Blogeebee.....: February 2009

Monday, February 9, 2009

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Friday, February 6, 2009

Murali completes record bowling double

Sri Lankan spinner Muttiah Muralitharan, the world's leading bowler in Test cricket, on Thursday set a second record when he became the highest wicket-taker in one-day internationals.

The off-spin wizard surpassed former Pakistan fast bowler Wasim Akram's record of 502 wickets during the fourth one-dayer against India here when he dismissed opener Gautam Gambhir for his 503rd victim.

Muralitharan, 36, also holds the world record in Test cricket with 769 wickets in 125 matches.

The Sri Lankan achieved the one-day feat in his 328th match, while Akram figured in 356 games before retiring in 2003.

Akram praised Muralitharan as a "great bowler" -- and said records were there to be broken.

"I noticed his progress in 2003 and realised he was the only man who could break my record," he said.

"At times I jokingly told him not to play one-day cricket, so that my record would remain intact, but he is relentless in taking wickets. I am happy that a bowler of his calibre has broken my record."

Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar is the only other player to hold two major world records -- highest scorer in Tests (12,429) and one-day internationals (16,440).

Muralitharan needed just one wicket before the match to complete a record double and his biggest moment came in his 10th and last over when he had well-set Gambhir (150) caught by wicket-keeper Kumar Sangakkara.

The spinner's team-mates rushed in from various parts of the field to congratulate him on the landmark, which is unlikely to be surpassed any time soon.

Muralitharan's closest competitor among current players is 35-year-old compatriot Chaminda Vaas (400 wickets), who has not been playing one-day cricket regularly in recent months.

The spinner said ahead of the match that winning matches for his team was more important than milestones.

"The important thing is to win the game. I am going to keep playing and the record will come some day. I am pretty happy with my form," said Muralitharan.

Sri Lanka skipper Mahela Jayawardene recently said hard work was key to Muralitharan's success in both forms of the game.

"I think it's just purely hard work and the commitment and willingness to win matches for his team. That's something you have to admire about him," said the Sri Lankan captain.

"Everyone knows the amount of hard work he has put in over the last 16 years, going through a lot of hardship. That's an amazing effort for a guy who started as a fast bowler and then turned into an off-spinner."

India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni had said before the start of the series that the "champion" Sri Lankan spinner would complete a bowling double against his team.

"He is a brilliant bowler and has been very consistent. He is a champion bowler," said Dhoni.

IPL 2 : Auction Results

KP, Freddie fetch record $1.55mn each

Indian Premier League franchisees, with a total budget of $13.59 million, will buy 17 players from a pool of 50 in the second edition of the players' auction here on Friday.

Hello and welcome to our coverage of the IPL season II auction from Goa. It promises to be one action-packed day. The teams and the players will both have their fingers crossed.

In Friday's auction, there are 18 players from Australia, seven from England, five from Sri Lanka, three from New Zealand, seven from South Africa, six from West Indies and four from Bangladesh would be up for grabs.

Round 1

Rajasthan Royals buy Australian bowler Shaun Tait for $375,000.

Mumbai Indians bid $950,000 for South African batsman Jean-Paul Duminy.

Chennai Super Kings bid a record price of $1.55 million for England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff.

And the Bangalore Royal Challengers bid $1.55 million for former England captain Kevin Pietersen.

Pietersen and Flintoff have now become the costliest players in the IPL. The previous highest bid was for Chennai Super Kings captain MS Dhoni, who had been bid last year for $1.5 million.

Round 2

Deccan Chargers buy West Indies bowler Fidel Edwards for $ 150,000.

Delhi Daredevils buy England batsman Owais Shah for $275,000.

Delhi Daredevils buy former England ODI captain Paul Collingwood for $275,000.

At the end of this round no takers for: Brad Haddin, Stuart Clark, Chamara Kapugedera.

Round 3

Rajasthan Royals buy South African all-rounder Tyron Henderson for $650,000.

King's XI, Punjab buy England all-rounder Ravi Bopara for $450,000.

Chennai Super Kings bid $140,000 for Sri Lankan bowler Thilan Thusara.

Bangalore Royal Challengers buy New Zealand batsman Jesse Ryder for $160,000.

Mumbai Indians buy New Zealand bowler Kyle Mills for $150,000.

At the end of this round no takers for: Phil Jaques, Ashwell Prince, Andre Nel, Luke Wright, Nuwan Kulasekara.

Round 4

Deccan Chargers buy West Indies all-rounder Jerome Taylor for $100,000.

At the end of this round no takers for: Samit Patel, Shakib-Al-Hasan, Morne Wan Vyk, Jerome Taylor, Steven Smith, Ashley Noffke, Mohammad Ashraful and Darren Powell.

Round 5

All players in this pool were unsold.

The list includes: Tamim Iqbal, Bryce McCain, James Franklin, Adrian Blizard, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Michael Klinger, S Weeraratne, Prasanna Jayawardene, Dominic Thornely.

Round 6

Kolkata Knight Riders bid $600,000 for Bangladesh bowler Mashrafe Mortaza.

Chennai Super Kings buy Australia's George Bailey for $50,000.

At the end of this round no takers for: Yusuf Abdullah, Daniel Harris, Kemar Roach, Aaron Bird.

At the end of the six rounds of bidding, only two teams Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab had a slot each for an overseas player. Each team can have a maximum of ten foreign players.

The two teams were asked to submit the names of two or three players, whom they wish to buy so that they can be put up for sale again.

Kings XI Punjab asked for West Indies bowler Jerome Taylor and will get him at his base price of $150,000, while Mumbai Indians get Bangladesh skipper Mohammad Ashraful for $75,000.

And that is the end of the IPL auction for the second season. Now, the action beckons!

source: cricketnext.in.com

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Monday, February 9, 2009

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Friday, February 6, 2009

Murali completes record bowling double

IPL 2 : Auction Results

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