Mumbai: Since the World Cup win, MS Dhoni and his warriors  have been in focus wherever they go. Tuesday evening was no different – the 2009-10 BCCI awards night in Mumbai was well attended by present and former luminaries of Indian cricket.

The 15 men took center-stage at the awards function, held at the beautiful lawns of Taj Land’s End, Bandra.

“The most important thing is to go ahead and enjoy the game. Give it your best shot, but it is important that you enjoy your art,” the legendary Kapil Dev exhorted the young pacers during a dinner-table conversation.

The whole evening was dominated by the sweet aroma of victory from that incredible night of April 2 at the Wankhede Stadium. As promised by the Board then, each and every member of Team India was handed out a cheque of Rs 2 crores each, while the entire support staff got a handsome reward of Rs 50 lakhs each.

For the record, former all-rounder Salim Durani was handed over the lifetime achievement award while Sachin Tendulkar was named Indian cricketer of the year for 2009-10.

The glorious evening ended with an audiovisual presentation of the memorable moments of Team India’s 2011 World Cup campaign.

Missing from the Indian line-up are Zaheer Khan, Gautam Gambhir and Harbhajan Singh, and the latest to join them is Ishant Sharma, who will miss the tournament opener against New Zealand on Tuesday, while Sachin Tendulkar has been rested for the tournament.

“You can call it a blessing in disguise that we have lost quite a few players in the last few series because of injuries which gives us a chance to look at quite a few newcomers for our bench strength. We are just hoping that we will play with our best 15 members when it comes to the World Cup but till then, we are getting some time to have a look at our bench strength,” Dhoni said at a joint press conference.

Dhoni said the team management is careful about the injuries, keeping in mind the World Cup and does every bit to ensure that the players do not aggravate their problems.

“Whatever series we are playing, we are expected to win them and do well. So it gets very difficult to give players some rest. But at the same time, what we have done is if we find that some player is having some kind of a niggle or problem which can really convert into a major injury, then we give them some rest. Like Harbhajan and Gautam here. We are just trying to balance it out in a way that we don’t have injuries right in front of the World Cup,” he said.

The India captain admitted that his players are a tired lot after the drawn three-Test series against Sri Lanka.

“Most of the games, we fielded for 120-130 overs. We might have won the last Test but at the end of the day, you are quite tired. As far as the gap in between the matches is concerned, that is mainly because of the reserve day. With the reserve day, I can’t really complain, that’s the schedule. We will take some time off, maybe a couple of days completely away from cricket, and then get back into the groove,” he said.

Dhoni said players should not hesitate to take a break when they feel that playing continuously may injure them.

“When I get a feeling that if I go and play this series, I may get injured, I try to take some time off, which I did when India came to Sri Lanka last time I didn’t play the Test series. It’s very important to see exactly how your body is feeling. You have to assess which is the better option, and more often than not, taking rest is a better option than getting injured,” he said.

Dhoni said he sees no problem in leading a young side which is low on experience as compared to the Test team.

“Among the older or senior guys, all of a sudden I find myself being one of them along with Viru, Yuvraj and Ashish Nehra. I don’t think it’s much difficult, you just have to channelise the efforts more compared to the Test side where you have a lot of experienced players. It’s always good to have fresh legs in the side who can field really well, give more than 100 percent whenever needed. It will be exciting, hopefully it will be good too,” he added.

Dhoni also defended playing too much cricket against Sri Lanka, saying there is hardly any controversy when the two countries play. “For the last few years, if you see, we have been playing each other quite consistently which means we know each other quite well when it comes to ones strengths and weaknesses. It’s always good to play against Sri Lanka because most of the time, it is controversy-free.”

“There is always a lot at stake in an Indo-Pak match no matter how much one tries to say it is just another cricket encounter. The high degree of emotion involved in the match was proof of that,” Moin said. “When we regularly play bilateral matches, the players get used to the tension and pressure situation. People on both sides also get used to accepting that in sports, one team has to lose.”

“But since we are now back again and playing against each other rarely, obviously emotions run high, and we saw it last night,” Moin said.

The match, which India won by three wickets in the final over, saw verbal clashes between Kamran Akmal and Gautam Gambhir and Shoaib Akhtar and Harbhajan Singh.

The umpires, Billy Bowden and Doctrove, had to intervene to separate the players.

The Indian government has not allowed bilateral cricket ties with Pakistan since the November 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. The Asia Cup match was only the second clash between the two arch-rivals since September last year when they played in the Champions Trophy in South Africa.

The former Pakistan wicketkeeper-batsman, however, said that there was a responsibility on the players to control their emotional outbursts on the field.

“Personally, I like these incidents because it shows how committed the players of both sides are to win. But at the end of the day we have to realise that there are millions watching the match and many youngsters who idolise the players. So the players need to be careful and not let things get out of their hands,” he said.

Moin felt that fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar should have shown more restraint in the final overs of the match.”One should have remained calm and composed in the pressure cooker situation. Maybe the frustration of not getting the wicket got to him.”

Moin praised the Pakistan team’s overall effort and their fighting spirit and said, “Though India won, Pakistani players fought hard.”

Virender Sehwag emerged as India’s unlikely bowling hero with his first four-wicket haul. Sehwag’s 17-ball effort for 4 for 6 was the joint second-cheapest four-wicket haul in ODIs, behind Phil Simmons’ 4 for 3 against Pakistan in 1992. Sehwag’s Delhi teammate Gautam Gambhir (82) then struck his 20th ODI half-century as India cruised to a facile win at a strikingly empty Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium.

Having bundled out Bangladesh for a meagre 167 inside 35 overs, India didn’t face any trouble chasing the modest total and they overwhelmed the target with 19.2 overs to spare to collect a bonus point from this resounding victory.

Gautam Gambhir didn’t look a million dollars but made a satisfactory return to the side, scoring 82, and skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni made 38 not out to ensure that four-time champions sailed home without much ado.

Sehwag (11 off 14 balls) failed to fire as a batsman on his return to international cricket from injury but he clearly showed that he could be employed as an off-break bowler when either Harbhajan Singh or Ravindra Jadeja have a lean day. Given the ball when Dhoni desperately needed a part-time bowler to cover up for an injured Ashish Nehra (2 for 28), Sehwag struck successive blows to run through the Bangladesh lower order.

He had Mushfiqur Rahim caught behind by Dhoni before picking up the scalps of Suhrawadi Shuvo, Shafiul Islam and Syed Rasel. He finished with remarkable figures which read 2.5-0-6-4.

Bangladesh, who took time off from their series against England to participate in the four-nation cup, disappointed as a batting unit. Sitting pretty at 59 for one in 10 overs, they inexplicably lost nine wickets in 24.4 overs, barely adding 98 runs during their struggle at the square.

Opting to bat, the Tigers got off to a brisk start, with Tamim Iqbal (22) and Imrul Kayes (37) producing 35 runs in 17 balls. But once Tamim perished to a low catch by Suresh Raina at short extra covers off Praveen Kumar, they just could not force the pace against a disciplined Indian attack.

Zaheer Khan bowled with renewed energy and zip while moving the ball disconcertingly to the bewilderment of Kayes and Mohammad Ashraful (20). The left-arm fast bowler conceded 16 runs in his first over but troubled the batsmen in the rest of his five-over spell.

Nehra struck twice in four overs before he limped off the field after four overs. Interestingly, there was no clarification from the Indian team management about Nehra’s fitness. Harbhajan and Jadeja too bowled impressively in conditions that suited them but it was part-time spinner Sehwag who stole the bowling honours.

Match Summary:

India 168 for 4 (Gambhir 82) beat Bangladesh 167 (Sehwag 4-6, Nehra 2-28) by six wickets

Man of the Match: Gautam Gambhir

Gambhir missed the group match against South Africa because of a groin injury, but the left-hander said he has recovered from it and was raring to go.

“I am fit and feeling strong. I am looking forward to the big games. These are really important matches and I am looking forward to play a big role in that,” said Gambhir, after a long hit at the nets at the Three Ws Oval here. “You have seen how one player can change the course of the game when Suresh Raina scored a hundred against South Africa. I want to contribute the same way.”

Gambhir has been one of India’s most prolific batsmen in the last couple of years and the left-hander said he wanted an encore of his performance in the 2007 World Twenty20 which India won.

“It is always good that you have been scoring in the last one year. The team wants you to score more and more. This is one tournament where you want to really step up and show good form. I am enjoying the challenge and hopefully if I get the same kind of form that I had in 2007 it would be great,” he said.

Even though India won the 2007 title, they could not reach the semifinals last year, but Gambhir felt India were better prepared for the Super Eights this time round.

“The difference between the last event and this year is that we played Bangladesh and Ireland in England but this time round we played South Africa who are one of the best sides in the world. So we can take that confidence into the Super Eights,” he said.

Asked about the pitch at Kensington Oval, which has generated a lot of pace and bounce, Gambhir said that they are not thinking too much about the pitch.

“We haven’t played on this wicket, so we don’t know how it will play. Obviously, we have heard from people that it has a got a lot more bounce in it than at St Lucia. You cannot go into the match with set ideas just because the wicket is sluggish or fast. Sometimes, it works the other way when a guy goes and turns the match around in six overs,” said Gambhir.

The left-hander said India would play to their strengths rather than worry about what the opposition would do. “We cannot plan for what the opposition have strategised for us. We will go with our own strengths. We have a good quality set of bowlers who can dismiss the opposition. We also have a set of spinners who are really good. I personally think that a quality spinner is an asset and the quality will show, irrespective of what the surface is,” he said.

“Our bowling unit has performed well. Zaheer (Khan), Harbhajan (Singh) and Ashish (Nehra) have done really well. They look to dismiss the opposition. That is the only way to restrict the teams. Getting wickets gives us the momentum and sets up the match for us,” he said.

Gambhir felt there was not much difference between the Super Eight teams. “There is not much difference between the three sides, as in T20 every team looks to attack. Everybody would like to win the title. So the competition is going to be stiff hereon,” he added.

He said Australia would be looking to play their heart out as this was the only major competition that they haven’t won till now. “Australia haven’t done well in the T20s. The first time they lost in the semis and the next year they did not qualify. So you can expect Australia to come back really strong. They have got some quality players in their side who can change the course of the match,” said Gambhir.

Delhi now has seven wins from 13 matches and with the high net run-rate that they have, they should start preparing for the semi-finals unless some huge surprises in the last round of league games over the weekend come up. Chennai, meanwhile, are still not out of the race for the semis. They have 12 points from 13 games and despite scoring their lowest total this year, they still have a net run-rate of +0.270. They play their last game against the Kings XI Punjab and a win there will certainly take them to the knockout stage.

Chasing 113 to win, Delhi were in huge trouble early on, with Virender Sehwag (4), David Warner (0) and Tillakaratne Dilshan (1) back in the hut with just six runs on the board. But Gambhir showed a lot of maturity and composure forging a partnership with the experienced Mithun Manhas and ensuring that there were no more hiccups in the run chase. Delhi eventually reached home with more than an over to spare, with the Delhi skipper remaining unbeaten on 57 off 56 balls while Manhas brought years of domestic experience into play, providing able support to his Delhi teammate with an unbeaten 25.

R Ashwin and Doug Bollinger were the successful bowlers for Chennai with figures of 1-24 and 2-24 respectively from their four overs.

Earlier, MS Dhoni won the toss and elected to bat on a pitch that was expected to turn as the match progressed but their bowlers didn’t get a chance to utilise the turn and bounce as the batting failed completely. The Delhi bowlers put up an inspired performance, not loosening the grip for a single moment. After Dirk Nannes and Ashish Nehra gave Delhi the early breakthroughs, the spinners came in and strangled Chennai in the middle overs, with Dilshan, Sehwag and Mishra bowling 12 overs between them for just 50 runs.

Matthew Hayden (1), who was dropped in the first over, mistimed one as Paul Collingwood took a brilliant catch running back. Dhoni (0) promoted himself to number three but the experiment didn’t work as the Indian skipper hit one straight to Manhas off Nannes. Murali Vijay (23), who has been the in-form batsman for Chennai, was the next to go, miscuing a Nehra bouncer.

Nehra and Nannes reduced Chennai to 23-3 in the first four overs. Suresh Raina (15) and Mike Hussey (15) tried to consolidate the innings before the Delhi spinners got into the act. Dilshan, making a return to the Delhi team in place of AB De Villiers, dismissed Raina and then Sehwag removed Hussey and Albie Morkel (1).

Chennai didn’t score a single boundary for 63 balls before Doug Bollinger cleared the ropes in the 18th over. S Badrinath chipped in with a useful 30 that helped Chennai cross the 100-run mark, which seemed like a distant reality at one stage.

Nehra was the pick of the bowlers for Delhi, returning with figures of 3 for 26 in his four overs while Virender Sehwag picked up 2 for 18 from his quota of four overs.

Match Summary:

Delhi Daredevils 113 for 4 (Gambhir 57*, Bollinger 2-24) beat Chennai Super Kings 112 for 9 (Badrinath 30*, Nehra 3-26, Sehwag 2-18) by six wickets

Man of the Match: Gautam Gambhir

A win today will almost cement a place for either side in the semi-finals and Delhi would have their work cut out not only because Chennai is on a high after crushing Kolkata in the last game by nine wickets but also because the MS Dhoni led side is playing on its home ground. But then again, Delhi Daredevils skipper Gautam Gambhir has made it pretty clear that he would rather play away than play in Delhi, so they are getting what they want!

Delhi were cruising along to the semi-finals until they went into the self-destruct mode, losing three games on the trot, and they are now in a desperate situation where only a win today can further their chances of staying in the tournament. Losses in the last three matches to Kolkata, Punjab and Mumbai have hurt them badly but the one good thing for them is that they have a positive net run-rate, which has still kept them among the top four, despite the three consecutive defeats.

Chennai, on the other hand, have also been very inconsistent but the team just seems to be getting into its own especially since the arrival of Doug Bollinger and Michael Hussey and they may just be peaking at the right time. Their last match, in which they just romped over the Kolkata Knight Riders, showed that it’s a team which is getting its combinations right and they can beat any team on their day.

The teams are almost neck-to-neck when it comes to the batting line-up. While Delhi boasts of probably the most explosive top order comprising Virender Sehwag, David Warner and Gautam Gambhir, followed by a well-settled middle-order in Paul Collingwood, AB De Villiers and Dinesh Karthik, Chennai match them man for man with an explosive opening pair of Matthew Hayden and Murali Vijay, followed by in-form players like Suresh Riana, Albie Morkel, MS Dhoni and S Badrinath. Chennai, however, may just have the upper hand with their middle-order looking in much better form than Delhi’s.

The most important factor for Delhi in the batting department would be Gautam Gambhir. The Delhi skipper has been run out in the last three matches. In fact, the entire Delhi team has struggled with their running between the wickets and that’s one area that they really need to work on.

On the bowling front, Chennai again look a more balanced unit. The biggest revelation for Chennai has been the off-spin of Ravichandra Ashwin. MS Dhoni has thrown him the new ball in the last two matches and he has responded by bowling his 8 overs for 29 runs and picking up 6 wickets. Doug Bollinger too has been fast and accurate and with the experience and guile of Muttiah Muralitharan, Chennai’s bowling looks very formidable.

Delhi, on the other hand, have struggled in the bowling department. If we compare the last match that both these teams played, Delhi bowlers were smashed all around the park by Mumbai while Chennai restricted KKR to a meager 139. Ashish Nehra’s return to the side should give some confidence to Delhi but the left-arm pacer is bound to be a bit rusty coming back from a long lay-off. Delhi would once again be depending heavily on their spin duo of Daniel Vettori and Amit Mishra considering the pitch in Chennai is expected to turn from the first ball.

Both the teams have 12 points but Chennai’s better run rate has put them second behind Mumbai Indians in the points table. Given the composition of the two teams, the contest is evenly matched and it would all boil down to who grabs the crucial moments in what promises to be a high intensity encounter.

“I felt 160 was a chaseable target on this wicket but the 25 runs in the last over proved to be the turning point,” Gambhir said at the post-match press conference.

Pollard slammed five sixes and two fours in his 13-ball 45 not out and added 50 runs in the last three overs with J P Duminy (21 not out) to set up a big score of 183 for four for Mumbai after the home side elected to bat. The defeat against Mumbai has now made things a bit more difficult for Delhi Daredevils to reach the semi-finals but Gambhir chose to look at the positives.

“We need to win both our games (against Chennai Super Kings and Deccan Chargers) if we have to qualify for the semi-finals. Sometimes it’s good to be in such a position where you have to win both the games as you can express yourself completely in such games. It happened with Deccan Chargers,” said the left-handed batsman after the match.

Gambhir was happy with the start of the Delhi run-chase but said his batsmen failed to bat through the innings.

“We started (the run-chase) well and scored well in the first six overs but needed one batsman to stay till the end. Unfortunately, we lost too many wickets after the sixth over. It’s great to start well but we have to finish too,” said Gambhir. “We were up to the mark till the tenth over but we needed someone to play like Pollard and score 40 off 20 balls. It was a collective failure.”

Man of the match, Kieron Pollard, said after the match that the credit for his innings should go to the team management, which kept faith in him despite him not having played to his potential in the earlier ties. “It finally came through. I was hitting well in the nets. Credit goes to the team management. They had faith in me and persisted and I came good today,” the Trinidadian all-rounder said.

Pollard also praised the efforts of the top-order batsmen in setting up the platform for him to explode at the end. “The guys up front played well. We have been losing wickets early. (Ambati) Rayudu and (Saurabh) Tiwary played well. We scored in the first five overs and played well in the end.”

He said the team was peaking at the right time and wanted to continue to do well in the remaining matches ahead of the semi-finals. “We have qualified for the semi-finals. We want to try and give our best in the remaining matches. Hopefully, we will continue to play well as a team,” Pollard said.

“We have worked really hard. We don’t want to play so well and not get to the final. It’s about the right time (in peaking). We won five games in a row, lost two and now we have come back,” Pollard added.

Chasing 184 to win, Delhi Daredevils got off to a flier, with David Warner going after Zaheer Khan. The left-arm seamer, who has been in very good form throughout the tournament, was taken for 17 runs in the over. He then attacked Dilhara Fernando, who was included in the team for over-worked Lasith Malinga, for two fours before the Sri Lankan got his revenge by having him caught at mid off. Delhi were 39 for one in the fourth over, with Warner going for a 15-ball 31 which included five fours and a six.

Sehwag then took over from Warner and also found an able ally in his skipper Gautam Gambhir. The Indian duo posted 68 in the powerplay overs and Delhi looked well in control of the game. But tragedy struck, with Delhi suffering a double blow, as they lost both Sehwag and skipper Gautam Gambhir in the space of six balls and for the addition of three runs.

Gambhir flicked a return catch to Harbhajan Singh after hitting the off-spinner for a four while Sehwag was run out going for a non-existent second run to leave Delhi at a difficult 75 for three in the eighth over.

A lot depended on the returning AB De Villiers but he failed to read an arm ball from young left-arm slow bowler Murtaza and was trapped leg before. The in-form Paul Collingwood then became the second batsmen of the innings to be run out and Dinesh Karthik was cleaned up by a faster ball from Murtaza.

From 72 for one, Delhi were left tottering at 94 for six, requiring 90 runs in the last eight overs. Andrew McDonald scored a 31-ball 33 but he didn’t get any support from the other end and in the end, Delhi fell short by 39 runs.

Earlier, West Indian Kieron Pollard, who is the costliest player in this year’s IPL, showed why every team wanted him in their line-up. Pollard struck some lusty blows at the fag end of the innings to remain unbeaten on 45 off just 13 balls and take Mumbai Indians to an impressive 183 for four.

Till Polllard’s arrival at the crease, Delhi seemed to have things pretty much under control. But it took just 13 balls to change the complexion of the game, as Pollard smashed five sixes and two fours in the final few overs. The Trinidadian’s late-order pyrotechnics helped MI add 39 runs in last two overs.

Pollard and J P Duminy (21 not out in 14 balls) added 60 runs in the last 18 balls which took Mumbai from posting a fighting total to posting an almost winning total.

Delhi started well with the ball, picking up wickets at regular intervals and not allowing the home team batsman, including captain Sachin Tendulkar, to score big till Pollard’s blitz. Tendulkar, coming into the match on the back of his match-winning knock of 89 not out against Rajasthan Royals in Jaipur, started off well but departed for 30. Saurabh Tiwary (38 in 28 balls) and Ambati Rayudu (24 in 21 balls) also did their bit but the difference between the two teams was Pollard.

With this win, Mumbai now has 18 points from 12 games and are sitting pretty at the top of the table. Delhi, on the other hand, now have to win their remaining two matches against Chennai Super Kings and the Deccan Chargers to qualify for the semi-finals.

Match Summary:

Mumbai Indians 183 for 4 (Pollard 45*, Tiwary 38) beat Delhi Daredevils 144 for 7 (McDonald 33*, Murtaza 2-18, Fernando 2-32) by 39 runs

Man of the Match: Kieron Pollard

Daredevils were humbled by seven wickets by a resurgent Kings XI Punjab on Sunday, breaking their three-match winning streak at home.

“I would definitely like to play away matches. The wickets are better at other venues like Kolkata and Bangalore. They have value for shots. At Kotla, is it difficult to go for big shots, one has to focus on accumulating runs. And IPL is all about hitting sixes and going for big shots,” Gambhir told reporters.

The Daredevils now need to win two out of their remaining three league matches and Gambhir, visibly upset at his team’s performance, said they needed to pull up their socks if they want to reach the semis.

“We should have scored 160-170 as we have made this total before. With nine batsmen in the side, it is just not acceptable that we have made 111. This is one of the days when we did not play as a team. We now need to pull up our socks,” he said. “I would not blame the bowling as we never put up a defendable score. We should have made at least 40 runs more. We would now like to go for wins in our coming two matches, as we would not like to be in a last-minute must-win situation.”

“We have lost two matches in a row and we need to get our momentum back. I think this has been the trend in IPL that the teams are losing momentum after winning matches,” added Gambhir.

The Delhi skipper, who was run out for the third successive time in the tournament, said that unlike the last match, where it was his mistake, this was it was a faulty call from David Warner that led to his run out. “Against KKR it was my blunder. It is obviously frustrating when you get out after getting off to a good start. No one likes to get out in this fashion, especially not in the IPL. Hopefully I will not get run out for the fourth time,” he said.