A timeline of the Deccan Chargers saga, from its stirrings to the franchise’ termination

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Oct-2012June 15, 2012
News emerges that Deccan Chronicle Holdings Limited (DHCL), the owners of the Deccan Chargers side, are exploring the possibility of selling the franchise.July 16, 2012
Former Chargers chief executive Tim Wright wins a case of wrongful dismissal against the franchise and is awarded £10.5 million ($16 million approx), plus legal costs, by the High Court in London. He was dismissed by the Chargers in January 2009; he began legal proceedings against them the following month. In September 2012, Wright registers a ‘foreign decree’ in an Indian court to enforce the judgement passed by the London court.August 15, 2012
The franchise is given until the end of the month by the BCCI to pay its players their dues, as it had defaulted on the scheduled date. The board also seeks an explanation for the owners mortgaging the team ownership rights to two leading Indian banks.September 6, 2012
DHCL, under pressure from lenders to service its debt obligations, puts the franchise up for sale, officially, after approaching the BCCI for help.September 13, 2012
DHCL refuses the sole bid it receives at the auction. The “price and terms” of the bid from PVP Ventures, a company that finances film projects in India, are deemed “not suitable” by the owners. Reports say the offer was for Rs.900 crore (then US$164 million).September 14, 2012
The BCCI terminates the Deccan Chargers franchise, claiming defaults of payments to players, foreign boards and its possible “deleterious” effects on the IPL prompted the decision. DHCL challenges the decision in court the next day.October 9, 2012
DHCL asks a three-day extension to raise Rs.100 crore (US$19 million) as a bank guarantee, one of the conditions set by the Bombay High Court ruling of October 1, to avoid termination from the IPL.October 12, 2012
The Chargers are terminated from the IPL, as their owners fail to produce the bank guarantee. It leaves the BCCI free to invite bidders for a new franchise, with the status of Chargers’ players and staff currently unclear.October 13, 2012
In a countermove, the Chargers approach CK Thakkar, the court-appointed arbitrator, who puts a stay on the termination order passed by the High Court. In turn, the BCCI files for an “urgent” hearing in the High Court, challenging Thakkar’s ruling. The court overrules the arbitrator’s ruling, and the Chargers’ termination stands.October 14, 2012
The BCCI floats a tender, inviting bidders for a new IPL team.October 18, 2012
Bombay High Court overrules the arbitrator’s decision to impose a status quo on their expulsion from the IPL.October 25, 2012
Sun TV Networks Limited, one of India’s biggest television networks headquartered in Chennai, wins the Hyderabad franchise, bidding around $15.9 m for a five-year deal.

Matthew Wade’s century in Sydney showed that he has the fighting instincts and batting power to add tungsten to the Australian middle order at a time when there is brittleness elsewhere

Daniel Brettig at the SCG05-Jan-2013On Test match eve, Michael Clarke was posed an earnest question: having reclassified Mitchell Johnson as an allrounder, was Australia’s captain giving any thought to promoting him to No. 6, ahead of Matthew Wade? Generally Clarke will give any question its due, even if most of his answers tend to be towards the safe side. This time, though, his response was pointedly dismissive.”He won’t be batting No. 6 ahead of Wade,” Clarke said. “He is a genuine top-order batsman, Matthew Wade. It’s just that he keeps, so batting at six or seven gives him more time to recover. He has been hitting the ball really well [though] hasn’t made a big score for a while, so I wouldn’t be surprised if you see him walk out and make a hundred in this Test match.”Emphatic as those words were, they paled next to the actions with which Wade vindicated his middle-order posting on the third morning at the SCG. In guiding the tail through the morning and making a joyous century, Wade set Australia up for a much improved third-day performance in which Sri Lanka were hurried towards defeat. There is even a case to be made that Australia’s wicketkeeper should be considered for a higher commission than No. 6. At the very least, he should be acknowledged as Australia’s best allrounder – more reliable than Johnson, more durable than Shane Watson.As he did in Dominica last April, guiding Australia out of awkward circumstances with another compelling century, Wade arrived at the wicket at a moment on the second evening when the game was slipping from his team’s grasp. He was cautious early on, even a little uncertain, as he tried to get acquainted with the turning ball. The early passages of a Wade innings can appear hesitant, almost apologetic, for he commits time to establishing himself deliberately, not manoeuvring the ball around with the alacrity of Michael Hussey.But there is invariably a moment in Wade’s innings when he clicks up several gears, going from a posture of reacting to the circumstances to an altogether more assertive one where his intent is to set the tone for proceedings. In Dominica, that moment had been when he passed 50. Earlier this summer against South Africa in Brisbane, Wade stodged his way to two from 23 balls, before cracking a straight drive that nearly took the head off Rory Kleinveldt, then cutting him to the boundary next ball. Wade plays himself in carefully, but having done so he feels free to unleash.A special day for Wade

Matthew Wade’s century had added significance on Jane McGrath Day at the Sydney Test. With the ground decked out in pink to raise awareness and funds for cancer sufferers, Wade felt proud to have made a batting contribution given he had fought testicular cancer himself as a teenager.
“It was an amazing feeling,” he said. “Driving to the ground today, I didn’t think that would happen. To do it on a day like today with the McGrath Foundation day it was something special. I will never forget it. As a young kid growing up watching cricket, the last few years watching this Test match on day three, the pink day for the McGrath foundation – it was a special day for me.
“I was really keen to make a good score in this last Test match. I felt like I’ve been building towards something since the WACA game probably [against South Africa]. I feel like I’ve been flirting with my form a little bit with the bat, so it’s nice to get a score I’m happy with.
“We didn’t bowl the best we’ve bowled throughout the summer, but credit to the boys – when we sat down at tea and had a think about it, we took six wickets. It could’ve gone the wrong way for us this afternoon, but our bowlers are good enough and we fielded very well to pull it back.”

In Sydney the point at which Wade declared his intent sticks in the memory not so much for the runs that were gathered as for the pain that was inflicted. On 22 he had endured a torturous period in which he was given out caught behind and escaped via DRS – which spotted a no-ball in addition to the absence of an edge. Next he was dropped at short leg, and finally given out caught at bat pad off Rangana Herath’s bowling – this dismissal was also overturned via the DRS, but it was clear that a change in approach was required.In the same over Wade responded to a pair of similarly pitched deliveries from Herath by sweeping with a great deal of venom. Twice he knelt down to play the shot, twice he connected sweetly, and twice Dimuth Karunaratne was sent hopping around the infield after being struck stinging blows to the body. From this over Wade was far more committed in his intentions and went to stumps well set on 47.A series of indifferent strokes and questionable judgements by the other batsmen had left Wade with only the tail for company on the third morning, and his innings resumed in a collected manner. Again he followed the pattern of the evening before, gathering himself and reading the circumstances before going on the offensive. This time the loss of wickets forced Wade into greater aggression, but when he chose to attack after the arrival of the last man Jackson Bird he did so with breathtaking precision and power, going from 70 to 101 in 18 blistering balls.Nuwan Pradeep felt the brunt, as Wade bisected the two men roaming the offside boundary early in an over, before taking advantage of the field coming up to stop the single by cuffing behind point for another. On a pitch Phillip Hughes had described as difficult to drive on, Wade’s timing was beyond compare, pinging further boundaries to cover and wide long off. He saved his best for the shot that took him from 97 to 101, gliding with power to the square side of deep cover and racing in ebullient celebration towards the dressing room.Given that this will be the last match in which Michael Hussey takes a place in the middle order, it was a performance to hearten Australia, expert in its rhythm and decisive in its execution. Wade’s wicketkeeping has a little further to go, particularly on the higher bouncing surfaces of Australia, but his fighting instincts and batting power to give them full vent offer tungsten to the middle order at a time when there is brittleness elsewhere.As for where Wade might bat in the future, it is worth remembering another line from Clarke, which he uttered in the wake of the Dominica innings. “I think if he plays the way he’s been playing,” Clarke had said, “there’s no doubt he could play as a batsman.” Those words ring truer now than ever.

Australia’s performance against Sri Lanka in Hobart so far suggests they are far from being close to the best cricket outfit in the world

Daniel Brettig in Hobart17-Dec-2012Amid the management-speak excesses of Pat Howard’s verdict on the South Africa series, Australia’s team performance manager offered the following succinct line: “To be the best you’ve got to be well and truly the best, and we’ve got a long way to go.” Limping like Michael Clarke was on day four, that journey seems even longer.Whether or not Australia will get much closer to becoming “well and truly the best” during this series against Sri Lanka is questionable. Irrespective of the opposition, their progress in Hobart so far has been at a cost that has reinforced the precarious state of the national team so close to a pair of major assignments against India and England.To lose another fast bowler in Ben Hilfenhaus was unfortunate if not entirely unexpected, given that the Tasmanian’s side ailment makes him the seventh pace bowler somewhere near the national team to fall prey to injury. The sight of Clarke stepping gingerly between overs to assume a stationary position at first slip was altogether more concerning, for while Australia does have a rich supply of fast bowlers, the list of men behind the captain capable of leading the national team is even less numerous than the poorly attendances at Bellerive Oval this week.Clarke’s mere presence on the field, rather than seeking treatment in the rooms for a hamstring problem, spoke volumes about the lack of ready replacements for his tactical flair and ideas when Australia are attempting to bowl an opposing team out in the fourth innings. It did not reflect a great deal of confidence in Clarke’s deputy Shane Watson, who has led his country in ODIs before and now looks a chance of assuming the Test captaincy should Clarke fail to recover in time for the Boxing Day Test.Watson’s value as a bowling option was to be confirmed when he struck the first blow of Sri Lanka’s chase, coaxing an outside edge from Tillakaratne Dilshan with a ball that bounced and seamed away a fraction on an immaculate line. But like Dilshan, Watson’s skills appear best suited to being used without the burden of captaincy, something that he wrestled with at times during his time deputising for Clarke in ODIs in Australia and the West Indies earlier this year.Another issue of considerable worry for Australia on day four was the team’s play against the spin of Rangana Herath. As the world’s most prolific wicket-taker in 2012, Herath poses problems at least the equal to those that will be presented by India’s bevy of slow bowlers in early 2013 and Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar later. But the failure of Watson, in particular, to deal with his flight, spin and variations in pace suggested that the scheduling crossover, which will have most of Australia’s ODI exponents unavailable for the opening match of the Test tour to the subcontinent in February, will be ill-timed for some.”It’s inevitable, with our scheduling at the moment that type of stuff is inevitable,” Australia’s coach Mickey Arthur said. “For us to give best possible preparation to the Test squad we’ve got to get as many of them into India as soon as we can, so they can prepare properly for what’s going to be a tough four Test matches. We’ll split our staff, I’ll definitely see the one-dayers out, I suspect if Michael Clarke’s fit he’ll do the same, because we’ve got that responsibility to the Australian public and to the sponsors, but we wouldn’t be preparing ourselves properly for the four Tests if we didn’t give ourselves maximum opportunity to go out to India earlier and prepare.”Watson batted at No. 6 for Australia on the tetchy 2008 tour of India, and played the odd decent innings against the old ball. In 2010, he played his longest and most patient Test knock against MS Dhoni’s team at the outset of the Mohali match that would end in such heart-rending fashion for a team then led by Ricky Ponting. However the surfeit of ODI and Twenty20 matches played by Watson since, and his continuing shuffle around the batting order, do not appear to have helped his progress against the spinning ball. He was bottled up by Herath and unable to work the ball around, a fretful five also featuring a pair of beseeching LBW appeals before ending with a stumping as ball spun past a groping bat.Herath’s wiles will be useful ahead of India, most notably on the SCG where this summer the pitch has shown a return to its slower, spinning ways of yore rather than the slightly faster and often seaming surface of recent seasons. “He’s a quality performer and he’s shown it this year, he’s got a phenomenal record this year, so hopefully that goes some way [towards] giving us a little snippet of playing [Pragyan] Ojha or [Ravindra] Jadeja, whoever it is, in India,” Arthur said. “And Herath is a really good bowler, so looking forward to that confrontation through the summer.”How Australia fares on the final day in Hobart will be intriguing in itself of course, as Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara dig in for battle amid the increasingly variable bounce offered by the surface. The hosts’ chances of getting closer to the high mark set by Howard, Arthur and the limping Clarke will be best measured on their travels, and they stand little chance of enjoying success if they suffer the sorts of injuries and hiccups against spin witnessed here.

Joe Root’s excellent run, together with an impressive performance from England’s seamers, have left New Zealand outplayed and outgunned again

Iain O'Brien23-Feb-2013’Rooted’, a word in New Zealand parlance that has several meanings. The more savoury one is “something broken, or has been broken”. New Zealand have been rooted among other things; in this instance by a baby faced 22-year-old.With scores of 56 and 79 not out in the first two ODI’s and being the first player to have six consecutive scores of 30-plus starting with his debut, Joe Root stood out, and rightly so, to the New Zealand crowd who hadn’t seen him bat and dash about the field. He was denied a seventh 30-plus score on the trot (28 not out) only because New Zealand didn’t score enough in the second innings to leave him the runs to do so. Although, had he waited for the ball to roll over the boundary and not touched down for the completed final single, it would have been scored as a four and he would have kept his 30-plus run alive. The quirks of the game.Root has time, he has a plan and, most importantly, he has a level head that belies his age. He rotates the strike, he can hit a boundary, when needed, and can happily switch back and forth between the aggressor and the nudger.In the same way a young Root has had success with the bat in this series, the slightly older Steven Finn has been fiery and controlled and been a star at the top of the innings with the ball. Together with James Anderson, haven’t let New Zealand take advantage of the Powerplay – 18 for 1, 21 for 2, and 32-1 in three games – and have taken wickets to compound the run-rate issues New Zealand have had. Finn has shortened his run-up and looks a little more in control of his limbs at jump and delivery. Pace and bounce have been his most important allies and the pitches have suited him throughout.New Zealand played the latest ODI, perceivably, with a lack of real commitment; it was as if they were resigned to being on the wrong side of the ledger after losing the toss and being inserted. Weak dismissals punctuated the batting innings, and maybe New Zealand were lucky to catch the England team’s ODI replacements on the hope in the first ODI in Hamilton.The replacements from the Twenty20 series were based in Hamilton before start of the series, but had no opportunity for a warm-up hit-out, only use of the practice facilities at Seddon Park. Coming in cold to any series has been the burden of the New Zealand team; it has also been the case on recent overseas tours and they have equally not performed in the early international matches.Brendon McCullum seems to have found his rhythm with the bat. The two new balls that are used in each innings means he is more valuable down the order when the ball is older, still hard, but not swinging or seaming as much as they tend to at the top of the innings. The captain has been allowed to “get in” and then get destructive. His best was in Napier during a partnership with the ex-captain Ross Taylor. McCullum pasted the England bowlers for 74 from 36 balls in an innings that New Zealand fans will feel typifies the belligerent batsman; as a finisher.Taylor, after a tough start back into international cricket in the T20 series, found his feet in the first ODI and took that form into the second. A revitalising hundred in front of his home crowd took New Zealand to a score (269) that was never going to be totally secure, but would give them a chance if they took a wickets early. They didn’t. On a side note the perceived awkwardness of the McCullum – Taylor relationship looked a thing of the past. They enjoyed a rollicking partnership in Napier and seeing Taylor chasing a dismissed McCullum to congratulate him on his innings was pleasing to see.Tim Southee’s comeback, two games earlier than expected, having replaced the injured Mitchell McClenaghan (side strain), showed positive signs after an eight week lay-off during which he needed surgery on his left thumb from a fielding incident in a domestic match. Southee was lined up for a Test return and has impressed to the point where it’s hard to tell if he has had a break at all; straight back in and having success. Good sign for him ahead of the three Test series.New Zealand have been outplayed, and outgunned, in the last two ODIs and it’s hard to see the Test series being much different.

It will be one of sports great tragedies if it gets to the stage where Tendulkar’s attempted preservation of what he has left, is only acting as detriment to his legacy

Freddie Wilde25-Feb-2013No one knows Sachin Tendulkar better than Sachin Tendulkar. If he thinks he can score international fifties and hundreds again, then he probably can, and right now among what must be a mind-ridden with doubt, there will be some semblance of confidence that he can come good again. If there wasn’t he would’ve retired already. Now, I’m not for a minute going to tell Sachin Tendulkar what to do. He is arguably the greatest cricketer of the modern age and I’m an 18-year-old gap-year student.But what I am going to do is tell you a story, a life story, and a story that relates to Tendulkar and what must be one of the most talked about retirements in the history of sport. When I was seven years old, my Dad returned from England’s tour of India in 2001 with a BAS cricket bat. He’d got the bat from a factory where some of Tendulkar’s bats are made, he’d even asked for Tendulkar’s trademark red, blue and white grip to be applied to the little size four bat, and on the back, in a black ball point pen was Tendulkar’s autograph.For any cricket fan to possess such an item, it would mean the world to them, and to me, even at the age of seven, it did too. About three weeks after being given the bat, I sheepishly asked my Dad if he would be offended if I never used the bat in matches or at practice, as I didn’t want the autograph to ever fade or for the bat to ever get damaged. In not using that bat I was looking to preserve the life of that autograph, my little piece of ‘Sachin’.Fans can actually do the same to players’ careers. Arguably Tendulkar’s last two years have been driven by a reluctance to let his millions of fans down. But this reluctance to not let down, and desire to satisfy the masses, can only last so long. The preservation of something that is dying often only serves to tarnish or ruin – I learnt this bitter lesson a year after receiving my autographed bat… I was now eight and the bat was a year old. Only a year.But one day I discovered the autograph to be fading – even despite my disinclination to use it. In my naive, clumsy, eight-year-old kind of way, I took the radical decision of pulling my black gel pen out of my pencil case and re-drawing over the signature on the back of the bat. To my horror my Dad told me later that day that the autograph was now worthless – completely ruined.I’d tried to preserve my little bit of Sachin by not using the bat, and that had worked. But such things only work for so long, and in seeking to revitalise my precious possession, by taking my own pen to the bat, I’d ruined it. Again, I won’t claim to know more about Tendulkar than Tendulkar himself, and if he thinks he’s got runs left in him, he’s probably got runs left in him. But it will be one of sports great tragedies if it gets to the stage where Tendulkar’s attempted preservation of what he has left, is only acting as detriment to his legacy and impact on the game.

Plays of the Day from the IPL game between Pune Warriors and Chennai Super Kings in Pune

Sidharth Monga30-Apr-2013The howler
In their previous game, Chennai Super Kings suffered because of bad umpiring. This time they benefitted when Wriddhiman Saha was caught plumb by Bhuvneshwar Kumar without having scored a run, but the only man that mattered, Subrat Das, disagreed with everybody else watching the match. This is perhaps the biggest conflict of interest: a BCCI product doing its best to make a case for DRS.The sweep
MS Dhoni playing a sweep is rare enough, but today he kept sweeping Ashok Dinda. The first time he faced Dinda, he went down on one knee and dragged the ball from wide outside off to send it to fine leg for four. Two more attempts followed, with Dhoni missing one, and the other being sent to midwicket for four. The plan to bowl full and wide with a strong off-side field was well and truly foiled.The overthrow
This was hardly an overthrow, but Dhoni and Suresh Raina stole it. Both the batsmen were happily settled in their respective creases when Dinda, the bowler, failed to collect cleanly, and the ball rolled onto the adjacent pitch. The batsmen sprinted and were helped by a miss from Robin Uthappa, the wicketkeeper. Eventually this was worth more than just one: Dhoni got the strike back and smacked the remaining two balls of the innings for a four and a six.The let-off
Allan Border won’t be proud of Uthappa. In the first over of the chase, the ball slipped out of Ravindra Jadeja’s hand, and bounced outside the cut strip. Uthappa started charging towards it, but then let it go. Bowling the first over of an innings for the first time in IPL, Jadeja wasn’t complaining. When England toured India last year, Jonathan Trott hit a similar delivery for four in the Nagpur Test. It had slipped out of the hand of … Jadeja.

The tale of how Yuvraj Singh beat cancer and came back to cricket is now the subject of a book that reveals the man behind the allrounder

Suresh Menon06-Apr-2013Towards the end of this book, Yuvraj Singh asks the question: “What if I had been any Indian sportsman but a cricketer?” And he answers thus: “There would have been a few articles in the newspapers and some stories on TV. Federation bosses would have made the right noises and everyone would have clucked in pity. After that my family and friends would have had to run around trying to get me treated… it would have been easier to walk away from the sport I loved.”Being a cricketer meant that Yuvraj was under the care of India’s richest sporting body, the BCCI. It meant that he was guaranteed the best treatment, a clear path back to his sport, and sufficient media space to tell his story. Not surprisingly, he became the best-known cancer survivor in the country, and even if the occasional tasteless advertisement capitalised on that, the larger picture was positive.During the World Cup, India’s captain, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, said to the media, “[Yuvraj] has been vomiting a lot.” It was seen as an anxiety reflex. In fact, Yuvraj himself said, “Yes, the anxiety can be really heavy.” Yet this wasn’t about butterflies in the stomach but a tumour, and a cancerous one at that. No one knew then, of course, and in hindsight one marvels at how Yuvraj kept playing and carrying on as if everything was normal.The story is an inspiring one, and the book tells it with the clarity and insight of a newspaper report, which is both its strength and its weakness. Had this been a Bollywood story, it might have been dismissed as fanciful and far-fetched. Yet it is all true, which is why it is not difficult to forgive the descent into heart-tugging Bollywood style, and constructions like “Water, juice, energy drinks, by this time these were all into-Yuvi, out-of-Yuvi.”Of the three strands that make up the narrative – family, cricket and cancer – each serves as a cautionary tale. Yuvraj does not shy away from speaking about his father, the India player Yograj Singh, and his obsession with making his son a star; for every Yuvraj-type success, there are possibly thousands who might be marked for life. The cricket part too hints at many what-might-have-beens.The cancer – the time wasted on alternative medicine, the denial, confirmation, and finally full recovery and return to the Indian team – forms the most crucial cautionary tale of all. “You could have died of a heart attack,” his doctor tells Yuvraj. The tumour had been pressing against an artery.The book bravely strips away the macho public image of a talented allrounder good enough to play for India at 19, and reveals a vulnerable human being unafraid to cry. Top of the world at 29, within weeks Yuvraj faced the prospect of the end, and not just of his career. The horror (and necessity) of chemotherapy is well told, the gratitude at the simple fact of being alive is a subtext.Better editing might have ensured a smoother read. Such sentences as “You reach downtown, and steam rises out of manholes, the buildings are huge, but hardly a soul to be seen” stick in the throat. The ghostwriters have attempted to speak in Yuvraj’s voice, so there are few literary flourishes. The story is compelling enough to make the many irritants seem irrelevant.The Test of My Life: From cricket to cancer and back
by Yuvraj Singh
Random House India
Hardback, 189 pages, Rs 399

Mumbai Indians have been quick to snap up players to address weaknesses that have surfaced through the seasons, and their monetary power has helped them do that

Siddhartha Talya25-May-2013Rajasthan Royals have traditionally drawn much sympathy from IPL watchers, and their captain constantly reminded everyone this year of how they are a “moneyball” side, how under-resourced they are in terms of personnel and yet punch above their weight each time. Mumbai Indians are a popular side, too, but for reasons totally different. They are a side filled with big stars, and have a line-up that cannot have too many excuses to stop short of winning the title.The hunger to win remains, not just evident in the team’s improved performance this year that’s taken them to the final for the second time, but also tweaks made to their squad through the seasons, the management compensating for any weaknesses that surface with high-profile purchases, be in the auctions or in between seasons, of players that have caught the eye. And the franchise’s monetary power has played a significant role in ensuring Mumbai have got what they want.Kieron Pollard blasted his way to an IPL contract when he smashed an unbeaten 54 off 18 balls for Trinidad and Tobago against New South Wales in 2009, and Mumbai fought hard in the subsequent auctions to buy him. He fetched the maximum bid of US$750,000 before Mumbai bagged him in the secret tie-break, beating Chennai Super Kings, Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bangalore by paying an undisclosed amount. He was one of four players retained by them after the 2010 season, and is now a key part of the middle order.Though he’s not been as effective in the second half of this season with the bat, Dinesh Karthik was an important transfer ahead of last year’s IPL during the transfer window. Ambati Rayudu, who remained in the Mumbai side, had kept wickets before him, but the need for a specialist wicket-keeper batsman prompted the franchise to shell out an undisclosed amount that may well have been among the most paid for a player in the transfer window. He had been bought for US$900,000 by Kings XI Punjab, a team that had a specialist wicketkeeper-batsman as their captain.In the bowling, Mumbai bought Pragyan Ojha during the transfer window to bowl in tandem with Harbhajan Singh, and Ali Murtaza went to Pune Warriors. And in the auction, they bid US$600,000 for RP Singh. RP, until then, had been the leading wicket-taker in the IPL, and Ojha was not far behind him, in fourth place. Three of the leading five bowlers in IPL were with Mumbai at the start of the 2012 season.Last year, Mumbai tried as many as nine opening combinations. One of those openers was Richard Levi, who went unsold in the auctions in February but was snapped by Mumbai, who beat Pune Warriors to sign him, almost immediately after he smashed 13 sixes in a T20 century against New Zealand. Davy Jacobs was another opener, bought by Mumbai after he made 286 runs in six innings in the Champions League the previous year.Dwayne Smith hadn’t played for West Indies in the longer formats for a while when he was signed up by Mumbai last year, but a quickfire half-century against Australia in a T20 international and a successful stint with Khulna Royal Bengals in the Bangladesh Premier League won him a call-up. This, after he went unsold in the auction. And he’s been an important player for them at the top of the order this year.Pollard, Smith, Karthik and, to a lesser extent, Ojha have had a role to play in their team’s march to the final this season, their presence in the team a product of some opportunistic, and occasionally aggressive, buying. An ideal culmination to this process for Mumbai would be a title victory, slightly belated you would think for one of he most powerful franchises in the tournament.

Jaipur can often leave you feeling amazed

Shamsher Singh21-Mar-2013Jantar Mantar and Hawa Mahal
Jaipur owes a lot to its founder, Raja Jai Singh II. He had varied interests but was especially passionate about science and astronomy. Jantar Mantar has an amazing collection of astronomical instruments, including a sun dial, which were used for weather forecasts back in the 18th century.Hawa Mahal is an incredible piece of architecture too, and is one of the iconic monuments of Jaipur. Made of pink sandstone, this five-storey structure is in the heart of the town’s main bazaar area. Its main attractions are the 953 (windows), which stack up like a pyramid, and were built to allow women of the royal family to take a peek at the streets below without being seen. The windows are designed so as to let the breeze be distributed uniformly throughout the structure.Ajmer
Apart from visiting Jaipur’s famous forts and taking a trip to the Ranthambore wildlife sanctuary, you could also head to Ajmer to visit the Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti dargah, believed by Muslims to be second only to Mecca in its holiness. Legend has it that Mughal emperor Akbar walked barefoot to the dargah to pray, after which he was blessed with a son. It is one of the biggest tourist attractions in India, and only two hours from Jaipur. Many cricketers and Bollywood stars seek blessings at Ajmer.Listen to folk music and go dancing
Rajasthan is famous for its folk and traditional music. Most evenings in the summer, there is live music in Central Park, which has colourful fountains, and is a good place to walk and jog.B2B in the basement of the Country Inn and Suites, near the railway station, has a decent-sized dance floor and is popular with youngsters over the weekend. Players also head there during the IPL.Shop in the bazaars
Jaipur is one of the biggest markets for precious and semi-precious stones. There are lots of showrooms on MI Road and Chowda Raasta, where the traditional goldsmiths carve out intricate designs, blending stones on gold and silver jewellery. Sanganeri prints, block prints that are used for salwar kurtas, curtains, bedsheets and various furnishings, can be bought at Bapu Bazaar and Chowra Raasta. Jaipur quilts, made of silk, linen and cotton, are popular buys too.Improve your golf swing
Rambaugh Golf Club is an exclusive club but you can hire equipment and play there for a day after making prior arrangements.

Few of Australia’s recent losses will hurt like the one at Chester-le-Street, because they know – they – they should have won it

Brydon Coverdale at Chester-le-Street12-Aug-2013LLLLLLDL.That’s not the name of an obscure Welsh town, that’s Australia’s record in Tests since the start of this year’s tour of India. Stretch it back to the start of the Australian summer and it’s a little healthier, but not much: DDLWWWLLLLLLDL. The victories were all against Sri Lanka, a team that has never won a Test in Australian conditions. Australia were on top in all three draws, against South Africa and England. Some losses have been comprehensive, others close.Australia seem to have forgotten how to handle the pressure moments, the tight contests. Perhaps it is not so much that they have forgotten but that they’ve never known, for besides Michael Clarke, none of this current outfit have ever really known extended Test success. The coach, Darren Lehmann, played in 27 Tests and only five weren’t wins. Compare that to a man like Steven Smith, who has played in only two victories, both early in his career, from 11 Tests.Winning is a habit. Get a few successes on the board, especially against quality opponents, and especially in close finishes, and you start to trust that it can be done. Shane Warne often talks about believing it is possible to win from anywhere; Clarke’s men appear petrified that they can lose from anywhere. How else to explain their collapse after tea at Chester-le-Street? Few of their recent losses will hurt like this one, because they know – they – they should have won it.The target of 299 was a challenge, certainly, but Chris Rogers and David Warner made Australia’s highest opening stand in a Test chase in 18 years, reaching 109 for 0. Even after Rogers fell, Australia were still comfortable at tea, at 120 for 1. Then the doubt crept in. The fear. The knowledge that this match was there to lose, a 2-1 scoreline was theirs to give up. And dutifully, they handed England the momentum, their wickets and a series win.At 5.26pm Usman Khawaja departed, Warner at 5.44, Clarke at 6.10, Smith at 6.22, Shane Watson at 6.29, Brad Haddin at 6.39. Then the bowlers tumbled too, but it wasn’t their fault. In the final session Australia lost nine for 104. England’s bowling improved – Stuart Broad and Tim Bresnan bowled in tandem, keeping things tight, bringing the batsmen on to the front foot instead of offering up the short-of-a-length stuff they had delivered before tea. But they weren’t nine-wickets-in-a-session good.That Australia collapsed again is almost not a story, for it has happened so often in recent years that it is the norm. But to collapse when the openers had laid such a strong foundation is almost more galling. And how many of the batsmen could say they were done by great balls? Clarke missed a super delivery from Broad that angled in and nipped away just enough, but Watson and Haddin essentially just missed straight deliveries.They were the two senior men in the lower middle-order. They had to show more resolve, respect the good balls and wait for the bad ones. Rogers had given them the template. Smith tried to do that, go after a short ball, but wasn’t good enough to middle it and played on instead. Khawaja was typically elegant, but elegant doesn’t win Test matches in tight situations. Fight does. Hunger does. Sheer bloody-mindedness does.It raised the question – again – of whether Australia’s batsmen are good enough for Test cricket. It goes without saying that Clarke is, and Rogers has shown in this series that he has the necessary technique and determination. Warner played a mature innings here but too often is careless. Watson is the No.6 and allrounder because there is nobody better. Smith and Khawaja have both shown signs of being Test batsmen but inspire little confidence in tight spots.For all of them, this was an opportunity. This was a chance to stand up in a challenging situation, to deliver a victory for their struggling team. Rogers and Warner did the hard work early. Nobody matched them. It leaves the selectors in a difficult position, for they cannot keep picking men who fail under pressure. Phillip Hughes and Matthew Wade could be considered for The Oval Test, but where are the other batsmen applying the pressure?”I think we are picking the best players,” Clarke said after the loss. “Everyone says rebuild, rebuild, rebuild, but you need guys in first-class cricket making runs to take someone’s slot. We have to continue to show faith in these guys – it takes time playing against good opposition. We just played South Africa in Australia, we are playing England here then England in Australia, then we go to South Africa – we are playing the best oppositions in the world. I think the selectors are doing the best they can to pick the best sides.”Clarke has had plenty of practice answering difficult questions after losses, but in the post-match press conference he looked drained of all his spark. He paid credit to Broad for his fine bowling, claimed responsibility for his own dismissal and not leading by example, and tried his best to back his men. Ultimately, though, his mood could be summed up by one answer: “It’s extremely disappointing – I guess I know now what it feels like to lose an Ashes series as a captain.”Losing matches, losing series – it’s all becoming far too familiar a feeling. When he retired after the series win over Sri Lanka during the home summer, Michael Hussey handed custodianship of the team victory song to Nathan Lyon. That was seven months ago. Eight Tests ago. Lyon is yet to lead the beer-soaked choir.The words are easy to remember, how to win a Test match not so much.