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Gayle and de Villiers Helps Bangalore Seal Thriller Over Pune in IPL 2012

Royal Challengers Bangalore v Pune Warriors, Bangalore

The Report by Abhishek Purohit

April 17, 2012

Royal Challengers Bangalore 186 for 4 (Gayle 81, Tiwary 36*, de Villiers 33*) beat Pune Warriors 182 for 6 (Uthappa 69, Ryder 34, Samuels 34) by six wickets

Chris Gayle was going at around a run a ball against some tight bowling. Then he calmly decided to shift gears. The bowling ceased to matter; five consecutive sixes came against the bowler with one of the best economy-rates in the IPL, Rahul Sharma. Treating that Rahul over as an aberration, Pune Warriors responded with more tight bowling, with Ashish Nehra yorking Gayle. But AB de Villiers and Saurabh Tiwary hit 24 off the final over, bowled by Nehra, to pull off an improbable win, Royal Challengers Bangalore's first in four games.

For more than three-quarters of the game, the Royal Challengers had played catch-up to the Warriors. After Robin Uthappa's 69 took the visitors to 182, they had kept the Royal Challengers, and Gayle, in check for 12 overs. Gayle and Virat Kohli, game-changers both, had crawled along in a partnership of 30 in 35 deliveries. The asking-rate had ballooned to over 13, with 111 needed from 50. It claimed Kohli, who found deep point as he tried to hit out.

Kohli's dismissal fired up Gayle, who was on 37 off 35 then. Rahul bowled short, he bowled full, he went around the stumps, he went wide of the crease, he went wide of Gayle. To no avail. Five consecutive sixes later, the asking-rate was down by more than a couple of runs.

Warriors were stunned but they recovered quickly. Ashok Dinda, battling a painful side strain, conceded just 12 in two overs, including seven off the penultimate one with Royal Challengers needing 28 from 12. In between, Nehra had, for once, found the perfect yorker to send Gayle back for 81 off 48.

De Villiers and Tiwary kept the Royal Challengers in the hunt, hitting a six each to take 16 off the 18th over bowled by Angelo Mathews. Dinda's final over, the19th, seemed to have left Royal Challengers too much to get in the 20th over - 21.

De Villiers scrambled outside off to play the scoop off the second delivery in the final over, arming it past the wicketkeeper for four. Nehra delivered a low full toss and a length ball next. De Villiers smoked one straight down the ground for six; the next one was scooped nervelessly for another six over fine leg. With three needed off the last ball, Tiwary swung a length ball over the long-on boundary even as the rain came pouring down. Marlon Samuels, who had gone for under three an over, had two overs left.

Somehow, the Royal Challengers' batsmen had delivered after their bowlers had once again conceded a substantial score. Uthappa did most of the scoring with a power-packed half-century at the top of the order with Jesse Ryder and Samuels chipping in with smaller contributions.

The opening partnership between Uthappa and Ryder was worth 63 in seven overs. By then, Uthappa was in complete control. He timed three consecutive reverse-sweeps off Dilshan, with two of them beating short third man. He was put down by KP Appanna at long-off, a tough diving chance off Vinay Kumar in the 12th over but departed in the next as he sliced Daniel Vettori to point. The Warriors went at the same rate of around nine an over after Uthappa's dismissal with Samuels smashing the spinners for a couple of sixes. As it turned out, though, even 13 an over wasn't enough to deny Gayle, De Villiers and Tiwary.

Rajasthan Royals v Deccan Chargers, IPL 2012, Jaipur

The Report by Firdose Moonda

April 17, 2012

Rajasthan Royals 197 for 5 (Hodge 48*, Mishra 3-32) beat Deccan Chargers 196 for 2 (Duminy 58*, Dhawan 52) by five wickets

Not even eight days rest, their best efforts with the bat and Amit Mishra's three wickets were enough to earn Deccan Chargers a first win in IPL 2012. After Kumar Sangakkara and Shikhar Dawan put on the highest first-wicket partnership of the season, and JP Duminy and Daniel Christian blasted 77 off the last five overs, Chargers piled on a hefty score for Rajasthan Royals to chase, but they were unable to defend it on a flat pitch with small boundaries.

Rahul Dravid and Ajinkya Rahane did the groundwork and Brad Hodge finished off fiercely. Almost everything Chargers did, Royals did better. Although Dravid and Rahane shared a stand of only 62, compared to Sangakkara and Dhawan's 94 , the Royals pair scored at a faster rate. They went at 10.62 runs to the over compared to Sangakkara and Dhawan's 8.81. Chargers had amassed 119 for 2 after 15 overs, Royals had the same score after 13. Duminy's 58 came at a strike rate of 223.07, Brad Hodge's 48 came at a strike rate of 228.57, and that was perhaps the difference between the two sides.

With a tall task ahead of them, Royals approached it aggressively. Rahul Dravid tore into an out-of-sorts Dale Steyn in the second over, using the pace to club him for three fours. With the in-form Rahane on the other end, Daniel Christian and birthday-boy Anand Rajan also took a pasting and Royals raced to the fastest fifty in this season's tournament, off 4.5 overs.

Dravid seemed set for a much longer stay at the crease but was foxed by a Christian slower ball that was aimed at his legs. He did not get inside the line and the ball cannoned into the pads and onto the stumps. The wicket brought a short-lived calm to the crease as Rahane and Ashok Menaria consolidated.

Unlike Chargers, who suffered a lapse in the mid-section of their innings and scored 23 runs between overs 13 and 16, Royals kept their slump to just two overs. The 8th and 9h overs yielded only eight runs in total but Rahane soon had the wheels turning again with a six over long-off after charging down the track to Mishra.

Menaria was not expected to bat at No. 3, given the match situation which needed quick runs, but Royals stuck to their original line-up and he did not let them down. He freed his arms and found the boundary and seemed a worthy partner to Rahane until he pulled straight to short midwicket. Rahane holed out two overs later to cause jitters in the Royals camp. Those nerves would have grown when Shah was dropped by Steyn at long-on when he was on 10 and then caught two balls later at deep midwicket.

Hodge did not waste time taking over and ensured the advantage was back with Royals when he clubbed Steyn for four consecutive fours. Hodge cut the short ball, turned the full toss to square leg, lofted another short one over third man and carved a half-volley through the covers to ensure Steyn had the most expensive return of the Chargers' bowlers.

With the anxiety shifting to Chargers, they dropped another catch, putting Johan Botha down and found themselves with only 11 to defend off the last over. Dishant Yagnik, little-known on the international stage, was the unlikely hero. Steyn offered him a touch of width and he found the gap on the off side and followed it up by slapping the ball through the covers to hand Royals victory.

This is the second match of in the tournament that Chargers have lost from a seemingly winnable position. Last Monday, they let Mumbai Indians canter to a five-wicket win after having them under their thumb at 95 for 4, chasing 139, in the 17th over. Chargers' three losses keeps them at the bottom of the points table.

Mumbai Indians v Delhi Daredevils, IPL 2012, Mumbai

The Report by Siddhartha Talya

April 16, 2012

Delhi Daredevils 93 for 3 (Sehwag 32) beat Mumbai Indians 92 (Harbhajan 33, Umesh 2-10, Nadeem 2-16) by seven wickets

The battle of the heavyweights in this IPL degenerated into a one-sided contest at the Wankhede Stadium, as the Mumbai Indians' top and middle orders imploded against some attacking bowling from Delhi Daredevils. The implosion was partly forced, partly self-inflicted, and left the visitors chasing the lowest target this IPL season, one they achieved with ease. The Daredevils are on top of the table now with three wins from four games, Mumbai Indians have slipped to fourth place.

Shahbaz Nadeem, the left-arm spinner, has proved effective this season with economical figures and he continued the good work against the Mumbai openers, bowling flat and sticking to a tight line. There was a good amount of bounce available on the track and the new ball helped him get some bite. Nadeem owed some of his success today to Irfan Pathan, who tied down Davy Jacobs at one end, bowling a maiden and it was a matter of time before the opener tried to break through. He swung hard but was bowled by Nadeem to be dismissed for a 10-ball duck, and Richard Levi followed in almost identical fashion against Nadeem eight balls later.

The Daredevils shuffled their bowlers around, and each contributed in a collective effort. Morne Morkel bowled quick and got excellent carry, Ajit Agarkar too generated good pace and Umesh Yadav even more so while being accurate. As the bowlers kept the pressure on throughout, Mumbai didn't help their own case either. Ambati Rayudu was run out thanks to complete confusion partly due to the noise around the stadium, Kieron Pollard holed out attempting a big shot when the need of the hour was some caution and Dinesh Karthik's mistimed pull offered a simple catch to mid-on.

Amid the mess was a counterattack from Rohit Sharma, but one that was lacking in conviction. Three of his four boundaries were top-edges while attempting the pull against the bouncing ball, twice against Morkel. As it turned out, his luck was short-lived, as another top-edge brought his downfall, with Ross Taylor completing one of two well-judged catches in the deep.

Mumbai slipped to 44 for 6 but some meaty hitting from their captain gave them a brief respite. A couple of length balls doled out by Agarkar were dispatched for a six and a four by Harbhajan Singh, whose timing stood out in an otherwise forgettable Mumbai innings. He followed that up with a couple of delightful cuts, one off Agarkar and another against Nadeem, but the slide was to resume soon. Morkel and Pathan returned to knock off the tail, that included Harbhajan himself, as the Daredevils prepared themselves for a quick finish.

Delhi's chase was smooth, and Virender Sehwag's trademark cut for six in the first over further dampened the spirits of the Mumbai crowd. With Lasith Malinga out injured, the Mumbai Indians attack was weakened significantly. Harbhajan, too, didn't bowl an over. A steady opening from Naman Ojha and Sehwag set the tone; Sehwag guided much of the innings, falling shortly before the job was done, and Mahela Jayawardene together with Taylor sealed the win in the 15th over.

Royal Challengers v Rajasthan Royals, IPL 2012, Bangalore

The Report by Kanishkaa Balachandran

April 15, 2012

Rajasthan Royals 195 for 2 (Rahane 103*, Shah 60) beat 136 Royal Challengers Bangalore (Agarwal 34, Trivedi 4 for 25) by 59 runs

The game was effectively over when the players walked off for the innings break. Ajinkya Rahane's blistering, unbeaten 103 brought up the first century of IPL 2012, propelling Rajasthan Royals to 195 against an already battered Royal Challengers Bangalore. Assisted by Owais Shah's equally intimidating 60, the Royals piled on a score way beyond reach for the hosts and such was the dominance that the chase turned out to be a tepid affair.

Rahane also smashed six consecutive fours off an over - the first in Twenty20 history, S Aravind being the unfortunate bowler. Rahane and Shah - ten years apart - didn't just deliver for the team's cause but also nudged their respective national team selectors ahead of the World Twenty20, each getting two big scores so far this IPL. Their bowlers - led by Siddharth Trivedi - backed them up, hitting their targets like efficient salesmen, getting six batsmen bowled.

Ironically, the losing side had the bigger names. With the likes of Daniel Vettori, Muttiah Muralitharan and Zaheer Khan to contend with, it appeared as if the Royals worked to the plan of exploiting the less-experienced Indian bowlers. It was an extension of Royal Challengers' affliction from the match against Chennai Super Kings, when Virat Kohli leaked 28 off the penultimate over of the game.

At one stage, Aravind conceded 48 off three overs, almost the same number given away by Zaheer, Vettori and Murali off ten combined overs. A less-than-fit Chris Gayle, recovering from a groin injury, came on in the 16th over more as an act of desperation by Vettori and didn't fare any better than the other weak links, leaking 21.

The hammering Rahane dished out was reminiscent of Brendon McCullum's butchering at the same venue in the IPL's opening game in 2008. He began by splitting the gap past cover and backward point for two fours off Aravind in the second over. The onslaught that followed was so brutal that it's easy to forget Zaheer bowled a maiden over to Rahane, the third of the innings. Rahane showed no such respect for Aravind the following over, taking 15 off it, including a massive hit over long-on.

Vettori and Murali then pulled things back with five relatively quiet overs, going for 23. Vettori's spell only widened the gap between him and the rest. He varied his pace and flight, fired in the quicker ones to keep the batsmen guessing.

Rahane's merciless approach was best illustrated in the 14th over, which produced six fours. He drove Aravind forcefully down the ground off the first two balls, scooped the third to fine leg, pulled the fourth to midwicket, drove the fifth past cover and delicately dabbed the six to third man. Aravind varied his pace and length, AB de Villiers came up to the stumps but nothing deterred Rahane.

Shah began his party with a top-edged six over long leg, before ripping into Gayle. Vinay Kumar aimed for the blockhole, but somehow Shah found a way to get under the bounce and slam sixes down the ground. He brought up his fifty off just 19 balls before launching into Murali. He tried the same against a slower Zaheer delivery but was caught at long-on.

At the other end, Rahane started the final over needing seven for his century and he required just three balls to get there. After driving Vinay past mid-off, he flat-batted the third ball just past long-on's grasp to bring up the landmark. The Royals hammered 113 off the last seven overs, the third-best in IPL history.

Royal Challengers began the chase in enterprising manner, with Mayank Agarwal pulling the first ball for six over fine leg. But a double-strike by Pankaj Singh in the fifth over derailed the chase and took the fight out of the hosts. Agarwal was caught off a top-edge and two balls later, Gayle dragged one onto his stumps.

That followed a period of prolonged struggle for Royal Challengers, stumbling against the asking rate, compounded by the steady fall of wickets. The boundary drought lasted an unforgivable 37 deliveries and that was thanks largely to Trivedi's nagging line and slower deliveries bowled from back of a length, assisted by the slow pitch. De Villiers played on to one that kept low, Kohli and Saurabh perished swinging across the line, before Vettori lost his leg stump giving the bowler the charge. Trivedi's 4 for 23 was his personal best in the IPL and the combined efforts launched the Royals to the top of the table.

Knight Riders v Kings XI, IPL 2012, Kolkata

The Report by Firdose Moonda

April 15, 2012

Kings XI Punjab 134 for 9 (Mandeep Singh 38, Narine 5-19 ) beat Kolkata Knight Riders 132 for 7 (Das 35, Chawla 3-18) by 2 runs

A triple strike from Piyush Chawla in the middle of the Knight Riders innings and last over heroics from Harmeet Singh brought Kings XI back from the dead to beat their hosts in unlikely fashion. After posting a below par 134 and allowing Knight Riders to canter to 71 for 2 at the halfway stage of the chase, Kings XI relied on a spectacular effort from their legspinner to negate Sunil Narine's jaw-dropping 5 for 19.

Narine's strangling efforts and Rajat Bhatia and Shakib al Hasan's supporting efforts kept the lid on Kings XI. Knight Riders were favoured to chase down a moderate target after Gautam Gambhir started with a speedy 22 and Manvinder Bisla and Manoj Tiwary steered the reply with a stand of 43. But, the home side unravelled after Chawla removed three of their key batsmen, Bisla, Yusuf Pathan and Shakib. Debrabata Das threatened to take the match to its expected conclusion with his aggressive innings but a slew of legbreaks from Harmeet ensured Kings XI defended what seemed hard to defend at one stage.

Gambhir began in a hurry. The early loss of Jacques Kallis - caught spectacularly by Paras Dogra at point - did nothing to deter him as he collected boundaries at will before offering Dimitri Mascarenhas a simple return catch.

Despite the departure of their captain, Bisla and Tiwary continued the task stoically and formed a partnership that would not have been out of place in longer formats of the game. They rotated strike, searched for singles and only targeted the boundary when they got a bad ball. They seemed certain to guide Knight Riders to an easy win but the match turned when Tiwary was trapped in front by Bhargav Bhatt.

A tiny wound had been inflicted on Knight Riders and Chawla prised it open. He bowled Bisla with a delivery that did not turn and meted out the same to Yusuf Pathan with a legbreak in the same over. After 14 overs, Knight Riders were 85 for 5. Chawla had pulled them back to exactly the position Kings XI had been in at that stage - 85 for 3. He struck again, with a googly to Shakib al Hasan, to have the Bangladesh all-rounder caught of his own bowling.

Das defied the Kings XI charge. He started by smacking a full toss from Chawla for a straight six. As full deliveries were offered to him, he smoked them to the boundary. Ryan ten Doeschate provided some support and the pair took Knight Riders to within 13 runs of victory with two overs left.

Praveen Kumar gave away only four of those runs, bowling an over punctuated with yorkers and Harmeet had nine runs to work with in the final over. His seemingly harmless legbreaks had ten Doeschate frustrated as he played on. Harmeet then proved impossible to get away as he made up for Kings XI's lapses with the bat through cunning bowling.

Kings XI saw off 36 dot balls in their innings and allowed Knight Riders' attack to create pressure and use it to their advantage. Narine struck twice in his opening spell - when Adam Gilchrist top-edged and attempted pull to depart for 5 and by bowling Shaun Marsh with a delivery that turned away from the left-hander.

Together with Kallis, he ensured Kings XI crawled to 31 for 2 after seven overs and that they did not score a single boundary in five of them. If not for the half-century stand between Mandeep Singh and David Hussey, they would have not got off the starting blocks at all. The pair settled in on the surface, started to time the ball better and occasionally challenged the fielders, beating them for boundaries and pushing them hard to turn singles into twos. Old-fashioned grit and grind helped them build but just as they were looking to launch, Mandeep slog swept straight to deep mid-wicket.

They were never really able to push after that as Hussey was run-out soon after and the dominoes fell steadily after that. Bhatia took two wickets in his final over and Narine also struck twice on being brought back on the attack. Kings XI scored 30 runs off the last two overs which, in the end, proved to be the difference.

Pune Warriors v Chennai Super Kings, IPL 2012, Pune

The Report by Siddarth Ravindran

April 14, 2012

Pune Warriors 156 for 3 (Ryder 73*, Smith 44*) beat Chennai Super Kings 155 for 5 (Jadeja 44, du Plessis 43) by seven wickets

Pune Warriors had only four wins in their entire campaign in 2011, and were expected to struggle again in the absence of their marquee player Yuvraj Singh. Instead, they've got three victories in four games and are top of the table after upsetting the fancied Chennai Super Kings in front of a boisterous home crowd.

It was an all-round performance from Warriors, with their bowlers first stifling the power-packed Super Kings batting by hitting the blockhole as often as possible, backed up by some sharp fielding, something which is a rarity in the IPL.

Their chase was then controlled by two contrasting innings from two men struggling to hold down a place in their national sides. Jesse Ryder began in a hurry, but calmed down to play through the innings for the first time in his T20 career. Just when things started to become tense in the chase, Steven Smith hammered a bunch of boundaries, including two in the final over to complete the victory.

It hadn't seemed that it would be this close an encounter after Ryder, who would probably have been dropped had he failed again, provided a turbo-charged start, and even the run-outs of Robin Uthappa and Sourav Ganguly weren't too big a hindrance. The spin duo of R Ashwin and Suresh Raina, though, choked the runs to inflate the asking rate, making it difficult to understand why Ravindra Jadeja was not used. It came down to 34 required off the final three overs, in which Ryder only needed to take three singles - Smith's big hits took care of the rest.

Both captains had been uncertain about how the pitch at the new Subrata Roy Sahara Stadium in Pune would behave, but it had few demons in it. Super Kings' innings was built around a clutch of boundaries at the start of the innings from one of their cheapest buys, Faf du Plessis, and a flourish from their most expensive signing, Jadeja, in the second half.

The openers began slowly before du Plessis waded into the fourth over from Ashish Nehra, taking 18 off it including a six over the bowler's head after advancing down the track. Du Plessis went on to become the highest run-getter of the tournament, but his opening partner M Vijay's struggles continued.

Still, Super Kings were well placed after du Plessis' blast, but were slowed down by legspinner Rahul Sharma's strikes, who removed both du Plessis and Raina. Warriors then kept a lid on the scoring through some fast and full bowling from Marlon Samuels, who fired in a succession of quicker deliveries, some clocked as high as 127kph. The batsmen couldn't get under those deliveries, and even MS Dhoni couldn't find the boundaries, finishing on an underwhelming 26 off 28.

Jadeja came out firing, and provided some impetus. Samuels' darts and Ashok Dinda's impressive ability to consistently deliver yorkers, though, kept the scoring down. All through the second half of the innings, one kept waiting for Super Kings' big onslaught, but Warriors' bowlers ensured that it never came.

Kolkata Knight Riders v Rajasthan Royals, IPL 2012, Kolkata

The Report by Abhishek Purohit

April 13, 2012

Kolkata Knight Riders 137 for 5 (Kallis 31, Bisla 29) beat Rajasthan Royals 131 for 5 (Shah 31, Dravid 28, Shakib 3-17) by five wickets

Shakib Al Hasan had sat out Kolkata Knight Riders' first two matches, much to the disappointment of his fans in Bangladesh, but on a slow and turning Eden Gardens pitch he responded with a match-winning performance. He struck three crucial, timely blows with the ball, squeezing out whatever momentum Rajasthan Royals had managed to build, and then smashed a couple of boundaries to prevent a tricky chase from getting trickier in the closing stages.

It was Shakib's haul of 3 for 17 that proved decisive in the end. He dismissed the Royals openers after their partnership had started to gather pace; he came back to break another substantial stand, between Shreevats Goswami and Owais Shah, that could have hurt Knight Riders. Royals, though, somehow adapted to the slowness of the pitch, and took 15 runs off the last over to set Knight Riders a challenging target.

Jacques Kallis and Manvinder Bisla ensured Knight Riders did not lose wickets as they kept up with the modest asking-rate, and Shakib and Manoj Tiwary produced the few big strokes needed towards the end.

Royals had started well, with Rahul Dravid and Ajinkya Rahane putting on 45 in six overs. Dravid got away a few boundaries with uncharacteristic charges down the track against the medium-pacers while Rahane cover-drove and swept offspinner Sunil Narine for consecutive boundaries.

Shakib, though, had an immediate impact. Rahane tried to push Shakib's first delivery on the off side, but it turned sharply to take the outside edge to the wicketkeeper. The second ball of Shakib's second over was tossed up invitingly. Dravid went after it, and found extra cover.

In between those two dismissals Ashok Menaria, batting ahead of Brad Hodge and Owais Shah, ran himself out after a couple of let-offs.

Royals had slipped from 45 for no loss to 49 for 3 but Shah and Goswami were to double that score with safe accumulation. The duo threatened more damage after taking 16 off the 16th over, bowled by Rajat Bhatia.

Enter Shakib in the 17th over. Shah drilled him down the ground for four but Goswami mishit a sweep to midwicket. Narine bowled an excellent penultimate over, getting a clueless Shah stumped off a flicked delivery that spun away from the right-hander. Johan Botha was rendered as clueless as Shah for the rest of the over, which went for just three.

Royals managed to swing L Balaji for a couple of boundaries in the last over to give their attack just about enough to defend on a helpful pitch. Though Gautam Gambhir was run out early, Kallis and Bisla were in control as they chipped away at the target. The medium-pacers were targeted, as was left-arm spinner Ankeet Chavan. Johan Botha and Brad Hogg were negotiated without needless bravado.

The highest the asking-rate was allowed to go was eight an over after the 17th. When it reached that level, Knight Riders had Shakib, who delivered. Again.

Kings XI Punjab v Pune Warriors, IPL 2012, Mohali

The Report by Siddhartha Talya

April 12, 2012

Kings XI Punjab 116 for 3 (Marsh 64*, Chawla 24*) beat Pune Warriors 115 (Manhas 31, Mascarenhas 5-25) by seven wickets

Dimitri Mascarenhas and Shaun Marsh were the architects of a comfortable win for Kings XI Punjab, their first this IPL after a poor start to the season. Mascarenhas picked up his second five-for in Twenty20 cricket, in conditions perfectly suited to his accuracy and medium pace. His performance helped bowl out Pune Warriors for just 115 on a slow track, and Shaun Marsh ensured the chase was on track with a composed half-century that marked his own return to form.

On a Mohali track that had some grass and one that was livened up with some rain last night, the Kings XI seamers justified their captain's decision to field, deriving swing and movement with some accurate bowling and picking up wickets at a steady pace in the process. After the early loss of Jesse Ryder, who was run out thanks to a late decision against a single by his partner Sourav Ganguly, Praveen Kumar, Parvinder Awana and Mascarenhas went about slowing down the innings considerably. Praveen got significant away movement and surprised the batsmen with ones that nipped back in.

The top order hasn't really fired for the Warriors and the trend continued. After promising much with a couple of delightful shots, Ganguly was dismissed thanks to the introduction of Mascarenhas. He dismissed Ganguly with some away movement that produced a leading edge, and saw off an edgy Marlon Samuels with a lovely delivery that moved just at the right time to clip the off stump.

At the other end, with the Warriors soon reduced to 29 for 3, Uthappa was forced to curb his natural instincts but found an able partner in Mithun Manhas, whose swift running and busy approach didn't allow his side to buckle down significantly. Interspersed between a spate of singles and twos were a couple of useful boundaries from Manhas, a wristy smack over Piyush Chawla's head standing out.

The 26-run stand for the fifth wicket ended when Uthappa holed out against Mascarenhas in his second spell and Steven Smith followed not long after, bowled off an inside edge. Smith and Uthappa had played a critical role in the Warriors' previous two wins, chipping in with cameos that proved crucial in the outcome, but weren't able to push on today.

Mascarenhas returned to trouble the Warriors more in his final spell, and wasn't perturbed when struck for a huge six over extra cover by Manhas. He stuck to a straight line, bowling Manhas the very next ball as he tried the scoop, and picked his fifth as Rahul Sharma skied one to deep midwicket; the innings was wrapped up shortly after.

Barring a first-ball setback when Paul Valthaty was cleaned up by Ashok Dinda, Kings XI never really strayed off the track in the chase. Marsh, whose last seven Test innings have yielded just 17 runs, began his innings in style, pulling Dinda through midwicket. It didn't help the Warriors that their fielding was poor, with misfields, overthrows, a missed run-out and a couple of dropped catches preventing them from putting up a fight.

Together with Gilchrist, Marsh saw off the early pressure with two crunching boundaries off Samuels through the off side and Adam Gilchrist matched him, smacking Angelo Mathews for successive fours in the last over of the field restrictions. Marsh, who was reprieved when on 31 and 41, was ruthless when offered width and his adeptness at playing the pull allowed the Warriors bowlers little margin for error. Both timing and power were on display, a classy flick over midwicket off Nehra and a towering six over long-on off Rahul Sharma typifying both those features.

Chawla, promoted above David Hussey, gave Marsh good company and sealed the win, the Warriors doing their bit to hasten the win through some sloppy fielding.

Chennai Super Kings v Royal Challengers Bangalore, IPL 2012

The Report by Firdose Moonda

April 12, 2012

Chennai Super Kings 208 for 5 (Du Plessis 71, Dhoni 41, Murali 3-21) beat Royal Challengers Bangalore 205 for 8 (Gayle 68, Kohli 57, Bollinger 3-24) by five wickets

Albie Morkel ransacked 28 runs off the first six balls he faced - the 19th over - to pull off an incredible heist for Chennai Super Kings, the second highest successful chase in the IPL. Pursuing 206, Super Kings needed 43 off 12 balls and Royal Challengers Bangalore would have thought the match safe, only for Morkel to shatter the notion by savaging Virat Kohli's over.

Morkel launched three sixes, two fours and ran a two, to leave Super Kings with 15 to get in the last over. Although he was caught on the boundary, and Super Kings needed 14 off four balls, Dwayne Bravo was on hand to finish it off, helped by a no-ball and a full toss from Vinay Kumar. It was a compelling finish to an innings that had its platform laid by aggression from Faf du Plessis and innovation from MS Dhoni, who promoted himself to No. 4, but until that rocket-fueled thrust from Morkel, Super Kings had been behind for 38 overs.

In hindsight Royal Challengers were left to rue a late collapse in their innings, when five wickets fell in six balls and they scored only 11 runs off the final ten deliveries. Chris Gayle and Virat Kohli had done enough to ensure they were the first side to make more than 200 in this IPL, but they were set for more than 205 at one stage.

While Royal Challengers swelled in the middle of their innings, scoring 21 off the ninth over, Super Kings waited for the end to lash out after a solid start. Du Plessis took control of the innings early on and scored risk-free boundaries off short balls. He dominated the first seven overs, while M Vijay batted in his shadow.

Vijay became the first of Muttiah Muralitharan's three scalps when he offered the Sri Lankan a return catch. Murali had to dive to his right and defy his age to complete it and he did. Murali broke the next two partnerships as well to prevent Super Kings from gaining too much ground. Suresh Raina and du Plessis both holed out as they fought a climbing asking rate.

With more than 15 an over required off the last five, Super Kings needed a sustained attack. It did not come. Dhoni perished in the cause, attempting the helicopter shot to be caught at long-off, which proved a blessing in disguise as it brought Morkel to the crease.

Kohli was given the responsibility of the 19th over because Vettori had exhausted the quotas of his experienced bowlers and Gayle was off the field with what seemed to be a groin niggle. Morkel got underway with an inside edge for four and then blasted the next delivery over long-on for six. An outside edge off the third ball flew towards third man for four and Morkel clobbered the fourth and sixth deliveries for six as well.

When Morkel was dismissed, the advantage was back with a shell-shocked Royal Challengers but Vinay Kumar let it slip again. He bowled a high no-ball that Bravo pulled for four and the next delivery was a full toss, which got slapped for six. Vinay Kumar followed up with two boundary-less balls leaving Super Kings with two to win off the last ball. Ravindra Jadeja swung hard at the final delivery and outside-edged to the third-man boundary, sparking off delirious celebrations in the Super Kings dugout. Royal Challengers explosive efforts with the bat were a distant memory.

During Royal Challengers' innings, Mayank Agarwal had performed a similar role to Du Plessis, attacking at the start. He initially eclipsed Gayle, peppering the off side with powerful shots, lofting the ball over mid-off and timing it sweetly through covers. Agarwal ushered Royal Challengers to the first half-century score inside five overs this season.

Unlike du Plessis, however, Agarwal did not build on his platform and top-edged a slower bouncer from Morkel to mid-on. He had done enough though for Gayle and Kohli to build a skyscraper on. Both scored half-centuries in contrasting styles. Gayle gathered runs with power while Kohli did it with placement and timing. Their partnership grew to the highest of this IPL but neither of them survived until the end of the innings, from where they may have been able to launch the kind of onslaught Morkel did, and break the game.

Mumbai Indians v Rajasthan Royals, IPL, Mumbai

The Report by Abhishek Purohit

April 11, 2012

Mumbai Indians 197 for 6 (Pollard 64, Rayudu 47*) beat Rajasthan Royals 170 (Shah 76, Rahane 40, Munaf 4-28) by 27 runs

The scoreboard might not tell you that but Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals gave IPL 2012 its first close high-scoring game as Wankhede Stadium cheered. The 27-run margin did not do justice to Rajasthan Royals for the way they went after an asking-rate of nearly ten an over against a quality bowling attack. This after Kieron Pollard had muscled his way to his highest IPL score and propelled Mumbai Indians to the highest total of this IPL season so far.

Pollard's all-round performance, 64 off 33 deliveries and 4 for 44, left in the shade a dazzling innings of 76 off 42 from Owais Shah, which had rudely threatened to gatecrash what had shaped up to be Pollard's night. Till the end of the 14th over, as Shah kept peppering the on-side rope with boundaries, Royals had an almost even chance. But in a game where no bowler apart from him went for less than seven an over, Lasith Malinga uprooted Shah's off stump with a yorker off the first ball of the 15th.

While Munaf Patel and Pollard ended with four wickets each, it was Malinga's over that turned the game in Mumbai Indians' favour. While Malinga stood out with figures of 4-0-13-2 in a match where 367 runs were scored, it was Pollard who towered above everyone with his all-round performance.

Pollard's assault with the bat helped Mumbai Indians pull away from Rajasthan Royals after the visitors had clawed back with Brad Hogg's two wickets in four balls. Pollard's power also left an important innings from Ambati Rayudu in the shade.

Pollard came in after Hogg, on IPL debut, had dismissed Rohit Sharma and Richard Levi with fizzing left-arm legbreaks. By the time he was dismissed, Pollard had carted Royals' attack with 64, and Mumbai Indians had rocketed from 68 to 164 in the space of 52 balls.

Pollard had no role to play in his first boundary, Hogg's googly beating the batsman on the forward push and going between the wicketkeeper and first slip. It was Rayudu who took on Hogg in the 11th over, slog-sweeping for six over midwicket.

Kevon Cooper's meeting with his Trinidad & Tobago team-mate was much awaited, but Pollard lofted his first ball from his fellow allrounder for six over long-on. Still, Royals had somehow managed to keep the expected torrent of runs down and Mumbai Indians were going around eight an over after 13.

Johan Botha came on in the 14th, and Pollard dispatched his first four balls for boundaries. Botha dragged the first delivery short, tossed the second one up and went wide of Pollard with the third. It made scarce difference to Pollard as he swung all three deliveries between deep midwicket and long-on. His power showed off the fourth ball as even a leading edge beat the sweeper to the deep extra cover rope.

Twenty-three runs came off that Botha over, and the pressure on Royals had increased significantly. Pollard threatened to do an encore of the Botha over in the 17th against Ankeet Chavan, hitting his first delivery so hard that it deflected off the non-striker's stumps to the straight boundary even as umpire Aleem Dar barely got out of the way. The next two balls also disappeared for boundaries but Pollard found long-on off the last ball.

Harbhajan Singh ensured Mumbai Indians did not falter after Pollard's departure and left Royals with a mountain to climb. Munaf removed Rahul Dravid and Shreevats Goswami off consecutive deliveries in the second over to make the ascent appear steeper.

Shah and Ajinkya Rahane, though, almost did a Pollard-and-Rayudu with an 82-run stand off 57. Rahane signalled the start of the fightback with a chipped four over mid-off and a six over deep midwicket in Munaf's next over.

Shah put up a display of sustained calculated hitting, moving around in his crease and using the angle of the deliveries into him to swing for boundaries on the on side. Rahane's fall off Pollard in the 12th over hardly mattered to Shah. Thirty-five runs came off the next two overs, bowled by Harbhajan and Pollard, the latter pulled and slogged for consecutive boundaries.

The equation came down to 64 needed off 36. Harbhajan had saved two overs of Malinga for the death. He was forced to bring him on slightly earlier, but Malinga delivered immediately, Shah backing away too far outside leg to a yorker, which was right on off stump.

Botha followed in the same over, and though Cooper and Ashok Menaria tried, Pollard struck thrice in the 18th over to ensure the night would be only his.

Delhi Daredevils v Chennai Super Kings, IPL 2012, Delhi

The Report by Abhishek Purohit

April 10, 2012

Delhi Daredevils 111 for 2 (Pietersen 43*, Sehwag 33) beat Chennai Super Kings 110 for 8 (M Morkel 2-19) by eight wickets

Chennai Super Kings were disappointing with the bat for the second time in three games and their confused running allowed Delhi Daredevils to restrict them to their second-lowest total in the IPL for a comprehensive win. Three of the first four Super Kings batsmen ran themselves out as neither Daredevils' bowlers nor their fielders let up on the pressure.

Off the first ball of the game, M Vijay responded too eagerly to a call for a single from Faf du Plessis only for the latter to stop after taking a few steps. Vijay was almost at the other end and had no chance of making it back. Such chaos was to be a feature of the innings. Suresh Raina went too far down the pitch in search of a tight single but could not make it back in time; S Badrinath was to meet a similar fate a couple of overs later.

It did not help Super Kings that after hitting three boundaries and looking in fine touch, du Plessis found extra cover off Morne Morkel with another drive. It allowed Daredevils to come back from Irfan Pathan's second over, the third of the innings, which went for 14. Raina slogged a couple of sixes over the on side before contriving to dismiss himself. The last thing Super Kings wanted was for Daredevils wicketkeeper Naman Ojha to pull off a stunning diving catch off Ravindra Jadeja's outside edge.

With Super Kings struggling on 66 for 5, Daredevils were able to exert even more pressure through their left-arm spinners Roelof van der Merwe and Shahbaz Nadeem. The duo conceded just 24 runs off seven overs between them. Super Kings' final hope was the pair of Dwayne Bravo and MS Dhoni but they failed to push on after adding 23 in 41 balls. Super Kings' crawl was summed up by Bravo playing out seven consecutive dot balls against the spinners.

After plodding along to 11 off 18, Dhoni could not clear long-on off Morne Morkel as he tried to break free in the 18th over. Bravo followed in the 19th, and Super Kings signed off their innings with one more run-out in the last over.

Daredevils' first wicket, Naman Ojha, was also to fall courtesy a run-out but he had already launched the chase in style with three fours in three balls off Albie Morkel. Virender Sehwag sealed the issue with 33 off 21, including a back-foot punch off Albie Morkel that went for six over deep extra cover.

Kevin Pietersen and Mahela Jayawardene had too much class to allow Super Kings a whiff of a comeback as the visitors slumped to their biggest defeat in terms of balls remaining.

Bangalore v Kolkata, IPL 2012, Bangalore

The Report by Firdose Moonda

April 10, 2012

Kolkata Knight Riders 165 for 8 (Gambhir 64, R Vinay Kumar 2-18) beat Royal Challengers Bangalore 123 for 9 (Vinay Kumar 25, Balaji 4-18) by 42 runs

L Balaji bowled Kolkata Knight Riders to their first victory in IPL 2012 against a strong Royal Challengers Bangalore batting line-up. He formed part of a destructive, three-pronged Knight Riders' pace attack that saw Brett Lee create pressure and Jacques Kallis get the early breakthroughs.

Their consistent line outside the off stump and slightly shorter length had the Royal Challengers' batsmen tied down. The required run-rate eventually soared out of control, leaving the home side playing catch-up throughout.

One of Kallis' two early strikes removed the biggest threat in the Royal Challengers line-up, Chris Gayle, before he could do any damage. After having Cheteshwar Pujara caught at slip with a ball that angled into him and bounced a little more than usual, Kallis simply presented Gayle with a short ball. With only a single added to the total after Pujara was dismissed, Gayle's shot was a response to pressure and he top-edged a pull to midwicket.

Responsibility then fell on Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers' shoulders and neither was able to get the job done as Balaji brought a second wave of attack. Kohli was beaten twice by Balaji before getting a leading edge to point. De Villiers followed in the next over, bowled by a beautiful delivery which angled in from a good length and straightened to hit the off stump.

Balaji continued to trouble the batsmen with his line. He had further reward when Mayank Agarwal spooned a catch to extra cover and then bowled Daniel Vettori with a slower ball to complete his quadruple haul. He should have had a fifth when Saurabh Tiwary swung violently and presented Shakib Al Hasan with a simple catch at deep square-leg that was fluffed.

By the time Balaji had finished his quota, Royal Challengers were 61 for 6 after 12 overs. Tiwary was the only recognised batsmen at the crease and the required run rate was over 13. It ballooned to over 30 as the innings neared an end, ensuring the Knight Riders were able to comfortably defend a total that, at the halfway mark, appeared a few short.

Despite 165 being the highest total Knight Riders have posted this season, they would have wanted more after establishing a platform from which a score in excess of 200 seemed possible. Captain Gautam Gambhir opened the batting and combined with Kallis and Manvinder Bisla in two aggressive partnerships to take his team to 125 for 1 in the 14th over.

Bisla was preferred over big-hitters like Yusuf Pathan and Ryan ten Doeschate despite Knight Riders' start and he repaid the faith shown in him. He hit the ball with immense power, complementing Gambhir, who showed the deftest of touches with his dab to third man off Muttiah Muralitharan.

The Knight Riders' captain brought up the fastest half-century of the tournament so far, off 28 balls, with a lofted shot over cover but could not press on as much as he should have. Bisla was stumped three balls later, in the first boundary-free over of the innings and the Knight Riders slid steadily from there.

Royal Challengers effected a collapse which saw Knight Riders lose seven wickets for 26 runs. R Vinay Kumar was the chief strangler and used wily changes of pace to dry up the runs. His economical effort was headlined with persistent use of the short ball and he was well backed up by Muralitharan and committed fielding.

The Royal Challengers' bowlers conceded only 50 runs in the last eight overs but their batsmen did not do justice to their efforts in the field.

Deccan Chargers v Mumbai Indians, Visakhapatnam

The Report by Kanishkaa Balachandran

April 9, 2012

Mumbai Indians 142 for 5 (Rohit 73*, Steyn 3-12) beat Deccan Chargers 138 for 9 (Dhawan 41, Christian 39, Munaf 4-20) by five wickets

The fifth edition of the IPL, which began in tepid fashion, finally had a nail-biter as Rohit Sharma hit the last ball of the match for six to seal a thrilling finish for Mumbai Indians against Deccan Chargers, who fought tooth and nail while defending 139. Daniel Christian, not the wisest choice for the final over, as very recent history tells us, dished out two full tosses to Rohit. One of them was off the final ball, which was dispatched over long-on to spark wild celebrations.

The Chargers were still favourites with 18 to defend off the last over. Kumar Sangakkara had bowled out his best bowler, Dale Steyn, leaving the final task with Christian. The first ball was smashed by James Franklin past long-off for four; the second down the same region; the batsmen sneaked a bye off the third; the fourth was a high full toss slammed by Rohit Sharma over deep backward point. With five needed off two, the penultimate ball was forced to long-off and Rohit Sharma timed his dive just in time to survive a run-out appeal. Christian couldn't come up with anything special, gifting Rohit Sharma the most hittable delivery of the over, breaking the hearts of the home fans who saw their side slip to a second straight defeat.

Fortunes kept oscillating in the final overs, but for most periods in the chase, the Chargers were in control. Much of the credit should go to Steyn, who ran in with the same vigour as he does for South Africa. He defeated the best hitters in the Mumbai line-up with raw pace and fizzy bounce, nipping out three wickets for just 12 runs. He took 2 for 6 in his first spell, conceded just two off his next over and only five off his final over. In hindsight, Sangakkara will feel he should have kept him for the final over.

Steyn gave the Chargers the early advantage by plucking a return catch in his follow-through to get rid of T Suman. The fourth over, a wicket-maiden from Steyn, was the spectacle of the evening. He ran in high on adrenaline and had his fellow countryman Richard Levi all at sea with raw pace. He targeted the stumps, forced Levi to stab at deliveries cramping him for room, foxed him with a slower one that sneaked past the outside edge and the stumps, bounced him, but saved his best delivery for the last. Levi played all around a fiery full ball that knocked back his middle stump.

For a team with big hitters at the top, Mumbai were struggling at 15 for 2 after five overs. The run-rate touched the five mark only after 11 overs, indicative of how miserly the Chargers were. The ball spun, gripped and even kept low, meaning the batsmen had to concentrate harder. Rohit fetched two boundaries and a six - over extra cover - off Christian to keep Mumbai afloat.

The arrival of Kieron Pollard, in the 12th over, perked up the run-rate. The spinners were always vulnerable against Pollard, who swung two sixes and a four to leave Mumbai a gettable 56 off the last six overs. Another spiteful over from Steyn, in which he hit the deck hard, softened up Pollard. He slammed Amit Mishra over long-off the following over, but perished trying the same against Christian, skying it to Shikhar Dhawan at long-off. Mumbai's shoulders would have dropped after Pollard walked off, but not Rohit's, as he walloped two more sixes off Mishra to restore hope for his side.

Rohit's hitting overshadowed Munaf Patel's four-wicket haul, which was responsible for restricting the Chargers. It also masked an ugly incident involving Sangakkara's dismissal, where some of the Mumbai players got confrontational with the umpires. Munaf bowled a low full toss which Sangakkara shaped to drive, but got an inside edge which shaved the off stump and knocked off the bails. The wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik was standing up close and the ball deflected back to the stumps off his pads, causing confusion as to whether he was legitimately bowled in the first place. The umpires initially gave Sangakkara the benefit of the doubt, choosing not to refer it to the third umpire. The Mumbai players were peeved, particularly Munaf, who flung the ball on the turf as he ambled back to his mark.

A furious Harbhajan Singh marched to the square leg umpire Johan Cloete, who was soon enveloped by Munaf and Karthik. A clueless Sangakkara went across to have a word with the umpires but by then, it was as if the umpires were coerced into referring it. In theory, Sangakkara was legitimately out and the umpires should have had the presence of mind to consult. Mumbai's road-rage, though, left a bad taste in the mouth and it makes one wonder how different it could have been had Sachin Tendulkar, Mumbai's original captain, been in charge. Tendulkar, unfortunately, was at the dug out, and there was nobody around to defuse the situation.

Cameron White and Christian added a quick 41 for the fifth wicket, smashing four sixes in their stand to boost the Chargers before the lower order was reined in. The target proved a challenging one, but the visitors were fortunate to run into a bowler who suffered another nightmare of conceding a six off the last ball in front of global television audiences.

Pune Warriors v Kings XI Punjab, IPL 2012, Pune

The Report by Kanishkaa Balachandran

April 8, 2012

Pune Warriors 166 for 6 (Samuels 46, Uthappa 40, Harmeet 3-24) beat Kings XI Punjab 144 for 8 (Bipul 35*, Rahul 2-34) by 22 runs

The thousands who made their maiden trip to the brand new Subrata Roy Sahara Stadium in the outskirts of Pune, proudly and loyally filling the stands with blue, got their money's worth as Pune Warriors India pulled off a comprehensive win against a struggling Kings XI Punjab. It was an all-round performance, led by an 81-run partnership for the third wicket between Robin Uthappa and Marlon Samuels which set them to a competitive 166 before a combined bowling effort sealed the game.

A score of 166 is normally considered slightly above par in these conditions, but Warriors made it a winning total by creating opportunities by sound ground fielding, effecting two early run-outs and not giving Kings XI any leeway. Warriors recorded their second win in as many games and now share the top spot with Rajasthan Royals.

Warriors made the right move at the start, promoting the experienced Samuels to No.3. However, some circumspect running, and a subsequent run-out of an out-of-sorts Jesse Ryder gave Kings XI early control.

Samuels combined well with Uthappa to boost the scoring after Warriors were 43 for 2 after seven overs. The eighth over went for ten runs and the 10th, bowled by the left-arm spinner Bipul Sharma, went for 13.

With the more experienced Praveen and Dimitri Mascarenhas proving more difficult to score off with their restrictive stump-to-stump lines, also with the keeper up to the stumps, the pair took to Bipul. Both used their feet, clearing long-off for sixes, one of which just beat David Hussey's desperate leap at the edge of the rope. The duo also studied the field well, using the pace of the ball to fetch a couple of boundaries off deft touches to third man, with the fielder within the circle.

Uthappa fetched an audacious six, off one hand, over long-off but the bowler Harmeet Singh got the better of Samuels in the same over, bowling him off a slower delivery. Harmeet's following over yielded just a run and the wicket of Callum Ferguson, but his next was bitter-sweet. After bowling Uthappa with another slower delivery, Harmeet had to be taken out of the attack for bowling two full tosses above waist height. Bipul completed the over, which produced three massive hits over the on-side thanks to Manish Pandey and Steven Smith.

The 19th over produced 27 runs, and from that point, Kings XI found it hard to bounce back. The chase never took flight for a sustained period to threaten Warriors. The short of a length deliveries from Ashok Dinda and Ashish Nehra skidded off the surface, making strokeplay difficult. Smith's fielding created the opportunities to derail the top order with two run-outs.

Paul Valthaty sacrificed his wicket for the experienced Adam Gilchrist. Following an lbw appeal, the ball deflected to the off side but Gilchrist's anxiety to get back on strike caused a communication mishap and Valthaty helplessly ambled out of his crease before the bails were broken at the non-striker's end. The sacrifice didn't help as Gilchrist himself was run-out the following over, failing to beat an agile pick-up and throw from Smith at short midwicket.

Kings XI were poking around at 13 for 2 after five overs, with just one boundary. The drought had extended to 26 balls before Mandeep Singh cut Rahul Sharma to the deep point rope. However, even Mandeep failed to set a base and fell for 24, nicking Ryder to the keeper in an attempt to force the pace.

Kings XI also lost the game tactically by not promoting Hussey, a batsman capable of turning a game. Hussey, Abhishek Nayar and Piyush Chawla all made starts, but the fact that none of the recognised batsmen scored more than 24 summed up what was a sorry batting performance. Late hitting by Bipul only reduced the margin of defeat.

Rajasthan Royals v Kolkata Knight Riders, IPL 2012, Jaipur

The Report by Firdose Moonda

April 8, 2012

Rajasthan Royals 164 for 5 (Hodge 44, Lee 2/29) beat Kolkata Knight Riders 143 (Tiwary 59, Cooper 3-28) by 22 runs

Three wickets in three balls from Rajasthan Royals early on derailed Kolkata Knight Riders' chase could not get on the tracks properly as Royals recorded their second win in two matches. Royals seized the advantage early on and held it until the end, with only Manoj Tiwary providing resistance.

Royals have never lost a match when they have put on a score of over 160 and that did not change as they defended mercilessly at their fortress in Jaipur. They engineered another poor batting performance from Kolkata who have lost both matches so far. Small consolation will be that they managed to score more than 100 in this innings.

Having put on a comfortable score, Royals' captain Rahul Dravid chose to open the bowling with left-arm spinner Ankeet Chavan but it was seamer Amit Singh who made the first breakthrough. He used a clever change of pace to trap Jacques Kallis into playing early and scooping an easy catch to Rahul Dravid at mid-off. Singh's next delivery angled away from Gautam Gambhir, who could not resist a poke and was caught behind. Royals completed a team-hattrick when Chavan trapped Brendon McCullum in front of the stumps off the next ball. With their three biggest names out and only eight runs in the bank, Knight Riders were going to need something special to compete. If one person was to provide it, that person should have been Yusuf Pathan.

The big-hitter showed rare composure as he gave himself time to get in and waited for Johan Botha to come on before attacking. But, his patience did not last long. Off the next over, he tried to heave a Siddharth Trivedi slower ball over deep square leg but got a leading edge and was well caught by Brad Hodge.

It was only a matter of time after Pathan's dismissal that the game was up for Kolkata. Manoj Tiwary played a useful knock and scored the only half-century of the match. Brett Lee gave him company while hitting a few shots but Tiwary needed more support upfront than at the back end. Kevon Cooper's successful start to the season continued as he finished with three wickets.

Kolkata will have to think seriously about their selection as they left out Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib al Hasan for the second match in a row, opting to play West Indian offspinner Sunil Narine instead. Narine had a impressive but a quiet debut as he played a key part in tying Royals down in the middle of their innings.

Together with Rajat Bhatia, he gave away only 31 runs between the ninth and the 13th overs causing a mid-section lull for Royals that had them in danger of finishing short of a competitive total. A fourth-wicket stand of 64 between Hodge and Ashok Menaria and a late burst from Owais Shah propelled their innings.

Hodge accelerated in the 14th over when Gambhir brought Pathan back. Hodge treated Pathan with disdain, taking 17 runs off his over. He smacked the first delivery over mid-wicket for six, cut the second behind point for four and smoked the fourth over long-on. Hodge went on to hit back-to-back fours off Jacques Kallis in his aggressive 44 off 29 balls.

His eventual dismissal, caught behind while trying to play a reverse scoop, opened the door for Shah to finish in style. He blitzed 23 off 11 balls to put Royals in a position from which they have never lost.

Deccan Chargers v Chennai Super Kings, IPL 2012, Visakhapatnam

The Report by Abhishek Purohit

April 7, 2012

Chennai Super Kings 193 for 6 (Jadeja 48, Bravo 43*) beat Deccan Chargers 119 (Jadeja 5-16) by 74 runs

He was persisted with for all of India's eight games in the CB series in Australia, for an average of 16.83 with the bat and 109.00 with the ball. He had an indifferent Asia Cup. Back in the IPL, this time with Chennai Super Kings, this year's most expensive signing, Ravindra Jadeja, excelled right away in the tournament that had catapulted him into the limelight in 2008. A five-wicket haul followed an innings of 48 off 29 deliveries as Super Kings recovered in style from a patchy display in their opening game against Mumbai Indians.

While Jadeja's name was all over the scorecard, it was Dwayne Bravo's late blast with the bat that took the game away from Chargers. Bravo blasted five sixes in the last two overs to propel Super Kings to a tall score, which was aided by loose bowling from the Indian component of the Chargers attack. Faf du Plessis provided the boost at the start, Jadeja built on it in the middle and Bravo took Chargers apart at the death.

Forty runs came in overs 19 and 20 bowled by TP Sudhindra and Manpreet Gony. A leading edge off Sudhindra carried all the way over the straight boundary for the first six. Bravo wound up and deposited the next delivery, a length ball, over long-on. Gony was wayward in the final over, and Bravo clattered three sixes off an assortment of full tosses and short deliveries.

Bravo ended on 43 off 18, with Super Kings taking 72 in the last five overs. Du Plessis had set the tone earlier, hitting Gony for three consecutive boundaries in the fifth over. Gony became too predictable with his shortish length, and du Plessis stayed back to steer for four to third man and pull for six over deep midwicket. Gony became predictable again when he went full with the last ball of the over, and du Plessis lofted him over long-off.

Sudhindra had du Plessis holing out to long-on with his first ball, but was to go for 46 in four overs. Suresh Raina and S Badrinath looked in fine touch till Daniel Christian got them. Christian and Dale Steyn were difficult to get away, but Chargers had plenty of weak links in the attack.

Jadeja went after fellow left-arm spinner Ankit Sharma, slog-sweeping and lofting him for three boundaries. Christian was taken for consecutive fours. Jadeja even tried to distract Steyn by moving around in his crease but was dismissed hit-wicket when he trod onto his stumps as he tried to nudge a short of a length Steyn delivery. Things weren't looking as bad for Chargers at that point with the score on 147 in the 18th over, but Bravo's innings turned a stiff chase into an improbable one.

It did not help Chargers that the longest any of their batsmen managed to last was 18 deliveries and the most any of them made was 23. Super Kings' spin battery smothered Chargers completely. R Ashwin gave 12 runs in his three overs at the start, Shadab Jakati got the important wickets of Cameron White and Christian, and Jadeja did the rest. He is an unspectacular bowler, but is generally accurate.

By the time he was brought on in the 11th over, the asking-rate had already crossed 12. Chargers had no option but to go after the bowling. But this was Jadeja's night, and there was to be no hitting him.

Royal Challengers v Delhi Daredevils, IPL, Bangalore

The Report by George Binoy

April 7, 2012

Royal Challengers Bangalore 157 for 8 (de Villiers 64*, Bracewell 3-32) beat Delhi Daredevils 137 for 7 (Murali 3-25) by 20 runs

Royal Challengers Bangalore were without their talisman Chris Gayle, who had an injured groin, but four other overseas players performed roles expected of them to give the campaign a successful start in front of a packed Chinnaswamy Stadium. AB de Villiers prevented Royal Challengers from finishing on a below-par score with a well paced half-century that contained a mix of the orthodox and the unconventional, while Muttiah Muralitharan, in his first game in these colours, confounded Delhi Daredevils' batsmen during an incisive, economical and match-turning spell.

Delhi Daredevils' major Indian stars also failed, with Irfan Pathan leaking 47 runs in a wicketless spell and Virender Sehwag making a duck in the chase. The visitors were competitive due to Doug Bracewell's performance with the ball and in the field, Morne Morkel's pace and bounce, and a cameo from Naman Ojha. That collective effort, however, was no match for the wealth of talent and experience of Royal Challengers' overseas performers.

De Villiers began his innings with Royal Challengers on 46 for 2 in six overs, and watched that platform erode because of regular wickets at the other end. That start had been given by Andrew McDonald, who targeted Irfan and the straight boundary to take 19 runs off the third over. McDonald's flurry ended when Bracewell sprinted back and to his right from mid-on, watching the ball over his head, and lunged full length to hold stupendous catch with one hand.

De Villiers scored at a run a ball for his first 22 deliveries, losing three partners on the way, and then launched Bracewell over extra cover to bring up the team's 100 in the 14th over. And then he began to turn it on, mixing deft glances and sweeps to the fine-leg boundary with audacious reverse-hits to third man. He hit Irfan for two such boundaries, getting into position early and reverse-swatting full tosses, one over the rope and the other short of it. De Villiers crashed another straight drive past the bowler, Bracewell, in the final over but could not get on strike for the final three deliveries, and so Royal Challengers could not get past 160. Bracewell finished the innings clinically for Daredevils, taking wickets with the final two balls to end on 3 for 32.

It was a heartening performance from Daredevils, considering they had lost Umesh Yadav to an injury after he bowled two overs for eight runs.

The start of Daredevils' chase was promising as well, with Aaron Finch threading the first three balls from Zaheer Khan to the boundary between point and cover. Sehwag, however, slapped his first ball to cover point and was caught. McDonald was economical at first change for Royal Challengers but Finch and Ojha steadied the chase, reaching 46 for 1 after six overs.

It was at this point that Daniel Vettori and Murali began to bowl in tandem, and peg Daredevils back. Finch was dropped at short third man in Vettori's first over, and Ojha by wicketkeeper de Villiers off Murali's first ball. Two balls later, however, Murali had Ojha edging to slip. And in his next over, he had Finch lbw, reducing Daredevils to 68 for 3 after ten overs. Vettori and Murali were so effective that, after scoring 12 runs off his first three balls, Finch was dismissed for 24 off 25.

The pressure created by Murali's first spell of 3-0-11-3 was so much that Daredevils struggled to rediscover their momentum. Irfan struck a few big blows towards the end to spoil some bowling analyses but it had been Royal Challengers' game since the 13th over of the chase, when the asking-rate inched over 10 while the spinners were being parsimonious.

Rajasthan Royals v Kings XI Punjab, IPL 2012, Jaipur

The Report by Abhishek Purohit

April 6, 2012

Rajasthan Royals 191 for 4 (Rahane 98) beat Kings XI Punjab 160 for 9 (Mandeep 34, Cooper 4-26) by 31 runs

Ajinkya Rahane purred his way to 98 off 66 deliveries and carried Rajasthan Royals to a comfortable win in their opening match of the season. Faced with a stiff target of 192 after choosing to bowl, the fight went out of Kings XI Punjab as soon as they lost Adam Gilchrist in the fifth over. Trinidad & Tobago's Kevon Cooper's accounted for four wickets with his slow-mediums on IPL debut as Kings XI meandered along without threatening to challenge Royals.

The damage had already been done at the start by Rahane who played an innings full of strokes that would not have been out of place in the longer formats of the game. He didn't use power or swagger - he didn't need to - but still hurt Kings XI. Their patchy attack could not bother Rahane at all, as he picked gaps at will with precision.

An opening partnership of 77 inside ten overs set Royals on their way with their captain Rahul Dravid not having to do much apart from supporting Rahane. Rahane has a lower Twenty20 strike-rate than Dravid, not among the swiftest himself, but today, he batted with a serene assurance that eluded his senior partner and idol.

While Dravid and Brad Hodge went too hard at the bowling and mistimed their shots, Rahane seemed to have the right stroke for almost every delivery. The orthodoxy of his batting was evident from the fact that he hit 16 fours, and only one six. There was no slog-sweep over midwicket, there was no scoop over short fine leg.

There were punches on the up through cover, there were deft guides past point, and inside-out lofts over extra cover. Kings XI were put under pressure early on when James Faulkner's first over went for 11. Rahane tore into Praveen Kumar in the third over, a drive, two flicks and a straight push bringing him four fours in five deliveries.

The introduction of spin slowed the scoring a bit but Rahane soon found a way. He was beaten in the flight by a Piyush Chawla delivery, but quickly recovered to go back and punch it over the bowler's head for four. He was soon stepping out repeatedly to negate the spinners.

Gilchrist tried Paul Valthaty's slow-mediums but Rahane took 16 more off that over, his third boundary of the over threading the gap between two point fielders.

Royals lost Dravid and Ashok Menaria in consecutive overs, the 10th and the 11th, but that made no difference to the flow of the innings. Rahane raced towards a century with three consecutive fours off Chawla but was bowled on 98 by Faulker as he tried to make room outside leg, typically, not to slog, but to go through extra cover.

Owais Shah and Cooper launched Royals past 190. Cooper, who caught attention with his performances in the Champions League Twenty20 last year, had an IPL debut to remember. He had a role to play in seven of the nine Kings XI wickets to fall.

Gilchrist began with a series of pulls but was caught by Cooper at mid-on for 27. Paul Valthaty slashed Cooper to gully and Shaun Marsh and Abhishek Nayar succumbed to his lack of pace. The ball seemed to follow Cooper everywhere.

He soon caught David Hussey at long-on off Siddharth Trivedi as Kings XI slipped to 86 for 5. There was to be another wicket, of Piyush Chawla, to give Cooper figures of 4-0-26-4. Not done yet, he ran out Praveen in the last over. Kings XI, though, had already run out of steam after Rahane's elegant display.

Mumbai Indians v Pune Warriors India, IPL 2012, Mumbai

The Report by George Binoy

April 6, 2012

Pune Warriors India 129 for 9 (Smith 39, Malinga 2-16) beat Mumbai Indians 100 for 9 (Dinda 4-17) by 29 runs

The owners of Pune Warriors India, who had threatened to pull out of the IPL because they felt disadvantaged by the tournament's rules, watched their team cause an upset at a packed Wankhede Stadium, where they defended a modest total against one of the tournament favourites, Mumbai Indians. The Warriors' spinners - of left-arm, offspin and legbreak variety - masterminded by new captain Sourav Ganguly, thrived on a generous pitch, while Ashok Dinda offered substantial pace support.

The result was a surprise because Mumbai Indians had restricted Warriors to 129 for 9, especially after their batsmen chased successfully with ease on opening night in Chennai. However, Mumbai Indians were without Sachin Tendulkar, who was nursing a bruised hand, and the instability at the top of the order resulted in a flurry of wickets that damaged the chase irrevocably.

The Warriors began to control the game as early as the second ball of the chase, when Murali Kartik spun one past the outside edge of the advancing Richard Levi, the Man of the Match against Super Kings for scoring a half-century. Ganguly used Kartik in two more one-over spells, and in his second he took out Dinesh Karthik, who was well set on 32.

With Tendulkar missing and Levi out for a duck, Mumbai Indians's position got worse in the second over, when two slashes against Dinda resulted in edges that accounted for Ambati Rayudu and Rohit Sharma. The hosts were floundering at 5 for 3. Dinda was to return late in the game to take two more wickets: those of James Franklin, who consumed 42 balls to score 32, and the captain Harbhajan Singh for 16 in the final over.

Franklin and Karthik had steadied the innings after the early wobble but they were unable to score rapidly against the offspin of Marlon Samuels and legspin of Rahul Sharma. Wickets did not fall but the asking-rate rose. Sharma's first ball was a long-hop which Karthik pulled for four, but he still finished with 1-16 in four overs. His only wicket came off the final ball of his spell and it ended the game as a contest. Kieron Pollard was bowled by a quicker ball, and the equation of 53 off 24 balls was 29 too many for Mumbai Indians to get.

That the Warriors had a score they could hope to defend was down to contributions from Robin Uthappa and Steven Smith, who was Man of the Match for his breezy 39 during the death overs. They began their partnership of 44 after Warriors had been reduced to 47 for 4 in the ninth over. Uthappa had begun steadily, scoring at a run a ball, and had only started to accelerate when he skied a return catch to Pollard. Smith, however, stayed until the final over, using his unorthodox style to find gaps in the field. Munaf Patel gave Smith an angry send-off when he was dismissed in the final over, with the score on 128 for 8, but the batsman had the final laugh.

Mumbai Indians, however, had been impressive with the ball and in the field. Lasith Malinga bowled a dangerous spell full of yorkers, and was supported by Harbhajan and Munaf, who maintained pressure on the Warriors batsmen. And Pragyan Ojha spun his left-arm orthodox significantly, often beating the right-handers by several inches. Their fielding was exceptional, with Pollard and Rayudu patrolling the boundary to prevent Callum Ferguson from breaking free, and Rohit dismissing him with a direct hit when one stump was visible from point. At the half-way stage, Mumbai Indians were favourites, but their batsmen collapsed to underline just how unpredictable this format can be.

Kolkata Knight Riders v Delhi Daredevils, IPL 2012, Kolkata

The Report by Abhishek Purohit

April 5, 2012

Delhi Daredevils 100 for 2 (Irfan 42*, Finch 30) beat Kolkata Knight Riders 97 for 9 (Shukla 26, M Morkel 3-18) by eight wickets

Irfan Pathan bowled only one over in the game but proved decisive with the bat, smashing an unbeaten 42 from 20 deliveries to ensure Delhi Daredevils did not make a mess of their chase of 98 after having been 49 for 0. It would have been embarrassing for Daredevils to lose after that opening partnership, and especially after they had reduced Kolkata Knight Riders to 55 for 6 at one stage.

Aaron Finch and Virender Sehwag had gone serenely after the target in the rain-affected game shortened to 12 overs per side. But the asking-rate suddenly rose above ten runs an over after their dismissals in successive overs, and it was left to Irfan to bail Daredevils out.

And he did so in style, with some nerveless stroke-making under pressure. With 35 needed from 20 deliveries, Irfan lofted Jacques Kallis for six over long-on. South Africa fast bowler Marchant de Lange, on IPL debut, was pulled over deep midwicket and swung over long-on for two more sixes. Game over.

That the game was actually played was only because the rain relented after causing a two-and-a-half hour delay. A packed Eden Gardens had waited and waited for the rain to stop.

When the match finally got underway, the home team Knight Riders crumbled instantly. By the end of the fourth over, they had lost four wickets, and six by the end of the seventh. Morne Morkel was responsible for three of those strikes, including the wickets of Kallis and Tiwary off consecutive deliveries.

The crowd eventually found their voice when Bengal boys Debabrata Das and Laxmi Shukla hit the Daredevils spinners for a few sixes. The blows also ensured Knight Riders ended up with a decent score after having been reduced to 55 for 6.

Things had looked worse for Knight Riders at 31 for 4. Brendon McCullum missed a pull off Roelof van der Merwe to be caught plumb in front in the second over. Morkel came on in the third and uprooted Kallis' middle stump with a stinging yorker. Manoj Tiwary has travelled around the world with the Indian team recently without getting a game. And when he finally got one today, he lasted one ball, going back in his crease and conspiring to convert a very low full toss into a yorker. Bowled again.

Yusuf Pathan lasted three more deliveries than Tiwary had. Off his fourth, he tried to duck under a not-so-short ball from Umesh Yadav but only managed to glove it awkwardly to the wicketkeeper. Knight Riders' troubles only increased when Gautam Gambhir chopped an attempted guide to third man off a short Morkel delivery onto his stumps.

Knight Riders were in danger of getting bowled out in an innings of 12 overs, but Shukla and Das went after the spinners. Shukla, who played three ODIs for India in 1999, had cracked an unbeaten century last month to help Bengal beat heavyweights Mumbai for the Vijay Hazare Trophy.

He lofted van der Merwe over long-off and deposited Shahbaz Nadeem over deep midwicket. Das had started the fightback earlier with a straight six off Morkel and the home fans now had reason to stay on for the chase. Knight Riders almost made their long stay worth it, but ran into Irfan.

Gayle and de Villiers Helps Bangalore Seal Thriller Over Pune in IPL 2012

Hodge Powers Rajasthan Royals to 5 Wicket Victory Over Deccan Chargers in IPL 2012

Delhi Thrash Mumbai By 7-Wickets in IPL 2012

Rahane Century Gives Rajasthan 59-Run Victory Over Bangalore in IPL 2012

Punjab Hold Nerve to Win Thriller

Ryder and Smith Stars in Pune 7-Wicket Victory Over Chennai in IPL 2012

Shakib Helps Kolkata Win Low-Scoring Game

Mascarenhas Five-For Gives Kings XI Punjab Their First Victory in IPL 2012

All-Round Chennai Secures Nail-Biting Thriller

Pollard All-Round Show Blasts Mumbai Indians to 27 Run Victory

All-Round Delhi Secures 8-Wicket Victory Against Chennai in IPL 2012

Kolkata Knight Riders Register Their First Victory in IPL 2012

Rohit Sharma Seal a Thriller For Mumbai Indians

All-Round Pune Secures Second Victory in IPL 2012

Rajasthan Royals Beat Kolkata Knight Riders By 22 Runs in 7th Match of IPL 2012

Jadeja Leads Chennai to 74 Run Victory Over Deccan

De Villiers and Murali Helps Royal Challengers to 20 Run Victory

Rahane's 98 Sets Up an Easy Victory For Rajasthan Royals Over Kings XI Punjab

Pune Warriors Thrash Mumbai Indians By 29 Runs in 3rd Match of IPL 2012

Irfan Pathan Blows Takes Delhi to Victory

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