12 May, 2008
Royal Watson blazes Delhi

Shane Watson cracked a scorching 74 to lead Rajasthan Royals to a three-wicket victory over Delhi Daredevils in the Indian Premier League on Sunday.

The Australian all-rounder needed just 40 balls to compile the match-winning knock as the Royals reached their target of 157 with five balls to spare, opening up a two-point lead at the top of the table and condemning Delhi to a third straight defeat.

Watson, Siddharth Trivedi and IPL debutant Dimitri Mascarenhas had earlier bagged two wickets apiece as Delhi was limited to 7-156.

Farveez Maharoof's blistering 39 off just 16 balls had given the visitors a platform, but his brilliant belligerence proved in vain.

Two early run-outs hampered the Royals' chase as AB de Villiers sent Yusuf Pathan (eight) and Mohammad Kaif (one) packing in successive overs.

But from then on Watson - who was dropped on 26 by Virender Sehwag - took command, peppering the boundary with some trademark powerful strokes as he racked up five fours and as many sixes.

He lost two partners in quick succession, Graeme Smith for 25 and Ravindra Jadeja for just six, but his rhythm was not disrupted.

Mascarenhas (nine) was deceived by the spin of Sehwag and Shane Warne (11) by a slower ball from Maharoof before Watson fell to a contested run-out, but Mahesh Rawat (five) joined Niraj Patel (one) at the crease to guide the Royals to 7-159.

Having been put in to bat by the Royals, Gautam Gambhir and Sehwag put on 47 in a promising first-wicket partnership before Sehwag (17) became Watson's first victim caught at point by Kaif.

Shikhar Dhawan (three) was run out the following over and Gambhir's knock stalled on 31 off 23 balls when he was bowled off an inside edge by Trivedi.

Mascarenhas then struck twice in one over, first removing De Villiers (20) and then Dinesh Karthik (13) as Delhi lost two wickets for no runs to slump from 3-92 to 5-92.

Amit Mishra contributed just four, but Maharoof took Warne to the cleaners in the penultimate over, bludgeoning four maximums off the veteran Australian before holing out to Niraj Patel.

The tail-ender's impressive innings though proved too little too late.


12 May, 2008
Ganguly gets the points

Sourav Ganguly was at his aggressive best as he led the Kolkata Knight Riders to a 23-run victory over the Deccan Chargers in the Indian Premier League.

The former Indian captain fired 91 in 57 balls as the Knight Riders posted an imposing total of 4-204.

He then took two catches and two wickets as the Chargers managed 7-181 in reply.

Kolkata did not immediately get into its stride, losing Salman Butt early on for four.

Ganguly joined Aakash Chopra (24 from 23) in the middle and the pair added an unspectacular 69 for the second wicket.

Ganguly reached his second IPL fifty off 40 balls and upped the rate from there, even after Chopra was run out in a mix-up over a quick single.

He struck five maximums in his innings, treating the slow left-arm spin of Pragyan Ojha with particular disdain.

He was supported by Australian David Hussey and the pair compiled a 102-run stand.

Ganguly eventually fell, caught at fine leg by RP Singh off the bowling of Paidikalva Vijaykumar, but Hussey continued where he left off, claiming his third half-century of the competition.

He was unbeaten on 57 off 29 balls when the Kolkata innings - boosted by four overthrows off the last ball - closed.

In reply, Herschelle Gibbs managed just four before departing and when Adam Gilchrist (24 from 17) joined him, caught by Ganguly to give Ashok Dinda the first of his three wickets, the Chargers were on the back foot.

Ganguly struck to remove New Zealand all-rounder Scott Styris (5) and Sanjay Bangar (2), taking the catch off Dinda to remove dangerman Rohit Sharma (33 off 24) in between.

The only bright spot for Deccan was an effervescent innings from Venugopal Rao.

He smashed an unbeaten 71 off 42 balls in reply, including 22 off one Murali Kartik over, but it was not enough.

The Chargers' hopes of progression look virtually non-existent now - they have managed just two wins in nine outings.

Indian Premier League Twenty20 - 2008 20/20 Indian Premier League Winner
NSW TAB FIXED ODDS
Winner Online Betting Closes 23:00 Sun 01 Jun 2008

Odds updated at: 9:19:02 AM
Sportsbet No Selection (default) Price
21911 BANGALORE 67.00
21912 CHENNAI 5.50
21913 DELHI 6.00
21914 DECCAN (HYDERABAD) 34.00
21915 RAJASTHAN (JAIPUR) 3.50
21916 KOLKATA 6.00
21917 PUNJAB (MOHALI) 4.00
21918 MUMBAI 8.00
There are 8 Betting Selections Available over 1 pages.

How long is this series going to go on for ?

Here are all the fixtures for 2008 Indian Premier League
IPL 2008 FIXTURE
Date Home Team Away Team Venue
Apr 18, 2008 Bangalore Royal Challengers Kolkata Knight Riders M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore
Apr 19, 2008 Kings XI Punjab (Mohali) Chennai Super Kings Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali, Chandigarh
Apr 19, 2008 Delhi Daredevils Rajasthan Royals (Jaipur) Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi
Apr 20, 2008 Mumbai Indians Bangalore Royal Challengers Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
Apr 20, 2008 Kolkata Knight Riders Deccan Chargers (Hyderabad) Eden Gardens, Kolkata
Apr 21, 2008 Rajasthan Royals (Jaipur) Kings XI Punjab (Mohal)i Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur
Apr 22, 2008 Deccan Chragers (Hyderabad) Delhi Daredevils Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Uppal, Hyderabad
Apr 23, 2008 Chennai Super Kings Mumbai Indians MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk, Chennai
Apr 24, 2008 Deccan Chargers (Hyderabad) Rajasthan Royals (Jaipur) Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Uppal, Hyderabad
Apr 25, 2008 Kings XI Punjab (Mohali) Mumbai Indians Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali, Chandigarh
Apr 26, 2008 Bangalore Royal Challengers Rajasthan Royals (Jaipur) M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore
Apr 26, 2008 Chennai Super Kings Kolkata Knight Riders MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk, Chennai
Apr 27, 2008 Mumbai Indians Deccan Chargers (Hyderabad) Dr DY Patil Sports Academy, Mumbai
Apr 27, 2008 Kings XI Punjab (Mohali) Delhi Daredevils Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali, Chandigarh
Apr 28, 2008 Bangalore Royal Challengers Chennai Super Kings M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore
Apr 29, 2008 Kolkata Knight Riders Mumbai Indians Eden Gardens, Kolkata
Apr 30, 2008 Delhi Daredevils Bangalore Royal Challengers Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi
May 1, 2008 Deccan Chargers (Hyderabad) Kings XI Punjab Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Uppal, Hyderabad
May 1, 2008 Rajasthan Royals (Jaipur) Kolkata Knight Riders Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur
May 2, 2008 Chennai Super Kings Delhi Daredevils MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk, Chennai
May 3, 2008 Deccan Chargers (Hyderabad) Bangalore Royal Challengers Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Uppal, Hyderabad
May 3, 2008 Kings XI Punjab (Mohali) Kolkata Knight Riders Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali, Chandigarh
May 4, 2008 Rajasthan Royals (Jaipur) Chennai Super Kings Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur
May 4, 2008 Mumbai Indians Delhi Daredevils Dr DY Patil Sports Academy, Mumbai
May 5, 2008 Bangalore Royal Challengers Kings XI Punjab (Mohali) M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore
May 6, 2008 Chennai Super Kings Deccan Chargers (Hyderabad) MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk, Chennai
May 7, 2008 Mumbai Indians Rajasthan Royals (Jaipur) Dr DY Patil Sports Academy, Mumbai
May 8, 2008 Delhi Daredevils Chennai Super Kings Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi
May 8, 2008 Kolkata Knight Riders Bangalore Royal Challengers Eden Gardens, Kolkata
May 9, 2008 Rajasthan Royals (Jaipur) Deccan Chargers (Hyderabad Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur
May 10, 2008 Bangalore Royal Challengers Mumbai Indians M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore
May 10, 2008 Chennai Super Kings Kings XI Punjab MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk, Chennai
May 11, 2008 Deccan Chargers (Hyderabad) Kolkata Knight Riders Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Uppal, Hyderabad
May 12, 2008 Kings XI Punjab (Mohali) Bangalore Royal Challengers Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali, Chandigarh
May 13, 2008 Kolkata Knight Riders Delhi Daredevils Eden Gardens, Kolkata
May 14, 2008 Kings XI Punjab (Mohali) Rajasthan Royals (Jaipur) Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali, Chandigarh
May 14, 2008 Mumbai Indians Chennai Super Kings Dr DY Patil Sports Academy, Mumbai
May 15, 2008 Delhi Daredevils Deccan Chargers Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi
May 16, 2008 Mumbai Indians Kolkata Knight Riders Dr DY Patil Sports Academy, Mumbai
May 17, 2008 Delhi Daredevils Kings XI Punjab (Mohali) Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi
May 17, 2008 Rajasthan Royals (Jaipur) Bangalore Royal Challengers Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur
May 18, 2008 Deccan Chargers Mumbai Indians Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Uppal, Hyderabad
May 18, 2008 Kolkata Knight Riders Chennai Super Kings Eden Gardens, Kolkata
May 19, 2008 Bangalore Royal Challengers Delhi Daredevils M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore
May 20, 2008 Kolkata Knight Riders Rajasthan Royals (Jaipur) Eden Gardens, Kolkata
May 21, 2008 Chennai Super Kings Bangalore Royal Challengers MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk, Chennai
May 21, 2008 Mumbai Indians Kings XI Punjab Dr DY Patil Sports Academy, Mumbai
May 22, 2008 Delhi Daredevils Kolkata Knight Riders Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi
May 23, 2008 Kings XI Punjab (Mohali) Deccan Chargers (Hyderabad) Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali, Chandigarh
May 24, 2008 Delhi Daredevils Mumbai Indians Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi
May 24, 2008 Chennai Super Kings Rajasthan Royals MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk, Chennai
May 25, 2008 Kolkata Knight Riders Kings XI Punjab Eden Gardens, Kolkata
May 25, 2008 Bangalore Royal Challengers Deccan Chargers M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore
May 26, 2008 Rajasthan Royals (Jaipur) Mumbai Indians Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur
May 27, 2008 Deccan Chargers (Hyderabad) Chennai Super Kings Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Uppal, Hyderabad
May 30, 2008 TBA TBA Final
May 31, 2008 TBA TBA Final
Jun 1, 2008 TBA TBA Final

21 May, 2008
Royals first into IPL finals

Yusuf Pathan has fired the Rajasthan Royals into the Indian Premier League semi-finals with an unbeaten 48 off 18 balls to fuel a six-wicket win over the Kolkata Knight Riders.

After Kolkata posted a disappointing 8-147 from its 20 overs, a double-wicket maiden from Umar Gul looked to have turned things in its favour.

But Pathan and Mohammad Kaif (34 off 31) steadied the ship and saw Rajasthan comfortably home.

With nine wins from their 11 games, Shane Warne's Royals are the first team to be assured of a semi-final place, while Kolkata is close to elimination.

Kolkata was in trouble early as Mohammad Hafeez tried to go over the top but only found Swapnil Asnodkar at mid-on off Munaf Patel.

Salman Butt (24 off 20) attempted to up the rate, but was trapped on his crease as Patel claimed his second wicket with a ball that kept low and struck the Pakistan opener on the pad.

Debabrata Das took no time to make his mark, striking a majestic straight six off Warne and pulling an even bigger maximum off a long hop from Pathan, who was promptly given a talking-to by his skipper.

Sourav Ganguly compiled an unusually subdued 32 off 34 before heaving a wide Siddharth Trivedi delivery to Kaif.

Debabrata (31 off 20) was dropped by Shohail Tanvir on the boundary but the Pakistani gained his revenge four balls later with a devastating yorker which rearranged his stumps.

Laxmi Shukla and Ajit Agarkar soon followed and Umar Gul smashed one six before joining them in the final over.

In reply, Asnodkar perished early but Graeme Smith and Tanvir were progressing nicely when Gul struck.

First Tanvir (13 from eight balls) holed out to Butt at mid-on, with the batsmen crossing as the ball was in the air leaving Smith (24 off 24) to face the rest of the over.

He was then the victim of a fine leg-side catch by wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha.

Shane Watson (19 off 15) took a liking to Agarkar but was bowled by a jubilant Ganguly, but that was as good as it got for the former India skipper, who was struck for successive sixes by Pathan as Rajasthan rallied.

When Kaif struck three consecutive fours of Dinda, the required rate went down to four an over and Pathan struck Gul for two fours and a six to see the Royals home with three and a half overs to spare.

22 May, 2008
Aussie blitz downs Indians

Shaun Marsh and Luke Pomersbach's 134-run partnership proved to be the difference as Kings XI Punjab held on to claim a thrilling one-run win over the Mumbai Indians.

The Australian duo of Marsh (81) and Pomersbach (79 not out) helped the Kings recover from the first-over loss of James Hopes as they posted the bulk of their side's daunting total of 189.

Mumbai refused to lie down, however, and the match could have gone either way in a breathless final over that saw the hosts lose three wickets to run-outs as they tried in desperation to scrape together the handful of runs they required for victory.

Vikrant Yeligati's dismissal while trying to steal a run that would have secured a draw brought the curtain down on an enthralling encounter, and ended the Indians' six-match winning run.

The win boosts second-placed Punjab's hopes of reaching the semi-finals while Mumbai is still in the frame to reach the knockout stage in fourth.

Punjab's innings got off to a stuttering start when Hopes was dismissed for a golden duck with just the third ball of the match, Shaun Pollock claiming the scalp as Pinal Shah took the catch behind the stumps.

The combination of Marsh and Pomersbach quickly steadied any early jitters among the visitors' ranks as the pair set about the Mumbai attack.

Marsh lofted a hooked six into the stands to take the score beyond 50 inside eight overs while Pomersbach was in equally aggressive mood and rattled off five fours and two maximums as he brought up his half-century in 38 balls.

Left-hander Marsh showed greater urgency on his way to his seventh Twenty20 fifty, achieving the feat three balls earlier than Pomersbach.

Their partnership came to an end in the 15th over when Marsh was caught at long off by Pollock off the bowling of Siddharth Chitnis just 19 runs shy of his century.

Yuvraj Singh (seven) and Mahela Jayawardene (one) failed to add much to the Punjab total and Pomersbach was left unbeaten on 79 alongside Irfan Pathan (nine) when the visitors ran out of overs.

Sachin Tendulkar led the fightback for Mumbai with a solid 65 before he was run out attempting a single in the 17th over, but long before then his team-mates just failed to do enough to back up their captain.

Sanath Jayasuriya (20), Dwayne Smith (20) and Abhishek Nayar (27) had solid if unspectacular innings while the middle order and the tail failed to fire as the pressure told in the final overs.

Pollock's dismissal at the hands of Yuvraj Singh for nought in the 18th over left the Indians with 17 balls to claim the 31 runs they needed for victory, but those left to bat failed to find the big strokes when it mattered most.

Siddharth Chitnis looked the man most likely to bring the Indians home, hitting a six and a boundary in a quickfire 15 from six balls before he was run out with the second ball of the final over to leave the hosts on 8-183.

Seven runs in four balls was certainly not an insurmountable task for the Indians' tail, but they could not hold their nerve.



22 May, 2008
Fleming fires, Kings fail

Bangalore Royal Challengers picked up only their third Indian Premier League victory with a 14-run win over Chennai Super Kings despite former New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming top-scoring for his side with 45.

Rahul Dravid's Royal Challengers - who already have no chance of reaching the semi-finals - looked to be on their way to their 10th defeat in the competition when they made just 8-126 from their 20 overs after opting to bat first.

But the home team managed only 8-112 in reply, with Anil Kumble claiming 3-14 and Dale Steyn 2-28.

The visitors must have feared the worst after being restricted to what was a new lowest score by a team who have batted out 20 overs in the IPL.

Dravid was the only Bangalore batsman to stick around for any period of time - long enough to notch 47 from 39 balls.

The former India captain received little in the way of support, with Praveen Kumar the next highest scorer among his team-mates with 21.

South African Albie Morkel was the pick of the Chennai bowlers, finishing with figures of 4-32 from his four overs.

Bangalore never looked like building a substantial total.

Openers Jacques Kallis (five) and Shreevats Goswami (10) fell cheaply and the wickets continued to tumble even when Dravid arrived and gave the innings a touch of stability.

Virat Kohli (10), Misbah-ul-Haq (four) and Mark Boucher (17) quickly came and went with Dravid watching on helplessly from the other end.

Dravid perished in the 17th over, caught at cover by Mahendra Singh Dhoni off the bowling of Morkel, with Praveen Kumar and Vinay Kumar (nought) falling in the final over.

Despite a solid opening partnership of 60 between Parthiv Patel and Fleming, the Super Kings never looked comfortable chasing 127.

Fleming top-scored for his team with 45 but, apart from Patel (24) and Suresh Raina (21 not out), nobody else contributed more than four as the hosts slumped to a meagre 112.

23 May, 2008
First IPL match washed out

Heavy rain caused the abandonment of Thursday's IPL clash between the Delhi Daredevils and Kolkata Knight Riders before a ball was bowled, the first match to be washed out in the tournament so far.

The weather left both teams frustrated as Kolkata were eliminated from the race for the semi-finals while Delhi need to beat Mumbai and hope the Indians lose their other two remaining games to have a chance of advancing.

Heavy rain lashed the Feroz Shah Kotla until around 9.15pm local time and despite the best efforts of the ground staff, poor conditions in the outfield made play impossible.

it bores me this comp for some reason

24 May, 2008
Lefties run hot for Kings XI

Shaun Marsh and Kumar Sangakkara both struck half-centuries as Kings XI Punjab heaped more misery on the Deccan Chargers in the Indian Premier League on Friday.

The Australian plundered 60 off 46 balls and the Sri Lankan 50 off 25 as Punjab recorded a six-wicket win.

The IPL's second-placed side - whose place in the semi-finals had already been secured - reached its 176-run victory target with just three balls to spare to finish on 4-178.

Rohit Sharma (50 off 27) and Marsh's fellow Australian Adam Gilchrist (50 off 42) had earlier helped Deccan to 4-175.

Sangakkara set about the run chase in explosive fashion, racking up nine boundaries and averaging two runs a ball before he was caught by Chamara Silva off Sharma.

Fellow opener Marsh was rather more sedate, taking 40 deliveries to reach his half-century, before eventually holing out to Herschelle Gibbs.

Yuvraj Singh (17) and Luke Pomersbach (13) came and went quickly, but Mahela Jayawardene (14) and Piyush Chawla (16), who claimed a six apiece off Scott Styris in the penultimate over, saw the hosts home.

Having been put in to bat by Punjab, opening pair Gilchrist and Gibbs put on 79 for the first wicket as Deccan looked to salvage some pride from a desperate tournament.

The South African was especially aggressive, bludgeoning three sixes and as many fours on his way to 44 off before he attempted one big swing too many and was bowled by Gagandeep Singh.

Gilchrist then played onto his own stumps from Ramesh Powar minutes after bringing up his third IPL half-century.

It was Sharma who really looked to take the innings by the scruff of the neck though, sending four maximums hurtling into the stands.

His whirlwind knock was ended by Vikram Singh before Silva added 23 runs from just 10 balls at the death, but they proved to be in a losing cause.

25 May, 2008
Smith smashes Super Kings

Graeme Smith smashed 91 to lead Rajasthan Royals to a thrilling 11-run victory over the Chennai Super Kings.

The South Africa captain guided the visitors to 5-211 - a total which proved just beyond the battling Super Kings, who finished on 7-201, despite half centuries from Parthiv Patel and Albie Morkel, and Suresh Raina's 45.

Chennai needed 15 off the last over for victory but Sohail Tanvir dismissed Morkel for 71 and Abhinav Mukund (nought) with the last two balls of the game.

The hosts' hopes of chasing down the daunting total suffered a setback in the second over when Stephen Fleming (seven) was run out by Tanvir's direct throw, but Raina soon took charge, smashing Munaf Patel for 19 runs off the third over.

He made 45 off 24 balls before he lobbed Shane Warne to deep midwicket where Mohammad Kaif took a simple catch.

Parthiv Patel injected some spark into the run rate with a quick-fire 54 off 40 balls before he came down the track to Warne and was stumped.

Morkel maintained the momentum and reached the third-fastest IPL 50 - off 26 balls - to keep Chennai in contention but the Super Kings' chances suffered a blow when MS Dhoni was caught by Kaif at long off attempting to loft Tanvir over the boundary.

Subramaniam Badrinath (one) soon followed after skying Patel down the throat of Taruvar Kohli at cow corner and Chennai's hopes disintegrated when Tanvir removed Morkel and then Mukund with the last two balls of the game.

Earlier, Rajasthan started with a bang and hit Makhaya Ntini for 12 in the first over - six of those coming from Swapnil Asnodkar's lofted maximum over long-on off a free hit.

Asnodkar continued to rack up the runs and tormented Gony by bludgeoning him around the park, scoring boundaries at regular intervals.

At the other end Graeme Smith followed suit and raced to 50 inside nine overs, steering Morkel to third man for a quick single to bring up his eighth Twenty20 half-century.

Kamran Akmal pummelled 53 off 28 balls to maintain the imposing run-rate in the final few overs, but Yusuf Pathan (six) mistimed a Morkel delivery and toe-ended to Muralitharan at long off.

Kaif added 10 before being mis-hitting Morkel to Abhinav Mukund at third man, and Kohli was run out with the final ball of the innings.