New Delhi: Brad Hodge showed how important a player he is in the shorter version of the game as his counter-attacking half-century helped Rajasthan Royals eke out a four-wicket victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Feroz Shah Kotla here on Wednesday.
When Hodge came to the wicket, Rajasthan were tottering at 57 for 5 in 10 overs chasing 133. And while rest of the batsmen from both sides were unable to adjust to the slowness of the pitch, Hodge not only played with relative ease but also translated his innings into a match-winning knock. He ended the game with two consecutive sixes off Darren Sammy, remaining unbeaten on 54 off just 29 balls. Rajasthan will now play Mumbai Indians in the second Qualifier on Friday to book their date with Chennai Super Kings for Sunday's final.
The pitch used for Wednesday's encounter was much slower than that in the first Qualifier at the same venue on Tuesday, which Parthiv Patel (1) found out when he mistimed a length delivery from Vikramjeet Malik and was caught in the offside. Malik, who was drafted into the side for Pravin Tambe, struck again when he had Hanuma Vihari (1) caught at mid-on attempting an expensive pull.
It was time to consolidate and both Shikhar Dhawan (33) and Cameron White (31) had to mould their natural game. Dhawan hit his and the team's first boundary with a simple push to the wide of mid-off; White also made a conscious effort to
11:43 PM, May 22, 2013
Live updates from the eliminator of IPL 6 between Rajasthan Royals and Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium in Delhi. Hyderabad are undoubtedly the surprise entry in the play-offs, but one has to say that they used their little resources to the maximum to move ahead of Royal Challengers Bangalore and defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders - two sides far stronger on paper. Interestingly, Hyderabad beat Rajasthan in...
07:11 PM, May 22, 2013
Hyderabad: The world's numerouno fast bowler, Dale Steyn feels always looking up to spinners for wickets is not the right way to go about encouraging the crop of pacers in India. "If you're always going to look at the spinners to do the job for you, what's the point of even having a fast bowler," asked Steyn. Aware of India's "rich tradition" with spinners, Steyn gave an example from the...
10:25 PM, May 20, 2013
Hyderabad: The race for the fourth spot still hangs in the balance, and Sunrisers Hyderabad face the last obstacle in their path. After handing Rajasthan Royals one of their more comprehensive defeats this season, Hyderabad have taken out quite a few positives. Defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders are already out of the tournament after their "mathematical equation" was laid to rest by party poopers Pune Warriors but Gautam Gambhir and...
12:18 AM, May 19, 2013
Hyderabad: James Faulkner's effort of 5 for 16 went in vain as Rajasthan Royals failed to chase a moderate total of 137 against Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium at Uppal on Friday. The 23-run victory, meanwhile, boosted Hyderabad's chances of reaching the play-offs as, with 18 points from 15 matches, they are now two points ahead of nearest rival, Royal Challengers Bangalore, and have one more game...
11:22 PM, May 17, 2013
Mumbai: Dale Steyn, the world's most feared pacer, on Tuesday backed his country South Africa to come out trumps in the three-Test series against India to be held at the end of this year, but was also wary of the quality of the opposing batting line-up. "We have got a pretty good Test side at the moment, to be fair, and we play quite well at home. I would like...
05:08 PM, May 14, 2013
Mumbai: Sunrisers Hyderabad coach Tom Moody lavished praise on Mumbai Indians allrounder Kieron Pollard, saying the visitors had won "80 per cent" of the IPL game before the West Indian got in their way. "Of course we are disappointed. We won 80 per cent of the game, but Mumbai are undefeated here at home. We have been criticised throughout the tournament how poorly we have batted and I think we...
11:04 AM, May 14, 2013
Live updates from Game 62 between Mumbai Indians and Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Wankhede Stadium. Mumbai Indians innings: End of the match - MI 184 for 3 in 19.3 overs: Well, well. Kieron Pollard swings the first ball from Thisara Perera for six over midwicket. Effortless shot. That levels the scores. One bouncer later, Pollard wins the match with six more. What a shot. Swings and dumps the ball rows...
06:52 PM, May 13, 2013
Live updates from game 59 of IPL 6 between Kings XI Punjab and Sunrisers Hyderabad played at the PCA Stadium in Mohali. Kings XI Punjab innings: End of over 20 - KXIP 120 for 9: Very sloppy end to the innings. Harmeet Singh is run out by Ishant Sharma off the first ball. Luke Pomersbach hits the second over Ishant at long-off for six. Sammy ends up getting a fourth...
07:10 PM, May 11, 2013
Hyderabad: Sunrisers Hyderabad mentor Krishnamachari Srikkanth lavished praise on his team's bowlers for playing a crucial role in the win over Delhi Daredevils which has taken the side closer to a semifinal berth in the ongoing Pepsi IPL. Sunrisers Hyderabad are currently third on the points table with 14 points from seven wins in 11 matches they have played. "I think it is a convincing win. The bowlers did an...
01:28 PM, May 05, 2013
Hyderabad: Delhi Daredevils needed to continue their winning momentum against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Saturday, but another humiliating defeat, their eighth in eleven matches, put paid to their hopes of reaching the playoffs of this season of the IPL. The Hyderabad bowlers were accurate as they bowled out Delhi for just 80 in 19.1 overs. While the Hyderabad spinners never allowed the Delhi batsmen to get going, their pacemen picked up...
10:58 PM, May 04, 2013
Chennai: Former Pakistan skipper Waqar Younis says Dale Steyn is among the top three fast bowlers of all time and reckons the South African has it in him to "hit the top" if he keeps going for a another 2-3 seasons. "Dale Steyn is definitely in the top three for me. And if he keeps going like this for the next two-three seasons, he'll hit the top. Not many bowlers...
05:10 PM, Apr 25, 2013
Hyderabad: Sunrisers Hyderabad have been in a stupendous run in the IPL and their captain Cameron White Saturday said that they can do even better by improving on the batting front. "Our batting needs to improve. Bowling is outstanding. The bowlers led by these two gentlemen [Dale Steyn and Ishant Sharma, who were sitting beside him] are doing a great job. We need to lift our batting. If we make...
11:46 PM, Apr 20, 2013
A dramatic 19th over saw Mishra grab four wickets to bowl Sunrisers Hyderabad to a thrilling 11-run win over Pune Warriors on Wednesday. ...
09:54 PM, Apr 17, 2013
Chennai: Former South Africa pacer Allan Donald is in awe of Dale Steyn and says had he bowled alongside the current world number one pace merchant from his country, the two would have formed the most lethal attack. Donald is presently employed as coach with IPL franchise Pune Warriors. "I wish I did. If I were to bowl with Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel, we would have formed the most...
02:48 PM, Apr 16, 2013
New Delhi: Sunrisers pace spearhead Dale Steyn wants to pick the brains of former Pakistan skipper Waqar Younis, who is a bowling consultant with the Hyderabad franchise. The top-rated fast bowler said Waqar's presence is a big boon for Sunrisers and the youngsters will benefit a lot from the Pakistani. Waqar, known for his reverse swing and toe crushers, has 789 international wickets during an international career that spanned over...
04:24 PM, Apr 13, 2013
New Delhi: Delhi Daredevils' winless streak in IPL 6 continued with their fourth consecutive loss, the latest by three wickets to Sunrisers Hyderabad in a low-scoring thriller at the Feroz Shah Kotla on Friday. Delhi were restricted to their lowest total of the season but threatened to defend it, reducing the visitors to 100 for 7 before Amit Mishra and Dale Steyn came to the rescue in a tense finale....
11:40 PM, Apr 12, 2013
There is no question about it. Twenty20 cricket is a game of confidence. When we look at the way Chris Gayle bats in T20, this ...
11:38 AM, Apr 11, 2013
London: The 150th edition of Wisden Cricketers' Almanack published on Wednesday warned that the Ashes will be "stretched to their limit" as a result of numerous upcoming series between England and Australia. Cricket's oldest rivals - who played the first cricket Test in 1877 - meet 10 times in the now five-day format from July 2013, with a series in England, to January 2014, by which time they will be...
04:22 PM, Apr 10, 2013
