Terror threat pushes Deccan Chargers games to Cuttack

Responding to the threat to withdraw from IPL 3, the IPL governing council granted two matches to Deccan Chargers in their catchment area of Cuttack with promises of holding a couple of matches later if the intelligence reports clear Hyderabad as a venue.

Besides the current agitations and mood in the state, Hyderabad has always been the hub of several sleeper cells and terror modules of Pakistan-based Lashkar-e- Tayyaba and Bangladesh- based Harkat Ul Jihad Al Islami, evident from the recent arrests of a few, including Shaik Khaja alias Amjad who heads terror operations in South India.

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Deccan Chargers slaps notice on IPL for return of matches

The Deccan Chargers on Monday threatened to pull out of IPL-3 if the six home games of the defending champions were not restored to Hyderabad, and Visakhapatnam.

Serving a legal notice to the IPL and the BCCI, Deccan Chargers Sporting Ventures Limited, the parent company of the team, contended that the decision to move the matches out was in “grave breach” of the agreement, which grants rights to the franchise to stage its home games at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Uppal.

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Boycott Indian Premier League, state to Deccan Chargers

The state sports minister, Mr Komatireddy Venkat Reddy, on Wednesday asked the Deccan Chargers to boycott the IPL tournament if the governing council stuck to its decision not to conduct matches in Hyderabad.

Meanwhile, the Chief Minister, Mr K. Rosaiah, requested the Union agriculture minister, Mr Sharad Pawar, president-elect of the International Cricket Council, to intervene and retain the IPL matches in the city itself.

Though the Deccan Chargers, the defending champions, were scheduled to play the inaugural as well as four other matches in the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Uppal, the IPL organisers decided to shift the venue to Mumbai.

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Gilly’s smart plan led to win

The lessons of their 2008 debacle were well learnt, triumphant Deccan Chargers captain said on Monday after their fairytale win against the Royal Challengers Bangalore to win the IPL trophy.

Gilchrist said: “Just trying to create the culture of learning from our mistakes last year and trying to play a smarter brand of Twenty20 cricket rather than walking out and trying to just fire from ball one.” He emphasised: “We just got to get smarter about it.”

The skipper added: “I think a lot of the credit goes to the franchisee for turning it around. I think my catchphrase was to make sure every ball — the very next ball — was the most important thing of their lives to the players... It does sound dramatic, but there is nothing else in our lives at that moment...”

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Chargers Champ- On magic night, Deccan dream comes true

Adam Gilchrist and his indefatigable Deccan Chargers lived a school boy’s dream on Sunday, winning the DLF IPL trophy by beating Royal Challengers Bangalore in the tensest game of the 59-match tournament.

Hyderabad, the main base of the Chargers, erupted in joy and fireworks went off as Royal Challengers ended up six runs short of the target of 143. Thousands of viewers who stayed up close to midnight to cheer the Chargers, spilled out on to the streets to celebrate.

Last year’s bottom team gave its fans every chill, spill and thrill as it won seven matches and then floundered before making it to the semifinals on the run rate. If Gilchrist smashed his way to victory over Delhi Daredevils, Sunday’s final saw nail-biting excitement till the last two balls.

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Deccan to easy win - Deccan Chargers at top of Indian Premier League table

Adam Gilchrist mounted a blistering attack that completely took the spirit off the Royal Challengers and set up an easy victory for Deccan Chargers here on Wednesday.

Gilchirst made 71 off just 45 balls to take Chargers to 184-6, the highest score in the tournament. Rohit Sharma hammered a 30-ball 52 that took the game out of the Challengers’ hands even before they began to bat.

With this victory, Deccan Chargers zoom to the top of the table for IPL-2.

Gilchrist’s innings had glad tidings on another front. The Chargers captain hit five massive sixers. Each hit over the boundary meant that Amway’s Freedom Wheels programme would donate a modified bike to a child with special challenges.

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Deccan at full charge

Deccan Chargers trounced Kolkata Knight Riders on Sunday, putting on display their inherent potential.

Chargers were never in trouble against the Riders, bowling tightly and scoring runs without a fuss.

It was sweet revenge for the Chargers: The floodlights had failed at a crucial time in their match against the Riders at the Eden Gardens last year, robbing them of a win.

The lights failed here on Sunday before the match, possibly reviving bitter memories and charging up the team for revenge.

Chargers got it right from the start. R.P. Singh took 4-22, accounting for big hitters Brendon McCullum and Chris Gayle cheaply.

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Indian Premier League is back in India

The IPL has moved back to India for keeps, according to sources in the Deccan Chargers, the team owned by the promoters of Deccan Chronicle The decision will be made public in the next 36 hours after tying up the loose ends, sources said.

The schedule, from April 18 to May 24, will be more or less retained in India, sources said.

The decision was taken by the Centre hours before the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, left for London for the G-20 meet. The BCCI and the IPL franchisees have convened an emergency meet at 11 am at Mumbai on Wednesday to tie up the loose ends.

The Centre and the state governments have agreed to host IPL matches up to four days before the elections in the respective centres, and immediately after polling.

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Deccan ChargersTakes Chennai

The IPL could well be a tournament decided by momentum shifts. Deccan Chargers seven-wicket win against Chennai Super Kings here on Tuesday was a tribute to their self belief.

The way the team moved in the field told the tale. There was a spring in the step that hardly indicated their tournament record thus far. This was the best chance for Chargers to stage their comeback bid.

Adam Gilchrist and his men would for a moment have thought they were in Uppal rather than in distant Chepauk as the crowd cheered every boundary or six that flowed from the blade of the Chargers.

After restricting the Kings to 144 for 7, the Chargers rode on Gilchrist’s 36-ball 54 to overhaul the target with two overs to spare. The IPL looks wide open now. Every side will now fancy their chances of making the final. Adam Gilchrist had a promise to keep. “We will do justice to the inspiring name you provided the team,” Gilchrist had said to S. Nandakumar who had won the ‘Predict the name’ contest and he did just that.

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Gilly's Danda Powers Bull Run

After lying low for three matches, the Deccan Chargers came out in full force on Sunday to maul Mumbai Indians and record their first win of the IPL tournament at the D.Y. Patil Stadium here.

After restricting the home side to a modest 154, the Chargers made mockery of the Mumbai total courtesy Adam Gilchrist’s savage 47-ball 109 not out to overhaul the target in just 12 overs without losing a wicket. The win took DC from eighth to sixth on the points table, which has Bangalore and Mumbai languishing at the bottom.

Gilchrist exploded like a dynamite, cracking 10 soaring sixes and nine boundaries to batter the Mumbai bowlers, in the process recording the fastest century in Twenty20 cricket (42 balls). The previous fastest hundred, off 47 balls, was set by Gilly’s teammate Andrew Symonds during the Chargers’ last game against Rajasthan Royals at home last week.

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It was Devils’night out

Virender Sehwag slammed a swashbuckling unbeaten 94 to guide Delhi Daredevils to a comfortable victory over Deccan Chargers in the IPL game at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium here on Tuesday.

“If it is my day, no one can stop me,” said Sehwag who closed the match with three sixes and three fours in one over.

Set to chase a modest 142 in 20 overs, the visitors started in style with captain Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir blasting the ball around. The Chargers could not scuttle the rapid-fire rate at which the runs flowed from the Delhi willows as they overhauled the target with nine wickets and seven overs to spare.

Nothing went right for the Chargers, who kept losing wickets at regular intervals to put up a low score after electing to bat. It would have been worse but for the brilliance of Rohit Sharma, who accelerated the innings towards the end.

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Lights, pitch defeat Chargers

Poor lights, umpiring errors and a substandard pitch contrived to subdue a spirited fight by the Deccan Chargers in their opening IPL match against the Kolkata Knight Riders at an erratic Eden Gardens here on Sunday. After being bowled out for 110, the Hyderabad team had done well to have the Knights on their knees at 89/5 in the 17th over when two of the four light towers shut down suddenly.

The half-hour break provided the home team time to recover and regroup before they went on to the field needing 22 runs from 20 balls while the Chargers had to go through the drills and expend extra energy to warm up and take to the ground.

Man of the match David Hussey admitted it was a welcome break. “It was a decent break for us, giving us time to collect our thoughts and have a drink to get back our energy. It worked very well for us,” he said. Chargers captain V.V.S. Laxman rued the interruption. “It definitely affected us because we had the momentum going when the lights shut down,” he said. Laxman also called the wicket “shocking.”

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