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Match facts

Thursday, April 8
Start time 2000 (1430GMT)Adam Gilchrist hasn’t converted starts into big scores•Associated Press

Big Picture

In the league phase comprising 56 games, the eight teams have had their chances to rectify declines, build on successful runs, reassess failing strategies and work out winning combinations. But time is running out for some, especially Deccan Chargers, for another defeat, their sixth in a row, could all but end their hopes of reaching the semi-final. They are currently seventh, and will remain there if they lose on Thursday to Royal Challengers Bangalore. Given their poor net run-rate, and the rush for a knockout berth among at least three other better-placed teams, their prospects remain bleak.Bangalore, currently ranked fourth, are strong contenders but have experienced a blip, losing three of their last four games. A win against Deccan, added to their superior net run-rate, will propel them to second place and distance them further from Rajasthan Royals, Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings, who, too, are competing for a spot in the final four. A loss will only make that scrap more intense.Ross Taylor’s arrival prompted a few changes in the Bangalore line-up – they left out Dale Steyn and Manish Pandey for their previous game, a strategy they might reconsider, given the margin of defeat against Delhi Daredevils. Aiming to recover from the recent downturn, Bangalore will want to have their best available team to surge forward with four games to play after Thursday.Deccan were on the verge of arresting their losing streak before panic set in against Rajasthan in the final over of the chase, costing them the game by two runs. None among their last seven batsmen reached double-figures, and another capitulation is something they can ill-afford in troubled times.

Form guide (most recent first)

Royal Challengers Bangalore: LWLLW
Deccan Chargers: LLLLL

Team talk

Cameron White may have to make way for Steyn, while Abhimanyu Mithun could step out for Pandey.Deccan have problems in the middle order, with meager contributions from the Indian players. Monish Mishra, Venugopal Rao, Anirudh Singh and Azhar Bilakhia have, largely, failed and there is little that Deccan, apart from shuffling them around, can do. If Herschelle Gibbs is called back, Deccan may have to leave out an all-round option in Dwayne Smith.

Head to head

Bangalore 3 Deccan 2
It’s the 40th match of the IPL but the two teams haven’t met yet this season. In the inaugural edition, Bangalore sneaked home by three wickets at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, and won more comfortably in Hyderabad.The teams shared honours in the league stages in South Africa, Deccan winning by 24 runs in Cape Town and Bangalore, thanks to Pandey’s century, by 12 runs in Centurion. Deccan, however, had the last laugh, beating Bangalore in the final by 6 runs at the Wanderers.

In the spotlight

Ross Taylor: In his 10-ball stay against Delhi, Taylor showed how valuable he is to the Bangalore outfit. He blazed three sixes to race to 22, and was one batsman who threatened to scale down Delhi’s strong total before being trapped in front. His power-packed strokeplay, and the ability to clear the boundary with ease, can be especially dispiriting to his opponents in the death overs.Adam Gilchrist: With just one half-century in nine games, and an average of 23.22, Gilchrist has confined himself to attractive cameos – five out of nine times has he scored above 20 – but failed to press on. With a struggling middle order, Deccan need a greater boost at the top and no one is better equipped to do that than their captain.

Prime Numbers

• Deccan’s run-rate in the last five overs this IPL has been the least among all teams. They have scored at 7.74 an over – Bangalore are second-highest with 10.38 – and have lost 28 wickets at an average of 11.75, the joint-lowest.
• Deccan have struck one six more than Bangalore so far – 48 to 47. Chennai lead the pack with 68, followed by Rajasthan at 66.

Quotes

“I think we could say that all of us in our team had a couple of glimpses of fantastic performances and probably too many glimpses of disappointing performances.”
Adam Gilchrist on his team’s inconsistency.”We played Mumbai Indians at DY Patil [one of Deccan’s designated ‘home venues’, in Mumbai] and not one spectator supported us. Sometimes the crowd factor plays a part. Your supporters give you that extra push in crunch matches.”
Rohit Sharma rues the lack of support for Deccan.

Scorecard
The victorious SNGPL side strike a pose after winning the final•Pakistan Cricket Board

Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited humbled Sialkot Stallions by 132 runs in an extremely one-sided RBS Cup final at the Gaddafi Stadium. The allround effort began the moment SNGPL won the toss and decided to make first use of the conditions. Ali Waqas and Raza Ali Dar could not convert their starts into significant contributions, but Naeemuddin and Misbah-ul-Haq faced no such problems.Their 111-run stand made light of the relatively early losses and set the tone for a big score. Naeemuddin dropped anchor with a 105-ball 84, giving Misbah the license to punish the bowling. Misbah exacted full toll on the Stallions’ attack, with Nayyer Abbas and Adeel Malik suffering the most. The SNGPL captain remained unbeaten on 119, off 109 balls with nine fours and a six, as the innings closed at a strong 284.The Stallions’ chase never took flight, and the loss of wickets at regular intervals did their cause no good. Kamran Younis and Majid Jahangir were the only batsmen to cross 30 in their hapless effort. In the event, the SNGPL bowlers filled their boots, and Imran Ali emerged the pick of the lot, with 3 for 28 before it all ended in the 40th over.

David Dwyer, the Australian trainer who recently resigned from his post with the Pakistan side, will once again join the team on a temporary basis to help them prepare their defense of the World Twenty20 title in the Caribbean later this year.Dwyer came in with Geoff Lawson during his coaching stint in 2007 on a two-year contract and stayed on even after Lawson was removed from the post in October 2008. His fitness work with the national team has been widely acknowledged by the board and players themselves and he became an immensely popular figure within the side, in particular with senior hands such as Younis Khan and Shoaib Malik. Younis was one of the voices who urged him to stay on after Lawson’s departure.But personal reasons, in wanting to settle back in Sydney, prompted him to hand in his papers at the end of the recent tour to Australia. The board, however, was keen to keep him on further and it is believed that Dwyer has reached an agreement to be with the side through the World Twenty20, which is scheduled for April-May this year.Dwyer, it is understood, will join the side in Lahore from early April to begin work again. The agreement is only for the duration of the tournament and Dwyer will likely return to Australia at the end of it.

Michael Hussey used Shane Warne’s criticism of his batting to drive him to the match-winning century against Pakistan in Sydney. Hussey, who stole the game with his unbeaten hundred in the second innings, had heard the calls for his sacking towards the end of the West Indies series before fighting back with 82, 4, 28 and 134 not out in the past two matches.”It’s hard when someone of the ilk of Shane Warne is criticising you, because he’s obviously played a lot of cricket and he knows his stuff pretty well,” Hussey said in the . “So it was pretty motivating to try to prove him wrong.”Warne has since downgraded his stance and Hussey said it was great to show up the critics. “Just to prove to him and to everyone that I still can play at Test match level, it’s the most satisfying feeling you can get, especially after you copped a lot of criticism over the course of the summer,” he said.Hussey put on 123 with Peter Siddle for the ninth wicket to give Australia a 175-run lead and the 2-0 series success was sealed when Pakistan were dismissed for 139. Despite the century, which was his first at home in two years, Hussey said he would have to continue to perform consistently to stay on track for next summer’s Ashes.”While you’re enjoying the challenge of the battle of Test cricket and while you’re contributing, then I’d love to keep continuing as long as I could,” he said. “Certainly at the moment I still feel like I want that battle.”

Shane Watson has justified his exuberant celebration of Chris Gayle’s dismissal in Perth by saying he was baited by the captain. Watson was fined 15% of his match fee for his roaring celebration in the second-innings on Saturday and has been criticised for his behaviour, with Geoff Lawson likening it to a four-year-old’s tantrum.”There was a bit of build up to it, so it’s always nice to get Chris Gayle out, he’s obviously one of the most devastating batsmen in the world at the moment,” Watson told AAP. “He definitely let me know that he was keen for me to come on to bowl leading up to that, so it was very nice to get him out first ball.”That was the catalyst for me celebrating the way I did … I know there’s a line and I was extremely happy to get him out, I normally don’t celebrate to that extent when I get someone out. But when he baits me, talking about wanting me to come on to bowl to be able to take me down, it’s always very nice to get the upper hand.”Gayle said Watson over-reacted but was happy “to move on and let bygones be bygones”. “Watson didn’t actually say anything to me,” Gayle wrote in his Daily Telegraph column. “He just kept screaming in my direction.”He has a bit of a temper and is pretty emotional so he was probably just letting it all out. Each player is different and getting me out came at a crucial time in an important Test match. There is no doubt he over-reacted but I am prepared to move on and let bygones be bygones.”Watson did admit his antics were over the top and they added to a busy Test for the match referee Chris Broad. Sulieman Benn, the left-arm spinner, was banned for two ODIs for his exchanges with the fined Mitchell Johnson and Brad Haddin during Australia’s first innings.

Zimbabwe A may have messed up on their first match of the Emerging Nations tournament, against Denmark in Harare, but they would have been quite humiliated without a fighting innings of 64 by their number four batsman Dion Ebrahim. Here he talks to John Ward about that match.JW: First of all, Dion, can you describe the match conditions, please.DE: The pitch was fairly bouncy; it gave a lot of steep bounce, and the Danish bowlers used that very well, with a good high action. They moved the ball around well and I think that’s what got our batsmen into a bit of trouble.JW: What was the situation when you went in to bat?DE: We were one run for the loss of two wickets, in the first over.JW: So what was your game plan as you went in to bat?DE: My main aim was just to stay there. Runs weren’t the biggest issue as we had just lost two quick wickets. I just had to stay there, steady the ship and try to calm things down. It got worse and worse with more and more batsmen dropping, so I started very slowly.JW: Did you find it difficult batting out there?DE: I did, with the variable and steep bounce, together with the changes of pace the bowlers used.JW: Did the pitch change as the match went on?DE: Yes, it got less bounce and flattened out towards the end.JW: Which bowlers did you find the most difficult?DE: Their opening left-arm bowler, Thomas Hansen. He varied his pace well and he managed to make the most of the steep bounce because of his height. I think he put all of our batsmen under pressure, in trouble.JW: How did you manage with the others?DE: I coped with the others fairly well, didn’t take any risks. He was the main bowler, and our plan was just to see him through and then pick off the other guys.JW: When did you finally find a partner to stay with you?DE: I got a lot of assistance from Dave Mutendera and Warren Gilmour. I;m not sure how many our partnerships were worth, but they were the steadiest.JW: Did you find the pressure on you seemed to relax as time went on.DE: I felt I was relaxing more towards the end and actually enjoying the challenge. It’s about the third time it’s happened to me, batting at four and coming in in the first over and wickets dropping around me.JW: What shots do you remember the best?DE: There weren’t too many of them; to be honest I can’t remember. I do remember getting my fifty up, a leg glide off a short ball.JW: You did seem to enjoy a couple of narrow escapes during your innings.DE: Well, I felt I needed to get a few more runs on the board. Wickets were dropping so fast that I could see a situation to come where we were left with one wicket in hand and not many runs on the board, so I did occasionally take the initiative and went for some risky shots.JW: How were you out in the end?DE: Caught midwicket, sweeping their left-arm spinner.JW: Fortunately our later batsmen came in and got us some good runs.DE: It’s unfortunate that our top order didn’t do too well.JW: We would have been in a sorry state without your innings, though. Can you go over the Denmark innings now?DE: I think we played well, given that we were a bit unfortunate with some chances not going to hand or going to ground. I did feel that we underestimated them.JW: Do you think perhaps our players were a bit over-confident.DE: Maybe. Maybe, I’m not quite sure.JW: Which of the Danish batsmen impressed you the most?DE: Their opener Pedersen who got a fifty, but then gave it away. He was very strong on the off side.JW: What were relationships like on the field between our team and the Danish players?DE: Very friendly. They were competitive but friendly.JW: What is your overall impression of the Danish team, compared with, say, a Zimbabwe first-league club side?DE: I’d say they would be stronger than a first-league side. They’re strong competitors as well.

South Australia have welcomed back the legspinner Cullen Bailey for their Sheffield Shield encounter with the leaders Victoria in Melbourne from Thursday. Bailey, who comes into the squad for Matthew Weeks, has played two of the Redbacks’ four games this summer, taking five wickets at 49.80.The Redbacks are sitting in second on eight points, the same number as Queensland, while Victoria have a six-point buffer at the top despite playing only three matches. Life isn’t as easy for South Australia in the one-day competition – they are last.South Australia squad Daniel Harris, James Smith, Michael Klinger, Mark Cosgrove, Cameron Borgas, Graham Manou (capt, wk), Aaron O’Brien, Dan Christian, Cullen Bailey, Chris Duval, Jake Haberfield, Peter George.

Defending champions India will open their campaign against Afghanistan at the Bert Sutcliffe Oval near Christchurch on the opening day of the Under-19 World Cup. The tournament, which will be played in New Zealand from January 15-30, will also have Pakistan face West Indies in Palmerston North, and South Africa, the 2008 runners-up, taking on Ireland in Queenstown on the same day.The 16 teams for the competition have been split into four groups; Groups A and C will be based in and around Christchurch, Group B in Queenstown and Group D in Napier and Palmerston North.In addition to the 10 Full Members, six Associate and Affiliate teams are taking part having won through their respective regional qualifying tournaments as well as the global qualifiers held in Canada in September.The top two teams from each group will qualify for the quarter-finals with the remaining teams taking part in the plate competition.Groupings:
A: India, England, Afghanistan, Hong KongB: South Africa, Australia, Ireland, USAC: New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, CanadaD: Pakistan, Bangladesh, West Indies, Papua New Guinea

Trinidad & Tobago manager Colin Borde has termed as “a team of dreamers” the side that left for India to compete in the inaugural Champions League Twenty20 starting October 8. Despite the lack of star players and experience in subcontinent conditions Borde said the island team would push itself much harder to prove to the world that they are a quality side.”The team itself shows a lot of discipline and it is not a difficult task to keep them straight as a pin and as players you guys look out for each other and that’s an important part of teamwork and you can see that in how these guys play,” he said. “I have known a lot of these guys from a very young age and I have seen them grow into professional cricketers and I know they are never satisfied with the success that they have and that is great. There is a hunger for success and they are always willing to learn.”T&T are pooled with England Twenty20 Cup runners-up Somerset and IPL champions Deccan Chargers, sides that boast a few international names. Borde, however, said that no particular team or individual had the players in awe. “This team has a lot of confidence… I have never seen them crack under pressure. We have a saying that it is just cricket, just bat and bowl. They have a lot of confidence in their ability and a lot of that confidence comes from hard work they have put in over the last few months, said the manager.”This is a very disciplined team, they have put in the work… they sometimes complain but they always comply. They worked extremely hard at it and their dreams are big dreams. I don’t think I have ever met a player on the Trinidad and Tobago team who did not believe that he could go on to be an international player. Their idols are world-class individuals and not only cricketers – sportsmen.”These guys think big and I hope that the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board continues to encourage these guys to think big and dream big. This is a team of dreamers and most of their dreams are coming through because most of the requisite work is being done.”T&T will play two warm-up matches before playing their first tournament match against Somerset in Bangalore on October 12. They play Deccan on October 14 in Hyderabad.T&T squad: Daren Ganga (capt), Dwayne Bravo, Lendl Simmons, William Perkins, Kieron Pollard, Sherwin Ganga, Navin Stewart, Samuel Badree, Darren Bravo, Ravi Rampaul, Denesh Ramdin (wk), Sunil Narine, Adrian Barath, Rayad Emrit, Dave Mohammed.

Tata Sports Club got off to a winning start in the Corporate Cup thanks to an ICL-returnee, Rohan Gavaskar, who struck 93 against All India Public Sector Sports Promotion Board (AIPSSPB) in Dharamsala. Rain had reduced the game to 36 overs a side and Tata, after being sent in, managed 241 for 8. Gavaskar took control after the loss of two early wickets, smashing seven fours and three sixes in his knock, which came at less than a run a ball. Ajit Agarkar’s breezy cameo of 43 off 34 balls towards the end pushed the score towards a match-winning one. Agarkar, the captain, was back in business early with the ball when he clean bowled Nilesh Patwardhan and Rajinder Bisht in successive overs. Paras Dogra was the next to go, excellently caught at third man by Tushar Garat, who covered a lot of ground to get underneath the ball. The early loss of wickets didn’t help the run rate, as AIPSSPB managed only two an over after ten. Pankaj Thakur delayed the inevitable by helping himself to a half-century, as his team ended on 168.In another rain-interrupted game, in Visakhapatnam, Madras Rubber Factory (MRF) beat Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) by 12 runs. MRF opted to bat but were bowled out within 50 overs for 191. Gnaneswara Rao top scored with 53 off 74 balls with four fours but the rest couldn’t carry on after making starts. The BPCL batsmen also struggled to get going, and were in trouble at one stage at 58 for 5. PK Dharma, the right-arm seamer, did the damage when he was introduced first change, picking up three wickets. Rain intervened with the score at 86 for 5 and the target was then revised to 185 in 46 overs by the VJD Method. There was another rain intervention when BPCL proceeded to 120 for 6 in 28.3 overs. However, no further play was possible and BPCL found themselves 12 short of the required score at that stage. Dharma was named the Man of the Match for his 3 for 22.The match between Air India Blue and Indian Tobacco Company (ITC) was abandoned without a ball being bowled because of heavy overnight rain in Mohali. Despite the sun coming out in the afternoon, the groundstaff were unable to get the outfield ready, and the captains called off the game at 6pm. The match was originally supposed to be rescheduled to Friday but the organising committee of the tournament withdrew the decision to replay since no provision for reserve day had been made for any of the matches.