Cricket - Vedic Instincts

Royal March by Rajasthan Royals to reach the Finals

2008-05-31T12:01:00.005+05:30

Royal March by Rajasthan Royals to reach the Finals : The Rajasthan Royals became the first team to reach the finals of the inaugural IPL as they registered a thumping win over the Delhi Daredevils in the semi-finals played at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai.

The Daredevils were outplayed in all departments of the game by the Royals and lost miserably by a margin of 105 runs.

Sehwag tonight won the toss for the Daredevils and invited the Royals to bat first. The Royals took up the challenge as their opening pair of Graeme Smith and Swapnil Asnodkar got down to the business. They both gave a flying start to the innings with Smith scoring 25 runs in 21 balls and Asnodkar making a brisk 39 before getting back to the pavilion.

It was Watson again who took the reigns in his hands in the mid overs to launch an attack on the Daredevils. He inflicted a massive six to a YoMahesh delivery to land it, along with the hopes of Delhi, on the rooftops of the stadium. While Watson kept on with his assault to score another fifty, Yusuf Pathan was the one who literally turned the screws on Delhi team. He played a stunning knock of 45 off just 41 balls to ensure a mamoth total of 191 for the Royals.

The hopes of the Delhi Daredevils now rested heavily on the shoulders of the openers in Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir, as they commenced their reply. It was inevitable for them to provide a sound start to their endeavour. However, Sehwag proved to be a disappointment as he tried to pull a Watson delivery only to find Tanvir at deep fine leg.

This blow seemed to be unrepairable for the Delhi team as wickets tumbled regularly, resulting in a total batting collapse for the Daredevils. they found themselves on their knees as they managed a meagre total of 86/10. The might of the Royals eventually proved too great for the Daredevils.

Shane Watson won the Man of the Match award for his all-round performance.
The DLF sixes award went to Yusuf Pathan for his four sixes.

Rajasthan thus awaits the winner of the second semi-finals to be played between the Chennai Super Kings and the Kings XI, Punjab.

Kings XI Punjab overwhelmed by Chennai Super Kings

2008-05-11T10:09:00.005+05:30

Kings XI Punjab overwhelmed by Chennai Super Kings : In yet another thrilling encounter, the Kings XI Punjab faced defeat against the Chennai Super Kings. It was a sterling performance by Laxmipathy Balaji which made the difference between the two rivals. Balaji, in the process, registered the first hat-trick of the IPL.

The hosts Chennai were invited to bat first on the sleeping beauty of the M A Chidambaram Stadium - Chepauk by Yuvraj Singh, the captain of the Punjab side. Vidyut Sivaramakrishnan and Stephen Fleming opened the innings for Chennai. They were unable to provide the Super Kings with the desired start and it was left to Suresh Raina and Subramaniam Badrinath to consolidate the innings.

Just when it seemed that the two were settling down in an useful partnership, Raina got out caught by Marsh off the bowling of Piyush Chawla. He made 26 from 17 balls and the score for Chennai read 64/3 in 6.5 overs.

Badrinath was then joined by his captain, M S Dhoni. They both played sensibly, to ensure a decent tally for their team. In an innings of 64 off 47 deliveries faced by Badrinath, he smashed 6 fours and 3 sixes. By the time Badrinath departed, in the 18th over, the Super kings had already posted 157/4.

Dhoni, tonight, played a captain's knock to score 60 off 43 which comprised of 2 hits to the boundary and 4 sixes. In the concluding overs, however, the Kings XI bowlers made a gallant effort to restrict the Chennai tally to 181/4 in 20 overs.

In reply to the huge target posted by the Super Kings, the visitors began their chase with the in-form Shaun Marsh and James Hopes. Marsh, continued with his good run in the tournament and swiftly reached to his second half century, scoring 58 off 38 ball hitting 3 fours and 4 sixes.

Apart from him, Sarvan made 20 from 22 as the middle order lost its way to the target. A partnership between Irfan Pathan and Piyush chawla tried its bit to rectify the situation. Pathan played a scintilating knock 40 from just 18 deliveries with 3 fours and 3 towering sixes. But as it turned out the target eventully proved to be too high for the Kings XI as they could manage 163/9 in 20 overs, 18 short of the target.

Laxmipathy Balaji was adjudged Man of the Match for his effort of a 5/24 in his 4 overs which included the first hat-trick in the IPL.

Shaun Marsh and M S Dhoni shared the DLF sixes award.

The Chennai Super Kings thus marched ahead of the Kings XI in the points table.

An emphatic win for Rajasthan Royals

2008-05-10T10:10:00.003+05:30

An emphatic win for Rajasthan Royals : The Hyderabad team today commenced their game on a thumping note, with a strong start provided by their openers after being sent into bat by the Rajasthan Royals. They however, failed to capitalise on the momentum and eventually went down by 8 wickets to the Jaipur team.

Shane Warne, the captain of the Royals, once again found luck with the coin and promptly decided to bowl first on the home track of Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur. Adam Gilchrist and Harschelle Gibbs opened for the Deccan Chargers to provide a flying start to the innings. The duo put in 61 runs in just 8 overs before Gibbs departed scoring 19 runs.

Gilchrist was the only batsman who could negotiate the bowling on display by the Rajasthan Royals. He blazed away with 61 runs off 49 balls hitting 9 fours and a six.

There after, it was a story of middle order collapse on the part of Chargers, until Venugopal Rao fought back with an unbeaten knock of 23 from 11 deliveries he faced. The Deccan Chargers ended their run with 140/8 in 20 overs. shane Warne returned with the figures of 2/20 from 4 overs.

In reply to the modest target set by the visitors, the batting from the Royals displayed a professional approach as they paced their innings brilliantly. In a seemingly planned reply, Yusuf Pathan played a dashing knock scoring 68 runs off 37 balls with 9 fours and 2 sixes, while on the other end Smith played a responsible supporting role and kept one end going. He made 40 runs from 43 balls before he got out with the team score reading 133/2 in 15.3 overs. He had thus ensured an unbeatable situation for the Royals.

The formalities of the victory were concluded three balls later as the team tally went past the target at 141/2 in 16 overs.

Yusuf Pathan picked up the Man of the Match award for his all round performance.
The DLF sixes award too, was won by Yusuf Pathan.

The Rajasthan Royals regained their first spot in the points tally.

Mumbai Indians score an easy win over Rajasthan Royals

2008-05-08T10:30:00.004+05:30

Mumbai Indians score an easy win over Rajasthan Royals : In a match played at the D Y Patil Stadium, the hosts Mumbai Indians registered a convincing win over the Rajasthan Royals.

Put into bat first, the Royals tonight found themselves out of touch as they kept losing wickets at regular intervals against some good display of bowling from the Mumbai Indians.

Graeme Smith and Swapnil Asnodkar opened the innings for the Rajasthan Royals. Smith left early, edging a delivery from Pollock to the wicket-keeper when he was on 5. Next to go was Yusuf Pathan, scoring a solitary run and allowing his stumps being uprooted by an unplayable delivery from Nehra.

Asnodkar on the other end lived dangerously but made a valuable contribution to the team's tally scoring 39 off 36 balls, he faced. He, incidentally, was the highest scorer for the Royals.

Shane Watson got along well with Asnodkar in a partnership, which at one moment spelled trouble for the Indians. It was a smart piece of bowling by Bravo that came to the rescue for the Indians, when Watson attempted a cross-batted shot only to find his timber shattered. Watson made 33 off 20, with the team score reading 74/3 in 8.5 overs.

It was an end to the resistance from Rajasthan as the bowling attack from the Mumbai Indians, there after, dominated the proceedings. They bundled out the Royals for 103/10 in 16.2 overs. Ashish Nehra was the hero for the Mumbai team, finishing with the figures of 3/13 in 3 overs.

The chase from the Mumbai Indians was initiated by a solid start given by their openers. Sanath Jayasuriya and Yogesh Takawale put up an opening stand of 41 in 7.1 overs, before Jayasuriya departed scoring 18 runs. Takawale made 27 off 32 deliveries and was bowled by Shane Warne.

An unbeaten partnership between Robin Utthappa, scoring 34 off 21 and Abhishekh nayar making 12 from 13 balls, saw the Mumbai Indians past the target to finish with 104/3 in 15.1 overs. The Mumbai Indians thus wrapped up their third victory by a margin of 7 wickets.

Ashish Nehra was judged Man of the Match for his spell of 3-0-13-3.

Mumbai climbed up to the fifth spot, while Rajasthan Royals slipped to the second position in the points table.

Third Straight Defeat for Chennai in the IPL

2008-05-07T11:31:00.003+05:30

Third Straight Defeat for Chennai in the IPL : Chennai fell flat against a spirited bowling performance by the Deccan Chargers. The Chargers tonight were spereheaded by Adam Gilchrist who led from the front to register the second win by 7 wickets for the Hyderabad team.

Gilchrist won the toss for the Deccan Chargers and invited the hosts to bat first. Chennai began miserably, as Parthiv Patel left in the very first over. Anirudha Srikkantha too, failed to leave any impressions in his first game.

Stephen Fleming was the next man in. He looked to be settling down well until Rohit Sharma created an opportunity for his team, latching onto a full blooded square drive to pull out a stunning catch.

Next, it was Badrinath's turn to return with a duck to his name. The Super Kings found themselves in a dire state at 43 for the lost of four top order batsmen.

It was a 38 run partnership between M S Dhoni and Suresh Raina which rendered some stability to the innings. A flurry of sixes in the concluding overs from Albie Morkel and Manpreet Gony enabled the Super Kings to post a total of 144 in 20 overs.

Adam Gilchrist and Herschelle Gibbs started the chase for the visitors. Gilchrist displayed his batting skills with a splendid knock befitting his reputation of being able to single-handedly turn the tables around, on his day. He raced to his score of 54 in just 33 balls before he got dismissed. But by then the damage had been inflicted.

A partnership between Scott Styris and Rohit sharma eliminated any further hiccups to the innings. Eventually, Shahid Afridi cocluded the victory for the Deccan Chargers in his trademark style hammering 20 runs in Joginder Sharma's over, the 18th of the innings.

Adam Gilchrist picked the Man of the Match award for his captain's knock.

The Chennai Super Kings lost for the third time in a row, while the Deccan Chargers climbed to the sixth spot in the IPL.

Punjab leaps ahead with its fifth consecutive win

2008-05-06T10:06:00.004+05:30

Punjab leaps ahead with its fifth consecutive win : The Kings XI Punjab today registered its fifth consecutive win in the IPL, defeating the Bangalore Royal Challengers by six wickets in a match played at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore.

In a smart move today, Yuvraj Singh invited the Royal Challengers to bat first, after winning the toss. His decision reaped in results from the very first over bowled by Sreesanth as he captured two important wickets to push the home team on the back foot. Wasim Jaffer nicked an out-swinging delivery from Sreesanth, prior to an in-swinger which shattered the stumps of White. Bangalore found itself in deep blue in the first over, itself.

Rahul Dravid was left to battle it out alone for the Bagalore team, as five of their batsmen returned back to the pavilion without opening their account. Dravid fought like a true warrior scoring a brilliant 66 off 51 balls with 9 hits to the fence and one six. He contributed more than half to the total of 126/10 posted by the Royal Challengers.

Dravid played some exquisite shots to show why he is rated amongst the best in the contemperory lot of cricketers, the world over. Apart from Dravid, it was Virat Kohli's innings that needed mention as he stroked well to make 34 from 26 balls he faced.

In reply to the modest target set by the Royal Challengers, the Punjab team displayed a disciplined approach and kept a tight control over the game through out.

Shaun Marsh, once again, set the tone for the chase and scored 39 off 34 before he got out in the 15th over with his team requiring another 21 to win. Ramnaresh Sarvan contributed with a knock of 31 from 29 deliveries, he faced.

The finishing touches to the victory were provided by Mahela Jayavardane, 17 off 21 and Irfan Pathan scoring 17 from 17. Both remained unbeaten and ensured a smooth sail past the target to end with 127/4 in 18.2 overs.

S.Sreesanth was adjudged Man of the Match for his effort of 2/16 in a spell of 4 overs.

The Bangalore team will need to sort out their short-comings to strike a right combination to succeed, before it gets too late.

A royal win for Jaipur on their home soil

2008-05-05T10:33:00.003+05:30

A royal win for Jaipur on their home soil : The second match of the day, which promised a lot ended as an onesided affair. The Chennai Super Kings seem to have lost its path, midway in the tournament. They lost miserably, by a margin of 8 wickets at the hands of Rajasthan Royals and were outplayed in every department of the game.

M S Dhoni won the toss for the Super Kings and elected to bat first. Parthiv Patel and Stephen Fleming opened the innings for the Super Kings. For the Royals, it was Sohail Tanvir who commenced the proceedings. He begun his dream run from the very first delivery he bowled, inflicting the first blow and getting Parthiv Patel lbw.

Next on his card was Fleming, who too was plumb lbw. The warriors of the Super Kings failed to put up any resistance against the Royals as they kept fleeing the field one after another.

But for a partnership between Suresh Raina and Albie Morkel, the Super Kings would have lost its fort even before crossing the 3 figure mark. Raina made 27 off 27 balls, while Morkel played a face saving knock to score 42 from 33 deliveries he faced. They eventually, managed to post a total of 109/10 with one over to spare.

Sohail Tanvir recorded the best figures ever of the T20 format finishing with 6 wickets at the expence of just 14 runs from a spell of four overs. He alone made a difference between the two sides as the Super Kings kept fetching for ways to negotiate his attack.

The Royals gave a crushing reply to the target of 110, to be achieved in 20 overs. They wrapped up their victory by 8 wickets in just 14.2 overs with Graeme Smith remaining unbeaten on 35. Swapnil Asnodkar made 32 off 30 balls to provide with an able company to his senior partner.

Sohail Tanvir picked up the Man of the Match award.
The DLF highest sixes award went to Albie Morkel for hitting 4 sixes.

The Super Kings will be required to put in a great deal of thought for its upcoming matches. The game of cricket has once again proved to be a big leveller of sorts.

The Kings XI Punjab reign supreme in a thriller

2008-05-04T11:10:00.003+05:30

The Kings XI Punjab reign supreme in a thriller : The second match of the day played at the PCA Stadium Mohali proved to be a thriller. The Kings XI Punjab pulled out an important win by 9 runs over the Kolkata Knight Riders.

The match started with the Kings XI batting first on a sporting track of the Mohali Stadium which carries the reputation of having something on offer for both the batmen as well as the bowlers.

The opening pair in Shaun Marsh and James Hopes started the proceedings. They gave a resonable start to the innings before Hopes departed scoring 18 and the team tally of 28/1 in 3.5 overs. Marsh continued with the good work he has been doing for his team scoring yet another fire fetched innings of 40 from 32 deliveries he faced. His innings comprised of 5 hits to the boundary and a six.

In the mid overs Sangakara played a notable knock of 28. But it was a partnership between Irfan Pathan and Piyush Chawla in the concluding overs of the innings, which steered the Punjab team to a respectable total of 178/6 in 20 overs.

Pathan made 24 off 26 balls. The knock which eventually influenced the outcome of the match emerged from an unexpected corner when Piyush Chawla smashed the bowlers in all directions accumulating valueable runs for his team.

Of all the bowlers it was Ishant Sharma who had to face the brunt as his deliveries in the final over saw the ropes thrice and once, over it. Chawla ended the Kings XI adventure, remaining unbeaten on 21 off just 7 balls he faced. His knock included 3 fours and a six. Thus, the Kolkata Knight Riders were left with a target of 179 to be achieved in 20 overs.

The Knight Riders commensed their reply with Mohammed Hafeez and Sourav Ganguly taking the field. They found the going tough against some inspired spell of bowling by Sreesanth and Pathan.

Ganguly was the first to leave as he was caught by Pathan off a delivery from Sreesanth. Hafeez followed just on the heels of his captain, bowled by Pathan and the score read 23/2 in 3.1 overs.

Another in-swinging delivery from Pathan tasted the timber for the second time in the over as Brad Hodge was shown the way back to the pavilion. The Kolkata tally reaches 25/3 in 3.5 overs. The 'Ayaram Gayaram' principle seemed to be the order of the day for the Kolkata team as Debabrat Das was sent back, getting caught by Yuvraj off Sreesanth. The score crawled to 29/4 in 6 overs.

The Knight Riders found themselves in a great trouble, but for a brilliant partnership between David Hussey and Prasanta Saha. They almost made their way home when Hussey had to depart, having scored 71 off 46 balls with 4 fours and four sixes.

Saha played gem of an innings remaining unbeaten on 59 from 32 hitting 2 fours and 4 towering sixes. In the end, the target just seemed to elude and a gallant effort had to conclude with the Knight Riders reply falling short by 9 runs as they managed 169/6 in 20 overs.

Irfan Pathan was adjudged Man of the Match for his all round effort of 24 runs and a haul of 2/18. In addition, he bowled the decisive final over which sealed the match for his team.

David Hussey and Prasanta Saha shared the DLF highest sixes award.

The Kolkata Knight Riders thus, lost their fourth match in a row.

Delhi Daredevils outplay Chennai Super Kings

2008-05-03T09:53:00.003+05:30

Delhi Daredevils outplay Chennai Super Kings : Chennai Super Kings were tonight outplayed by the Daredevils as the latter registered an emphatic win by 8 wickets with one over to spare. Chennai faced their first defeat in the IPL, in front of the home crowd at the M A Chidambaram Stadium. An opening stand of 100 runs set the foundation of a comfortable win for the visitors.

M S Dhoni, the captain of the Chennai Super Kings, won the toss and elected to bat first on a placid track. Glenn McGrath and Mohammed Asif started with some tight bowling allowing just 13 runs to be scored from the first 3 overs. In the fourth over Fleming got out clean bowled by Yo Mahesh.

He was replaced by Vidyut Shivaramakrishnan who walked in, in an attacking mood. He smashed the first ball to the boundary and the home crowd were on their feets. He played a wonderful knock scoring 54 from 37 balls, though he was lucky on a few occassions as his edges went past the fielders. Dhoni played an useful knock of 32 from 27 balls, while Morkel made 28 off 16.

The Delhi bowling needs to be credited for the impressive skills they displayed to restrict the Super Kings to a total of 169/6 in 20 overs.

The Daredevils reply to the target was a blistering one. The crowd was mesmerised with the breathtaking innings played by Sehwag, the captain of the Delhi side. Once again the Chidambaram Stadium proved to be his favorite hunting ground as he hammered the chennai attack to pieces. He scored 71 in just 41 balls which included 7 fours and 4 sixes. It was his day and as he has proved time and again, even the likes of Ntini, Morkel and Murlitharan were unable to stop the juggernaut.

Gautam Gambhir gave a good company to his captain and continued with his fine form, scoring yet another 50 from 37 deliveries as the Daredevils cruised past the Chennai total scoring 172/2 in 19 overs.

Virender Sehwag won the Man of the Match award and also the DLF highest sixes award. Gautam Gambhir got to assume the orange cap, becoming the highest scoring batsmen in the league, so far.

The Chennai Super Kings, the Delhi Daredevils and the Rajasthan Royals share the top spot with 4 wins a piece from 5 outings.

Kings XI Punjab beat the Deccan Chargers at Hyderabad

2008-05-02T12:00:00.004+05:30

Kings XI Punjab beat the Deccan Chargers at Hyderabad : A sensible partnership between Shaun Marsh and Mahela Jaywardene steered the visitors, Kings XI to a well deserved win by 7 wickets against the Deccan Chargers. An unbeaten partnership of 81 runs between the two sealed the fate of the match. Deccan Chargers thus lost their fourth match from the five they have played, till date.

The Deccan Chargers tonight batted first and managed to reach a respectable total of 164/8 in 20 overs, though they were 6 down for 98 at one stage of the innings.

An unbeaten knock of 76 off 42 balls, including 10 fours and 2 sixes, by Rohit Sharma was instrumental for the total the Chargers could post.

VVS Laxman was the other major contributer as he provided a reasonable start to the innings scoring 48 off 34 balls. His class was on display with some sweetly timed wristy shots played to perfection. On the other end wickets kept felling at regular intervals and the chargers found themselves in deep trouble as the score read 98/6.

It was then that Rohit Sharma took charge of the innings and dominated the attack playing an amazing knock. His innings readily justified him being slated amongst the best in the lot of budding cricketers, world over.

When the Punjab XI started their reply, they too had on display another greats in the making. Shaun Marsh made his debut in the IPL in a grand style with a memorable unbeaten knock 84 from 62 deliveries smashing 11 fours and a six. He along with Jayawardene ensured that there were no hiccups in their run to the finish post.

Jayawardene played responsibly to remain unbeaten on 45 off 23 with 6 fours and a six. Thus the Kings XI sealed another clinical win to make to the fourth place in the points table.

The Deccan Chargers will surely need a lot of thought when they get on with their upcoming encounters.

Shaun Marsh was awarded with Man of the Match. While Rohit Sharma picked up the DLF highest sixes award.

An interesting encounter is scheduled on Friday between the Delhi Daredevils and Chennai Super Kings, by far the best two teams in the league till date.

Bangalore Royal Challengers fail to make a mark, yet again

2008-05-01T10:26:00.003+05:30

Bangalore Royal Challengers fail to make a mark, yet again : The Royal Challengers lost their fourth match by 10 runs in the IPL against a brilliant all round display of cricketing skills by the Delhi Daredevils.

With the bat, it was Gautam Gambhir who played a dashing knock of 86, while the ball was handled superbly by Glen McGrath as he registered the first four wicket haul of the league.

The toss was won by Rahul Dravid, the captain of the Challengers, and promptly invited the Delhi team to bat first. Dale Styne started the proceedings with a tight first over as if to endorse his captain's decision to bowl first. But Gautam Gambhir quickly responded with three successive fours in the very next over by Zaheer Khan.

Virender Sehwag got desperate to join the party and capitalised the very first opportunity that came his way. The target, once again, was Zaheer whose short pitched delivery was dispatched into the stands over the midwicket. The six was followed by two boundaries and the Daredevils were off to a flying start with the score reading 45 for no loss in four overs.

Sehwag's spree saw a premature end by a direct throw from Ross Taylor shattering the timber. Sehwag had to depart at his personal tally of 24 from 12 balls.

The next to assume crease was Shikhar Dhawan, who continued with his good form. The big hits were the call of the day from Daredevils as Gambhir and Dhavan maintained the pace set by their captain. Dhawan compiled a well made 50 off 33 balls with 4 fours and 3 sixes, before falling to an amazing catch by Dravid diving to his right to grab the ball inches above the ground. Gambhir missed his century when he got out on 86. He has struck an unfaultering form, since the beginning of the tournament.

Delhi Daredevils, thus concluded their innings posting a total of 191/5 in 20 overs, which did seem to be a tough ask for Bangalore, struggling to settle down in the league.

The Royal Challengers reply to the challenging target was initiated with a surprise package in Praveen Kumar as an opener. The gamble failed to yield the desired results as he fell to a McGrath delivery in the first over, itself. Kumar was caught by Dhawan, a simple catch as he tried to flick the ball over midwicket.

Ross Taylor was the next man in, who was once again expected to get the Challenger's innings on track. He promised to continue with the good work he has displayed till date in the tournament by posting a flat six over long leg off the bowling of McGrath. But McGrath had scripted a different story, altogether, as he got his man in the very next over when Taylor tried to slogg a ball in the safe pair of hands that Dhawan could boast off. Jaffer came in a hurry to leave soon in the same over of McGrath.

Rahul Dravid and Jacques Kallis were left with an uphill task. They tried to instill stability by a careful approach without being too adventureous. The tactics would hardly pay off, when one tends to be over cautious in this format of the game. The asking rate climbed swiftly to 10 an over and the alarm rung hard. The risks had to be taken in an inevitable situation. Both Dravid and Kallis struggled hard to get after the bowling, managing, at best to find the fielders on each occassion.

Daniel Vettori created further pressure with an economical spell of bowling which restricted the batsmen from playing big shots. Dravid succumbed to the pressure and got out to McGrath in the sixteenth over off a leading edge to cover. The Royal Challengers needed 52 runs to be scored in the remaining 24 deliveries.

The last over yielded 19 runs and witnessed some splended hitting which only helped to reduce the margin of loss for the Bangalore team. They eventually, ended their endeavour at 181/5 in 20 overs, 10 short of the target.

Shikhar Dhawan picked up the DLF highest sixes award.

A miraculous effort on the part of the Bangalore team is the least required to lift themselves from the bottom of the table as they finished with four losses from their five outings.

The Daredevils have performed well, registering their third win from four matches, till date.

Kings XI Punjab beat Delhi Daredevils

2008-04-27T19:29:00.004+05:30

Kings XI Punjab beat Delhi Daredevils : The Venue is Mohali, the home ground of the Kings XI. The Daredevils won the toss and elected to bat first on the Mohali wicket which invariably offers some assistance to the pace bowlers. VRV Singh exploited the maximum from the wicket and bowled brilliantly to end up with a spell of 3 wickets for 29 runs.

The Delhi Daredevils put up a very mediocre show as none of their batsmen could settle down against a formidable bowling attack of the Kings XI. Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag opened the innings.

Sehwag was the first to go as he got out LBW to a delivery from Irfan Pathan for an individual score of 6. Shikar Dhavan got out on duck with the team score 12/2. Gambhir tried hard to cosolidate the Delhi innings before he was caught by Yuvraj Singh off the bowling of Brett Lee for 18 runs scored of 14 balls.

Shoaib Malik too, contributed in bits as he made 19 off 17. The respite for the Daredevils came from the knocks of Manoj Tiwary, who played sensibly to make 39 from 34 balls and Dinesh Karthik who made 24 off 14.

In the concluding part of the innings Rajat Bhatia and Maharoof scored 17 & 18 respectively. The Daredevils thus managed to crawl upto a total of 158/8 in 20 overs.

In reply, the Kings XI paced their innings well, despite early blows as Karan Goel and Sangakara saw their way back to the pavilion with the score reading 11/2. A good partnership developed between Mahela Jayavardane and Simon Katich before Jayavardene left scoring 15 off 14 deliveries he faced. Katich on the other hand made a brilliant 75 from 52 balls.

The captain Yuvraj singh then took charge of the proceedings and guided Punjab to victory, remaining unbeaten on 40 off 29 which included 3 fours and 2 sixes. The Kings XI surpassed the target ending with 162/6 from 19.3 overs, winning comprehensively by 4 wickets.

Delhi lost their first game in the tournament while Punjab posted their second consecutive win.

Simon Katich was declared Man of the Match.
Yuvraj Singh picked up the award for the highest number of sixes.

A flop show in the clash of Titans

2008-04-26T19:40:00.003+05:30

A flop show in the clash of Titans : The match between the Chennai Super Kings and the Kolkata Knight Riders, which promised a lot ended up as an one sided affair.

Kolkata won the toss for the first time and elected to bat. Sourav Ganguly and Brendon McCullum opened the innings for the Knight Riders. McCullum looked dangerous but failed to last long as he got out on a personal score of 24 from 12 balls which included 2 fours and 2 sixes. Jacob Oram had him caught by Suresh Raina. On the very next delivery Ricky Ponting too got out to a ball from Oram, again caught by Raina.

The Kolkata team never seemed to recover as they kept gifting wickets at regular intervals. Some resistance was offered by Prashant Saha scoring 27 off 16 and by Laxmi Ratan Shukla, who score 42 from 33. The Knight Riders eventually managed to post a total of 147/9 in 20 overs.

The Chennai Super Kings replied brilliantly to a target which did seem to be a tricky one. They started with an opening stand of 66 runs between Parthiv Patel and Mathew Hayden which was the best opening partnership in the tournament, till date. Parthiv got out scoring 21 off 27. His was the only wicket, the Knight Riders could claim.

Hayden remained unbeaten at 70 from 48 balls with 6 fours and 3 sixes. At the other end, Dhoni ensured a smooth sail for the Super Kings scoring an unbeaten 43 off 27 which included 3 fours and 2 sixes. The Super Kings made the target with ease, ending with a tally of 152/1 from 17 overs.

The game thus failed to live up to the expectations.

Jacob Oram was adjudged Man of the Match for his haul of 3 for 32.

The DLF highest sixes award was won by Mathew Hayden.

The underdogs Rajasthan Royals beat Deccan Chargers in a 'Cliff-Hanger'

2008-04-25T08:50:00.004+05:30

The underdogs Rajasthan Royals beat Deccan Chargers in a 'Cliff-Hanger' : The Rajiv Gandhi Stadium at Hyderabad, today produced the best match of the tournament, till date. Rajasthan Royals, slated as underdogs at the beginning of the tournament have pulled out two wins in a row.

Their victory against a formidable side in Deccan Chargers is even more significant as they emerged as the first team to successfully chase a total of 200 plus in the league.

Deccan Chargers went in the match with a strong determination of registering their first win. VVS Laxman, the captain, opened the innings with Adam Gilchrist. They gave a reasonable start to the innings. Gilchrist was the first to depart followed by Afridi and then Laxman. The Chargers had lost 3 wickets for 75 runs in 8.3 overs.

It was thereafter, that the innings gained momentum on the heels of a brilliant partnership that developed between Andrew Symonds and Rohit Sharma. Symonds played gem of an innings scoring a fast paced 117 from 53 balls which included 11 fours and 7 sixes. His innings assisted the Chargers to post a total of 214 for 5 in 20 overs.

The target posted by the Chargers seemed to be a huge one. But Shane Warne and his boys had different ideas. They opened their reply with Kamran Akmal and Greame Smith. Smith hammered the ball all around the ground and laid a strong foundation scoring 71 from 45(9-fours, 2-sixes).

Once he got out, Yusuf Pathan took charge of the innings playing an amazing knock of 61 from just 28 deliveries he faced. He smashed the Deccan bowling attack with an attidude which spared very little mercy and hit 4 fours and 6 sixes.

The target was still not visible when Pathan departed and Mohammed Kaif was compelled to fetch his form, which he did very commendably by scoring 34 off 16.

The captain Shane Warne was left with the task of finishing the innings as the finish post seemed to be eluding. To his credit he pulled out a knock of 22 hitting 2 sixes in the final two deliveries.

The Royals thus, won the second encounter in a row in their third outing.

Yusuf Pathan was declared Man of the Match. The DLF sixes award was begged by Andrew Symonds.

The Super kings from Chennai beat the Mumbai Indians in a nail-biting encounter

2008-04-24T10:43:00.003+05:30

The Super kings from Chennai beat the Mumbai Indians in a nail-biting encounter : The 8th match of the Indian Premier League was an absorbing game between the Chennai Super Kings and the Mumbai Indians. Mumbai Indians had to bow out for the second time in a row.

The Super Kings batting first posted a total of 208/5 in 20 overs. Pathiv Patel and Mathew Hayden opened the innings for Chennai and started with some fireworks from the word go.

Parthiv was the first to get out on an individual score of 14 from 11 deliveries he faced. It was Hayden who took charge of the Super Kings innings. He scored prolifically diplaying his unmatched batting skills on the home ground. His knock of 81 from 46 balls with 12 fours and 2 sixes laid the foundation for the Chennai win. He got run out from a brilliant throw of Harbhajan Singh. But by then he had created a launch pad for the batsmen to follow.

Suresh Raina hammered 54 off 37 balls comprising of 3 fours and 3 sixes in the able company of his captain Mahendrasingh Dhoni who pulled out a knock of 30 from 16. The Super kings cocluded their innings to set a target of 209.

The reply from Mumbai Indians was spearheaded by Robin Uthappa, with his fantastic knock of 43 runs from 36 balls. Bravo followed with an innings of quickfire 24 just when it seemed that the target was getting beyond the reach for the Indians.

Brilliant efforts by Abhishek Nayer and Harbhajan Singh enabled the Mumbai innings to reach closer to the eluding target. Nayar showed a lot of promise with an innings of 45 off 20, while Harbhajan played a captain's knock of 28 off 14 smashing 3 towering sixes.

The win was however, destined for the Super Kings as the Mumbai Indians fell short by a very small margin of six runs to finish with a total of 202/7 in 20 overs.

Mathew Hayden was adjudged Man of the Match. The DLF highest sixes award was shared by Suresh Raina and Harbhajan Singh.

Chennai Super kings thus remained unbeaten in the two outings till date, while the Mumbai Indians have lost both their games failing to register any point in the point table.

A thunderstorm 'Sehwag' blows the Deccan Chargers hopes

2008-04-23T09:21:00.006+05:30

A thunderstorm 'Sehwag' blows the Deccan Chargers hopes : An explosive knock from Virendra Sehwag, the captain of the Delhi Daredevils, left everyone spell-bounded as he blew past the target set by the Chargers. In a fascinating night of cricket, it was the Sehwag magic that prevailed all around.

The Deccan Chargers tonight played first on a track which visibly seemed to be flat, but did provide some juice for the pacers. Adam Gilchrist and Venugopal Rao opened the innings for the Chargers. They failed to give a desired start to the Chargers on their home ground against brilliant spells of bowling by Glen McGrath and M Asif.

Gilchrist fell early to an Asif in cutter as he edged the ball onto his stumps to be bowled for a score of 8. VVS Laxman, the Chargers captain, followed the footsteps of Gilchrist as he too got bowled by Asif for 2. Rao and Symonds, on the other hand, struggled to stay on the wicket but were both dismissed successively by the Sri Lankan pacer F Maharoof.

Ultimately, it was Rohit Sharma who came to the Chargers rescue with some exquisite display of strokeplay to score a quickfire 66 off 36 balls which included 6 fours and 4 sixes. The Chargers eventually, managed to post a total of 142 for 8 in their 20 overs.

The target of 143 did seem to be tricky and was slated to be enough by the experts looking at the way the wicket was behaving.

But Virender Sehwag came out with a different script, altogether. He led the Daredevils from the front and opened the innings with Gambhir. Sehwag looked to be in a hurry to wrap up the proceedings.

He, ruthlessly, tore the Chargers attack apart and blasted with an unbeaten knock of 94 in just 41 deliveries he faced, which included 10 fours and 6 sixes. Andrew Symonds was the biggest victim of the Sehwag's onslaught. His one over fetched Sehwag, 30 runs comprising of 3 sixers and 3 fours.

A fascinating script unfolded on the Hyderabad soil as the Daredevils wrapped up their victory, in a grand style, in just 13 overs.

Virender Sehwag was adjudged the undisputed winner of the Man of the Match award and the DLF highest sixes award. Sehwag, incidentally became the first Indian player to win the Man Of the Match award in the Indian Premier League.

This win promoted the Delhi Daredevils to the second spot in the points table.

Rajasthan Royals register their first win in the IPL

2008-04-22T00:04:00.002+05:30

Rajasthan Royals register their first win in the IPL : The venue was the Sawai Mansingh Stadium Jaipur, where the sixth match of the Indian Premier League was played between the Rajasthan Royals and the Kings XI, Punjab. The Royals registered their first victory beating the King's XI by six wickets.

Kings XI won the toss and elected to bat first. K Goel and J Hopes opened the innings. Goel chipped in with an innings of 26 runs from 21 balls which included 3 fours and 2 sixes. He failed to last long and got out clean bold by M Patel.

Thereafter, Sangakara scored 20 off 8 deliveries, but he too fell early getting Caught & bowled by a clever delivery from Shane Warne.

The responsibility of providing stability to the Punjab innings came onto the able shoulders of Yuvraj Singh, the captain of the side. He played a scintilating knock of 57 off 34 balls with 6 fours and 3 sixes before he got out LBW to Shane Warne. However, Yuvraj was lucky to survive the two chances spilled by the Royals.

Towards the end of the Punjab innings, Piyush Chawla gave an able stand to his captain and went on to score an unbeaten 24 from just 11 balls, he faced. Eventually, the Kings XI concluded with a total of 166/8 in 20 overs.

For the hosts S warne, the captain took 3 wickets, while Siddharth Trivedi impressed all with his 2 wicket haul. Patel and Salunkhe shared one wicket a piece.

The Rajasthan Royals began with a some what shaky start as their top order failed to provide a partnership worth noting. It was the innings of S Watson which stopped the game slipping out of the Royal's hands. He made a brilliant 79 off 49 balls with 5 fours and 5 sixes and remained unbeaten, ensuring his side registered its first win in the tournament.

R Jadeja provided company scoring an unbeaten 36 off 25 smashing 5 fours and a six. The Rajasthan Royals ended with a total of 168/4 in 18.1 overs, winning Comfortably.

The award for the DLF highest sixes was bagged by S Watson.

In retrospect, it is high time the Punjab Kings XI rectified their shortcomings or would face the danger of an early debacle in the league.

Bangalore Royal Challengers beat Mumbai Indians in a closely fought tie

2008-04-21T10:35:00.002+05:30

Bangalore Royal Challengers beat Mumbai Indians in a closely fought tie : The Royal Challengers today registered their first victory beating the Mumbai Indians by 5 wickets in a close finish at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai.

The Mumbai Indians went in the game without their skipper Sachin Tendulkar, who was unfit, and Harbhajan Singh took charge of the team.

The Mumbai Indians batted first with Sanath Jayasuriya and Luke Ronchi opening the innings. Jayasuriya made a quickfire 29 off 16 balls blasting 5 fours and 1 six. He got himself run out by a brilliant throw from Zaheer Khan, gathering the ball on his follow through and shattering the 'timber' on the non striking end.

Another important contribution came from the bat of Robin Uthappa with a personal tally of 48 runs from 38 balls with 5 fours and a six. Shaun Pollock concluded the innings with a firing knock of 28 off just 12 deliveries including 3 fours and 2 sixes.

The Mumbai Indians thus managed to finish with a reasonably competitive total of 165/6 in 20 overs. Zaheer Khan and Balachandra Akhil took 2 wickwets each, while Praveen Kumar took 1 wicket for the Challengers.

In reply to the target set by the Mumbai Indians, the Bangalore Royal Challengers made a decent start with the captain leading from the front, scoring 32 off 33 balls and setting the momentum of the innings.

Each of the batsmen took up the responsibility and contributed their share in a well deserved victory. Ross Taylor and Virat Kohli with 23 runs a piece and Kallis with 25 were the important knocks.

However, it was the innings of Mark Boucher who remained unbeaten with 39 runs from 19 balls (2-six, 4-fours), which saw them home with a close win by 5 wickets.

Mark Boucher was rewarded by the Man of the Match award.

The DLF sixes award was shared between Boucher, Pollock and Taylor (2 sixes a piece)

Kolkata Knight Riders beat the Deccan Chargers to clinch their second consecutive win

2008-04-20T21:55:00.002+05:30

Kolkata Knight Riders beat the Deccan Chargers to clinch their second consecutive win : In a thrilling game played at the Eden Gardens the Kolkata Knight Riders clinched their second consecutive win, beating a formidable side in Deccan Chargers by five wickets.

VVS Laxman won the toss for the Chargers and elected to bat first on a track with an uneven bounce and offering assistence to the bowlers from the word go. Adam Gilchrist and Venugopal Rao opened the Deccan innings. Gilchrist scored briskly but was unable to last long as he fell at a personal tally of 23 off 22 balls.

Apart from Gilchrist, Andrew Symonds, his Australian teammate was the only one to make some impression under the testing conditions. His knock of 32 from 39 deliveries helped the Chargers cross the 100 mark to end up with a total score of 110/10 from 18.4 overs.

Murli Kartik with three and Agarkar with two were the leading wicket takers for the Knight Riders.

The Knight Riders reply was paced brilliantly as they displayed their skill to bat on a tough surface. David Hussey's unbeaten knock of 38 from 43 deliveries guided the Kolkata innings, surpassing the target to end up with 112/5 in 19 overs.

Thus it was a closely fought encounter in which the Knight Riders once again proved that they are amongst the best teams in the Indian Premier League.

Delhi Daredevils Trounce Rajasthan Royals

2008-04-20T11:42:00.003+05:30

Delhi Daredevils Trounce Rajasthan Royals : The second match of the day and third of the tournament was played at the Ferozeshah Kotla, Delhi.

The Daredevils from Delhi trounced the Royals of Rajasthan by nine wickets. For Delhi, Gautam Gambhir made a brisk 58 n.o. off 46 balls with 7 fours and a six, while Shikhar Dhavan scored an unbeaten 52 from 41 deliveries. The daredevils crused past the Royal's tally of 129/8, finishing with 132/1 in 15.1 overs.

Earlier a fine bowling display by the Daredevils restricted the Royals to a modest total. The visitors never seemed to settle down in their innings as the highest partnership registered was of 22 runs for the seventh wicket which too, came in the concluding overs of their innings.

Schedule for the matches on April 20, Sunday.

Kolkata Knight Riders V/S. Deccan Chargers at Kolkata - 16.00 Hrs(IST)

Mumbai Indians V/S. Bangalore Royal Challengers at Mumbai - 20.00 Hrs(IST)

Chennai Super Kings open their account beating Punjab Kings XI

2008-04-20T11:02:00.003+05:30

Chennai Super Kings open their accounts beating Punjab Kings XI : The second day of the Indian Premier League witnessed the fastest century scored in the T20 format as Michael Hussey blasted an unbeaten 116 off 54 balls, smashing 8 fours and 9 sixes.

Hussey's ton set the pace of the game with the Chennai Super Kings registering a score of 240/5 in 20 overs. Suresh Raina's 32 off 13 balls and S Badrinath's 31 off 13 deliveries were the other notable knocks of the innings.

The seemingly formidable bowling attack of the Punjab team with the likes of Bret Lee, Hopes, Sreesanth and Irfan Pathan was torn apart with the sheer brilliance displayed by Hussey.

Punjab Kings XI reply to the huge target was formidable as Hopes registered the fastest half century, going on to finish with a personal score of 71 in 33 balls. K sangakara made 54 off 33 deliveries as the Kings XI struggled hard to achieve the set target. However, the target eventually proved to be unbeatable as they managed to finish 33 runs short with a total of 207/4 in 20 overs.

Michael Hussey was adjudged the Man of the Match.

Kolkata Knight Riders Crush Bangalore Royal Challengers

2008-04-19T12:27:00.002+05:30

Kolkata Knight Riders Crush Bangalore Royal Challengers : A grand openning of the Indian Premier League at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium marked the commencement of a new era in the game of Cricket.

The first match saw the Kolkata Knight Riders posting a massive total of 222/3 in the stipulated 20 overs. Brendon Mcmullum played a stunning knock of 158 n.o. setting a new record of a highest individual score in the T20 format. His innings included 13 sixes and 10 fours. Mcmullum picked up the man of the match award along with the DLF maximum sixes award.

The breathtaking knock left no option for the Royal Challengers but to go hammer and tongs from the first delivery of their innings.

The Royal Challangers response failed to match the reputation of the greats like Kallis and Dravid. Their innings was proved to be of no match to that of the Riders and they were eventually bundled out for a meagre total of 82/10 in 15.1 overs.

For the Knight Riders Ishant Sharma took 1 wicket, while Agarkar picked up 3 and Ganguly finished with 2 wickets as Bangalore fell short by 140 runs.

It was a pleasing site to see the players of different nationalities intermingling with each other as an unit in both teams. IPL, surely provides a platform for the international players to play together as a team and to develop respect for each other.

The next fixtures on April 19, will feature
Kings XI Punjab V/S. Chennai Super Kings and
Delhi Daredevils V/S. Rajasthan Royals.

Happy Viewing.

Indian Premier League Ushers Cricket into a New Era

2008-04-18T10:33:00.005+05:30

Indian Premier League Ushers Cricket into a New Era : The world is to witness the commencement of a new era in the game of Cricket as the Indian Premier League (IPL) takes off on April 18,2008.

The 59 game event which is scheduled to be played over a period of 44 days has already attracted $2 billion in Franchise fees, television rights and sponsorships, even before the first ball is bowled. The T20 format, which has gained in popularity in a short span of under five years, has been adopted for the tournament.

The competition has recieved recognition from the International Cricket Council(ICC) and will feature privately owned teams instead of those representing national or local Cricket associations. It has been planned on the lines of Football Leagues in Europe and Baseball Leagues in the US which rate high on popularity and involves huge money.

Sony Entertainment Television India Ltd and the Singapore based World Sports Group have bought the television rights for $918 million for a period of ten years. The title sponsorship has been bagged by DLF for $50 million.

The tournament opener tonight will feature Bangalore Royal Challengers led by Rahul Dravid and the Kolkata Knight Riders captained by Saurav Ganguly. The 55000 capacity Chinnaswamy Stadium at Bangalore is believed to be sold out for the opening fixture.

Ganguly's squad has the likes of Ricky Ponting and Chris Gayle to boast off while Bangalore has Jacques Kallis and Mark Boucher on its roster.

The winners of the Finals slated to be played on June 1 will take home a prize money of $1.2 million.

The T20 format has climbed the popularity chart very swiftly due to its result oriented format which concludes in three hours, in contrast to the other forms of the game spanning the whole day or as much as five days.

The game is believed to be an ideal contender for the promotion of the game worldwide. It would also appeal to other countries looking to adopt the game.

Contrary to various arguments raised against the new format and the league system, there are reasons to believe that the three versions of the game can co-exist together. In fact, the T20 version is set to gain grounds round the world at a brisk pace.

Let us all wish the very best for this our beloved and the great game of Cricket.

India Crosses the South African Total.

2008-04-12T21:29:00.003+05:30

India Crosses the South African Total : In reply to the South African's 1st innings score of 265, India today, fought back bravely to finish the day with 288/9 after a gruelling day's game.

The Indian middle order managed to chip in a few valuable partnerships, under testing conditions to gain a slender lead on the second day of the Kanpur test. Saurav Ganguly led the Indian fightback with an attacking innings of 87 which could eventually prove to be a deciding factor in the outcome of the final result.

The Indians, however, would hope their last wicket partnership to add a few more runs. The condition of the pitch is deteriorating rapidly and each run added to the tally will add to the Indian confidence.

For South Africa, Morkel and Styne bowled brilliant spells to trouble the Indian batting.

Tommorow is going to be a crucial day of the test and would be an influencing day in deciding the fate of the game.

A day of mixed fortunes for India and South Africa.

2008-04-11T18:30:00.003+05:30

A day of mixed fortunes for India and South Africa : The first day of the final test match between India and South Africa being played at the Green Park, Kanpur saw the fortunes swinging either way between the two sides.

It was a fantastic day of Cricket in which the first one and a half session belonged to the South Africans, while the second half of the second session saw a reversal of fortunes for the Indians. They were able to make a comback in the game as they snatched wickets in quick succession.

Thereafter, there was no looking back as the hosts bowled well to pick wickets at regular intervals. Ishant Sharma and Harbhajan Singh took three wickets each to restrict the South Africans to a score of 265/10 in 87.3 overs at stumps.

The South Africans failed to capitalise on the brilliant start provided by the two openers Neil Mckenzie(36) and Graeme Smith(69). Hashim Amla followed with a knock of 51, but the rest failed to prove their worth against the Indian Attack.

It still needs to be mentioned here that though Indians might feel satisfied with their first days performance, the total posted by South Africa seems to be a decent one. This, considering the pitch condition which promises a great deal for the bowlers as the match progresses.

The Indian batsmen will have to perform exceedingly well and will have to ensure that the South Africans do not snatch away the advantage that the Indian bowlers have provided.

The Kanpur test is poised for a good contest between the two sides.