How Good is Uppal Rajiv Gandhi Stadium

Deccan Chargers is the team representing Hyderabad city in the Indian Premier League and the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium is the team's home ground. Since most of the Indian Premier League games are played in day/night format, the stadium has been installed with flood lights.

The Hyderabadis just love their Cricket

Anyway the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium is located in Uppal, roughly one and half kilometers from Tarnaka. It’s definitely not located in the heart of the city as the Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium which is in Basheerbagh. But that doesn’t deter the crazy Hyderabadi fans who flocked in huge numbers (20,000 every day) to witness a first class match. Hyderabadis give huge support to sports whether it is Sania Mirza or the Indian Cricket team. The L.B.Stadium which used to previously host International Cricket Matches is not owned by H.C.A but belongs to the Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh. One thing I always wanted to share this point about Hyderabadis is that they are too much into cricket that they behave exactly like a cricket fan does but not just in a Cricket Stadium but also in a Tennis Stadium. The fans who just love Sania went on with their ‘plastic bottles music’ hitting the chairs and the chanting of their favourite’s names during volleys of the game. So much so that the great Martina Navratilova stated that she would never ever come back to play tennis in Hyderabad. Little do the innocent fans know that noise isn’t supposed to be a part of a Tennis Match and to be fair to Hyderabadis they are only new to Tennis and they only know to create electric atmosphere in a stadium after having got used to the sixy hitting from the Sachins, Sehwags, Gangulys, Dravids, Yuvrajs in Hyderabad before.

Airtel Champions League 2009 Full Schedule

GROUP STAGE:

Group A	Group B	Group C	Group D
Deccan Chargers [ Images ] (Ind)	New South Wales (Aus)	Royal Challengers (Ind)	Delhi Daredevils (Ind)
Somerset CCC (Eng)	Diamond Eagles (SA)	Cape Cobras (SA)	Victoria (Aus)
Trinidad & Tobago (WI)	Sussex Sharks (Eng)	Otago Volts (NZ)	Wayamba (SL)

Date	Venue	Teams	Time (IST)
Thu Oct 8	Bangalore	Royal Challengers vs Cape Cobras	20:00
Fri Oct 9	Delhi	New South Wales vs Diamond Eagles	16:00
Fri Oct 9	Delhi	Delhi Daredevils vs Victoria	20:00
Sat Oct 10	Hyderabad	Cape Cobras vs Otago Volts	16:00
Sat Oct 10	Hyderabad	Deccan Chargers vs Somerset CCC	20:00
Sun Oct 11	Delhi	New South Wales vs Sussex Sharks	16:00
Sun Oct 11	Delhi	Delhi Daredevils vs Wayamba	20:00
Mon Oct 12	Bangalore	Somerset CCC vs Trinidad & Tobago	16:00
Mon Oct 12	Bangalore	Royal Challengers vs Otago Volts	20:00
Tue Oct 13	Delhi	Victoria vs Wayamba	16:00
Tue Oct 13	Delhi	Diamond Eagles vs Sussex	20:00
Wed Oct 14	Hyderabad	Deccan Chargers vs Trinidad & Tobago	20:00

LEAGUE STAGE:

LEAGUE A	LEAGUE B
A1	C1
A2	C2
B1	D1
B2	D2

Date	Venue	League	Teams	Time
Thu, Oct 15	Bangalore	B	C1 v D2	20:00
Fri Oct 16	Hyderabad	A	A2 v B2	16:00
Fri Oct 16	Hyderabad	A	A1 v B1	20:00
Sat Oct 17	Bangalore	B	C2 v D2	16:00
Sat Oct 17	Bangalore	B	C1 v D1	20:00
Sun Oct 18	Hyderabad	A	A2 v B1	16:00
Sun Oct 18	Hyderabad	A	A1 v B2	20:00
Mon Oct 19	Delhi	B	C2 v D1	20:00

SEMI-FINALS:

Date	Venue	Teams	Time
Wed Oct 21	Delhi	Winner League B vs Runner-Up League A	20:00
Thu Oct 22	Hyderabad	Winner League A vs Runner-Up League B	20:00

FINAL:

Date	Venue	Time
Fri Oct 23	Hyderabad	20:00

ScoreCard Deccan Chargers (Ind) Vs Somerset (Eng)

	Deccan Chargers innings (20 overs maximum)		R	B	4s	6s	SR
	AC Gilchrist*†	c Trescothick b Thomas	18	8	2	1	225.00
	3.2 banged in short and the miscued pull results in a wicket, came onto him quickly, he was eyeing midwicket but he was a little late into the shot, lobbed up towards gully and Trescothick ran a few paces forward to complete an easy catch 35/1
	VVS Laxman	b Trego	46	35	7	0	131.42
	10.4 the slower one does the trick! Bowled at just 99.8 kmph, the offcutter on the off stump and a teasing length as well, bowled full, Laxman's eyes lit up and he tried it swing it over square leg, was too early into the shot, missed and was bowled 88/4
	TL Suman	c Trescothick b Phillips	6	6	1	0	100.00
	5.5 gone! Bowled on a length outside off at 129 kmph, drives hard at it in an attempt to clear mid-off, gets a thick edge and Trescothick times his jump to perfection to snap a sharp chance at slip 59/2
	A Symonds	c Hildreth b Trego	8	9	1	0	88.88
	8.5 gone, short on the off, Symonds was trying to force the pace there, smacked it straight into the palms of Hildreth who took a good catch at long-on running forward, didn't get it in the middle there, a big swing, but didn't travel far 78/3
	RG Sharma	c Thomas b de Bruyn	24	21	3	0	114.28
	15.5 struck it extremely hard but could not get the elevation, bowled full on the off and he swung it hard but flat down long-on's throat, Alfonso the man there, took an easy catch 118/5
	SB Styris	lbw b Thomas	13	17	0	1	76.47
	16.4 given! Bowled from wide of the crease and bowled it full on leg stump, Styris tried to drive it through midwicket, missed and was struck on the pads, Harper didn't take long to raise his finger but could it have slid down the leg side? We need a replay 121/6
	Y Venugopal Rao	c Hildreth b Phillips	22	12	1	2	183.33
	18.5 he's holed out, was trying to clear long-on but didn't time it well, length ball on middle, lofted it straight to Hildreth in the deep, easy catch snapped comfortably 144/8
	RP Singh	b Phillips	2	4	0	0	50.00
	18.3 bowled'im! In the blockhole on off, tried to run it down to third man, missed and the stumps were pegged bac 143/7
	FH Edwards	not out	8	7	1	0	114.28
	PP Ojha	run out (†Kieswetter/Thomas)	1	1	0	0	100.00
	19.6 Thomas to Edwards, too high, given a wide, and it's also a run-out, eventful delivery, Ojha wanted to steal a bye but there was no response from Edwards, the keeper throws it back to the bowler who takes off the bails to send Ojha back 152/9
	Harmeet Singh	not out	0	0	0	0	-
	Extras	(w 5)	5
	Total	(9 wickets; 20 overs)	153	(7.65 runs per over)

Fall of wickets1-35 (Gilchrist, 3.2 ov), 2-59 (Suman, 5.5 ov), 3-78 (Symonds, 8.5 ov), 4-88 (Laxman, 10.4 ov), 5-118 (Sharma, 15.5 ov), 6-121 (Styris, 16.4 ov), 7-143 (Singh, 18.3 ov), 8-144 (Venugopal Rao, 18.5 ov), 9-152 (Ojha, 19.5 ov)

	Bowling	O	M	R	W	Econ
	CM Willoughby	4	0	44	0	11.00	(1w)
	AC Thomas	4	0	25	2	6.25	(4w)
	3.2 to Gilchrist, banged in short and the miscued pull results in a wicket, came onto him quickly, he was eyeing midwicket but he was a little late into the shot, lobbed up towards gully and Trescothick ran a few paces forward to complete an easy catch 35/1 16.4 to Styris, given! Bowled from wide of the crease and bowled it full on leg stump, Styris tried to drive it through midwicket, missed and was struck on the pads, Harper didn't take long to raise his finger but could it have slid down the leg side? We need a replay 121/6
	BJ Phillips	4	0	31	3	7.75
	5.5 to Suman, gone! Bowled on a length outside off at 129 kmph, drives hard at it in an attempt to clear mid-off, gets a thick edge and Trescothick times his jump to perfection to snap a sharp chance at slip 59/2 18.3 to Singh, bowled'im! In the blockhole on off, tried to run it down to third man, missed and the stumps were pegged bac 143/7 18.5 to Venugopal Rao, he's holed out, was trying to clear long-on but didn't time it well, length ball on middle, lofted it straight to Hildreth in the deep, easy catch snapped comfortably 144/8
	PD Trego	4	0	19	2	4.75
	8.5 to Symonds, gone, short on the off, Symonds was trying to force the pace there, smacked it straight into the palms of Hildreth who took a good catch at long-on running forward, didn't get it in the middle there, a big swing, but didn't travel far 78/3 10.4 to Laxman, the slower one does the trick! Bowled at just 99.8 kmph, the offcutter on the off stump and a teasing length as well, bowled full, Laxman's eyes lit up and he tried it swing it over square leg, was too early into the shot, missed and was bowled 88/4
	Z de Bruyn	4	0	34	1	8.50
	15.5 to Sharma, struck it extremely hard but could not get the elevation, bowled full on the off and he swung it hard but flat down long-on's throat, Alfonso the man there, took an easy catch 118/5

	Somerset innings (target: 154 runs from 20 overs)		R	B	4s	6s	SR
	ME Trescothick	c †Gilchrist b Singh	14	12	3	0	116.66
	1.6 gets him this time! Short on middle and he went for the pull, was through with the shot a little too early there, got the top edge and Gilchrist judged it well running to his right 16/1
	JL Langer*	c Venugopal Rao b Singh	15	9	3	0	166.66
	5.6 another one bites the dust! bowled on a good length outside off, tried to clear mid-on but found him instead, mistimed, Rao ran a few paces to his left to pouch that 51/3
	Z de Bruyn	c †Gilchrist b Singh	19	15	4	0	126.66
	5.4 got him! Slightly short outside off, made room to crash that through point and cover, got a thick edge and Gilchrist dived full length to his right to snap a sharp one 50/2
	C Kieswetter†	c Harmeet Singh b Ojha	5	9	0	0	55.55
	8.2 Kieswetter goes! Tossed it up outside off, came down the track and swung hard though he wasn't completely to the pitch, swatted it straight to the perfectly-positioned Harmeet at long-on 59/4
	AV Suppiah	c Styris b Ojha	19	19	1	1	100.00
	12.5 gone! Tossed it up and Suppiah was tempted, went for the slog-sweep, got the top edge and Styris watched it into his palms at deep midwicket 93/6
	PD Trego	c Singh b Suman	12	11	0	1	109.09
	11.3 Suman strikes! Quicker through the air, lands on a good length on middle, swings hard at that one, gets more elevation than distance and RP at deep square leg takes it easily 84/5
	JC Hildreth	b Styris	25	24	1	1	104.16
	19.1 bowled'im! Eight down! Bowled full on leg stump, made a bit of room to smash that over midwicket, missed and it deflected off the pads onto the stumps 149/8
	BJ Phillips	c Symonds b Suman	5	4	1	0	125.00
	13.5 seven down now! Tame dismissal, hurled it full on middle and he chips it straight to Symonds at midwicket 99/7
	AC Thomas	not out	30	17	4	1	176.47
	MTC Waller	c & b Styris	0	2	0	0	0.00
	19.3 gone! Somerset are capitulating, short outside off, makes room to slap it over the bowler's head, miscues it and it takes ages to come down, doesn't travel far though, Styris gets underneath it and takes it comfortably 149/9
	CM Willoughby	not out	0	0	0	0	-
	Extras	(b 1, lb 7, w 2, nb 3)	13
	Total	(9 wickets; 20 overs)	157	(7.85 runs per over)

Fall of wickets1-16 (Trescothick, 1.6 ov), 2-50 (de Bruyn, 5.4 ov), 3-51 (Langer, 5.6 ov), 4-59 (Kieswetter, 8.2 ov), 5-84 (Trego, 11.3 ov), 6-93 (Suppiah, 12.5 ov), 7-99 (Phillips, 13.5 ov), 8-149 (Hildreth, 19.1 ov), 9-149 (Waller, 19.3 ov)

	Bowling	O	M	R	W	Econ
	FH Edwards	2	0	23	0	11.50	(2nb, 1w)
	RP Singh	4	0	23	3	5.75
	1.6 to Trescothick, gets him this time! Short on middle and he went for the pull, was through with the shot a little too early there, got the top edge and Gilchrist judged it well running to his right 16/1 5.4 to de Bruyn, got him! Slightly short outside off, made room to crash that through point and cover, got a thick edge and Gilchrist dived full length to his right to snap a sharp one 50/2 5.6 to Langer, another one bites the dust! bowled on a good length outside off, tried to clear mid-on but found him instead, mistimed, Rao ran a few paces to his left to pouch that 51/3
	Harmeet Singh	1	0	13	0	13.00
	PP Ojha	4	0	20	2	5.00
	8.2 to Kieswetter, Kieswetter goes! Tossed it up outside off, came down the track and swung hard though he wasn't completely to the pitch, swatted it straight to the perfectly-positioned Harmeet at long-on 59/4 12.5 to Suppiah, gone! Tossed it up and Suppiah was tempted, went for the slog-sweep, got the top edge and Styris watched it into his palms at deep midwicket 93/6
	RG Sharma	2	0	13	0	6.50
	SB Styris	3	0	24	2	8.00
	19.1 to Hildreth, bowled'im! Eight down! Bowled full on leg stump, made a bit of room to smash that over midwicket, missed and it deflected off the pads onto the stumps 149/8 19.3 to Waller, gone! Somerset are capitulating, short outside off, makes room to slap it over the bowler's head, miscues it and it takes ages to come down, doesn't travel far though, Styris gets underneath it and takes it comfortably 149/9
	TL Suman	2	0	15	2	7.50	(1w)
	11.3 to Trego, Suman strikes! Quicker through the air, lands on a good length on middle, swings hard at that one, gets more elevation than distance and RP at deep square leg takes it easily 84/5 13.5 to Phillips, seven down now! Tame dismissal, hurled it full on middle and he chips it straight to Symonds at midwicket 99/7
	Y Venugopal Rao	1	0	9	0	9.00
	A Symonds	1	0	9	0	9.00

Match details

Toss Somerset, who chose to field Points Somerset 2, Deccan Chargers 0

Player of the match AC Thomas (Somerset)

Umpires DJ Harper (Australia) and RE Koertzen (South Africa) TV umpire AM Saheba Match referee RS Mahanama (Sri Lanka) Reserve umpire S Ravi