There is good news for the cricket fans who have had an issue with the late games of the Indian Premier League. The play-offs and the final of the 11th edition of the Indian Premier League will start at 7pm instead of the usual time of 8pm. Thanks to the slow over rates, some of the game have gone on to end at around 12 midnight and with matches slotted right through the week, this isn’t the most viewer-friendly practice as most also need to head to schools, colleges and work the next morning.

Speaking to CricketNext, IPL chairman Rajeev Shukla said that it was an effort to help the fans who have an issue getting back home from the stadium late in the night as also those who have work the next morning and have an issue with watching the late encounters on television.

“The IPL is what it is because of its fans and the tournament has over the years been followed avidly both on the ground and on television at homes. So, keeping the interest of the fans in mind, it was decided that the play-off games and the final will start an hour earlier. So, instead of the 8pm start, the games will start at 7pm.

“It gets difficult not only for those at the stadium, but also for those watching on television as students and office-goers also need to get back to their respective stuff next morning and it helps if the game starts an hour earlier,” he explained.

The historic Eden Gardens will host two play-off matches that were originally scheduled in Pune. “The GC has confirmed that Kolkata will host the Eliminator and Qualifier 2 on May 23 and 25 respectively,” Shukla had earlier said.

As per the original schedule, Pune was scheduled to host the Eliminator and Qualifier 2, but the venue became Chennai Super Kings’ adopted home for six matches owing to security concerns for the Cauvery protests in Tamil Nadu.

The 67,000 capacity Eden Gardens emerged as the frontrunner and was adequately compensated by the IPL GC. “We are happy to host the play-off matches and are looking forward to it,” Cricket Association of Bengal joint-secretary Avishek Dalmiya said.

Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium will play host to the Qualifier 1 and the Final on May 22 and 27 respectively.

Mohamedan Sporting Club will have their task cut out when they take on high-flying Minerva Punjab FC in the final of the U-13 Youth League at the Vidyasagar Stadium in Barasat on Tuesday.

Minerva have been brilliant en-route to the final.

Like their U-15 team which got the better of DSK Shivajians to clinch the U-15 Youth League title and their senior counterparts which clinched the I-League trophy defying all odds, the U-13 colts have also done well to reach the summit clash.

But in Mohamedan Sporting Club, they will have a tough opponent who have not only performed well this far but also have the home advantage.

Having stunned SAI East Zone 2-0 in the semi-final, Mohamedan Sporting Club will have to administer an even greater shock in order to deny the Minervans the trophy, who grounded high-flying Sudeva FC 5-0 to book their place in the final.

Mohammedan SC like to play counter-attacking football, as they soak up pressure for long periods before launching the ball forward to their speedy attackers up front.

This, especially, suits the midfield mainstay Mohammed Zeedan to a tee, as well as Sujay Budhuk and Nabakumar Santra, all of whom use their pace to occupy space behind the opponents.

Led by Irfan Mondal, Wasid Ali, Aftab Ali and Anisur Rahaman, the Mohammedan SC backline should give Minerva problems throughout the match.

“Tomorrow’s game is extremely important because we want to win and crown our efforts. It will be premature to say how we would approach the match but I can say it will be a good game. Everything is possible on the field and if it needs us to play our best football in the tournament we will”, Mohammedan SC coach Ananta Kumar Ghosh said.

“We respect Minerva because they are good that is why they made it to the final but we have a good group of players which is ready to get us the win.

“We have good players with good qualities and we have to show that in the final. Despite the Minerva team being strong we have what it takes to win and keep the trophy here.

“If we can win this one then it will be huge for our fans. We want to do it for them,” Ghosh added.

On the other hand, Minerva’s dominance in the tournament has been unmatched, outscoring opponents by a 19-1 margin.

The Anthony Andrews-coached side has based their game on a solid defence that hasn’t conceded since their final round opener against BBFS.

With only one goal conceded, the Minervas have the meanest defence and rely on the brilliance of Tongbram Maheron Singh up front to make it to the final.

Though Maheron has deservedly taken many of the plaudits in the tournament, Longjam Swami Singh and Himanshu Jangra have often been just as important to many of Minerva’s winning efforts.

Opener Lokesh Rahul, who helped Kings XI Punjab outplay Rajasthan, said he is satisfied with his unbeaten 84-run knock at the Holkar Cricket Stadium here.

Chasing 152/9, Rahul’s 54 ball knock, comprising seven boundaries and three sixes, helped Punjab chase down the target in 18.4 overs on Sunday.

“For me personally I think this is the first knock I am really satisfied with because I won the game for the team and stayed till the end,” Rahul said after the match.

“I always try to back my cricketing shots and don’t try to slog much. Playing in this way is what will make me consistent.

“I trust myself and trust my instincts to finish the game. I knew if I stay till the end I’ll finish the game today. Karun played well and supported me. Stoinis played well and ran well too. I got lucky and that’s what happens in this format,” he added.

The win takes Punjab to the third spot with 12 points in nine matches while Rajasthan, who faced their third consecutive defeat, are tottering at the bottom of the table with six points in nine matches. With this loss, Rajasthan’s chances of qualifying for the play-offs are over.

Commenting on their defeat, Rajasthan skipper Ajinkya Rahane said: “Pretty disappointed. 170-175 on this pitch would have been very good. We didn’t bat very well, including me. Guys have to learn. Bowlers in IPL are bowling well.

“We lost crucial wickets, didn’t get partnerships. We cannot give excuses all the time. We can win five out of five now,” he added.

Sunrisers Hyderabad consolidated their stay atop the Indian Premier League (IPL) points table with yet another brilliant defence of a meagre total, that saw them pip struggling Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) by five runs here at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Monday.

This was the Orange Army’s eighth win from 10 matches and look on course for the play-offs with already 16 points in their kitty.

On the other hand, Virat Kohli’s sixth-placed RCB virtually find themselves out of the race to the play-offs after succumbing to their seventh loss in 10 outings and are likely to play the party spoilers from here on.

After restricting Sunrisers to a manageable 146, the visitors began their chase on a promising note, and looked comfortable at 60/2 before the innings derailed with three quick wickets as they eventually ended on 141/6.

Parthiv Patel gave RCB a flashy start scoring a 13-ball 20 before skipper Kohli blasted a 30-ball 39 to put the tourists on course for a comfortable win.

Kohli started with his trademark cover drive for a boundary before taking left-arm spinner Shakib Al Hasan to the cleaners on three consecutive occasions.

Kohli survived a scare from Afghan leg-spinner Rashid Khan when his edge went through Kane Williamson’s hands to the boundary but could not ride his luck a second time when Yusuf Pathan pulled off a blinder of a catch at short third man off Shakib.

The skipper’s wicket followed the quick dismissals of AB de Villiers (5) and debutant Moeen Ali (10) as the tourists started losing the plot.

With the asking run-rate climbing and the home bowlers sticking to a perfect line, the last recognised batting duo of Mandeep Singh (21 not out) and Colin de Grandhomme (33) eventually failed to take the visitors home.

Earlier, the tourists rode on pace duo of Mohammed Siraj (3/25) and Tim Southee (3/30) and two impressive run-outs by skipper Kohli to restrict the hosts to a a below par 146.

Siraj accounted for the key wickets of opener Shikhar Dhawan (13), Yusuf Pathan (12) and Wriddhiman Saha (8) even as Southee started the proceedings with the wicket of the other opener Alex Hales (5) and came back to remove Shakib (35) and Sandeep Sharma (0), as the home side could manage just 41 runs losing seven wickets in the final five overs.

Put in to bat, Hyderabad skipper Kane Williamson (56 off 39 balls) raged a lone battle with a defiant half century, despite losing his partners at regular intervals before Shakib joined him to forge a 64-run partnership for the fourth wicket and take the side past the 100-run mark.

With the innings progressing at a snail’s pace, Williamson while trying to up the ante, perished off a Umesh Yadav delivery caught at the deep backward square leg boundary by Mandeep Singh.

The Hyderabad’s skipper knock was decorated with five fours and couple of sixes.

Shakib too, followed his skipper to the dug out in the 18th over before Yusuf and Wriddhiman departed in quick succession off the penultimate over of the innings.The final over saw a couple of run-outs by Kohli and a wicket by Southee as the hosts were bundled out for 146.

Brief Scores: Sunrisers Hyderabad: 146 (Kane Williamson 56, Shakib Al Hasan 35; Mohammed Siraj 3/25) beat Royal Challengers Bangalore 141/6 (Virat Kohli 39, Colin de Grandhomme 33, Mandeep Singh 21 not out; Shakib Al Hasan 2/36) by 5 runs.

Back in the mix riding consecutive victories, a buoyant Mumbai Indians (MI) will cross swords with an iffy Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) for a second time in a space of three days in a crunch Indian Premier League (IPL) encounter at the Eden Gardens here on Wednesday.

Recovering from a slow start, defending champions MI recorded back-to-back wins against Kings XI Punjab and KKR to jump to fifth spot (8 points from 10 games) in the table, a rung below their rivals (10 points from 10 games) on the morrow.

KKR, meanwhile, have blown hot and cold, winning five and losing an equal number of matches.

While the Dinesh Karthik-led side have not managed to string together consistent performances, MI led by India’s limited-over Vice Captain Rohit Sharma have looked like a team on a mission to turn the tide in their favour at the end of the season.

Mumbai were on the verge of falling by the wayside after a series of reversals before they managed to pull through in the previous two games.

While against Punjab it was a Rohit and Krunal Pandya blitz that kept them alive in the competition, a challenging 181/4 coupled with well-directed short balls during KKR’s chase helped MI stay afloat and stake a claim for a playoffs berth.

KKR looked like getting away with the points at various junctures of the match but planned short deliveries from the likes of Mitchell McClenaghan at the start and Hardik Pandya towards the end helped MI pick up wickets at regular intervals as well as break crucial partnerships.

Given the role of an opening batsman, Suryakumar Yadav has been a revelation for MI, scoring as many as four half centuries in 10 matches. The 27-year-old former KKR player is MI’s highest run-getter amassing 399 at 39.90.

One concern for Rohit would be MI’s middle order which continued to struggle against KKR and had it not been for Hardik’s innovative shots at the end, they would have not managed to post 181 despite getting off to an explosive start.

MI also lack depth in bowling and Robin Uthappa almost exposed that in the last match.

Coming to the home team, KKR were not at full strength against MI in the away game, with young pacer Shivam Mavi’s injured finger joining the team’s long list of injuries this season.

It remains to be seen whether Mavi, an U-19 World Cup winner, plays on Wednesday. Otherwise KKR might again opt for little-known Prasidh Krishna who made his IPL debut the other evening.

Led by West Indian mystery spinner Sunil Narine, KKR’s spin battery will again be the key with chinaman Kuldeep Yadav and leggie Piyush Chawla expected to choke the opposition.

Karthik has been very consistent with the bat and he would want his other batters to stand up and be counted.

Nitish Rana has been in fine touch for the purple brigade from the outset while Andre Russell has played a few devastating knocks. Young Shubman Gill, who was sent in to open the batting along with Lynn against MI, could again get the opportunity.

In the head-to-head count, MI lead KKR by a long long way at 17-5 in 22 meetings so far. Both teams need to win on Wednesday to keep their chances alive and not leave their fate to other teams.

Teams:

KKR: Dinesh Karthik (captain), Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Chris Lynn, Robin Uthappa, Kuldeep Yadav, Piyush Chawla, Nitish Rana, Prasidh Krishna, Shivam Mavi, Mitchell Johnson, Shubman Gill, R. Vinay Kumar, Rinku Singh, Cameron Delport, Javon Searless, Apoorv Wankhade, Ishank Jaggi, Tom Curran.

MI: Rohit Sharma (captain), Suryakumar Yadav, Evin Lewis, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Mayank Markande, Mitchell McLenaghan, Mustafizur Rahaman, Jasprit Bumrah, Akila Dananjaya, Ben Cutting, JP Duminy, Rahul Chahar, Sharad Lumba, Adam Milne, Siddhesh Lad, Md Nidheesh, Mohsin Khan, Anukul Roy, Pradeep Sangwan, Tajinder Singh, Aditya Tare, Saurabh Tiwary.

Sun Risers Hyderabad will clash with Delhi Daredevils in Hyderabad
In IPL Cricket, two matches will be played on Saturday (May 05). Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will take on Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in Pune at 4 PM. Sun Risers Hyderabad will clash with Delhi Daredevils in Hyderabad at 8 PM.

On Friday night, Mumbai Indians beat Kings XI Punjab by six wickets in an IPL match in Indore.

Chasing a target of 175 runs , Mumbai Indians made 176 for the loss of four wickets in 19 overs. Surya Kumar Yadav who scored 57 in 42 balls was the top scorer for Mumbai.

Earlier put into bat, Kings Eleven made 174 for the loss of six wickets in the stipulate 20 overs.Chris Gayle continued his explosive run in the IPL with a 50 off 40 balls.

Hindusthan Samachar/Shri Ram Shaw

Opener SuryaKumar Yadav’s 57 run knock and some useful contributions from other batters helped Mumbai Indians beat Kings XI Punjab by six wickets in an Indian Premier League (IPL) match here on Friday.

With this win Mumbai is sitting at the fifth spot with six points in nine matches, while Punjab is at fourth spot with 10 points in eight matches.

Mumbai started 175 run chase on a positive note, scoring 38 runs in 5.3 overs, but after that opener Evin Lewis (10) departed. Lewis was caught behind Mujeeb ur Rahman.

New batsman Ishan Kishan (25) and SuryaKumar then joined hands and played sensibly. The duo also managed to hit few beautifully crafted shots. But just when things seemed good in the middle, in-form SuryaKumar was dismissed by Marcus Stoinis in the 12th over when scoreboard was reading 80. His 42-ball knock was laced with six boundaries and three sixes.

Hardik Pandya also contributed but failed to make a good start count as he was sent packing in the 13th over. He played 13 balls and slammed 23 runs.

Middle-order batsmen Rohit Sharma (24) and Krunal Pandya (31) then forged an unbeaten 46 run partnership for the fifth wicket to overhaul the target with one over to spare.

For Punjab, Rahman scalped two wickets.

Earlier, a half-century by Chris Gayle followed by some fireworks by Marcus Stoinis in the final moments helped Kings XI Punjab post a challenging 174/6.

Punjab somewhat squandered a great 54-run start by openers Lokesh Rahul (24 off 20) and Gayle (50 off 40 balls), before picking pace towards the end as Stoinis deposited Hardik Pandya for two sixes and as many fours to milk 22 runs off the final over.

The self-proclaimed “Universe Boss” slammed his 24th IPL fifty, decorated with six boundaries and couple of sixes.

Put in to bat, Punjab were off to a decent beginning as the openers took Punjab past the 50-run mark in 6.1 overs.

Mumbai’s find of the tournament Mayank Markande came up with the first breakthrough after dismissing Rahul in the seventh over with the scoreboard reading 54 runs.

Gayle was then joined by veteran Yuvraj Singh and the duo stitched a 34-run partnership for the second wicket before pacer Ben Cutting ended the Caribbean southpaw’s innings in the 12th over.

Yuvraj (14 off 14 balls), who was promoted up the batting order, once again failed to fire as the out-of-form batsman was the next to depart in the 13th over with Punjab’s scorecard reading 96/3.

Karun Nair and Axar Patel then showed some resistance, adding 36 runs for the fourth wicket.

Pacers Jaspreet Bumrah and Mitchell McClenaghan further jolted the hosts after dismissing Nair (23 off 12 balls) and Patel (13 off 12 balls) in the 16th and 17th overs, respectively.

Stoinis then played a cameo of a 15-ball 29, while Mayank Agarwal chipped in with 11 runs down the order to help Punjab reach a healthy score.

For Mumbai, McClenaghan, Bumrah, Hardik, Markande and Cutting bagged a wicket each.

Brief Scores: Kings XI Punjab 174/6 (Chris Gayle 50, Marcus Stoinis 29; Jasprit Bumrah 1/19) vs Mumbai Indians 176/4 (SuryaKumar Yadav 57; Mujeeb ur Rahman 2/37).

Defending his players after the loss to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in an Indian Premier League (IPL) game here, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) head coach Stephen Fleming said the team has performed well so far and changes are not required after just one bad game.

Poor fielding and bowling let CSK down against KKR at the Eden Gardens here on Thursday night.

Ravindra Jadeja, regarded as one of the best fielders around, dropped KKR opener Sunil Narine twice on six, off successive deliveries by pacer K.M. Asif.

Narine was adjudged Man-of-the-Match for his all-round show — 32 runs and 2/20 — as KKR secured a six-wicket victory with 14 balls to spare. They moved to the third spot in the points table while CSK dropped to second.

“We were exposed and I think sometimes it reflected on the bowling. Certainly we were on the backfoot with some good fielders making mistakes, it hit down a little bit,” Fleming said at the post match press conference while referring to Jadeja’s gaffes.

“Look, that can happen in a long tournament… It’s not a great performance by any means but we have got hours rather than days to rectify. A loss just is a little slap on the face and hopefully it has not affected in day and half’s time and there’s still going to be hardwork.

“We got to be careful that we don’t get too carried away after one bad game where the bowling looked a little bit off. It’s too easy to start chopping and changing after one bad game. Look those guys bowled us to a win in the last game. You just got be careful and not be too knee-jerk and make sure that you run the sequence long enough to see true form come through,” the former New Zealand skipper added.

Fleming also asserted that CSK had set a competitive target for the hosts by posting 177/5 after being asked to bat.

“We were not that unhappy with 178, that’s a pretty competitive target. We just did not start well enough, we had opportunities but could not take them,” he said.

Apart from his mistakes in the field, Jadeja — who is going through a slump in form — was also lacklustre with both the bat and ball. He scored 12 runs from as many balls and returned figures of 1/39.

Fleming, who pointed out that CSK should have increased the scoring rate in the final overs, urged the all-rounder to pull up his socks.

“We lost a little bit of intensity, could have scored a little bit more in the last four-five overs. A little bit more obviously from Jadeja. He got to score more than run a ball if he’s going to fill that role,” the CSK coach said.

Giving credit to KKR spinners, Fleming said: “Their spinners were one of our main concerns. Narine is quality both at the start or at the end of the innings. The way he bowls, he takes a couple of overs out of your innings. He stunted momentum.

“It’s just another night where we were just fractionally off and as a team we just can’t afford to do that. We were not that good a side where we can have bad days and still get win. We can compete but the result is probably appropriate.”

Fleming also lauded U-19 World Cup winning batsman Shubman Gill whose unbeaten 36-ball 57 helped KKR get past the line.

Top order batsman Gill, who had to bat at No.7 in the previous matches, was promoted to No.4 on Thursday in the absence of the injured Nitish Rana.

The 18-year-old from Punjab grabbed the opportunity with both hands and played a classy innings.

“He played well. It was interesting when the two youngsters were at the crease. We looked to put pressure on them. Some of his shotmaking maybe a bit predetermined but it’s exciting to watch. Gill got more composure. He’s been batting down the order, it was his first real opportunity. He took that opportunity and played a big part winning the match,” Fleming said.

CSK next take on Royal Challengers Bangalore at their newly adopted home town of Pune on Saturday.

Seasoned Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) wrist spinner Piyush Chawla feels Shubman Gill is a special talent following the young batsman’s unbeaten 57 that helped the team beat the more-fancied Chennai Super Kings (CSK) by six wickets in an Indian Premier League (IPL) game here on Thursday.

“Before the start of the matches, during our camp…I had said that he is a special talent. Today he proved it,” Chawla told reporters at the post match press conference.

In the absence of injured Nitish Rana, Gill was promoted to No.4 in the batting order, a slot where he is more comfortable in, rather than at No.7.

Chasing 178 for victory, KKR were in control of their chase right from the outset.

When Rinku Singh was bowled in the 12th over, KKR needed 81 runs off 50 balls. Gill and skipper Dinesh Karthik (18-ball 45 not out) then joined hands for an unbroken 83-run stand for the fifth wicket to guide the team to victory with 14 balls to spare.

Gill’s 32-ball half-century was studded with six fours, three of which came inside the first six deliveries he faced.

The star of India’s U-19 World Cup winning team became fourth-youngest to score an IPL half-century, after his India Under-19 team-mate Prithvi Shaw, Sanju Samson and Rishabh Pant.

“Nitish was injured and he was doing well for us. We needed somebody who can graft the innings and he did exactly the same, what the team demanded from him,” Chawla said when asked about Gill being pushed up the order.

“Batting at No.7, I guess if you see the team combination, it’s a team game so team comes first,” he added.

Earlier, KKR led by West Indian mystery spinner Sunil Narine (2/20) and Kuldeep Yadav and Chawla himself, once again put pressure on CSK and did not let them score big.

A team that has gone past the 200-plus run-mark four times, were restricted to 177/5 with M.S. Dhoni’s 25-ball 43 the highlight in the end. But captain Dhoni too, struggled against spin.

“We have three spinners who have played at the highest level and have done well. It was a team thought that we might go with the spinners in the slog overs and we ended up quite well bowling with spinners in the 18th, 19th and 20 over,” said Chawla who returned figures of 2/35.

Kuldeep (1/34), Narine and Chawla bowled the 18th, 19th and 20 over respectively in the first innings.

Chawla further said that the role of wrist spinner is very important in T20 cricket, adding chinaman Kuldeep has replaced Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan efficiently.

“Previously we had Sunil, myself and Shakib (Al Hasan). Kuldeep has come in and is filling up the boots of Shakib. He is doing really well and as I said, wrist spinner plays a big role in this format and we are lucky to have two wrist spinners and the way Sunil bowls, the whole world knows that.”

KKR next take on Mumbai Indians in Mumbai and then welcome the same team at home. Chawla said although Rohit Sharma and Co. are at the foot of the points table, they can be dangerous.

“T20 is a kind of format where no team is easy. If you see Mumbai Indians they have proved it in the IPL. They are at the bottom of the table right now but these kind of teams are even more dangerous. So we have to play good cricket to come on top.”

KKR are now placed third with 10 points from nine games.

In IPL Cricket, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will take on Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Thursday (May 03). The game will begin at 8 p.m.

Table-toppers Chennai Super Kings have 12 points from eight matches. Kolkata Knight Riders are placed 4th with 8 points from eight games.

On Wednesday night, Delhi Daredevils beat Rajasthan Royals by four runs under Duckworth/Lewis method in their rain-curtailed IPL match in Delhi. Sent in bat, Delhi made 196 for six in 17.1 overs when rain brought a premature end to their innings.

Rajasthan Royals were set a revised target of 151 from 12 overs under Duckworth/Lewis method. But Daredevils restricted the Royals to 146 for five to notch up the win.

Hindusthan Samachar/Shri Ram Shaw