Cricket World Cup 2011 teams: Cricket World Cup 2011 teams include 4 times winner Australia, 2 times winners West Indies, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Zimbabwe, New Zealand, Netherlands, Canada, Ireland, England and Kenya. Groups in which Cricket World Cup 2011 teams are divided:
Navi Mumbai: Mumbai Indians vice-captain Zaheer Khan was thrilled at making his maiden final of IPL. But, despite the win, he says the team's feet remain firmly on the ground.
Excerpts:
On Sachin Tendulkar’s injury: Yeah, we are a little worried, in a couple of days we are going to take a call. Let’s see how he shapes up, obviously he’s got a few stitches on his hand, it’s a bit of a worry but we are going to take a call in a couple of days time. To be honest everyone was so happy in the dressing room, and they were just jumping around, so I haven’t really had a chance to speak to him. But I spoke to (coach) Robin (Singh) and he said [in a] couple of days time we’ll take a call [on] how exactly he shapes up.
On his role as stand-in captain: Well, yeah, it was unexpected, it was unfortunate that Sachin had to leave the field and I had to take the responsibility. Yeah, it was good, I mean all’s well that ends well. We are happy that we are in the final - that was the major cause and [we] just want to keep focused and wait till [the] 25th comes for the last push.
On MI’s over-dependence on Sachin Tendulkar: Whichever team he plays for relies on him - no doubt about that. Obviously today it was unfortunate that he got out early and injured his hand but we’ve reached the final so not all credit goes to him.
On the extent of the injury: Well I don’t know what exactly the status is. And, honestly, I am a cricketer not a physio (laughs) so I’d like to stick to my job. I hope he plays in the final, I am sure all the Mumbai Indians supporters would be praying that he plays in the final and we all also expect him to play. But some things are not in your hands. As I said, we are going to take a call in a couple of days times so we just need to be patient, wait for a couple of days and see how it is, you never know.
On the Mumbai Indians bowling attack: See, our bowling unit has been performing really well, I am really happy with their effort, even today our plan was to be aggressive up front because the first six overs were really crucial. And I was really happy with the intensity on the field, the whole team was up for it, you know they were running hard on the field and looking for the early breakthroughs.
On contending with batsmen like Kieron Pollard: Well, that’s the nature of T20 cricket, you need to be able to handle pressure well, you need to get your yorkers going, you need to be clear in your mind what’s your plan. So it’s really important to be clear about your plan and just stick to it and execute it well, that’s the way I look at it.
On the pitch and getting Kevin Pietersen’s wicket: Well it was Harbhajan’s call, he wanted to bowl from this end, last match we played at DY Patil he bowled from this end. So it was his call, see, I mean at the end of the day you still got Pietersen out from this end so I am happy with that.
On the importance of Abhishek Nayar: Abhishek is our key player, he’s been playing for Mumbai Indians for the last couple of years, he’s been really consistent. The initial part of IPL (2010) he was struggling with injury and as he is [now] fit we wanted to use him up the order so that (Ambati) Rayudu can face spinners in the middle overs.
On the final being a day after Sachin Tendulkar’s birthday: Knowing Sachin I am sure he is up for it. It doesn’t matter what has happened exactly right now in this game, I am still hopeful. That’s the reason we are saying we are going to take a call in a couple of days time and see how things shape up.
On him thinking of giving a birthday gift (winning the competition) to Sachin Tendulkar: Well that will be a belated birthday gift I guess.
Navi Mumbai: Mumbai Indians vice-captain Zaheer Khan was thrilled at making his maiden final of IPL. But, despite the win, he says the team's feet remain firmly on the ground.
Excerpts:
On Sachin Tendulkar’s injury: Yeah, we are a little worried, in a couple of days we are going to take a call. Let’s see how he shapes up, obviously he’s got a few stitches on his hand, it’s a bit of a worry but we are going to take a call in a couple of days time. To be honest everyone was so happy in the dressing room, and they were just jumping around, so I haven’t really had a chance to speak to him. But I spoke to (coach) Robin (Singh) and he said [in a] couple of days time we’ll take a call [on] how exactly he shapes up.
On his role as stand-in captain: Well, yeah, it was unexpected, it was unfortunate that Sachin had to leave the field and I had to take the responsibility. Yeah, it was good, I mean all’s well that ends well. We are happy that we are in the final - that was the major cause and [we] just want to keep focused and wait till [the] 25th comes for the last push.
On MI’s over-dependence on Sachin Tendulkar: Whichever team he plays for relies on him - no doubt about that. Obviously today it was unfortunate that he got out early and injured his hand but we’ve reached the final so not all credit goes to him.
On the extent of the injury: Well I don’t know what exactly the status is. And, honestly, I am a cricketer not a physio (laughs) so I’d like to stick to my job. I hope he plays in the final, I am sure all the Mumbai Indians supporters would be praying that he plays in the final and we all also expect him to play. But some things are not in your hands. As I said, we are going to take a call in a couple of days times so we just need to be patient, wait for a couple of days and see how it is, you never know.
On the Mumbai Indians bowling attack: See, our bowling unit has been performing really well, I am really happy with their effort, even today our plan was to be aggressive up front because the first six overs were really crucial. And I was really happy with the intensity on the field, the whole team was up for it, you know they were running hard on the field and looking for the early breakthroughs.
On contending with batsmen like Kieron Pollard: Well, that’s the nature of T20 cricket, you need to be able to handle pressure well, you need to get your yorkers going, you need to be clear in your mind what’s your plan. So it’s really important to be clear about your plan and just stick to it and execute it well, that’s the way I look at it.
On the pitch and getting Kevin Pietersen’s wicket: Well it was Harbhajan’s call, he wanted to bowl from this end, last match we played at DY Patil he bowled from this end. So it was his call, see, I mean at the end of the day you still got Pietersen out from this end so I am happy with that.
On the importance of Abhishek Nayar: Abhishek is our key player, he’s been playing for Mumbai Indians for the last couple of years, he’s been really consistent. The initial part of IPL (2010) he was struggling with injury and as he is [now] fit we wanted to use him up the order so that (Ambati) Rayudu can face spinners in the middle overs.
On the final being a day after Sachin Tendulkar’s birthday: Knowing Sachin I am sure he is up for it. It doesn’t matter what has happened exactly right now in this game, I am still hopeful. That’s the reason we are saying we are going to take a call in a couple of days time and see how things shape up.
On him thinking of giving a birthday gift (winning the competition) to Sachin Tendulkar: Well that will be a belated birthday gift I guess.
Dharmasala: MS Dhoni, the skipper of Chennai Super Kings, who helped his team defeat Kings XI Punjab and bag a semi-final spot spoke to the media after the win.
Excerpts:
On whether CSK should have made the semis earlier: Of course, we should have. But at the end of the day the fact is we won. So [I’m] quite happy to be on the winning side. It was a tough thing to wait till the end. If we can perform better in the semi-finals [it will be good] - from now on it’s the knockout stage. Personally I call it the lottery stage where a player needs to click at the right time. You need individuals who rise to the occasion and give you a brilliant performance which can take the game away from the opponent. So let’s hope for the best.
On his team’s bowling not really clicking: Of course, we have been struggling. If you see, more often than not, our main bowlers have not bowled their full quota of overs. It’s not that it has happened just once. It has happened on more than one occasion that we have had to use part-timers. Suresh Raina has been doing that job. Our problem is we don’t have that many part-timers. At the same time that is one of the reasons we featured Justin Kemp in this game. He can bowl at least one over if he doesn’t do well, and more if he does do well. But at the end of the day we are struggling a bit when it comes to our bowling department. But I think our batting also [can be improved], we need to lift our game a bit. I was not in great nick, Matthew Hayden hasn’t been in great nick. I believe in a Twenty20 game, it’s not just about being in form. It’s all about just one game, a couple of balls in the middle and all of a sudden you are back in form […] Overall we need to lift our game.
On the Dharamsala stadium: It’s a beautiful stadium. We all know that. There’s no second opinion about it. It is one of the most beautiful stadiums, if not the most beautiful. I think Anurag Thakur [HPCA President], along with the office bearers and the groundsmen, has done a really good job. It’s a very pleasant atmosphere, you can say, because this time of the year if you are playing in Chennai or any other venue it’s quite hot. But it wasn’t hot, even for the 4’o clock game, so it was good to play. [It was a ] good wicket, [when] 190 runs are scored and the opponent is able to chase [the target] that means the wicket was quite good. So overall, [I’m] quite happy with the venue, the wicket and the hospitality also.
On whether Dharamsala is geared to host international games: Why not? You know, there are a few things that need to be done. The travelling and everything - they are trying their best. They have [made] arrangements [to the best of their ability]. And slowly it will get better and better, so why not? Why can’t we play an international game [here]? But it’s going to be quite tiring, if we are playing a seven ODI series, or five ODI series and it’s the last game then you can imagine going all the way to Kangra and back - it can be a bit of trouble. But you always want to take trouble for a beautiful place like this.
On whether they have any special plans for their bowling in the semis: From the beginning we have been [making efforts to see our] bowling department performs well. Out of the 14 games, we have bowled brilliantly in one or two games like against Kolkata [Knight Riders] and one or two other games. But if you talk of consistent performances, then we haven’t been consistent. We rely heavily on our batsmen to deliver. Suresh Raina has scored the most runs for us, every time he’s the person batting at No. 3. He takes the bowlers on. Badri [S Badrinath] has done well. I am hoping we perform as a team. I hope the bowlers lift their game because it’s a knockout stage. Wickets will be quite different. Frankly, I found out that it’s quite difficult to bowl in Chennai because you don’t get much movement off the wicket and there’s plenty of bounce to play good shots. More often than not even if you mis-hit a delivery you get a six for it. Overall, [it’s] a difficult venue to bowl [at]. But at the end of the day when we are touring we should be bowling better.
On the Dharmasala wicket: It was a good wicket. [There was] a lot of grass cover that had been left on the wicket. But if you leave this much grass for an international match then there are better bowlers to exploit the conditions - so you won’t see this much grass in international games. But overall, [I’m] very happy with the wicket.
On facing MI and planning for Sachin Tendulkar: Well, people have been planning against him for the past 20 years, but nothing really works. So we just hope that he commits a mistake and it works in our favour. It’s not like you can come up with something and say it’s something that will work against Sachin. And it’s not as if Sachin is the only player they have got. They have got big hitters, they have got good bowlers. Especially with the signing of new domestic players they have become a very even side. Their batting line-up is doing well, their openers are doing well, their bowlers are doing well, so they are playing good consistent cricket. But as I say, it’s the lottery stage, commit a few mistakes or bowlers bowl a few good deliveries and you can be under some sort of pressure […]
On MI getting a lot of support with the semis being held in Mumbai: Yes, of course that is expected. So you can say they will be the favourites. They will have a good amount of crowd support. But [even the] Indian cricket team [has] lost in India, so even with the crowd support you can lose. At the end of the day, you are supposed to play well on the field […] In this kind of format, the game changes very quickly.
On the emotional response to winning against KXIP: Of course, it was a very emotional moment for me because the franchise plays professional cricket. The franchise has been really nice when it comes to the amount of respect they have given to the individuals, whether they are the players or support staff and people around. We have never had any trouble with the franchise. We have a very good side at the same time, so we are at least expected to reach the semi-finals if we are playing good, consistent cricket over a period of time. That’s what IPL is all about. You have to been in the semi-finals if you are a good side. It definitely means that even though in the last two editions we haven’t been able to win the Cup, we have been part of the semi-finals - it says [we] have played good, consistent cricket. Ok, we had fitness issues throughout, we signed [Andrew] Flintoff - he got injured. We had [Jacob] Oram in the first edition, he was there for four-five games, after that he went to play for New Zealand, he got injured and he was not the same when he came back. So I think we suffered a lot because of injuries. At the start of this season, we had Justin Kemp, he got injured. Albie Morkel struggled a bit, I got injured myself after the second game. So we have been struggling with injuries and with the form of our domestic bowlers, the Indian seamers you can say [things became difficult]. It was an emotional moment. We should have been in the semi-finals before this game. I had predicted the last time we played Kings XI Punjab [that the loss] would really hurt us. And it really was hurting before the start of the game. The kind of batting they did, the way they played. At the end of the 20 overs it was very difficult to say if we could chase down the 190-odd runs or not. So it was an emotional moment. And Suresh Raina again gave us a good start, soaked up all the pressure. He and Badri [S Badrinath] batted really well. Because of the small ground and because of the high altitude, you can say, the ball travels really far, the outfield was very quick. So it was there at the back of the mind that whatever runs you may need in the last few overs, you can achieve […] Because the wicket was also good and you want [to put] the bowlers also under the same sort of pressure. Both the bowler and you are under the same amount of pressure […] There are 60 to 70 per cent chances that I may succeed - that’s what really happened in this game.
On the final over: It’s never easy. Twenty20 is not only about the pace, otherwise bowlers who bowl 150 [kmph] would have been the most consistent bowlers. I think the bowlers need to be smart and I knew that my batting strength is my power. Not [that] I am the most technically sound batsman. I knew that the bowler and I were under the same sort of pressure. I knew that if he bowls in my area I would look to hit and I was just hoping that he commits a mistake and bowls in my area more than me playing some extraordinary shot. So I think he bowled in my area thrice at least in the four-five deliveries. And it worked in our favour.
On whether playing the semis would mean less time to rest before ICC World T20: Well, of course, but you want to live in the present. I am a person who lives in the present, so I am not thinking too much about the T20 World Cup right now. But as you said, basically I get less time, which means that I would have played a serious T20 game before the first T20 World Cup game that I would be playing. So the time difference between two professional games would be very less, which would be very good for us, in a way. So there are positives, there are negatives, but I am not really surprised.
On the slowness of the wickets this year: Not really. Initially [in the] the tournament, most of the wickets were good for the batsmen and as the tournament progressed, the wickets [moved to] the slower side. Even the Chennai wicket, which is considered one of the better batting tracks we have [slowed down] - the last couple of games we played the wicket was on the slower side. More often than not you have a maximum of two wickets [prepared] for IPL. You can’t really make the whole square, so as the tournament progresses, they get slower and slower [...] I don’t think [in comparison] to the first edition the wickets have gone slower, it’s just that the wear and tear is there because we play lots and lots of games and the time gap between two games is less. The groundsmen don’t get enough time to prepare the wicket. And the conditions are also not suitable [for a good batting pitch]. It’s very hot and humid at almost all the venues, so that can be one of the reasons.
McLeodganj: Cricketers suffer from a lot of stress both on and off the field and are in constant need of spiritual guidance to be able to handle it all better. And the weekend saw a lucky few IPL stars meet a spiritual guru who helped guide them towards the path to inner peace.
The players of Kings XI Punjab, Deccan Chargers, Chennai Super Kings and IPL Chairman and Commissioner Lalit Modi were among those to be blessed by Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, in a one-on-one meeting.
The Nobel laureate was a special guest at both the IPL matches played at Dharamsala and watched the games along with several Buddhist monks from his monastery.
On Sunday, His Holiness met the KXIP and CSK cricketers before the game began and presented them with the ‘khata’, a traditional ceremonial scarf. All the players sought his blessing to not only improve their game but also to find spiritual fulfillment.
The Dalai Lama watched the match in the company of Preity Zinta, co-owner of Kings XI Punjab and Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) president Anurag Thakur.
Earlier on Saturday, the players of Kings XI Punjab and Deccan Chargers teams along with IPL Chairman and Commissioner Lalit Modi had the good fortune of having an audience with the spiritual leader at his official home at McLeodganj.
The players and a host of IPL officials attended a one-and-a-half hour long discourse by His Holiness with the Dalai Lama exhorting the group to look within for peace.
The discourse was followed by a question and answer session in which Yuvraj Singh and others asked questions to the Dalai Lama.
The Dalai Lama also chatted with the players and even told Yuvraj that the only sport he had played was table tennis, once even with a Chinese Prime Minister.
Modi, who had been accompanied by his wife, said he felt enlightened after listening to the Tibetan spiritual leader.
"His teachings are very meaningful and one derives peace of mind listening to him," Modi said.
“I am feeling relaxed after listening to the Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama,” Modi said, adding that he “needed the Dalai Lama’s blessings”.
“From today, I shall be a changed man. I could relate to a lot of things he said,” KXIP bowler Sreesanth declared after meeting with the Dalai Lama.
Speaking after his audience with the Dalai Lama, Yuvraj said that the monastery had a very calming effect on him and also that he found His Holiness’ discourse inspiring.
On the aspect of handling the constant stress of winning and performing, he said that though he would still have to grapple with it, he would do so with a calmer mind.
Dharamsala: Kings XI Punjab coach Tom Moody spoke to the media one last time about his team’s IPL 2010 campaign after their loss to Chennai Super Kings here on Sunday.
Excerpts
On his IPL 2010 experience
Oh, look it was a difficult season there is no doubt about that. Unfortunately we had too many games like tonight where we had winning scores that we failed to defend. We just didn’t execute [the plan] as well as we should have in all three disciplines - bat, ball and in the field consistently throughout the whole [season]. Hence you know we’ve had a number of defeats, in a competition like this where it’s high intensity, a high standard you need to bring high standards to that game every single time and we failed to do that. Tonight I thought we batted superbly well, we got a score that was a score that we should have definitely defended. But due to some missed opportunities in the field and some poor execution with the ball, we ended up coming second. It’s as simple as that. But you’ve got to give credit to Chennai - they kept themselves in the run chase right till the end. And even with two overs to go you would have probably felt that we were slightly in favour but we just didn’t execute our yorkers as well as we should have done in the last 12 balls.
On the bowlers going for too many runs
I wouldn’t say they bowled like millionaires - I wouldn’t be terming it that way. Yeah there is nothing you can do on the sidelines as a coach. You prepare the side, you discuss strategy, you talk about areas you’d like the bowlers to bowl in to certain players, certain bowling changes are discussed. At the end of the day the players are the ones who take responsibility, the players are the one who get the rewards and accolades when they do well. And when it doesn’t go in their favour, obviously as a team you suffer, you come second. There is nothing you can do on the sidelines. All you can do is try to get the strategy right and prepare well so the players can hopefully execute on the night.
On the team’s cohesiveness
It is important to have that connection in the team. We didn’t have any huge issues within the playing group. Even though halfway through the season there was speculation of a rift between certain players that certainly wasn’t the case. The case was that we had a number of players out of form, and it wasn’t until the back half of the season that our batsmen [found] form, and the second [impediment] was the number of injuries. So which really affected our strike power more than anything else. We didn’t have the ability with the ball to have an impact bowler like a Doug Bollinger or a Dale Steyn. Brett Lee came back from injury – it’s probably fair to say that [he was only] 80% [fit]. And [his fitness], along with a couple of other injuries that we suffered [hit us badly]. James Hopes not even turning up because of a calf injury, Jerome Taylor not even appearing in this IPL because of a back problem [really cost us]. Rusty Theron did a great job, but his role is more towards the back end of the innings and not as a front line strike bowler. At times our attack lacked teeth, if I could put it that way, tonight was a good example where the spinners did a terrific job out there. It put us in a wonderful position but all our medium pacers went for plenty.
On Yuvraj Singh being out of form this season
I think at the end of the day Yuvraj [Singh] came into the start of the IPL having recovered from a wrist injury. So he was out of the game for about a month with a wrist injury, so he had [played] no cricket. He was still having a few issues with the wrist in the first part of the tournament - that was quite evident just even at practice. So it’s hard for a batsman to catch up, you know every batsman needs time in the middle. In T20 cricket you don’t tend to have a lot of time and there’s only 20 overs per side so it was a difficult one for Yuvraj going into a season like this, particularly for a player like him. There’s so much expectation - every time he walks to the crease people expect sixes and there’s always that memory of the six sixes in an over - it’s always a tough one for Yuvi. End of the day I feel that he’s coming into some good form and I think he’s showed that in the last few games. And you can guarantee he’ll have a good [ICC T20] World Cup.
On the rumours surrounding the team ownership
I don’t really want to comment about that, because it’s got nothing to do with me. There have been a number of rumours about the team and the sale of the team. That’s been going on for weeks, months. At the end of the day I certainly hope I am involved with the Kings XI. We’ve got a lot of work to do. Outside of the infrastructure of the tournament we need to put things into place and there have been a number of discussions about those plans already. I look forward to the opportunity to work on those and build the franchise [and see it emerge as] one of the strongest in the competition.
On the areas of improvement for the next season
It’s very difficult to answer that because we don’t know who we going to have. It’s an unknown [scenario] so we’re stepping into a new phase in IPL where we don’t know yet how many players we can retain - whether it’ll be overseas players, Indian capped players or domestic players. There’s a big question mark on that and we’ve got two new franchises coming in. So they obviously want to have a say on player availability. What we can do, though, in the mean time is look at all the operational type of things - how we can be more efficient off the field with our operations, cricket operations and the whole franchise operations. And when we do know where we stand with regards to player availability - retaining players and what the situation is with the auction, overseas players, domestic players and capped players - we can move forward.
On the difference between coaching a national team and an IPL team
It’s interesting; there is a very fine line between success and failure. We came into this competition this year as the second team with the most wins. So we were the second most successful team as a franchise. We got a lot right in the first two years, we’ve had a few issues with regards to […] how we approach things. What we need to do is just strive to be better at what we do, and be smarter about how we go about things. And I think every team, every player, every coach, every physio – everyone is involved with this competition. If they are not striving to improve on their performances and [make the most of] the lessons that they’ve learnt from previous seasons, well they are going to go backwards. I personally, along with every single player in this franchise, will go away and look at how they can do things better because this is a fast growing competition. T20 is, realistically, still in its infant stages, but the game is developing. There are new ways to play it, there are new strategies to be learnt and there are new ways to be successful in different phases of the game. The team that [has a coach] that keeps up with the pace of the game is going to be in good hands.
On the disappointing performance of the domestic players this season
There’s no question that the teams that are [tasting] success this year are teams that have got domestic players that have stood up. We’ve had a season where we’ve had a number of players that haven’t shown that consistency in their performance when given the opportunity. I’ll be never pointing a finger at a particular player, I’ll never be pointing a finger at a particular group of players whether it be domestic players or capped Indian players or overseas players. But everyone is responsible. It’s very evident that teams that are successful this season have had either an influx of new domestic players in their squad - a lot of them are the released ICL players - and they have really kicked on and given a lot of teams and the squads a lot of depth in strength.
“The Mumbai Indians might just be off the boil because they are already assured of topping the league table. However, it would be a big mistake if they rest their big guns ahead of the semifinals, because it could disrupt momentum, going into the knockout phase. They must not do anything that will break the winning habit, because decisions to rest players or give someone a break can often backfire in a must win situation,”wrote Steve Waugh in The Times of India.
“One of the many lessons I have learned during 16 years of professional cricket is that it is much easier to perform under pressure when there isn’t actually any pressure! The Mumbai Indians had qualified for the semifinals a week ago so when they needed to catch up with their desired run right having made a fairly slow start it was a lot easier for JP Duminy to hit the accelerator knowing that there really wasn’t much to lose. ... I am told that the Royal Challengers are still guaranteed a semifinal place, but funny things happen when teams get desperate massive scores, huge victory margins and wildly fluctuating run rates so I’ll wait for the last league match to be played before thinking about the semis,” Jacques Kallis wrote in The Times of India.
“On Monday we take on Mumbai Indians in our last league game..... Not only is their starting XI a quality one, their bench-strength too is good. It will be interesting to see who Mumbai play for Mondays match. It’s also tougher to get ready for a game after travelling. Either way this is KKRs last IPL at the Eden this season. Personally, this is one of my favourite grounds and I have loved it here: the fans are terrific and it’s just awesome to hear your name being chanted,” Shane Bond wrote in The Times of India.
“If we get the opportunity to do something special, in order to reach the last four, we will give it our best shot. If our match against the Mumbai Indians turns out to be a matter of statistical interest, we will still try and give our fans something to cheer about…. On the personal front, the going with the bat has not been bad. A lot of people are surprised by my fielding effort… it is a reflection of the hard work put in throughout the year. We are not that bad a team that we need to depend on others to decide our fate. But there is still a silver lining. As our team slogan says, miles to go and promises to keep,” Kolkata Knight Riders skipper, Sourav Ganguly wrote in the Hindustan Times.
"Entire team has to take responsibility. We did not play as a team. We should have batted with more responsibility. We never chased convincingly in the entire tournament. We were in positions to chase convincingly but we were not consistent. If we lose four out of five matches we do not deserve to be in semifinals," Delhi Daredevils captain Gautam Gambhir was quoted as saying by the Indian Express after their loss to the Deccan Chargers.
