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 in hand.
Faulkner probably had seen the footage of his previous outing against the same opponent in Jaipur where he got a five-for (5 for 20). The tall Tasmanian started off in the same fashion - providing early wickets to his side. He first rattled Parthiv Patel's stumps and then had Shikhar Dhawan (1) caught at backward point by Ajinkya Rahane.
One might have expected Cameron White (0) playing more reservedly, especially after his side lost early wickets, but he was tempted to play a hook by Shane Watson and caught by Siddharth Trivedi at long leg. Hanuma Vihari (19) and Biplab Samantray (55) then did the repair work as the Hyderabad innings went ahead at a snail's pace, getting just 21 runs in the six-over mandatory powerplay.
Samantray hit the first boundary of the innings when he lofted Pravin Tambe over covers in the fifth over. He steered Stuart Binny to the vacant third man region for the team's second boundary. He and Vihari shared 44 runs for the fourth wicket until Vihari mistimed a flick
11:22 PM, May 17, 2013
That Rajasthan Royals would join IPL heavyweights Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians as this season's first play-off entrants with two matches still to play is an achievement not entirely expected at the start of IPL 6. Lacking superstar power - their No. 1 player is Australian allrounder Shane Watson - and led by a retired 40-year-old expert technician in Rahul Dravid, the Jaipur-based franchise have defied the odds to...
08:04 AM, May 16, 2013
New Delhi: If you have been following the progress of Rajasthan Royals in IPL 6 you may have noticed a similarity between Moneyball, the 2003 book by Michael Lewis that inspired the Academy Award-nominated film of the same name, and the way the Jaipur-based franchise have gone about their work. In a nutshell, Rajasthan have achieved much success - especially at their fortress of the Sawai Mansingh Stadium where they...
08:26 AM, Apr 30, 2013
Bowling at the start of the innings in itself is a very tough job and when you are a spinner, it makes the job even harder. But Rajasthan spinner Ajit Chandila has revelled in the job handed to him by the team management, playing a vital role in every match he has been a part of. Five wickets in as many matches don't present the true picture as his contribution...
11:09 AM, Apr 28, 2013
Sydney: Veteran wicketkeeper Brad Haddin was recalled to the Australian squad on Wednesday and made vice-captain for their upcoming Ashes tour to England with Chris Rogers and Ryan Harris also making the grade. Haddin, who has only played one Test in the past 14 months and turns 35 next week, replaces Shane Watson as Michael Clarke's deputy in a 16-man squad for the five-Test series starting in England in July....
08:39 AM, Apr 24, 2013
Jaipur: In the 11 previous matches in which they made 170 or more batting first, Rajasthan Royals had never lost in the IPL. True to history, that trend was maintained Wednesday at their home fortress of the Sawai Mansingh Stadium where they piled up 179 for 3 and defended that to beat Mumbai Indians by a whopping 87 runs. It was Mumbai's heaviest defeat ever in terms of runs. Having...
11:17 PM, Apr 17, 2013
Pune: Rajasthan Royals allrounder James Faulkner has expressed confidence that the 2008 Indian Premier League champions will bounce back strongly after the defeat they suffered here Thursday night against Pune Warriors. Making his debut for Rajasthan Royals, the Tasmanian allrounder made 19 and then returned to claim two wickets for 17 runs in his four overs. "Personally, yeah it was a reasonably good game. But we lost a game of...
04:59 PM, Apr 12, 2013
Faulkner abused Gayle after dismissing the West Indies batsman in the 38th over of Australia's 39-run win in the 3rd ODI. ...
10:29 PM, Feb 06, 2013
They may not have set the international stage on fire yet, but these six cricketers found themselves very rich after the 2013 IPL auction. ...
06:02 PM, Feb 03, 2013
Mitchell Starc produced a fiery spell of pace bowling as West Indies were skittled out for a paltry score of 70 and Aus chased down the target in 9.2 overs. ...
08:52 AM, Feb 01, 2013
Australia's National Selection Panel announced that Faulkner will replace the injured Henriques for the first two ODIs against West Indies. ...
03:14 PM, Jan 28, 2013
