Karn Sharma
Karn Vinod Sharma is an Indian cricketer. He plays as an all-rounder for the Railways cricket team, he is a left-hand leg break bowler. He made his Twenty20 International debut against England in 2014, he made his One Day International debut for India against Sri Lanka on 13 November 2014. He made his Test debut against Australia in Adelaide on 9 December 2014, he made his first-class debut in 2007/08 Ranji season at Karnail Singh Stadium against Jammu and Kashmir, where he played as a specialist batsman. He scored 120 off 232 balls with 17 boundaries as Railways cricket team won by 88 runs. In July 2018, he was named in the squad for India Green for the 2018–19 Duleep Trophy, he was the leading wicket-taker for Andhra in the 2018–19 Vijay Hazare Trophy, with twelve dismissals in eight matches. Karn Sharma made his T20I debut on 7 September 2014 against England Cricket Team Karn Sharma made his ODI debut on 13 November 2014 against Sri Lanka. Sadly he had a terrible outing with the ball on debut and he didn't get a chance to bat for the team Karn Sharma made his Test debut on 9 December 2014 against Australia within a month of his ODI debut.
He dismissed his IPL teammate David Warner twice in the match. However he managed to score only 8 runs from 2 innings, he featured for Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2009. He was signed up by the IPL franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2013. In a line-up comprising Dale Steyn, Thisara Perera and Amit Mishra, young Sharma was the bowler the opposition batsmen were expected to target, he responded with a mature performance. His performance against Kings XI Punjab early on in the tournament was ample proof of his potential, as he beat the Kings XI batsmen with his spin, he fortified an strong bowling attack with a decent economy rate and was a good foil to Amit Mishra, the senior legspinner in the side. When he was given the chance contributed with the bat scoring a stubborn unbeaten 39 when Sunrisers Hyderabad was staring at their first home defeat against Chennai Super Kings. In 2014 IPL auctions, he was bought by Sunrisers Hyderabad for Rs 3.75 crore, in a bidding war with Kings XI Punjab. He was the highest paid uncapped Indian player in IPL 2014.
In 2015, he was retained by the Sunrisers Hyderabad and he plays as the lead spin bowler for the team. After being retained in the team for the 2016 season, he won the 2016 Indian Premier League with Sunrisers Hyderabad. In February 2017, he was bought by the Mumbai Indians team for the 2017 Indian Premier League for 3.2 crores. He won the 2017 Indian Premier League with Mumbai Indians, he bowled a valuable spell by giving away only 18 runs in 4 overs in the final, he bowled 12 dot balls in the match. In January 2018, he was bought by the Chennai Super Kings for ₹5 crores in the 2018 IPL auction, he won IPL with CSK in 2018 too. Karn Sharma - Cricinfo Karn Sharma's profile page on Wisden
Vijayawada
Vijayawada is a city in the Andhra Pradesh Capital Region, on the banks of River Krishna in Krishna district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. The city is the third most densely populated in the urban population of built-up areas in the world and is the second largest city in Andhra Pradesh by population. Vijayawada is classified as a Y-grade city as per the Sixth Central Pay Commission. Vijayawada is the commercial headquarters of Andhra Pradesh, it was recognised as a "Global City of the Future" by McKinsey Quarterly, which expected an increase to GDP of $17 billion by 2025. Vijayawada was ISO 37120 Platinum Level certified in October 2018 and has been added to the "Global Cities Registry"; the city is known for its landmarks such as Prakasham Barrage across the Krishna river. The Kanaka Durga Temple is a Hindu temple of Goddess Durga on the Indrakeeladri hill, on the banks of Krishna River; the deity is described as Swayambhu in Triteeya kalpa. Akkana Madanna cave temple is a rock-cut temple, located at the lower reach of the Indrakeeladri temple.'Vijayavatika' and'Bezawada' are the old names of present Vijayawada.
There are many legends behind the origin of the name Vijayawada. Goddess Durga relaxed in this place for some time; as she was victorious, the place came to be known as Vijayawada and the hill was called as Indrekeeladri since it was visited by Indra and his affiliates. The epic Mahabharata refers to the Indrakiladri hills as the place where Arjuna secured Pashupatastra from Lord Shiva; the city thereafter came to be known as Vijayavatika and as Vijayawada. In some legends, Vijayawada was referred to as'Rajendracholapura' as Virarajendra Chola won a battle against Chalukyasin 1068 and ruled over this place. A tale behind its acquiring the name Bezawada is that Goddess Krishnaveni requested Arjuna to make a passage for her to merge into the Bay of Bengal. Hence, Arjuna made a bejjam through the mountains and the place came to be known as Bejjamwada which changed to Bezawada. Other names of Vijayawada were being Vijayavata, Kanakaprabha, Kanakawada, Vijayapuri, Phalguna Kshetram & Jananathpura. Bezawada was founded around 626 A.
D. by Paricchedi Kings. Vijayawada history reveals. Chinese Buddhist scholar Xuanzang stayed few years in Bezawada in around 640 A. D. to copy and study the Abhidhamma Pitaka, the last of the three pitakas constituting the Pali canon, the scriptures of Theravada Buddhism. Mogalrajapuram hills have five rock-cut temples, built during the 4th–9th centuries; some of the caves can be attributed to Vishnukundina dynasty. Akkana Madanna Caves, at the foot of Indrakeeladri Hill, is a monument of national importance. At the foot of Indrakeeladri hills is the temple of Malleswara; the temple has inscriptions dating back to 9th century AD to 16th century AD by various kings. There are a mutilated slab with inscriptions in the Telugu language. Of them, the inscriptions issued by Yudhamalla I and II of Eastern Chalukyas are important. In the early 16th century, during the reign of Qutb Shahi dynasty, diamond mines were found near Vijayawada on the banks of Krishna River. Vijayawada lies on the banks of Krishna River, covered by canals.
It is 18.5 km from the state capital, Amaravati. and at an altitude of 11 m above sea level. Three canals originating from the north side of the Prakasham barrage reservoir — Eluru and Ryves — flow through the city. Vijayawada has a tropical climate; the annual mean temperatures range between 23.4–34 °C. The highest maximum temperature recorded was 48.8 °C in May 2002, the lowest was 12.4 °C on January 1997. May is the hottest and January is the coldest month of the year.. It receives rainfall from the South-west and North-east monsoons and the average annual rainfall recorded is 977.9 mm. As of 2011 Census of India, the city had a population of 1,476,931; the total population constituted 524,918 males and 523,322 females — for a sex ratio of 997 females per 1000 males — higher than the national average of 940 per 1000. 92,848 children were in the age group of 0–6 years, of which 47,582 were boys and 45,266 were girls: a ratio of 951 per 1000. The average literacy rate stood at 82.59% with 789,038 literates higher than the national average of 73.00%.
Vijayawada is one of the most densely populated cities with 31,200 people per square km. The predominant language spoken by the city residents is Telugu. Vijayawada Municipal Corporation is the civic governing body of the city and was the first ISO 9001 certified urban local body in the country, it was constituted on 1 April 1888 and was upgraded to selection grade municipality in 1960, and, to the corporation in 1981. The jurisdictional area of the corporation is spread over an area of 61.8 km2 with 59 wards. The present municipal commissioner of
Visakhapatnam
Visakhapatnam is the largest city and the financial capital of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. The city is the administrative headquarters of Visakhapatnam district and state headquarters of Indian Coast Guard, its geographical location is amidst the Eastern Ghats and the coast of the Bay of Bengal. It is the most populous city in the state with a population of 2,035,922 as of 2011, making it the 14th largest city in the country, it is the 9th most populous metropolitan area in India with a population of 5,018,000. With an output of $43.5 billion, Visakhapatnam is the ninth-largest contributor to India's overall gross domestic product as of 2016. Visakhapatnam's history stretches back to the 6th century BCE, when it was considered a part of the Kalinga Kingdom, ruled by the Vengi, the Pallava and Eastern Ganga dynasties. Archaeological records suggest that the present city was built around the 11th and 12th centuries with control over the city fluctuating between the Chola Dynasty and the Gajapati Kingdom, until its conquest by the Vijayanagara Empire in the 15th century.
Conquered by the Mughals in the 16th century, European powers set up trading interests in the city, by the end of the 18th century it had come under French rule. Control passed to the British in 1804 and it remained under British colonial rule until India's independence in 1947; the city is home to the only natural harbour on the east coast of India. Visakhapatnam Port is the fifth-busiest cargo port in India, the city is home to the headquarters of the Indian Navy's Eastern Command and South Coast Railway zone. Visakhapatnam is a major tourist destination and is known for its beaches, it is referred to by many nicknames such as The Jewel of the East Coast. It has been selected as one of the Indian cities to be developed as a smart city under the Smart Cities Mission; as per the Swachhta Sarvekshan rankings of 2017, it was the third 3rd cleanest city in India in 2017.. It fell to 7th position in 2018 and to 23rd position in 2019; the local belief behind the name of the city states, there was a king of 4th century, who on his pilgrimage halted at Lawson's Bay and built a temple dedicated to Vaisakha, submerged under the sea, but the name of the temple was got to the settlement.
Other such names are, named by a Chola King, Kulotuna-I. During the East India Company rule in India, the city was known with Vizagapatam; the suburb Waltair is another such name, derived from the British colonial name. "Vizagapatam" could be spelled Visakhapatnam in the West European alphabet. Its shortened form, Vizag was used by the British administrators who were unable to pronounce its long name, it is still referred to as Vizag by locals too, however since independence, people have reverted to calling it by its Indian name of Visakhapatnam. Visakhapatnam's history stretches back to the 6th century B. C. E. and the city finds mention in ancient texts such as the 4th century B. C. E. Writings of Pāṇini and Katyayana. Considered part of the Kalinga region, it was ruled by the Vengi kingdom and the Pallava and Eastern Ganga dynasties during medieval times. Archaeological records suggest that the present city was built around the 11th and 12th centuries C. E. by the Chola Dynasty king Kulothunga I.
Control over the city fluctuated between the Chola Dynasty of Tamil Nadu and the Gajapati Kingdom of Odisha until its conquest by the Vijayanagara Empire in the 15th century. In the 16th century it was conquered by the Mughals. European powers set up trading interests in the city and Visakhapatnam came under French rule at the end of the 18th century; the city was ruled by Andhra Kings of Pallavas. The city is named after Sri Vishaka Varma. Legend has it that Radha and Viśakha were born on the same day and were beautiful. Sri Vishaka Sakhi is the second most important gopi of the eight main gopis, she is the most expert gopi messenger. Local residents believe that an Andhra king built a temple to pay homage to his family deity Viśakha; this is now inundated under sea water near R K Beach. Another theory is, it was ruled by Qutb Shahis, Mughal Empire and France before being captured by the British in 1765. European powers set up trading interests in the city and Visakhapatnam came under French rule at the end of the 18th century.
The British captured Visakhapatnam after the 1804 Battle of Vizagapatam and it remained under British colonial rule until India's independence in 1947, a part of the Northern Circars. Hindu texts state that during the fifth century BC, the Visakhapatnam region was part of Kalinga territory, which extended to the Godavari River. Relics found in the area prove the existence of a Buddhist empire in the region. Kalinga lost the territory to King Ashoka in the bloodiest battle of its time, which prompted Ashoka to embrace Buddhism. Visakhapatnam is surrounded by ancient Buddhist sites, most of which have been excavated and illustrate the legacy of Buddhism in the region. Pavurallakonda is a hillock west of about 24 km from Visakhapatnam; the Buddhist settlement found here is estimated to date back from the first century BC to the second century AD. On the hillock are 16 rock-cut cisterns for collecting rainwater. Gopalapatnam, on the Tandava River, is a village surrounded by brick stupas, viharas and other Buddhist artefacts.
In 1907 British archaeologist Alexande
South India
South India is the area including the five Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana, as well as the three union territories of Lakshadweep and Nicobar Islands and Puducherry, occupying 19% of India's area. Covering the southern part of the peninsular Deccan Plateau, South India is bounded by the Bay of Bengal in the east, the Arabian Sea in the west and the Indian Ocean in the south; the geography of the region is diverse with two mountain ranges–the Western and Eastern Ghats, bordering the plateau heartland. Godavari, Kaveri and Vaigai rivers are important non-perennial sources of water. Chennai, Hyderabad, Coimbatore, Visakhapatnam and Kochi are the largest urban areas; the majority of the people in South India speak one of the four major Dravidian languages: Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam. During its history, a number of dynastic kingdoms ruled over parts of South India whose invasions across southern and southeastern Asia impacted the history and culture in those regions.
Major dynasties that were established in South India include the Cheras, Pandyas, Satavahanas, Chalukyas and Vijayanagara. Europeans entered India through Kerala and the region was colonised by Britain and other nations. After experiencing fluctuations in the decades after Indian independence, the economies of South Indian states have registered higher than national average growth over the past three decades. While South Indian states have improved in some socio-economic metrics, poverty continues to affect the region much like the rest of the country, although it has decreased over the years. HDI in the southern states is high and the economy has undergone growth at a faster rate than most northern states. Literacy rates in the southern states are higher than the national average with 80% of the population capable of reading and writing; the fertility rate in South India is the lowest of all regions in India. South India known as Peninsular India has been known by several other names; the term "Deccan" referring to the area covered by the Deccan Plateau that covers most of peninsular India excluding the coastal areas is an anglicised form of the word Prakrit dakkhin derived from the Sanskrit word dakshina meaning south.
Carnatic derived from "Karnād" or "Karunād" meaning high country has been associated with South India. Carbon dating on ash mounds associated with Neolithic cultures in South India date back to 8000 BCE. Artefacts such as ground stone axes, minor copper objects have been found in the region. Towards the beginning of 1000 BCE, iron technology spread through the region; the region was in the middle of a trade route that extended from Muziris to Arikamedu linking the Mediterranean and East Asia. Trade with Phoenicians, Greeks, Syrians and Chinese began from the Sangam period; the region was part of the ancient Silk Road connecting the Asian continent in the East and the West. Several dynasties such as the Cheras of Karuvur, the Pandyas of Madurai, the Cholas of Thanjavur, the Satavahanas of Amaravati, the Pallavas of Kanchi, the Kadambas of Banavasi, the Western Gangas of Kolar, the Rashtrakutas of Manyakheta, the Chalukyas of Badami, the Hoysalas of Belur and the Kakatiyas of Orugallu ruled over the region from 6th century B.
C. to 14th century A. D; the Vijayanagara Empire, founded in 14th century A. D. was the last Indian dynasty. After repeated invasions from the Sultanate of Delhi and the fall of Vijayanagara empire in 1646, the region was ruled by Deccan Sultanates and Nayak governors of Vijayanagara empire who declared independence; the Europeans arrived in the 15th century and by the middle of the 18th century, the French and the British were involved in a protracted struggle for military control over the South India. After the defeat of Tipu Sultan in the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War in 1799 and the end of the Vellore Mutiny in 1806, the British consolidated their power over much of present-day South India with the exception of French Pondichéry; the British Empire took control of the region from the British East India Company in 1857. During the British colonial rule, the region was divided into the Madras Presidency, Hyderabad State, Travancore, Vizianagaram and a number of other minor princely states; the region played a major role in the Indian independence movement.
After the independence of India in 1947, the region was organised into four states: Madras State, Mysore State, Hyderabad State and Travancore-Cochin. The States Reorganisation Act of 1956 reorganised the states on linguistic lines resulting in the creation of the new states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu; as a result of this Act, Madras State retained its name and Kanyakumari district was added to it from the state of Travancore-Cochin. The state was subsequently renamed Tamil Nadu in 1968. Andhra Pradesh was created through the merger of Andhra State with the Telugu-speaking districts of the Hyderabad State in 1956. Kerala emerged from the merger of Malabar district and the Kasaragod taluk of South Canara districts of the Madras State with Travancore-Cochin. Mysore State was re-organised with the addition of districts of Bellary and South Canara and the Kollegal taluk of Coimbatore district from the Madras State, the districts of Belgaum, North Canara and Dharwad from the Bombay State, the
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh is one of the 29 states of India. Situated in the south-east of the country, it is the seventh-largest state in India, covering an area of 162,970 km2; as per the 2011 census, it is the tenth most populous state, with 49,386,799 inhabitants. The largest city in Andhra Pradesh is Visakhapatnam. Telugu, one of the classical languages of India, is the major and official language of Andhra Pradesh. On 2 June 2014, the north-western portion of Andhra Pradesh was separated to form the new state Telangana and the longtime capital of Andhra Pradesh, was transferred to Telangana as part of the division. However, in accordance with the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014, Hyderabad was to remain as the acting capital of both Andhra Pradesh and Telangana states for a period of time not exceeding ten years; the new riverfront de facto capital, Amaravati, is under the jurisdiction of the Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Development Authority. Andhra Pradesh has a coastline of 974 km – the second longest coastline among the states of India, after Gujarat – with jurisdiction over 15,000 km2 of territorial waters.
The state is bordered by Telangana in the north-west and Odisha in the north-east, Karnataka in the west, Tamil Nadu in the south, to the east lies the Bay of Bengal. The small enclave of Yanam, a district of Puducherry, lies to the south of Kakinada in the Godavari delta on the eastern side of the state; the state is made up of the two major regions of Rayalaseema, in the inland southwestern part of the state, Coastal Andhra to the east and northeast, bordering the Bay of Bengal. The state comprises thirteen districts in total, nine of which are located in Coastal Andhra and four in Rayalaseema; the largest city and commercial hub of the state are Visakhapatnam, located on the Bay of Bengal, with a GDP of US$43.5 billion. The economy of Andhra Pradesh is the seventh-largest state economy in India with ₹8.70 lakh crore in gross domestic product and a per capita GDP of ₹142,000. Andhra Pradesh hosted 121.8 million visitors in 2015, a 30% growth in tourist arrivals over the previous year, making it the third most-visited state in India.
The Tirumala Venkateswara Temple in Tirupati is one of the world's most visited religious sites, with 18.25 million visitors per year. Other pilgrimage centres in the state include the Mallikarjuna Jyotirlinga at Srisailam, the Srikalahasteeswara Temple at Srikalahasti, the Ameen Peer Dargah in Kadapa, the Mahachaitya at Amaravathi, the Kanaka Durga Temple in Vijayawada, Prasanthi Nilayam in Puttaparthi; the state's natural attractions include the beaches of Visakhapatnam, hill stations such as the Araku Valley and Horsley Hills, the island of Konaseema in the Godavari River delta. A tribe named. According to Aitareya Brahmana of the Rig Veda, the Andhra left north India and settled in south India; the Satavahanas have been mentioned by the names Andhra, Andhrara-jateeya and Andhrabhrtya in the Puranic literature. They did not refer themselves as Andhra in any of their inscriptions. Archaeological evidence from places such as Amaravati and Vaddamanu suggests that the Andhra region was part of the Mauryan Empire.
Amaravati might have been a regional centre for the Mauryan rule. After the death of Emperor Ashoka, Mauryan rule weakened around 200 BCE and was replaced by several smaller kingdoms in the Andhra region; the Satavahana dynasty dominated the Deccan region from the 1st century BC to the 3rd century. The Satavahanas made Dharanikota and Amaravathi their capital, which according to the Buddhists is the place where Nagarjuna, the philosopher of Mahayana lived in the 2nd and 3rd centuries; the Andhra Ikshvakus, with their capital at Vijayapuri, succeeded the Satavahanas in the Krishna River valley in the latter half of the 2nd century. Pallavas, who were executive officers under the Satavahana kings, were not a recognised political power before the 2nd century AD and were swept away by the Western Chalukyan invasion, led by Pulakesin II in the first quarter of the 7th century CE. After the downfall of the Ikshvakus, the Vishnukundinas were the first great dynasty in the 5th and 6th centuries, held sway over the entire Andhra country, including Kalinga and parts of Telangana.
They played an important role in the history of Deccan during the 5th and 6th century CE, with Eluru and Puranisangam. The Salankayanas were an ancient dynasty that ruled the Andhra region between Godavari and Krishna with their capital at Vengi from 300 to 440 CE; the Eastern Chalukyas of Vengi, whose dynasty lasted for around five hundred years from the 7th century until 1130 C. E. merged with the Chola empire. They continued to rule under the protection of the Chola empire until 1189 C. E. when the kingdom succumbed to the Hoysalas and the Yadavas. The roots of the Telugu language have been seen on inscriptions found near the Guntur district and from others dating to the rule of Renati Cholas in the fifth century CE. Kakatiyas constructed several forts, they were succeeded by the Musunuri Nayaks. The Reddy dynasty was established by Prolaya Vema Reddi in the early 14th century, who ruled from present day Kondaveedu. Prolaya Vema Reddi was part of the confederation of states that started a movement against the invading Turkic Muslim armies of the Delhi
Chennai Super Kings
The Chennai Super Kings are a franchise cricket team based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, which plays in the Indian Premier League. Founded in 2008, the team plays. After serving a two-year suspension from the IPL starting July 2015 for the alleged involvement of their owners in the 2013 IPL betting case, the Super Kings returned to the league in 2018, winning the championship in the comeback season, its third overall to tie Mumbai Indians for the record for most IPL title wins; the team is captained by Mahendra Singh Dhoni who has led the team to three victories since 2008 and coached by Stephen Fleming. The Super Kings have lifted the IPL title thrice, have the best win percentage among all teams in the IPL, they hold the records of most appearances in the final. In addition, they have won the Champions League Twenty20 in 2010 and 2014; the brand value of the Super Kings in 2018 was estimated at $65 million, making them the most valuable franchise in the IPL. In September 2007, the Board of Control for Cricket in India announced the establishment of the Indian Premier League, a Twenty20 competition to be started in 2008.
In January 2008, the BCCI unveiled the owners of eight city-based franchises. The Chennai franchise was sold to the India Cements for $91 million, making it the fourth most expensive team in the league behind Mumbai and Hyderabad. India Cements acquired the rights to the franchise for 10 years. Former ICC Chairman N. Srinivasan was the de facto owner of the Chennai Super Kings, by means of his position as the vice-chairman and managing director of India Cements Ltd; the franchisee was transferred to a separate entity named Chennai Super Kings Cricket Ltd. after the Supreme Court of India struck down the controversial amendment to the BCCI constitution's clause 6.2.4 that allowed board officials to have a commercial interest in the IPL and the Champions League T20 on January 22, 2015. During the first player auctions for the inaugural IPL season conducted in January 2008, the Chennai franchise bought a number of contemporary star cricketers such as Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Matthew Hayden, Stephen Fleming, Muttiah Muralitharan and Michael Hussey.
Dhoni became the costliest player of the auction, as the Chennai franchise bought him for $1.5 million. The franchise appointed Kepler Wessels as the head coach, they played their first game on April 2008 against Kings XI Punjab at Mohali. The Super Kings won the game by 33 runs after posting 240/5 in 20 overs, the highest total of the tournament, a record surpassed by themselves in 2010; the Super Kings ended the league stage with eight wins from 14 games and finished third on the points table. They beat the Kings XI Punjab by 9 wickets in the semifinal; the Super Kings faced the Rajasthan Royals in the final of the IPL at Mumbai. Batting first, the Super Kings scored 163/5 in 20 overs and lost the game by 3 wickets off the final delivery of the match, they earned a spot in the inaugural Champions League Twenty20 along with Rajasthan, but the tournament was cancelled due to the 2008 Mumbai Attacks and the Super Kings, along with Rajasthan, received $5 million each as compensation. Fleming, who had decided to retire from all forms of the game after the first season of the IPL, took over as the coach of the Super Kings team from Wessels for the next season, to be held in South Africa.
For the 2009 season, the Super Kings bought English all-rounder Andrew Flintoff for $1.55 million at the auction making him the highest-paid IPL cricketer along with English teammate Kevin Pietersen, bought for the same amount by Royal Challengers Bangalore. However, Flintoff played only 3 matches for them before suffering a knee injury that ruled him out of the season; the Super Kings were without the services of Hussey who had decided to skip the IPL season to focus on The Ashes. The Super Kings finished with 17 points from 14 matches and earned a second place at the league table. However, at the semi-finals, their hopes of entering the final for a second time were crushed by the Royal Challengers who beat them by 6 wickets; the Super Kings opener Matthew Hayden, who scored 572 runs in 12 innings with 5 half-centuries at an average of 52 and strike-rate of 145, won the Orange Cap for the leading run-scorer of the season and was adjudged Player of the Tournament. In 2010, the Super Kings struggled in the first half of the regular season, winning only two matches out of seven.
They won four of their next five games in the season due to the efforts of Murali Vijay and Suresh Raina. After a defeat at home to the Delhi Daredevils, the Super Kings were left with a must-win match against Kings XI Punjab at Dharamshala; the Super Kings won the match by six wickets as they chased down the target of 193 with two balls to spare with skipper Dhoni scoring an unbeaten 54 from 29 balls. Thus, with seven wins from 14 matches, Chennai finished with the same number of points as three other teams with two semi-final spots at stake. Chennai got the third place as they had the better net run rate of the four teams which finished on 14 points. In the semifinal, the Super Kings scored a modest 142/7 in 20 overs against the defending champions Deccan Chargers, but an inspired bowling spell from Doug Bollinger did the most damage as the Chargers were bowled out for 104. This gave the Super Kings a 38-run victory; the Super Kings faced the tournament favorites Mumbai Indians at their home ground in the final.
Suresh Raina's 57 helped the Super Kings recover from 68/3 after 12 overs to put up 168/5 at the end of their 20 overs. Th
Fast bowling
Fast bowling is one of two main approaches to bowling in the sport of cricket, the other being spin bowling. Practitioners of pace bowling are known as fast bowlers, quicks, or pacemen, they can be referred to as a seam bowler or a'fast bowler who can swing it' to reflect the predominant characteristic of their deliveries. Speaking, a pure swing bowler does not need to have a high degree of pace, though dedicated medium-pace swing bowlers are seen at Test level these days; the aim of fast bowling is to deliver the ball in such a fashion as to cause the batsman to make a mistake. The bowler achieves this by making the hard cricket ball deviate from a predictable, linear trajectory at a speed that limits the time the batsman has to compensate for it. For deviation caused by the ball's stitching, the ball bounces off the pitch and deflects either away from the batsman's body, or inwards towards them. Swing bowlers on the other hand use the seam of the ball but in a different way. To'bowl swing' is to induce a curved trajectory of the cricket ball through the air.
Swing bowlers use a combination of seam orientation, body position at the point of release, asymmetric ball polishing, variations in delivery speed to affect an aerodynamic influence on the ball. The ability of a bowler to induce lateral deviation or'sideways movement' make it difficult for the batsman to address the flight of the ball accurately. Beyond this ability to create an unpredictable path of ball trajectory, the fastest bowlers can be potent by delivering a ball at such a rate that a batsman fails to react either or at all. A typical fast delivery has a speed in the range of 137–153 km/h, it is possible for a bowler to concentrate on speed when young, but as fast bowlers mature they pick up new skills and tend to rely more on swing bowling or seam bowling techniques. Most fast bowlers specialise in one of these two areas and are sometimes categorised as swing or seam bowler. However, this classification is not satisfactory because the categories are not mutually exclusive and a skilled bowler bowls a mixture of fast, swinging and cutting balls—even if he prefers one style to the others.
For simplicity, it is common to subdivide fast bowlers according to the average speed of their deliveries, as follows. There is a degree of subjectivity in the usage of these terms. For comparison, most spin bowlers in professional cricket bowl at average speeds of 70 to 90 km/h. Shoaib Akhtar, Brett Lee, Shaun Tait, Jeff Thomson and Mitchell Starc have clocked over 160 km/h and are categorised as "Ultra Fast" bowlers although bowling at speeds lower than this mark. While Steven Finn is classified as a fast-medium bowler by Cricinfo, he can bowl at around 145 km/h, with his fastest clocked at 151.9 km/h, making him the 10th fastest amongst active bowlers as of 3 January 2015 The first thing a fast bowler needs to do is to grip the ball correctly. The basic fast bowling grip to achieve maximum speed is to hold the ball with the seam upright and to place the index and middle fingers close together at the top of the seam with the thumb gripping the ball at the bottom of the seam; the image to the right shows the correct grip.
The first two fingers and the thumb should hold the ball forward of the rest of the hand, the other two fingers should be tucked into the palm. The ball is held quite loosely so. Other grips are possible, result in different balls – see swing and seam bowling below; the bowler holds their other hand over the hand gripping the ball until the latest possible moment so that the batsman cannot see what type of ball is being bowled. A fast bowler needs to take a longer run-up toward the wicket than a spinner, due to the need to generate the momentum and rhythm required to bowl a fast delivery. Fast bowlers measure their preferred run up in strides, mark the distance from the wicket, it is important for the bowler to know how long the run-up is because it must terminate behind the popping crease. A bowler who steps on or beyond this has bowled a no-ball, which affords the batsman immunity from dismissal, adds one run to the batting team's score, forces the bowler to bowl another ball in the over. At the end of the run-up the bowler brings his lead foot down on the pitch with the knee as straight as possible.
This can be dangerous due to the pressure it places on the joint. Knee injuries are not uncommon amongst fast bowlers: for example, the English pace bowler David Lawrence was sidelined for many months after splitting his kneecap in two; the pressure on the leading foot is such that some fast bowlers cut the front off their shoes to stop their toes from being injured as they are pressed against the inside of the shoe. The bowler brings the bowling arm up over their head and releases the ball at the height appropriate to where they want the ball to pitch. Again, the arm must be straight though this is a stipulation of the laws of cricket rather than an aid to speed. Bending the elbow and "chucking" the ball would make it too easy for the bowler to aim at the batsman's wicket and get them out. Fast bowlers tend to have an action that leaves them either side-on or chest-on at the end of the run up. A chest-on bowler has chest and hips aligned towards the batsman at the instant of back foot contact, while a side-on bowler has chest and hips aligned at ninety degrees to the batsman at the instant of back foot contact.
West Indian bowler Malcolm Marshall was a c
