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
CNN-IBN sports editor Gaurav Kalra speaks to three key members of the Hyderabad franchise - coach Tom Moody, bowling coach Waqar Younis and ambassador Kris Srikkanth - who played a big role in the team's play-off qualification. ...
08:59 AM, May 22, 2013
New Delhi: Rajasthan Royals and Sunrisers Hyderabad will shoot it out in New Delhi for the IPL eliminator bearing in mind full well that there will not be another opportunity to make amends. A defeat at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium on Wednesday will end the tournament for either team. Hyderabad are undoubtedly the surprise entry in the play-offs, but one has to say that they used their little resources...
10:11 PM, May 21, 2013
Hyderabad: West Indies captain Darren Sammy says he was ecstatic after scoring the winning hits that propelled Sunrisers Hyderabad into the playoffs of the Indian Premier league. Hyderabad defeated Kolkata Knight Riders by five wickets to secure the final playoff spot at the expense of Chris Gayle's Royal Challengers Bangalore. Sammy hit KKR's most successful bowler on display Iqbal Abdulla for two sixes in two balls to hasten Hyderabad's entry....
03:29 PM, May 21, 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: Kris Srikkanth, mentor of the Sunrisers Hyderabad, has termed the franchise's qualifying for the play-off stage of IPL 6 as similar to when India made it to the knock-outs of the 1983 World Cup after entering the tournament as rank underdogs. Hyderabad entered the last match of the league stage needing a win to secure a spot in the final four and did so through a solid fielding performance...
02:48 PM, May 20, 2013
Hyderabad: Sunrisers Hyderabad chief coach Tom Moody has said reaching play-offs of the Indian Premier League (IPL) was rewarding and satisfying for the team. "Lot of people at the beginning of the tournament gave us no hope whatsoever. So it is very rewarding and satisfying that we managed to work well as a team and jell well as a team and surprised few people," the Australian said after Sunrisers beat...
12:13 PM, May 20, 2013
Hyderabad: They stuttered a little at the end, but Sunrisers Hyderabad eventually defeated Kolkata Knight Riders by five wickets, thus ensuring them a play-off berth and knocking Royal Challengers Bangalore out of IPL 6. Chasing 131 could have been tricky on a slow Uppal wicket but Parthiv Patel (47) and Shikhar Dhawan (42) didn't give KKR much chance. The two left-handers kept up with the required rate. Parthiv was the...
11:33 PM, May 19, 2013
Live updates from game 72 of IPL 6 between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders played at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in 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...
07:05 PM, May 19, 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: Sunrisers Hyderabad coach Tom Moody says that beating Kolkata Knight Riders would not be a cakewalk when they clash with them to snatch the last-available play-offs berth on Sunday. Hyderabad must beat KKR to make it to the knockout stage. "We got a day to rest and recover. KKR are not going come here and lie down. We know that. They are a proud team. Obviously, running champions. They...
01:13 PM, May 18, 2013
Hyderabad: Rajasthan Royals skipper Rahul Dravid is extremely content with the way his players performed against Sunrisers Hyderabad following the shock spot-fixing scandal that engulfed his team. Rajasthan took field a day after three of their players were arrested by Delhi police on the charges of spot-fixing. "There is no point brushing things under the carpet. Tough couple of days for everyone concerned. But, I was happy the way boys...
01:01 PM, May 18, 2013
Hyderabad: Sunrisers Hyderabad chief coach Tom Moody said the team was constantly looking to improve in all three departments of the game. He feels it is continuing process and doesn't stop with the team qualifying for semi-finals or finals. "We can always improve with bat, ball or fielding. I constantly said to the team that they should look to develop skills individually and also as a team," he said after...
11:42 AM, May 18, 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
Hyderabad: Rajasthan Royals captain Rahul Dravid said that tough situations is a test of character for top teams and he expects that his boys would also overcome the current crisis that has rocked cricket world after S Sreesanth and two other players arrests for alleged role in spot-fixing. "I think adversities helps us to galvanize a side. We have come close together as a group and hope to perform well,"...
08:12 PM, May 17, 2013
Live updates from game 68 of IPL 6 between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals played at Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Hyderabad. After losing a hard-fought contest to Mumbai Indians on Wednesday, Rajasthan Royals were jolted by a spot-fixing scandal the next day which involved three of its players being arrested on allegations of illegal activity. There is one thing common in these two sides. Both are coming off...
06:52 PM, May 17, 2013
Hyderabad: After losing a hard-fought contest to Mumbai Indians on Wednesday, Rajasthan Royals were jolted by a spot-fixing scandal the next day which involved three of its players being arrested on allegations of illegal activity. To recover from something as big as this requires a lot of effort but Rajasthan is just the team that has the capability to do it and maintain the bar they have set in this...
07:42 PM, May 16, 2013
New Delhi: Royal Challengers Bangalore's seven-wicket loss to Kings XI Punjab in Bangalore on Tuesday has confirmed the progression of three teams into the IPL play-offs - Mumbai Indians, Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals. The three teams are tied on 20 point which leaves three teams chasing the final spot. Victory over RCB gave Punjab a total of 12 points and they are four behind RCB (16) and Sunrisers...
08:05 PM, May 14, 2013
