IBLOG SPACE

Red Bull Racing drivers Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel confessed themselves disappointed by a lack of track time during Friday's Free Practice sessions in Bahrain. Vettel managed only 35 laps over the two sessions on his way to setting the fifth fastest time and admitted afterwards that there is still much for the team to work on before Saturday's qualifying session. "Unfortunately we didn't get a lot of running today," said Vettel. "The track was still green this morning, so everyone was just checking their cars. In the second practice I had to have the brakes changed and Mark couldn't do the whole session, so it wasn't ideal. I would have liked more track time, but it's not Christmas and we're not given things for free. We have a lot of work to do, but we know where we need to improve, so we will work on that." Webber fared even worse than his team-mate as a gearbox issue forced him to sit out most of the second session after managing

Michael Schumacher admitted he is still "a little rusty" on his first day back in Formula One, after spending three years in retirement. Schumacher was outpaced by his younger team-mate Nico Rosberg in both practice sessions and was quite clearly struggling to find a good set-up early on. He said that he expects to struggle for qualifying pace this weekend but was happy with the car over longer runs. "We worked very well this afternoon after having a few issues with the balance this morning," said Schumacher. "The car felt much better in the second session although I am still a little rusty on one lap runs and need to get back into the routine. On the long runs, the car felt good and once you get into the rhythm, it feels very natural. I'm happy with our work today and feeling ready for the weekend." His team-mate Rosberg set the fastest lap of the first day but did not draw attention to the headline time, instead focussing on the good work he complete

McLaren drivers Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton are both hoping to revise their driving styles after they experienced excessive rear tyre wear during free practice. The high temperatures in Bahrain combined with the heavy fuel loads needed to start the race are putting extra strain on the Bridgestone rubber. Hamilton said the problem was immediately obvious but is confident he will find a way to drive around the problem. "Out on track, it's been very hot so tyre degradation of both compounds has been pretty high", he said. "But I think the degradation is something we can handle; you build it into your driving style and moderate the approach to each lap. Still, it's difficult to know what lap time to target when you're on a long run. The less you push at the beginning of a stint, the more there is left to push at the end. But it's difficult to know exactly, and we're still trying to understand that." Button had similar complaints ahead of the fir

The 24th of May, 2009, was the last time Deccan Chargers celebrated a victory. After the highs of that Wanderers final, they endured the humiliation of bowing out of the Champions League Twenty20 a few months later, winless in front of their home fans, and on Friday, conceded a game they should never have lost. The team may be missing a couple of key overseas players in Fidel Edwards and Ryan Harris, but still have enough quality on paper to produce results. Poor death bowling was an area of concern in the defeat to Kolkata Knight Riders but the more disturbing issue was the batting, losing wickets to a rash of reckless shots. A clear plan wasn't evident during the chase; it will need the captain Adam Gilchrist to set an example for the rest, since he bats right at the top. It's all the more crucial they sort out the batting because their opponents tomorrow, Chennai Super Kings, are one of the tournament's batting powerhouses. Matthew Hayden, MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina are t

Royal Challengers Bangalore are one of the most improved teams in the IPL. They were called, unkindly but perhaps not undeservedly, a 'Test team' in 2008. The results didn't prove otherwise. They made big-buck signings for 2009 and turned around a miserable start to the season to reach the finals. They weren't big spenders in 2010 but made smart buys and are among the favourites to reach the semi-finals this year. At full strength, Bangalore's batting line-up has innovative batsmen capable of scoring in unusual areas, as well as seasoned players capable of tailoring their approach to varying demands. The energetic and evolved Indian contingent gives the line-up balance. Anil Kumble wrote in his newspaper column that while things unfold quickly in the IPL, they also happen slowly. He meant that while each match unfolds at rapid pace, a team's campaign progresses slowly over several weeks so it would take consistency to maintain the intensity and momentum necessar

The fastest bowler in cricket was in town. His tussle with Sachin Tendulkar had already created the buzz, and thousands braved the scorching afternoon sun to line up outside the Brabourne Stadium two hours before the scheduled start. Shaun Tait paced around marking his run-up minutes after Mumbai chose to bat, aware of the hype preceding his IPL debut. The sense of drama was heightened further when Shane Warne delayed Tait's IPL baptism by asking Dmitri Mascarenhas to bowl the first over. Finally, when Tait charged in with his rhythmic run-up, he started poorly, slinging two wides behind Sanath Jayasuriya's legs. But his first legitimate ball nearly took out Jayasuriya, whose 40-year-old reflexes were too slow to pick the toe-crusher, and, if not for a bottom edge, the Sri Lankan's stumps would have been splayed. Unfortunately, Tait never repeated that delivery again in the innings. Last evening, Adam Gilchrist, who used to keep wickets to Tait for Australia, had said raw p

Shane Warne, the Rajasthan Royals captain, has described Yusuf Pathan's ferocious 37-ball century against Mumbai Indians as the best innings he's seen in his 21-year career. Yusuf blasted nine fours and eight sixes to haul Rajasthan back into the game in their chase of 213, after they had required 143 in 57 balls at one stage. However, his innings - the second-quickest Twenty20 century - was in vain, as he was brilliantly run out by R Sathish, marking a decisive moment in Rajasthan's four-run defeat. "I've played cricket for 21 years and I have seen Sachin Tendulkar as the best batsman against whom I have played as he has murdered attacks and hit them all over the park. But today was the best innings I have ever seen," Warne said. "From a situation of 37 for 3 in seven overs and chasing 213 and come so close thanks to a 37 ball-100. It's a special innings. We believe we can win from anywhere. We just have to sort out our batting in the first six overs

It wasn't a big total but Punjab made a good attempt to defend it but were thwarted by the gritty Gambhir and Mithun Manhas who stayed till the end to take them home. That's it from us. Thanks for logging on. Good bye and good luck. 19.5 Pathan to Manhas, FOUR , backs away, Irfan bows it short and outside off, Mithun Manhas, a former captain of of the Delhi Ranji trophy team, slaps it over point! Delhi Daredevils have won! 19.4 Pathan to Maharoof, 1 run, high full toss around waist-high, swatted to long-off.. Maharoof says it was surely above waist.. the umpire is checking with the tv ump ... not a no ball says the tv ump ... one run left 19.3 Pathan to Manhas, 1 run, fullish on the middle and leg, backs away to edge the drive to right of midwicket where Powar makes a diving half-stop 19.2 Pathan to Gambhir, OUT , Is there a final twist yet in the tale? Gambhir backs away to the leg side, Irfan tries to follow him, serves a full toss on the leg stump line, Gambhir tries to sw

G Gambhir 72* (53b 9x4 1x6) YA Abdulla 4-0-30-1 M Manhas 25* (21b 1x4) S Sreesanth 4-0-24-2 18.6 Abdulla to Gambhir, no run, short in length, bounces outside off, Gambhir tries to run it to third man but no wood on leather 18.5 Abdulla to Gambhir, SIX , What a stunning hit. The delhi camp erupts in joy. Gambhir backs away to lift it superbly over long-off and boy is he pumped or what .. he lets out a scream 18.4 Abdulla to Manhas, 1 run, fullish on the leg and middle stump line, flicked away for a single 18.3 Abdulla to Manhas, FOUR , Whack! Bravo Mithun! He rushed down the track to crash the length delivery to wide long-off boundary 18.2 Abdulla to Manhas, no run, yorker arrives now.. dug out back down the pitch 18.1 Abdulla to Manhas, 2 runs, Dropped by Irfan at long-off. What a clanger! It was the slower one and Manhas ended up scooping it high towards long-off where Irfan makes a right royal mess of it

M Manhas 18* (17b) S Sreesanth 4-0-24-2 G Gambhir 66* (51b 9x4) Yuvraj Singh 3-0-11-0 17.6 Sreesanth to Manhas, 1 run, on the middle stump line, good tight line and length ,swatted to midwicket for a quick single Cramps for Gambhir? He is down on the ground, takes off his pad and gets some treatment ... he ran really hard for the second run there and must have cramped up. Play held up. 17.5 Sreesanth to Manhas, 2 runs, short in length, bounces over middle, stump line, mistimes the pull towards long-on and since the ball traveled slowly, Gambhir pushes for the second run 17.4 Sreesanth to Manhas, no run, swing and a miss. Length delivery shaping away from the off stump, Manhas can't connect. Two good overs so far ... 17.3 Sreesanth to Gambhir, 1 run, good swinging full delivery, curves in full on the middle stump line,, again jabbed off the inner edge to square-leg 17.2 Sreesanth to Gambhir, FOUR , Inside edge to the boundary. Gambhir clears the front foot and went

M Manhas 14* (13b) Yuvraj Singh 3-0-11-0 G Gambhir 61* (49b 8x4) PP Chawla 4-0-33-0 16.6 Yuvraj Singh to Manhas, 1 run, slows up the pace, Manhas works this one to long-off for a single. Good over from Yuvraj 16.5 Yuvraj Singh to Gambhir, 1 run, flicks this straight to midwicket and gets across for the quick single 16.4 Yuvraj Singh to Gambhir, no run, full and outside off stump, again mistimes the shot to cover .. two dot balls in a row .. 16.3 Yuvraj Singh to Gambhir, no run, around off stump, pushed out to cover .. Gambhir is not happy with himself 16.2 Yuvraj Singh to Manhas, 1 run, quicker one, punched to long-off 16.1 Yuvraj Singh to Manhas, no run, outside off stump and cut down to backward point

M Manhas 12* (10b) PP Chawla 4-0-33-0 G Gambhir 60* (46b 8x4) Yuvraj Singh 2-0-8-0 15.6 Chawla to Manhas, 1 run, leans across to drive to sweeper cover 15.5 Chawla to Gambhir, 1 run, turns to the leg stump line, dabbed past square-leg 15.4 Chawla to Manhas, 1 run, leans forward to drive tolong-off 15.3 Chawla to Manhas, 2 runs, pushed towards midwicket ... no one there and by the time bowler ran across, they get back for the second 15.2 Chawla to Manhas, 2 runs, turns away from the stumps, cut to left of backward point where Kaif makes a diving stop ... and throws to non-striker where Chawla doesn't collect ... And Kaif isn't too happy with the effort 15.1 Chawla to Manhas, 2 runs, reaches forward to lift it to left of Powar at long-off

M Manhas 4* (5b) Yuvraj Singh 2-0-8-0 G Gambhir 59* (45b 8x4) RR Powar 1-0-16-0 14.6 Yuvraj Singh to Manhas, 1 run, outside off stump, cut to right of point where a diving half-stop is done 14.5 Yuvraj Singh to Gambhir, 1 run, full toss but Gambhir swings it straight to deep backward square-leg 14.4 Yuvraj Singh to Gambhir, no run, on the middle and leg,really full delivery, nudged to short fine-leg 14.3 Yuvraj Singh to Manhas, 1 run, fuller, around off stump line, tapped to short third man and Gambhir rushes for the single and makes it in time to beat the throw 14.2 Yuvraj Singh to Manhas, no run, on the middle stump line punched towards non-striker.. Yuvraj gets across to make the stop 14.1 Yuvraj Singh to Gambhir, 1 run, He keeps cutting the spinners. Will pick up a single this time Time out

G Gambhir 57* (42b 8x4) RR Powar 1-0-16-0 M Manhas 2* (2b) YA Abdulla 3-0-17-1 13.6 Powar to Gambhir, 3 runs, quicker one from round the stumps, skids on, Gambhir stays back to cut it to deep backward point region where Sreesanth makes a diving stop near the boundary .. 16 runs from the over ... bonanza for Delhi 13.5 Powar to Gambhir, FOUR , What a top shot. Gambhir rushes down the track, gets outside the line of the flighted delivery and drives it past the non-striker and to the straight boundary 13.4 Powar to Gambhir, 2 runs, opens his stance to pull it to wide long-on region .. 50 for Gambhir .. 13.3 Powar to Gambhir, 2 runs, stays back to cut it to cover where Kaif makes a mess of a regulation stop. 13.2 Powar to Gambhir, FOUR , i t was on the middle and off line, Gambhir creates his own room by backing away and playing it very late .. as he cuts to backward point boundary 13.1 Powar to Manhas, 1 run, goes back to work it past square-leg

G Gambhir 42* (37b 6x4) YA Abdulla 3-0-17-1 M Manhas 1* (1b) PP Chawla 3-0-24-0 12.6 Abdulla to Gambhir, no run, gets forward to off drive this one 12.5 Abdulla to Gambhir, FOUR , drifts ever so gently down the leg side and Gambhir glances it away to the boundary 12.4 Abdulla to Manhas, 1 run, fine yorker on the off stump line, dug out .. the ball rolls behind the wicket. Gambhir rushes across, Sanga throws his gloves and has a shy at the striker's end .. misses and Gmabhir was home anyway 12.3 Abdulla to Gambhir, 1 run, slower one on the off stump line, run down to third man 12.2 Abdulla to Karthik, OUT , short in length and bouncing outside off, Karthik flat bats it towards long-off and Irfan rushes in to take a tumbling catch. The game is fascinatingly poised now. Gambhir is still out there. KD Karthik c Pathan b Abdulla 20 (18b 3x4 0x6) SR: 111.11 12.1 Abdulla to Gambhir, 1 leg bye, goes for the yorker, dips on the leg stump line, and hits the pad ... probably