Daredevils' sorry story continues

For once, Delhi Daredevils bowlers minimised their batsmen's task. But the batsmen could not deliver and let Kolkata Knight Riders snap its two-match losing sequence with a 17-run triumph in a match of the IPL at the Ferozeshah Kotla, here on Thursday.

A target of 149, built around Man-of-the-Match Manoj Tiwary's unbeaten 61, looked clearly gettable, given the fact that Daredevils gains its strength from its batsmen. But on Thursday evening, it was the turn of Daredevils' batsmen to let the bowlers down.

Daredevils lost it rather than KKR winning it.

Openers Virender Sehwag and David Warner left it to the middle-order. A steady rise in required run-rate and the growing desperation of every incoming batsman led to Daredevils' downfall. The triumph lifted KKR to the second position in the points table.

Left-arm spinner Iqbal Abdulla benefited the most from the desperate measures adopted by the Daredevils middle-order. He removed Irfan Pathan and then scalped James Hopes and Naman Ojha in the 15th over to break the Daredevils' backbone before the late-order committed hara-kiri, with an agile Brett Lee effecting two run-outs in the penultimate over.

After Hopes, the duo of Yogesh Nagar and Vengopala Rao held out some hopes for the host, but there was no denying KKR.

Reasonable total

On a day when Daredevils bowled its best to restrict an unusually circumspect KKR, Tiwary's unbeaten half-century, including three cleanly struck sixes and two boundaries, was instrumental in KKR putting up a reasonable total on a pitch that assisted bounce.

With the exception of Tiwary, and Ryan ten Doeschate, who came up with some late blows, none of the KKR batsmen looked in their element. The innings lacked big partnerships and the lack of urgency, for the better part of the innings, encouraged bowlers to bowl to their plans.

Tiwary held the innings together, kept one end going, and also rotated the strike in phases. However, the late-charge that was expected from a well-set Tiwary never came.

From the start, Srivats Goswami and later Tiwary looked impressive by turns, but the frequency of big hits remained low. With Irfan bowling his best spell so far in the competition, Morne Morkel's off-day did not hurt the Daredevils much.

Irfan was duly rewarded with the prized wicket of Jacques Kallis. The South African, who struggled to get strike, hit two boundaries off compatriot Morkel before missing an intended glance off Irfan.

Goswami, too, targeted Morkel, but fell to the first delivery from Ajit Agarkar, flicking into the hands of wicketkeeper Naman Ojha.

Gambhir struggles

Skipper Gautam Gambhir struggled to get going and so did Yusuf Pathan. The duo watched, by turns, as Tiwary batted with scant respect to the bowlers.

Both Gambhir and Yusuf departed while attempting to send the ball over the ropes. Yusuf and Eoin Morgan fell to Umesh Yadav off successive deliveries, but there was no stopping Tiwary.

Kolkata Knight Riders: J. Kallis b Irfan 11 (11b, 2x4), S. Goswami c Ojha b Agarkar 22 (20b, 4x4), G. Gambhir c Rao b Hopes 18 (19b, 2x4), M. Tiwary (not out) 61 (47b, 2x4, 3x6), Yusuf Pathan c Irfan b Yadav 5 (8b), E. Morgan c Ojha b Yadav 0 (1b), R. ten Doeschate c Irfan b M. Morkel 19 (12b, 2x4, 1x6), B. Lee (run out) 1 (1b), L. Balaji (not out) 3 (1b), Extras (lb-2, w-6) 8, Total (for seven wkts. in 20 overs) 148.

Fall of wickets: 1-29, 2-42, 3-82, 4-105, 5-105, 6-140, 7-145.

Delhi Daredevils bowling: Irfan 4-0-16-1, M. Morkel 4-0-42-1, Yadav 4-0-29-2, Agarkar 4-0-34-1, Hopes 4-0-25-1.

Delhi Daredevils: D. Warner b Balaji 2 (6b), V. Sehwag c Balaji b Unadkat 34 (23b, 5x4, 1x6), J. Hopes c Tiwary b Abdulla 25 (30b, 1x4, 1x6), Irfan Pathan c ten Doeschate 9 (12b, 1x6), T. Birt c (sub) Hasan b Yusuf 8 (11b). Venugopala Rao (run out) 19 (18b, 2x4), N. Ojha c Lee b Abdulla 1 (2b), Y. Nagar c Goswami b Balaji 19 (12b, 2x6), A. Agarkar (run out) 0 (0b), M. Morkel (not out) 6 (5b, 1x4), U. Yadav (not out) 1 (1b), Extras (b-3, w-4) 7, Total (for nine wkts. in 20 overs) 131.

Fall of wickets: 1-14, 2-43, 3-61, 4-75, 5-83, 6-85, 7-123, 8-123, 9-130.

Kolkata Knight Riders bowling: Lee 4-0-24-0, Balaji 4-0-38-2, Unadkat 4-0-24-1, Abdulla 4-0-25-3, Kallis 2-0-11-0, Yusuf 2-0-6-1.

Man of the match: Manoj Tiwary.

Sehwag takes blame for Delhi’s poor run

Owning up blame for Delhi Daredevils’ pathetic run in the Indian Premier League, skipper Virender Sehwag said his own poor form has hit the team badly.

Delhi suffered its fifth defeat in seven matches when it lost to Kolkata Knight Riders by 17 runs, last night. They are languishing at the bottom of the points table.

“I have only got one fifty in the seven games. So I need to look at my performance also. If I get going it will be difficult for other teams to come back,” the Delhi skipper said.

Sehwag said he need to spend some time at the crease if his side has to do well.

“I’ll have to shoulder the responsibility and need to stay at the wicket for 12-15 overs. It will be good for my team,” he said.

The Delhi captain feels that some shuffling in the batting order has become imperative but defended his decision to send Travis Birt ahead of in-form Y Venugopal Rao in the match against KKR.

“We thought a left-hander would be a better option against left-arm spinner. But nothing seems to be going our way. None of our plans are working. T20 game is like that only. Probably we will send Venu and Naman Ojha up the order in the coming games,” he said.

Sehwag conceded that it’s now a herculean task for his team to reach the semifinals.

“It’s difficult and pressure is on us. We have to pull ourselves and really bat and bowl in coming games. Nothing is impossible. We can still back ourselves from here on and if we win two three games from here on, then it’s possible for us but yes it’s quite difficult.”

Gambhir praises bowlers

Meanwhile, KKR captain Gautam Gambhir lauded his bowlers for defending a modest total of 148.

“We just played very well as a team. We bowled and fielded well. It just goes to show how desperate we were for a victory. If we can continue like this, definitely it will help our campaign. I am satisfied with the all-round performance today,” he said.

About man-of-the-match Manoj Tiwary, who scored a 47-ball unbeaten 61 to help his team’s cause when wickets were falling at the other hand, Gambhir said, “He set the game for us.

Entire credit goes to him for setting the game for us. He played a good innings.”

Gambhir said since they saved 15-20 runs through some terrific fielding, it meant that the opposition had to chase a score of around 160-165 runs.

“When you start defending the modest totals, it gives you confidence for the games ahead. We defended the target and it has acted like a confidence-booster for us,” he said.

He also defended Yusuf Pathan, who has been off-colour in this tournament so far.

“He has hardly played enough. He is hitting the ball good and till the time, he sticks to our gameplan, he remains a very important member of our scheme of things,” Gambhir insisted.

RCB rides on Virat Kohli's assault

PUNISHING MOOD:RCB's Virat Kohli waded into the Daredevils bowlers with a 38-ball 56 that set up Royal Challengers Bangalore's chase.
NEW DELHI: Morne Morkel is in a hopeless minority of one. The spearhead of the Delhi Daredevils' otherwise ordinary bowling has bowled his heart out, given breakthroughs even as opposition batsmen have made merry at the expense of his fellow bowlers.
On Tuesday, this South African twice brought Daredevils back into the match against Royal Challengers Bangalore but lack of support from the other end undid all his good work. Eventually, RCB, thanks to Virat Kohli, walked away a deserving winner by three wickets and with three deliveries to spare.
Just when Kohli was threatening to make a mockery of Daredevils' target of 161, Morkel castled Kohli off an inside edge. Kohli's departure, for a 38-ball 56, made it 96 for four and Daredevils may have nursed some hopes of making a match of it.
Again, when the left-handed sixth-wicket pair of Saurabh Tiwary and skipper Daniel Vettori threatened to take it away, Morkel struck twice in one over. And yet again, RCB was let off the hook with the rest unable to stop Syed Mohammad and Vettori from putting the finishing touches.
Unbridled hitting
A one-sided finish looked a possibility when Kohli's unbridled hitting, laced with some silken touches, had firmly set RCB on course. With Chris Gayle looking to make up for a slow start, Daredevils was clearly in danger of being blown away. The whirlwind 82-run second-wicket stand off just 7.2 overs had raised visions of an early finish. Suddenly, the departure of Gayle, AB de Villiers and Kohli, in that order — all in the space of 11 deliveries and 13 runs — gave the Daredevils some hope.
But despite Morkel's lion-hearted effort, the inadequacies of Daredevils attack came to the fore again.
The loss of Tillakaratne Dilshan to the second delivery of the chase, brought in Kohli, the local boy who had not done too well at the Ferozeshah Kotla in the shortest format of the game. The flamboyant Kohli straightaway set the pace by hitting two well-timed off-side boundaries and then, in the next over, slammed Irfan Pathan for four boundaries, including three on the on-side.
Kohli may have missed out on a bigger knock but walked away with the Man of the Match award.
The over-reliance of Daredevils on Virender Sehwag and David Warner stood exposed. The dynamic duo departed within 10 runs of each other to leave the host tottering at 43 for two in the seventh over. Warner was cleaned up by Zaheer Khan and Sehwag, looking dangerous, ran himself out.
Hopes' half-century
If Daredevils still managed to put on 160 runs on the board, it was mainly due to a half-century from James Hopes, another useful contribution from in-form Venugopala Rao and two sixes each in the end-overs by Pathan and Naman Ojha.
Hopes, promoted to number three, held the innings together from the fifth to the 19th over. He scored the first of his seven boundaries off left-arm medium pacer S. Arvind and rest off the slower bowlers.
The calculated assault from Hopes, caught at point off a no-ball from Abhimanyu Mithun when on 43, took the pressure off Venugopal, who looked assured throughout his 21-ball innings.
In fact, all of Venugopal's big hits, a six and two boundaries, came off an over-enthusiastic Mithun. He fell to the guiles of Vettori who beat his intended slog and dislodged the stumps.
The late-use of the long-handle from Pathan and Ojha took the score to 160. However, given the batting-friendly nature of the pitch and the ordinary Delhi attack, another successful run-chase from RCB was never in doubt.
Delhi Daredevils: D. Warner b Zaheer 7 (11b, 1x4), V. Sehwag (run out) 25 (18b, 3x4), J. Hopes c de Villiers b Mithun 54 (43b, 7x4), M. Wade b Mithun 8 (9b), Venugopala Rao b Vettori 24 (21b, 1x6, 2x4), N. Ojha c Zaheer b Arvind 16 (11b, 2x6), I. Pathan (not out) 13 (7b, 2x4), Y. Nagar (not out) 0 (2b), Extras (lb-4, nb-2, w-7) 13, Total (for six wkts .in 20 overs) 160.
Fall of wickets: 1-33, 2-43, 3-68, 4-115, 5-142, 6-151.
Royal Challengers Bangalore bowling: Zaheer 4-0-27-1, Arvind 4-0-30-1, Vettori 4-0-25-1, Gayle 2-0-20-0, Mithun 4-0-37-2, Syed Mohammad 2-0-17-0.
Royal Challengers Bangalore: C. Gayle c Venugopala b Hopes 26 ( 14b, 1x6, 2x4), T. Dilshan c Ojha b Dinda 0 ( 1b), V. Kohli b Morkel 56 ( 38b,2x6, 8x4), AB de Villiers (run out) 5 ( 2b, 1x4), S. Tiwary c Ojha b Morkel 18 ( 20b, 1x6, 1x4), C. Pujara c Warner b Nagar 7 ( 12b), D. Vettori (not out) 18 ( 19b, 1x6, 1x4), A. Mithun c Yadav b Morkel 0 ( 2b), Syed Mohammad (not out) 13 ( 10b, 2x4); Extras (b-5, lb-4, nb-1, w-8): 18; Total (for seven wickets in 19.3 overs): 161.
Fall of wickets: 1-1, 2-83, 3-95, 4-96, 5-107, 6-139, 7-139.
Delhi Daredevils bowling: Dinda 3.3-0-36-1, Irfan 3-0-26-0, Morne 4-0-25-3, Yadav 4-0-37-0, Hopes 4-0-25-1, Nagar 1-0-3-1 .

Bowlers keep CSK home record intact

STANDING TALL:On a day when the bowlers from both sides called the shots, Chennai Super Kings' Michael Hussey stood out with his assured knock.
CHENNAI: A strong bowling performance kept the Chennai Super Kings' blemish-less home record in IPL-IV intact, after a 25-run win over Pune Warriors at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium here on Monday.
The victory, Chennai's first in the last three matches, was realised through regular breakthroughs after the home team had set Pune a target of 143.
Albie Morkel (three for 29), R. Ashwin (two for 19) and Doug Bollinger (two for 20) shared the wickets, while Man of the Match Michael Hussey (61, 48b, 6x4, 1x6) added his usual dependable contribution in the first innings.
Pune never recovered from being 40 for four in the mandatory Powerplay in its chase. Morkel struck the first blow when he got Mohnish Mishra to play on, and Ashwin followed suit by castling Jesse Ryder, immediately after having been clouted for a six. Morkel rattled some more timber when he got through the defence of Manish Pandey in the fifth over.
Ashwin's wicket-maiden, which saw the dangerous Robin Uthappa cleaned up for a duck, put Chennai firmly in the driver's seat with the onus of a revival resting on skipper Yuvraj Singh and Mithun Manhas.
The two combined for 38 in 44 balls, before Bollinger came back in the 13th over and extracted an edge from Manhas, which was gratefully accepted by skipper M.S. Dhoni behind the wickets. Pune needed 45 in the last four overs, with five wickets in hand as Yuvraj and Nathan McCullum added 31.
Dhoni missed a stumping of McCullum off Ashwin in the 17th over, but Bollinger conceded just four in the 18th, leaving Pune 37 to win in two overs.
All hopes of a Pune win were snuffed out when Shadab Jakati leapt to hold Yuvraj (34, 43b, 2x4) at extra cover in the penultimate over. Two deliveries later, Rahul Sharma was caught short of his ground trying to steal a bye.
Abhinav Mukund's screaming return from long-on ran out Jerome Taylor, and Bollinger accounted for McCullum with the next delivery as the visiting side's chase ended at 117 for nine.
Solid start
Earlier, Pune skipper Yuvraj, mindful of the evening dew, sent Chennai in, and restricted it to 142 for six. Pune held the home team back despite a solid start by openers M. Vijay and Michael Hussey.
Hussey was dropped on 28 when Yuvraj missed a high chance at extra cover off Rahul Sharma.
The next over though, bowled by Alfonso Thomas, saw Chennai suffer a double whammy: Vijay (31) top-edging to mid-wicket and new man Suresh Raina (2) trying to make room on the off-side but only getting his furniture disturbed.
Chennai was 66 for two in 10 overs as Hussey and Dhoni got together. They added 52 in 6.4 overs for the third wicket before the skipper's cameo of 26, which included a savage six off Yuvraj, ended with a stumping off leggie Rahul Sharma.
Hussey brought up his fifty in 42 balls with a four off Alfonso, but things took a turn for the worse when both the Aussie and Albie Morkel (0, 4b) departed in the next over.
Yuvraj fluffed his second catch when he dropped S. Anirudha off the bowling of Thomas, but the remaining quota yielded Chennai just 19 runs.
Chennai Super Kings: M. Vijay c N. McCullum b Thomas 31 ( 29b, 2x4, 1x6), M. Hussey c Pandey b Taylor 61 ( 48b, 6x4, 1x6), S. Raina b Thomas 2 ( 4b), M.S. Dhoni st. Uthappa b Rahul 26 ( 21b, 2x4, 1x6), A. Morkel  c Ryder b Taylor 0 ( 4b), S. Badrinath (not out) 11 ( 7b, 1x6), S. Anirudha c Uthappa b Taylor 7 ( 7b); Extras (b-1, w-3): 4; Total (for six wkts. in 20 overs): 142.
Fall of wickets: 1-64, 2-66, 3-118, 4-122, 5-123, 6-142.
Pune Warriors bowling: N. McCullum 2-0-12-0, Taylor 4-0-30-3, Thomas 4-0-29-2, Kartik 4-0-29-0, Rahul 4-0-27-1, Yuvraj 2-0-14-0.
Pune Warriors: J. Ryder b Ashwin 15 (11b, 1x4, 1x6), M. Mishra b Morkel 9 (9b, 1x4), M. Pandey b Morkel 12 (9b, 2x4), R. Uthappa b Ashwin 0 (4b), Yuvraj c Jakati b Morkel 34 (43b, 2x4), M. Manhas c Dhoni b Bollinger 20 (23b, 1x6), N. McCullum c Jakati b Bollinger 15 (16b), R. Sharma (run out) 1 (1b), J. Taylor (run out) 2 (1b), M. Kartik (not out) 1 (2b), A. Thomas (not out) 1 (2b); Extras (lb-3, nb-2, w-2): 7; Total (for nine wkts. in 20 overs): 117.
Fall of wickets: 1-19, 2-27, 3-40, 4-40, 5-78, 6-109, 7-110, 8-114, 9-114.
Chennai Super Kings bowling: A. Morkel 4-0-29-3, Bollinger 4-0-20-2, Ashwin 4-1-19-2, Randiv 4-0-23-0, Raina 2-0-11-0, Jakati 2-0-12-0.
Man-of-the-match: M. Hussey .

Daredevils keen to fire again

This season, things could have been better for Royal Challengers Bangalore and Delhi Daredevils. Though the RCB has played one more game, the teams have just two wins to show ahead of their battle at the Ferozeshah Kotla on Tuesday.

RCB, parading one of the strongest batting line-ups in the Indian Premier League, is yet to play to its potential.

It started with an impressive win over Kochi Tuskers Kerala, lost three matches on the trot, managed a point from the rain-forced washout against Rajasthan Royals before riding on Chris Gayle's century to get past Kolkata Knight Riders.

Likewise, Daredevils, too, won its last outing after losing thrice in the previous four games.

Going by the league-performances in the last three seasons, a team needs a minimum of seven victories from 14 matches to be in contention for a place in the semifinals.

Last year, RCB and Daredevils tied at 14 points but the Bangalore team, based on superior net run-rate, was placed fourth, one above Delhi, after four teams finished with seven wins each.

If the past is any pointer to the future, at present, both the teams can afford to drop only a couple of games but win more.

RCB's quality comes from the presence of skipper Daniel Vettori, Tillakaratne Dilshan and AB de Villiers — all ex-Daredevils — apart from Delhi-based Virat Kohli and pace spearhead Zaheer Khan. They are all capable of turning the match on their own.

With Gayle marking his arrival with a bang, the RCB assumes the look of a team difficult to deal with. In fact, after Tuesday's match, RCB will be keen to make a statement through three successive home games — against Pune, Punjab and Kochi — and improve its prospects of making the semifinals.

Big responsibility

However, Zaheer is yet to play to his reputation.

With the medium-pace attack mostly in the hands of home-grown talent, the responsibility on the left-armer rests that much more.

Should Daredevils once again opt to play on the ‘green' pitch that ended up helping the batsmen more than the bowlers against Kings XI Punjab on Saturday, Zaheer will be tested upfront by the destructive openers Virender Sehwag and David Warner. Right at the start of an innings, this is bound to be a fascinating contest, within the contest.

RCB holds the edge since its strong batting faces a none-too-intimidating Daredevils attack, where only Morne Morkel appears like a wicket-taking bowler.

Other pace bowlers like Irfan Pathan, Ajit Agarkar, young Varun Aaron and Aussie James Hopes have all looked innocuous in varying degrees.

The Daredevils attack will have to be at its best to restrict a ready-to-explode RCB. Since the core of RCB is formed by ex-Daredevils stars, Sehwag will surely have a plan or two for them. On the other hand, Vettori will surely expect Gayle, Dilshan, de Villiers, Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara and Saurabh Tiwary to make the most of the opportunity to come good on a belter of a pitch.

Daredevils' hopes of winning rests on its batting that has, so far, come good only twice to result in victories. Each time, Sehwag and Warner cannot be expected to fire.

Venugopala Rao, Naman Ojha, Aaron Finch and Yogesh Nagar hold the ability to score briskly but not as brutally as the openers.

Given the placid nature of the Kotla pitch, Vettori will have to strengthen his pace attack. Since the spin options are available in part-timers like Dilshan, Gayle and Kohli, Vettori may be tempted to bring in A. Mithun or Asad Pathan for left-arm spinner J. Syed Mohammad, who bowled well in the last game.

Armed with better resources, RCB should start as the favourite. But this season, quite consistently, strange things have happened.

Bowlers keep CSK home record intact

A strong bowling performance kept the Chennai Super Kings' blemish-less home record in IPL-IV intact, after a 25-run win over Pune Warriors at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium here on Monday.

The victory, Chennai's first in the last three matches, was realised through regular breakthroughs after the home team had set Pune a target of 143.

Albie Morkel (three for 29), R. Ashwin (two for 19) and Doug Bollinger (two for 20) shared the wickets, while Man of the Match Michael Hussey (61, 48b, 6x4, 1x6) added his usual dependable contribution in the first innings.

Pune never recovered from being 40 for four in the mandatory Powerplay in its chase. Morkel struck the first blow when he got Mohnish Mishra to play on, and Ashwin followed suit by castling Jesse Ryder, immediately after having been clouted for a six. Morkel rattled some more timber when he got through the defence of Manish Pandey in the fifth over.

Ashwin's wicket-maiden, which saw the dangerous Robin Uthappa cleaned up for a duck, put Chennai firmly in the driver's seat with the onus of a revival resting on skipper Yuvraj Singh and Mithun Manhas.

The two combined for 38 in 44 balls, before Bollinger came back in the 13th over and extracted an edge from Manhas, which was gratefully accepted by skipper M.S. Dhoni behind the wickets.

Pune needed 45 in the last four overs, with five wickets in hand as Yuvraj and Nathan McCullum added 31. Dhoni missed a stumping of McCullum off Ashwin in the 17th over, but Bollinger conceded just four in the 18th, leaving Pune 37 to win in two overs. All hopes of a Pune win were snuffed out when Shadab Jakati leapt to hold Yuvraj (34, 43b, 2x4) at extra cover in the penultimate over.

Two deliveries later, Rahul Sharma was caught short of his ground trying to steal a bye. Abhinav Mukund's screaming return from long-on ran out Jerome Taylor, and Bollinger accounted for McCullum with the next delivery as the visiting side's chase ended at 117 for nine.

Solid start

Earlier, Pune skipper Yuvraj, mindful of the evening dew, sent Chennai in, and restricted it to 142 for six. Pune held the home team back despite a solid start by openers M. Vijay and Michael Hussey.

Hussey was dropped on 28 when Yuvraj missed a high chance at extra cover off Rahul Sharma.

The next over though, bowled by Alfonso Thomas, saw Chennai suffer a double whammy: Vijay (31) top-edging to mid-wicket and new man Suresh Raina (2) trying to make room on the off-side but only getting his furniture disturbed.

Chennai was 66 for two in 10 overs as Hussey and Dhoni got together. They added 52 in 6.4 overs for the third wicket before the skipper's neat cameo of 26, which included a savage six off Yuvraj, ended with a stumping off leggie Rahul Sharma.

Hussey brought up his fifty in 42 balls with a four off Alfonso, but things took a turn for the worse when both the Aussie and Albie Morkel (0, 4b), sent ahead of the in-form S. Badrinath, departed in the next over.

Yuvraj fluffed his second catch when he dropped S. Anirudha off the bowling of Thomas, but the remaining quota yielded Chennai just 19 runs.

Chennai Super Kings

Murali Vijay c McCullum b Thomas 31

Mike Hussey c Pandey b Taylor 61

Suresh Raina b Thomas 2

M S Dhoni st Uthappa b Sharma 26

Albie Morkel c Ryder b Taylor 0

S Badrinath not out 11

S Anirudha c Uthappa b Taylor 7

Extras: (B—1, W—3) 4

Total: (For 6 wkts in 20 overs) 142

Fall of wickets: 1/64 2/66 3/118 4/122 5/123 6/142

Bowling: McCullum 2—0—12—0, Taylor 4—0—30—3, Thomas 4—0—29—2, Kartik 4—0—29—0, Sharma 4—0—27—1, Yuvraj 2—0—14—0.

Pune Warriors India

J Ryder b Ashwin 11

M Mishra lbw Morkel 3

M Pandey b Morkel 12

R Uthappa b Ashwin 0

Y Singh c Jakati b Morkel 34

M Manhas c Dhoni b Bollinger 20

N McCullum c Jakati b Bollinger 15

R Sharma run out 1

J Taylor run out 2

M Kartik not out 1

A Thomas not out 1

Extras (lb—3, w—2, nb—2) 7

Total (For 9 wickets; 20 overs) 117

Fall of wickets: 1—19, 2—27, 3—40, 4—40, 5—78, 6—109, 7—110, 8—114, 9—114

Bowling: Morkel 4—0—29—3, Bollinger 4—0—20—2, Ashwin 4—1—19—2, S Randiv 4—0—23—0, Raina 2—0—11—0, Jakati 2—0—12—0.

Uthappa praises Chennai Super Kings fielding

Pune Warriors batsman Robin Uthappa blamed his team’s 25-run defeat against Chennai Super Kings on the early loss of wickets and some superb fielding by the rival side.

“CSK fielded out of their skin and credit must be given to them. When we batted, we lost two wickets -- Pandey and myself in quick succession. That pushed us back pretty badly. We needed to build a partnership,” rued the burly Karnataka batsman.

“Chennai Super Kings played exceedingly well and the 20-25 runs in the end overs was crucial for us. We batted badly but bowled and fielded well,” he said.

Uthappa defended Yuvraj Singh’s decision to field first.

“Taking into consideration that we won matches chasing and coming from back-to-back defeats, we wanted to stay in that zone. That was the reason why we put them in,” he reasoned.

“Unfortunately, we lost the game today but nothing is lost and we will be winning the next matches.”

Uthappa admitted that there is room for improvement in all three departments of the game.

“We want to up our game in all three departments. Our batsmen have their task cut out. We still have nine matches to go. We will definitely peak at the right time,” the dashing batsman said.

Questioned whether humidity was a factor, “New stadium does not make us feel that way. There is a lot more breeze blowing.”

Uthappa didn’t rule out the fatigue factor for senior Indian players as they are coming back from World Cup. He termed the Chepauk pitch as “difficult for batting.”

Brilliant fielding helped our bowlers: Fleming

Chennai Super Kings coach Stephen Fleming said his team’s brilliant fielding performance made all the difference and the side would look to replicate the effort in the coming IPL matches as well.

“We would look to replicate this standard of fielding in our coming matches. Today, we were desperate to win. This kind of fielding helps the bowler to be a bit more confident and gives the skipper much more confidence to dictate the game.

“We need to keep improving in that area. We were embarrassed with our fielding in the last game and we were desperate to make the difference,” Fleming said at the post-match press conference.

Fleming admitted that his team was 15 runs short of the par-score.

“We knew it was a below par score. Since our best players were struggling on that track, we felt it would be a tough score to attain.”

The former New Zealand captain said his boys were successful in increasing the pressure as the match progressed.

“We knew we had to bowl and field well. We increased the pressure on the rival batsmen as the match progressed. When they were scoring at six runs an over, we knew we had a good chance to win the match.”

Jesse Ryder’s wicket was the key as if the Kiwi batsman would have got a few big hits, it would have set the platform for Yuvraj to consolidate.

“If Jesse Ryder got going that would have created a platform for Yuvraj. Then it would have been difficult. Our idea was to take early wickets and the fielders complemented the bowlers well.”

Fleming termed R Ashwin as a transformed bowler after his stint with India’s World Cup winning team.

“He has always been a match-winner for us. He is always a confident bowler and transforms himself well as he takes wickets. He is working hard on improving his strengths.

“The last four months in international cricket have really made him more matured. Ashwin is an asset. His variations always help him like the manner in which he dismissed Jesse Ryder with his arm ball today.”

Fleming defended Murali Vijay who has often failed to convert his good starts during the tournament.

“Vijay is in a situation where he is providing us the platform to push the pace. He understands the situation pretty well. Vijay is one of our key players. He needs to get big score and we have faith in him that he will get a big score.”

Fielding has been brilliant: Tendulkar

HYDERABAD: Mumbai Indians captain Sachin Tendulkar said the brilliant stumping by Davy Jacobs to send back Daniel Christian off Munaf Patel changed the game its way as his team defeated Deccan Chargers in the IPL, here on Sunday.
“We thought we were short by about 20 runs. But our fielding has been brilliant and the couple of run-outs when Chargers began were too good,” said Tendulkar at the post-match conference.
Rohit Sharma, who scored an unbeaten 56 off 34 balls, said the win was a perfect birthday gift to Tendulkar.
“For me what matters is not the opposition whom we are playing, but how well I perform. And I am happy to have done my bit today,” said Rohit .

Sehwag, Warner do it for Daredevils

DASHING DAVID: Delhi Daredevils' David Warner, in the company of skipper Virender Sehwag, sent the Kings XI Punjab bowlers on a leather hunt on Saturday.
NEW DELHI: It was a run feast, almost made to order, for the packed house at the Ferozeshah Kotla.
Looking to win back the confidence of its fans, Delhi Daredevils zoomed to its highest ever tally of 231 for four and then met the huge public demand by stopping Kings XI Punjab at 202 for six in 20 overs.
The 29–run victory, the second for the host, ended the visiting team's three-match winning sequence that came against all three champion sides seen so far in the Indian Premier League.
If Kings XI still had positives to take from the defeat, Shaun Marsh once again had a lot to do with it. The stylish left-hander scored a whirlwind 95 before being out in the 18th over. Though Kings XI never threatened to spoil Daredevils' party, the team had its moments.
Gilchrist set the pace after losing the dangerous Paul Valthaty early. David Hussey, playing his first match kept Marsh company briefly but the required scoring-rate kept mounting. Undeterred, Marsh remained in the hunt for quick runs and was eventually out attempting his seventh six to reach the three-figure mark.
Strangely, the evening was full of ironies. The ‘green' pitch kept the batsmen on top and the bowlers, particularly of the faster variety, on the hop. The side lowest placed, in the 10-team league table, posted the highest aggregate of the season.
Delhi Daredevils' explosive opening duo of skipper Virender Sehwag and David Warner almost shut the door on Kings XI by hoisting 146 in under 12 overs.
If the team eventually managed to post the third highest IPL total it was thanks to the last three overs yielding 45 runs, with Venugopala Rao and Naman Ojha doing their bit.
In all, Daredevils batsmen hit 12 sixes and 20 boundaries to make the Kings XI bowlers look most ordinary on this day.
Kings XI responded with 11 sixes and 21 boundaries as the Saturday crowd got its money's worth.
With Sehwag and Warner in full flow, a torrent of big hits was only to be expected. Both players smashed 77 runs each, hitting eight sixes and 15 fours between them. The boundaries appeared smaller and the bat wider on a day when 40 overs produced 433 runs!
Sehwag smashed three successive sixes but holed out in the same over from Hussey. Warner was also out attempting the maximum.
Even while enjoying the sweet victory, Sehwag will surely be worried about his bowlers' form. Irfan Pathan, Ajit Agarkar and James Hopes were punished with disdain.
Agarkar, in particular, was smashed by Gilchrist for boundaries off the first four deliveres of his first over. He later collected two wickets during the desperate slog by the opposition.
Delhi Daredevils: D. Warner c Harris b Praveen 77 (48b, 7x4, 4x6), V. Sehwag c Karthik b D. Hussey 77 (35b, 8x4, 4x6), Y. Nagar c Harris b Nayar 11 (9b, 1x4, 1x6), Venugopal Rao (not out) 28 (15b, 3x4, 1x6), A. Finch c Karthik b Chawla 3 (5b), N. Ojha (not out) 19 (8b, 1x4, 2x6); Extras (lb-2, w-14): 16; Total (for four wkts. in 20 overs): 231.
Fall of wickets: 1-146, 2-164, 3-179, 4-184.
Kings XI Punjab bowling: Praveen 4-0-45-1, Harris 4-0-48-0, Srivastava 4-0-46-0, Nayar 2-0-22-1, Chawla 4-0-36-1, Valthaty 1-0-13-0, D. Hussey 1-0-19-1.
Kings XI Punjab: A. Gilchrist b Aaron 42 (33b, 8x4, 1x6), P. Valthaty c Nagar b Irfan 14 (10b, 2x6), S. Marsh c Sehwag b M. Morkel 95 (46b, 9x4, 6x6), D. Karthik c Sehwag b Agarkar 6 (5b, 1x4), D. Hussey c Sehwag b Hopes 20 (10b, 2x6), A. Nayar (not out) 17 (13b, 3x4), S. Singh c Hopes b Agarkar 2 (4b), R. Harris (not out) 1 (1b); Extras (lb-2, w-1, nb-2): 5; Total (for six wkts. in 20 overs): 202.
Fall of wickets: 1-25, 2-97, 3-117, 4-153, 5-184, 6-195.
Delhi Daredevils bowling: M. Morkel 4-0-32-1, Irfan 3-1-26-1, Aaron 4-0-36-1, Nagar 1-0-16-0, Agarkar 4-0-47-2, Hopes 4-0-43-1.
Man-of-the-match: David Warner .

CSK looks to check a losing trend

STRATEGY MEETING:Murali Kartik, Nathan McCullum and Jesse Ryder take a break after a practice session in Chennai on Sunday.
CHENNAI: Defending champion Chennai Super Kings returns home having tasted away defeats on the bounce, its heavyweight credentials in grave doubt. After the rain rule did it in at Kochi and Harbhajan Singh scuttled it out in Mumbai, CSK finds itself at the wrong end of the points table as it takes on Pune Warriors — a team that has also struggled to sustain the momentum of early wins — at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium here on Monday.
A loss here will bring either side closer to desperation, cornering it if not in an entirely irrevocable situation then bringing it at least a step closer to hopelessness.
Chennai has a perfect record in home games this edition — all three defeats have come in away games — and once again it is to the deviousness of the Chepauk track, and the obvious home advantage it offers, that M.S. Dhoni and his men will turn to for checking a losing trend.
Bowling worries
Chennai's last defeat was to Mumbai Indians when its pursuit of 165 went haywire despite a solid platform laid by Michael Hussey and S. Badrinath.
The top order has been the least of Chennai's worries. The batting has clicked, if not in unison then in isolated instances of excellence, and it is in the bowling department that worries fester; more specifically Chennai has struggled to unearth an efficient local bowling option.
The inclusion of medium-pacer Joginder Sharma for left-arm spinner Shadab Jakati didn't quite work against Mumbai, the former being tonked around as much, if not more, as Jakati was in the games preceding the one at Wankhede.
Doug Bollinger's success has proved the imperativeness of having a genuine firebrand in the eleven (a ready illustration being his sustained assault on Rohit Sharma's groin region and the magnificent last over he bowled to Kieron Pollard and Andrew Symonds against Mumbai).
Bollinger's contest against an imperious Jesse Ryder and R. Ashwin's off-spin to the left-handed Yuvraj Singh promise to be the highlights of the Chennai-Pune match.
Although Ashwin has been steady, Albie Morkel, barring the match against Mumbai, has been expensive, while Tim Southee, aside from the last over yorker-feat against Kolkata in the first game, has been erratic.
Skipper Dhoni appeared to have taken a knock on his knee against Mumbai. But Morkel said at a press conference on Sunday that the injury was “nothing serious…just a niggle”.
Smith's woes
Successive defeats mean Pune too will be itching for a favourable result. Its potential match-winners — Yuvraj, Ryder and Robin Uthappa — have all crackled without really exploding and the lone sore spot in the line-up remains Graeme Smith, who seems to have dragged his wretched World Cup form into the money-spinning league.
Pune's bowlers, although the most unheralded in the entire competition, are doing a decent job. Leg-spinner Rahul Sharma has gone for 5.61 runs per over across four games, and the others — Ryder (ER 6.38), left-arm seamer Shrikant Wagh (7.30), medium-pacer Alfonso Thomas (7.38) and South African import Wayne Parnell (7.78) — all boast economy rates of less than eight, a considerable achievement amid the carnage of a Twenty20 competition.

Mumbai Indians too good for Chargers

ON TARGET:Mumbai Indians speedster Lasith Malinga breaches Deccan Chargers captain Kumar Sangakkara's defence in Hyderabad on Sunday.
HYDERABAD: With a superb display of aggressive batting, Rohit Sharma and Andrew Symonds rescued Mumbai Indians after a sudden collapse and helped the team post a 37-run win over Deccan Chargers in the IPL-IV at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium here on Sunday.
And when Deccan Chargers was batting, Mumbai Indians came up with an authoritative display on the field to choke the home team's hopes of putting up a fight.
In the end it was the team with greater determination and focus which emerged the winner. Teamwork, understanding and confidence — all these factors contributed to the Mumbai Indians' win.
The Mumbai bowlers bowled to their field and stuck to the right line and length. On the other hand, the inability of the Deccan Chargers batsmen to push the scoring rate at crucial stages contributed to their team's defeat.
Deccan Chargers won the toss and decided to put Mumbai Indians in to bat. Chargers brought in Ishant Sharma in place of Harmeet Singh, who had got two important wickets in the previous match.
But the move was expected since coach Darren Lehmann had already indicated that Ishant would be played against Mumbai.
Sachin Tendulkar set to rest all speculation about whether he would play or not (in view of the demise of Sri Satya Sai Baba) when he appeared on the field an hour before the start and went through his warm-up routine.
Ishant strikes
Mumbai got off to a good start as Tendulkar and Jacobs put on 47 in the first five overs before Ishant struck the first blow for Chargers.
Jacobs tried to pull a short ball and skied it to deep mid on where Pragyan Ojha took a well-judged catch.
Then Amit Mishra foxed Tendulkar with a well-flighted delivery. Tendulkar's attempted drive went high and ended up in the hands of Dale Steyn at long on.
Two balls later Mishra got rid of Ambati Rayudu; the batsman's attempted sweep saw the ball take the top edge and go straight to Shikhar Dhawan at deep square leg.
Then off the very first ball of the next over Keiron Pollard was dismissed — caught behind off Ojha for a first ball duck.
The quick blows came just when Mumbai Indians was trying to build on a good start and that slowed its momentum.
But Rohit and Symonds came up with that all important stand of 102 runs off 65 balls which took the visitor to a sound position.
In the last five overs they added 70 runs, 40 coming in the last two overs. And the Chargers' bowling which had looked so threatening at one stage fell apart.
Initially Rohit and Symonds showed maturity in their shot selection and applied themselves to the task in a disciplined manner. Neither swing nor spin affected their concentration.
It was only later that they cut loose and hammered the bowling to all parts of the field to take the team to a fighting total of 172.
When Deccan Chargers began the chase, it suffered an early setback.
The openers Sunny Sohal and Dhawan were going for quick singles and during one such attempt, an accurate return from Pollard at point had Sohal run out.
Lasith Malinga came on in the sixth over and began demolishing the batting line-up with a barrage of yorkers.
He bowled Dhawan with the fourth ball of his first over and later got the wicket of Kumar Sangakkara in a similar manner.
He enticed Ravi Teja to give him a return catch as the batsman failed to read a slower delivery.
At no stage did Deccan Chargers look like it would be able to overtake Mumbai Indians' total and the end was quite a tame finish.
Mumbai Indians: D. Jacobs c Ojha b Ishant 32 ( 20b, 5x4, 1x6), S. Tendulkar c Steyn b Mishra 28 ( 24b, 4x4), A. Rayudu c Dhawan b Mishra 7 ( 8b), K. Pollard c Sangakkarra b Ojha 0 ( 1b), Rohit (not out) 56 ( 34b, 5x4, 3x6), A. Symonds (not out) 44 ( 33b, 4x4, 1x6), Extras (lb-3, w-2): 5; Total (for four wkts. in 20 overs ) 172.
Fall of wickets: 1-47, 2-70, 3-70, 4-70.
Deccan Chargers bowling: Mishra 4-0-14-2, Steyn 4-0-39-0, Ojha 4-0-29-1, Ishant 4-0-39-1, Christian 4-0-48-0.
Deccan Chargers: S. Sohal (run out) 5 ( 3b), S. Dhawan b Malinga 25 ( 22b, 5x4), K. Sangakkara b Malinga 34 ( 28b, 3x4), C. White (run out) 1 ( 7b), B. Chipli c Sathish b Pollard 6 ( 8b, 1x4), D. Christian st. Jacobs b Munaf 21 ( 18b, 1x4, 1x6), Ravi Teja c & b Malinga 1 ( 4b), A. Mishra (not out) 25 ( 19b, 4x4), D. Steyn (run out) 4 ( 9b), Ishant Sharma (not out) 1 ( 2b), Extras (lb-5, w-7): 12; Total (for eight wkts. in 20 overs): 135.
Fall of wickets: 1-14, 2-41, 3-54, 4-70, 5-93, 6-99, 7-101, 8-128.
Mumbai Indians bowling: Munaf 4-0-35-1, Harbhajan 4-0-27-0, Ahmed 4-0-27-0, Malinga 4-0-9-3, Pollard 2-0-20-1, Sathish 2-0-12-0.
Man-of-the-Match: L. Malinga

Gayle force blows KKR away

West Indian opener Chris Gayle lifted struggling Royal Challengers Bangalore by bludgeoning his way to an unbeaten 102 and ensuring a nine-wicket win over Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL on Friday.

The 31-year-old left-hander, playing his first match in this edition of the Twenty20 tournament, smashed seven sixes and 10 fours off only 55 deliveries. He added 123 runs for the first wicket with Sri Lanka captain Tillakaratne Dilshan (38) as Bangalore reached 175-1 off 18.1 overs in reply to Kolkata’s 171-5.

For Kolkata, captain Gautam Gambhir top-scored with 48 while Yusuf Pathan (46) and South Africa all-rounder Jacques Kallis (40) were the other main contributors.

Kolkata remains on six points with three wins from six games, while Bangalore is now on five points from six outings with two wins and a no result.

Gayle started the tournament in style, coming in as a replacement for injured fast bowler Dirk Nannes and striking the winning runs off Bangladesh spinner Shakib al-Hassan to also reach his century.

“It is great to get a century in the first match,” Gayle said. “I had not practiced much back home and picked up the bat for the first time after the World Cup.” For Kolkata, Gambhir produced a solid 48 off 38 balls, adding 95 for the second wicket with Kallis.

Strike bowler Zaheer Khan went for 53 runs in his four overs without taking a wicket as Bangalore struggled to control the flow of runs, especially toward the end of the innings.

Big-hitting batsman Yusuf Pathan hit three sixes and three fours off only 24 deliveries before he was caught at long-off by Virat Kohli off left-arm seamer Srinath Aravind (2-37), who also dismissed Gambhir.

Rohit, Harbhajan star for MI

The Hindu Harbhajan Singh celebrates a dismissial with his team mates. He was adjudged the man-of-the-match for his five wickets. Photo: Vivek Bendre

Rohit Sharma masterminded Mumbai Indians' eight-run win over Chennai Super Kings in the DLF IPL-IV league match at the Wankhede Stadium on Friday.

He made a strokeful 87 off 48 balls to boost the home team's score to 164 for four and also snapped up two catches. Harbhajan Singh removed Albie Morkel, Ravichandran Ashwin and Joginder Sharma in the 18th over, for a match haul of 4-0-18-5, to restrict the defending champion to 156 for nine.

CSK was within range as long as Michael Hussey (41, 33b, 6x4) was busy at the crease, working the angles in his own stylish way and milking the bowling in tandem with the dependable S. Badrinath (71 n.o., 48b).

Pollard came up with a stunning scooped catch to remove Hussey. Rohit kept his eye on a mishit from Dhoni, the ball swirling under the lights to third-man, for a special catch.

Munaf struck the first blow, deceiving Murali Vijay with a ball that moved off the seam.

The MI players and Harbhajan then erupted in joy after the off-spinner lured Suresh Raina into hitting straight back at him. CSK crossed the 50-run mark in 6.5 overs (faster than MI, 7.2) and with the elegant Hussey in his element, Badrinath grew in confidence and found the gaps for easy runs.

Both batsmen used pace off the pitch for placements and rotated the strike to defy the MI bowlers. The Aussie opener, fluent and decisive off the front foot, forced Tendulkar into frequent bowling changes as Sharma, Kieron Pollard and Rajagopal Sathish got to work in the hunt for wickets.

Malinga repaid MI's faith in his wicket-taking abilities, with generous help from Pollard at mid-wicket. The Lankan dug one short and Hussey took his eyes off the ball, swatting it in a strange way down on his knee. The lanky West Indian all-rounder scooped up a vital catch with a forward dive and slide.

Dhoni walked into familiar territory with CSK needing 67 runs off 42 balls. But he lasted just six balls before mistiming a flick high in the direction of third-man for Sharma to adjust his footwork and complete the catch with a dive forward.

Earlier after MI were asked to bat, fatigue felled Rohit after 48 balls at the crease more than the venom in the CSK bowling. The shock of seeing Tendulkar return to the dug-out and Rayudu's struggle to connect, did not rattle him; the feet moving smoothly in sync with lazy swings of the bat for flowing drives to point, flicks off the pads, before warming up for aerial shots.

Five sixes and eight fours kept the fans in a state of excitement; the questions for Dhoni kept popping up as frequently as runs off his blade.

MI sprung a surprise by opening with R. Sathish. But the right-hander looked out of sorts and played out a maiden and holed out to square-leg, with his first scoring shot off the ninth ball he faced. Rayudu walked in for damage control and looked tentative, tapping to third-man for his first run.

Bollinger silenced the Wankhede crowd with a body blow, bouncing out Tendulkar. The maestro swivelled for a pull but found the ball flying off the handle high for Hussey at slip.

Rayudu's anxiety to get cracking came through with a streaky shot through slips, the looping ball evading a diving Hussey.

He connected with a one-handed pull off a rising Morkel delivery, then stepped inside against Joginder wide of the stumps for a flicked four to square-leg.

MI had recovered to 74 in 11 overs when the in-form MI batsman gifted away his wicket with a walkabout to Randiv, beaten by the ball turning across the blade for Dhoni to step up and whip off the bails.

Rohit stepped into the void created by Tendulkar's awkward exit with fluent strokes off Bollinger and elegant drives to the point fence which bore the stamp of class.

A six against Joginder's gentle swing, reading the length early to dispatch a ball outside the off-stump over mid-wicket with a lazy swing, displayed his keenness to intimidate the bowling.

Rohit's pressure tactics continued with two scooped sixes, one high over the bowler for his 50 (31b, 6x4, 2x6) and another over his shoulder to fine-leg. Symonds greeted Ashwin's return to the attack with a huge swing across the line into the hoarding at long-on.

MI wrested back momentum at 100 (14.3 balls) and the charge was round the corner once Symonds teamed up with Rohit.

Mumbai Indians: R Sathish c Anirudha b Morkel 0 (7b), S. Tendulkar c Hussey b Bollinger 5 (8b, 1x4), A. Rayudu st Dhoni b Randiv 27 (29b, 4x4), Rohit c Hussey b Bollinger 87 (48b, 8x4, 5x6), A. Symonds (not out) 31 (26b, 1x4, 2x6), K. Pollard (not out) 0 (2b); Extras (b-1, lb-1, w-12): 14. Total (for four wkts. in 20 overs): 164.

Fall of wickets: 1-9, 2-13, 3-74, 4-161.

Chennai Super Kings bowling: Morkel 4-1-19-1, Bollinger 4-0-30-2, Joginder 3-0-34-0, Ashwin 4-0-26-0, Randiv 3-0-31-1, Raina 2-0-22-0.

Chennai Super Kings: M. Hussey c Pollard b Malinga 41 (33b, 6x4), M. Vijay c Rohit b Munaf 12 (9b, 1x4, 1x6), S. Raina c & b Harbhajan 5 (4b, 1x4), S. Badrinath (not out) 71 (48b, 7x4, 2x6), M.S. Dhoni c Rohit b Pollard 3 (6b), S. Anirudha c Sathish b Harbhajan 9 (9b, 1x6), A. Morkel b Harbhajan 3 (4b), R. Ashwin c Pollard b Harbhajan 0 (2b), Joginder c & b Harbhajan 0 (1b), S. Randiv c Sathish b Malinga 2 (4b), D. Bollinger (not out) 0 (1b); Extras (lb-1, w-8, nb-1): 10; Total (for nine wkts. in 20 overs): 156.

Fall of wickets: 1-31, 2-38, 3-98, 4-101, 5-123, 6-136. 7-136, 8-137, 9-140.

Mumbai Indians bowling: Munaf 4-0-40-1, Malinga 4-0-20-2, Nechim 2-0-19-0, Harbhajan 4-0-18-5, Rohit 1-0-15-0, Pollard 4-0-30-1, Sathish 1-0-13-0.

Vulnerable Mumbai Indians faces off with Chennai Super Kings

Chennai Super Kings takes on the might of Mumbai Indians in an away match of DLF IPL-IV at a time when the latter appears vulnerable in many areas. The sharpness seen in the first week has given away to frayed edges in home conditions.

Sluggish bowling and catching neutralised a Sachin Tendulkar century in T20 against the Kochi Tuskers Kerala. Then the bowlers and fielders raised their energy levels against Pune Warriors only for the Indians' middle-order batsmen to make a hash of chasing down 119.

Commitment is visible in MI's efforts, the joy in each other's success is apparent on the field, yet something is holding the players back, as if under instructions to conserve energy for the long haul.

Fan support at the Wankhede stadium, which captain Tendulkar refers to as an addiction, is at hand for many of the biggest names in international cricket to perform in tune with their status as match-winners.

The face-off against the Super Kings happens at a time when Harbhajan Singh is supposed to be recovering from injury, Andrew Symonds still trying to slip into the all-rounder's role, Kieren Pollard's power-packed batting is awaited and Rohit Sharma's knack of accumulating runs under pressure as a quality anchor or finisher is yet to happen.

Tendulkar has assumed the mantle of chief run-maker with Ambati Rayudu walking in the master's footsteps and weighing in with breathtaking strokeplay.

Munaf Patel is turning into a threat due to wicket-to-wicket line of attack, countering aggressive batsmen with subtle pace changes. He is expected to play an influential role in Mumbai Indians' strike force, now that Lasith Malinga spearing in swinging yorkers no longer terrorises batsmen ever since Brendon McCullum mauled the Lankan slinger at the Wankhede.

CSK has a long list of bold batsmen in Murali Vijay, S. Badrinath, Mike Hussey, Suresh Raina and M.S. Dhoni capable of tackling any bowler on their day.

CSK also possess a Malinga-type death overs specialist in Tim Southee. New Zealand's pace sensation in the WC 2011, Southee has become a surprise weapon in skipper's Dhoni's armoury of bowlers. Slow bowlers R. Ashwin, Shadab Jakati, Suresh Randiv and Suresh Raina are also capable of breaking partnerships by forcing settled batsmen into risky shots.

Each one of them played a part in throttling Kolkata Knight Riders's run chase in the previous tie, resulting in a confidence-boosting win by two runs.

Tendulkar has reason to be wary, chiefly due to his team's soft spots which were exploited by Kochi Tuskers, incidentally the only IPL side to defeat the Indians and Super Kings.

Marsh shines as Kings prove too harsh for Royals

It was just the kind of all-round performance that Kings XI Punjab needed to be taken seriously in this edition of Indian Premier League.

Asked to bat, the Kings put the reputed Rajasthan Royals attack to the sword by hoisting 195 for seven, the highest this season. When Royals chased, the host wasted no time in landing four quick blows to turn the match into a no-contest.

Eventually, the 48-run victory catapulted the Kings to the top-four teams in the race to the semifinals. The host crafted its third successive victory in four outings in the most authoritative manner.

If the top-order batsmen swept away the opposition with a relentless display of strokeplay, the new ball bowlers, Praveen Kumar in particular, took the pace off the ball to strike early.

Cheap dismissals

The cheap dismissals of Shane Watson and Ross Taylor, in successive overs, took the wind of Royals' sails. Later, Stuart Binny, Ashok Menaria and Abhishek Raut used the long handle but could not change the script.

For the Kings, Man-of-the-Match Shaun Marsh reproduced the same form that made him the top run-scorer (with 616 runs) in the inaugural edition of the competition. The stylish left-hander smashed 71 runs to build on the rollicking start given by skipper Adam Gilchrist and fellow opener Paul Valthaty.

Having chased down targets for two back-to-back victories, it was an opportunity for Kings to come out of its comfort zone and put up a total beyond the reach of the opposition. And it did.

Timely onslaught

Marsh's timely onslaught that included a rare three sixes in an over from Shane Warne, as the first 15 overs produced 169 for two.

Ironically, the last five overs saw an addition of only 26 runs for the loss of five wickets. But eventually, the unexpected slowdown did not hurt the host.

Fortune played a huge part early in the 67-run opening stand, in just 4.2 overs, between Gilchrist and Valthaty before the pair's fortitude stood out.

Bowled off a no-ball in the first over, Gilchrist looked in his element straightway as the over from Siddharth Trivedi produced 13 runs.

In the second over, Valthaty was ‘caught' at second slip before the replays showed that Tait's back foot had ‘cut' the side-line at the point of delivery. This over added 14 runs to the tally.

If Trivedi thought the worst was behind him, Valthaty had not finished with him. The opener put Trivedi out of the firing line by hitting two sixes and three boundaries in an over that saw 25 runs. In the process, the fastest 50 in IPL history was posted, in just 2.5 overs!

Warne caned

Warne, who replaced Trivedi, did not do much to feel happy about. Gilchrist went after him, hit a six and four in succession, as the over fetched 15 runs.

With 67 runs in just four overs, the foundation was firmly laid for a big total. But it was also time for the Royals to enjoy its first success after Gilchrist failed to clear mid-on.

Undeterred, Valthaty continued with the form that saw him walkaway with two back-to-back Man-of-the-Match Awards. He maintained his aggressive intent even as he was aided by dropped catches off successive deliveries. Off Stuart Binny, Watson completely misjudged a skier before a diving Suhas Asnodkar spilled what could have been a spectacular catch.

Valthaty then targeted Warne and hit his third six but perished in the same over in his attempt to reach half-century with another six.

Thereafter, Marsh took over the charge. Dinesh Karthik, who smashed three boundaries in an over from Trivedi, was the only other batsman to get to the double figures before the rest fell in a heap.

Devanand, Raffik and Vedant play starring roles

CHENNAI: D. Devanand (six for 47) for TFU CC, CUC's Mohamed Raffik (six for 46) and L.S. Vedant (106 not out) for MCC excelled in the TNCA third division ‘A' division league matches held here recently.
The scores: III division ‘A': Venkateswara 113 in 35.4 overs (K. Arunaivel five for 32) lost to DSS Club 114 for nine in 31.1 overs (M.S. Raja 37 not out, K.N. Dilli Babu five for 40, B. Karthik four for 51).
TFU CC 214 for five in 50 overs (B. Rahul 60, M. Ramesh Kumar 37, M.A.M. Ganesh 34) bt MRC ‘B' 204 in 49.2 overs (V. Harish Bharath 48, D. Devanand six for 47).
Perambur Club 161 in 46.4 overs (S. Vishaal 59, S. Vignesh 31, M. Mohamed Raffik six for 46, D. Muthu Krishnan three for 17) lost to CUC 165 for three in 20.4 overs (A. Gilbert 68 not out, S. Sri Renganathan 48).
CCL 294 for seven in 50 overs (K. Nazer 83, M. Adithyan 57, P. Praveen Kumar 45 not out, S. Vijaya Kumar three for 89, J. Vignesh three for 65) bt Book Sellers 156 in 35.4 overs (Syed Sadiq Pasha four for 29).
Royapettah 185 in 31 overs (V. Mahalingam 41, N. Thirumurugan 38, C. Rajesh 46, B. Karthikeyan three for 63, S. Mohan Raj five for 21) bt Prithvi 144 in 48.3 overs (S. Thulasi Ram 39, C. Sakthivel three for 37, C. Rajesh three for 34).
Galaxy 198 in 44.4 overs (G. Nagaraj 77, Satyajit Medapppa 4/30, R. Vivek Anandh 3/45) lost to MCC 201 for one in 26.4 overs (L.S. Vedant 106 not out, R. Vivek Anandh 67).
Ryan scores century
J. Ryan's unbeaten 117 enabled FSCA ‘A' thrash Little Masters CA by 212 runs in the K.S.L.-Future Stars CA u-12 cricket tournament held here.
The scores: FSCA ‘A' 257 for two in 25 overs (J. Ryan 117 not out, S. Kishan Kumar 79) bt Little Masters 45 in 16.5 overs (S. Sumangal four for 4, N. Sudharson three for 6).
Khan's CA 87 for seven in 25 overs (Mohd.Adnan 54 not out, L.P. Nithesh three for 15) lost to Kedar CA 89 for one in 15 overs (Aakash 25 not out, Gokul 36 not out).
Little Masters CA 116 in 24 overs (Sean Earnest 41, Hitesh Sharma three for 17) lost to N. Kanniah CA 117 for two in 15.1 overs (Hitesh Sharma 44 not out).
Prahlad 144 for six in 25 overs (M. Badri Narayanan 43, S. Deepak three for 20) lost to CSSF 65 in 17.5 overs (S. Bhargav three for 11).
Rishab scalps seven
Rishab (seven for 11) starred in RSJ's eight-wicket win over Element K in a match of the V.P. Raman memorial T20 tournament here recently.
Washington Sundar scored a century in Pace Academy's 52-run over Madras Gymkhana Club in another match of the tournament.
The results: Force One 108 for nine in 20 overs (Chandra Bose 35, Ashwin three for 13, Senthil Kumar three for 17, Makhinder three for 20) lost to Arihant Pharma 109 for eight in 19.4 overs (Chirag 30, Shashank 35, Baskar three for 20, Prabhu three for 22).
TCS 105 for nine in 20 overs (Manoj 46, Harish 35, Ahmed three for 20, Jayakumar three for 18) bt Secova 74 in 17.4 overs (Srinath 30, Prasanna three for 27, Solaiappan three for eight, Yuvraj three for nine).
Talent Maximus 59 in 12.2 overs (Asif Jr. four for nineteen, Asif Ali four for three) bt Amir Mahal 56 in 17 overs (Rajesh five for six, Satish three for 12); Pace Academy 178 for four in 20 overs (S. Washington Sundar 109, V. Sasi Karan 35) bt Madras Gymkhana 126 for nine in 20 overs (Bharghava Ramani 35, Rajiv Shah 35, Irfan Basha four for 12, Karthik three for eight).
Element K 71 in 18 overs (Prashanth 32, Rishab seven for 11, Anbhazhagan three for nine) lost to RSJ 72 for two in 8.2 overs (Hari Haran 32, Satish 35).
Pride 84 in 18.4 overs (T. Karthik 33, Raj three for 14, Ravinder five for 20) bt RSJ 74 in 17.5 overs (Gunasekaran 32 n.o., Arun four for eight, Vinod three for four).
Cricket camp
Harrington Cricket Academy will conduct a residential camp for boys aged between 7 and 20 years at Sacred Heart MHSS (Sholinganallur) from May 1 to 30. Entries close on April 29 with A. Harrington (Head Coach), 14/10, 1st EVR St., Lakshmipuram, Thiruvanmiyur, Chennai-41. Ph: 9444012725.

Another big scalp for Kochi Tuskers

BAMBOOZLED:Kolkata Knight Riders captain Gautam Gambhir has no clue to this one from Kochi Tuskers' R.P. Singh.
KOLKATA: Debutant Kochi Tuskers Kerala pulled off another memorable victory — third in a row — rudely bringing down Kolkata Knight Riders with a six-run victory in the IPL-IV at the Eden Gardens here on Wednesday.
Needing 133 for victory, Knight Riders failed to pace the innings on a slow pitch to be all out for 126 for nine in 20 overs to lose its second game in five matches.
Remarkable captaincy
It is remarkable the way Mahela Jayawardene has led the side in the last three matches. Desperate after two early losses, the Sri Lankan led from the front to turn around the fortunes of a side that is beginning to look menacing.
Jayawardene's astute captaincy, his field placing and bowling changes enabled Tuskers choke the Knights steadily before strangulating it to death. But for Manoj Tiwary, none of the KKR batsmen had the stomach for a fight.
Knight Riders did not have a great start. The home side lost two big wickets that of Jacques Kallis (6) and captain Gautam Gambhir (3).
Kallis was trapped by Vinay Kumar with a bouncer which the South African failed to keep down and was snapped up by Jadhav. Gambhir was bowled neck and crop by R.P. Singh with a beauty of a yorker.
When Manvinder Bisla missed a big hit off Jadeja and was bowled, KKR slumped to three for 37 in six overs and was in deep trouble.
Manoj Tiwary and Eoin Morgan played sensibly to add 36 runs for the fourth wicket with the Bengal captain dominating the partnership.
Morgan (10) was run out to a brilliant throw by Jayawardene to leave KKR at 73 for four and soon it was 86 for five in 15 overs when Shakib Al Hasan was bowled by a clever delivery from R.P. Singh.
Yusuf Pathan hobbled in and out scoring eight runs, including a six. A huge heave off Powar went to Muttiah Muralitharan at short third-man.
Desperate measures
With the asking rate mounting, Tiwary was desperate to get quick runs and tried to step out to Ravindra Jadeja who intelligently sent the ball wide on the leg side for Parthiv Patel to effect a smart stumping.
Tiwary's superb 46 runs came off 51 balls with two fours and as many sixes.
On winning the toss, Gambhir asked Tuskers to bat first on a slow pitch.
Strong start
Brendon McCullum and Jayawardene began strongly with some bold shots to put on the team's best partnership of 49 runs for the first wicket.
If the Kiwi was in a punishing mood, the Lankan was confidence personified placing his shots well. When it looked as if the duo would steal the show, came a lovely ball from Shakib Al Hasan.
McCullum tried to play a big shot and was snapped up by Eoin Morgan at point for 23, scored with the aid of two fours and a six.
Patel joined his captain and had the mortification of seeing his senior partner depart for a 25-run cameo that had five delectable boundaries. By the 10th over Tuskers had lost three top-order batsmen for eight runs with Yusuf Pathan scalping Jayawardene and Brad Hodge (2).
After Patel (9) fell leg before to Pathan, young Jadeja had other ideas as he waded into the Knights' bowling in the company of Kedar Jadhav.
Fifteen runs were scored off Balaji's over (team's 13th) and the next over produced 11 runs. The fifth wicket added 35 runs with Jadeja dominating the batting.
When Jadhav fell bowled by Shakib for 12, Tuskers had reached 100 in 15 overs. To the addition of only five runs, Jadeja fell in trying to hit Lee and was taken well at deep mid-on by Pathan for a terrific 29 off 18 balls with one four and three sixes.
In the process, Pathan injured his knee and hobbled off the field.
Shakib and Pathan were the pick of the KKR bowlers, picking up three wickets apiece.
Lee went for 33 runs in four overs and Balaji and Iqbal Abdulla went for 23 runs each in four overs.
Kochi Tuskers Kerala: B. McCullum c Morgan b Shakib 23 (19b, 2x4, 1x6), M. Jayawardene lbw b Yusuf 25 (27b, 5x4), Parthiv lbw b Yusuf 9 (11b, 1x4), B. Hodge b Yusuf 2 (8b), R. Jadeja c Yusuf b Lee 29 (18b, 1x4, 3x6), K. Jadhav b Shakib 12 (11b, 1x4), R. Gomez (not out) 10 (10b, 1x6), R. Vinay Kumar b Shakib 11 (10b, 1x4), R. Powar (not out) 3 (6b), Extras (b-1, lb-4, w-3): 8, Total (for seven wkts. in 20 overs): 132.
Fall of wickets: 1-49, 2-51, 3-55, 4-65, 5-100, 6-105, 7-127.
Kolkata Knight Riders bowling: Lee 4-0-33-1, Balaji 4-0-23-0, Abdulla 4-0-23-0, Shakib 4-0-28-3, Yusuf 4-1-20-3.
Kolkata Knight Riders: M. Bisla b Jadeja 16 (14b, 2x4), J. Kallis c Jadhav b Vinay Kumar 6 (9b), G. Gambhir b R.P. Singh 3 (5b), M. Tiwary st. Parthiv b Jadeja 46 (51b, 2x4, 2x6), E. Morgan (run out) 10 (12b, 1x4), Shakib b R.P. Singh 2 (5b), Yusuf c Muralitharan b Powar 8 (3b, 1x6), R. Bhatia (run out) 10 (8b, 1x4), B. Lee c Jadhav b Muralitharan 1 (3b), I. Abdulla (not out) 12 (9b, 1x4), L. Balaji (not out) 1 (1b), Extras (b-4, lb-4, w-3): 11, Total (for nine wkts. in 20 overs): 126.
Fall of wickets: 1-24, 2-27, 3-37, 4-73, 5-86, 6-97, 7-101, 8-105, 9-125.
Kochi Tuskers bowling: R.P. Singh 4-0-25-2, Vinay Kumar 4-0-21-1, Jadeja 4-0-25-2, Powar 4-0-29-1, Muralitharan 4-0-18-1.
Man-of-the-Match: M. Jayawardene (KTK) .

Royals, Kings promise intriguing battle

Planning strategy:Adam Gilchrist and bowling coach Jason Gillespie will be looking to counter any tricks Shane Warne may have up his sleeve.
MOHALI: Shane Warne and Adam Gilchrist. The two ‘retired' skippers in the Indian Premier League know each other's minds, as well as game, too well.
Having been part of the all-conquering Australian team that dominated the game for over a decade, these players know what it means to make winning a habit.
It is only due to the shortest format of the game that the lovers of the game still get to see these two stalwarts still in action. In the context of the IPL, the two battle-hardened professionals know how it feels to lift the winner's shield.
The two are more than just captains. They are leaders who command respect of their teammates, irrespective of the nationality.
These tacticians have led by example and motivated the younger and little-known players to perform to the optimum. The results in the past three years are for all to see.
On Thursday, these highly combative individuals and team-men go out for the toss at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium with contrasting levels of confidence.
If a happy Gilchrist and his men are well-rested after Kings XI Punjab's two successive chase-downs, on-the-hop Warne has a few reasons to be worried about.
After two wins at the start, Rajasthan Royals lost twice in the space of three days to Kolkata Knight Riders.
The abandoned match against host Royal Challengers Bangalore did not help the confidence of the team but surely brought in an unscheduled, but much-needed, rest.
Though all teams, at some point in time in the league, are made to face hectic travel in this competition, Royals is at the end of its four-match blitz in seven days.
It would surely like to return to Jaipur, for the next two games, armed with a victory here.
Looking for a third victory, Kings and Royals are evenly matched. The presence of the Aussie trio — Warne, Shaun Tait and all-rounder Shane Watson plus South African Johan Botha — clearly gives Royals' bowling a look of assurance.
But then, all are unlikely to play in one game since it leaves no room for a potential game-changer like Ross Taylor.
The batting debacle in Kolkata means Warne's thoughts will firmly be on strengthening the middle-order.
Should a fit-again Rahul Dravid return to action, the top-order gets the muscle it currently lacks!
Taylor could be promoted in the batting order since the trio of opener Amit Paunikar, Faiz Fazal and Abhishek Raut has not inspired much confidence.
On the brighter side, big-hitting Ashok Menaria holds the promise of turning the match on its head.
Having tamed the 2010 champion Chennai Super Kings and 2009 winner Deccan Chargers, Kings will be looking to make a hat-trick of triumphs by stopping the triumphant team of 2008.
Paul Valthaty, too, will be keen to complete a unique hat-trick of Man-of-the-Match awards against all champion IPL teams.
Valthaty's discovery has lent Kings' top-order a surprise edge, with the first-choice opener Shaun Marsh offering Gilchrist more flexibility.
Abhishek Nayar, Dinesh Karthik, Sunny Singh and Ryan McLaren can all bat well.
David Hussey is waiting for his turn to join the action. Should Hussey replace Marsh, Gilchrist can well retain the services of fast bowlers McLaren and Ryan Harris.
The placid pitch is ready to throw up another high-scoring match.
Intermittent showers in the past couple of days have brought down the temperatures in the region.
But Warne and his men might well feel the heat once Kings fans throng the stadium to enjoy this intriguing clash, rich in Aussie flavour.

Derby goes Mumbai Indians' way

WELL DONE! Mumbai Indians' Munaf Patel and Andrew Symonds do a ‘High Five', as others celebrate, after removing Pune Warriors skipper Yuvraj Singh for a blob on Wednesday.
MUMBAI: Chasing 119 to win appeared a walk in the park for Mumbai Indians. Orange Cap holder Sachin Tendulkar (35 off 39) and Ambati Rayudu, an able aide at the crease, picked off the runs with ease.
But, with five runs required off the last over by Murali Kartik, the match took an unexpected twist as Andrew Symonds survived two run-outs before Rohit Sharma lashed a last-ball six to seal a heart-stopping seven-wicket victory over Pune Warriors in the DLF IPL match.
Sharma cleared the extra-cover fence on the final ball as MI sneaked home leaving Warriors shaking heads in disbelief at being denied a win courageously defending 118.
Rayudu had a busy day on the field, hyperactive behind the sticks and supremely confident at the crease. He mocked the bowling with improvised shots, his timing was awesome, but fell to an audacious slog, having bettered his captain's score with 37 off 40 by then.
Uthappa's poise and timing earlier created the impression that he was on a different wavelength, batting on a different wicket. The huge Wankhede stands buzzing with excitement brought out the marauder in him, judging length early and using those powerful shoulders and arms to clear the ropes with ridiculous ease.
He favoured the straight boundary and drove MI bowlers to despair until Pollard produced a moment of fielding magic at long-on. Murtaza dropped short on seeing the batsman stepping out, Uthappa connected and looked on as the ball looped downwards. Pollard took a moment to judge the flight of the ball and lunged like a goalkeeper to complete an astounding catch and knelt in celebration, hands stretched out as if awaiting his reward. Each one of his MI teammates rushed to partake of the joy, skipper Tendulkar walked across the field to link arms.
Warriors' quest for a partnership to build on the momentum generated by Uthappa's assault didn't happen, Kartik tried the hardest by rotating strike during a six-wicket stand worth 35 runs. Munaf was frugal as usual, allowing batsmen to score a mere eight runs in 2.2 overs and striking a double blow for MI via dismissals of opener Tim Paine and mainstay Yuvraj in one over. Malinga (two for 18) commanded respect without intimidating batsmen with his swinging yorkers.
MI opened with Ali Murtaza and the left-arm spinner hit the length straightaway. Ryder survived a stumping appeal, looked in the groove with two lofted hits into the fence before Tendulkar scrambled back at mid-wicket to make a tough catch look easy.
The troubles for Pune Warriors were just beginning. Manhas was beaten by swing and edged behind, Paine swung and missed against Munaf. Yuvraj blocked the first ball, attempted to drive the second without moving his feet in line against the India seamer and Rayudu did the rest.
Pune Warrriors had lost the plot when losing four wickets for 17 runs, half the team back in the dugout in the ninth over and 60 for five at the halfway mark. Malinga returned with his slingers for his second spell and Uthappa greeted him with a ferocious drive on the fifth ball over the Lankan's head. A sharp bouncer from Malinga next ball saw the batsman weaving out of range.
James Franklin's first over gave the harassed batsmen some respite with two free-hits off successive no-balls.
Malinga made things happen in an eventful 13th over, starting with a no-ball which Uthappa lofted towards mid-wicket. Tendulkar tumbled to collect and threw down the stumps at the non-striker's end. The second ball flew along the carpet to the cover fence as Uthappa leant into the stroke.
The Lankan slinger got his reward with a wicket off the sixth ball, Kartik holing out to Symonds.
Harbhajan Singh and Davy Jacobs sat out this home match, the former on the injury list and the latter dropped.
Pune Warriors: J. Ryder c Tendulkar b Nachim 12 (15b, 2x4), T. Paine b Munaf 2 (9b), M. Manhas c Rayudu b Nachim 0 (1b), R. Uthappa c Pollard b Murtaza 45 (37b, 6x4, 1x6), Yuvraj Singh c Rayudu b Munaf 0 (2b), M. Mishra c Sharma b Murtaza 12 (10b, 2x4), M. Kartik c Symonds b Malinga 11 (13b, 1x4), W. Parnell b Franklin 9 (8b, 1x4), R. Sharma c Murtaza b Munaf 13 (9b, 1x4, 1x6), S. Wagh c Symonds b Malinga 2 (2b), A. Thomas (not out) 0 (2b); Extras (nb-4, lb-6, w-2): 12; Total (in 17.2 overs): 118.
Fall of wickets: 1-16, 2-17, 3-17, 4-17, 5-52, 6-87, 7-98, 8-111, 9-118.
Mumbai Indians bowling: Murtaza 4-0-18-2, Malinga 4-0-28-2, Nachim 3-1-13-2, Patel 2.2-0-8-3, Pollard 1-0-13-0, Franklin 3-0-32-1.
Mumbai Indians: J. Franklin c Manhas b Wagh 6 (8b, 1x4), S. Tendulkar c Alfonso b Rahul 35 (39b, 2x4), A. Rayudu c Rahul b Alfonso 37 (40b, 4x4), Rohit Sharma (not out) 20 (18b, 1x4, 1x6), A. Symonds (not out) 16 (15b, 2x4); Extras (b-2, lb-6,w-2): 10; Total (for three wkts. in 20 overs): 124.
Fall of wickets: 1-9, 2-83, 3-89.
Pune Warriors bowling: Thomas 4-0-16-1, Wagh 2-0-9-1, Kartik 4-0-29-0, Parnell 4-0-28-0, Sharma 3-0-14-1, Ryder 2-0-15-0, Yuvraj 1-0-5-0.
Man of the match: Munaf Patel

Spinners have played their part in T20

Mumbai: Murali Kartik, 34, a veteran on the Indian and the English First Class scene, has adapted to Twenty20 cricket as well. The conventional left-arm spinner has played 28 IPL matches — the first three seasons for Kolkata Knight Riders and in action for Pune Warriors in the fourth. He would be happier, though, if his statistics were to be better than 16 wickets at 38.81.
“The spinners have played their part and have evolved in the IPL. There are not many things in this format of the game that are conventional and hence the bowlers have to do certain things to keep the batsmen in check,” he said.
He said the bowlers' objective was always to limit the damage in Twenty20 cricket.
“For a conventional left-arm spinner, I won't do certain things in a First Class match or a 50-over game but Twenty20 forces you to do that. I am always trying to minimise the damage. Bowlers are trying to come to grips with this fact. They have to possibly come up with something new. I don't know if bowlers can really stop the boundary shot.
“Every team (has) plans; it's a question of winning the mini-battles in terms of being ahead of the game. If a team makes a simple mistake it can cost the game.
“The bowlers are always trying to second-guess the batsmen. It's a question of each player thinking on his feet, especially with the game going quickly. The players need to make those simple decisions with a stable head. That does wonders.
“It's not easy for the captain to control everything in this format of the game. So each and every player has to manage his own space and take decisions. The games are being played thick and fast.”
Kartik said with two new teams and more players coming into the fray, the IPL has become more competitive. “After the auction, people were talking about the two strong teams (Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings). But people have done their homework and have managed to create good sides.
“On a given day, if a team does things right in this format it definitely has the chance to cross the line. All the teams have quality international and Indian players.”

Tuskers tramples Super Kings in a rain-affected match

— Photo: AFP

ON THE RAMPAGE:Brendon McCullum's power-hitting took Kochi Tuskers Kerala to victory over Chennai Super Kings on Monday. KOCHI: Kochi Tuskers Kerala pulled off another upset as it defeated holder Chennai Super Kings by seven wickets at the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium here.Chasing a target of 135, reset as per the Duckworth/Lewis method, KTK was always in the race as Brendon McCullum and skipper Mahela Jayawardene kept up the required pace initially. The Kiwi batsman was severe on Albie Morkel, hoisting the bowler twice while the Sri Lankan was also in his element.
The fall of Jayawardene after putting on 39 runs for the opening wicket due to his own discretion did not in any way alter the script as the local team was given the required momentum by Parthiv Patel, who together with McCullum ensured that KTK was always ahead of the required run-rate.
Though both these batsmen fell in almost quick succession, KTK was led to its back-to-back giant-killing act by its utility players Brad Hodge and Ravindra Jadeja with 12 balls to spare.
This was the second defeat for Dhoni's men in four matches. The decision of KTK skipper Mahela Jayawardene to insert CSK seemed to have been prompted by two factors — the win against Mumbai Indians coming while chasing and then the threat of rain that loomed large prior to the start.
Thick brown clouds had gathered above the stadium and rain seemed to be imminent any time before heavy winds luckily, albeit at least temporarily, blew away the threat.On the field, it also proved to be a wise decision too to let CSK bat first as R.P. Singh removed the dangerous Mike Hussey in the third over, caught by Parthiv Patel behind the stumps.
The Australian seemedto be a man in a hurry as he scored two well-executed boundaries off R.P. Singh in the first over before he fell, edging the medium-pacer straight into the waiting gloves of Parthiv.
Suresh Raina joined Murali Vijay to stem the early rot as the pair added 37-runs, the bulk of which came from Vijay's bat, was graceful with his shots, sparing none of the KTK bowlers.
Two consecutive cover drives came off Vijay's blade as Thisara Perera replaced Vinay at that end; each was a gem that had the CSK supporters on their feet.
However, Perera made a good comeback in his very next over and accounted for Vijay (28) as the opener tried to turn the bowler to the leg and was plumb in front. Raina, though a bit slow and tentative to begin with, was soon his usual aggressive self in the company of S. Badrinath.
The duo seemed to be in full control as it pushed the score to 65 for two before a slight drizzle drove the players off the field but not before Badrinath was dropped by Hodge off Ramesh Powar at short third-man.
Raiphy Gomez was ready to come on in place of Perera as the rain came down and it was a long wait for over an hour and thirty-five minutes before the covers were removed and the match reduced to 17-overs-a-side.
The eight overs which formed the second part of the essay was memorable for the half-century completed by Raina, his 48-run partnership with Badrinath for the third, and the final flourish of skipper M.S. Dhoni and Morkel which pushed CSK's total to 131 for four.
The Kochi bowlers applied themselves to the task of containing the rival batsmen.
Supported well by the fielders and in the end, this heart-warming display too had a big bearing in the final outcome.
Chennai Super Kings: M. Hussey c Parthiv b R.P. Singh 8 (10b, 2x4), M. Vijay lbw b Perera 28 (18b, 6x4), S. Raina (run out) 50 (40b, 5x4, 1x6), S. Badrinath lbw b Gomez 19 (17b, 1x 4), M.S. Dhoni (not out) 14 (13b, 1x4, 1x6), A. Morkel (not out) 9 (4b, 1x6), Extras (lb-1, w-2): 3. Total (for four wkts. in 17 overs): 131.
Fall of wickets: 1-11, 2-48, 3-96, 4-109.
Kochi Tuskers Kerala bowling: R.P. Singh 4-0-24-1, Vinay Kumar 3-0-16-0, Perera 4-0-32-1, Powar 3-0-24-0, Gomez 2-0-20-1, Jadeja 1-0-14-0.
Kochi Tuskers Kerala (target revised to 135 in 17 overs under D/L method): B. McCullum c Morkel b Ashwin 47 (33b, 4x4, 3x6), M. Jayawardene c Anirudha b Ashwin 16 (11b, 2x4, 1x6), Parthiv c Anirudha b Bollinger 34 (26b, 4x4, 1x6), B. Hodge (not out) 19 (14b, 2x4), R. Jadeja (not out) 16 (6b, 2x6), Extras (lb-1, w-2): 3, Total (for three wkts. in 15 overs): 135.
Fall of wickets: 1-39, 2-90, 3-110.
Chennai Super Kings bowling: Morkel 2-0-17-0, Bollinger 3-0-18-1, Ashwin 4-0-31-2, Southee 3-0-38-0, Jakati 3-0-30-0.

Emphatic win for Knight Riders

Kolkata Knight Riders had an easy night out after its bowlers bundled out against Rajasthan Royals for a paltry total. — Photo: PTI

t is celebration time in Kolkata as Knight Riders registered a thumping eight-wicket victory over Rajasthan Royals in the return match of the IPL-IV at the Eden Gardens.

The home team, choosing to field, dismissed Royals for 81 in 15.2 overs, the lowest so far this season. Recovering from two early wickets, KKR won with 6.1 overs to spare in a lopsided game.

Captain Gautam Gambhir and Manoj Tiwary remained unbeaten on 35 and 30 runs respectively to guide the team to victory. Lakshmipathy Balaji was adjudged the Man-of-the-match for his three for 15.

Brilliant bowling by the home team was the key to this easy win. One could be tempted to say that the Royals batsmen failed to apply to the task but then the KKR bowlers were spot on.

With an asking rate of a little over 4, KKR lost its dependable opener Jacques Kallis to the second ball of the innings as he played a half-hearted shot. Ross Taylor took the skier almost in front of the batsman. After Gambhir and Manvinder Bisla added 31 runs, the later fell to a brilliant diving catch by Abhishek Raut at mid-wicket.

Gambhir and Tiwary were circumspect to start with and slowly dug themselves in but Tiwary plundered 17 runs off Shaun Tait's fourth over (team's 14th) before Gambhir guided the next ball to the third-man fence for the winning runs.

KKR won the toss and asked Royals to bat on humid day. , watched by a good crowd of about 45,000. The Rajasthan team began promisingly with Shane Watson and Amit Paunikar. The Aussie, coming from a fabulous series against Bangladesh, was in command with some flowing shots before Balaji produced a superb delivery that knocked his stumps. The opening pair put on 24 runs in 3.4 overs.

The KKR attack, with the introduction of Iqbal Abdulla, made things quiet. The left-armer tasted success soon getting Paunikar stumped by Bisla for the addition of only four runs.

From here, KKR's ascendancy began. For the addition of another 10 runs, Faiz Fazal, who came in for an injured Rahul Dravid, was run out as the bowler showed tremendous alacrity throwing down the non-striker's wicket off his own bowling.

Another five runs later, Abhishek Raut became the second victim of a run out this time failing to beat a Shakib-al Hasan throw to the wicketkeeper. Left-handed Ashok Menaria, a natural stroke player, and Ross Taylor began to repair the damage with some sensible batting. and added 24 runs for the fifth wicket.

Gambhir introduced Yusuf Pathan from the pavilion end and the offie tasted immediate success when he had Taylor stumped off a ball that drifted down the leg stump and moved further brushing the batsman's pad. Bisla was quick into the position to bring off a smart stumping.

Ajinkya Rahane, who replaced Nayan Doshi, was beaten and bowled by a Balaji delivery that kept a bit low. From 78 for six RR lost five wickets for four runs to be all out for 81 in 15.2 overs.

Balaji was at it again dismissing Menaria for 21, the highest individual score of the innings, when the 20-year-old tried to play a short ball over the third man but ended up in the safe hands of Rajat Bhatia.

Shakib struck in the next over, the team's 15th, as he bowled Amit Singh and Shaun Tait, a replacement for Johan Botha, off successive balls. Siddharth Trivedi denied the left-arm spinner the coveted hat-trick but Lee, coming on the next over, bowled Siddharth Trivedi to bring the curtain down on the innings.

Apart from Balaji, Shakib had two for 21 in three. Brett Lee, Abdulla and Yusuf shared the other three.

Rajasthan Royals: S. Watson b Balaji 11 ( 13b, 2x4), A. Paunikar st Bisla b Abdulla 15 ( 15b, 2x4), F. Fazal (run out) 3 ( 4b), A. Raut (run out) 11 ( 15b, 1x4), A. Menaria c Bhatia b Balaji 21 ( 17b, 1x4, 1x6), R. Taylor st Bisla b Yusuf 6 ( 9b), A. Rahane b Balaji 6 ( 9b), S. Warne (not out) 3 ( 6), Amit Singh b Shakib 0 ( 2b), S. Tait b Shakib 0 ( 1b), S. Trivedi b Lee 0 ( 2b); Extras (lb-1, w-3, nb-1) 5; Total (in 15.2 overs): 81.

Fall of wickets: 1-24, 2-28, 3-38, 4-43, 5-67, 6-78, 7-79, 8-80, 9-80.

Kolkata Knight Riders bowling: Lee 2.2-0-12-1, Shakib 4-0-21-2, Balaji 3-0-15-3, Abdulla 3-0-18-1, Bhatia 1-0-4-0, Yusuf 2-0-10-1.

Kolkata Knight Riders: J. Kallis c Taylor b Tait 0 ( 2b), M. Bisla c Raut b Warne 9 ( 22b), G. Gambhir (not out) 35 ( 35b, 3x4), M. Tiwary (not out) 30 ( 26, 4x4, 1x6); Extras (lb-4, w-5, nb-2) 11; Total (for two wkts. in 13.5 overs): 85.

Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-31.

Rajasthan Royals bowling: Tait 3.5-0-29-1, Watson 4-0-20-0, Warne 4-0-17-1, Trivedi 1-0-8-0, Amit Singh 1-0-7-0.