The SAGA begins-ipl4

KKR vs CSK IPL4 1st Match Preview - Kolkata Knight Riders vs Chennai Super Kings 2011 IPL Opening Match Teams

Opening match of the 2011 Indian Premier League - IPL4, is going to be played between defending champions Chennai Super Kings and entirely new formed Shah Rukh Khan's Kolkata Knight Riders on Friday, 8th April, 2011 at MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk, Chennai, in a night game staring from 14:30 GMT, 8:00 PM IST.

Chennai Super Kings not only won the IPL3 but also won the 2010 Champions League T20, and they had retained 4 maximum players including magical captain MS Dhoni, who also wom World Cup for India after 28 years and played inning of his life in the final, along with Suresh Raina, M Vijay and Albie Morkel. They will definitely miss Muralitharan while Hussyey will be available only after tour of Bangladesh. R Ashwin will be key while they also have Shadab Jakati and Suraj Randiv.

Kolkata Knight Riders on the other hand didn't have great past history but now they are completely new team, with WC final hero Gautam Gambhir as captain and power hitter Yusuf Patahn who didn't get much chance in WC and will try to take out his frustration here. They will miss foreign players like Brett Lee, Shakib Al Hasan and Brad Haddin busy with national duty but they have good players like Ryan ten Doeschate, Jacques Kallis and Eoin Morgan.

Chennai Super Kings Playing 11, Team, Squad for IPL4 1st Match:

MS Dhoni (Cap), Suresh Raina, Murali Vijay, Scott Styris, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Albie Morkel, Tim Southee, Subramaniam Badrinath, Faf du Plessis, Shadab Jakati.

Kolkata Knight Riders Playing 11, Team, Squad for IPL4 1st Match:

Gautam Gambhir (Cap), Yusuf Pathan, Jacques Kallis, Eoin Morgan, Ryan ten Doeschate, Manoj Tiwary, Shreevats Goswami (wk), Jaidev Unadkat, Lakshmipathy Balaji, Iqbal Abdulla, Laxmi Shukla/James Pattinson

KKR HOT NEWS

KKR have changed their brand colours to purple and gold for IPL 2010. With this the brand and the team seeks to mark a new direction. KKR sticks to its brand promise of aiming to play entertaining cricket and being a team which seeks to connect with its fans. With its new colours, KKR seeks to bring fresh impetus to a long and exciting season ahead.

The Kolkata Knight Riders’ hard hitting West Indies batsman Chris Gayle joined the team on March 18th. The team left for Ahmedabad on Thursday for their next match against the Rajasthan Royals, who have made the city of Ahmedabad their temporary home. Gayle joined the team directly in Ahmedabad. His availability means that the team has more strength in its batting department. Gayle also bowls off break which makes him an additional 5th bowling option.

The Knights who currently stand third on the points tally will look to make amends for their poor batting performance in their last match against the Chennai Super Kings. Gayle’s inclusion means that if he opens the batting with Manoj Tiwary, then the Knights and their fans could well get the huge starts from the two hard hitters.

The KKR team will be playing a practice match at the Eden Gardens today against a Mohun Bagan selection. The match will commence at 7pm

The team will be departing for Chennai tomorrow afternoon.

Wasim and Eoin Morgan have joined the team, Kallis, Gambhir and Yusuf Pathan will arrive this evening

MUMBAI INDIANS MASALA

April 5, Wankhede, Mumbai: After spending quality time at the BKC and the CCI grounds, the Mumbai Indians moved to the historic Wankhede Stadium for practice…
On April 5, the Mumbai Indians had their first practice session under lights at the Wankhede Stadium, where the Indian team was crowned the World Champions a couple of days ago. The Mumbai Indians will be playing their IPL home matches at this historic venue.

While the training sessions had already gained momentum over the last week, there was additional spark in the camp with the arrival of former South African all-rounder Shaun Pollock, as the team’s mentor and bowling coach. Pollock was part of the MI squad during IPL Season-1 and as coach for Season-2. Pollock got involved in the action from the word go and was seen closely monitoring fast bowlers James Franklin, Abu Nechim and Dhawal Kulkarni. Batsman R Satish and the left arm-seamer Pawan Suyal were also seen in the nets for the first time. Both were nursing injuries that had prevented them from taking part in the earlier sessions.
For the spectators who might have missed out on Tillakaratne Dilshan play the Dil-Scoop, it was lucky to get a glimpse of Sarul Kanwar executing the Dil-Scoop to a nicety at the practice session.
The highlight of the evening featured the two former South African team-mates – Jonty Rhodes and Shaun Pollock. In the middle of the routine, they also displayed their brilliance in the field. Rhodes, who has earned the reputation of being the best fielder in the game, was seen pulling off a difficult catch with great ease. Meanwhile, Pollock rolled his arm over and was able to get through the defense of James Franklin. It was a refreshing, but rare moment in the middle of an intense training session.

Predict the Winner of IPL Season 4

Auction Figures

Chennai Super Kings No. of players bought:18 (8 Indian, 10 foreign) Money spent:$8.6 million Big-ticket signings: R Ashwin ($850,000), S Badrinath ($850,000) Bargain buy:Michael Hussey ($425,000) Eyebrow-raiser: Dwayne Bravo ($200,000) One that got away: Muttiah Muralitharan (Chennai bid up to $1million) Squad Batsmen: Suresh Raina (retained), M Vijay (retained), Michael Hussey ($425,000), S Badrinath ($850,000), George Bailey ($50,000) Bowlers: Doug Bollinger ($700,000), R Ashwin ($850,000), Ben Hilfenhaus ($100,000), Joginder Sharma ($150,000), Nuwan Kulasekara ($100,000), Sudeep Tyagi ($240,000), Suraj Randiv ($80,000), Faf du Plessis ($120,000) Allrounders: Albie Morkel (retained), Dwayne Bravo ($200,000), Scott Styris ($200,000) Wicketkeepers: MS Dhoni (retained), Wriddhiman Saha ($100,000) Deccan Chargers No. of players bought: 14 (5 Indian, 9 foreign) Money spent: $6.88 million Big-ticket signing: Dale Steyn ($1.2 million) Bargain buy: Kumar Sangakkara ($700,000) Eyebrow-raiser: Dan Christian ($900,000) One that got away: Yuvraj Singh (Deccan bid up to $1.6m) Squad Batsmen: Kevin Pietersen ($650,000), Cameron White ($1.1m), JP Duminy ($300,000), Shikhar Dhawan ($300,000), Michael Lumb ($85,000) Bowlers: Ishant Sharma ($450,000), Dale Steyn ($1.2m), Pragyan Ojha ($500,000), Amit Mishra ($300,000), Manpreet Gony ($290,000), Chris Lynn ($20,000), Rusty Theron ($85,000) Allrounders: Dan Christian ($900,000) Wicketkeepers: Kumar Sangakkara ($700,000) Delhi Daredevils No. of players bought: 17 (7 Indian, 10 foreign) Money spent: $8.25 million Big-ticket signing: Irfan Pathan ($1.9 million) Bargain buy: Andrew McDonald ($80,000) Eyebrow-raiser: Umesh Yadav ($750,000) Ones that got away: Zaheer Khan and Sreesanth (Delhi bid $850,000 for each) Squad Batsmen: Virender Sehwag (retained), David Warner ($750,000), Aaron Finch ($300,000), Venugopal Rao ($700,000), Travis Birt ($20,000), Colin Ingram ($100,000) Bowlers: Morne Morkel ($475,000), Ajit Agarkar ($210,000), Ashok Dinda ($375,000), Umesh Yadav ($750,000), Robert Frylinck ($20,000) Allrounders: Irfan Pathan ($1.9m), James Hopes ($350,000), Roelof van der Merwe ($50,000), Andrew McDonald ($80,000) Wicketkeepers: Naman Ojha ($270,000), Matthew Wade ($100,000) Kings XI Punjab No. of players bought: 11 (4 Indian, 7 foreign) Money spent: $6.95 millon Big-ticket signing: David Hussey ($1.4 million) Bargain buy: Shaun Marsh ($400,000) Eyebrow-raiser: Piyush Chawla ($900,000), Abhishek Nayar ($800,000) Ones that got away: Irfan Pathan (Punjab bid $1.8m), Saurabh Tiwary ($1.5m), Mahela Jayawardene ($1.4m), Dale Steyn ($1.1m) Squad Batsmen: Shaun Marsh ($400,000), David Hussey ($140,000) Bowlers: Stuart Broad ($400,000), Praveen Kumar ($800,000), Ryan Harris ($325,000), Piyush Chawla ($900,000), Nathan Rimmington ($20,000) Allrounders: Abhishek Nayar ($800,000), Dimitri Mascarenhas ($100,000) Wicketkeepers: Adam Gilchrist ($900,000), Dinesh Karthik ($900,000) Kochi No. of players: 17 (7 Indian, 10 foreign) Money spent: $7.79 million Big-ticket signing: Mahela Jayawardene ($1.5 million) Bargain buy: Brendon McCullum ($475,000) Eyebrow-raiser: Ravindra Jadeja ($950,000) Ones that got away: Gautam Gambhir (Kochi bid $2.3m), Yusuf Pathan (Kochi bid $2m), Uthappa (Kochi bid $2m) Squad Batsmen: Mahela Jayawardene ($1.5m), VVS Laxman ($400,000), Brad Hodge ($425,000), Owais Shah ($200,000), Michael Klinger ($75,000) Bowlers: Sreesanth ($900,000), RP Singh ($500,000), Muttiah Muralitharan ($1.1m), Ramesh Powar ($180,000), Vinay Kumar ($475,000), Steve O'Keefe ($20,000) Allrounders: Ravindra Jadeja ($950,000), Steven Smith ($200,000), Thisara Perera ($80,000), John Hastings ($20,000) Wicketkeepers: Brendon McCullum ($475,000), Parthiv Patel ($290,000) Kolkata Knight Riders No of players bought: 12 (5 Indian, 7 overseas) Money spent: $8.57m Big-ticket signing: Gautam Gambhir ($2.4m) and Yusuf Pathan ($2.1m) Bargain buy: Brad Haddin ($325,000) and Shakib Al Hasan ($425,000) Eyebrow-raiser: Manoj Tiwary ($475,000). Kolkata hadn't chased any of the players they previously had in their squad over the past three years, but towards the end of the first day they decided to go after Tiwary. One that got away: With two major buys in the first hour, Kolkata didn't have the money to raise the stakes high on too many other players. Squad Batsmen: Gautam Gambhir ($2.4m), Manoj Tiwary ($475,000), Eoin Morgan ($350,000) Bowlers: L Balaji ($500,000), Brett Lee ($400,000), Jaidev Unadkat ($250,000), James Pattinson ($100,000) Allrounders: Yusuf Pathan ($2.1m), Jacques Kallis ($1.1m), Shakib Al Hasan ($425,000), Ryan ten Doeschate ($150,000) Wicketkeeper: Brad Haddin ($325,000) Mumbai Indians No of players bought: 12 (4 Indian, 8 overseas) Money spent: $8.52m Big-ticket signing: Rohit Sharma ($2m) Bargain buy: Clint McKay ($110,000) Eyebrow-raiser: Andrew Symonds ($875,000) One that got away: Yuvraj Singh (bid $1.7m) Squad Batsmen: Sachin Tendulkar (retained), Rohit Sharma ($2m), Aiden Blizzard ($20,000) Bowlers: Harbhajan Singh (retained), Lasith Malinga (retained), Munaf Patel ($700,000), Clint McKay ($110,000) Allrounders: Kieron Pollard (retained), Andrew Symonds ($850,000), James Franklin ($100,000), Moises Henriques ($50,000) Wicketkeeper: Davy Jacobs ($190,000) Pune Warriors No of players bought: 14 (4 Indian, 10 overseas) Money spent: $8.07m Big-ticket signing: Robin Uthappa ($2.1m), Yuvraj Singh ($1.8m) Bargain buy: Jesse Ryder ($150,000) Eyebrow-raiser: Robin Uthappa ($2.1m) One that got away: David Hussey (bid $1.3m) Squad Batsmen: Robin Uthappa ($2.1m), Yuvraj Singh ($1.8m), Graeme Smith ($500,000), Callum Ferguson ($300,000) Bowlers: Ashish Nehra ($850,000), Murali Kartik ($400,000), Wayne Parnell ($160,000), Jerome Taylor ($100,000) Allrounders: Angelo Mathews ($950,000), Mitchell Marsh ($290,000), Jesse Ryder ($150,000), Nathan McCullum ($100,000), Alfonso Thomas ($100,000) Wicketkeeper: Time Paine ($270,000) Rajasthan Royals No of players bought: 8 (2 Indian, 6 overseas) Money spent: $6.2m (out of a reduced cap of $7m) Big-ticket signing: Ross Taylor ($1m) Bargain buy: Paul Collingwood ($250,000) Eyebrow-raiser: Johan Botha ($950,000) One that got away: Cheteshwar Pujara (bid upto $650,000) Squad Batsmen: Ross Taylor ($1m), Rahul Dravid ($500,000) Bowlers: Shane Warne (retained), Johan Botha ($950,000), Shaun Tait ($300,000), Pankaj Singh ($95,000) Allrounders: Shane Watson (retained), Paul Collingwood ($250,000) Royal Challengers Bangalore No. of players bought: 16 (6 Indian, 10 foreign) Money spent: $8.64m Big-ticket signing: Saurabh Tiwary ($1.6m) Bargain buy: Daniel Vettori ($550,000) Eyebrow-raiser: Saurabh Tiwary - Another beneficiary of the frenzy for Indian batting talent. Shone in IPL 2010, but isn't exactly a big-name star, or a local player who will pull the crowds in. One that got away: Gambhir (bid $1.8m), Kallis (bid $1m), Ross Taylor (bid $0.95m) Squad Batsmen: Virat Kohli (retained), Saurabh Tiwary ($1.6m), Cheteshwar Pujara ($700,000), Tillakaratne Dilshan ($650,000), Mohammad Kaif ($130,000), Luke Pomersbach ($50,000), Rilee Rossouw ($20,000), Jonathan Vandiar ($20,000) Bowlers: Zaheer Khan ($900,000), Dirk Nannes ($650,000), Abhimanyu Mithun ($260,000), Charl Langeveldt ($140,000), Nuwan Pradeep ($20,000) Allrounders: Daniel Vettori ($550,000), Johan van der Wath ($50,000) Wicketkeepers: AB de Villiers ($1.1m)

Royal Challengers Bangalore

Indian Premier League, 2011

Daniel Vettori captain Age: 31 years 347 days Playing role: Allrounder Batting: Left-hand bat Bowling: Slow left-arm orthodox	Mayank Agarwal Age: 19 years 327 days Batting: Right-hand bat
Sreenath Aravind Age: 26 years 276 days Batting: Left-hand bat Bowling: Left-arm medium-fast	Arun Karthik Age: 24 years 328 days Batting: Right-hand bat Bowling: Legbreak googly
BN Bharath Age: 25 years 69 days Batting: Right-hand bat Bowling: Right-arm medium	Raju Bhatkal Age: 25 years 130 days Batting: Right-hand bat Bowling: Right-arm medium
AB de Villiers Age: 26 years 326 days Playing role: Wicketkeeper batsman Batting: Right-hand bat Bowling: Right-arm medium	Tillakaratne Dilshan Age: 34 years 87 days Playing role: Allrounder Batting: Right-hand bat Bowling: Right-arm offbreak
Nuwan Pradeep Age: 24 years 82 days Playing role: Bowler Batting: Right-hand bat Bowling: Right-arm fast-medium	Muralidharen Gautam Age: 24 years 307 days Batting: Right-hand bat
Mohammad Kaif Age: 30 years 39 days Batting: Right-hand bat Bowling: Right-arm offbreak	Abrar Kazi Age: 21 years 102 days Batting: Left-hand bat Bowling: Slow left-arm orthodox
Zaheer Khan Age: 32 years 94 days Playing role: Bowler Batting: Right-hand bat Bowling: Left-arm fast-medium	Virat Kohli Age: 22 years 65 days Playing role: Middle-order batsman Batting: Right-hand bat Bowling: Right-arm medium
Charl Langeveldt Age: 36 years 23 days Batting: Right-hand bat Bowling: Right-arm fast-medium	Abhimanyu Mithun Age: 21 years 76 days Batting: Right-hand bat Bowling: Right-arm medium
Dirk Nannes Age: 34 years 238 days Batting: Right-hand bat Bowling: Left-arm fast	Ryan Ninan Age: 25 years 51 days Batting: Right-hand bat Bowling: Right-arm offbreak
Asad Pathan Age: 26 years 206 days Batting: Right-hand bat Bowling: Right-arm medium	Luke Pomersbach Age: 26 years 103 days Playing role: Batsman Batting: Left-hand bat Bowling: Right-arm offbreak
Cheteshwar Pujara Age: 22 years 349 days Playing role: Batsman Batting: Right-hand bat Bowling: Legbreak	Rilee Rossouw Age: 21 years 92 days Batting: Left-hand bat Bowling: Right-arm offbreak
Saurabh Tiwary Age: 21 years 10 days Batting: Left-hand bat	Johan van der Wath Age: 32 years 364 days Batting: Right-hand bat Bowling: Right-arm medium-fast
Jonathan Vandiar Age: 20 years 259 days Batting: Left-hand bat Bowling: Legbreak Disclaimer: source cricinfo.com