2009 Indian Premier League Twenty20 - Cricket
 

IPL juggernaut rolls on

17 April, 2009

Shane Warne An Indian domestic competition played in South Africa, featuring Australians and big dollars?

If anyone had predicted that several years ago they'd either have lost all their credibility or be running the IPL.

The initial wow factor has been lost from the IPL, now in its second running, but there will be more than just passing curiosity in this year's tournament, which begins in Cape Town on Saturday.

How the competition is received in South Africa, this year's host due to fears over player safety in India while it is in election mode, is just one of many talking points.

Twenty20 cricket is tailor-made for night. It is the showbiz arm of the game. It's loud, there's bright lights, Bollywood stars and starlets and plenty of X-factor. What's more, it's great TV.

But the decision to make sure the matches are held in friendly hours for Indian TV means that every match will start in daylight in South Africa.

Several players have already bemoaned the expected loss of atmosphere as a result of the tournament being moved from cricket-mad India, but their six-figure salaries will offer some solace.

The big losers will be the fans and TV audiences, unless our South African brethren display their love for the game in a manner hitherto unseen in that country.

Australians wanting to watch the matches better enter the 21st century. ONE - Network Ten's new 24-hour free-to-air sports channel which is available only on High Definition TV - is the only place to watch it.

Even with the Australian side on tour in the UAE and several big names sitting out the competition to rest ahead of a busy winter schedule, there'll still be a strong Australian flavour in the IPL.

There's 32 players and coaches involved in the eight franchises.

Shane Warne, captain-coach of inaugural champions Rajasthan Royals, is back as are fellow international retirees Glenn McGrath (Delhi Daredevils), Matthew Hayden (Chennai Super Kings) and Adam Gilchrist (Deccan Chargers).

Shane Watson (Rajasthan Royals), Andrew McDonald (Delhi Daredevils), Brad Hodge and David Hussey (Kolkata Knight Riders) head a list of Ashes aspirants involved.

Then there's Symonds (Deccan), and India's favourite Australian Brett Lee (Kings XI Punjab), who will both be proving their fitness for England after undergoing surgery in recent months.

The biggest name, however, is Warne, arguably the greatest cricketer the world has seen since Don Bradman.

Despite being months away from his 40th birthday, that won't stop Warne from showing the young bucks how it's done.

Only Warne could turn the IPL's cheapest playing roster, which included once bitter enemy Graeme Smith, into a champion team. That done without the aid of a coach, such little respect does Warne have for such people.

Should he continue to star, don't be surprised if the champion leg-spinner again has to deflect rumours he's coming out of retirement. They are sure to surface in the build-up to the Ashes.

With countries yet to finalise their squads for the ICC World Twenty20 on the horizon, there's more than just big bucks on the line.

Players such as Moises Henriques, David Warner, Shane Harwood and Robert Quiney are several relatively unheralded Australians who can feature prominently in selections discussions for the tournament in England with strong showings in the IPL.

Australians in the IPL

Bangalore Royal Challengers: Cameron White, Nathan Bracken

Kolkata Knight Riders: John Buchanan (coach), Brad Hodge, David Hussey, Mark Cameron, Moises Henriques

Kings XI Punjab: Tom Moody (coach), Brett Lee, Burt Cockley, James Hopes, Luke Pomersbach, Shaun Marsh, Simon Katich

Chennai Super Kings: George Bailey, Matthew Hayden

Delhi Daredevils: Greg Shipperd (coach), Andrew McDonald, David Warner, Dirk Nannes, Glenn McGrath

Rajasthan Royals: Shane Warne (captain/coach), Lee Carseldine, Robert Quiney, Shane Harwood, Shane Watson, Shaun Tait

Mumbai Indians: Luke Ronchi

Deccan Chargers: Darren Lehmann (coach), Adam Gilchrist, Andrew Symonds, Ryan Harris

Indian Premier League 2009 Fixtures
 

Date Home Team Away Team Venue
Apr 18, 2009 Mumbai Indians Chennai Super Kings Cape Town
Apr 18, 2009 Rajasthan Royals Bangalore Royal Challengers Cape Town
Apr 19, 2009 Delhi Daredevils Kings XI Punjab Cape Town
Apr 19, 2009 Kolkata Knight Riders Deccan Chargers Cape Town
Apr 20, 2009 Bangalore Royal Challengers Chennai Super Kings Port Elizabeth
Apr 21, 2009 Kolkata Knight Riders Kings XI Punjab Durban
Apr 21, 2009 Rajasthan Royals Mumbai Indians Durban
Apr 22, 2009 Bangalore Royal Challengers Deccan Chargers Cape Town
Apr 23, 2009 Chennai Super Kings Delhi Daredevils Durban
Apr 23, 2009 Kolkata Knight Riders Rajasthan Royals Port Elizabeth
Apr 24, 2009 Kings XI Punjab Bangalor Royal Challangers Durban
Apr 25, 2009 Deccan Chargers Mumbai Indians Durban
Apr 25, 2009 Kolkata Knight Riders Chennai Super Kings Cape Town
Apr 26, 2009 Bangalore Royal Challengers Delhi Daredevils Port Elizabeth
Apr 26, 2009 Rajasthan Royals Kings XI Punjab Cape Town
Apr 27, 2009 Chennai Super Kings Deccan Chargers Durban
Apr 27, 2009 Kolkata Knight Riders Mumbai Indians Port Elizabeth
Apr 28, 2009 Delhi Daredevils Rajasthan Royals Centurion
Apr 29, 2009 Kolkata Knight Riders Bangalore Royal Challengers Durban
Apr 29, 2009 Mumbai Indians Kings XI Punjab
Apr 30, 2009 Kolkata Knight Riders Bangalore Royal Challengers Durban
Apr 30, 2009 Rajasthan Royals Chennai Super Kings Centurion
May 01, 2009 Mumbai Indians Kolkata Knight Riders East London
May 01, 2009 Bangalore Royal Challengers Kings XI Punjab Durban
May 02, 2009 Rajasthan Royals Deccan Chargers Port Elizabeth
May 02, 2009 Rajasthan Royals Delhi Daredevils Johannesburg
May 03, 2009 Kings XI Punjab Kolkata Knight Riders Port Elizabeth
May 03, 2009 Mumbai Indians Bangalore Royal Challengers Johannesburg
May 04, 2009 Deccan Chargers Chennai Super Kings East London
May 05, 2009 Kings XI Punjab Rajasthan Royals Durban
May 05, 2009 Delhi Daredevils Kolkata Knight Riders Durban
May 06, 2009 Mumbai Indians Deccan Chargers Centurion
May 07, 2009 Bangalore Royal Challengers Deccan Chargers Centurion
May 07, 2009 Kings XI Punjab Chennai Super Kings Durban
May 08, 2009 Delhi Daredevils Mumbai Indians East London
May 09, 2009 Deccan Chargers Kings XI Punjab Kimberley
May 09, 2009 Chennai Super Kings Rajasthan Royals Kimberley
May 10, 2009 Bangalore Royal Challengers Mumbai Indians Port Elizabeth
May 10, 2009 Kolkata Knight Riders Delhi Daredevils Johannesburg
May 11, 2009 Deccan Chargers Rajasthan Royals Kimberley
May 12, 2009 Bangalore Royal Challengers Kolkata Knight Riders Centurion
May 12, 2009 Kings XI Punjab Mumbai Indians Centurion
May 13, 2009 Deccan Chargers Delhi Daredevils Durban
May 14, 2009 Chennai Super Kings Bangalore Royal Challengers Durban
May 14, 2009 Mumbai Indians Rajasthan Royals Durban
May 15, 2009 Kings XI Punjab Delhi Daredevils Bloemfontein
May 16, 2009 Chennai Super Kings Mumbai Indians Port Elizabeth
May 16, 2009 Deccan Chargers Kolkata Knight Riders Johannesburg
May 17, 2009 Kings XI Punjab Deccan Chargers Johannesburg
May 17, 2009 Rajasthan Royals Delhi Daredevils Bloemfontein
May 18, 2009 Chennai Super Kings Kolkata Knight Riders Centurion
May 19, 2009 Delhi Daredevils Bangalore Royal Challengers Johannesburg
May 20, 2009 Rajasthan Royals Kolkata Knight Riders Durban
May 20, 2009 Chennai Super Kings Chennai Super Kings Durban
May 21, 2009 Mumbai Indians Delhi Daredevils Centurion
May 21, 2009 Deccan Chargers Bangalore Royal Challengers Centurion
May 22, 2009 TBA TBA Centurion (Semi Final 1)
May 23, 2009 TBA TBA Johannesburg (Semi Final 2)
May 24, 2009 TBA TBA Johannesburg (Final)

Chennai Super Kings v Mumbai Indians, IPL, Cape Town
 

Tendulkar's experience sets up Mumbai's win

April 17, 2009

Mumbai Indians 166 for 7 (Tendulkar 59*, Nayar 35) beat Chennai Super Kings 145 for 7 (Hayden 44, Malinga 3-15) by 19 runs

In the first match of the IPL in 2008, Brendon McCullum smashed an unbeaten 158 from just 73 balls to set up a crushing win for his side. A year later, as season two got underway across the Indian Ocean in different conditions and under grey skies, Sachin Tendulkar batted 20 overs for an unbeaten 59 from 49 balls. It was as valuable as McCullum's blitzkrieg, if utterly different in execution and appeal, for it came on a track not entirely conducive to batting and laid the platform for Mumbai Indians' victory.

Stumbling and bumbling, Mumbai managed to put together a competitive total after the core of their vaunted batting struggled to cope with the uneven bounce at Newlands. There were few fireworks from the big bats and the team owed plenty to the vast experience of Tendulkar, who absorbed the pressure superbly. Where Chennai's pacers were tidy in restricting runs during the middle stages of Mumbai's innings, it was the spinners Harbhajan Singh and Sanath Jayasuriya who derailed Chennai. They varied their pace and reined in the big hitters before Lasith Malinga kept the tail under control.

The pre-match drizzle in cloudy Cape Town influenced MS Dhoni's decision to field on a damp pitch, and though Mumbai's opening partnership yielded 39 in 5.4 overs, it wasn't convincing. Jayasuriya slashed and swiped and survived a run-out before he mowed fellow Sri Lankan Thilan Thushara to midwicket for 26. The ball didn't come on to the bat, as was evident in Tendulkar's frequent grimaces and constant shuffling to manoeuvre the bowling. Tendulkar attempted and connected with a few risky shots over the infield and was dropped on 10 by Matthew Hayden at first slip, off a leading edge induced by Andrew Flintoff.

Play was then held up for 12 minutes when a dog found its way onto the field. Failing to be enticed by whistles, calls, dives and even an inviting snack, the canine intruder got bored and finally trudged away. After the resumption Chennai's bowlers made swift inroads.

Shikhar Dhawan struggled for fluency and was undone by the slow bounce as he top-edged Manpreet Gony. Gony then held on to a sharp reflex catch to get JP Duminy with a clever bouncer in his next over and, taking the cue, Joginder Sharma dropped short and had Dwayne Bravo pulling to deep square leg. It was proof that the short-pitched ball can work well on such tracks. With Tendulkar keeping one end up, Abhishek Nayar walked out and played an invaluable cameo that provided a late push. Nayar larruped Flintoff for three sixes in a 22-run over in his 14-ball 35, while Tendulkar kept the innings alive by batting through the 20 overs. That 46-run partnership would prove decisive.

Chennai's chase was dented in the first over when Parthiv Patel steered Malinga to Tendulkar at slip. Suresh Raina caressed an impressive boundary in Zaheer Khan's first over but fell in the next, pulling Bravo to deep square leg where Rohan Raje made a difficult chance look easy. Malinga was tight, and Tendulkar showed the value of taking pace off the ball as a run-checking tactic by bringing on spinners at both ends, as Chennai's batsmen remained restless.

And as long as there is limited-overs cricket there will linger the prospect of the spinners' choking the opposition during the middle overs, especially when an Indian and a Sri Lankan are bowling. Today Harbhajan and Jayasuriya did that job. Flintoff didn't last long against Harbhajan, going for a wild swipe and popping back an easy catch.

Hayden - who bullied young medium-pacer Raje for three successive fours and drilled his old friend Harbhajan for a straight six - chased a wide one from Jayasuriya and picked out a diving Zaheer at cover. Jacob Oram then perished to an ugly slog against Jayasuriya, leaving Dhoni with plenty to do.

Dhoni swung his bat freely but the rest perished with a whimper. Malinga gave away nothing and his crafty yorkers and reverse-swinging variations netted him excellent figures of 3 for 15 from four parsimonious overs.

The crowd had filed in two hours ahead of the toss in gloomy conditions, and by the end of the first game of a double-header day they'd seen the weather clear and the ball go past the boundary several times. Mumbai celebrated the win animatedly in front of a healthy crowd - it wasn't exactly a boisterous Wankhede cauldron, but the IPL thinktank has reason to smile after the tournament opener.

Bangalore Royal Challengers v Rajasthan Royals, IPL, Cape Town
 

Rajasthan humbled after inept batting

April 18, 2009

Bangalore Royal Challengers 133 for 8 (Dravid 66, Mascarenhas 3-20) beat Rajasthan Royals 58 (Kumble 5-5) by 75 runs

A charged-up Bangalore Royal Challengers produced the sort of performance for which franchise owner Vijay Mallya splashed the big bucks to bundle out Rajasthan Royals to the second-lowest total in Twenty20 history. There may be plenty of fresh faces but it was the old hands, Rahul Dravid and Anil Kumble, who were the stars in Bangalore's massive victory. Dravid was the most assured batsman on display, making a polished half-century, while Kumble took the most economic five-wicket haul in Twenty20s to clean up Rajasthan.

Rajasthan lost their last five wickets for 11 runs to slide to an embarrassing defeat. Such an abject end was in stark contrast to their start: Dimitri Mascarenhas scalping two big wickets in the very first over to rock Bangalore, before Shane Warne's bag of tricks kept them to what seemed a gettable 133.

The performance from Bangalore's bowlers was unidentifiable from the limp showing against a marauding Brendon McCullum in their season-opener last year. Rajasthan had a galaxy of savage hitters but they were stifled to such an extent that the entire innings had only two sixes and a solitary four.

Praveen Kumar revelled in conditions which assisted him, dislodging the openers Swapnil Asnodkar and Graeme Smith. The shot selection from Rajasthan was cringeworthy, none more so than Asnodkar's wild swing in the first over which ended up in Virat Kohli's hands at point to start the slide. Niraj Patel struggled to find any rhythm while Tyron Henderson was shackled by the short ball from Praveen and Dale Steyn.

Rajasthan were stuttering at 26 for 3 after seven overs, but it was still an even game. The match was transformed in the next over, when Henderson and Mascarenhas were dismissed off consecutive delivers in the eighth over. Henderson was tricked by a slower ball from Jesse Ryder, and Mascarenhas was run out when he refused to take no for an answer after calling Yusuf Pathan for a single.

Half the side was gone, and the run-rate was soaring into double digits. In short, Rajasthan's chase was up in smoke. Kumble was then brought into the attack and his double-strike that lured Pathan and Ravindra Jadeja into false shots extinguished any lingering hopes.

It had been so different when Mascarenhas, getting the ball to dart around, dispatched the New Zealand pair of Jesse Ryder and Ross Taylor with his first three balls. Bangalore were gasping at 17 for 3 after five overs.

Kevin Pietersen, charged by Mallya with the duty of turning around Bangalore's form, was rarely troubled during his stay and, in Dravid's company, set about reviving Bangalore. They had collected an unfussy 35 runs, aided by a lightning outfield, before Pietersen mistimed a pull to a diving Niraj at midwicket.

Dravid, in the familiar role of repairing top-order collapses, calmly picked up the singles to keep the score ticking. He needed the rest to play around him, but they were bamboozled by Warne's variations. Kohli was beaten and bowled by one that drifted and dipped, while B Akhil had no reply to a classic ripping legspinner.

Dravid remained his composed self, playing a mix of orthodox and inventive strokes, to lift Bangalore. His trademark on-drive and favoured inside-out lofted drives were on view but he also mixed in some cheeky paddle-sweeps. Dravid was dismissed in the final over, foxed by a change of pace from Munaf Patel, but his 48-ball 66 had given his side's bowlers a total to defend.

The game ended in humiliation for Rajasthan, but as Warne pointed out, they started out their previous campaign with a similarly disastrous game, before scripting the fairytale run to the title.

Delhi Daredevils v Kings XI Punjab, IPL, Cape Town
 

Vettori stars in Delhi's rain-affected win
April 18, 2009

Delhi Daredevils 54 for 0 (Sehwag 38*) beat Kings XI Punjab 104 for 7 (Goel 38, Vettori 3-15) by ten wickets

Frequent showers ruined the first match of Sunday's double-header in Cape Town, reducing the target required by Delhi Daredevils to only 54 in six overs, a goal they reached with all wickets intact. The victory, however, was set up by Daniel Vettori's remarkable spell which brought an abrupt halt to Kings XI Punjab's burgeoning momentum and gave Delhi a manageable target to chase.


The game was first reduced to 14 overs a side, and then to 12, and the boundaries were shortened to exclude wet parts of the outfield. The pre-match conditions - overcast skies and a green-tinged pitch - indicated that the fast bowlers would find assistance at Newlands and Delhi packed their side with four seamers. However, their inexperienced new-ball attack - Delhi left out Glenn McGrath - struggled to contain the Kings XI Punjab openers, Karan Goel and Ravi Bopara, who raced to 67 in the first six overs.


Sehwag used his fast bowlers in one-over spells before the tactical time-out but turned to Vettori, the No. 1 spinner in Twenty20 internationals, soon after to stem the run-flow. Vettori had immediate success, trapping Bopara lbw with a straighter one, and bowled flat and straight, conceding only one run off his first over. Victoria fast bowler Dirk Nannes bowled another economical over to two new batsmen - Kumar Sangakkara and Yuvraj Singh - before holding a well-judged catch at short fine-leg off Sangakkara's top-edged sweep to give Vettori his second wicket.

With only three overs to go, Yuvraj found his timing, clouting Nannes and Vettori for sixes over wide long-on and midwicket. Just when Yuvraj seemed to be making a push towards a 120-plus score, Mahela Jayawardene called for an ill-advised run and Vettori broke the stumps with Yuvraj well short at the bowler's end. Punjab then lost two more wickets within the space of three balls - Jayawardene was caught at long-off off Vettori and Piyush Chawla was run out without facing a ball. Vettori finished with 3 for 15 and was instrumental in pulling Punjab back to 104 for 7.

Gautam Gambhir gave Delhi an ideal start by driving Irfan Pathan over cover and flicking through midwicket for boundaries. Thereafter, however, it was all Sehwag. He flicked his first ball, from Yusuf Abdulla, over fine leg for six and lofted his second to the long-on boundary. The drizzle that had been around from the half-way point of Punjab's innings grew stronger and forced the players off with Delhi on 24 for 0 after 1.5 overs. When play resumed, Delhi needed only 31 more off 25 balls. Sehwag drove the first ball after the resumption firmly to the long-off boundary and effectively ended any slim hopes of a Punjab victory.

Deccan Chargers v Kolkata Knight Riders, IPL, Cape Town
 

Tidy Deccan overwhelm Kolkata

April 19, 2009

Deccan Chargers 104 for 2 (Gibbs 43*, Rohit 36*) beat Kolkata Knight Riders 101 (RP Singh 4-22) by eight wickets

Could the script have been any different from last year's start for the Kolkata Knight Riders? Brendon McCullum's intoxicating 158 had taken them to an enormous victory a year ago, but they were outplayed by an efficient Deccan Chargers outfit on a juicy pitch in Cape Town. It has been a weekend to savour for bowlers, and each member of Deccan's attack did their bit to leave Kolkata scrambling to reach triple-digits. Herschelle Gibbs, coming off a triumphant series against Australia, and Rohit Sharma, back in the country where he made his name in 2007, then made sure Deccan's campaign didn't begin in the dismal way last season's had.

Kolkata had packed their batting with foreign players, but it wasn't enough to prevent a hapless batting performance. Their formidable top order was handcuffed by Deccan's new-ball bowlers. Fidel Edwards was fast and frugal - consistently around the 140kph mark, he gave away only six runs, the lowest conceded in a completed IPL spell - and RP Singh evicted the Kolkata openers early.

Everything went right for Deccan. With Kolkata on 2 for 1 after three overs, Gayle broke free with a crash past point for four and a mow over midwicket for six. Then Adam Gilchrist pushed a fielder back to long-on, where Gayle promptly holed out next ball.

Sourav Ganguly had a short-lived and uncomfortable stay, beaten several times, and was unable to find the gap through the off side when he connected. Even fans protesting his removal from the captaincy can't defend the shot that brought about his dismissal - backing away and then stabbing at a wide, full delivery, only to nick it to slip.

Despite rain and a floodlight failure causing the game to be delayed by nearly an hour-and-a-half, the organisers decided to have the seven-and-a-half-minute interval after the tenth over. Aakash Chopra and Brad Hodge had dragged Kolkata to 31 for 3 by then, but also found Pragyan Ojha's left-arm spin a handful. Both Chopra and Laxmi Shukla perished giving Ojha the charge, only to be undone by the turn.

Hodge, the leading run-getter in Twenty20s, played a sensible hand. He entered in the fifth over and knocked around the singles before opening out in the 16th. Hodge slammed a couple of boundaries before slapping Scott Styris straight to Herschelle Gibbs at point. The tailenders threw their bat around but RP took two in three balls to deny Kolkata even the modest satisfaction of playing out their 20 overs.

A target of 102 was never going to be too big a challenge, especially as Kolkata had left out Ajantha Mendis on a pitch spinners have thrived on all weekend. Adam Gilchrist hit a couple of trademark boundaries before top-edging to square leg and VVS Laxman, after bludgeoning an out-of-character pull for six, was dismissed due to an old failing - poor running between the wickets.

That brought together Rohit and Gibbs, who knuckled down to work a few singles and steady the innings. Gibbs then started playing some inventive shots, a bent-knee sweep off Ganguly for four followed by a deft dab towards third man. Any pressure that Kolkata had built up vanished, and neither batsmen was afraid of lofting the ball after that.

Rohit joined in the fun once Ajit Agarkar was introduced, a huge six over long-off and a couple of boundaries helping take 17 runs off his first over. Some more merry hitting from the pair finished off the game with nearly seven overs to spare.

Kolkata had talked of a radical multiple-captain theory before the tournament, but they need to come up with some fresh ideas if they are improve on today's dreadful show.

Bangalore Royal Challengers v Chennai Super Kings, IPL, Port Elizabeth
 

Classy Chennai steamroll Bangalore

April 20, 2009

Chennai Super Kings 179 for 5 (Hayden 65) beat Bangalore Royal Challengers 87 (Murali 3-11) by 92 runs

Chennai Super Kings' big-name foreign players stepped up to get the campaign back on track after the opening-day reverse against Mumbai Indians. Matthew Hayden rolled back the years to crack a quick half-century, Muttiah Muralitharan put another nail in the coffin of the spinners-have-no-place-in-Twenty20 theory, and Andrew Flintoff sparkled with bat and ball to sink Bangalore Royal Challengers.

Bangalore may have revamped their side this year, but turned in a performance reminiscent of their dire showings last season. The batting has yet to fire in two games, and the bowling was clueless against the initial onslaught from Chennai's openers.

After a weekend when the bowlers mostly held sway, the Chennai openers staged a display of vintage Twenty20 batting to provide just the start MS Dhoni would have wanted after winning the toss. Hayden was at his bullying best, and the hallmarks of his batting were on view: the walk-down-the-track to club the quicks, the muscular sweeps against the spinners. There was plenty of finesse among the fireworks as well, gentle glides to third man, and some caressed drives through cover.

Jacques Kallis, surprisingly picked ahead of Jesse Ryder, bore the brunt of Hayden's hitting. His first three deliveries disappeared for boundaries, and Hayden rounded off the over with a blast over long-off for six, 20 runs in that fifth over had Chennai flying at 56 for 0.

Pietersen rang in the changes but they were to no avail. Vinay Kumar was taken for two fours in the next over, and part-timer Virat Kohli gifted a couple of fours in the seventh which had Hayden racing to his half-century.

Parthiv was not quite as fluent, always keen to throw his bat and loft towards midwicket. There were plenty of mishits while he attempted that stroke, but there was one glorious pull off Dale Steyn which sailed over the square-leg boundary. By the time the tactical time-out came around, Chennai had sprinted to 106 for 0.

Kevin Pietersen may have been paid the big bucks for his flamboyant batting and captaincy, but it was with his amiable offspinners that he made an impact. His first ball bowled Parthiv, who made a meal of a slog-sweep, and Hayden was run out by a direct hit from Rahul Dravid at point off the next delivery. Only eight runs came off the next three overs.

Suresh Raina and Dhoni played some sumptuous strokes, but there too many singles and dot balls to keep the run-rate at the stratospheric levels the openers had maintained. It was left to Flintoff to make a 13-ball 22, including a flat six over square-leg off Steyn, to push Chennai along.

The boundaries may have been brought in at St George's Park, but 180 was always going to be a tall order for Bangalore. Their experiment to open with Praveen Kumar failed when he was bowled in the first over.

Kallis started to make amends for his lacklustre bowling with some eye-catching strokes steering Bangalore to 40 for 1 after five overs. However, he perished when, after a Pietersen-esque jumps across the stumps, he missed a full ball from Morkel to be trapped lbw.The miserly Flintoff then struck, getting Ross Taylor when a wild swipe only went as far as the bowler.

Worse was to follow. Murali, bowling from round the wicket, trapped Pietersen for a duck with a straighter one, and the unconvincing Robin Uthappa was stumped after being drawn forward by a flighted delivery which dipped and turned. Bangalore had slid to 51 for 5, and the chase was shipwrecked.

With the asking-rate spiralling upwards, Bangalore set about throwing the bat around, and the inevitable indiscreet strokes had them bowled out for 87.

Kings XI Punjab v Kolkata Knight Riders, IPL, Durban
 

Gayle helps Kolkata home in rain-hit game

April 22, 2009

Kolkata Knight Riders 79 for 1 (Gayle 44*, McCullum 21) beat Kings XI Punjab 158 for 6 (Yuvraj 38, Pathan 32, Ganguly 2-24) by 11 runs by D/L method

Sourav Ganguly made yet another comeback, this time with the ball, to help Kolkata Knight Riders keep Kings XI Punjab down to 158 for 6. Thereafter, Chris Gayle made the most of two dropped chances to dishearten Punjab and take Kolkata 11 ahead of the Duckworth-Lewis par-score when heavy rain ended the match in the 10th over.

Ganguly had been quiet in the lead-up to this tournament; he had lost his captaincy and looked out of sorts in scoring 1 in 12 balls against Deccan Chargers. Today, though, he made his statement with the ball, taking two wickets in his first over and pulling Punjab back from a solid-yet-unspectacular start.

When Ganguly came on to bowl, Irfan Pathan, promoted to No. 3, had just taken Ishant Sharma for 14 in his third over, and Punjab had moved along to 46 for 1 at the end of six overs. Thirty-two of those had come from Irfan's bat, in 17 deliveries.

And then Ganguly struck, fortuitously at first. Irfan went for a six to the deep midwicket area and was caught smartly by Murali Kartik at the boundary. Two balls later, Ganguly got Ravi Bopara, the opener, to edge to the new captain, Brendon McCullum. Both men were elated, the captain with his bowling change, the bowler having proved a point, and both ran in different directions to celebrate and eventually hugged each other.

Punjab moved from 46 for 1 in six to 67 for 3 in ten overs before a rain interruption. Following that, Punjab enjoyed two of the best overs of their innings. Yuvraj Singh hit a six off Ganguly to take 14 off his third over. Yet, Ganguly ended with figures of 24 for 2 off his four. And just after the rain break, in perhaps a poor tactical move, McCullum brought Chris Gayle on, who had trouble gripping the wet ball and bowled three wides in his 14-run over.

Yuvraj couldn't quite manage a reprise of his six sixes in an over at the same venue, during the inaugural ICC World Twenty20. And once he top-edged Moises Henriques in the 16th over, falling for 38 off 28, caught by Yashpal, Punjab were always struggling.

Thirty-six came off 26 balls after Yuvraj's fall, thanks largely to Mahela Jayawardene, who scored 31 in 19, and took the last over, bowled by Ashok Dinda, for 16, the biggest over of the innings.

But the hitting from Irfan, Yuvraj and Jayawardene paled in comparison with Gayle's. He played the first two overs quietly, and enjoyed a dropped sitter by Karan Goel at short midwicket off Yusuf Abdulla. It was a forgettable day for Goel, who had earlier scored a seven-ball duck.

Once Gayle carved Irfan over cover-point in the third over of the innings, the floodgates opened. From 4 off 8 balls, he reached 31 off 15 through a calculated assault on the left-arm opening bowlers. And then, in the fifth over of the innings, the game breaker came. Irfan was spanked straight and pulled square off the first two balls, and then Gayle showed him the greens, teeing off to over wide long-on.

By the time Gayle was dropped again, by Kumar Sangakkara, off a Piyush Chawla googly, he had taken the match out of Punjab's reach as the dark clouds gathered.

For the second game in succession, Punjab have been curtailed by rain, but this time they succumbed to Ganguly and Gayle, as opposed to their first match, when Delhi's chase was reduced to a six-over hit-out.

Mumbai Indians v Rajasthan Royals, IPL, Durban
 

Match called off after intermittent rain

April 21, 2009

Rajasthan Royals v Mumbai Indians - Match abandoned without a ball bowled

Poor weather continued to dominate the early stages of the IPL as the match between Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals was washed out without a ball being bowled. The opening game of the Tuesday double-header between Kolkata Knight Riders and Kings XI Punjab was decided on Duckworth-Lewis hardly ten overs into the chase and the spectators were denied any cricketing action since then. The rain was intermittent all evening and the umpires decided to call it off two and a half hours after the scheduled start. Both teams will now share a point.

Incidentally, this is the second IPL game to be washed out without a ball being bowled. The first was at the Feroz Shah Kotla between the hosts Delhi Daredevils and Kolkata last May.

Deccan Chargers v Bangalore Royal Challengers, IPL, Cape Town
 

Gilchrist and Rohit shine in win

April 22, 2009

Deccan Chargers 184 for 6 (Gilchrist 71, Rohit 52) beat Bangalore Royal Challengers 160 for 8 (Kohli 50, Dravid 48, Styris 3-32, RP Singh 2-17) by 24 runs

It seemed the IPL had finally found its Twenty20 soul, with two batsmen combining to score - for the first time in this tournament - at a frenetic pace throughout the innings. But chasing a huge Deccan Chargers total, a limp show from Bangalore Royal Challengers meant another wait for the first closely-fought encounter this season.

The day belonged to Adam Gilchrist and Rohit Sharma, who scored 123 between them, off 75 deliveries, with 88 of them coming in boundary hits. The target of 185, under lights at Newlands, is not an experience teams look forward to. It didn't help that for the third time in a row, Bangalore lost a wicket without having scored a run.

The difference in conditions in the two innings showed, with Deccan's bowlers managing to swing the ball in the initial overs. The first ball of the Bangalore innings, bowled by Fidel Edwards, was a fast, swinging yorker that removed Jesse Ryder for a duck in successive IPL matches.

If Edwards made an early impact, with only 31 runs coming in the Powerplay overs, Gilchrist was not far behind in Deccan's batting Powerplay. In the first two overs, bowled by Praveen Kumar and Dale Steyn, Gilchrist's clean hitting necessitated six fielding changes, and a change of angle to round the stumps from both bowlers. What was constant was Gilchrist's severity on anything erring in length. He reached 26 in the first two overs and inevitably a bowling change followed.

Praveen removed Herschelle Gibbs in his first over after changing ends, and despite VVS Laxman falling soon after, the Gilchrist show continued. From 26 off 11, he slowed down to reach 28 off 19, but then tucked into Jacques Kallis, taking him for 10 in two deliveries. That started the mid-innings assault with Gilchrist hitting clean - not one half-edge, not one unintended shot. He was especially harsh on short deliveries, and if the bowlers got too full, he teed off with similar ease. With one such six off a full Jesse Ryder delivery, in the 10th over, he reached his fifty in 31 balls.

Rohit was just warming up when Gilchrist sizzled. Once his captain got out, Rohit switched to his effortless hitting mode, which was one of the memorable sights of the last year's IPL. That Rohit paced himself well, showed in his scoring just 10 off the first 12 balls he faced, and 42 off the next 18. Anil Kumble's last over, the 13th of the innings, was the springboard for Rohit, with three sixes over midwicket - one swept flat, one lofted effortlessly, and the third a pull off a flatter, shorter delivery. Two more sixes later, Rohit perhaps fell at an inopportune time, with only 12 coming off the last 10 balls of the innings. But enough damage had been done by Rohit and Gilchrist by then.

A third poor start in a row by Bangalore meant they were always struggling against a Deccan attack that showed all the ingredients: hostility through Edwards, thrift through RP Singh (who took the purple cap with two wickets tonight), guile through Pragyan Ojha, and good support through Scott Styris. Once Ryder got out, Bangalore never really got going, and stumbled to 62 for 4 in the 11th over, with Kevin Pietersen back in the pavilion.

Rahul Dravid surprised his critics again, playing his natural shots, opposed to trying to hit too hard as he did against Chennai Super Kings. He finished with 48 off 27 balls, taking the orange cap in the process. Virat Kohli mirrored Dravid's effort, scoring a 32-ball 50, dominated by wristy shots and not one six. But from 62 for 4, with more than half the overs gone, they were fighting a lost cause.

In isolation, the innings played by Dravid and Kohli were as good as either Gilchrist's or Rohit's, with the hitting just as clean. However, isolation is not the luxury cricketers are accorded.

Chennai Super Kings v Delhi Daredevils, IPL, Durban
 

Delhi clinch high-scoring thriller

April 23, 2009

20 overs Delhi Daredevils 189 for 5 (de Villiers 105*, Dilshan 50, Balaji 3-19) beat Chennai Super Kings (Hayden 57, Raina 41, Sangwan 3-28) by nine runs

Delhi Daredevils, inspired by AB de Villiers' superbly-paced century, held their nerve in the field to beat Chennai Super Kings in the first close game of IPL 2. de Villiers' century, the first of the tournament, came after Delhi's innings started in catastrophe and powered them to the highest total this season. Matthew Hayden charged a stiff chase with another aggressive innings and Suresh Raina's cool head kept Chennai on par with the asking rate, but Delhi won the battle of the death overs to sneak a thriller. Leading, expectedly, was the parsimonious Daniel Vettori who, after striking after the seven-and-a-half minute tactical break, bowled a decisive penultimate over.

This was a win fashioned with the bat. Tillakaratne Dilshan and de Villiers added 68 at a frenetic clip after Delhi were struggling at 8 for 2 with Gautam Gambhir - out to the very economical L Balaji first ball - and Virender Sehwag - pulling needlessly - out early. Dilshan started like a man with a train to catch, slashing five fours and two sixes in his first 15 balls. Taking a cue from de Villiers, who pulled Manpreet Gony for an easy six over midwicket, Dilshan picked the same bowler off his pads for six. Then he welcomed Albie Morkel into the attack by thumping three successive boundaries in a 17-run over. Dilshan slashed Andrew Flintoff over slip and then pulled him for a flat six. Fourty-five had been crashed off three overs and Dilshan's fifty took 24 balls. He fell slapping a full toss to extra cover.

While Dilshan was going berserk, de Villiers looked briefly like he was at the wrong party, simply scurrying down the other end with open-faced steers behind square. But once Dilshan departed de Villiers had to play host. The pattern of scoring changed from boundaries to nudges, flicks and cuts to third man. It appeared, as Chennai sneaked in 29 boundary-less deliveries and Balaji returned to dismiss Dinesh Karthik, that Delhi may have squandered Dilshan's platform.

Then Morkel drop a sitter off de Villiers the ball after he had raised his half-century and all hell broke loose. Clearing his front leg and relying on amazing hand-eye contact de Villiers thumped three sixes and three fours before clipping his 51st delivery to raise an amazing century. His second fifty needed just 19 balls.

It was a power-packed innings, highlighted by de Villiers' stunning assault in the last four overs: nothing matched the 20 he smashed in four successive balls off Flintoff. The fifth-wicket stand between de Villiers and Manoj Tiwary was worth 74 in 5.5 overs, Tiwary's contribution being nine.

Chasing the highest target set this season, Chennai needed something special. Hayden sparked it, with ten in the first over of the chase. Ashish Nehra looked like a man who hadn't played international standard opposition in months, dragging the ball short to allow a pumped Hayden clip runs through midwicket. Avishkar Salvi struggled to locate his line - either serving full or dropping short - and Hayden merrily ransacked him to the leg side in a 24-run over. Hayden raised his fifty from 22 balls.

Domination led to his dismissal and gave the impressive Pradeep Sangwan his second wicket. Having got Parthiv Patel driving to de Villiers at cover with a full one, Sangwan opted for a shorter length and Hayden miscued a pull to the deep.

At the half-way mark Chennai were 106 for 2, well on track thanks to Hayden. Vettori varied his pace and length to stifle MS Dhoni and drew a nick through to Karthik. Suresh Raina kept the flame burning with another gem - finding the boundary every over - before he sent a Sangwan full toss down long-on's throat for a 27-ball 41. Sangwan bowled well and picked up three wickets.

It was still anyone's game with Flintoff at the crease, 42 needed and Nehra called back for the 16th over. Flintoff worked a single, Morkel clipped four, but when Flintoff got back on strike Nehra forced him to hole out to long-off.

Salvi returned to bowl a five-run 17th over but thanks to Chennai's good work the asking rate was under ten. It was nerve-racking as both teams battled for a decisive edge. Nehra kept it very full and straight, Karthik missed a run out, Morkel survived another tight over. With 24 needed from 12 Sehwag tossed the ball back to Vettori, who immediately dismissed a sluggish S Badrinath. Vettori's over included a six by Gony and a run out to set pulses soaring, but by then the match had been decided. David Warner may not have gotten a game yet but he made his presence felt with two catches in the deep and a direct hit in the last over. A chase that had started with power ended in a panic.

Three overseas stars showed there was more to Delhi than Sehwag and Gambhir, further indication that this is the team to beat in the IPL.

Kolkata Knight Riders v Rajasthan Royals, IPL, Cape Town
 

Yusuf and Kamran steal Rajasthan a thriller

April 23, 2009

Kolkata Knight Riders 150 for 8 (Ganguly 46, Gayle 41, Kamran 3-18) tied with Rajasthan Royals 150 for 6 (Yusuf 42, Mendis 2-19). Rajasthan win in Super Over

Yusuf Pathan broke the IPL's first tie and with it Kolkata Knight Riders' hearts through clean hitting in the Super Over, to chase down 16 runs in four deliveries. It was intense drama at Newlands with the match swinging either way - from the moment Rajasthan Royals lost two wickets in the first three overs till Sourav Ganguly's dismissal with two runs required and one ball to go - as the excitement spilled over into the Super Over, the solution to a Twenty20 tie.

It was Yusuf who helped Rajasthan recover from their second bad start in the tournament, at 14 for 2 in 2.2 overs this time. He plundered 42 off 21 balls, hitting six boundaries and two sixes. He then bowled the first over for Rajasthan, with fast, bouncy offbreaks to keep Chris Gayle and Brendon McCullum from getting off to a quick start. His first three overs bowled inside the Powerplays, to two of the most destructive batsmen in world cricket went for just 12.

Later, Sourav Ganguly pulled another one out of the old hat to almost mastermind a chase that looked gone with five down and 57 required in the last six overs. His 46 off 30 balls - especially the backing away and hitting through the off side - evoked the days when Ganguly used to be the best ODI batsman in the world.

Kamran Khan, Shane Warne's left-arm sling prodigy, bowled the designated Super Over for Rajasthan, but he had already bowled a 'super over' before that - the last over of the actual match. Kolkata needed only seven to win off that over, and despite starting off with a wide, Kamran took Ganguly's wicket off the fifth ball and a single off the last ball ensured the dream result for the IPL, a tie.

Three Kolkata players would especially be heartbroken. Gayle, who was limping when he lofted the ball into the stratosphere many a time during his 41 off 33 balls, got the chase going. He then hit three successive boundaries in the Super Over to set Rajasthan a difficult target. He also assisted Ajantha Mendis in pulling back Rajasthan after Yusuf had reprised some of his last year's form. Mendis removed Yusuf and Graeme Smith, two of Rajasthan's most dangerous batsmen, in one over, and gave away only 19 in his four overs.

But in four balls of his Super Over, Mendis went for 18. Yusuf hit him over wide long-off for a first-ball six. He was then dropped off the second ball, with Brad Hodge failing to latch on to the miscued slog sweep running in from long-on towards mid-off. The third ball was hit over midwicket, and the fourth swept along the ground to square-leg boundary. Cricket can be tough on the toughest of players.

The most dejected - and it showed - was Ganguly, who brought in all his experience to fight Shane Warne's canny tactics to single-handedly take the game to a stage from where it should have been a cruise. But with eight required off eight, he lost his partner, Yashpal Sharma, to an irresponsible shot. On the fifth ball of the last over, with two required he himself went looking for a four through the off side and edged Kamran.

Heart-broken or not, when we look back at this game, Yusuf, Kamran, and Warne's innovative leadership will shine as the brightest moments.

Yusuf had come into bat when Anureet Singh, the Railways medium-pacer, and Ishant Sharma had taken out the Rajasthan newcomers Paul Valthaty and Rob Quiney in three balls early after they were put in by Kolkata. The changes were necessitated by a growing concern over some of the Indian domestic batsmen's capabilities on the bouncier pitches of South Africa.

But Yusuf put any such doubts over his credentials to rest as soon as he came in. A monstrous straight six off Ishant off the third ball he faced was followed by an across-the-line boundary off the next ball. Yusuf tried to spoil a decent debut by Anureet through a swivel-pulled six off the next ball he faced. Ajit Agarkar was the next in line, and he suffered the worst treatment, going for three boundaries in four balls. From 14 for 2 in 2.2 overs, Yusuf had taken Rajasthan to 54 for 2 at the end of the Powerplay through a brilliant counterattack.

But that's when Mendis came on, and turned the game around. Such was the choke applied by Mendis and Gayle that Rajasthan had to wait for 49 deliveries in the middle overs for a boundary. From 70 for 2 in eight overs, they went to 132 for 6 in 19 before Abhishek Raut, another debutant, ruined Anureet's debut with two sixes and a four in the last over.

A simplistic and a ruthless way to look back at the match would be to look at the 20th overs of each innings. Both times Kolkata looked a stronger side, but Rajasthan pulled it back through their immense fighting qualities. In the process the teams produced a Twenty20 classic. The only pity was that the teams had to be separated after they had both made multiple comebacks from seemingly impossible situations.

Bangalore Royal Challengers v Kings XI Punjab, IPL, Durban
 

Bopara half-century leads Punjab to clinical victory

April 23, 2009

Kings XI Punjab 173 for 3 (Bopara 84) beat Bangalore Royal Challengers 168 for 9 (Kallis 62, Abdulla 4-31, Pathan 3-35) by seven wickets

Ravi Bopara compiled a supremely-paced innings, one that could rival AB de Villiers' century because it came during a run-chase, to give Kings XI Punjab their first victory of the tournament. He scored steadily without taking too many risks and just when the chase entered its final phase Bopara accelerated with tremendous speed to consign Bangalore Royal Challengers to their third consecutive defeat.

The groundwork for the win was laid by Punjab's bowlers who made their first sunny match-day count. Yusuf Abdulla, who had bowled three overs for 39 before this match, struck at crucial moments in Bangalore's innings. Abdulla's four strikes, and Irfan Pathan's three in the final overs, were vital in restricting Bangalore to 168, a target which allowed Punjab's batsmen to play according to a plan.

Chasing under lights at Kingsmead can be tricky and Punjab approached their chase cautiously. Their openers, Karan Goel and Bopara, played few big shots, focusing instead on scoring at nearly eight an over by pushing the ball into gaps. They scored only 44 off the first six overs and Bopara's pull off Jacques Kallis, which sailed over the square leg boundary at the start of the seventh over, was the first six of the innings.

Goel fell soon after, run out after a stand of 52, and the batsmen that followed - Kumar Sangakkara and Yuvraj Singh - also paced, rather than pushed, their innings. Punjab ensured that the asking-rate didn't spiral out of control, but with 60 runs needed off the last five overs, they couldn't afford any slip-ups.

Bopara ensured there weren't any. He launched into Praveen Kumar in the 16th over, smashing him for sixes over long-on and deep backward square leg and took 19 runs off the over. Yuvraj pulled and glanced two fours off Kallis in the next over to reduce the equation to 28 off three. And when Bopara pulled a full toss and powered another full ball over the leg-side boundary, the game was nearly won. Yuvraj reached the target with a straight six with a whole over to spare, completing a clinical chase.

The calmness that Punjab exhibited during the chase was absent during Bangalore's innings. Bangalore's openers once again failed to put a partnership together with Robin Uthappa chasing and edging Pathan's wide delivery in the second over. It was the fourth time in as many matches that Bangalore were losing an opener for a duck (Jesse Ryder twice, Praveen and Uthappa once). Ryder, however, finally got off the mark this season, punching his third ball off Ranadeb Bose to the cover boundary.

Kallis started in high gear, pulling a short ball from Pathan over the long-leg boundary and lofting Abdulla's first ball over cover point for four. Ryder also hit Pathan to the point boundary and Bangalore seemed to have shrugged off their Powerplay troubles: their average in the first six overs was 36 runs for the loss of 2.33 wickets and today they were 48 for 1 off 5.1 overs.

Abdulla, however, wrecked their momentum, bowling Ryder as he attempted to play a pull. Two balls later, he struck a tremendous blow, drawing Kevin Pietersen into spooning a catch to cover off a slower ball. Rahul Dravid once again entered with his team in trouble - 48 for 3 - but this time he failed to contribute. Tied down by the spinners - Bangalore scored only 22 between overs six and ten - Dravid attempted to smash Piyush Chawla down the ground and skied a catch towards long-on.

Kallis and Taylor had added 61 in quick time before Abdulla returned to induce a mis-timed pull from Kallis with a slower short ball. Taylor continued to attack, slog-sweeping Chawla into the stands at deep midwicket, but he eventually became Adbulla's fourth wicket. Pathan picked up quick wickets towards the close and Bangalore finished several runs short of what they would have aimed for.

Deccan Chargers v Mumbai Indians, IPL, Durban
 

Gibbs and Ojha star in Deccan's win

April 25, 2009

Deccan Chargers 168 for 9 (Gibbs 58, Bravo 3-34, Malinga 3-19) beat Mumbai Indians 156 for 7 (Duminy 47, Ojha 3-21) by 12 runs

The Kingsmead crowd was witness to a hard-fought contest between two evenly-matched teams and, after several twists and turns, Deccan Chargers, winners of last year's wooden spoon, clinched a tense battle against Mumbai Indians. Deccan overcame several setbacks - a middle-order collapse, an assault from Sachin Tendulkar and JP Duminy, and a spirited push towards the target from Mumbai's tail - to secure their third straight victory of the tournament.

Deccan's success was set up by valuable contributions from their overseas players, whose failure to fire in unison was a large part of their disappointment last season, and a terrific spell from left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha.

Herschelle Gibbs, who top-scored with 58, Adam Gilchrist and Dwayne Smith provided a high-octane start, one which ensured that Deccan achieved with a defendable target despite an extremely poor finish to the innings. Mumbai, though, were well on course to victory, needing only 85 runs off the last ten overs with nine wickets in hand, before Ojha struck thrice in successive overs to derail the chase. Fidel Edwards, who had bowled a fiery first spell, returned to bowl a crucial penultimate over, conceding only four runs, which left Mumbai with too many to get in the last.

The turning point of the game came in the first over after the tactical time-out in Mumbai's chase. Tendulkar and Duminy had flipped into attack mode after a slow start and plundered 72 runs off the preceding seven overs before the break to put Mumbai on top. However Tendulkar, who had expressed his reservations about the seven-and-a-half minute interruption, mis-hit an inside-out shot off Ojha straight to Gibbs in the 11th over and gave Deccan an opening. Ojha widened that opening in his next two overs. He bowled Shikhar Dhawan as he swung across the line and had Duminy caught at deep midwicket by Smith, who covered lots of ground to take a well-judged catch on the run.

Mumbai had slipped from 86 for 1 to 92 for 4 but they weren't giving up. In Abhishek Nayar and Dwayne Bravo, they had two clean strikers and both made crisp starts before they were dismissed by Edwards, effectively ending Mumbai's challenge.

Deccan needed their bowlers' to raise their performance because their batsmen had fallen several runs short of the total that was in sight when Gilchrist and Gibbs got going. Gilchrist took four balls to get his eye in against Lasith Malinga before lofting the fast bowler over the long-on boundary. He hit two more sixes, one an outside edge over third-man off Zaheer Khan and the other a thunderous hit over deep midwicket off Bravo. Gibbs showed good touch by charging Zaheer and clubbing him past mid-off. He allowed Gilchrist to take the risks and after the left-hander was caught behind off Bravo for 35 off 20 balls, Deccan sent Smith in at No. 3 to keep the momentum going.

Deccan were 88 for 1 after 10 overs and the acceleration came two overs later when Dhawal Kulkarni was introduced into the attack. Gibbs smashed him for six over square leg and sliced him behind point while Smith launched him over midwicket to take 18 runs of the over. Jayasuriya, however, made the vital breakthrough, dismissing Smith for 35 off 22 balls, and began Mumbai's fightback.

Mumbai's experienced bowling attack seized the opportunity - Malinga picked up 3 for 19 with searing yorkers - and ensured that Deccan managed only 43 runs off the last seven overs for the loss of seven wickets. However, Deccan had already given their bowlers a target which they were able to defend.

Chennai Super Kings v Kolkata Knight Riders, IPL, Cape Town
 

Rain forces abandonment without any play

April 25, 2009

Kolkata Knight Riders v Chennai Super Kings - Match abandoned without a ball bowled

Persistent Cape Town rains made sure that Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders didn't get onto the park for their match. The rain was intermittent all day, and the umpires decided to call it off close to three hours after the scheduled start. Both teams will now share a point.

Incidentally this is the third IPL game to be washed out without a ball being bowled. The first was at the Feroz Shah Kotla between the hosts Delhi Daredevils and Kolkata last May, and the second was between Rajasthan Royals and Mumbai Indians earlier this season.

Chennai and Kolkata would have started the game level at two points, and they now have three points each, from four matches each.

Bangalore Royal Challengers v Delhi Daredevils, IPL
 

Dilshan guides Delhi to victory

April 26, 2009

Delhi Daredevils 150 for 4 (Dilshan 67*) beat Bangalore Royal Challengers 149 for 7 (Pietersen 37, Nehra 2-34) by six wickets

For a while it looked like Delhi Daredevils' batsmen had been a tad complacent while chasing a modest target, which Bangalore Royal Challengers' bowlers defended tenaciously, but an unbeaten half-century from Tillakaratne Dilshan completed their third consecutive win in the tournament. The six-wicket victory took Delhi level with Deccan Chargers on top of the points table, with six each.


The only highlight for Bangalore, who suffered their fourth consecutive defeat, was the performance of their weak bowling attack, who kept them in the game longer than most people expected. Their top-order batsmen, despite changes to personnel and order, disappointed once again. Their overseas players failed to fire, and their fielding went to pieces just when they had a sniff at pulling off an upset win.


Delhi lost their openers, Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir, early and Dilshan and AB de Villiers went about chasing the target of 150 calmly. They hardly attempted expansive shots, preferring instead to play the ball into gaps and run swiftly between the wickets. The spinners, Anil Kumble and KP Appanna, bowled a tight line and length and conceded few boundaries. As a result Delhi had scored only 64 for 2 after 10 overs but the equation - 86 runs off the last 10 - was manageable.


Dilshan was perhaps lucky to survive a run-out appeal soon after the tactical time-out. He was short of his crease when Ross Taylor's throw hit the stumps, but the third umpire was not convinced that Boucher had not broken the stumps with his glove before the ball found its target. de Villiers, however, fell soon after, bowled by a delivery from Appanna that turned past the bat from outside leg to hit leg stump. Dinesh Karthik started brightly, clouting a four and a six, but fell soon after, caught by Jacques Kallis at deep cover, and left Delhi at 106 for 4.


At this point Bangalore had 43 runs to defend in the last four overs. That was when they needed to raise their game but their fielding let them down during the 17th over, which was bowled by Kallis. Dilshan took a single after smashing the third ball out of St George's Park, and Mithun Manhas lofted the next towards long-on. Robin Uthappa, who's having a nightmare of a tournament with the bat, misjudged the catch: he came in too far only for the ball to fly over his head for four. Manhas pulled the next ball to deep midwicket where Appanna mis-fielded to allow another boundary. Delhi scored 19 runs off the over, needed only 24 off the last three, which they managed with ease.


Delhi's batsmen have been their strength so far in the tournament, but today their bowlers laid the platform for victory by restricting Bangalore to 149. They were challenged by Pietersen and Taylor during an aggressive partnership, but the two spinners, Daniel Vettori and Amit Mishra, struck on either side of the strategic time-out to throw Bangalore off course.


Delhi's dominance began with the first ball of the match. Dirk Nannes produced a perfectly pitched delivery which angled across Kallis, who had replaced Jesse Ryder as opener. Kallis thought the ball could be left and shouldered arms, only to hear it clip the top of off stump. It was the fifth time in five matches that a Bangalore opener had been dismissed for a duck.


Uthappa had scored 32 runs in four innings at a strike-rate of 71 before today, but Bangalore have almost no option but to play him. His innings ended on 3 when he top-edged a pull off the front foot against Ashish Nehra, when he should have been playing back.


Pietersen had said at the toss that he "had to do something today". He and Taylor made slow starts, but stepped up a gear against Nehra in the fourth over. Bangalore were 45 for 2 after the Powerplay at which point Virender Sehwag introduced spinners from both ends. Mishra was able to tie the batsmen down, but Vettori wasn't. Taylor cut him deftly for four, and Pietersen charged and hit him over long-on to take 13 runs off his compatriot's first over. In his second, Pietersen swept powerfully to the boundary but a moment's rashness cost him his wicket the very next delivery. Pietersen attempted to switch-hit Vettori's quicker ball through midwicket, but missed and was bowled, falling for 37 in the last over before the tactical time-out.


Mishra dealt Bangalore a crippling blow in the first over after the break, trapping Taylor leg before with a googly. Bangalore were struggling at 78 for 4, but managed to reach 149 largely due to Boucher's blows over the leg-side boundary in the penultimate over.

Kings XI Punjab v Rajasthan Royals, IPL, Cape Town
 

All-round Irfan stars for Punjab

April 26, 2009

Kings XI Punjab 139 for 6 (Sangakkara 60, Irfan 39) beat Rajasthan Royals 112 for 7 (Jadeja 37, Abdulla 3-21, Irfan 2-26) by 27 runs

Two pairs of left-handers played key roles as Kings XI Punjab steamrolled Rajasthan Royals in Cape Town. Punjab struggled after early losses and it was left to Kumar Sangakkara to weigh in with his first half-century of the tournament and the star of the day, Irfan Pathan, to provide the momentum for a fightback. Then, defending a total of 139, Punjab were indebted to double-wicket overs from Irfan and Yusuf Abdulla at the start.

Both left-arm seamers did a sterling job under the Newlands lights, mixing their line and length impressively to check a shaky batting line-up. Rajasthan, who had set themselves a realistic chance of victory in the field fell 27 runs short.

Rajasthan's chase of 140 wasn't a tall order, but their fate was sealed by a rampant left-arm seam attack who snaffled four wickets in the first five overs. Having contributed with the bat, Irfan grabbed two wickets in his opening over. He drew a top edge from Swapnil Asnodkar with a short ball and produced a thin edge off Graeme Smith's bat with a fuller, away-swinging delivery. Rajasthan were 9 for 2.

Yuvraj Singh had opened the bowling with Ramesh Powar but Irfan's success encouraged him to go for an all-pace attack. Abdulla's first over was tidy, costing just six, and his second was disastrous for Rajasthan. Rob Quiney got a faint tickle on one down the leg side and a leaden-footed Dimitri Mascarenhas heard the death rattle second ball when he played around an offcutter.

That left Rajasthan 27 for 4, anxiously needing a partnership and Yusuf Pathan - Man of the Match in their last game - to fire. Yusuf began by picking his brother for a couple fours only to perish sweeping in Piyush Chawa's first over. Another bowling change had worked and Punjab were all over Rajasthan.

Chawla tossed it up and was rewarded with another wicket. The asking-rate kept increasing and it proved too much for Ravindra Jadeja (37) and Shane Warne, who scampered smart singles but couldn't find the boundaries during their 60-run association. Abdulla came back with Rajasthan needing 38 from two overs and cleaned up Jadeja first ball. Irfan gave just six in the last over to cap a great game. That Rajasthan didn't manage one six told a story.

Irfan's two early wickets were crucial defending a small total but that could have been smaller without his contribution with the bat when Punjab were four down for not much. Karan Goel was run out first ball - the second time in the day a wicket had fallen in that manner - before Kamran Khan and Munaf Patel struck. Warne's decision to use each of his pace bowlers in one-over bursts worked wonderfully. There were no consecutive overs for any bowler from the Wynberg end and each time Kamran and Munaf came back they struck first ball.

Kamran removed Ravi Bopara courtesy an athletic dive from Munaf at mid-on and Munaf rcame back to dismiss Yuvraj with one that swung way. Punjab slipped to 48 for 4 when Mahela Jayawardene scooped Munaf to a sliding Kamran at mid-off.

It was Irfan who provided much-needed ammunition. He wasn't always assured against spin, but backing himself to swing freely through the on side he helped Punjab rebuild. Warne and Yusuf were hit for a six each by Irfan, the quicker deliveries were smartly worked square on the off side, and a handy partnership of 75 in 59 balls had begun. Irfan kept up the momentum with some sweetly-timed strokes on the off side, the best of the lot being a cut off Warne when he came back on.

Sangakkara's 60 held the innings together. So often a calm, controlled batsman, he combined his usual elegance with a range of aggressive shots; cutting deftly, pulling powerfully and even launching Warne into a raucous crowd. Mascarenhas found just a hint of swing but too often served up four-balls; Sangakkara took him for three cracking boundaries. A powerful partnership had set up a final flourish but Rajasthan dismissed Irfan and Sangakkara in the 19th over to set themselves a gettable target.

But in the end there was no denying Punjab, piloted to victory by the all-round heroics of Irfan, their brightest star.

Chennai Super Kings v Deccan Chargers, IPL, Durban
 

Gibbs gives Deccan fourth consecutive win

April 27, 2009

Deccan Chargers 169 for 4 (Gilchrist 44, Gibbs 69*) beat Chennai Super Kings 165 for 6 (Hayden 49, Oram 41*, Ojha 2-11) by six wickets

A tenacious display from Deccan Chargers' bowlers followed by a murderous assault from their opening batsmen secured their fourth consecutive win of the tournament and firmly established the Hyderabad side as the team to beat this season.


Pragyan Ojha once again bowled impressively - picking up two wickets in one crucial over, including that of the dangerous-looking Matthew Hayden - to restrict Chennai to merely 165 when they looked set for much more at one stage. The competitive target, however, was diminished by a withering assault from Adam Gilchrist and Herschelle Gibbs. They blitzed 60 runs off the first four overs and gave their team enough cushion against a few setbacks on their way to victory.

Gilchrist dictated terms from the first over, in which he drove L Balaji to the long-off and extra-cover boundaries. Gibbs took on Manpreet Gony in the next: he charged and lofted straight down the ground for four, pulled over the fine-leg boundary and hit two more fours to midwicket and square leg to take 20 runs off the over. Balaji dropped Gilchrist - a hard caught-and-bowled chance - in the third over and paid for it by conceding 17 runs. Gilchrist deposited the ball into the stands at deep square leg, pulled another one to the midwicket boundary, and launched yet another over the straight boundary. MS Dhoni brought Albie Morkel into the attack but there was barely any improvement as Gilchrist drilled him to the cover boundary and whacked him over the rope at square leg.

With the fast bowlers bleeding runs, Dhoni turned to spin and the breakthroughs came from the unlikeliest of operators. Suresh Raina struck twice with his offbreaks, inducing both Gilchrist, who clobbered 44 off 18 balls, and VVS Laxman to cut to short third man. Deccan had gone from 67 for 0 to 75 for 2 and they scored only 25 runs between overs six and ten. However, the early momentum provided by Gilchrist and the steady half-century from Gibbs, who batted through the innings, ensured that the lull did not do irreparable damage. Gibbs shifted to a lower gear but ensured that he was on strike when eight runs were needed off the last over. The first ball was full from Balaji, Gibbs got under it and heaved it over the deep midwicket boundary to ease Deccan's nerves.


A larger target would have stretched Deccan, given that they had only three balls to spare, and Ojha's double-breakthrough in the 13th over played a crucial role in keeping Chennai to 165. Hayden was at his bullying best, stepping out and muscling bowlers across the quick outfield at Kingsmead. Parthiv Patel continued the odd trend of teams losing a wicket before scoring a run but the early loss did not faze Hayden. He attacked RP Singh, the league's highest wicket-taker, immediately by walking down to swat him to the midwicket boundary and to cut over point. The extra pace and bounce of Fidel Edwards didn't make a difference either and Hayden advanced and powered him through the off side.


Hayden found an attacking partner in Suresh Raina but both batsmen were lucky to survive dropped catches. Raina was let off by debutant Azhar Bilakhia at gully when he was on two and Gilchrist grassed a tough chance to his left when Hayden was on 17. They made Deccan pay for their lapses during a 64-run stand for the second wicket.


Ojha repeated his performance against Mumbai Indians soon after the tactical time-out. Against Mumbai, he took three wickets in successive overs and today he managed to dismiss both Dhoni and Hayden in one. Chennai slipped from 102 for 2 to 103 for 4 in the space of three balls. Curiously Gilchrist didn't give Ojha another over and he finished with figures of 2 for 11 in two overs.


Jacob Oram, who replaced the injured Flintoff, provided Chennai with acceleration towards the end of the innings, hitting the debutant Shoaib Ahmed for massive sixes down the ground. Oram helped Chennai take 20 runs off the 18th over but their total proved too little against Deccan's in-form batting line-up.

Kolkata Knight Riders v Mumbai Indians, IPL, Port Elizabeth
 

Tendulkar and Jayasuriya overwhelm Kolkata

April 27, 2009

Mumbai Indians 187 for 6 (Tendulkar 68, Jayasuriya 52) beat Kolkata Knight Riders 95 for 9 (Malinga 3-11, Nayar 3-13) by 92 runs

Many a time over the last 15 years or so fans of this great game have wondered what it would be like if Sachin Tendulkar and Sanath Jayasuriya opened together in a limited-overs game and really turned it on. Today they got a glimpse.

The two masters of the limited-overs game, with a combined age of nearly 76, treated Port Elizabeth to the cleanest, purest exhibition of batting that this season of the IPL has seen. Tendulkar paved the way with a sublime innings and Jayasuriya followed suit with an explosive hand, the veteran pair combining to raise a century stand in 52 balls that flummoxed Kolkata Knight Riders. That stunning opening assault formed the crux of Mumbai Indians' 187 and though Kolkata restricted the damage with six wickets for 48 runs after the tactical break, the damage had been done. Their only realistic chance at victory rested on their explosive openers' shoulders but once they were gone inside three overs the chase was basically kaput.

Mumbai's first five overs were busy, without being spectacular. Tendulkar was beaten a couple times by Ishant Sharma but upper-cut a six and flicked a four in Ashok Dinda's first over. That set the tone for a busy innings, taken up a level when he pulled Ishant for six from outside off stump.

While Tendulkar whisked the ball off his pads and slapped through point, Jayasuriya didn't get much strike. His first shot in anger was a chip just over extra cover's fingertips and a signature clip to fine leg followed. Mumbai were 45 for 0 in five overs. What followed was carnage.

Jayasuriya, who was on 8 as Tendulkar scurried to 30, launched Sourav Ganguly's gentle military-medium stuff for consecutive sixes; Tendulkar swept Ajantha Mendis for six; Chris Gayle went for ten in six balls; Mendis was dumped for two sixes by each batsman in his second over. Tendulkar's fourth six, a deft pick-up over midwicket off Mendis, raised his fifty from 34 balls. Jayasuriya had blasted 33 from 13 balls. The 100 was up in 8.4 overs. When the tactical break was taken Tendulkar was 60 off 39 and Jayasuriya 43 off 21, Mumbai 111 for 0.

For a man who has only played one international Twenty20, Tendulkar batted with amazing fluency. He got the wrists into play superbly, pulling and cutting hard, and used his crease to negotiate the pacers. Mendis wasn't even allowed to settle; Gayle was effortlessly reverse-swept.

There were no crude shots, no cross-batted slogs from Tendulkar and Jayasuriya. This was clinical hitting - each veteran knew the field and backed himself to pick the gaps. It was the experience of 1138 combined international games coming together in a mesmerizing mosaic of boundaries. In between clearing his front leg to lift Mendis there were clever late dabs from Tendulkar, neat tickles from Jayasuriya.

That assault was in stark contrast to the second half of Mumbai's innings, when Kolkata regrouped. The scoring slowed after the break and Tendulkar fell to Laxmi Shukla, looking to take the ball from off stump and work it to leg. Harbhajan Singh strode in, clubbed 18 from 8 balls, and sent a full toss to deep midwicket. Jayasuriya looked for width but instead chipped to cover for 52 from 32 balls. Then Abhishek Nayar was run out, Dwayne Bravo top-edged to the deep, and Shikhar Dhawan edged Ishant. Gayle bowled a decent last over and Mumbai were unable to end on with a flurry.

Kolkata needed almost 9.5 runs an over inside a stadium rumbling like a Jay Z amplifier, and the pressure of chasing a large total under lights affected the Kolkata openers early in their innings. Brendon McCullum shouldered arms to his first ball before he steered Lasith Malinga to point. Gayle thumped Bravo for the 150th six in the IPL only to edge his West Indian team-mate to slip.

Sourav Ganguly wasn't allowed to come onto the front foot and so he used his feet to loft Bravo down the ground for six and four, and with that try for some momentum. But Ganguly struggled to find the boundaries thereafter and Brad Hodge never really threatened with 24 off 22 balls. Both were to fall against the tidy seam-up bowling of Nayar in successive overs, the last nail firmly hammered into Kolkata's coffin.

Nayar, Bravo, Zaheer Khan and Malinga didn't have to do much but keep it near the stumps and wait for an urgent shot. Each struck rather easily and the rest of the batting card made for disappointing reading as Kolkata fell short by 92 runs. From 71 for 3 when Hodge fell, Kolkata folded for 95 in 15.2 overs.

A powerful batting display was followed by an efficient, shining effort in the field, aptly demonstrating that Mumbai pretty much have all the bases covered.

Delhi Daredevils v Rajasthan Royals, IPL, Centurion
 

Smith and Pathan script remarkable win

April 28, 2009

Rajasthan Royals 147 for 5 (Pathan 61*, Smith 44*, Mishra 3-34) beat Delhi Daredevils 143 for 7 (de Villiers 50, Vettori 29, Munaf 2-14, Mascarenhas 2-28) by five wickets

A brutal innings from Yusuf Pathan, a more sedate but no less important knock by Graeme Smith and another typically inspired tactical tweak from Shane Warne combined to script perhaps the most amazing turnaround of this tournament. Delhi Daredevils' first defeat of IPL 2009 also owed itself to some miserly bowling from a revived Munaf Patel and some sloppy fielding of their own.

Spin continued to play a major influence, as Amit Mishra rattled Rajasthan with a three-wicket burst to leave them reeling at 64 for 5 and needing 80 off nine overs. But Smith's assurance and Pathan's ability left Delhi shell-shocked; they held the cards for much of the innings but ended up with the joker.

A target of 144 was tricky given this was the IPL's first game here but Rajasthan would have backed themselves after a laudable performance with the ball. However, they made a meal of it thanks to a shoddy display by their rejigged top and middle order.

Rajasthan had already been pegged back by the time spin was introduced. Rob Quiney was pushed up to open but didn't last long, trapped in front by Ashish Nehra in the fourth over. Next to go was the impatient Swapnil Asnodkar, run out attempting an impossible run, and Paul Valthaty - included to beef up Rajasthan's misfiring batting line-up - who holed out at long-off off Mishra. At 34 for 3, Rajasthan were reeling and the ploy of pushing up the greenhorns seemed to have backfired.

Worse was to follow after the tactical break: Mishra struck back with two wickets in the 11th over, deceiving both Ravindra Jadeja and Shane Warne, who had promoted himself ahead of Pathan. 64 for 5 and an embarrassment seemed on the cards.

But Warne usually has a method to his apparent madness. In the middle for Rajasthan were Smith and Pathan, with the assurance of Dimitri Mascarenhas to follow. Pathan seemed to have taken up from where he left off in the Super Over against Kolkata Knight Riders. He needed two balls before unleashing his power. He first ended Daniel Vettori's enviable run, depositing him over deep midwicket off successive deliveries, and drilling one past him off the final ball to net 19 in a match-turning 13th over.

Delhi had their chances. Tillakaratne Dilshan missed an attempt to run Yusuf out in the very next over, and, when 31 were needed off 21 deliveries, Sangwan spilled a running catch at long-on, again off Yusuf, palming the ball to the boundary to seal Delhi's fate. The next ball disappeared for six, spoiling Mishra's figures, and Nehra's next over saw two short balls dismissed with ferocity into the stands to hasten Rajasthan's win.

If Yusuf was brute force, Smith was quite the opposite. With 19 runs in three innings he seemed eager to prove himself on home turf and his determination was clear as he flicked, nudged, dabbed and swept to ensure the runs kept coming. He kept his own natural game on hold, taking 14 overs to strike his second boundary. A combination of Yusuf's power game and Smith's measured tenacity put Rajasthan back in contention after a disappointing start to the tournament.

The batsmen owed much, though, to the bowlers, in particular Munaf Patel, who'd done an admirable job restricting Delhi to a gettable target. Though bowling hasn't been a major worry for Rajasthan, with disciplined performances in each of their three completed games, surviving an explosive top order was expected to be a stern test.

However, they benefited from a combination of poor shot selection and an ability to extract the most out of the conditions, limiting Delhi to 49 for 4, and offering their powerful batting line-up, which had made them favourties in the lead-up to the tournament, their first serious challenge. AB de Villiers and Daniel Vettori led Delhi's revival with an attacking 56-run stand that was ended by a dodgy decision against de Villiers, who was adjudged lbw to a ball from Warne that pitched outside leg. Despite, the setback, Delhi continued to fight, with Vettori and Mithun Manhas taking 25 off two overs from Warne and Kamran Khan. But Munaf swung the pendulum back Rajasthan's way with a wicket maiden - the wicket of Vettori - at the death.

Royal Challengers Bangalore v Kolkata Knight Riders, IPL, Durban
 

Cool Boucher wins Bangalore a thriller

April 29, 2009

Royal Challengers Bangalore 143 for 5 (Goswami 43, Hodge 3-29) beat Kolkata Knight Riders 139 for 6 (van Wyk 44*, Kumble 2-16) by five wickets

In a contest of two desperate teams, Royal Challengers Bangalore were simply more desperate, winning their second game of the season in six tries. Their desperation manifested itself positively, when they included three spinners in the side, opened the bowling with Kevin Pietersen and restricted Kolkata to a below-par total. And it showed up negatively, as they collapsed after a solid start - the first time both their openers got off the mark this season - and contrived to need 10 off the last over, having been 69 for 0 at one point.

Finally, Mark Boucher's cool head prevailed, and his 13-ball 25 saved them much embarrassment, especially when they have been the laughing stocks of the tournament.

Both teams needed inspiration from their captains, and clearly there was only one winner. Even before the toss, Pietersen showed he had read the pitch better by including the extra spinner, in Roelof van der Merwe. Kolkata, who like Bangalore are the butt of jokes, mainly because of their strategy and team decisions, dropped Ajantha Mendis for Murali Kartik. They would surely have regretted that decision when Kartik, Brad Hodge and Chris Gayle prolonged the game with tight bowling.

Pietersen, playing his last game before flying back to England, was the most desperate of all. Despite the presence of three spinners in his side, he bowled the first ball of the day, and got his counterpart Brendon McCullum out with that. Ironic, given that till now a scoreline of 0 for 1 has been an almost exclusive preserve of Pietersen's side. Two of his other spinners, Anil Kumble and KP Appanna, also struck in their first overs, both at crucial times when Kolkata seemed to have got away.

Hodge had come out blazing, taking Pankaj Singh for two fours and a six in three deliveries, and guiding Kolkata to a good start notwithstanding the first over. Till Kumble struck in the sixth over. He first beat Gayle with a bouncing delivery, then got Hodge with a slider to have Kolkata stumbling at 45 for 2.

Gayle scored at an uncharacteristic strike-rate of 108, batting with a runner, and giving up adventure for responsibility. His dismissal, too, was unusual for him - holing out to a boundary fielder off Appanna. It wasn't clear whether the restricted foot movement was the reason but it was certain that Kolkata at that point looked - despite the loss of regular wickets - primed for a second-half assault, at 70 for 3 in 11.1 overs.

That assault never came, though, and, despite Morne van Vyk's 35-ball 44, Kolkata couldn't even double that score. Kumble played a major role, dismissing the dangerous-looking Wriddhiman Saha in his first over back. The spinners bowled 15 overs for 100 runs, and took five wickets. Kumble bowled four of them for 16 runs and two wickets.

Shreevats Goswami, replacing the hopeless Robin Uthappa at the top, and Jacques Kallis got Bangalore off to a start. Goswami was especially impressive. While Kallis was slow in scoring runs, Goswami kept Bangalore ahead of the required run-rate, targeting Ajit Agarkar, the weak link in the Kolkata attack. He hit three boundaries in Agarkar's two overs and didn't allow Kartik to settle into any rhythm, stepping out and hitting two boundaries in his first over.

Kartik made a good comeback and, not for the first time this tournament, Bangalore lost their way post the strategy time-out. They were 65 for 0 at the break, but soon wickets started falling as they looked to capitalise on a good start. Hodge benefited from some reckless shots, and 69 for 0 became 77 for 2. With Ishant Sharma coming out to bowl an impressive late spell, 106 for 2 became 107 for 4 in the 16th over.

Boucher, accustomed to finishing games for South Africa, had the right mix of sensible running and big hitting. He kept his cool through a poor 19th over, when Ishant gave away just three runs and claimed van der Merwe's wicket. His boundary hits came at the right times. He hit a six with 29 required off 16, and then a four with nine required off five. In a match where it seemed, at times, neither team had the will to win, Boucher was the final difference.

Mumbai Indians v Kings XI Punjab, IPL, Durban
 

Abdulla clinches Punjab a last-over thriller

April 29, 2009

Kings XI Punjab 119 for 8 (Sangakkara 45*, Malinga 2-12) beat Mumbai Indians 116 for 7 (Duminy 59, Abdulla 2-19) by three runs

Talk about pulling one from out of the hat. Defending a small total Kings XI Punjab's three-pronged pace attack bowled canny spells to rock Mumbai Indians' chase, and despite a composed half-century from JP Duminy, Punjab hung on to complete a nerve-wracking three-run victory. Mumbai hardly set a wrong foot forward from the time they lost the toss, striking early through spin and keeping their hands on the jugular through Lasith Malinga's late strikes, but failed to chase 120. Kumar Sangakkara had kept the innings alive with an important unbeaten 45 with scant support and it proved decisive in the end. Having struck early in the piece the task of bowling the last over, and defend 12 runs, came to Yusuf Abdulla. And what an over it turned out to be.

Duminy, who was on 55, swung two down the ground, missed a clever slower ball, left a wide be, heaved two more, and then swung the fourth ball straight to deep midwicket. Abdulla was perspiring insanely in the Kingsmead cauldron as he left his giddy team-mates and went back to his mark. But this is a left-arm fast bowler adept at the Twenty20 format, and he only allowed three off the next two balls, aided by a superb dive at cover by the portly Ramesh Powar off the last ball to save a couple, to spark incredible scenes.

This major upset was put into motion early in Mumbai's chase. Mumbai are very reliant on their veteran openers, so striking early was one massive way at winning. Irfan Pathan gave Punjab exactly what they wanted, getting Sanath Jayasuriya to nick one to slip in the first over. Then Sachin Tendulkar, for once, failed. After a thick edge past backward point and crude hoick he drove Vikramjeet Malik straight to point. The situation was particularly dubious when a struggling Shikhar Dhawan missed a middle-stump yorker from Abdulla.

That left Duminy and Dwayne Bravo to steer a faltering chase, and Duminy set about it with consecutive boundaries in Malik's second over. Bravo a pulled four and lofted six in Piyush Chawla's opening over only to repeat the big shot in the next and hole out to long-on. Mumbai went into the tactical break on 47 for 4, still 73 adrift.

Duminy has proved a master of such situations and milked the bowling in a 49-run stand with Abhishek Nayar. Livewires alike, they pinched singles and kept runs ticking over. Harried singles from clever paddles and rubber-wrist dabs also did the trick. A few fumbles in the deep told as Punjab started to slack; a couple fortuitous inside edges and a missed run out and stumping compounded their frustration.

As the target got closer Duminy raised his fifty off 55 balls, the slowest of the IPL. Irfan came back to clean up Nayar first ball of the 18th over, with Mumbai needing 26, and Harbhajan Singh fell in the penultimate over with 19 left. Seven runs were scampered in the next five balls. Then Abdullah came into the picture to seal Punjab the tightest win of the tournament.

It was a disappointing loss for Mumbai after a glossy display in the field. For the second game running at Kingsmead spin had its say over proceedings early on. Mumbai's slow bowlers came on well inside the first ten overs and quickly dented Punjab. Malinga and Zaheer Khan were frugal with the new ball, but it was Harbhajan's entry in the fourth over brought the wicket of Goel, stumped easily. That brought about another change, Bravo coming in and immediately accounting for Ravi Bopara with an away-swinger. The Powerplay yielded two wickets for Mumbai and just 26 runs for Punjab, which included one six and a four.

Attempting to up the tempo Yuvraj was well held on the long-on boundary by Zaheer off Duminy - who came in the seventh over - and Mumbai were hooting and screaming. At the ten-over break Punjab were 50 for 3. Throughout the tournament the first over after the tactical break has proved jittery for sides batting first and the pattern continued. Enter Jayasuriya and third ball Mahela Jayawardene chipped a low full toss to long-on.

Batting wasn't easy with the slow bowlers purchasing grip from a track on which spin accounted for eight wickets in the afternoon's game. Sangakkara curbed himself in and knocked the ball around. The sweep was a shot he played regularly in between chopping the ball into the arc between cover and point. After Irfan fell in the 15th over Punjab needed a big over, but it never came. Malinga came back for two overs and nobody was able to get him away; Wilkin Mota and Chawla were yorked in the space of three balls. In the last ten overs Mumbai conceded just two boundaries off the bat, Sangakkara and Powar clubbing Bravo twice in the final over.

Ultimately Sangakkara's vigil and Abdulla's calm came up trumps for Punjab. For Mumbai, it was a rude wake-up call, and they will now seriously have to address a batting order too reliant on the openers.

Deccan Chargers v Delhi Daredevils, IPL, Centurion
 

Dilshan heroics take Delhi home

April 30, 2009

Delhi Daredevils 150 for 4 (Dilshan 52*, Karthik 41, Shaoib 2-20) beat Deccan Chargers 148 for 9 (Smith 48, Nannes 2-16) by six wickets

Tournament favourites Delhi Daredevils turned in a thoroughly professional performance in the clash of the heavyweights at SuperSport Park, beating Deccan Chargers by six wickets. Tillakaratne Dilshan proved his worth yet again with an unbeaten fifty to steer his team to 149; he was supported by Dinesh Karthik, who finally delivered with the bat after a disappointing season last year. This was Deccan's first defeat in the tournament and they now share points with Delhi at the top of the table, though with a better net run rate.

Delhi controlled most of the game, save one passage of play in Deccan's innings when Dwayne Smith got going. The 10-over break has often worked against the batting team in this tournament but the reverse happened here. Deccan looked out of sorts at 55 for 4 with the Delhi spinners bowling in tandem before Smith hit 48 off 28 balls. The bowlers hit back, though, to keep them to 148, and Sehwag would have settled for that having opted to field in good batting conditions.

Deccan's poor start pushed them on the backfoot and gave Delhi the momentum they needed. For once, the top order failed and the responsibility fell on those following to steer the team through. Adam Gilchrist and Herschelle Gibbs fell to poor shots against Dirk Nannes, who bowled with confidence, getting a lot of bounce and nip off the pitch.

The spinners started off well, taking two wickets before the strategy time-out to stall a brief Deccan recovery led by Rohit Sharma. But Smith seemed determined to ruin their figures. He picked the usually miserly Daniel Vettori for three successive fours and pulled Mishra flat over deep square-leg, then lofted him over long-on for consecutive sixes.

Curiously, another spinner, Tillakaratne Dilshan, was brought on to replace Vettori but there was no respite. Smith's confidence rubbed off on debutant T Suman and Deccan scored 51 off three overs to reclaim the advantage.

Smith regularly made room to hit the seamers with powerful bottom-hand shots but ultimately fell to an inside-out loft over the covers off Nehra. The total looked competitive but one got the feeling Deccan were around 20 runs short against Delhi's strong batting.

The chase began on a positive note. Sehwag, in need of runs, looked like turning the corner by slapping wide deliveries over point and elegantly flicking to the on side when the bowlers strayed. However, when RP Singh cramped him for a bit of room, he slashed hard and found Herschelle Gibbs at backward point and what looked like the beginning of an enterprising comeback innings turned into a cameo.

The in-form AB de Villiers perished for 5 in front of his home crowd, trying to go over the top. Gautam Gambhir also looked fairly authoritative while at the crease, slicing two boundaries wide of point off Shoaib Ahmed, but gave it all way trying to paddle him around the corner in the same over. Whether he gloved the ball en route to the pad was uncertain but it was a risk not worth taking for a man looking to carry the chase and when he fell, the score was 49 for 3 and the game was wide open.

Karthik and Dilshan played sensibly in the middle overs and settled on knocking the balls into the gaps knowing they weren't chasing the tallest of targets. They looked comfortable against Pragyan Ojha and the backup bowling of Smith and Rohit Sharma couldn't do much either. The momentum stayed with Delhi when pair tonked sixes off the slower bowlers over the on side. Karthik then whipped Edwards to bisect a narrow window between two fielders on the on side, an obvious sign of his confidence.

Deccan were unable to get the breakthroughs and the pair offered no chances. The frustration showed on Fidel Edwards when he was unfairly penalised for bowling a bouncer. Gilchrist walked across to fan the flames and it got fairly heated when Dilshan clubbed a six off Edwards over deep square-leg and seemed to make an angry gesture towards the bowler. That six, though, had sealed the match and handed Deccan their first defeat of the season.

Chennai Super Kings v Rajasthan Royals, IPL, Centurion
 

Raina gem inspires Chennai to victory

April 30, 2009

Chennai Super Kings 164 for 5 (Raina 98, Badrinath 29) beat Rajasthan Royals 126 for 9 (Jadeja 37, Balaji 4-21) by 38 runs

In a demonstration of power-hitting with which he carried Chennai Super Kings in the first IPL, Suresh Raina again showed his ability to dominate and, when the need arose, get out of a jam. Chennai were in early trouble after being put in to bat but the early loss of the openers to Shane Warne's introduction of spin didn't deter Raina, who dispatched the Rajasthan Royals attack to all parts of SuperSport Park. His one-man show was complemented by a disciplined and enthusiastic fielding display - including a wicket and two catches to the man of the moment - and Chennai wrapped up victory by 38 runs.

The spade work for victory had been done with a gem from Raina. His blazing innings started and ended in the face of adversary but it didn't show on his face or in his choice of shots. Chennai had lost their leading run-scorer, Matthew Hayden, and Parthiv Patel to loose shots against Yusuf Pathan, who opened the attack with Dimitri Mascarenhas. But after that edgy start Chennai were put back on track through a 67-run liaison between Raina and S Badrinath. Raina was due a good score and he decided attack was the best way of defence.

He took the initiative early on, taking Mascarenhas for four and six and then clubbing Yusuf over long-off for six more. Badrinath was promoted ahead of MS Dhoni, Jacob Oram and Albie Morkel with Chennai in trouble and he reciprocated with a smart cameo of 29. He relieved the pressure with three off-side boundaries and hit Yusuf out of the attack. Badri's inventiveness - making room, getting the wrists into play, lofting over the infield - allowed Raina to continue blazing and he carved a brilliant front-foot six over point off Munaf Patel's first delivery.

Once he found his tempo, Raina was unstoppable. A deft tickle for four off Siddharth Trivedi was one for the purists, a thick inside-edge next ball for the same result just the bit of luck Raina needed to script an epic. He continued to produce punishing pulls and gorgeous shots down the ground, but the slice over cover-point was the sight of the evening. Shane Warne was pulled and cut for boundaries in his first over as Raina reached fifty from 27 balls.

By now the mood in both camps had reversed. Rajasthan's early momentum faded into repeated misfields that allowed boundaries, and where Chennai had been unsure with the bat at the start, Badrinath was uppercutting for four. There were risks, but they were calculated. The fifty-run partnership needed just 33 deliveries.

Rajasthan took two wickets shortly after the break but with Dhoni giving him strike, Raina broke the shackles with consecutive boundaries in the 17th over. The run rate had now crossed seven and increased with consecutive sixes, both sliced over covers, in a 24-run 18th over during which Kamran Khan had to limp off with a twisted ankle. In the last over Raina raised his bat on 98, when the electronic scoreboard got it wrong after he slapped four past cover. Next ball was slashed up in the air and excellently taken by Graeme Smith at deep backward point. The only batsmen to cross 30, Raina's exemplary 98 off 55 balls lifted Chennai to a competitive total.

That innings not only gave the crowd something to cheer about but also gave Chennai's bowlers a solid platform to work with. A revamped new-ball attack of Morkel and Sudeep Tyagi kept it tidy and waited for errors, which came rather soon. Smith's vigilance had played a big role in the last game but here he was impetuous, reaching out and guiding Morkel to point in the second over. Swapnil Asnodkar was another to fall going for a big shot, except that he swung his bat down onto his own stumps.

As if his innings wasn't torture enough for Rajasthan, Raina starred with the ball. Rob Quiney was given a life when Dhoni fluffed a stumping, but the bowler had his revenge when he beat bat with a slider.

Yusuf came out blazing but failed to convert, lofting L Balaji down to long-off where the man who could do no wrong took the catch. Dhoni held back on using Balaji till the 11th over and the bowler immediately made an impact, not allowing any room. When Ravindra Jadeja skied Balaji miles into the starry night and Hayden settled under a steepler, the candle had gone out. The rest was a formality as Balaji took four, a solid comeback after a poor last match.

It was apt that the last wicket, a massive top edge, should land in Raina's hands. His grip remained firm from start to finish.

Jamie Alter is a senior sub-editor at Cricinfo

© Cricinfo

Kolkata Knight Riders v Mumbai Indians, IPL, East London
 

Duminy and Zaheer keep Kolkata down

May 1, 2009

Mumbai Indians 148 for 6 (Duminy 52*) beat Kolkata Knight Riders 139 for 6 (Hodge 73, Zaheer 3-31) by nine runs

Kolkata Knight Riders made a good attempt at causing possibly the biggest surprise of the season so far but fell short despite smart bowling for most of Mumbai's innings and a first fifty for them by Brad Hodge, who kept together a chase that threatened to fall away early on.

Mumbai turned the game irreversibly in six overs: the last three of their innings and the first three of Kolkata's. The main characters in this script were JP Duminy and Zaheer Khan. Duminy's late assault helped Mumbai scored 42 in the last three overs of an otherwise limp effort and, on the other side of the break, Zaheer removed Kolkata's openers Chris Gayle and Sourav Ganguly in his first two overs.

Hodge's innings was, in isolation, the best individual effort of the match. Chasing 149, Kolkata were 8 for 2 in the third over. Hodge consolidated along with Morne van Wyk and, while they didn't score at a spectacular rate, their 89-run stand kept Kolkata in the hunt. Hodge made an especially slow start, scoring 3 off the first 14 balls he faced. But once he'd stepped out and lofted Harbhajan Singh for a four in the sixth over, he pulled out a remarkable mix of sensible batting and attacking cricketing shots.

The three sixes he hit were hit down the ground without any power at all, just a clean swing of the straight bat. Despite the run-rate climbing every over, Kolkata were always with a chance while Hodge was in. With 61 required off the last six overs, he hit Graham Napier for back-to-back fours. With 51 needed from the last five, he hit Zaheer Khan for a six over long-off, and suddenly Kolkata needed just 38 in the last four overs with seven wickets in hand.

That's when Lasith Malinga delivered two near-perfect overs of death bowling, giving away just 11 runs and shutting Kolkata out. Mumbai's last three overs were a mirror image.

Kolkata had done everything right in the first 17 overs, but they still had Duminy to take care of. When Laxmi Shukla came on to bowl the 18th over, Duminy was 22 off 26 and Mumbai had reached only 106. He pulled Shukla for two sixes in the 18th over, and suddenly all Kolkata's good work from the first 17 overs seemed wasted. Ishant Sharma bowled a superb 19th over, giving away just nine runs and taking a wicket, but Duminy still stood between Kolkata and an easy target.

Two more sixes followed in the last over, both down the ground, off length deliveries from Dinda. The latter came off the last ball, which meant he had scored 30 off the last 11 balls he faced.

It was the most critical phase of the match: only two sixes had been hit before that, both by Sachin Tendulkar, emphasising the concern that Mumbai have been overly reliant on Tendulkar and Sanath Jayasuriya. Once Jayasuriya was out for 6, there was no danger of repeating the hammering they had handed out to Kolkata earlier this week.

It was also a day when Mumbai and Kolkata experimented a lot. Kolkata made proactive and frequent bowling changes, and didn't let the batsmen settle to any kind of rhythm. After the first 12 overs of the innings, five of seven bowlers used by Kolkata had gone for less than six an over, and four of them had taken a wicket each. Mumbai sent in their hitters Harbhajan Singh and Abhishek Nayar at Nos 3 and 4. Neither move worked and Mumbai paid the price of aiming too high.

When it came to Kolkata's innings, both teams tinkered with their opening combinations. Ganguly replaced Brendon McCullum at the top of the order, and Mumbai didn't open with Malinga, saving him for the latter half of the innings. The final experiment worked for Mumbai, with Malinga bowling tight overs towards the end, and it's the final experiment that counted.

Royal Challengers Bangalore v Kings XI Punjab, IPL, Durban
 

Praveen and Bangalore upstage Yuvraj in thriller

May 1, 2009

Royal Challengers Bangalore 145 for 9 (van der Merwe 35, Abdulla 4-36, Yuvraj 3-22) beat Kings XI Punjab 137 for 7 (Yuvraj 50, Praveen 2-27, Kumble 2-25) by eight runs

Nerves? Perhaps. But nerves of steel. Having given up 14 runs in the 17th over, Praveen Kumar displayed admirable composure to bowl a four-run, double-wicket final over and seal an amazing eight-run win for Royal Challengers Bangalore. Two teams that met in Durban at contrasting positions in the IPL traded blows for 40 overs of a pulse-setting Twenty20 and, when it came to the crunch, Bangalore threw the biggest blow, derailing Kings XI Punjab from 70 for no loss to 137.

To put this finish in perspective, you have to understand where Punjab were placed for more than two-thirds of this game. Having stunned Bangalore with a hat-trick spread over two overs, Yuvraj Singh promoted himself to open the innings in place of Ravi Bopara, departed for England duty. He struggled initially against a clever Praveen's changes of pace but the arrival of Jesse Ryder and Roelof van der Merwe brought out the beast. Yuvraj found the middle of his bat and some sweet timing with a club off Ryder past mid-on, and van der Werwe's first ball was dumped over long-on for six. From being 18 from 19 balls, Yuvraj whistled to fifty from 33 with three more sixes, one off Ryder and two off Anil Kumble. The couple off Kumble recalled that innings at this same venue.

Yuvraj fell two deliveries before the tactical break, attempting a fifth six but top-edging Kumble to midwicket. Then, as has happened so often, the seven-and-a-half-minute interval claimed another wicket. Karan Goel had been a silent accumulator while Yuvraj led Punjab's best opening stand of the season but his attempt to fill his captain's shoes didn't work. The wobble was on when Simon Katich, in his first game of 2009, was run out when called for a risky single by Kumar Sangakkara.

Punjab needed 62 from seven overs when Mahela Jayawardene joined Sangakkara. It seemed still achievable. Yet Punjab didn't manage a boundary in the 15th and 16th overs, bowled by Ryder and Kumble, and, after carving consecutive fours in the 17th, bowled by Praveen, Jayawardene scooped to point. Punjab still needed 30 from 17 balls. Game on.

van der Merwe followed up the wicket-taking delivery with four byes, a full toss swatted for four by Irfan Pathan and a wide to ratchet up the tension. At the end of that over the equation was 17 from 12.

Enter Kumble, who was Bangalore captain for the day. Sangakkara missed the next ball and was bowled after that by a googly. Kumble isn't a champion for nothing and, by conceding only four runs in the penultimate over, left Punjab needing 13 from the last. Talk about tension.

Praveen bowled a dot. Irfan took a breath, looked up, and slapped the next ball through point for four. Third ball was a lovely slow ball that sneaked under the bat. Irfan lofted the fourth down to long-on and, with the fifth, Praveen bowled Piyush Chawla. Bangalore had sealed a superb win after posting a disappointing total.

Rewind to the first major highlight of this epic game. Yuvraj hadn't been contributing with the bat this season, so he decided to make an impact with the ball. With the last two balls of the 11th over of Bangalore's innings, Yuvraj dismissed Robin Uthappa and Jaques Kallis and achieved the fourth IPL hat-trick with the first ball of the 13th, trapping Mark Boucher with another quick arm ball.

Bangalore were struggling after early losses - Ryder again fell in the first over - and needed Kallis to last the full quota of overs. He and the recalled Uthappa had put on 42 when Yuvraj struck. Having strayed in line early in his second over Yuvraj tried a flatter, faster delivery and Uthappa miscued one to the deep. The batsmen crossed as the ball went up in the air, but Kallis' tentative footwork against an arm ball resulted in the sound of timber. Mark Boucher came in but didn't last as Yuvraj came back and fired in another slider. Punjab were cock-a-hoop.

After Yuvraj struck, a pugnacious cameo from van der Merwe - which included an amazing six in which he looked to square leg but hit over extra cover - gave the innings some shape. Abdulla's figures were really bruised by van der Merwe, who slammed six, four, six in three balls, but he had his number and became the highest wicket-taker this season. Abdulla yorked Kumble in the final over and should have had five but Chawla at third man spilled a running catch. Abdulla smiled proudly when he donned the purple cap for leading the wickets tally.

But in a game that swung to and fro, Bangalore regrouped superbly when it really mattered, and their grins were more emphatic than anything seen all day.

Deccan Chargers v Rajasthan Royals, IPL, Port Elizabeth
 

Raut shepherds Rajasthan to victory

May 2, 2009

Rajasthan Royals 142 for 7 (Raut 36*, Carseldine 39) beat Deccan Chargers (Suman 41*) 141 for 5 by by three wickets

Rajasthan Royals prevailed in a see-saw chase which included three wickets in two overs and 51 runs in seven. Disciplined spells of bowling were followed by some nerveless batting, though misfields and dropped catches from Deccan Chargers contributed to the close finish.

Yusuf Pathan, having starred with the ball early in the piece, took Rajasthan to within 11 of victory with two overs to go. Abhishek Raut, who played an anchoring role with an unbeaten 36 off 23 balls, was joined by Shane Harwood in the middle and Dwayne Smith fumbled a run-out chance with 10 needed off 10.

Some anxious moments ensued as Deccan argued that only one of the two runs that Raut and Harwood ran during the run-out attempt could be counted since the umpire had already signalled a referral at the end of the first run. But the deduction did not amount to much after Rohit Sharma failed to collect a ball and let it go for four instead. That eased the pressure on Rajasthan, who needed only two off the final over. Fidel Edwards bowled two dot balls but messed up a possible run-out of the third. Raut and Harwood took two singles to finish the game with two balls to spare.

But it had looked like Deccan had their fifth win in the bag when Rajasthan found themselves at 3 for 3 at the end of two overs. Graeme Smith slashed a catch to third man after having nearly got run out, following which Swapnil Asnodkar, again slow to react to a call, gave up his wicket as Lee Carseldine nearly reached his crease. Naman Ojha gave RP Singh a wicket-maiden after his struggle to pick the line ended with a catch to Herschelle Gibbs at point. At the end of three overs Rajasthan were 5 for 3, as opposed to Deccan who were at 27 for no loss at that stage.

Then Ravindra Jadeja and Carseldine added 51 in seven overs - Carseldine hitting five fours in 11 balls - but the two fell within four balls of each other. Rajasthan went into the strategy break marginally ahead of Deccan at the end of 10 overs - 60 to their 58 - but had lost two wickets less in hand. Shane Warne pushed Yusuf down the order and brought himself and Raut up in a move that worked. The over immediately after the strategy break was the most effective as Warne first pulled Venugopal Rao for a six to midwicket, was dropped off the next, slogged another six off the third before Raut joined in with a four to fine leg.

They rotated the strike for the rest of the partnership and even after Warne's fall, Raut continued to patiently collect the runs, leaving the big-hitting to Yusuf. He perhaps only missed out on a Man-of-the-Match award because Yusuf not only hit a cameo innings of 24 off 14 but also bowled a crucial opening spell of 4-0-19-1.

Rajasthan began with a spin-heavy attack - three of the first 10 overs were bowled by fast bowlers - and it looked like it would take the game way after the way Gilchrist batted in the first three overs. But Yusuf and Harwood ensured Deccan went into the strategy break not feeling quite comfortable. T Suman and Rohit provided a shot in the arm to Deccan's innings with a 59-run stand but the early reining-in by Yusuf and Harwood made the eventual difference to the result.

Chennai Super Kings v Delhi Daredevils, IPL, Johannesburg
 

Jakati spins Chennai to victory

May 2, 2009

Chennai Super Kings 163 (Badrinath 45, Nehra 3-27, Nannes 3-27) beat Delhi Daredevils (Karthik 52, Warner 51, Jakati 4-24) by 18 runs

A superb bowling performance by left-arm spinner Shadab Jakati gave Chennai Super Kings their third win of the tournament and with it some momentum. Chennai's total of 163 - built around a 66-run partnership between Suresh Raina and S Badrinath - seemed too little after they whimpered to a finish, but led by Jakati and Muttiah Muralitharan they hit back at the clutch, disturbing a threatening stand and keeping Delhi to 145 as the IPL bandwagon landed in Johannesburg.

Delhi were rattled early in their chase by Sudeep Tyagi, who was again given the new ball. His first wicket owed more to a corker of a catch by Raina at point to cut off Gautam Gambhir, but the second was a peach. AB de Villiers was cleaned up first ball by an awayswinger. In his first over, Jakati also arrived with a bang. Tillakaratne Dilshan, Delhi's batting hero in the last couple games, was bowled by a ripper that pitched on middle and took off stump.

Till the 16th over it was almost in the bag for Delhi, thanks to a super stand between the IPL debutant David Warner and Dinesh Karthik. Displaying plenty of urgency with his shots and running between the wickets, Warner farmed the strike and collected five fours and a six, all of which were controlled attempts. Thought not at his most devastative, he was firm when he pulled to the on side and impressed with how he took on responsibility to see Delhi through early difficulty.

Karthik's was a smart innings, shot by shot relieving the pressure on Warner. He meshed caution with aggression but most importantly, found the boundaries whenever he tried. Jacob Oram was taken for a six each by Warner and Karthik when he came on to bowl the 13th over. Then Murali returned and Karthik slammed consecutive boundaries through cover, one with a two-step and the other rocking onto the back foot. The cheeky followed, as Karthik paddle-scooped L Balaji to fine leg. Murali erred in length and Karthik flat-batted four more.

Then Jakati returned and pulled the carpet from beneath their feet, with a bit of help from Murali. Karthik began by smashing a boundary but Warner, who raised his fifty from 38 balls, was stumped attempting to swing Jakati away. Mithun Manhas came and went, bowled trying to slog Murali, and Karthik found himself in the driver's seat. Karthik's fifty came up off 30 balls but next ball, with 32 needed from 17, he top-edged Jakati to the deep. Jakati completed a superb spell by bowling Pradeep Sangwan and victory was soon achieved. Jakati and Murali, in their eight overs, took five wickets. This again proved that anything in excess of 150 was not easy to chase.

Chennai's innings ran a similar course after Gambhir, captaining in place of an injured Virender Sehwag, put them in. Their lost two early wickets, were lifted by a strong stand, and then collapsed in the last few overs. M Vijay replaced an out-of-sorts Parthiv Patel as opener but himself looked a Twenty20 misfit before Ashish Nehra tested him with a short ball and drew a top edge. Matthew Hayden, knocked to his feet when he took a ball from Sangwan flush on the sternum, kept swinging away but fell to the same bowler when he lofted to long-on.

With the ball still new and the field in, Raina boldly went over the top, getting off the mark with a front-foot six. When the field spread and spin came on, he chipped and tucked the ball smartly into the gaps but trying to up the tempo was taken right on the boundary line by Tillakaratne Dilshan. Badrinath had taken his time, scoring his first seven runs off 13 balls, but dumped the first ball after the tactical break for six off Dilshan. In the same over he took Dilshan for four down the ground, before hooking, pulling and cutting Sangwan to and over the boundary in the next over. Another solid slap past point followed but, like Raina, Badrinath tried to take it up a level and was yorked by an alert Rajat Bhatia.

With Albie Morkel and MS Dhoni batting and Oram to come, a total of 180 seemed a distinct possibility but the quick bowlers struck as Gambhir made a good call. With Bhatia's slow medium stuff keeping a check on runs, Gambhir called back Nehra for the 16th over. Nehra immediately struck with the short ball, taking a return catch from Morkel. Nehra was impressive all evening, varying his pace and banging it in on a testing length.

Then Dirk Nannes was ushered right back for the next over and took out Oram, who fell pulling. Nannes then found himself on a hat-trick when Dhoni top-edged a quick delivery to cover. The hat-trick was averted, only for Nehra to take his third with a fuller ball.

In the end, that total of 163 proved more than enough for Chennai to get some lift. Today the top two teams suffered defeats and the top seven are now separated by just two points, proving what a tight contest this IPL is.

Kings XI Punjab v Kolkata Knight Riders, IPL
 

Punjab steal last-ball thriller

May 3, 2009

Kings XI Punjab 154 for 4 (Jayawardene 52*, Katich 34) beat Kolkata Knight Riders 153 for 3 (Hodge 70*) by six wickets

Four dropped catches undid Brad Hodge's impressive half-century and took Kings XI Punjab back into the top four of the IPL table after they chased down 154 to beat the Kolkata Knight Riders by six wickets. The match went to the final ball but Punjab clearly outperformed Kolkata through the chase. Mahela Jayawardene, who scored an unbeaten 41-ball 52, and Irfan Pathan held their nerve to ensure the match didn't need the Super Over.

The chase was set up by Simon Katich and Sunny Sohal's frenetic partnership - 43 balls off 26 balls - after Punjab lost Kumar Sangakkara in the first over. Their stand, and one between Jayawardene and Katich - 33 off 25 balls - put Punjab ahead of the eight-ball even after they lost Katich and Yuvraj Singh before the end of the 15th over. Kolkata's bowlers, like Punjab's, conceded full tosses at the death and the final tight over from Ajit Agarkar was too little too late. Kolkata used eight bowlers and may need to review the logic of bringing in left-arm spinner Murali Kartik as the final change.

Sohal was dropped twice in two balls after which he and Katich unleashed a shower of fours and sixes - top edges and mistimed shots included - as Kolkata's bowlers struggled to keep a tight line. Chris Gayle ended his role in the tournament by making a mess of collecting a leading edge off Katich's bat when he was on 5. Kolkata's most productive over had been their final one where Brad Hodge and Morne van Wyk took Irfan Pathan for 21 runs; Punjab managed that in their fourth over, with Katich and Sohal hitting 22 off Ashok Dinda,.

Punjab's bowling had been equally ordinary but Kolkata's batsmen, barring Hodge, could not hit over the top. Brendon McCullum struggled to pick the gaps and Gayle failed to build on his steady start. The run-rate did not improve significantly even after Hodge joined McCullum at the crease after Gayle's fall.

McCullum ground out his 19 runs off 31 balls before pulling a short and wide delivery off Chawla straight to Vikramjeet Malik at deep backward square-leg. His dismissal brought a spurt of energy to the innings, due mainly to Hodge. At first he rotated the strike with Sourav Ganguly and converted the loose deliveries into boundaries. He pulled Yuvraj for two consecutive fours to midwicket and then hit Abdulla over his head for a six; Ganguly opened the face of his bat to guide a four to third man and then slogged a huge six off Chawla to square leg. That seemed to energise Ganguly and he tried to attack every subsequent delivery. It didn't work and three balls later Ganguly top-edged a sweep to Kumar Sangakkara for a 23-ball 22.

After Ganguly's dismissal, Hodge threw his bat at everything and the 21 runs off the final over would have given Kolkata the game if it hadn't been for those dropped catches.

Mumbai Indians v Royal Challengers Bangalore, IPL, Johannesburg
 

Dominant Bangalore crush Mumbai

May 3, 2009

Royal Challengers Bangalore 150 for 1 (Kallis 69*, Uthappa 66*) beat Mumbai Indians 149 for 4 (Jayasuriya 52, Bravo 50*, du Preez 3-32) by nine wickets

What a difference a week makes. Last Sunday, Royal Challengers Bangalore were at the bottom of the table, had slumped to their fourth consecutive defeat, and were looking ahead to surviving without two key batsmen, Rahul Dravid and Kevin Pietersen. Now, after a thoroughly dominant performance against Mumbai Indians they are jostling for a share of the top spot. The reversal of fortunes was illustrated by the two men who blunted the powerful Mumbai bowling, Jacques Kallis and Robin Uthappa, who shrugged off their forgettable starts to the tournament with superbly paced half-centuries.

The star of the first half for Bangalore was little-known South African allrounder Dillon du Preez who had an IPL debut to tell the grandkids about, taking three early wickets with his medium-pacers. A resilient Mumbai though recovered, first through Sanath Jayasuriya's half-century before Dwayne Bravo and Abhishek Nayar slammed 48 runs off the last three overs to lift their side to what-had-seemed a competitive total.

du Preez started off with that rarest of beasts in Twenty20s - the double-wicket maiden, and it included the scalp of Sachin Tendulkar. Handed the ball in the fourth over there were a quiet couple of balls before he induced an outside edge off Tendulkar to the safe hands of Rahul Dravid at slip, to spark wild celebrations. The hint of away movement in the next delivery had Ajinkya Rahane giving catching practice to slip.

The Boys' Own story continued for du Preez in his next over, with his first poor delivery also fetching him a wicket; Duminy went for an ill-advised pull to a long hop angling away from him, only under-edging it to the wicketkeeper. du Preez's figures were a scarcely believable 1.2-1-0-3, and Mumbai were gasping at 23 for 3.

Jayasuriya then began reviving Mumbai with a steady partnership with Bravo. After a watchful beginning - he was on 11 off 20 at one stage - he broke free in the eighth over, muscling a fractionally short ball over mid-on's head, and then hammering the next delivery into the crowd behind midwicket. There were also the Jayasuriya trademarks, powerful slaps over point and some nimble running between the wickets. Despite all that, Mumbai reached the strategic time-out at an unsatisfactory 53 for 3.

Bravo was following the Jayasuriya method of taking his time to gauge the pitch. There were some stylish flicks, and deft dabs to third man but it wasn't till the 18th over - 12 overs after he came in - that he hit his first boundary. Mumbai were 101 for 4 after 17 overs, but a spell of frenetic hitting from Bravo and Nayar took them towards 150, a score which has proved eminently defendable in this tournament.

As usual, Bangalore had a new combination at the top of the order, Kallis and Wasim Jaffer, but the start was completely different from those earlier in the tournament. Kallis began aggressively, with a couple of boundaries off the first over, and his response to the introduction of the bowler of the series so far, Lasith Malinga, was exceptional. He was welcomed with a clip over square leg for six, and two balls later there was a powerful uppercut - a shot Kallis used frequently all innings - for six more. Seventeen came off the over, and Bangalore had sprinted to 41 for 1 after four overs.

Jaffer fell early, bringing in Uthappa, who started scratchily against the side he represented last season. It wasn't till the spinners came on that he found his touch. On 5 off 11 balls, the pressure was beginning to tell on him but a loose over from Harbhajan Singh gave him confidence. With the asking-rate in check, both Uthappa and Kallis were content to nudge the ones and twos - there were no boundaries for nearly four overs till the 13th, but they never needed more than eight an over.

Uthappa feasted on some buffet bowling from Tendulkar in the 14th - helping himself to three boundaries - after which the result wasn't in doubt. Bravo was pounded over midwicket by Uthappa for the biggest six of the tournament in the next over, and it wasn't long before a six and a four off Jayasuriya sealed one of the biggest wins of the season.

Dhoni and Jakati ensure huge win
 

Chennai Super Kings v Deccan Chargers, IPL, East London

May 4, 2009

Chennai Super Kings 178 for 3 (Hayden 43, Dhoni 58*) beat Deccan Chargers 100 (Smith 49, Jakati 4-22) by 78 runs

Chennai Super Kings soared to the top of the points table in dramatic fashion, recording their third consecutive win in a comprehensive defeat of Deccan Chargers at Buffalo Park. The game had everything: excellent swing that had Deccan reeling at 1 for 3, left-arm spin from Shadab Jakati that gave him his second consecutive four-wicket haul and ripped the heart out of Deccan's batting, and two whirlwind innings, one by Dwayne Smith that could only stave off the inevitable and another by MS Dhoni, at the start of the match, to set up the win. Much of that, and a dropped catch and a missed run-out, took place in a frenetic opening ten overs of Deccan's chase that had more twists, turns and frenetic passages of play than an entire Twenty20 match.


Deccan's win against their opponents in the previous encounter Durban was based on a powerful start from Adam Gilchrist and Herschelle Gibbs but the change in venue brought about a shocking change in fortunes as both departed for ducks. Gilchrist was trapped first ball bang in front of the stumps off a loopy delivery by Albie Morkel and Gibbs played all over a full delivery by Sudeep Tyagi and lost his legstump to a ricochet.


VVS Laxman, desperately seeking runs to keep his place in the side, soon fell to a tame chip to midwicket off Morkel. With three ducks at the top of the order, Deccan's line-up was already resembling a poultry farm - a procession of headless chickens was, one felt, another wicket away.


That it didn't come to that owed itself to some luck and then lots of bravado. A huge mis-hit from Smith when he was on 2 fell towards three waiting fielders but, inexplicably, landed safely; the following ball produced a thick leading edge that was fluffed by Tyagi at third man. What followed in the next couple of overs stung Chennai more than those missed chances.


Choosing attack as the best form of defence, Smith bludgeoned boundaries over the on side with tremendous bat speed. One over from Albie Morkel yielded 19 runs, including two sixes; one, off a high full toss, was hit over midwicket and the next ball was flicked squarer on the on side. The next over from L Balaji was hit for 18 with Rohit Sharma joining the party.

Dhoni shuffled his bowlers and brought on Jakati when the 50 partnership came up in just 21 balls to try and make things happen. Things did happen, though not quite as Dhoni intended. First, Smith clubbed Jakati for a huge six into the grass embankment. In his next over Jakati got rid of Rohit before an amazing sequence that saw four - four run-out chances being fluffed off one ball. Smith hit it to deep point, Jakati couldn't collect the return, Badrinath backing up, threw it back to Jakati who again didn't collect the throw but broke the stumps with Smith and non-striker T Suman almost at the same end; Jakati then picked up the ball and tried to hand it to Badrinath, who had moved to the stumps but flicked it wide of him.


The bowler had his revenge the same over, though, when he trapped Smith in front for 49. That effectively ended Deccan's chase, the rest of the wickets a blur as the innings folded by the 15th over.


Chennai's win was built on their batting, though, as they won the toss and piled on a target which, by this tournament's standards, was way above par. Dhoni, having said before this match that his form was "pathetic", addressed the issue by promoting himself to No. 3 and the quality time spent in the middle helped recover his form.


The start provided by Matthew Hayden and M Vijay gave Chennai and Dhoni the impetus. Hayden feasted on some wayward bowling by biffing deliveries over the off side and walking down the pitch to set the bowlers off their rhythm. Suresh Raina matched Hayden in terms of power and intimidation. After Suman helped Deccan hit back with the wicket of Vijay, his figures were torn apart by Raina, who clubbed him for three consecutive boundaries over midwicket.


Dhoni was already well set at the crease and a six off Pragyan Ojha that landed on the roof at long-on was a sign of things to come. The tentativeness which affected his form in the earlier games was refreshingly absent as he kept busy at the cease, pushing the singles and bludgeoning the bowlers down the ground with his unconventional, yet powerful checked drives. He hammered Harris down the ground like a cannon and took on the same bowler for a reverse sweep that found the boundary. He reached his half-century with a savage pull off RP in the final over and led his team to a score that later exposed the shortcomings of the side heading the table when the match started. It ended, of course, with another team shooting to the top.

Kings XI Punjab v Rajasthan Royals, IPL, Durban
 

Rajasthan thrash Punjab to go second

May 5, 2009

Rajasthan Royals 211 for 4 (Smith 77, Ojha 68) beat Kings XI Punjab 133 for 8 (Yuvraj 48, Amit Singh 3-9) by 78 runs

Two changes, one of them a tactical masterstroke, made their impact in the very first over of each innings to hand Rajasthan Royals an imposing 78-run win against Kings XI Punjab, and propel them - in an intensely fluid tournament - to second place on the points table. The match was effectively decided in three overs: the first of Rajasthan's innings, when Naman Ojha hammered 16 off Ramesh Powar; the penultimate, when Sreesanth went for 23, and the first over of Punjab's innings when Amit Singh, playing his first Twenty20 game, took two wickets, including one off the first ball.

Rajasthan have stayed in this tournament through their bowling but managed today to rectify the blips in their erratic top order to build on a solid opening stand between Ojha - promoted for this game - and Graeme Smith. If Rajasthan got their tactics right, Punjab certainly did not, undermining their decision to field in seaming conditions by opening with a spinner. Powar was punished for 16 in the first over as Ojha, using his feet to counter the flight, smashed two sixes over long-on. Seven balls into the game and Rajasthan had equalled their highest opening partnership of 20 in this year's tournament - the first wicket had reached double figures just once in seven matches .

Though Yuvraj Singh realised his miscalculation and immediately reverted to pace the momentum had been seized. Smith and Ojha timed their innings superbly, latching on to any available opportunity and presumably heightening the sense of regret in the opposing captain for gifting them the initiative.

Ojha adapted to the conditions perfectly after the fielding restrictions were lifted. He combined his naturally aggressive flow with some deft touches, late-cutting Piyush Chawla for a boundary and following that up with an even more delicate dab wide of third man off Abdulla to put on display his varied repertoire of strokes.

Smith's innings marked a contrast to his guarded approach against Delhi Daredevils, when, struggling for form, he took a backseat to Yusuf Pathan's monstrous onslaught that won them the game. Here, he led the charge, smashing Powar for a six in the eleventh over, and finding the gaps in the leg-side consistently, favouring the short-fine and the midwicket region, and using the slog-sweep and the clip off the pads to good effect. The pair used their feet against spinners - Ojha charging down the pitch, and Smith favouring the sweep - to dent the tournament's main bowling weapon, and adding 135, the best opening stand this IPL.

Punjab sensed a comeback with three quick wickets, including the two openers and Yusuf Pathan, who entertained a sizable crowd with 7-ball cameo, and appeared within reach of restricting Rajasthan to around 180. But Ravindra Jadeja ensured there was no shift in momentum, with a blistering 33. Much of that came off the penultimate over from Sreesanth, returning from a three-month injury layoff - he overstepped twice, was dispatched for a six and a four over the leg-side field, and was left infuriated when a thick edge beat the keeper to the boundary to take Rajasthan past 200.

Yuvraj's opening gambit failed with the bowling and his batsmen failed to compensate. Amit, an unknown commodity on the international circuit from Gujarat, had a dream start with Sunny Sohal's wicket off his first ball. Karan Goel, given another go after a poor run of scores, belied the faith by holing out at deep square-leg while attempting an ugly swipe off the final ball.

Strategy, or the lack of it, failed Punjab yet again as Yuvraj kept himself off the top order, coming in at No 6 - by which time the match had been decided. Three more wickets in four overs sealed their fate as Kumar Sangakkara, Simon Katich and Mahela Jayawardene each fell while attempting to salvage an improbable chase. Eventually it was left to their captain to lessen the damage to his team's net run-rate and limit the humiliation.

Punjab's problems at the top of the order have resurfaced, while Rajasthan appear to have fixed theirs. More worrying, though, is Punjab's bowling as the failure of Abdulla and their spinners let them down at a crucial phase in the tournament.

Delhi Daredevils v Kolkata Knight Riders, IPL, Durban
 

Delhi canter to top of the table

May 5, 2009

Delhi Daredevils 157 for 1 (Gambhir 71*, Dilshan 42*) beat Kolkata Knight Riders 154 for 3 (van Wyk 74, Sangwan 2-29) by nine wickets

It's getting hard to keep track of who's on top of the IPL table. For the third day in a row, there was a new leader, now with the Delhi Daredevils occupying first place after strolling past a luckless Kolkata Knight Riders in Durban. To make victory even sweeter, one of their key batsmen, Gautam Gambhir, was back among the runs after an indifferent start to the tournament.

After Morne van Wyk made the most of his chance at the top of the order to push Kolkata towards a middling total, they fielded like millionaires, granting the Delhi batsmen innumerable chances to simplify the chase.

Gambhir, in particular, was virtually coaxed back to form. He was grassed a couple of times, that too by two of the better fielders in the side, on 22 by Brendon McCullum and on 65 by Moises Henriques, a run-out opportunity was wasted on 35, and he was given plenty of free runs as well. Even the umpire gave him a let-off by not picking a nick to the wicketkeeper when on 45.

An early exchange with Ishant Sharma showed how Delhi were helped along to victory. The first over had Ishant exchanging wry grins with his Ranji team-mate Gambhir after tying him down to an outside-edged four. The smiles were gone after some woeful fielding in his next over: Ashok Dinda made a mess at fine-leg, Sourav Ganguly gave away a couple of extra runs after a less-than-athletic effort at mid-off the next ball, and another Dinda fumble allowed the batsmen to return for two. Ishant lost his cool, and his line in the next delivery, presenting Gambhir a leg-side gift, which was glanced for four. Seventeen came off the over, and Delhi proved hard to rein in after that.

David Warner again showed his ability to clear the boundary, a Hayden-esque down-the-pitch pull off Dinda was the stand-out stroke in his blazing cameo. A couple of lofted drives for four off consecutive deliveries emphasised his ominous form but Ajit Agarkar beat Warner for pace two balls later, and had him holing out to Moises Henriques.

There was little relief for Kolkata, though, as Tillakaratne Dilshan demonstrated his form with a couple of cracking cover drives off Agarkar. Gambhir and Dilshan settled on a recipe of risk-free singles with a sprinkling of boundaries to keep Delhi on course. The missed chances already had the Kolkata camp frustrated, and the sight of several boundaries just beating a diving fielder added to their woes. It was only towards the end that the batsmen opened out, to finish the job with an over to spare.

Such a one-sided game didn't seem on the cards after van Wyk glued the fragile Kolkata top order to take them near 150. Their opening troubles seemed set to continue when McCullum struggled to get bat on ball in the first over. But in the first delivery of the third over, McCullum's bolt-down-the-track scythe finally connected and sent the ball rocketing over deep point. A controlled on-drive for four followed next delivery, and a swat sailed past the midwicket boundary three balls later fetched 21 runs off the over.

By the time McCullum clobbered Pradeep Sangwan over midwicket for a flat six, Kolkata were 48 for 0 after five overs, and the two batsmen were sharing a joke in the middle, not a common sight in Kolkata's campaign so far.

It was Sangwan who was laughing a couple of overs later, when he had McCullum slapping the ball straight to fine leg. The in-form Brad Hodge joined van Wyk, but Sangwan and Mishra kept the brakes on. Kolkata could only score in singles for the first five overs after the Powerplays, and the run-rate had flatlined to 6.45.

It was an uncharacteristic fielding error at long-on from AB de Villiers that helped release the pressure for Kolkata. The next delivery was cut away for four more by van Wyk, who caressed three more boundaries in the over that followed from Sangwan. Right through the innings, van Wyk showed his ability to finesse his way to the runs, rarely attempting one of the most favoured strokes in Twenty20: the mow over midwicket.

Just as the runs started to flow, Hodge was dismissed, slowing Kolkata down again. They were at 111 for 2 after 16, when Henriques and van Wyk opened out to lash 28 off the next two. Kolkata needed a couple more like that to finish off, but Nannes and the outstanding Ashish Nehra kept it full and straight to not let them get into fifth gear.

Kolkata finished with a total that was disappointing, with wickets still in hand, but it was nowhere as disheartening as the shoddiness in the field that was to follow.

Deccan Chargers v Mumbai Indians, IPL, Centurion
 

Sharma heroics ensure Deccan win

May 6, 2009

Deccan Chargers 145 for 6 (Sharma 38) beat Mumbai Indians 126 for 8 (Duminy 52, Sharma 4-6) by 19 runs

Mumbai Indians squandered a crucial opportunity to grab a spot in the top four, losing to Deccan Chargers by 19 runs in a see-saw game where they had held the cards for the most part. An unlikely hat-trick by Rohit Sharma, who benefited from some immature shot-selection and accounted for the fall of the threatening JP Duminy, followed up on a pivotal double-strike by RP Singh to remove the explosive pair of Sachin Tendulkar and Sanath Jayasuriya to shut Mumbai out of the game, and consolidate Deccan's position to second place.

The turning point came in the 15th over, after Duminy and Dwayne Bravo had helped get Mumbai's run-chase back on track. A rush of blood at the wrong time resulted in Bravo skying a flighted delivery from Tirumalasetti Suman to long-on, and some injudicious batting by Abhishek Nayar and Harbhajan Singh, who were both bowled by Rohit off successive deliveries, left Duminy with too much to achieve.

Mumbai were dented at the start. A disdainful slice over point, a trademark of Jayasuriya's, in the very first over off Ryan Harris bode ominously for Deccan, but the bowler had his revenge the next over, flinging himself to his right at third man to snap a thick edge from the same batsman. RP's impressive run in the IPL this season won him a place in the Indian squad for the World Twenty20, and as a sign of justification, he castled Tendulkar the next ball with an inswinger.

Pinal Shah was Mumbai's Naman Ojha, and though he displayed little signs of being gifted with sound technique, his enterprising 29, laced with a series of innovative shots, the best of which was a reverse-sweep off Harmeet Singh, relieved the pressure after a shock beginning. Duminy's presence was critical, and he immediately showed signs of intent, picking on anything loose and ensuring the required run-rate was kept within reach by combining his flourish with the natural dabs, nudges and clips that have come to typify his batting.

Shah's dismissal, an inopportune swipe to wide long-on, did little to unsettle Duminy, who picked up pace after the tactical timeout, dispatching Harmeet for two boundaries, one through cover and the other to third man, before pulling Harris wide of deep square leg. With 49 needed off six overs and seven wickets remaining, Mumbai held the edge but three quick wickets gifted by Bravo's mindless loft, Nayar's ill-judged paddle and Harbhajan's atrocious slog swung the match firmly in Deccan's favour. Rohit hammered the final nail in the coffin, having Duminy caught-behind off an attempted sweep on the first ball of the 18th over to complete his hat-trick and seal Mumbai's fate.

Mumbai's batsmen undid a disciplined bowling display by their pace attack, which boasted new inclusions in Dhawal Kulkarni and Rohan Raje, who impressed in their respective spells. Failure up the order had proved pivotal in Deccan Charger's stark turnaround after emerging frontrunners in the tournament with four consecutive wins, and had them in trouble again as their team struggled to a competitive score on a sluggish pitch.

Adam Gilchrist's decision to bat was motivated by a hard, dry surface which he felt would last out the day, but Deccan did have to contend with an out-of-touch Herschelle Gibbs who was sucked in by an away-swinger from Dhawal to edge a catch to slip, and finish with two ducks in three innings. Suman's excellent bowling effort preceded a promising cameo, including two massive sixes off Harbhajan, cut short by Bravo. Gilchrist had ceded the floor to Suman, and threatened to cut loose after his departure with a slog-swept six but failed to curb his frustration with the modest run-rate, swinging across the line to be bowled by an unspectacular, yet accurate Raje.

Rohit was restrained by some tight Mumbai bowling, patching together a laboured innings which only picked up pace when joined by Venugopal Rao, who showed some spunk towards the end with a brisk 28 to take his team to what, in the end, proved an adequate total.

A target of 146 would raise Mumbai's hopes of breaking into the top four but a suicidal rush by their middle order has now made that task significantly tougher, leaving them in seventh place.

Rajasthan Royals v Royal Challengers Bangalore, IPL
 

Bowlers hand Rajasthan easy win

May 7, 2009

Rajasthan Royals 107 for 3 (Ojha 52*) beat Royal Challengers Bangalore 105 (Singh 4-19, Jadeja 3-15) by seven wickets

Rajasthan Royals moved to the top of the table with a convincing seven-wicket win over Bangalore Royal Challengers, who looked out of depth as they were bowled out for 105 - the tournament's second lowest total - and conceded the win inside 15 overs. Naman Ojha scored his second consecutive half-century in the brief chase but the win was set up by Amit Singh and Ravindra Jadeja, who took seven Bangalore wickets to ensure a low target for their side.

The difference lay in how the two sets of bowlers exploited the bounce offered by the Centurion pitch; Bangalore's couldn't, Rajasthan's did to perfection. Bangalore used the short ball only after the strategy break, by which time the required run-rate was down to below five an over.

Shane Warne won a good toss and chose to field on a new pitch that had received rain overnight. Unlike in the last few games where he opened with spin from one end, he chose to give his fast bowlers a chance to exploit the conditions. Like the spinners, though, the fast bowlers gave favourable returns in their first spells. Batsmen found it difficult to counter the bounce when they tried to cut or pull though poor shot selection accounted for two of the first three wickets.

Amit struck first in the third over: Wasim Jaffer, who had been dropped by Amit in the previous over, drove a fuller delivery away from his body and popped a catch to cover. Jacques Kallis, after flicking a six off his pads from Munaf Patel, stepped out to a shorter delivery and top-edged a pull to Niraj Patel, who took the catch running from deep backward square leg to deep midwicket. Soon after, Rahul Dravid chased a Lee Carseldine delivery going down leg and gloved a catch behind for a duck.

Spin came into the picture in the eighth over when Warne brought himself on, and the steady fall of wickets continued. Robin Uthappa, Bangalore's top scorer with 17, survived a leg-before appeal in that over but fell off the first ball of the next, trapped plumb in front by Jadeja. Bangalore were reeling at 40 for four, which could have been five had Ojha collected a chance from Virat Kohli. The strategy break did them no good, Mark Boucher falling five balls after the re-start; he tried to cut an arm ball pitched full and just outside off from Jadeja, got cramped for room and was bowled for six.

Jadeja got Kohli next, outside-edging one that was pitched short and wide and Morkel holding on to a low diving catch behind point. The fast bowlers then returned to wrap up the innings as the last four wickets fell for 20 runs.

Bangalore bowled too many wide deliveries for a side defending such a low total and picked up their first two wickets as Rajasthan looked to wrap up the game quickly. Graeme Smith, after driving two fours each off Praveen Kumar and Dillon du Preez, stepped out to Jacques Kallis and was bowled after swinging and missing at a length delivery. Carseldine was given out after a mix-up with Naman Ojha saw the two batsmen at the bowler's end. Ojha made up for the dismissal with a massive six off Roelof van der Merwe in the next over Rajasthan went into the strategy break needing 44 with eight wickets in hand.

After the break Yusuf Pathan, Rajasthan's go-to batsman, and Ojha resisted the temptation to score off the short ball till du Preez returned to the attack. Pathan drove Kallis through cover for four and Ojha hit Vinay Kumar for a six over long-off. But Pathan fell, with Rajasthan needing only 15 more, when he tried to pull du Preez for a second time to fine leg and got a top edge instead. However, Rajasthan needed just two and a half an over by then and Ojha hit two fours and a six to wrap it up in the next over.

Chennai Super Kings v Kings XI Punjab, IPL, Centurion
 

Hayden and Raina clinch thriller

May 7, 2009

Chennai Super Kings 185 for 3 (Hayden 89, Dhoni 56*) beat Kings XI Punjab 174 for 3 (Yuvraj 58*, Katich 50, Jayawardene 44*) by 12 runs (D/L method)

Kings XI Punjab made Chennai Super Kings really sweat in a spirited chase towards a Duckworth-Lewis revised target of 187, but when it mattered most MS Dhoni's tactical nous won it for Chennai. Simon Katich had set the tone for Punjab's bravado, and Yuvraj Singh and Mahela Jayawardene batted superbly in the face of adversity, adding 60 in just 4.3 overs under lights. Then, with 43 left to defend off 24 balls, Dhoni took pace off the ball by calling on Suresh Raina's part-time offspin. Only 10 runs came off his two overs, which provided to be the final twist of the match.

Chennai's big total was set up by Matthew Hayden's belligerent 89, either side of an hour-and-a-half rain delay that reduced the match to 18 overs, and Dhoni's sparky 56 from 27 balls. Up against the strongest batting line-up in the tournament, Punjab's bowlers were pummelled into submission for the second match running. Hayden's sublime effort at one point seemed to be going down the drain before Dhoni turned to Raina.

When the story of Chennai's 12-run win in this thriller is retold, Hayden will be in the headlines but Dhoni and Raina will deserve a significant body of text. Punjab needed 30 from 12 after a good over from L Balaji only went for nine. Dhoni knew Yuvraj and Jayawardene were swinging freely, but gave Raina a second over. Under immense pressure, he did a fabulous job to win the game for Chennai. Bowling flat through the air and angling the ball into Yuvraj's leg stump, he only allowed six runs, two of which were leg-byes.

Yuvraj, who until then was ruthless, erred by twice backing away to flat deliveries when he was better off shuffling across and letting them go for wides. Having batted so fluently, benefiting from sloppy catching in the deep, Yuvraj and Jayawardene couldn't keep the pace in the last over. They managed only 11 of the 24 required.

Punjab's last four overs were in stark contrast to how Katich attacked early and then the butchery from Yuvraj and Jayawardene between the 10th and 14th overs. Undeterred by a wicket in the first over, Katich batted with superb confidence and rare aggression, not once looking anxious. His nudging and cutting was deft, but nothing matched three consecutive sixes off Manpreet Gony in the fifth over, each pulled off with clinical precision.

Balaji then struck with his first ball to cut Katich off on 50 from 25 balls in the ninth over. Needing 97 from 48 - more than two a ball - Yuvraj and Jayawardene pulled their weight. Yuvraj opened his shoulders, swinging away almost effortlessly across the line, while Jayawardene's biggest contribution was how he handled Muttiah Muralitharan.

Yuvraj was dropped on 22 by Gony at the long-on boundary, while Jayawardene took Balaji for 15 in his next over, dabbing for a four and pulling for a six. Then he lofted Murali for a six inside-out over extra cover, the best shot of his innings. The 14th over, bowled by Albie Morkel, cost 19 with Yuvraj hitting a 118-metre six. It seemed the duo would pull off a miracle for Punjab with ease, but Raina and Balaji got their act together and swung it Chennai's way.

It had all looked much easier for Chennai after their innings. Pace has been Punjab's main bowling weapon, and the bowlers were taken to the cleaners, with Hayden bludgeoning his third and most dismissive half-century of the IPL. Hayden was rude to Punjab's bowlers from the time Dhoni opted to bat, but his assault after the rain hold-up was stunning, with Sreesanth feeling the brunt of his power.

Hayden and Raina added 75 in nine overs after Chennai lost S Badrinath first ball, uppercutting to third man. Sreesanth, after taking a pasting in his last two overs of Punjab's miserable loss to Rajasthan, wasn't allowed to settle. Hayden muscled him for fours by walking across and down the track, and won round one of what would ultimately prove a one-sided contest.

Raina didn't last long, lofting Piyush Chawla's first delivery to deep midwicket. At this stage Hayden was 43 from 34 balls. With the advantage clearly Chennai's way, Hayden turned belligerent. He gave himself room, gave the bowlers a look at the stumps, and ferociously deposited the ball into the stands.

Chawla's second over cost 16 as Hayden slammed sixes either side of the ground. Then back came Sreesanth, who went for 22 in five balls - the leg-side boundary receiving a peppering. Hayden walked across and hooked, one hand off the bat, for six over fine leg. Then he swung two more sixes with ferocity, both balls landing well over the ropes. Hayden was 89 from 57 balls when he holed out to long-on.

VRV Singh was carted for 24 in runs in six balls - the midwicket rope receiving a peppering - by Dhoni, who followed up with two wristy pick-up shots, which seemed out of the Saeed Anwar textbook. Dhoni needed just 24 balls to raise a hyper fifty, his second outstanding innings of the tournament. The target for Punjab was adjusted upwards by one run.

Dhoni had helped his side with offensive brilliance in the evening, but it was his strategic trump that ultimately took them to top of the table.

Delhi Daredevils v Mumbai Indians, IPL, East London
 

Sensible de Villiers backs up tight bowling

May 8, 2009

Delhi Daredevils 118 for 3 (de Villiers 50*) beat Mumbai Indians 116 (Bravo 35, Bhatia 3-14) by seven wickets

Delhi Daredevils didn't quite pull off the cakewalk expected after their bowlers set the batsmen a target of 117, but the end result was satisfactory because they took back the top spot. Chasing an easily achievable total Delhi's openers ate up overs and departed in succession to put undue pressure on the middle order, but AB de Villiers returned to form and saw Delhi through in the end.

Mumbai Indians needed a win desperately to mark a step towards a much-needed turnaround, but they utterly failed to cash in on the toss. Both openers were dismissed in the first over, two more fell before the end of the Powerplay, and there was no final hurrah. Dwayne Bravo and Abhishek Nayar stitched together a 57-run partnership but that too was snuffed out by Delhi's bowlers before it could really cause damage.

This was a win set up in the field, when Delhi were excellent with pace and spin, allowing just seven boundaries and three sixes. For the 22nd time in 21 days, a wicket fell in the first over of an innings. Luke Ronchi, in for Sanath Jayasuriya, was run out second ball and JP Duminy nicked Dirk Nannes behind.

Mumbai were hurting with the scoreboard showing four batsmen with 0 next to their names. Sachin Tendulkar, who had opted to bat, didn't last long either. Having inside-edged a length ball behind the stumps, Tendulkar set off, only to be set back by Pinal Shah. He failed to just ground his bat as Dinesh Karthik nailed the second damning direct hit in six overs. Mumbai were 30 for 3 after the Powerplay.

It got worse. Shah failed to cash in on a drop on 5, swinging Rajat Bhatia to the deep for a chalky 11 from 20 balls. In walked Bravo at 33 for 4. He looked gone for all money on 1, struck on the front pad in front of middle and leg, but the umpire Marais Erasmus was watching a different match. Amit Mishra cut a flustered figure.

There were just two boundaries littering the first ten overs, aptly displaying just how tight Delhi kept it. With singles and doubles and inside edges Bravo and Nayar gave the total some respectability. But just when it seemed Bravo might turn it on - he lofted two big sixes down the ground - Nannes got his man with a wide delivery. Nayar departed next ball, top-edging Ashish Nehra, and there was little oomph from the tail. Bhatia, notable for his clever slower balls, took two wickets and allowed only a single and a leg bye in the last over. It was eerily similar to how Delhi had started 19 overs earlier.

Delhi's chase toward a small target was nervy, with Gautam Gambhir and David Warner pacing themselves. It wasn't a crawl, but neither was the pair forcing the issue. There were only two fours and a six in the 50 balls Gambhir and Warner batted together. Duminy snapped a steady partnership of 42 with a gentle offbreak, luring Warner out of his crease. In the next over Gambhir sashayed out and sliced the ball to deep cover. But that was as good as it got for Mumbai, as de Villiers and Tillakaratne Dilshan eased into a 61-run stand.

It began slowly, with both batsmen struggling to get runs off the spinners. Duminy and Harbhajan Singh rushed through their overs, one relying on flight and the other firing them flat. Duminy only gave 15 from his four overs and Harbhajan was also frugal, but one over of pedestrian spin from Tendulkar got Delhi - at this stage needing 43 from 30 - back ahead of the rate. A floater was sumptuously clipped for four, a full toss was dumped over midwicket for six, and two half-trackers were duly deposited for boundaries. In six balls de Villiers doubled his score. Defending a small total, a 19-run over was not what Mumbai needed from their leader.

Dilshan fell with ten needed, but de Villiers brought up his fifty and ensured victory was sealed with seven balls to go.

Deccan Chargers v Kings XI Punjab, XI, IPL, Kimberley
 

Tenacious Punjab win tense game

May 9, 2009

Kings XI Punjab 169 for 7 (Jayawardene 43) beat Deccan Chargers 168 for 5 (Symonds 60*) by three wickets

A powerful start from the top four, followed by nerveless hands from Mahela Jayawardene and Brett Lee stole the thunder from Andrew Symonds' first IPL game, setting up Kings XI Punjab's win over the Deccan Chargers at the Kimberley Oval. The win won't take Punjab into the top four but they will hope it is an end to their poor run of three losses in the last four games. This was the game of the two returning Australians, Symonds and Lee, and though both starred, only one prevailed as the match went down to the final over.

Jayawardene had taken Punjab to 20 short of the win in the 18th over when he was run out for a measured 43, setting up a tense finale. Nineteen were required off 12 balls; Piyush Chawla and Lee collected three runs off the first three before Lee eased the pressure with a searing six over long-off. Two more singles meant Punjab needed eight off the last over and the game looked over as Chawla hooked a four off RP Singh's first ball. But RP hit back, leaving three needed off the final three. Lee scrambled two to long-off before finishing it off with one ball left.

Punjab's top four had added runs and lost wickets in pairs, but they set up the chase with 86 in first ten overs. The openers, Sunny Sohal and Simon Katich, gave their side an explosive start of 44 in four overs, before falling within two balls of each other to Rohit Sharma, fresh from four wickets in five balls earlier this week. Kumar Sangakkara and Yuvraj Singh diluted his effect, milking 11 from his second over. They also went after Symonds - taking 20 in one over - before being dismissed within two balls of each other to Shoaib Ahmed just before the strategy break. In trying to contain them, Deccan had used seven bowlers by then, with only Rohit bowling two successive overs.

After the break, Pragyan Ojha bowled two tight overs after which Gilchrist brought T Suman into the attack and was immediately rewarded with Irfan Pathan's wicket, swinging the game in Deccan's favour once again. But Jayawardene kept Punjab in the hunt with successive sixes, before Lee finished it off.

Earlier, Symonds' power-hitting had taken Deccan to a competitive 168, though a slow-down mid-innings - they added four runs for the loss of two wickets between overs 10 and 12 - was probably the eventual difference. Deccan owed their quick start - 44 in the first five overs - to Gilchrist, Suman and several Punjab misfields. Gilchrist hit Pathan for two fours in his first over, then pulled Sreesanth's first ball for a six before falling in the same over.

Suman came in and attacked right from the start, picking Pathan off his pads for six and also getting runs off edges. After Herschelle Gibbs fell, cutting Chawla to Jayawardene at backward point, Suman and Rohit began building on the quick start. They rotated the strike and picked boundaries off anything short - Chawla was hit for a six to long-off by Suman and lofted for four to wide midwicket by Rohit in an over that cost 12 runs.

A bowling change in the tenth over ended Suman's innings and it looked like Deccan were losing the plot before Symonds broke the shackles. After Yuvraj Singh missed a caught-and-bowled chance off him, Symonds picked a short ball by Piyush Chawla for a six over midwicket. Deccan crossed 100 in the 15th over after which he began attacking in earnest. Irfan Pathan went for 13 runs and Sreesanth for 20 - including consecutive sixes over long-on and long-off -as Symonds reached his fifty off 29 balls.


But for the second time in the IPL, Symonds played a big innings and ended up on the losing side.

Chennai Super Kings v Rajasthan Royals, IPL, Kimberley
 

Hayden and Badrinath mastermind tricky chase

May 9, 2009

20 overs Chennai Super Kings 141 for 3 (Badrinath 59*, Hayden 48) beat Rajasthan Royals 140 for 7 (Muralitharan 2-22) by seven wickets

Matthew Hayden and Shane Warne. Sixty-nine Tests together, the last 12 of them wins, but today they would decide who'd win this IPL game and go to the top of the table. There could be only one winner, and on the night it was Hayden. Chasing 141 Chennai Super Kings were in for a tough one, with the pitch turning square and staying slow and Warne looking like pulling off something special. Hayden, though, attacked clinically, played like a workman in between those assaults, and ensured Chennai beat Rajasthan for the second time in this IPL. He had with him S Badrinath, who went from being a supporting act to a lead player towards the end.

The two teams seemed inseparable till Hayden's one-on-one with with Warne. A disciplined Chennai, with a varied attack and well captained, had kept Rajasthan down to a total that - at the half-way mark - they would have backed themselves to chase. But Rajasthan were equally disciplined, smart, and well led. In the first eight overs, they had limited Chennai to 49 for 2, including Suresh Raina's wicket. Yusuf Pathan was bowling big turners at 95kmph.

More importantly Hayden had faced just 15 of those 48 deliveries. Even more importantly Warne had bowled an over of dip, drift and break when Badrinath couldn't even lay bat to ball. In the ninth over Warne bowled to Hayden for the first time, throwing the first ball wide, which was called wide despite big turn. The next one was flighted wide again, and Hayden decided to reverse-sweep late but perfectly. He then walked down to Warne, as if the keeper was standing back, and got to the pitch and hit him flat over long-on.

That over may have got Chennai only 12 runs, but the statement that Hayden made was huge. Warne was playable again, the required run-rate came back within manageable proportions, and soon Badrinath became comfortable too.

It showed in how Badrinath overtook Hayden's pace in the 16th over, bowled by Shane Harwood. The first ball he scooped over fine leg for six, steered one wide of point for four, whipped another over fine leg, and then upper-cut one over the keeper. This was a man bracketed as a Test batsman yet improvising to each and every delivery of an over, and providing the final game-breaker. He had come a long way in one innings, from looking out of sorts against Warne to finishing the game off.

Warne finally got Hayden with a stumping down the leg side when Hayden walked down once again, but by then - in the 17th over - the game had been decided.

This was also a battle between the two best captains in this tournament. And they had set the tone by exchanging indirect sledges at the toss. Warne had a go at Chennai, saying they were not good chasers. Dhoni retorted, saying given his strong batting line-up, the Rajasthan batsmen would be under immense pressure to set a defendable total.

The Chennai bowlers did their bit in accentuating that pressure. Rajasthan struggled for momentum right from the start, when Albie Morkel struck in his first over - for the third time in three matches. Dhoni rotated his bowlers around smartly, using seven of them in first 10 overs, who gave away only five boundaries.

Swapnil Asnodkar and Graeme Smith added 53 in 50 balls, but there was no sense of restlessness because of the slow run-rate. The key moment came in the third quarter of the innings, when after both Asnodkar and Smith had wasted those slow starts, Pathan and Ravindra Jadeja looked to open up, hitting Shadab Jakati for a six each in the 14th over, but Chennai accounted for both of them in the next two overs.

Dhoni made two smart moves then - he brought in L Balaji from the other end, and let Jakati continue despite that over. Balaji, helped by a superb diving-in-front catch by Raina at point, accounted for Jadeja, and Jakati got Yusuf who went for a repeat of the six in the next over. Again this dismissal was made possible by smart work from Jacob Oram at the long-on boundary.

Dhoni went back to rotating his bowlers, the fielders stayed sharp, and Rajasthan struggled to get going again. Dhoni himself made two stumpings. Warne hit 21 off 11 deliveries to give Rajasthan something to bowl to. As far as the battle of captains goes, they were probably locked, but Dhoni was leading the better side on the night.

Royal Challengers Bangalore v Mumbai Indians, IPL, Port Elizabeth
 

Rahane and Duminy renew Mumbai's hopes

May 10, 2009

Mumbai Indians 157 for 2 (Rahane 62*, Duminy 59*) beat Royal Challengers Bangalore 141 for 7 (Boucher 48*, Harbhajan 2-15) by 16 runs

Pushed into the corner after three successive defeats, Mumbai Indians turned in a fine all-round performance at St George's Park, converting a middling target of 158 into a match-winning one. Sachin Tendulkar failed with the bat, falling for a third-ball duck, but he didn't falter with his captaincy moves. Starting with the promotion of Ajinkya Rahane, who scored an unbeaten 62, it was the bowling changes which proved crucial in the end as they resulted in the fall of four wickets. The wheels came off Bangalore and the game was over when they needed an improbable 40 off the last two overs.

Mumbai had earned their revenge after being vanquished by Bangalore exactly a week ago at the Wanderers. Their defeat to Delhi Daredevils was just as demoralising when their batting imploded. Today, they reworked their batting order, turned in a much more commanding performance and lost just two wickets. A stand of 104 between Rahane and JP Duminy gave their comeback campaign a surge and the momentum rubbed off on the bowlers who all chipped in with equal measure to effect timely breakthroughs and in turn strangle the runs.

Bangalore had the momentum briefly early in the chase when Kallis whipped a couple of stylish boundaries through the on side. The introduction of Dwayne Bravo sent him back as he upper cut a short delivery straight to third man. Robin Uthappa's inconsistency showed up again as he slapped Kulkarni straight to short midwicket before Virat Kohli perished in the same manner. Kohli looked to get on top of the seamers but when Tendulkar brought on Chetanya Nanda, it immediately brought about a wicket.

The run-out of Rahul Dravid, done in by a flat throw from Malinga in the deep, sunk Bangalore and at the end of 10 overs, they were desperately in need of a recovery at 58 for 4. Ross Taylor heaved Nanda over deep square-leg to bring about the first six of the innings but the relief was only temporary as Malinga returned for a new spell and sent Taylor back with a lightning quick yorker. Malinga had set it up earlier in the over with similar deliveries and one could sense a wicket was around the corner.

Boucher at the other end tried to glue the chase together but the support wasn't forthcoming. Harbhajan returned for a new spell and sent back the dangerous Roelof van der Merwe thanks to a brilliant leg-side stumping by Yogesh Takawale. At the start of the 14th over, Bangalore ran out of specialist batsmen and by the end, needed 66 off the last six overs. Mumbai on the other hand managed 65 off their last six and that proved the difference.
Bringing back Sanath Jayasuriya gave the innings a much-needed push after Tendulkar's early fall. He ensured Mumbai held the edge in the first Powerplay with 46 on the board with a wicket down, a contrast to the way they started against Delhi where they struggled to find the ropes.


He fell soon after van der Merwe came into the attack but the spinners couldn't contain Rahane, who made the most of his promotion. He began by slogging Kumble over the on side, including a huge six over wide long-on on his knee.

His intention was to get positive against the spinners and he demonstrated that by regularly chipping down the track to smother the spin and loft inside out. Not all aerial shots found the boundary but it didn't matter as he and his partner Duminy kept rotating the strike.

Duminy broke the boundary drought - which lasted more than three overs - with a massive six, off a front foot pull, off the debutant Abhmanyu Mithun. That shot signalled his arrival after a quiet start as he lofted van der Merwe over his head and swung Vinay Kumar over backward square-leg for another half a dozen.

Between overs 11 and 14, Mumbai scored 25 runs. In the next three they managed 33, indicative of their revival. Rahane reached his fifty with a deft dab to third man and Duminy raced towards his as he went into fifth gear with some scorching drives through the off side. Mumbai went into the break with much cheer, and their bowlers stepped up to fashion a much-needed win to move up by one place in the points table. It will take a while to get up higher but at least they crossed the first hurdle.