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SHARAPOVA BATTLES BACK TO BEAT STOSUR
AND ENTER FRENCH OPEN QUARTERFINALS | 22
ANDRE SCHUERRLE SCORES BUT CAMEROON
HOLD GERMANY TO 2-2 DRAW IN FRIENDLY | 20
TIMES SPORTS
THE TIMES OF INDIA, MUMBAI | TUESDAY, JUNE 3, 2014
Its about how you
finish, not how
you start: Gautam
Sunil Subbaiah I TNN
Bangalore: Kolkata Knight Riders had
a rollercoaster ride this season. After
starting the season on a winning note,
they were reeling at one stage from five
early losses, including four on the trot.
Unbelievably, the Gautam Gambhir-led
team staged a remarkable turnaround,
winning nine matches in a row on their
way to winning their second IPL crown
here on Sunday night.
Gambhir said he was proud of his team
after they defeated Kings XI Punjab. Its
been a rollercoaster ride, but when you
finish the season winning the IPL, you
cant complain, he said. Its not about
how you start the season, its how you fin-
ish and we ended on a very high note. The
guys were desperate to turn it around af-
ter the first seven games and thats what
strong individuals are all about.
KKR bowlers were pulverized by Pun-
jabs Wriddhiman Saha (115) and Manan
Vohra (67) to post a formidable 199. But
his boys were confident of achieving the
target, Gambhir said.
It was a little disappointing, giving
140-odd runs in 10 overs with the bowling
attack we have. But we always had the be-
lief going into the dressing room that 200
on this ground, and on this kind of pitch,
would not be impossible, he said.
Gambhir conceded Yusuf Pathans
swashbuckling 22-ball 72 against Sun-
risers Hyderabad in the league and Man-
ish Pandeys 94 in the final were the turn-
ing points. The turning point in this
tournament would be Yusuf s knock. It
took us to second position and gave us
two cracks at the cup. Also Manishs bat-
ting, under pressure, in a final.
On Kolkatas over-reliance on their
bowling unit, Gambhir observed: But
weve batted brilliantly as well. A lot of
people were talking about it as being our
bowling against Kings XI Punjab batting,
but weve chased 200 now and also made
180 in 14-odd overs to finish the league in
second place. The skipper said picking
quality bowlers in the auction worked
wonders. When we went into the auction,
we wanted a good bowling attack. A lot of
teams might have thought of having a very
good batting lineup in the T20 format, but
you can go the other way as well, he said.
Saha solid as a rock: Bailey
KXIP skipper George Bailey, on the oth-
er hand, urged his team to get over the
disappointment. I dont think our guys
can do anything but be very proud of their
performance. Sahas innings summed up
our tournament. He is probably a guy who
is unheralded a bit, for us, he has just
been solid as a rock, said the Aussie.
ROBIN UTHAPPA 9/10
He may have missed out in the final, but
had done enough damage with the bat in
earlier matches to deserve the Orange Cap.
With 660 runs in his kitty, he was un-
doubtedly KKRs batting star.
M: 16, R: 660, HS 87*; S/R: 137
MANISH PANDEY 7/10
No praise can be too high for the calm and
collected manner in which he anchored
KKRs chase in the final. Took calculated
risks to keep up with the asking rate. How-
ever, by throwing away his wicket, he be-
trayed his temperament.
M: 16, R: 401, HS: 94; S/R: 117
SHAKIB AL HASAN 7/10
Made crucial contributions with the bat
and ball right through KKRs campaign. Was
easily KKRs best bowler in the final.
M: 13, R: 227, HS 60; S/R: 149; Ov: 50; W:
11; E/R: 6.68
JACQUES KALLIS 4/10
The veteran all-rounder struggled with his
game at the start of the tournament. With
Uthappa firing at the top, the South African
lost his place in the playing XI.
M: 8, R: 151, HS 72; S/R: 117; Ov: 22; W: 4;
E/R: 8.45
SURYA YADAV 5/10
The Mumbai youngster looked the part and
impressed with his ability to strike the ball
cleanly. Needs to mature as a batsman.
M: 16, R: 164, HS 34; S/R: 140
RYAN DOESCHATE 5/10
Did reasonably well in the limited oppor-
tunities he got. His medium pace was, how-
ever, not up to the scratch.
M: 10, R: 52, HS 25*; S/R: 157; Ov: 5; Wkt:
1; E/R: 7.00
MORNE MORKEL 7/10
Spearheaded KKRs bowling with distinction.
He was unplayble on helpful surfaces. Only
problem was that he often bowled too short.
M: 12; O: 48; W: 12; E/R: 7.64
PATRICK CUMMINS 5/10
The young fast bowler delivered THE ball
of IPL-7, beating CSK opener Dwayne Smith
with both lethal pace and late movement.
Deserved to play more than just one game.
M: 1; O: 4; W: 11; E/R: 7.25
SUNIL NARINE 9/10
In his third IPL season, the West Indies
off-spinner continued to bamboozle inter-
national batsmen with his clever variations
and bagful of tricks. He was not only ef-
fective while bowing in Powerplay overs,
but also at the death. He missed out on the
Purple Cap narrowly, but his 21 wickets
were instrumental in KKR reeling off nine
wins in a row enroute to the title.
M: 16; O: 64; W: 21; E/R: 6.35
PIYUSH CHAWLA 7/10
Has an uncanny habit of picking wickets.
His big six off KXIPs Mitchell Johnson in
the penultimate over of the final virtually
sealed the fate of the match.
M: 11; O: 39.3; W: 14; E/R: 7.67
UMESH YADAV 7/10
Bowled well throughout but was a touch
expensive.
M: 12; O: 45; W: 11; E/R: 8.15
VINAY KUMAR 4/10
His lack of pace can be a boon or curse de-
pending on the playing surface.
M: 9; Ovs: 32; Wkts: 7; E/R: 8.78
CHRIS LYNN 4/10
Got only two games and scored a 45 in one.
M: 2; R: 58; HS: 45; S/R: 118
ANDRE RUSSELL 1/10
Was not up to the mark and was dropped.
M: 2; R: 2; Ovs: 5; Wkt: 1; E/R: 10.40
MANVINDER BISLA 1/10
Was largely consigned to the bench.
M: 1; R: 3; Ct: 1
Vedam Jaishankar I TNN
Bangalore: Manish Pandeys
fearless and
carefree bat-
ting attitude
with the USP
which attract-
ed Kolkata
Knight Rid-
ers, according to triumphant
skipper Gautam Gambhir.
While these qualities are the
very essence of T20, it would
be no exaggeration to state that
Manish lives by them.
Just one example of his
mindset will suffice. Five
years ago a young Karnataka
team led by Test star Rahul
Dravid took on a full-fledged
Punjab in the quarterfinals of
the Ranji Trophy. Punjab had
made 300 and had Karnataka
reeling at 272 for seven. The
new ball had been taken just
moments earlier. Manishs re-
sponse to it was to step out
and loft the Punjab fast
bowlers over their heads for
sixes and fours. He raced to
his century and fetched the
first-innings lead for his team.
Karnataka advanced.
The approach caught Pun-
jab off guard while a couple of
Karnatakas accomplished
batsmen confessed they would
not have even dreamt of play-
ing those shots at that stage of
the game. But this is the sort of
approach that has left Manishs
captains either applauding or
wringing their hands in de-
spairat everylevel of thegame.
His intermittent successes
have often been spectacular,
like the 94 against Kings XI
Punjab in the IPL final on Sun-
day or in 2009 when he became
the first Indian to make an IPL
with an unbeaten 114 for RCB
against Deccan Chargers at
the Centurion in South Africa.
A hernia operation in 2011
laid him low for a while. But
when he returned he was as
adventurous as ever. The dev-
il-may-care attitude that was
the highlight of his approach
to batting remained, but none
dared comment about it be-
cause Manish was still scor-
ing those huge centuries.
Manish, whose father was
an army officer, came to Ban-
galore on temporary transfer
when his son was just seven
years of age. Staying in the
army quarters and studying
in an army school probably
developed the aggressive
streak in him, according to
his early coach Irfan Sait.
Even at that young age he
loved to bat. In camp match-
es he would steal a single off
the last delivery of the over
and keep strike. I had to speak
to him about this attitude, but
he continued to play as he
wanted, he pointed out.
When Manishs father was
transferred to Rajasthan the
lad chose to stay back in Ban-
galore because cricket oppor-
tunitiesinthecityweregreater.
Senanayake reported
over suspected action
Sri Lanka off-spinner Sachithra Senanayake
has been reported for a suspected illegal
bowling action, the International Cricket
Council (ICC) confirmed on Monday.
Senanayake, who has twice recorded career-
best figures in the ongoing Royal London
series against England, was reported by
umpires Ian Gould and Marais Erasmus at the
end of his teams victory at Lords on
Saturday. He will be free to bowl again in the
series decider at Edgbaston on Tuesday, but
will face further scrutiny under ICC
regulations.
De Villiers, Amla vie for Test captaincy: AB
de Villiers and Hashim Amla are the leading
candidates to succeed Graeme Smith as South
Africas Test captain. Cricket South Africas
board meets in Johannesburg on Tuesday to
make what is seen as a crucial decision after a
decade of Smith at the helm. Smith captained
South Africa in a world-record 109 Tests before
retiring in March last year.
Im not ready for Tests, insists Buttler: Jos
Buttler believes he will eventually be able to
transfer his stunning One-Day form into the
Test arena but that now is not the time for him
to make a debut in the five-day format. I
havent discussed it with the management or
Alastair, Buttler said. (But) I am not ready
for Test match cricket.
Flintoff out to earn his pocket money:
Former England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff
will be hoping his return to competitive action
is profitable on and off the field after agreeing
a deal with county side Lancashire that will
earn him a cut of the gate receipts. The 36-
year-old Flintoff, who retired in 2010 having
played 79 tests, 141 one-day internationals
and seven T20 matches, will pocket one pound
($1.68) for every spectator who attends
Twenty20 matches at Old Trafford because of
his return to action.
GALLERY
INTERNATIONAL
CRICKET: England vs Sri Lanka, 5th ODI (Live
on Star Sports2, 6.30 pm)
HOCKEY: World Cup, Netherlands: Women:
Group B: Germany vs Argentina (7.30 pm);
Men: Group B: South Africa vs New Zealand
(5.55 pm); Netherland vs Korea (11 pm) (Live
on Ten Sports)
TENNIS: French Open, Paris 5.30 pm (Live on
Neo Sports, Neo Prime)
ACTION TODAY
KKRs Pandey swears by life in the fast lane
GAUTAM
GAMBHIR 9/10
Full marks for his attacking captaincy and
making his men believe in their own abil-
ity. By choosing to play with five front-
line bowlers in every match, he showed
that it was possible to defend low scores
regularly if you have quality bowlers. Cred-
it is also due to the skipper for turning
around his own batting form with a string
of useful contributions.
M: 16, W-11, R: 335, HS 65; S/R: 114
In a wonderful display of
total team effort, Gautam
Gambhirs shining Knights
had an astounding late run
to win a second title in
three years. Sumit
Mukherjee draws up a
report card of the men
who made it possible
PURPLE
REIGN
COACH: TREVOR
BAYLISS: Coached
Sri Lanka to the World
T20 final in 2009 and
the World Cup final in
2011. Bayliss was hired
by KKR in 2012 after he
guided the Sydney
Sixers to Big Bash
glory. Under him, KKR
have won two IPL
crowns.
BOWLING MENTOR:
WASIM AKRAM:
The recent renaissance
enjoyed by Umesh
Yadav could be credited
to the Pakistanis
insightful tips. He is a
master of his art and
even foreign players
like Narine and Morkel
have acknowledged his
inputs.
ASSISTANT COACH:
VIJAY DAHIYA: The
former India stumper
has worked closely
with Gambhir as Delhi
coach and knows the
domestic players well.
He is hands on and
very passionate about
the game and enjoys
the challenge that t20
cricket throws up.
BATTING COACH: WV RAMAN: He is an experienced coached and has
tasted success with Bengal and TN. Having watched domestic cricket as
coach and commentator, he knows the Indian players rather well.
YUSUF PATHAN 6/10
Played the most telling and ex-
plosive knock of the tournament.
But for his 22-ball 72 against Sun-
risers Hyderabad, KKR would not
have qualified as the No 2 team.
Played his part in the final, too,
with a quickfire 36, but wasnt
consistent enough. Hardly got a
chance to bowl, but was well be-
low par in the field.
M: 15, R: 268, HS 72; S/R: 162
SUPER WELCOME : KKRs
Yusuf Pathan arrives amid
fanfare and cheer, in
Kolkata, on Monday. KKR
won the seventh edition of
the IPL when they defeated
Kings XI Punjab in Bangalore
on Sunday
It was a little
disappointing, giving 140-
odd runs in 10 overs with
the bowling attack we have. But we
always had the belief going into the
dressing room that 200 on this
ground, and on this kind of pitch,
would not be impossible.
Gautam Gambhir, KKR SKIPPER
ALL SMILES: Off-spinner R Ashwin receives
the special award for Indian Player Of The
Year from former India batting sensation
VVS Laxman in the city on Monday
Santosh Bane