have already qualified for the super eights stage. Today's match will decide the final team from group B. Pakistan is the number one seed in group B. But, if they don't beat Netherlands by a margin of at least 24 runs, they will be out of the tournament. Netherlands has a good chance to move into the super eights, but Pakistan still can come back if they get their act together.

There had been two upsets so far, one in group A and one in group C. Ireland has upset Bangladesh, the second seeded team in group A. So, Ireland takes over the seeding of Bangladesh and becomes team A2 for the super eights stage. Similarly, West Indies takes over the seeding of Australia in group C. Australia has been outplayed in both their matches, against West Indies and Sri Lanka. In fact, group C is a kind of "Group of Death" since they don't have an associate team in the group.

Super Eights stage Groups:
Group E: India (A1), England (B2), West Indies (C1), South Africa (D2)
Group F: Ireland (A2), Pakistan~~/ Netherlands~~ (B1), Sri Lanka (C2), New Zealand (D1)

It seems group E is tougher with teams like India and South Africa competing against West Indies and the hosts England. Group F looks easier. If Netherlands make it to the super eights stage, then there will be two associate nations in group F. At this moment it looks like Sri Lanka and New Zealand will make it to the semi-finals comfortably from group F.

Schedule of ICC World Twenty20 2009

2009-06-03T10:55:00.003+08:00

The following shows the schedule/ fixtures of the preliminary round cricket matches to be played in ICC World Twenty20 2009 tournament. The 12 cricket teams are split into four groups of three teams each. In the preliminary round, each team will play two matches and the top two teams from each group will qualify to the Super Eights stage.

Group A
1. June 06 - Bangladesh vs India
2. June 08 - Bangladesh vs Ireland
3. June 10 - India vs Ireland

Group B
1. June 05 - England vs Netherlands
2. June 07 - England vs Pakistan
3. June 09 - Netherlands vs Pakistan

Group C
1. June 06 - Australia vs West Indies
2. June 08 - Australia vs Sri Lanka
3. June 10 - Sri Lanka vs West Indies

Group D
1. June 06 - New Zealand vs Scotland
2. June 07 - Scotland vs South Africa
3. June 09 - New Zealand vs South Africa

ICC World Twenty20 2007: Leading Wicket Takers

2009-05-29T11:49:00.003+08:00

The bowlers have played a major role in IPL 2008 & IPL 2009. The winning teams on both occasions, Rajasthan Royals and Deccan Chargers, had in them the leading wicket takers. If Sohail Tanvir did it for Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2008, it was RP Singh for Deccan Chargers in IPL 2009. If this trend continues, then you would expect bowlers coming in handy in English conditions in ICC World Twenty20 2009.

In this article, we are going to see the best bowling performances in ICC World Twenty20 2007 held in South Africa. I am going to list the top five leading wicket takers, best bowling performances in an innings, bowlers with best bowling strike rates, bowlers who achieved best bowling averages and the most economical bowlers of the tournament.

Leading Wicket Takers
1. Umar Gul, Pakistan - 13 wickets
2. Stuart Clark, Australia - 12 wickets
3. RP Singh, India - 12 wickets
4. Shahid Afridi, Pakistan - 12 wickets
5. Daniel Vettori, New Zealand - 11 wickets

Bowlers with Best Bowling Performances
1. Mark Gillespie, New Zealand - 4 for 7 vs Kenya
2. RP Singh, India - 4 for 13 vs South Africa
3. Morne Morkel, South Africa - 4 for 17 vs New Zealand
4. Mohammad Asif, Pakistan - 4 for 18 vs India
5. Shahid Afridi, Pakistan - 4 for 19 vs Scotland

Bowlers with Best Bowling Strike Rates (Balls taken per wicket)
1. Elton Chigumbura, Zimbabwe - 6 balls
2. Darren Maddy, England - 6 balls
3. Ramnaresh Sarwan, West Indies - 6 balls
4. Hamilton Masakadza, Zimbabwe - 6 balls
5. Jimmy Kamande, Kenya - 8 balls

Bowlers with Best Bowling Averages (Runs given per wicket)
1. Ramnaresh Sarwan, West Indies - 5.00
2. Elton Chigumbura, Zimbabwe - 7.28
3. Darren Maddy, England - 8.66
4. Shaoib Malik, Pakistan - 9.00
5. Hamilton Masakadza, Zimbabwe - 9.00

Bowlers with Best Economy Rates (Runs per Over)
1. Ramnaresh Sarwan, West Indies - 5.00
2. Yusuf Pathan, India - 5.00
3. Daniel Vettori, New Zealand - 5.33
4. Chris Gayle, West Indies - 5.50
5. Chamara Silva, Sri Lanka - 5.50

Leading Run Scorers: ICC World Twenty20 2007

2009-05-28T07:57:00.003+08:00

ICC World Twenty20 was first held in South Africa in 2007. India entered the Twenty20 arena with not much background in the shorter format of cricket. They too went in with a new skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and a relatively youth team, that missed the experience of players like Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman and Anil Kumble. But they managed to lift the trophy beating off stiff competition from arch rivals Pakistan, who came very close twice but failed to overcome India.

In this article, I have compiled the list of best batsmen in the ICC World Twenty20 2007. The list includes the top five leading run scorers, highest individual scores in an innings, most sixes hit by batsmen, best batting strike rates and best batting averages.

Top Five Leading Run Scorers
1. Matthew Hayden, Australia - 265 runs
2. Gautam Gambhir, India - 227 runs
3. Misbah-Ul-Haq, Pakistan - 218 runs
4. Shaoib Malik, Pakistan - 195 runs
5. Kevin Pietersen, England - 178 runs

Highest Individual Scores
1. Chris Gayle, West Indies - 117 runs
2. Herschelle Gibbs, South Africa - 90 not out
3. Justin Kemp, South Africa - 89 not out
4. Sanath Jayasuriya, Sri Lanka - 88
5. Kevin Pietersen, England - 79

Best Batting Averages (Most Consistent Batsmen)
1. Brendon Taylor, Zimbabwe - 107.00
2. Matthew Hayden, Australia - 88.33
3. Justin Kemp, South Africa - 86.50
4. Zunaed Siddique, Bangladesh - 71.00
5. Chris Gayle, West Indies - 58.50

Best Batting Strike Rates (Quick Scorers)
1. Shahid Afridi, Pakistan - 197.83
2. Chris Gayle, West Indies - 195.00
3. Yuvraj Singh, India - 194.74
4. Mohammed Ashraful, Bangladesh - 181.25
5. Craig McMillan, New Zealand - 181.11

* Only Batsmen who have faced at least 25 deliveries in the tournament has been considered in the above list

Batsmen with Most Sixes (Most Aggressive Batsmen)
1. Craig McMillan, New Zealand - 13
2. Yuvraj Singh, India - 12
3. Matthew Hayden, Australia - 10
4. Justin Kemp, South Africa - 10
5. Imran Nazir, Pakistan - 10

Indian Squad for ICC World Twenty20 2009

2009-05-26T15:58:00.004+08:00

ICC World Twenty20 2009 (WT20) is going to be held in England, in about a week's time from now. The Indians are coming to the Twenty20 tournament fresh from the just concluded Indian Premier League (IPL 2009), which also belongs to the twenty overs a side format. Will they be fresh or tired? I am not sure. The results will show. I hope the match experience in South Africa would have prepared them well.

Below is the list of Indian players selected for the ICC World Twenty20 tournament:

1. Virender Sehwag (Vice captain)
2. Gautam Gambhir
3. Suresh Raina
4. Yuvraj Singh
5. Rohit Sharma
6. Yusuf Pathan
7. Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Captain & Wicket-keeper)
8. Irfan Pathan
9. Harbhajan Singh
10. Zaheer Khan
11. RP Singh
12. Ravindra Jadeja
13. Praveen Kumar
14. Pragyan Ojha
15. Ishant Sharma

Mahendra Singh Dhoni will be leading the team in the World Twenty20 for the second time, following his success in the first edition held in South Africa. Virender Sehwag will be his deputy.

Format of ICC World Twenty20 2009

2009-05-26T11:55:00.005+08:00

ICC World Twenty20 2009 cricket tournament feature 12 teams in the men's tournament and eight teams in the women's competition. The following is the grouping of teams in the men's event:

Men's Event Grouping
Group A: India (A1), Bangladesh (A2), Ireland
Group B: Pakistan (B1), England (B2), Netherlands
Group C: Australia (C1), Sri Lanka (C2), West Indies
Group D: New Zealand (D1), South Africa (D2), Scotland

The symbol within the brackets indicate the seeding of the respective team. A1 means India is ranked number one in Group A. Bangladesh is ranked second in group A, so it is A2. Teams like Ireland, Netherlands, West Indies and Scotland are unseeded.

Preliminary Stage
The teams will play each other within the group once and the top two teams from each group will qualify for the Super Eights stage. As such, each group will have three matches. At group stage, there will be 12 matches in all.

Irrespective of where the teams finish within the group, they will carry over their seeding. If an unseeded team enters the Super Eights stage, then they will take over the seeding of the team that is eliminated.

Super Eight Groups:
Group E: A1, B2, C1, D2
Group F: A2, B1, C2, D1

In the Super Eights stage, each team will play the other team within the group once and the top two teams from each group will clash in the semifinals. At the Super Eights stage, there will be 12 matches again.

Semi-finals:
1st Match: Winner of Group E (E1) vs Runner-up in Group F (F2)
2nd Match: Winner of Group F (F1) vs Runner-up in Group E (E2)

So, ICC World Twenty20 2009 Men's Event will have 27 matches, which will be played from 05 June 2009 with the finals on 21 June 2009.

Can Chennai Super Kings Reach Semifinals?

2009-05-20T13:16:00.003+08:00

Can Chennai Super Kings make it to the semi-finals of IPL 2009? The recent loss of Chennai Super Kings to Kolkata Knight Riders has prevented them to make it comfortably. But, in all likelihood, they should qualify. For them not to qualify from here, it needs almost everything go against them.

Current Standing:
Delhi Daredevils - 18 pts (Qualified for semi-finals)
Chennai Super Kings - 15 pts
Deccan Chargers - 14 pts
Royal Challengers Bangalore - 14 pts
Kings XI Punjab - 14 pts
Rajasthan Royals - 13 pts
Mumbai Indians - 11 pts (Out of contention for semi-finals)
Kolkata Knight Riders - 5 pts (Out of contention for semi-finals)

Five teams are competing for three available semi-final berths. All of them have a game each in hand.

Remaining Matches:
1. Kolkata Knight Riders vs Rajasthan Royals
2. Chennai Super Kings vs Kings XI Punjab
3. Delhi Daredevils vs Mumbai Indians (Only match in IPL that is to be played without any interest, as Delhi has already made it to the semis and Mumbai is already out of contention)
4. Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Deccan Chargers (Effectively, a quarter-final match. The winner is assured of a place in semi-finals)

So, that makes it three important matches in two days that will decide the remaining three semi-finalists.

How Chennai Super Kings can Qualify for semi-finals?
Theoretically, Chennai is yet to qualify. But, I believe that they made it. The best way to qualify is to beat Kings XI Punjab today and retain the second spot with 17 points. Let us look at the worst scenario for Chennai.

Match #1: Rajasthan wins
Match #2: Chennai loses
Match #3: Result Irrelevant
Match #4: Either Deccan wins or Bangalore wins

With this scenario, Kings XI Punjab will go through along with the winner of match #4, both teams on 16 points. Rajasthan and Chennai will be tied on 15 points and net run rate will decide. Currently, Chennai has a net run rate of +0.932 compared to Rajasthan Royals' -0.360. So, it needs a huge win by Rajasthan combined with huge loss by Chennai for Rajasthan to go up in terms of net run rate. Let me explain how big the win/ loss should be:

Let us say, Rajasthan bats first, scores 240 runs and restricts Kolkata to just 100 runs. Rajasthan wins by a margin of 140 runs. For discussion sake, let us say the reverse happens to Chennai. That means, Kings XI Punjab beats Chennai by a margin of 140 runs. With such huge margin in two games, Chennai will have a NRR of +0.317 and Rajasthan will still be behind with +0.216.

Chennai, in my opinion, should qualify without much fuss.

Chanderpaul Behind Lara in Test Matches

2009-05-18T11:23:00.003+08:00

Shivnarine Chanderpaul became the second highest run scorer in test matches for West Indies. Chanderpaul moved ahead of Sir Viv Richards to take the second spot in the list of most runs in test matches for West Indies. Chanderpaul has accumulated 8547 runs in 121 test matches. Viv Richards also took the same number of matches to score 8540 runs, but he needed only 182 innings compared to Chanderpaul's 206.

The following is the list of top five West Indies batsmen with most runs in test match cricket:

1. Brian Lara - 11912 runs
2. Shivnarine Chanderpaul - 8547 runs
3. Sir Viv Richards - 8540 runs
4. Sir Garry Sobers - 8032 runs
5. Gordon Greenidge - 7558 runs

Chanderpaul has been the mainstay and Mr. Dependable for West Indies for almost a decade now. He has scored 21 centuries and 52 half-centuries. Chanderpaul also holds the record for most number of half-centuries by West Indies batsman in test match cricket.

Gilchrist Individual Scores in IPL 2009

2009-05-13T22:10:00.006+08:00

Adam Gilchrist, the captain of Deccan Chargers, is an influential leader who brought a refreshing change to the approach of the last year's tailenders. His aggressive batting combined with brilliant wicket-keeping has always kept Australia in an advantageous position. Now, Deccan Chargers are the beneficiaries of his skills. Will he go on to lead the Deccan Chargers to the semi-finals? We are not sure yet. But, certainly, Gilly will do his best.

Here are the individual scores of Adam Gilchrist in IPL 2009, listed match by match:

1. vs Chennai Super Kings:	44 (19 balls)
2. vs Chennai Super Kings:	0 (1 ball)
3. vs Mumbai Indians:	35 (20 balls)
4. vs Mumbai Indians:	25 (29 balls)
5. vs Kolkata Knight Riders:	13 (11 balls)
6. vs Kolkata Knight Riders:	43 (31 balls)
7. vs Royal Challengers Bangalore:	71 (45 balls)
8. vs Royal Challengers Bangalore:	15 (18 balls)
9. vs Royal Challengers Bangalore (Final) :	0 (3 balls)
10. vs Delhi Daredevils:	8 (5 balls)
11. vs Delhi Daredevils:	64 (33 balls)
12. vs Delhi Daredevils (Semi-final):	85 (35 balls)
13. vs Rajasthan Royals:	39 (35 balls)
14. vs Rajasthan Royals:	10 (11 balls)
15. vs Kings XI Punjab:	20 (16 balls)
16. vs Kings XI Punjab:	23 (13 balls)

Adam Gilchrist finished as the second highest run scorer in IPL 2009, behind fellow Australian Matthew Hayden. Gilly is instrumental in taking the bottom-most team in IPL 2008 to win the trophy in IPL 2009. His powerful 85 from just 35 balls threw the favourites Delhi Daredevils out of the tournament in the first semi-finals. He was dismissed for no score in the finals, but that did not stop Deccan Chargers from winning the tournament.

Adam Gilchrist finished with 495 runs from 16 matches at an average of 30.93 and strike rate of 152.30. Gilchrist's strike rate is the best in IPL 2009 for players who have scored at least 250 runs in the tournament.

Sachin Tendulkar Scores in IPL 2009

2009-05-13T11:27:00.007+08:00

Sachin Tendulkar is the captain of Mumbai Indians team in Indian Premier League (IPL). The team depends a lot on Sachin Tendulkar to provide a solid and sound opening to the innings. The below list shows the runs scored by Sachin Tendulkar in each match of IPL 2009:

1. vs Chennai Super Kings:	59 not out (49 balls)
2. vs Rajasthan Royals:	Match abandoned
3. vs Deccan Chargers:	36 (27 balls)
4. vs Kolkata Knight Riders:	68 (45 balls)
5. vs Kings XI Punjab:	01 (06 balls)
6. vs Kolkata Knight Riders:	34 (30 balls)
7. vs Royal Challengers Bangalore:	11 (11 balls)
8. vs Deccan Chargers:	02 (04 balls)
9. vs Delhi Daredevils:	15 (14 balls)
10. vs Royal Challengers Bangalore:	00 (03 balls)
11. vs Kings XI Punjab:	41 (29 balls)
12. vs Rajasthan Royals:	40 (30 balls)
13. vs Chennai Super Kings:	11 (14 balls)
14. vs Delhi Daredevils:	46 (41 balls)

Currently (after 11 matches), he is the second highest scorer for Mumbai Indians, just behind South African sensation JP Duminy.

Sachin Tendulkar has overtaken JP Duminy to be the highest scorer for Mumbai Indians, with 307 runs (after 12 matches)

Final Update
Sachin Tendulkar finished with 364 runs, the second highest run scorer for Mumbai Indians, just behind JP Duminy's tally of 372 runs. Sachin's runs came at an average of 33.09 at a strike rate of 120.13.

Sachin would be very disappointed with the overall performance of Mumbai Indians, the team that promised too much at the beginning but disappeared near the end. Mumbai Indians, finishing seventh in the table, once again failed to make it to the semi-finals of IPL. The other team below Mumbai Indians, Kolkata Knight Riders, is the only other team that has failed to reach semi-finals stage in either of the two editions of IPL.

KKR Cannot Reach IPL 2009 Semifinals

2009-05-12T13:09:00.004+08:00

Can Kolkata Knight Riders still reach the semi-finals of IPL 2009? I don't think so. I think they have become the first team to be out of contention for the semi-finals. In my article yesterday, titled "Can Kolkata reach Semifinals?", I told that Deccan Chargers should lose all their remaining matches. But, in yesterday's match, Deccan Chargers beat Rajasthan Royals quite convincingly. And that win has eliminated Kolkata Knight Riders from the race for the semi-finals.

Current Points table
Delhi Daredevils - 14
Chennai Super Kings - 13
Deccan Chargers - 12
Rajasthan Royals - 11
Kings XI Punjab - 10
Mumbai Indians - 9
Royal Challengers Bangalore - 8
Kolkata Knight Riders - 3

Interesting arrangement as the top seven teams are separated by a single point each. The tournament is so competitive that any of the four teams from the top seven can qualify to the next stage.

Status of KKR
With just four games in hand, Kolkata can finish with 11 points at the most considering optimistically that they win all the remaining games. So, it is clear that they cannot challenge Delhi Daredevils, Chennai Super Kings and Deccan Chargers. So, the only way for them to qualify to the next stage is to move above the other four teams. It is not possible, even theoretically, now. Let me explain why.

Just consider two of the 16 remaining games,
Kings XI Punjab vs Mumbai Indians and
Rajasthan Royals vs Mumbai Indians.

Scenario #1:
Match #1: Kings XI Punjab beats Mumbai Indians - Kings XI will have 12 points and KKR are eliminated.
Other results are irrelevant to KKR

Scenario #2:
Match #2: Rajasthan Royals beats Mumbai Indians - Rajasthan will have 13 points and KKR eliminated.
Other results are irrelevant to KKR

Scenario #3:
Match #1: Mumbai Indians beats KXIP - MI will have 11 points.
Match #2: Mumbai Indians beats RR: MI will have 13 points and KKR eliminated.

Scenario #4:
Match #1: Washed out - MI - 10 points.
Match #2: If MI beats RR, MI will move up with 12 pts; If RR beats MI, RR will move up with 13 pts; KKR eliminated.

Scenario #5:
Match #2: Washed out - RR will move up with 12 points
Other results are irrelevant to KKR

So, it is clear that Kolkata Knight Riders had been knocked out of the tournament. Hope they put up a good show in the remaining matches and provide some interesting matches. Kolkata Knight Riders started off the season with controversy and finishes off the season silently. Better luck next time.

IPL 2009: Can Kolkata reach semifinals?

2009-05-11T13:05:00.004+08:00

Kolkata Knight Riders lost yet another match in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2009 held in South Africa. They lost their recent match to table leaders Delhi Daredevils. With just one win from 10 matches, can Kolkata Knight Riders still make it to the semi-finals stage? While it is highly unlikely, there is still hope, at least, theoretically.

Current Status of IPL teams:
Kolkata Knight Riders has gained two points from their win against Kings XI Punjab and one point from the rain-washed out game against Chennai Super Kings. That makes it three points for them and leaves them at the bottom of the table. Let us look at the points table, as of now:

Delhi Daredevils - 14
Chennai Super Kings -13
Rajasthan Royals - 11
Deccan Chargers - 10
Kings XI Punjab - 10
Mumbai Indians - 9
Royal Challengers Bangalore - 8
Kolkata Knight Riders - 3

Possible Scenario for KKR:
(1) The game between Deccan Chargers and Kings XI Punjab is washed out and they share a point each.
(2) Deccan Chargers and Kings XI Punjab lose all their remaining games.
(3) Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians do not win more than a game each.
(4) Kolkata Knight Riders win all the remaining 4 matches convincingly

If all these happens, it will leave four teams with 11 points each. Kolkata Knight Riders will qualify over the other three teams Deccan Chargers, Kings XI Punjab and Mumbai Indians by means of better net run rate.

All these happening together is highly impossible, particularly the first condition is in the hands of nature. There are other possible scenarios, which are much more unlikely.

Conclusion
So, effectively, Kolkata Knight Riders are out of the tournament unless few miracles happen from now on. In my opinion, the competition for semi-final spots have been reduced to just seven teams.

Chennai Team for Deccan Chargers Match

2009-05-04T13:18:00.003+08:00

Chennai Super Kings will be playing Deccan Chargers, the current leaders of IPL 2009, in today's match. Chennai Super Kings is upbeat from their comprehensive win against last year champion Rajasthan Royals and a close win against Delhi Daredevils. Deccan Chargers has been put off track a little from their two losses after four consecutive wins. Interestingly, the same two teams that lost to Chennai Super Kings have beaten Deccan Chargers recently. Yes, Deccan Chargers had lost to Delhi Daredevils and Rajasthan Royals.

Positive Changes for Chennai Super Kings
Chennai has made few changes in the last two matches to the team and the batting order that helped to restore some balance in the team.

1. Parthiv Patel was dropped and Murali Vijay replaced him as opener. Since Dhoni is wicket keeping, Vijay is a better option as opener. Sunil Gavaskar, in his commentary, said that Vijay is a test player. But, its fine for me if he can score 20 runs from 20 balls and gets out. Most importantly, he should be able to rotate strike with Hayden and score at not less than a run a ball.

2. Manpreet Gony was dropped and Tyagi came in his place. Tyagi bowled very well in the last two matches. His two wickets off two balls was crucial in Chennai taking an upper hand early in the match against Delhi Daredevils. The highlight is the first ball dismissal of AB de Villiers, the batsman who scored an unbeaten century the last time these two teams met.

3. Joginder Sharma was dropped finally and in came spinner Shadab Jakati in his place. What a match he had? He picked four wickets and set the match Chennai's way. He bowled a beauty to dismiss Tillakaratne Dilshan. The combination of Jakati and Murali should work well for Chennai Super Kings.

4. Badrinath was promoted to No.4 and he played exceptionally well in the last two matches. Badrinath was clueless when he came late in the innings, but he played crucial partnerships with Suresh Raina when he was promoted.

Team for Today's Match
It might look like Chennai has found the right combination and balance for the rest of the tournament. But, I still see their bowling a weak link in spite of their victories. I would prefer one more change to this line-up, bringing in Makhaya Ntini at the expense of Jacob Oram or Albie Morkel. Both these all-rounders have failed with the bat, but Albie Morkel bowled well in the last two matches. So, I would prefer to leave Jacob Oram for Ntini.

Remember that Deccan Chargers is heavily dependent on Adam Gilchrist and Herschelle Gibbs at the top. The way they went after Chennai bowlers has won the match for them in the first meeting between these two teams in IPL 2009. A bowler of the calibre of Ntini would be ideal to contain the explosive batsmen.

If the team management feels that bringing in Ntini will expose the tail too early, drop Albie Morkel and bring in hard hitting youngster George Bailey in his place. We just saw how Warner can take the match away from the opposition. Why not give George Bailey a chance? After all, Albie Morkel did not play well so far. George Bailey might provide the much needed support to the consistently failing middle order. Chennai should be able to handle the bowling well with Ntini and Tyagi opening, followed by Murali, Jakati, Raina and Balaji in the middle overs.

My team for today's match would be:

1. Matthew Hayden
2. Murali Vijay
3. Suresh Raina
4. Badrinath
5. Mahendra Singh Dhoni
6. Albie Morkel/ George Bailey
7. Shadab Jakati
8. L Balaji
9. Tyagi
10. Mutthiah Muralidaran
11. Makhaya Ntini

IPL 2009: Best Bowling Performances

2009-05-02T19:59:00.013+08:00

IPL 2009 proved that Twenty20 is not a pure batsman game. The bowlers have played equal part in the tournament so far. The contest between the bat and ball had produced some interesting and gripping contests in IPL 2009. The batsmen had to play good cricket to score runs. Naturally, experience had come in handy. So, experienced players like Hayden, Tendulkar, Gibbs and Gilchrist are among the leading run scorers in IPL 2009.

Below is the list of the top five best bowling performances in IPL 2009:

Anil Kumble (Royal Challengers Bangalore) - 5 for 5 vs Rajasthan Royals

Rohit Sharma (Deccan Chargers) - 4 for 6 vs Mumbai Indians

Rajat Bhatia (Delhi Daredevils) - 4 for 15 vs Deccan Chargers

Anil Kumble (Royal Challengers Bangalore) - 4 for 16 vs Deccan Chargers in Finals

Harbhajan Singh (Mumbai Indians) - 4 for 17 vs Delhi Daredevils

Why Joginder Sharma playing fo Chennai Super Kings?

2009-04-30T09:03:00.005+08:00

Why Joginder Sharma is playing for Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2009? I cannot understand the logic behind including Joginder Sharma if you are not going to allow him to bowl. I listed below the contributions of Joginder Sharma so far in the matches played by Chennai Super Kings:

Match #1 Vs Mumbai Indians:
Joginder Sharma's bowling figures 4-0-25-1. He is the most economical bowler of the five bowlers Chennai Super Kings used. Joginder Sharma scored 16 runs off 15 balls and remained unbeaten. I felt that the team management made a mistake of sending Joginder ahead of Thilan Thushara.

Match #2 Vs Bangalore Royal Challengers:
Did not bat. Bowled just one over, gave away 10 runs and accounted for the wicket of Virat Kohli.

Match #3 Vs Delhi Daredevils:
Bowled just one over and gave away 8 runs. Scored 4 runs off 3 balls.

Match #4 Vs Kolkata Knight Riders:
Match abandoned due to rain.

Match #5 Vs Deccan Chargers:
Did not bat. Bowled just one over that went for 14 runs.

Conclusion
It is clearly evident that Joginder Sharma is not in the team's scheme of things. He has bowled just one over in each of the last three matches. If he is not going to be used as a bowler, why should you pick him in the team? It is time for Chennai to sit down and make their strategy clear for the rest of the matches. Further time lost would mean Chennai Super Kings is just adding to the number of the teams. Will they come good against Shane Warne led Rajasthan Royals today?

World Cup 2011: India, SL and Bangladesh to host

2009-04-28T16:22:00.003+08:00

Cricket World Cup 2011 will be held in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. The one-day international tournament will not be co-hosted by Pakistan, following the terrorist attack on Sri Lankan cricketers in Lahore. Pakistan were due to co-host the prestigious event; but the uncertain security situation has forced ICC to strip the hosting rights.

The 14 matches originally scheduled in Pakistan has been re-allocated to India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. The re-allocation of matches to the three countries is as follows:

India - 29 matches (including the final, one semi-final and one quarter-final)
Sri Lanka - 12 matches (including one semi-final and one quarter-final)
Bangladesh - 8 matches (including two quarter-finals)

Flintoff's Injury: Good for CSK?

2009-04-27T11:48:00.004+08:00

Andrew Flintoff has been injured and will not be available for the rest of the IPL 2009 season for Chennai Super Kings. I read that it is a setback to Chennai Super Kings. Is it so? I don't believe it. Yes, Andrew Flintoff is a star; but, he failed miserably in the tournament so far. I personally feel that he did not live up to the expectations. He failed in the bowling department and did not contribute significantly in the batting department either.

Flintoff's Contribution in IPL 2009
In the match against Mumbai Indians, Flintoff returned with figures of 4-0-44-1. His economy rate of 11.0 is the worst among the Chennai Super Kings bowlers. He was sent at No. 4 to help in the chase, but he scored a mere 24 runs from 23 deliveries. Chennai Super Kings' loss can be attributed to one primary reason, Abishek Nayyar's cameo of 35 runs that included three sixes of one Andrew Flintoff over.

He did better in the match against Bangalore Royal Challengers, scoring 22 runs from 13 deliveries and returning bowling figures of 3-0-11-1. But, considering that Royal Challengers failure against almost all opposition, you cannot read much into those figures.

In the match against Delhi Daredevils, Flintoff again became the most expensive bowler from Chennai and finished with figures of 4-0-50-1. AB de Villiers tore him apart in the penultimate over, which produced 22 runs, with a couple of sixes and fours. When Flintoff walked into bat, Chennai Super Kings had a good chance of winning the match. But, his boring 16 runs off 17 balls did not help.

What can Chennai do?
Chennai should take the exit of Andrew Flintoff as positive and relook into their available resources. With Hayden, Albie Morkel and Murali almost secured their place, we need to select one foreign player from Jacob Oram, Makhaya Ntini, George Bailey and Thilan Thushara. It is easier to choose Jacob Oram in place of Flintoff, as he is a better all-rounder of the available four. But, that would weaken the bowling.

Dhoni should also drop Joginder Sharma, who is not really fitting into the scheme of things. With the middle order failing regularly, it would be better to bring in a regular batsman like Murali Vijay and include Makhaya Ntini as a bowler.

My team for today's match against Deccan Chargers would be:
1. Matthew Hayden
2. Parthiv Patel
3. Suresh Raina
4. Mahendra Singh Dhoni
5. Albie Morkel
6. S Badrinath
7. Murali Vijay
8. M Gony
9. L Balaji
10. Murali
11. Makhaya Ntini

IPL 2009: Most Sixes Batsmen List

2009-04-24T13:52:00.018+08:00

IPL 2009 is finally came to life with two exciting matches played yesterday. Chennai Super Kings had come very close to Delhi Daredevils' imposing total of 190 runs. Knocks from AB de Villiers, Dilshan, Hayden and Raina kept the stadium alive. The second match between Rajasthan Royals and Kolkata Knight Riders went one step ahead by producing the first tied match of IPL. Yusuf Pathan and Shane Warne's favourite bowler Kamran Khan earned Rajasthan Royals their first win during the "Super Over", which is used to break the tie between the teams.

Here, I am going to list the batsmen with most sixes in IPL 2009. It is an indication of the aggression from batsmen and this list gives you an idea of the most aggressive batsmen of IPL 2009. The list contains the top five leading batsmen in terms of number of sixes hit:

Adam Gilchrist (Deccan Chargers) - 24

Matthew Hayden (Chennai Super Kings) - 21

Suresh Raina (Chennai Super Kings) - 20

Rohit Sharma (Deccan Chargers) - 17

Yuvraj Singh (Kings XI Punjab) - 16

Results are updated until Match #52

IPL 2009: Player of the match list

2009-04-22T07:44:00.031+08:00

The following is the list of man of the match/ player of the match awards given for each game in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2009. The player of the match award recognizes mainly the player's contribution to the winning team. I personally feel that the man of the match award is lopsided and batsmen are the favourites to the award. The bowlers get the award only when they perform exceptionally well. Let us see how it goes in IPL 2009. Here is the list:

1	Chennai Super Kings vs Mumbai Indians	Sachin Tendulkar (MI)
2	Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Rajasthan Royals	Rahul Dravid (RCB)
3	Delhi Daredevils vs Kings XI Punjab	Daniel Vettori (DD)
4	Deccan Chargers vs Kolkata Knight Riders	RP Singh (DC)
5	Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Chennai Super Kings	Muthiah Muralitharan (CSK)
6	Kings XI Punjab vs Kolkata Knight Riders	Chris Gayle (KKR)
7	Mumbai Indians vs Rajasthan Royals	Match abandoned due to rain
8	Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Deccan Chargers	Adam Gilchrist (DC)
9	Delhi Daredevils vs Chennai Super Kings	AB de Villiers (DD)
10	Rajasthan Royals vs Kolkata Knight Riders	Yusuf Pathan (RR)
11	Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Kings XI Punjab	Ravi Bopara (KXIP)
12	Deccan Chargers vs Mumbai Indians	Pragyan Ojha (DC)
13	Chennai Super Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders	Match abandoned due to rain
14	Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Delhi Daredevils	Tillakaratne Dilshan (DD)
15	Kings XI Punjab vs Rajasthan Royals	Kumar Sangakkara (KXIP)
16	Chennai Super Kings vs Deccan Chargers	Herschelle Gibbs (DC)
17	Kolkata Knight Riders vs Mumbai Indians	Sachin Tendulkar (MI)
18	Delhi Daredevils vs Rajasthan Royals	Yusuf Pathan (RR)
19	Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Kolkata Knight Riders	Mark Boucher (RCB)
20	Kings XI Punjab vs Mumbai Indians	Kumar Sangakkara (KXIP)
21	Deccan Chargers vs Delhi Daredevils	Dirk Nannes (DD)
22	Chennai Super Kings vs Rajasthan Royals	Suresh Raina (CSK)
23	Kolkata Knight Riders vs Mumbai Indians	JP Duminy (MI)
24	Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Kings XI Punjab	Yuvraj Singh (KXIP)
25	Deccan Chargers vs Rajasthan Royals	Yusuf Pathan (RR)
26	Chennai Super Kings vs Delhi Daredevils	Shadab Jakati (CSK)
27	Kings XI Punjab vs Kolkata Knight Riders	Mahela Jayawardene (KXIP)
28	Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Mumbai Indians	Jacques Kallis (RCB)
29	Chennai Super Kings vs Deccan Chargers	Mahendra Singh Dhoni (CSK)
30	Kings XI Punjab vs Rajasthan Royals	Graeme Smith (RR)
31	Delhi Daredevils vs Kolkata Knight Riders	Gautam Gambhir (DD)
32	Deccan Chargers vs Mumbai Indians	Rohit Sharma (DC)
33	Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Rajasthan Royals	Amit Singh (RR)
34	Chennai Super Kings vs Kings XI Punjab	Matthew Hayden (CSK)
35	Delhi Daredevils vs Mumbai Indians	Ashish Nehra (DD)
36	Deccan Chargers vs Kings XI Punjab	Mahela Jayawardene (KXIP)
37	Chennai Super Kings vs Rajasthan Royals	S Badrinath (CSK)
38	Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Mumbai Indians	JP Duminy (MI)
39	Delhi Daredevils vs Kolkata Knight Riders	Amit Mishra (DD)
40	Deccan Chargers vs Rajasthan Royals	Dwayne Smith (DC)
41	Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Kolkata Knight Riders	Ross Taylor (RCB)
42	Kings XI Punjab vs Mumbai Indians	Harbhajan Singh (MI)
43	Deccan Chargers vs Delhi Daredevils	Rajat Bhatia (DD)
44	Chennai Super Kings vs Royal Challengers Bangalore	Ross Taylor (RCB)
45	Mumbai Indians vs Rajasthan Royals	Shane Warne (RR)
46	Delhi Daredevils vs Kings XI Punjab	Brett Lee (KXIP)
47	Chennai Super Kings vs Mumbai Indians	Matthew Hayden (CSK)
48	Deccan Chargers vs Kolkata Knight Riders	Rohit Sharma (DC)
49	Deccan Chargers vs Kings XI Punjab	Yuvraj Singh (KXIP)
50	Delhi Daredevils vs Rajasthan Royals	AB de Villiers (DD)
51	Chennai Super Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders	Brad Hodge (KKR)
52	Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Delhi Daredevils	Jacques Kallis (RCB)
53	Kolkata Knight Riders vs Rajasthan Royals
54	Chennai Super Kings vs Kings XI Punjab
55	Delhi Daredevils vs Mumbai Indians
56	Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Deccan Chargers

Update after Match #52:
Jacques Kallis became the eleventh player to win two man of the match awards so far in IPL 2009 tournament.

Update after Match #50:
Matthew Hayden, Rohit Sharma, Yuvraj Singh and AB de Villiers became the seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth player, repectively, in IPL 2009 to win two man of the match awards so far in the tournament. Yuvraj Singh also became the first player in IPL to record two hat-tricks of wickets. As he said himself in the match presentation, Yuvraj Singh may have to start bowling more than batting.

Update after Match #45:
Ross Taylor became the sixth player in IPL 2009 to win two man of the match awards so far in the tournament.

Update after Match #39:
Mahela Jayawardene and JP Duminy became the fourth and fifth player, respectively, in IPL 2009 to win two man of the match awards so far in the tournament.

Update after Match #32:
Rohit Sharma became the second player in IPL 2009 to pick a hat-trick of wickets. His spell of 4 for 6 and knock of 38 runs at almost a run a ball earned him the man of the match.

Graeme Smith also became the first player from Rajsthan Royals to win the man of the match award other than Yusuf Pathan. In all the three previous occasions, Yusuf Pathan was the man of the match from Rajasthan Royals side.

Update after Match #26:
Yusuf Pathan became the first player in IPL 2009 to win three man of the match awards so far in the tournament. Yusuf Pathan has won all the man of the match awards that went to Rajasthan Royals.

Update after Match #20:
Kumar Sangakkara became the third player in IPL 2009 to win two man of the match awards so far in the tournament.

Update after Match #18:
Yusuf Pathan follows Sachin Tendulkar to lift two man of the match awards in IPL 2009 for Rajasthan Royals.

Update after Match #17:
Sachin Tendulkar became the first player in IPL 2009 to win two player of the match awards.

IPL 2009: Highest Individual Scores

2009-04-21T14:59:00.027+08:00

The following is the list of top five individual scores in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2009. The short format of the game provides an opportunity for batsman to play match-winning knocks, like Brendon McCullum's 150+ score in the opening game of IPL 2008. While much have been said about the Twenty20 game as youngsters paradise, we had seen some solid performances from old warhorses, like Sachin Tendulkar, Matthew Hayden and Rahul Dravid. I will be updating this list regularly during the progress of IPL 2009.

105* - AB de Villiers, Delhi Daredevils against Chennai Super Kings

98 - Suresh Raina, Chennai Super Kings against Rajasthan Royals

89 - Matthew Hayden, Chennai Super Kings against Kings XI Punjab

84* - Brendon McCullum, Kolkata Knight Riders against Royal Challengers Bangalore

84 - Ravi Bopara, Kings XI Punjab against Royal Challengers Bangalore

Movements in the Top Five Individual Scores
Results are updated after Match #52: No further changes. With the tournament nearing the end, it looks like AB de Villiers will remain the only player with a century.

Results are updated after Match #45: No changes to the high individual scores list.

Results are updated after Match #43: Kolkata Knight Riders captain Brendon McCullum finally provided a good performance that puts him in the fourth position in the above list.

Results are updated after Match #40: No changes to the high individual scores list.

Results are updated after Match #39: Matthew Hayden moved into the top five scores with a brilliant knock of 89 against Kings XI Punjab. AB de Villiers still remains the lone centurion in IPL 2009.

Results are updated after Match #32: Graeme Smith has shown glimpses of getting back into form with a powerful 77 that ensured Rajasthan Royals post the first 200+ score in IPL 2009. On the other hand, Morne van Wyk's knock could not revive Kolkata Knight Riders fortune in IPL 2009.

Results are updated after Match #29: No changes to the high individual scores list.

Results are updated after Match #28: No changes to the high individual scores list. AB de Villiers still remains the only centurion in IPL 2009.

Results are updated after Match #26: No changes to the high individual scores list.

Results are updated after Match #24: Suresh Raina moves to the second spot after his match winning knock of 98 against Rajasthan Royals. Brad Hodge moves into the fourth spot with his 73 that almost pulled off a victory against Mumbai Indians.

Results are updated after Match #20: No changes to the high individual scores list.

Results are updated after Match #18: No changes to the high individual scores list.

Results are updated after Match #17: Herschelle Gibbs and Sachin Tendulkar stormed into the top five thanks to their match-winning knocks against Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders respectively. Tillakaratne Dilshan and Rahul Dravid falls out of the top scores list.

Results are updated after Match #15: Tillakaratne Dilshan moves into the top five after powering Delhi Daredevils to victory against Bangalore Royal Challengers. Three of the top four scores had come against the bottom placed Bangalore Royal Challengers. Matthew Hayden is out of the top five individual scores now.

Results are updated after Match #13: Ravi Bopara moves into the second position after his match winning knock of 84 against Bangalore Royal Challengers. Sachin Tendulkar is pushed out of the top five highest scores.

Results are updated after Match #10: AB de Villiers moves to the top of the leading individual scores with an unbeaten century against Chennai Super Kings. Rohit Sharma drops out of the top five leading scores.

Results are updated after Match #8: The match-winning knock by Deccan Chargers' skipper Adam Gilchrist moves him to the top of the individual scores in IPL 2009. Gilly's teammate Rohit Sharma also moved into the top five displacing Chris Gayle.

Results are updated after Match #7: Chris Gayle moved into the fourth position based on his match-winning performance against Kings XI Punjab. Herschelle Gibbs drops out from the top five individual scores. There are no changes to the top three scores yet.