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NZC has not made any major changes after its meeting reviewing New Zealand’s disastrous tour of Bangladesh, where they lost all four ODIs

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Oct-2010The New Zealand board has put on hold any sweeping changes following the team’s disastrous tour of Bangladesh, where they lost all four ODIs. It has instead set up a specialised cricket committee and called on the players to redeem themselves on next month’s tour of India.The board met on Friday with captain Daniel Vettori, coach Mark Greatbatch and performance director Roger Mortimer, after nine-hour-long meetings on Thursday with NZC management and Martin Toomey, a high-ranking official of SPARC (Sport and Recreation New Zealand), a government sponsored body to promote sports in the country.Chris Moller, the NZC chairman, called Friday’s meeting with the team officials “comprehensive and robust”, and said that the New Zealand team needed to be given an opportunity to redeem themselves, on the tour of India next month.”We believe that the team needs to be given the chance to demonstrate that they can perform,” Moller said, “the players must take responsibility.”The cricket committee comprises Moller, former international cricketers Stephen Boock and Rob Hart, and High Court judge Sir John Hansen. Its remit will run “from the grassroots right through to the elite level, including the Black Caps.”Moller said that while the performance in Bangladesh was “very concerning”, they will be no major changes in team composition or in the team management immediately. Vettori is the team’s captain, part of the selection committee, their leading bowler and an important lower-order batsman, but NZC decided he didn’t have too much on his plate. “We asked that question, we had a good debate on the subject,” Moller said. “Dan commented that he feels the level of weight on his shoulders was far less than was the case 12 months ago.”Bangladesh’s emphatic victory was the first time they had defeated major opposition in a series. The tour was marred by poor weather and rain washed out New Zealand’s warm-up games, forcing the visitors to go into the ODI series with no match practice. Their batsmen struggled to adjust to the pace and turn of the pitches in Mirpur and failed to score more than 200 in three out of four innings.

Flocking to Twitter, many Southampton fans have been left excited following a big update on the club’s plans to sign Chelsea striker and loanee Armando Broja permanently.

Saints manager Ralph Hasenhuttl has seen the Albania international come on leaps and bounds since his temporary move to the south coast.

Over his 10 Premier League starts for Southampton, Broja has netted five goals whilst proving to be a consistent threat in the final third (WhoScored), drawing praise for his performances at St Mary’s.

This fine form has reportedly resulted in interest from Saints transfer chief Martin Semmens and the club to make his stay a permanent one, but they’re not the only side eyeing a move for the 20-year-old as a ‘string’ of prospective top-flight suitors also take note (Sky Sports).

In a big update, reliable transfer journalist Fabrizio Romano has shared news on the Saints’ plans as the January transfer window slowly draws to a close.

According to his sources, Southampton – seemingly backed by new owners Sport Republic and Serbian-born businessman Dragan Solak – are ‘expected to launch’ a £25m club-record bid to sign Broja before Monday’s transfer deadline. It is believed that the proposal will be ‘submitted soon’, as plenty of Saints fans flock to this update on Twitter.

Southampton fans buzzing…

Signalling a real statement of intent, it’s little wonder so many Southampton fans are buzzing that the club are willing to smash their transfer record in an effort to secure Broja.

The towering Albania international has been a revelation under Hasenhuttl, and tying him down indefinitely would come as a major boost.

Here’s how some Saints supporters reacted to the development:

“absolute scenes if this is true”

Credit: @RichardDyba

“CMOOOON”

Credit: @saintsjwp

“The most comforting thing about this is knowing we actually can spend that much on a player now”

Credit: @AniefiokEkp

“YOOOOOOO”

Credit: @_sfcjay

“If we pull this off, it would make my year and we are less than a month into it!”

Credit: @MattRayB

“25m on one player? We are coming for Europe”

Credit: @fletchsfc

“yes yes yes”

Credit: @summa_symonds

“The best thing about all this is that due to the recent takeover, we can actually spend this. My feeling is it’ll be £25-30m with a buyback of £50-70m dependent on performance. Go and get it done, lads!”

Credit: @Jim_Mack7

In other news: Southampton in pole position to sign ‘very exciting’ attacker as journalist shares news, find out more here.

Normal services resumed on the fourth day with the bat dominating on a placid pitch, after the Sri Lankan spinners had injected some life in the Test on the third

The Bulletin by Siddhartha Talya29-Jul-2010
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
Suresh Raina became the first Indian batsman in nine years to score a Test century on debut•Associated PressNormal service resumed on the fourth day with bat dominating ball on a placid pitch, after the Sri Lankan spinners had injected life into the Test on the third. India ensured a draw was inevitable, as they overhauled Sri Lanka’s first-innings score, with Sachin Tendulkar and Suresh Raina adding to an exhaustive list of milestones achieved in this game. Tendulkar eased to his fifth double-century while Raina became the first Indian batsman since Virender Sehwag in 2001 to score a Test century on debut.As Tendulkar and Raina took India past the follow-on target, the proceedings evoked memories of the dull draws these two teams played out during the 1990s. With spread-out fields, a slow pitch and conditions discriminating against the bowlers, Sri Lanka’s triple strike on the third morning proved an aberration.That was evident in the positive approach adopted by Tendulkar and Raina at the outset on the fourth day. Tendulkar, who had been more sparing in his treatment of fuller deliveries amid pressure on day three, resumed his innings with a cover drive off Suraj Randiv. The seamers, while troubling Tendulkar occasionally with well-directed bouncers, were dealt with more harshly. Dammika Prasad, after striking Tendulkar on the helmet, was cracked for three fours through point; Dilhara Fernando, who induced Tendulkar to play an ill-executed upper cut – he had Tendulkar dropped off the same shot the previous day – was at the receiving end of his trademark straight drive.Tendulkar shrugged off a couple of close shaves against Randiv – he padded up to deliveries that straightened but was saved by the bounce – by sweeping effectively against the turn and brought up his double with a paddle down to fine leg.Smart stats

India’s score in the second innings of the Test was the 27th time they have passed 500 in the second innings. Only on one occasion (Sydney 2008) have they gone on to lose.

Sachin Tendulkar’s double-century was his fifth in Tests. It places him joint-fifth on the all time list of players with the most double-hundreds.

The 256-run stand between Sachin Tendulkar and Suresh Raina was the third highest fifth-wicket partnership for India in Tests and the joint second highest against Sri Lanka.

Suraj Randiv became only the third bowler to concede more than 200 runs on debut .

When India passed 600, it became only the fourth instance when teams made greater than 600 runs in the first and second innings of a match.

Raina showed few signs of nerves in his maiden Test appearance, looking confident early in his innings. He didn’t hesitate to step out against the spinners on the third day and began in a similar vein on the fourth, lofting Randiv over long-off. Unlike Tendulkar, Raina played the pitched-up deliveries with more comfort throughout his knock. He played his favourite slog-sweep to dispatch Randiv over midwicket, and brought up his ton with a drive through mid off. The celebration began the moment he connected; he clenched his fists, ran to the other end and soaked in the applause for an achievement that opened up India’s options in their Test middle order. He was beaten by a Mendis legbreak shortly after lunch and spooned an easy catch to short midwicket but only after India had reached safety.The batsmen that followed had plenty of time to adjust to variations in pace as well as frequent changes in length, and runs flowed at a healthy pace. This was on display in the manner that MS Dhoni settled in, stepping out to Mendis on just his fifth ball and pulling Prasad for consecutive boundaries. The spinners were heaved and slogged and Dhoni notched up another fifty.Tillakaratne Dilshan salvaged some pride with a couple of quick wickets. Tendulkar was caught off an inside edge onto the pads, and Harbhajan Singh gifted a catch to midwicket. The resistance, however, continued with Dhoni and Abhimanyu Mithun occupying the crease for 21.4 overs before Dilshan struck again to snare the Indian captain.Kumar Sangakkara kept three close-in catchers for much of the day, hoping the extra bounce would yield something. The seamers had a slip against Tendulkar, an additional leg slip for Raina, as well as a silly point for Dhoni when he was new to the crease. Perhaps Mendis could have come on much earlier than at the stroke of lunch. But their hopes were thwarted by a determined effort from Tendulkar, Raina and Dhoni, who have set up a third Test finale at the P Sara Stadium.

Everton’s new signings Nathan Patterson and Vitaliy Mykolenko could be in line for their Toffees debuts on Saturday evening as the Blues travel to Championship outfit Hull City.

What’s the latest?

Everton manager Rafa Benitez has revealed that the two new signings could make their debuts against the Tigers on Saturday as the Spaniard’s side look to put together a cup run.

On potentially giving the signings their debuts, the 61-year-old said: “We know both players well and know the potential. Both players showed they want to do well.

“Are they ready? We will see. Today [Friday] we have another training session. If you have to play them, they can play.

“Maybe they can start, maybe one of them, maybe both. They’ve been 15 days without training so we have to consider if they’re fit enough.”

Everton fans will be buzzing

Patterson (Rangers) and Mykolenko (Dynamo Kiev) arrived at Goodison Park over the last week and will bolster Benitez’s full-back options with the former a right-back and the latter a left-back.

Moreover, both have the potential to be long-term servants to the Merseyside club, with Mykolenko being 22-years-old and Patterson 20 and signing deals until 2026 and 2027 respectively.

There has been particular attention on Everton’s left-back predicament, with Lucas Digne expected to leave Goodison Park this transfer window, with Sky Sports reporting that the Frenchman has told Everton that he wants to leave this window.

The club was in desperate need to find a left-back replacement before Digne was allowed to depart and Mykolenko will be able to provide that option.

Everton fans will also be desperate for a good result against Hull to kick-start a run in the FA Cup with the club enduring an underwhelming start to the season in the Premier League.

In other news, Everton linked with promising midfielder…

Ireland captain William Porterfield has said he wasn’t surprised by Bangladesh’s recent win against England in Bristol

Cricinfo staff14-Jul-2010Ireland captain William Porterfield has said he wasn’t surprised by Bangladesh’s recent win against England at Bristol and expects them to come hard at his team during the two back-to-back ODIs at Belfast on Thursday and Friday.His counterpart Mashrafe Mortaza also expects it to be a competitive series and has challenged his players to maintain focus. Bangladesh’s victory in the second ODI was their first win against England in any format, but Porterfield knew the side were capable of causing an upset.”It was certainly not a surprise, I know Bangladesh is capable of doing this any time,” Porterfield said. “They are a very balanced and experienced team and great competitors.”Bangladesh failed to secure a dream series win after they were thrashed in the deciding ODI by 144 runs, after conceding 347 and Porterfield believes there will be some unfinished business for his opponents before they finish the tour.”This is completely different series and I know Bangladesh will come out of that lost series and will come hard against us,” Porterfield said. “We definitely won’t let us down at home, we will play our best cricket and the better side will win the games.”Ireland beat Bangladesh the last time they met in an international game, at the World Twenty20 in 2009. Porterfield, however, feels that recent results will not have a bearing on this series.”We really did well against them in recent past but they are a formidable side, we don’t expect to win easily but we are certain to put up a good fight and hopefully it will be great series,” he said.Mortaza said that despite giving England a scare, his team wasn’t taking Ireland for granted. Ireland have a chance to overtake Zimbabwe in the rankings and Mortaza added that he was aware of them being an emerging competitor.”I’m sure Ireland will try their best to do in the world cricket,” he said. “We need to play our best to outplay them in these two games.”Mortaza regained the captaincy for the limited-overs leg of the tour and he said he was settling in well to his new role after a long injury battle. “It’s great to be fit and back into the team,” he said. “I’m also enjoying the captaincy, thanks to all of who trusted me with the responsibility to lead such a talented team.”

Sunderland moved to the top of the League One table with an emphatic 5-0 victory over Sheffield Wednesday on Thursday night.

The Black Cats are on 49 points after 24 matches and lead the pack, although Rotherham and Wigan would both move above them if they win their games in hand on Lee Johnson’s side.

Ross Stewart scored a hat-trick against the Owls to take him to 15 goals in 24 games, as he continue to enjoy a superb season in front of goal.

Forget Stewart

Whilst the Scottish forward may be banging in the goals for Sunderland, another player who is having an outstanding season is versatile beast Luke O’Nien.

The 27-year-old has played as both a defensive midfielder and a left-back this term, having played central midfield, right-back and centre-back in the 2020/21 campaign. This shows that he is a player on whom Johnson can rely to fill a multitude of roles on the pitch, making him a valuable asset for the club as he can plug a number of gaps and is capable of coming in and producing a good performance.

In League One this season, the ex-Wycombe man has averaged an exceptional SofaScore rating of 7.11. He has kept up a high standard in his displays week in, week out despite needing to change position at times to fill in for other players, which highlights his consistency, quality and versatility.

O’Nien was previously hailed by ex-Sunderland manager Jack Ross, who said: “He ticked a lot of boxes and then even when we did one-v-one stuff in training, he is awkward to get past, he is physical, competitive, and he doesn’t like people going by him.

“He has been a revelation in that respect, and credit to him for how he has faced that challenge.”

His performances this season have lived up to these comments, as he has completed 30 tackles in 16 matches in League One whilst also making 22 interceptions. He has won 134 duels overall this season, averaging 8.3 won per match, while winning an impressive 65% of the battles he has competed, as per SofaScore.

He has also been able to contribute in possession. As per SofaScore, he has created 0.9 chances per game and scored twice, whilst having 64 touches of the ball per match. Although he is not a prolific scorer or creator, he is able to chip in alongside the outstanding defensive work that he puts in every week, therefore making a vital contribution to helping Sunderland lead the way in League One going into 2022.

AND in other news, Big Fat Sunderland quiz of 2021 – how many questions can you get right?

Australia’s selectors have forgiven Michael Clarke for his poor form in Twenty20, naming him to captain Australia against Pakistan in England in July

Cricinfo staff24-May-2010Australia’s selectors have forgiven Michael Clarke for his poor form in Twenty20, naming him to captain Australia against Pakistan in England in July. Clarke will lead the side for the two Twenty20s in Birmingham on July 5 and 6 despite his struggles with the bat in the shortest format, where his strike-rate of 101 is well below par.Clarke was praised for his attacking captaincy at the World Twenty20 in the Caribbean, where he guided Australia to the final, but he needs to lift his scoring rate to justify his position as a batsman. He has been given virtually the same squad, with the only change being the omission of Tim Paine due to the reduced need for a backup wicketkeeper.”We don’t have any doubt that he [Clarke] has a definite role to play in Twenty20 cricket, which predominantly is a little bit different to some,” Andrew Hilditch, the chairman of selectors, said. “We’ll be looking for him to bat through an innings when we need it. He didn’t quite do that over there but we weren’t concerned about it.”The positive side was I think his captaincy was extraordinary and our tactics in Twenty20 cricket were far in advance of where they’ve been. Our field was I thought the best in the tournament so there were lots of positives. Obviously we lost the final so that was devastating but the other side of it is that we won six on the trot and if we’d won seven on the trot it would have been a record that maybe wouldn’t have been broken in Twenty20 cricket.”In the 50-over arena, Shaun Marsh has been chosen to make his comeback to international cricket after missing the tour of New Zealand in February with a back injury. Marsh has replaced Adam Voges in the ODI squad for the one-off game against Ireland in Dublin that kicks off the tour of June 17 and the five one-day internationals against England that follow.However, the squad to take on Pakistan in two Tests from mid-July won’t be named until several contenders have fronted up for Australia A late next month. The absence of Phillip Hughes due to a shoulder injury means Usman Khawaja, Michael Klinger and the Australia A captain George Bailey will be jostling for the role of backup Test batsman when they face Sri Lanka A in Brisbane.That series will also give Ben Hilfenhaus a chance to continue his steady return from knee tendonitis. Hilfenhaus has been chosen in the four-day Australia A squad and is hopeful of proving himself fit for the Tests against Pakistan, having not played for his country since the first Test of the home summer back in November.”Ben Hilfenhaus is making good progress with his knee tendon injury,” the physio Alex Kountouris said. “As part of his rehabilitation he has commenced bowling and has spent some time at the Cricket Australia Centre of Excellence during the past week. So far he has coped well and if his progress continues with an increasing bowling workload over the coming weeks, he’ll take his place for Australia A against Sri Lanka A in preparation for possible selection in the Test squad.”Peter Siddle is recovering well from a lower back stress fracture sustained during the Australian summer. However it was felt that there was too big a risk for his to return for the tour of England and Ireland, particularly with the important 12 months coming up. Peter remains on target to return to the playing field at the start of the Australian domestic summer. Brett Lee is recovering from the elbow muscle injury that he picked before the ICC World Twenty20 and is yet to commence bowling.”The Australia A squad also features Mitchell Marsh, the brother of Shaun and captain of Australia’s Under-19 World Cup-winning squad this year. He will be joined by another player with cricketing blood, James Pattinson, the Victoria fast bowler whose brother Darren played a Test for England in 2008.ODI squad Shane Watson, Shaun Marsh, Ricky Ponting (capt), Michael Clarke, Michael Hussey, Cameron White, Brad Haddin, Steven Smith, James Hopes, Mitchell Johnson, Nathan Hauritz, Ryan Harris, Clint McKay, Doug Bollinger.Twenty20 squad Shane Watson, David Warner, Michael Clarke (capt), Cameron White, David Hussey, Michael Hussey, Brad Haddin, Daniel Christian, Steven Smith, Mitchell Johnson, Nathan Hauritz, Ryan Harris, Dirk Nannes, Shaun Tait.Australia A four-day squad Ed Cowan, Usman Khawaja, Michael Klinger, George Bailey (capt), Peter Forrest, Andrew McDonald, Tim Paine, Mitchell Marsh, Steve O’Keefe, Ben Hilfenhaus, Josh Hazlewood, Peter George, Mitchell Starc.Australia A one-day squad Tim Paine, Usman Khawaja, Adam Voges, George Bailey (capt), Travis Birt, Aaron Finch, Andrew McDonald, Mitchell Marsh, Xavier Doherty, Brendan Drew, James Pattinson, Jake Haberfield, Josh Hazlewood.

Having racked up 11 wins, eight draws and four defeats, West Brom are currently sat in fourth place in the Championship table, just four points behind league leaders Fulham, firmly putting them in the race to win promotion back to the Premier League by the end of the campaign.

With the January transfer window on the horizon, Baggies boss Valerien Ismael has the opportunity to chop and change his squad however he sees fit to give the Midlands club the best chance of securing their place in the Premier League.

Taking this into account, one player that should be on their way out of the club next month is defender Semi Ajayi.

In a recent article from Birmingham Live listing the current West Brom players that could leave the club in January, they describe Ajayi’s immediate future at The Hawthorns as being “pretty uncertain.”

Since the start of November, the 28-year-old, who is currently picking up a weekly wage of £13k-per-week according to Salary Sport, has played just four minutes of league action for the Baggies despite playing the full 90 minutes in all of their league games in September and October.

This suggests that Ajayi could be out of favour with Ismael and why he has been listed as a potential outgoing transfer in January.

Having been previously been criticised for his “stinker” of a performance in their 2-1 win over QPR in September by Baggies podcaster Adrian Goldberg, who picked out Ajayi’s passing in the game, particularly, as being “dreadful,” this could be a reason why Ismael has left him out of the team in recent weeks.

Moving forward, with the January window opening, it could be worth West Brom cutting their ties with Ajayi if Ismael thinks he doesn’t have the quality to help the team secure promotion throughout the remainder of the season and not allow him to play again for the club.

However, one factor that could save the defender’s career at West Brom is the fact that they still have Dara O’Shea out injured as well as having Kean Bryan set to spend the rest of the season out through injury, leaving Ismael with limited options at the back.

If Ajayi does stay at West Brom and is given a chance to play again by Ismael, he will have to show the Baggies boss that he has what it takes to be a regular figure for the team and capable of performing at a high standard. At the moment, however, he is not good enough to don the jersey.

In other news: Sancho 2.0: Ismael could save West Brom millions with “explosive” £1.7k-p/w “star boy” – opinion

A pumped-up MS Dhoni again showed why he’s one of the great finishers in the game to make Chennai Super Kings the only team to reach the semi-finals of each IPL so far

The Bulletin by Siddarth Ravindran18-Apr-2010
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
MS Dhoni showed off his finishing skills again•Indian Premier LeagueA pumped-up MS Dhoni showed why he’s one of the great finishers in the game, blasting 30 runs in the final two overs to ensure Chennai Super Kings would contest an IPL semi-final for the third season in a row. Chennai’s chances seemed dim after Shaun Marsh’s sparkling innings had powered Kings XI Punjab to a massive total, but meaty innings from Suresh Raina and S Badrinath set the stage for a Dhoni onslaught during a tense finish.Punjab held the edge for most of the match, and going into the last two overs Chennai needed 29, a tough task even with Dhoni and Albie Morkel at the crease. Juan Theron had been a hero the last time the two teams met, but he couldn’t save Punjab in Dharamsala.The penultimate over, by Theron, started with two murderous hits for four from Dhoni, feasting on the length deliveries offered. He looked to repeat on the third ball, but a thick edge flew high and fast to wicketkeeper Kumar Sangakkara, who managed to get a glove on it. Theron kept it to singles for the rest of the over, leaving Chennai needing 16 off the last.Irfan Pathan had bowled the last six deliveries against Chennai at the MA Chidambaram as well, and he had kept them to nine runs to push that match into a Super Over. This time, though, he didn’t have a tailender like R Ashwin to bowl to; it was Dhoni, channeling the buccaneer spirit with which he made his name.The first delivery was almost a yorker, but Dhoni managed to power it wide of long off for four. The next was a slower one that he top-edged, but it landed short of long off and Chennai were two runs closer. The match was effectively sealed off the third delivery: a monstrous hit over wide long on sent the ball out of the ground, reducing the equation to four off three. Dhoni finished it with another thrash over long on, and the famously cool captain let out a roar and then punched the side of the helmet as the adrenaline flowed and his team-mates raced from the dug-out in joy.Chennai’s pursuit got off to a horror start when Ramesh Powar’s classic offspin bowling, tossing the ball up and keeping the pace down in un-Twenty20 fashion, accounted for the dangerous openers Matthew Hayden and M Vijay.From 26 for 2 in the fifth over, it was Raina who ignited the chase in company of Badrinath, promoted ahead of Dhoni. At least 11 runs came off each of the next six overs as Raina waded into the Punjab attack. The sixes kept raining until he was dismissed in the 10th over with a beautifully-timed hit to sweeper cover, similar to his exit in the previous match against Delhi Daredevils.Badrinath has had plenty of questions asked over his ability in limited-overs matches, and they resurfaced when he went scoreless for six deliveries after Raina’s fall. He broke that spell with a clean hit over long-off and a paddle-scoop over fine leg for four. There were a couple of close lbw calls against Piyush Chawla, but he kept the boundaries coming so that by the time he was stumped for 53 in the 17th over, his strike-rate was touching 150. After he fell, it was all about Dhoni, as Punjab’s inability to fire in yorkers hurt them yet again.Punjab had looked set to close out a forgettable season with a consolation win after they had been sent in. Mahela Jayawardene’s blistering cameo gave them a cracking start, and Sangakkara showed again that you could score at Twenty20 rate using orthodox cricketing strokes.Marsh was content to let the Sri Lankan stars make most of the runs in the first half of the innings, but once Chennai hit back with the big wickets of Sangakkara and Yuvraj Singh in successive overs, he brought out the clean hitting that got him runs by the wagonload in the inaugural season.He and Irfan amassed 99 runs in the last eight overs, and the Marsh blitz started with two sixes and two fours in six deliveries, during which he galloped from 39 to 58. A slog-sweep out of the stadium followed, and he clubbed Bollinger twice over the ropes in the 19th over.Irfan racked up 15 in the final over but that proved pointless in a match which was characteristic of Kings XI Punjab’s season: their batsmen piled on lots of runs but the limp bowling and awful fielding kept Sangakkara’s men at the foot of the table for almost the entire tournament.

It’s early days still, but a first win for Chennai or a first loss for Kolkata either way will surely make for a riveting contest

The Preview by Judhajit Basu15-Mar-2010Match factsTuesday, March 16
Start time 2000 (1430GMT)Shane Bond might be part of KKR’s three-pronged pace attack along with Ishant Sharma and Charl Langeveldt (file photo)•Getty ImagesBig PictureThe irony is unmissable: It’s early days yet but Kolkata have two wins from two and are looking down at Chennai, who find themselves in the unfamiliar depths of the points table. As Chennai chase their first win Sourav Ganguly comes up against his spiritual heir MS Dhoni under the lights at Eden Gardens.Kolkata have been here before; they won their first two games in the first season, only to fizzle out and finish sixth. They ended up last the next season but now look to have shrugged that off and stride to a new momentum.Chennai, on the other hand, were outclassed by their southern neighbours Deccan Chargers in their opening match, left floundering in all departments. However, they lost their opening match last season as well, against Mumbai Indians, but eventually reached the semi-final for the second year running and Dhoni knows his team’s bouncebackability.Team talkWhile the threat of Matthew Hayden and his Mongoose bat looms large, Kolkata will be eager to get Shane Bond going in the third season. He finished as New Zealand’s top wicket-taker in the recently-concluded ODI series against Australia with nine wickets at 21, and rather than replacing Charl Langeveldt, he might be part of a three-pronged pace attack along with Ishant Sharma. Rohan Gavaskar might be the casualty in that case. Alternatively, Kolkata may not wish to change a winning combination.Makhaya Ntini has been out of favour with the South African selectors but recently played his part in Warriors’ Pro20 title triumph in the domestic circuit with a decisive opening spell. With Chennai’s pacemen looking suspect, Dhoni might be tempted to draft him in and capitalise on his freshness. Manpreet Gony, who shot into prominence during the IPL, might also look to make the most of the stage again if picked. Justin Kemp, who couldn’t match up with bat or ball in the last match, may be the one sacrificed. Parthiv Patel did decently in the 2008 edition, scoring 302 runs at 27.45 but his stock dipped the following year, scoring only 142 runs at 15.77. Whether he is favoured over Murali Vijay, who managed 3 against Deccan, in the opener’s slot remains to be seen as well.Previously…Kolkata were thumped by Chennai by nine wickets in the first IPL clash and lost by three runs via the D/L method at home. Fortunes turned around in South Africa with Kolkata winning by seven wickets at Centurion, while the earlier encounter was washed out.In the spotlightLop-sided Morkel: He usually makes up for his expensive spells with some big hitting, but Albie Morkel’s credentials as an allrounder have recently taken a beating with him failing to plug the runs. He went wicketless against Deccan and his four overs cost 41 runs. The fireworks though were on display as he smashed 41 off 26 balls, including one four and three sixes, during the chase. The dual effort would only be in the best interest of Chennai, who are tottering on the fast-bowling front.Home comforts for Tiwary: He was almost anonymous during his stint with the Delhi Daredevils, but the company of his Bengal team-mates seems to have worked wonders for Manoj Tiwary. He quickly made amends for a first-ball duck against Deccan in the opening match with a Man-of-the-Match-deserving 50 off 29 balls next up against Bangalore.The Mongoose: It was on display only in the Chennai dugout during their first match, but the imposing Matthew Hayden, its brand ambassador, might resort to this even more imposing weapon in the cauldron of Eden. The longer and flexible handle, designed to increase power by 20% and bat speed by 15% than normal ones might be the perfect way to ensure the spectators stay wide awake well into the Kolkata night.Prime numbersKolkata will hope Angelo Mathews’ contributions only get better. He has a batting average of 65.00 and has five wickets from two games at 9.20 and a measly economy rate of 5.75.Kolkata possess the two highest run-scorers in Twenty20 cricket. Hodge has 2547 runs in 77 innings at a strike-rate of 129 and David Hussey has scored 2355 runs at a strike-rate of 139.Chatter”I guess I was slowly fading from the collective consciousness. This innings is a reassuring factor for me that I am still very much around”

“CSK have been one of the most consistent teams in the IPL – runners-up the first year and semifinals in 2009. This year we’re more than ready to take the step up.”