Match 15: Dhoni gives Chennai Kings a Win!

Dhoni, lead by example while batting and leading the side from behind the wicket. What thought to be a 150 chasing was completely changed by Dhoni with his firing knock during the last five overs. Chennai scored 76 runs in the last five overs.

Winning the toss and deciding to bat first, the previous match man of the match Hayden lost his wicket for 13. When he tried to give room and hit Zaheer, took the thick inside edge and the ball rolled to the stumps.

Hussey and Patel could not accelerate the innings and the bowling was very good. Patel tried to slog and got out caught at slip tried to steer to third man. He scored 21 off 17 balls.

Raina and Hussey were scoring singles. The shots played in the air landed in no man's land. At the end of the 10th over, Chennai Super Kings were 65 for 2. To cross 150, they have to score 8.5 run per over and to reach 165 they have to score 10 runs per over.

Hussey pushed the ball to on side and went for a single. Raina called for 2 but Hussey sent him back. But Raina was sloppy in returing and didn't expect the throw at the striker's end. Before he could come back on time, it was all over. He was hitting the ball well, but the poor running costs his wicket. He scored 28 off 17 balls with 1 fours and 2 sixes. At this stage, Chennai were 83 for 3 in 12 overs.

Dhoni joined the club with Hussey and they built the innings well. They played single's and two's till the score reached 100 in the 15th over.

The party started after that. Hussey scored 2 sixes of Akhil's first two balls in the 16th over. That over gave 14 runs to Chennai.

In the 17th over bowled by Kallis, Hussey scored two fours and the Dhoni a six to add 16 more runs to the total.

In the 18th over bowled by Praveen Kumar, Dhoni scored a four, but it was a good over for Bangalore, costing only 8 runs. The score was 140 for 3 in 18 overs. Dhoni was batting on 28 off 19 balls and Hussey batting on 47 off 36 balls.

Steyn bowled the 19th over--the crucial over of the match. The first turning point of the match as well. Firt ball was a wide, then it was 4, 4, 6, 4, 4, 1 to take the score to 164 for 3. This particular over costed Bangalore 24 crucial runs.

The last over was bowled by Zaheer. Dhoni faced the first ball with no run, then the next three balls were 4, 6, 4. He was hitting over long on, straight back over the bowlers head, pulling over mid wicket. He was finally caught at deep extra cover when tried for another six. The last ball also got a wicket for Zaheer. Hussey tried a six, but it went straight to Dravid at deep mid wicket.

This score was competitive enough, but nothing can be said in a twnety-20 match.

Banglore chased the innings with a poor start in the first 3 overs. Jaffer was not timing the ball, in fact, I lost my temperament with his batting skills. His stroke play, style, attitude everything reminded off Test Match cricket. The crowd lost the patience. The 3rd over bowled by Oram juste added 1 run to the score.

With no big runs scored, the pressure added and Goni used it well. Chipli trying to slog was bowled. Jaffer was dropped on three occassions--one by Gony himself, a caught and bowled when Jaffer was on 7, and then by Dhoni off Oram on 7, and then finally by Goni at long on off Amarnath when he was on 18.

Jaffer's utilized his luck and started to fire. On one end, Taylor was rocking with huge sixes and fours. From 20 for 1 in 4 overs, they took it to 93 for 1 in 10 overs. Jaffer reached his 50 in 32 balls and was out the next ball. His first 15 runs came of 16 balls, but he accelerated it very well to give Bangalore Royal Challengers a good chance of winning.

Amarnath broke the 2nd wicket parntership of 89 runs by taking Jaffer's wicket. He walked down the wicket and tried to slog it over long off, but didn't clear it well. Jacob Oram took a good catch at long off. That was the turning point.

Kallis hit couple of fours before he was caught behind by Dhoni of Joginder Singh. The ball pitched on the off and swung away took the edge to land in Dhoni's hand. Crucial 15th over added just 5 runs to the total and that put pressure on Bangalore.

The last 5 overs required 47 runs. The turning point was the wicket of Taylor, caught by Raina at covers and the breakthrough was provided by Amarnath. Kohli hit a crucial 4 of the last ball of the 16th over.

The 17th over turned out to be very crucial and turned the match upside down. Till then, it was in favor of Bangalore Royal Challengers. They needed 39 of4 24 balls with 6 wickets in hand.

Gony picked two crucial wickets--Boucher caught by Hussey at third man. The ball took thick outside edge and flew to third man. The next delivery was a single by Kohli and Dravid was trapped leg before, the first ball he faced. The TV replay showed the ball went above the stumps. The last ball was a four by Kohli.

The last 18 balls requied 31 with 4 wickets in hand. Kohli was out in the 2nd ball of the 18th over and that over had 6 runs for Bangalore.

The last 12 balls required 25 runs with 3 wickets in hand. The first and second ball were singles. Third ball was a four between gully and point. Fourth ball was no run.

Fifth ball was drivern to mid off, where Raina picked the ball and threw it to the wicket keeper's end where Zaheeer was well short of his crease. Dhoni collected the ball neatly and removed the bails in a flash,

Last ball was driven to long on by Akhil and he settles for a single. But, Praveen came back without looking at Akhil who was showing his hand indicating no second run. But, Praveen came back all the way to the non-strickers end. The ball was thrown to bowlers end to Oram, he in turn threw it to Dhoni and he removed the bails.

With last over requiring 17 with only one wicket in hand, first three balls were singles. Steyn scooped the low full toss to long on where Hussey took a good diving catch and that put an end to Bangalore Royal Challengers hopes. Chennai Super Kings Win four continous matches!

Score:

Match 15
Venue: Bangalore
Date: April 28, 2008
Teams: Chennai Super Kings v. Bangalore Royal Challengers
Captains: Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Rahul Dravid
Toss: Chennai Super Kings and decided to bat
Result: Chennai Super Kings won by 13 runs
Man of the Match: Mahendra Singh Dhoni of Chennai Super Kings (India)
Points: Chennai Super Kings-2; Bangalore Royal Challengers-0
Score:
Chennai Super Kings 178 for 5 in 20 overs (PA Patel 21, ML Hayden 13, MEK Hussey 47, SK Raina 28, MS Dhoni 65, JDP Oram 0 not out, Extras 4--lb 1, wide 3, DW Steyn 4-0-40-0, Z Khan 4-0-38-3, P Kumar 4-0-29-1, JH Kallis 4-0-36-0, B Akhil 4-0-34-0) beat Bangalore Royal Challengers 165 all out in 19.4 overs (B Chipli 8, W Jaffer 50, LRPL Taylor 53, JH Kallis 14, R Dravid 0, P Kumar 6, Z Khan 8, B Akhil 2 not out, DW Steyn 1, Extras 7--lb 1, wide 6, JDP Oram 4-0-27-0, M Gony 4-0-34-3, JA Morkel 4-0-38-1, P Amarnath 4-0-38-2, Joginder Sharma 3.4-0-27-2)

Match 14: Gilchrist's fastest Hundred gives Deccan Chargers First Win!

What an innings by Gilchrist? He played pull over mid wicket many a times in previous occassions, but today, it was almost like he was playing in the nets.

Even if the ball is slightly short of length, he bangged it over fence for a six. He didn't spare anyone including the Mumbai Indians captain Shaun Pollock. He hit him for 3 sixes in an over. No one was able to stop him! He reached his 100 in a record number of balls in IPL. This is the fastest hundred of the IPL tournament. The previous best was from another Australian, Symonds who scored it in 48 balls.

Gilchrist did it in 42 balls with 9 fours and 9 sixes. His 50 came in 28 balls with 7 fours and 3 sixes. When the partnership reached 100, Gilchrist scored 77 out of the 100 runs.

The match had fwe major records:

1. First 100 run partnership for the first wicket;
2. Gilchrist scored his century in 42 balls--the fastest in the IPL
3. First team to win with a 10 wicket victory;
4. First 150 run partnership for the first wicket or for any wicket
5. Most number of sixes in an innings--10

This is the first win for Hyderabad Deccan Chargers.

Earlier, Deccan Chargers restricted Mumbai Indians to a mere 154 in a good batting track. This score was not at all enough in this kind of wicket. Pollock, Nayar and Bravo gave Mumbai Indians the respectable total of 154. Pollock scored 31 off 31 balls, Nayar 34 off 19 balls with 1 four and 3 sixes and Bravo scored 34 off 18 balls with 3 fours and a six. RP Singh was the pick of the bowler with 2 for 15 of his 4 overs.

Finally Deccan Chargers have seen a victory and started their account in the points table.

Score:

Match 14
Venue: Mumbai
Date: April 27, 2008
Teams: Mumbai Indians v. Hyderabad Deccan Chargers
Captains: Shaun Pollock and VVS Laxman
Toss: Hyderabad Deccan Chargers and decided to field
Result: Hyderabad Deccan Chargers won by 10 wickets with 48 balls remaining
Man of the Match: Adam Gilchrist of Hyderabad Deccan Chargers (Australia)
Points: Hyderabad Deccan Chargers-2; Mumbai Indians-0
Score:
Mumbai Indians 154 for 7 in 20 overs (L Ronchi 13, ST Jayasuriya 18, AM Rahane 0, RV Uthappa 6, SM Pollock 31, AM Nayar 34, DJ Bravo 34, MA Khote 7 not out, Extras 11--b 2, lb 4, wide 3, nb 2, RP Singh 4-1-15-2, DNT Zoysa 4-0-30-1, SB Bangar 4-0-34-2, Shahid Afridi 4-0-32-2, PP Ojha 2-0-14-0, D Kalyankrishna 2-0-23-0) lost to Hyderabad Deccan Chargers 155 for no loss in 12 overs (AC Gilchrist 109 not out, VVS Laxman 37 not out, Extras 9--b 4, lb 1, wide 4, SM Pollock 2-0-33-0, DS Kulkarni 1-0-8-0, ST Jayasuriya 2-0-17-0, SD Chitnis 2-0-20-0, DJ Bravo 2-0-31-0, AM Nayar 1-0-22-0)

Chennai Super Kings win 4 in a row!

Chennai Super Kings win their fourth match in a row by beating Bangalore Royal Challengers by 13 runs. Dhoni was very cool and pulled the match out from nowhere. When Bangalore were going all guns, Dhoni kept his cool and did very good bowling changes. Morkel did not bowl well in his first few overs but he came back well. Similarly, Joginder also didn't bowl well but later came back well picking kallis wicket.

Requiring 17 of the last over with only one wicket in hand, Bangalore lost the wicket caught at long on by Hussey giving the victory to Chennai Super Kings.

Dhoni's batting was sparkling! He scored 38 runs of the last two overs to take Chennai to 178, which was struggling at go beyond 150 at one stage. He scored 65 off 30 balls with 9 fours and 3 sixes.

Congratulations Dhoni!

Dhoni Fires!

Dhoni has scored a quick fire 50 to help side Chennai Super Kings to reach 178 in 20 overs. He hit 22 runs in the 19th over bowled by Steyn. The first ball was a wide, the rebowled first ball was a four, second ball was also a four, third ball was a six, fourth and fifth ball were four, last ball was a single. Dhoni demolished the hopes of Bangalore Royal Challengers restricting Chennai within 150.

The last over bowled by Zaheer Khan. First ball was a slower ball missed by Dhoni, second ball was a four, third ball was a six, and fourth ball was a four.

He was then out in the 5th ball.

Dhoni blasted in the last two overs where he scored 37 runs.

He scored 65 off 30 balls with 9 fours and 3 sixes. He reached his 50 in 28 balls with 8 fours and 2 sixes.

What expected to be less than 150, Dhoni smashed all the balls and took Chennai Super Kings to 178. What a knock from the captain?

Match 13: Kings XI Punjab Wins!

It was Yuvi's day as his team continued their winning habit! Two in a row for Kings XI Punjab!

Winning the toss and deciding to bat first, Delhi lost its skipper Shewag for a mere 6. Dhawan followed him with a duck. At 2.3 overs, Delhi was struggling at 12 for 2. It was left to Gambhir and Shoaib Malik to recover Delhi. Gambhir who played some good shots did not stay long in the crease. He was out for 18 caught by Yuvaraj off VRV Singh. After a over, Shoaib also followed Gambhir to the pavilion leaving Delhi at 54 for 4 in 7.1 overs. Tiwari and Dinesh Karthik tried to revive the innings but Karthik was out for 24.

The 6th wicket partnershp of 37 between Tiwari and Bhatia was the highest for Delhi in this match. Bhatia and Tiwari fell in successive overs. Delhi was really struggling at 139 for 7 in 17.5 overs. Maharoof and Mahesh scored 19 runs of the last 13 balls and helped Delhi to go past 150 mark.

VRV Singh picked 3 wickets and Irfan Pathan picked 2.

Chasing 159, Kings XI didn't have a good start. They lost Goel for 1 and Sangakkara, the inform batsman for 4. They were 11 for 2 in 2 overs. Katich and Jayawardane played sensibly and took the score beyond 50. They added 58 for the 3rd wicket before Jayawardane was dismissed for 15.

Skipper Yuvaraj joined Katich and played a responsible innings. The partnership of 50 for the 4th wicket was broken through a run out. Katich was found short of his crease and was out for 75 of 52 balls with 11 fours and a six. His innings really helped Kings XI to see through the chase.

With 40 requiring of 6 overs, Yuvaraj sticked to the crease to ensure that he stays till the end. Srivatsava was out for 7; Pathan was out for 10. Yuvaraj's faced 29 balls for his 40 not out and hit 3 fours and 2 sixes. The target was reached in the last over 3rd ball. The last over required 1 run and a four was scored by Yuvaraj!

Score:

Match 13
Venue: Mohali
Date: April 27, 2008
Teams: Kings XI Punjab v. Delhi Daredevils
Captains: Yuvaraj Singh and Virendra Shewag
Toss: Delhi Daredevils and decided to bat
Result: Kings XI Punjab won by 4 wickets with 3 balls remaining
Man of the Match: Simon Katich of Kings XI Punjab (Australia)
Points: Kings XI Punjab-2; Delhi Daredevils-0
Score:
Delhi Daredevils 158 for 8 in 20 overs (G Gambhir 18, V Sehwag 6, S Dhawan 0, Shoaib Malik 19, MK Tiwary 39, KD Karthik 24, R Bhatia 17, MF Maharoof 18, VY Mahesh 6 not out, Extras 11--lb 5, wide 6, B Lee 4-0-33-1, IK Pathan 4-0-26-2, S Sreesanth 2-0-25-0, VRV Singh 4-0-29-3, PP Chawla 4-0-29-0, Yuvraj Singh 2-0-11-1) lost to Kings XI Punjab 162 for 6 in 19.3 overs (K Goel 1, SM Katich 75, KC Sangakkara 4, DPMD Jayawardene 15, Yuvraj Singh 40 not out, TM Srivastava 7, IK Pathan 10, B Lee 1 not out, Extras 9--lb 3, wide 4, nb 2, GD McGrath 4-0-29-1, Mohammad Asif 4-0-39-2, MF Maharoof 3-0-31-0, VY Mahesh 4-0-23-1, Shoaib Malik 3.3-0-32-1, R Bhatia 1-0-5-0)

Oram all praise for Dhoni!

Jacob Oram, the man of the match award winner for Chennai Super Kings against Kolkata Knight Riders, praised Dhoni on his captaincy skills. He said, he is a cool person and never allowed pressure inside or outside the dressing room.

On his own performance, though he was relieved but not happy with his performance. He said, he has to bowl well by keeping a good line and length. He was expensive in the previous games, but took two wickets in successive balls to dismiss McCullum and Ponting.

On his plan for Knight Riders, he said no special plans. “My plan was to keep it tight and choke them so that they will make mistakes,” he said.

On the future of this tournament for Chennai, he said, “it is still far too early to tag any team as a favourite. There is still a long way to go in the league and we need to keep performing like we did tonight,” he said.

Harbhajan Suspended!

Harbhajan Singh has been suspended till Monday, pending hearing. He has been served notice by the BCCI. He was asked to respond to the notice before Monday, April 28, 2008.

After the match between Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjba, which the later won, Sreesanth was seen crying and the TV cameras captured live pictures. Later it was found that the reason for outburst was none other than Bhajji. The offical broadcaster has captured the incident, BCCI said. Based on the evidence, he has been suspended and he has to respond by Monday.

For furthe news, click here!

Match 12: Rajasthan continue their Winning Habit! Watson Gives Breakthrough!

Winning the toss and knowing their strength, Warne decided put Bangalore Royal Challengers into bat first. Rajasthan Royals have won their match chasing and hence decided to do the same here.

Shane Watson provided vital break through by taking two crucial wickets. First ball of the innings was a single scored by Chandrapaul. Dravid was out in the first ball he faced and the 2nd ball of the innings. He pulled the short ball but it went high in the air to long leg where Jadeja took a good judging catch.

Taylor hit two sixes of Sohail Tanvir to take the score to 16 for 1 in 2 overs.

In the third over 2nd ball, like Dravid, Chandrapaul pulled it, but it went to third-main high in the air and Jadega took his second catch of the match.

The loss of 2 wickets did not stop Taylor from being aggressive. He hit 3 fours in Sohail Tanvir's bowling. Kallis joined the party and hit 2 fours of Watson. Taylor hit a four, six and a four of Patel to take the score to 57 for 2 in 6 overs. Kallis and Taylor lost their wickets in two continous overs leaving Bangalore Royal Challengers struggle at 65 for 4. Taylor pulled the ball and it went straight to Smith at deep square leg.

After the fall of these wickets, Bangalore never came back in the game. Kohli was out for 13, Boucher for 4, Joshi 3. It was Praveen Kumar who fought till the end and was out in the final over. He hit two continous sixes of Warne and he scored 34 of 30 balls. Royal Challengers ended their innings with 135 for 8, an easy target for Rajasthan Royals.

Rajasthan Royals started the innings by losing the wicket of Rawat for a duck. When the score was 26, the record holder for fastest fifty Yousuf Pathan was dismissed for 21. That was a good start for Banglore, but they didn't capitaliz it. The third wicket partnership of 104 between Smith and Watson helped Rajasthan to gain the winning points. Smith was out for 49 off Joshi, caught at long on. Watson reached his 50 of 34 balls with 6 fours and 2 sixes. Rajasthan Royals reached their winning runs in the first ball of the 18th over.

Shane Watson was declared man of the match for bagging 2 wickets and scoring 61 not out of 41 balls.

This was the first match in the IPL for Anil Kumble. He didn't get a chance to bat but he bowled well with an economical rate of 5.5 in his 4 overs with no wicket.

Score:

Match 12
Venue: Bangalore
Date: April 26, 2008
Teams: Bangalore Royal Challengers v. Rajasthan Royals
Captains: Rahul Dravid and Shane Warne
Toss: Rajasthan Royals and decided to field
Result: Rajasthan Royals won by 7 wickets with 17 balls remaining
Man of the Match: Shane Watson of Rajasthan Royals (Australia)
Points: Rajasthan Royals-2; Bangalore Royal Challengers-0
Score:
Bangalore Royal Challengers 135 for 8 in 20 overs (S Chanderpaul 2, R Dravid 0, LRPL Taylor 44, JH Kallis 11, V Kohli 13, MV Boucher 4, P Kumar 34, SB Joshi 3, Z Khan 17 not out, R Vinay Kumar 1 not out, Extras 6--lb 2, wide 3, nb 1, SR Watson 4-0-20-2, Sohail Tanvir 4-0-31-0, MM Patel 3-0-20-2, SK Trivedi 4-0-29-1, SK Warne 4-1-23-1, YK Pathan 1-0-10-0) lost to Rajasthan Royals 138 for 3 in 17.1 overs (GC Smith 49, M Rawat 0, YK Pathan 21, SR Watson 61 not out, M Kaif 4 not out, Extras 3--lb 1, wide 2, P Kumar 3-0-42-1, Z Khan 4-0-24-1, R Vinay Kumar 2-0-15-0, A Kumble 4-0-22-0, JH Kallis 1-0-7-0, SB Joshi 3.1-0-27-1)

Match 11: Chennai Super Kings record Hatrick Win!

What thought to be a very close fight between Kolkata Knight Riders and local Chennai Super Kings' s actually ended up as an easy win for Chennai Super Kings.

Winning the toss and deciding to bat immediately on the batting track, McCullum provided a good start by hitting the ball for fours and sixes.

Kolkata were scoring at 10 runs per over in the first 3 overs. They were 32 for no loss in the first 2.2 overs. Gony was hit for 16 runs in his first over with 2 fours and a six. McCullum hit Oram for a six in the 2nd ball of 3rd over and in the next ball, a full toss on middle and leg took the edge when McCullum tried to hit it in midwicket and flew to covers. He was out for 24 off 12 balls with 2 fours and 2 sixes.

Ponting's failure in this series continued when he was out for a first ball duck, caught at covers. He drove the ball to covers but in the air, that was the mistake.

The loss of two wickets in the successive balls put Kolkata in the back foot.


Saha played a quick firing innings but he didn't stay in the crease for longer. He hit 3 continous fours of Amarnath and helpd Kolkata Knight Riders to reach 50 at the end of the 5th over. He then hit a four and six of Gony and was out in the same over bowled by a beautiful in-swinging delivery.

Skipper Ganguly's tried to save his side, but he couldn't. Almost all of his shots did not go well as he did not time them well. He struggled against Muralitharan's spin and turn. He scored 1 runs of his first over other than the wide. Amarnath got David Hussey caught at point by Badrinath. The tight bowling by Murali forced Ganguly to take the risk with other bowlers and he fell pray for that. He was deceived by the slower ball from Joginder Sharma. He tried to clear the in-field, but it took the edge and went high in the air to covers. Badrinath took a good judging catch. He was out for 12 off 19 balls.

Shukla was a threat but not a big threat. He scored 42 off 33 balls that helped Kolkata to put a decent total on the board.

Chasing the target of 148, Patel and Hayden gave a good start. They added 66 for the first wicket, the highest first wicket partnership of the tournament so far. Patel played sensibly and gave a good company to Hayden. Patel was the only man to get out, when he tried to hook Agarkar which flew directly to deep square leg where Ishanth Sharma took a simple catch.

Dhoni moved himself up in the order and played a good innings to lead Chennai Super Kings to the winning score. He along with Hayden completed the formalities in 17 overs. Hayden scored his 50 in 39 balls with 5 fours and 2 sixes. Dhoni was not out on 43 off 27 balls with 3 fours and 2 sixes.

It was a sensible captainship by Dhoni who kept his cool throughout the match. Though Kolkata started the innings scoring 28 in the first two overs, he kept his cool and believed in his bowlers. While batting also, he moved himself up in the ladder and played sensibly to ensure that his side gets 3rd consecutive victory.

Score:

Match 11
Venue: Chennai
Date: April 26, 2008
Teams: Chennai Super Kings v. Kolkata Knight Riders
Captains: Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Sourav Ganguly
Toss: Kolkata Knight Riders and decided to bat
Result: Chennai Super Kings won by 9 wickets with 18 balls remaining
Man of the Match: Mathew Hayden of Chennai Super Kings (Australia)
Points: Chennai Super Kings-2; Kolkata Knight Riders-0
Score:
Kolkata Knight Riders 147 for 9 in 20 overs (SC Ganguly 12, BB McCullum 24, RT Ponting 0, WP Saha 27, DJ Hussey 0, Mohammad Hafeez 16, LR Shukla 42, AB Agarkar 11, M Kartik 3, I Sharma 4 not out, AB Dinda 0 not out, Extras 8--lb 2, wide 4, nb 2, JDP Oram 4-0-32-3, M Gony 4-0-40-2, P Amarnath 4-0-29-2, M Muralitharan 4-0-12-0, Joginder Sharma 4-0-32-1) lost to Chennai Super Kings 152 for 1 in 17 overs (PA Patel 21, ML Hayden 70 not out, MS Dhoni 43 not out, Extras 18--b 1, lb 4, wide 12, nb 1, AB Dinda 3-0-25-0, I Sharma 3-0-26-0, AB Agarkar 3-0-19-1, DJ Hussey 1-0-10-0, Mohammad Hafeez 2-0-16-0, M Kartik 3-0-33-0, LR Shukla 2-0-18-0)

Match 10: Lee's Spell Helps Kings XI to Win; Mumbai lost 3 in a Row!

What a bowling by Lee? He bowled every delivery like hitting with a fireball with full of positive energy and fire in the belly. He was economical and was responsible for taking a wicket and for the run out of Ronchi. His bowling figures were 4-0-9-1.

In his 2nd over, he took the wicket of Jayasuria, caught and bowled. It was a straight drive hit back to Lee, who took a good catch in the follow up. In the next delivery, Uthappa played soft and called for a single which Ronchi responded. But, Lee was quicker than Ronchi, who spirinted through the follow up, picked the ball and hit the stumps directly. The loss of two quick wickets in the same over put Mumbai Indians in the back foot with both the openers back in the pavilion.

Chasing a target of 183 which seemed easy in the Mohali wicket, down with 2 wickets, Mumbai never bounced back. They lost wickets at regular intervals. Uhappa and Bravo played sensibily and added 47 for the 3rd wicket, the only big partnership in the Mumbai Indian innings. Bravo tried to hit Chawla and missed it completely in the flight and was bowled. Uthappa was out in the next over caught by Sarwan off VRV Singh.

The only hope was Pollock, who contributed 22 off 21 balls with 2 fours and a six. But, no one gave him company and were losing their wickets. Tiwari was bowled by Chawla for 17, Nayar was caught by Chawla of Pathan for 2, Harbhajan was leg before to Pathan for a duck in the next ball of the same over. The hatrick was prevented by Khote.

With 82 required of 30 balls, Pollock has to slog every delivery. Yuvaraj took a stunning one-handed catch at extra cover. The first ball was a four and the next ball was a full toss and Pollock tryed to hit over extra covers. The ball was in the air where Yuvaraj jumped in the air, with his natural left hand going for the ball and it sit perfectly in his palms. It would definitely be one of the few competitors for the catch of the tournament. With that, the hopes of Mumbai Indians crashed.

Mumbai Indians finished their innings with 116 on the board and losing the match by 66 runs.

Both the teams losing their two previous matches and looking for their first win. Put into bat, Kings XI Punjab's innings was given a chance to fight by the 94 from Sangakkara. In his 73 runs partnership for the 2nd wicket, he scored 54 in 24 balls.

He reached his 50 in 23 balls with 9 fours and a six. In the 5th and 6th over bowled by Pollock and Kulkarni, he scored 18 and 17 runs respectively. Those two overs proved vital for building the innings.

Harbhajan was the pick of the bowler for Mumbai Indians picking 3 wickets.

Sangakkara was declared man of the match for his wonderful 94 with 13 fours and 1 six in his 56-ball innings. Skipper Yuvaraj Singh scored 18 of 9 balls with a four and a six. Bravo took a good forward diving catch at long off to send Yuvaraj back to pavilion.

Score:

Match 10
Venue: Mohali
Date: April 25, 2008
Teams: Kings XI Punjab v. Mumbai Indians
Captains: Yuvaraj Singh and Harbhajan Singh
Toss: Mumbai Indians and decided to field
Result: Kings XI Punjab won by 66 runs
Man of the Match: KC Sangakkara of Kings XI Punjab (Sri Lanka)
Points: Kings XI Punjab-2; Mumbai Indians-0
Score:
Kings XI Punjab 182 all out in 20 overs (K Goel 18, IK Pathan 6, KC Sangakkara 94, Yuvraj Singh 18, RR Sarwan 7, DPMD Jayawardene 12, S Sohal 0, B Lee 16 not out, PP Chawla 0, S Sreesanth 0, VRV Singh 4, Extras 7--b 1, lb 1, wide 4, nb 1, SM Pollock 4-0-40-1, A Nehra 3-0-22-2, DS Kulkarni 4-0-37-2, Harbhajan Singh 4-0-32-3, DJ Bravo 3-0-27-0, MA Khote 2-0-22-0) beat Mumbai Indians 117 for 9 in 20 overs (L Ronchi 11, ST Jayasuriya 1, RV Uthappa 21, DJ Bravo 23, SS Tiwary 17, SM Pollock 22, AM Nayar 2, Harbhajan Singh 0, MA Khote 8, DS Kulkarni 2 not out, A Nehra 2 not out, Extras 7--lb 1, wide 4, nb 2, B Lee 4-0-9-1, IK Pathan 4-1-19-2, VRV Singh 4-0-40-1, S Sreesanth 4-0-31-2, PP Chawla 4-0-16-2)

Match 9: Warne's spoils Symonds Century Party in a Thriller!

Symonds was a hero during batting and became villian while Bowling! Warne Spoiled Symond's Century Party!

What a match? It was Symonds who gave Deccan Charger the hope to win with his wonderful batting skills. He dominated the Rajasthan Royals throughout the innings and scored a magnificient century. This is the third century in this tournament. The other two were scored by McCullum and Mike Hussey.

Chasing the target of 215, Rajasthan Royals were not the favorites, though the pitched favored the batsman. Kamran Akmal and Smith opened the innings. The first ball drive from Akmal should have sent Smith back to pavilion as he was short of his crease, but the third umpire found the ball did not touch the bowler Vaas.

Akmal's inning was short and brief as he scored 12 off 9 balls with a four and six. He was caught at point by Bangar of Vaas.

Sending Yousuf Pathan was a good move by skipper Warne. He created the record for fastest fifty in the tournament when he reached the milestone in 21 balls with 2 fours and 6 sixes. He hit Vaas for 2 sixes and four and in the same over Smith hit a six. Vaas conceeded 22 runs in this 3rd over. He then hit RP Singh for a huge six over extra cover to reach his 50. When he tried to clear the boundary, he was caught at long on by Symonds off Kalyankrishna. He was out for 61 off 28 balls with 4 fours and 6 sixes.

Watson did not stay in the crease for long as he was dismissed for 4 in 6 balls.

Shaid Afridi was the pick of the bowlers in terms of taking wickets and also conceding runs. In his first two overs he gave away 17 runs with a wicket. In his thir over, he gave away just 5 runs. Smith reached his 50 in that over in 34 balls with 7 fours and a six.

It was Symond's 2nd over, which added momentum to the innings. Kaif hit 3 sixes--over midwicket, straight over bowlers head, and then over long on. That brought down the target from 76 off 36 balls to 56 off 30 balls.

The next over by Kalyankrishna also went in favor of Rajasthan Royals, who scored 17 runs--Smith scoring a six and a four and Kaif hitting a four over backward point.

At this stage, Rajasthan Royals required 39 in 24 balls. Deccan chargers still had the hope and possibility of registering their first win.

Vaas bowled the 17th over and conceeded 10 runs

With 29 in 18 balls, Shaid Afridi took 2 crucial wickets of well settled batsmen--Kaif caught by Symonds at long on and Smith caught at deep midwicket. Kaif scored 34 off 16 balls and Smith was out for 71 off 45 balls. This should have been utilized well by Deccan skipper Laxman, but the day belonged to Rajasthan. In the same over, Jadeja's catch was dropped by Kalyankrishna at deep midwicket. He took a good catch of the previous ball to send back Smith.

Warne was not able to score runs of the first two balls of Afridi. The first one was a faster one bowled at 115kph and he was beaten by the pace. The next ball pitched on the middle and leg was missed by Warne. Few words were exchanged between the two, which was started by Afridi.

The last ball went to a four off thick outside edge and it beat the short-third man. It was a good over bowled by Afridi, giving away 6 runs and taking 2 wickets.

With 23 to get off 12 balls, RP Singh removed Jadeja in the 2nd ball. In the same over 4th ball, Salunkhe was run out. The ball hit by Warne went straight to Laxman at covers and the runner did not see it and started running. RP Singh gave away just 6 runs

In the last over, Rajasthan Royals required 17 to get with 3 wickets in hand. Laxman picked experienced Symonds to bowl as other strike bowlers completed their quota of four overs.

First ball went to midwicket and Pankaj ran two runs.

The second ball was a low full toss and one run was scored.

With 14 off 4 balls, Warne hit the ball over Symond's head and it crossed the fence.

Tension everywhere. 10 requried off 3 balls.

The fourth ball was a huge six. Warne connected the ball well and it went off the middle of the bat over deep midwicket and went to the second tier.

4 required off 2 balls.

The fifth ball was also a six by Warne. He lead by example. The ball pitched short was well connected, half volley, just over the extra cover rope.

Rajasthan Royals won by 3 wickets with a ball to spare. Warne was the hero!

Earlier, Symonds scored a beautiful century that helped Deccan Chargers reach 214. He reached his 50 in 29 balls with 6 fours and 2 sixes. He along with Rohit Sharma built the innings for the 4th wicket with 111 run partnership of 84 balls.

Symonds did not spare Warne too as he hit him for two sixes. He scored 35 runs out of the total 47 runs given by Shane Warne in his 4 overs.

His huge six of Warne in the 18th over first ball took him to his hundred. He touched this milestone in 47 balls with 9 fours and 6 sixes. He was not out on 117 off 53 balls with 11 fours and 7 sixes and he gained the award of INR 100,000 for hitting highest sixes in this match.

Rohit Sharma played well and scored 36 off 30 balls with 3 fours and 1 six.

Warne picked 2 important wickets--Laxman and Rohit Sharma

The defeat puts Deccan Chargers in trouble with all 3 matches lost. They are yet to open their winning account. Let us hope they do it quickly and get back to form.

Score:

Match 9
Venue: Hyderabad
Date: April 24, 2008
Teams: Hyderabad Deccan Chargers v. Rajasthan Royals
Captains: VVS Laxman and Shane Warne
Toss: Rajasthan Royals and decided to field
Result: Rajasthan Royals won by 3 wickets with 1 ball remaining
Man of the Match: Yousuf Pathan of Rajasthan Royals (India)
Points: Rajasthan Royals-2; Deccan Chargers-0
Score:
Hyderabad Deccan Chargers 214 for 5 in 20 overs (AC Gilchrist 13, VVS Laxman 16, Shahid Afridi 10, A Symonds 117 not out, RG Sharma 36, AS Yadav 16, Extras 6--wide 5, nb 1, MM Patel 4-0-55-0,SR Watson 4-0-32-1,YK Pathan 2-0-20-2,Pankaj Singh 2-0-14-0,SK Trivedi 3-0-37-0,SK Warne 4-0-47-2,D Salunkhe 1-0-9-0) lost to Rajasthan Royals 217 for 7 in 19.5 overs (Kamran Akmal 12, GC Smith 71, YK Pathan 61, SR Watson 4, M Kaif 34, RA Jadeja 1, SK Warne 22 not out, D Salunkhe 1, Pankaj Singh 4 not out, Extras 7--lb 4, wide 2, nb 1, WPUJC Vaas 4-0-42-1,RP Singh 4-0-44-1,PP Ojha 2-0-23-0,D Kalyankrishna 3-0-30-1,Shahid Afridi 4-0-28-3,A Symonds 2.5-0-46-0)

Match 8: Chennai Super Kings wins the Thriller!

Chennai Super Kings have won their 2nd match by 6 runs in a close game against Mumbai Indians in Chennai. Chasing a target of 209 in 20 overs, Mumbai Indians came close towards the last 5 overs. Nayar and Harbhajan Singh showed some light to the Mumbai Indians, but Super Kings had the last laugh.

Requiring 19 runs of the last over, Nayar hit two consecutive boundaries of the first two balls to bring down the target to 11 runs in 4 balls. With the 3rd ball being a no ball and a run scored, the runs required came down to 9 of 4 balls. Nehra missed the free hit and scored a single of the the next delivery. With 8 runs required 2 balls, Nayar didn't score run and the last ball was a single. Joginder Sharma bowled well one more time in a crucial chase. He bowled the last over against Pakistan in the T20 final and won the game for India.

Earlier, Hayden scored 81 runs of 46 balls with 12 fours and 2 sixes to grab the man of the match award. Raina and Dhoni scored 53 off 37 balls and 30 off 16 balls respectively, which helped Chennai to go beyond 200 runs for the 2nd time.

It was surprising that Harbhajan didn't bowl is quota of 4 overs. In fact, he was the most economical bowler with 7 runs per over. He would have decided not to bowl considering the heavy dew in the ground and he could not get the grip of the ball.

For complete innings score and scores at the end of over, wicket description, click here!

Match 8
Venue: Chennai
Date: April 23, 2008
Teams: Chenani Super Kings v. Mumbai Indians
Captains: Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Harbhajan Singh
Toss: Mumbai Indians and decided to field
Result: Chennai Super Kings won by 6 runs
Man of the Match: Mathew Hayden of Chennai Super Kings (Australia)
Points: Chennai Super Kings-2; Mumbai Indians-0
Score:
Chennai Super Kings 208 for 5 in 20 overs (PA Patel 14, ML Hayden 81, MEK Hussey 5, SK Raina 53, MS Dhoni 30, JDP Oram 5 not out, S Badrinath 2 not out, Extras 18--b 4, lb 3, wide 9, nb 2, SM Pollock 3-0-32-0, A Nehra 4-0-35-1, DS Kulkarni 3-0-25-1, Harbhajan Singh 2-0-14-0, DJ Bravo 3-0-36-0, VS Yeligati 1-0-16-0, AM Nayar 1-0-14-0, MA Khote 3-0-29-2) beat Mumbai Indians 202 for 7 in 20 overs (L Ronchi 2, ST Jayasuriya 20, RV Uthappa 43, SM Pollock 17, DJ Bravo 24, AM Nayar 45 not out, MA Khote 9, Harbhajan Singh 28, A Nehra 1 not out, Extras 13--lb 5, wide 6, nb 2, JDP Oram 4-0-53-0, M Gony 4-1-18-1, Joginder Sharma 4-0-29-2, P Amarnath 4-0-57-1, M Muralitharan 4-0-40-2)

Match 8: Chennai Super Kings v. Mumbai Indians - Live Score

Match: 8
Toss: Mumbai Indians
Venue: MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
Captains: Dhoni (Chennai Super Kings) and Harbhajan Singh (Mumbai Indians)
Result: Chennai Super Kings win by 6 runs
Man of the Match: Matthew Hayden of Chennai Super Kings (Australia)
Chennai Super Kings score at the end of overs:

End of over 01, Pollock, 7 runs: 007/0 (Patel 6/6--1-4, Hayden 0/0, w 1)
End of over 02, Nehra, 9 runs: 016/0 (Patel 14/10--3-4s, Hayden 1/2, w 1)
End of over 03, Pollock, 18 runs: 034/0 (Patel 14/10--3-4, Hayden 15/8, w 1, b 4)

Parthiv Patel was out in the first ball of the 4th over bowled by Nehra. He was caught behind trying to slog over covers, took the slight edge and went straight to keeper, a regulation and easy catch.
Parthiv Patel (c) Ronchi (b) Nehra 14 off 11 balls with 3 fours; Score 34 for 1 in 3.1 overs
Hussey, the last time hero for Chennai Super Kings is in the crease.

End of over 04, Nehra, 1 run: 035/1 (Hayden 15/8, Hussey 1/5, w 1, b 4; Nehra 1 for 10)

Mike Hussey was out in the 4th ball of the 5th over, bowled by Dhawan when he tried to step out and hit him over midoff. He scored a four of the previous delivery stepping out and hitting over cover in the air.

Mike Hussye (b) Dhawal 5 off 9 balls with 1 four; Score 39 for 2 in 4.4 overs
Suresh Raina has entered the crease

End of over 05, Kulkarni, 5 runs: 040/2 (Hayden 15/8, Raina 1/1, w 1, b 4; Dhawan 1 for 5)

End of over 06, Nehra 13 runs: 053/2 (Hayden 24/12--4-4s; 1-6, Raina 2/2, w 3, b 4)

End of over 07, Kulkarni, 6 runs: 059/2 (Hayden 26/14--4-4s; 1-6, Raina 6/9, w 3, b 4, nb 1)

End of over 08, Harbhajan, 5 runs: 064/2 (Hayden 28/16--4-4s; 1-6, Raina 9/13, w 3, b 4, nb 1)

End of over 09, Bravo, 8 runs: 072/2 (Hayden 33/18--5-4s; 1-6, Raina 9/13, w 3, b 4, nb 1)

In the 3rd ball of the 10th over, Raina hit Harbhajan for a six over long off. It was a full toss on the offside and Raina utilized it well to clear the fence.

End of over 10, Harbhajan, 10 runs: 082/2 (Hayden 34/21--5-4s; 1-6, Raina 19/20--0-4; 1-6, w 3, b 4, nb 1, lb 2)

In the first ball of the 11th over, Raina hit Bravo for a six over mid wicket.

End of over 11, Bravo, 14 runs: 096/2 (Hayden 40/24--6-4s; 1-6, Raina 27/23--0-4; 2-6s, w 3, b 4, nb 1, lb 2)

End of over 12, Yeligati, 16 runs: 112/2 (Hayden 42/27--6-4s; 1-6, Raina 36/26--2-4s; 2-6s, w 8, b 4, nb 1, lb 2)

End of over 13, Pollock, 11 runs: 123/2 (Hayden 48/30--7-4s; 1-6, Raina 41/29--3-4s; 2-6s, w 8, b 4, nb 1, lb 2)

In the 3rd ball of the 14th over, Suresh Raina has hit a huge six ove midwicket of AM Nayar.
In the next ball, Nayar missed a straight simple caught and bowled chance for Raina.

Hayden scores his 50 with a six over long on off AM Nayar. What a way to bring his fifty with a huge six.

End of over 14, Nayar, 14 runs: 137/2 (Hayden 55/33--7-4s; 2-6, Raina 48/32--3-4s; 3-6s, w 8, b 4, nb 1, lb 2)

In the first ball of the 15t over, Hayden and Raina completed 100 runs partnership for the 3rd wicket in 58 balls; Raina reached his 50 in 33 balls with 3 fours and 3 sixes and Hayden contributed 55 in 33 balls.

Suresh Raina was out in the last ball of the 15th over Caught at long on by Bravo of Khote. When he tried to clear the long on, it went straight to the fielder.
Suresh Raina (c) Bravo (b) Khote 53 off 37 balls with 3 fours and 3 sixes; Score 143 for 3 in 15 overs. That brings Dhoni, the skipper into the crease.

End of over 15, Khote, 6 runs: 143/3 (Hayden 56/34--7-4s; 2-6, Dhoni 0/0, w 8, b 4, nb 1, lb 2)

End of over 16, Bravo, 15 runs: 158/3 (Hayden 61/36--7-4s; 2-6, Dhoni 9/4--2-4s, w 9, b 4, nb 1, lb 2)

End of over 17, Khote, 10 runs: 168/3 (Hayden 67/39--8-4s; 2-6, Dhoni 13/7--2-4s, w 9, b 4, nb 1, lb 2)

End of over 18, Kulkarni, 14 runs: 182/3 (Hayden 76/42--10-4s; 2-6, Dhoni 18/10--3-4s, w 9, b 4, nb 1, lb 2)

In the 5th ball of the 19th over, Hayden and Dhoni completed 50 runs partnership for the 4th wicket in 24 balls.

In the last ball of the 19th over, Hayden was run out with a direct hit from mid-wicket by Harbhajan Singh. Dhoni hit the ball to midwicket and they were running for a single. Harbhajan fielded the ball and threw hit at the striker's end where Hayden was running. The direct hit sent Hayden back to pavilion.

Hayden run out (Harbhajan Singh) 81/46--11-4s, 2-6s

End of over 19, Nehra, 12 runs: 194/4 (Dhoni 24/13--4-4s, w 9, b 4, nb 2, lb 2)

In the first ball of the 20th over, Dhoni hit a huge six over bowler's head off Kulkarni and that helped Chennai Super Kings to cross 200 run mark for the 2nd consecutive time.

Dhoni was caught at long on when he tried to hit for a six. The ball went high in the air and Bravo took a very good catch at long on.

Dhoni (c) Bravo (b) Kulkarni 30/15--4-4s, 1-6

End of over 20, Khote, 14 runs: 208/5 (Oram 5/2, Barinath 2/1--w 9, b 4, nb 2, lb 3)

Parthiv Patel (c) Ronchi (b) Nehra 14/11 - 3-4s, 0-6
Matthew Hayden run out Harbhajan Singh 81/46 - 11-4s, 2-6
Mike Hussey (b) Kulkarni 5/9 - 1-4, 0-6
Suresh Raina (c) Bravo (b) Khote 53/37 - 3-4s, 3-6s
Mahendra Singh Dhoni (c) Bravo (b) Kulkarni 30/15 - 4-4s, 1-6
Jacob Oram Not Out 5/2 - 1-4
S Badrinath Not Out 2/2
Extra (bye 4, wide 9, no ball 2, leg bye 2) 17

Score: 208 for 5 in 20 overs

Fall of Wickets: 1-34 (Patel-3.1 overs); 2-39 (Hussey-4.4 overs); 3-143 (Raina--15.0 overs); 4-194 (Hayden--19.0 overs); 5-206 (Dhoni--19.5 overs)

SM Pollock 3-0-32-0 (1w)
A Nehra 4-0-35-1 (1nb, 2w)
DS Kulkarni 3-0-25-1 (1nb)
Harbhajan Singh 2-0-14-0
DJ Bravo 3-0-36-0 (1w)
VS Yeligati 1-0-16-0 (1w)
AM Nayar 1-0-14-0
MA Khote 3-0-29-2



MUMBAI INNINGS (target 209 in 20 overs at 10.45 runs per over)

In the last ball of the first over, Ronchi was run out. Jayasuria played the ball to the point, Badrinath fielded it and threw it at the non-striker's end with a direct hit. The third umpire found him well short of his crease and Mumbai Indians lost their first wicket. Robin Uthappa comes to the crease.

L Ronchi run out Badrinath 2/3
End of over 01, Oram, 9 runs: 009/1 (Jayasuriya 5/3--1-4, Uthappa 0/0, w 2)

End of over 02, Gony, 0 runs (4 lb): 013/1 (Jayasuriya 5/3--1-4, Uthappa 0/5, w 2, lb 4)

End of over 03, Oram, 12 runs: 025/1 (Jayasuriya 16/8--3-4s, Uthappa 1/7, w 2, lb 4)

Jayasuria tried to hit the ball over long on, but it took the edge and went high in the air. Joginder Sharma took a good catch to send Jayasuria back to the pavilion. Mumbai Indians lost their 2nd wicket at 30.

Jayasuria (c) Joginder Sharma (b) Gony 20/11--4-4s

End of over 04, Gony, 6 runs: 031/2 (Uthappa 2/10, Pollock 0/0, w 2, lb 4)

In the 3rd ball of the 5th over, Uthappa hit a six over long on of Jacob Oram. That is the 100th six of the tournament.

End of over 05, Oram, 19 runs: 050/2 (Uthappa 21/16--3-4s, 1-6, Pollock 0/0, w 2, lb 4)

End of over 06, Gony, 2 runs: 052/2 (Uthappa 22/20--3-4s, 1-6, Pollock 1/2, w 2, lb 4)

End of over 07, Joginder Sharma, 5 runs: 057/2 (Uthappa 25/24--3-4s, 1-6, Pollock 3/4, w 2, lb 4)

End of over 08, Gony, 11 runs: 068/2 (Uthappa 32/28--4-4s, 1-6, Pollock 6/7, w 2, lb 4)

End of over 09, Amarnath, 7 runs: 075/2 (Uthappa 38/23--5-4s, 1-6, Pollock 7/8, w 2, lb 4)

Robin Uthappa is out!! Bowled by Joginder Sharma. Crucial wicket taken by Chennai Super Kings. He tried to slog and missed the ball completely. The ball uprooted the leg stump. Bravo is in the increase.

Robin Uthappa (b) Joginder Sharma 43/36--6-4s, 1-6

End of over 10, Joginder Sharma, 8 runs: 083/3 (Pollock 9/10, Bravo 1/1, w 2, lb 4)

End of over 11, Muralitharan, 7 runs: 090/3 (Pollock 11/13, Bravo 3/4, w 5, lb 4)

Pollock hit a six over cover off Amarnath. That was a good hit and cleared the fence.

Pollock was bowled the next delivery when he tried to slog the ball. He has to slog as there is nothing he can do about it.

Pollock (b) Amarnath 17/15--0-4, 1-6

End of over 12, Amarnath, 9 runs: 099/4 (Bravo 5/7, Nayar 1/1, w 5, lb 4)

In the 13th over first ball, Bravo hit a huge six over long on off Muralitharan. The ball pitched on the leg and middle, Bravo, hit it over long standing in the crease.

End of over 13, Muralitharan, 11 runs: 110/4 (Bravo 13/11--0-4, 1-6, Nayar 3/3, w 6, lb 4)

In the 3rd ball of the 14th over, Badrinath trying to run out Bravao, took a shy at the stumps, but the ball hit Bravo's bat and ran to the boundary. Five runs added to the total.

End of over 14, Amarnath, 20 runs: 130/4 (Bravo 24/14--2-4, 1-6, Nayar 12/6--1-4, w 6, lb 4)

Bravo was brilliantly caught by Oram at long off. Bravo giving himself room, scoops the ball over long off, the ball was travelling fast, Oram took a brilliant catch.

Bravo (c) Oram (b) Joginder Sharma 24/16--2-4s, 1-6

End of over 15, Joginder Sharma, 4 runs: 134/5 (Nayar 12/6--1-4, Khote 3/3, w 6, lb 4)

Khote hit a six off Muralithan in the 2nd ball.
Khote trying to hit another six, was caught by Raina of Muralitharan.
Khote (c) Raina (b) Muralitharan 9/5--0-4, 1-6

End of over 16, Muralitharan, 13 runs: 147/6 (Nayar 19/10--2-4s, Harbhajan 1/1, w 6, lb 4)

Harbhajan hit a six in the first ball of the 17th over bowled by Amarnath.
Amarnath hit a six off the last ball.

End of over 17, Amarnath, 21 runs: 168/6 (Nayar 33/13--4-4s, 1-6, Harbhajan 8/4, w 6, lb 4)

Harbhajan hits a six over long on of the 3rd ball
Harbhajan hits another six over long off of the next ball, big six!

End of over 18, Oram, 13 runs: 181/6 (Nayar 33/13--2-4s, Harbhajan 21/10--0-3, 3-6s, w 6, lb 4)

2 overs 28 runs required
11 balls 26 runs
10 balls 25 runs
9 balls 24 runs
8 balls 20 runs
7 balls 20 runs, wicket

Harbhajan trying to hit a six, hit the balls way high in the sky where Badrinath took a good judging catch.

Harbhajan Singh (c) Badrinath (b) Muralitharan 28/14--1-4, 3-6s

End of over 19, Muralitharan, 9 runs: 190/7 (Nayar 35/15--4-4s, 1-6, , w 6, lb 4)

Last over to be bowled by Joginder Sharma, 19 runs required.

6 balls 19 runs (4 runs)
5 balls 15 runs (4 runs)
4 balls 11 runs (1 runs + no ball, next is free hit)
4 balls 9 runs (no run)
3 balls 9 runs (1 run)
2 balls 8 runs (no run)
1 ball 8 runs (1 run)

End of over 20, Joginder Sharma, 12 runs: 202/7 (Nayar 45/20--6-4s, 1-6, w 6, lb 5, nb 2)

Mumbai Indians Batting Card (target 209 in 20 overs at 10.45 runs per over)

Jayasuriya (c) Joginder Sharma (b) Gony 20/11 - 4-4s
L Ronchi run out Badrinath 2/3
Uthappa (b) Joginder Sharma 43/36 - 6-4s, 1-6
Shaun Pollock (b) Amarnath 17/15 - 0-4, 1-6
Bravo (c) Oram (b) Joginder Sharma 24/16 - 2-4, 1-6
AM Nayar not out 45/20 - 6-4s, 1-6
Khote (c) Raina (b) Muralithanran 9/5 - 0-4, 1-6
Harbhajan Sing (c) Badrinath (b) Muralitharan 28/14 - 1-4, 3-6s
Nehra not out 1/2

Extras 13 (lb 5, w 6, nb 2)

Score 202 for 7 in 20 overs

Fall of Wickets: 1-9 (Ronchi-1.0 overs); 2-30 (Jayasuria--3.4 overs); 3-81 (Uthappa--9.4 overs); 4-104 (Pollock--11.4 overs); 5-130 (Bravo--14.2 overs); 6-140 (Khote--15.3 overs); 7-189 (Harbhajan--18.5 overs)

Chennai Super Kings Bowling:

JDP Oram 4-0-53-0 (2w)
M Gony 4-1-18-1 (1nb)
Joginder Sharma 4-0-29-2 (1nb)
P Amarnath 4-0-57-1
M Muralitharan 4-0-40-2 (4w)

Mumbai Indians win the toss and fielding first!

Harbhajan Singh has won the toss for Mumbai Indians and he has decided to field first. It was tough decision, but he has taken it.

Mumbai has good bowling line up with Bravo from West Indies joining the team. Pollock, the strike bowler and Bravo will be the other leading bowler. Harbhajan v. Hayden will be a good contest to watch.

The wicket has been described as a good batting wicket and expect to be a high scoring match.

Sachin Not Playing Against Chennai!

Sachin not playing the 2nd match also. He is still not fit and Harbhajan Singh has been asked to lead the side one more time.

It is going to be a good contest against Chennai, the home team.

Mumbai struggling with one defeat in the match they played, has to win and Chennai already gained 2 points.

Tendulkar Still Not Fit for match against Chennai!

The Mumbai Indians are playing against the Chennai Super Kings on April 23 in Chennai. Chennai is taking Mumbai with two advantages--with a win in the previous match and then playing against Mumbai in front of the home crowd.

With already one game down, Mumbai has to play their second game also without the master batsman Sachin Tendulkar. It is said that he is still not fit and may not be playing against Chennai.

We have to wait and see until the game starts to see whether the Chennai crowd will get a glimpse of Sachin in the play ground!

It will be the first time that Chennai wanted Sachin to get out without scoring if he plays or pray that he doesn't play, which no one wanted to happen!

IPL - Man of the Match List

One of the key item in a game is awarding the key player of the match. He has been selected based on several criterias, more specifically how his contribution helped his team to win. Here, we will see the list of Man of the Match Winners in the current version of IPL 2008 T20:

Match 1: Kolkata Knight Riders v. Bangalore Royal Challengers, April 18, 2008 at Bangalore, Kolkata Knight Riders won by 140 runs: B McCullum of Kolkata Knight Riders

Match 2: Kings XI Punjab v. Chennai Super Kings, April 19, 2008 at Mohali, Chennai Super Kings won by 33 runs: MEK Hussey off Chennai Super Kings

Match 3: Delhi Daredevils v. Rajasthan Royals, April 19, 2008 at Delhi, Delhi Daredevils won by 9 wickets with 29 balls remaining: MF Maharoof off Delhi Daredevils

Match 4: Kolkata Knight Riders v. Hyderabad Deccan Chargers, April 20, 2008 at Kolkata, Kolkata Knight Riders won by 5 wickets with 6 balls remaining: DJ Hussey of Kolkata Night Riders

Match 5: Mumbai Indians v. Bangalore Royal Challengers, April 20, 2008 at Mumbai, Bangalore Royal Challengers won by 5 wickets with 2 balls remaining: Mark Boucher off Bangalore Royal Challengers

Match 6: Rajasthan Royals v. Kings XI Punjab, April 21, 2008 at Jaipur, Rajasthan Royals won by 6 wickets with 11 balls remaining: Shane Watson off Rajasthan Royals

Match 7: Hyderabad Deccan Chargers v. Delhi Daredevils, April 22, 2008 at Hyderabad, Delhi Daredevils won by 9 wickets with 42 balls remaining: Virendra Shewag off Delhi Daredevils

Match 8: Chennai Super Kings v. Mumbai Indians, April 23, 2008 at Chennai, Chennai Super Kings won by 6 runs : Mathew Hayden off Chennai Super Kings

Match 9: Hyderabad Deccan Chargers v. Rajasthan Royals, April 24, 2008 at Hyderabad, Rajasthan Royals won by 3 wickets with 1 ball remaining: Yousuf Pathan off Rajasthan Royals

Match 10: Kings XI Punjab v. Mumbai Indians, April 25, 2008 at Mohali, Kings XI Punjab won by 66 runs: KC Sangakkara off Kings XI Punjab

Match 11: Chennai Super Kings v. Kolkata Knight Riders, April 26, 2008 at Chennai, Chennai Super Kings won by 9 wickets with 18 balls remaining: Mathew Hayden off Chennai Super Kings

Match 12: Bangalore Royal Challengers v. Rajasthan Royals, April 26, 2008 at Bangalore, Rajasthan Royals won by 7 wickets with 17 balls remaining: Shane Watson off Rajasthan Royals

Match 13: Kings XI Punjab v. Delhi Daredevils, April 27, 2008 at Mohali, Kings XI Punjab won by 4 wickets with 3 balls remaining: Simon Katich off Kings XI Punjab

Match 14: Mumbai Indians v. Hyderabad Deccan Chargers, April 27, 2008 at Mumbai, Hyderabad Deccan Chargers won by 10 wickets with 48 balls remaining: Adam Gilchrist off Hyderabad Deccan Chargers

Match 15: Bangalore Royal Challengers v. Chennai Super Kings, April 28, 2008 at Bangalore, Chennai Super Kings won by 13 runs: Mahendra Singh Dhoni off Chennai Super Kings

Match 16: Kolkata Knight Riders v. Mumbai Indians, April 29, 2008 at Kolkata, Mumbai Indians won by 7 wickets with 8 balls remaining: Sanath Jayasuriya off Mumbai Indians

Match 17: Bangalore Royal Challengers v. Delhi Daredevils, April 30, 2008 at Bangalore, Delhi Daredevils won by 10 runs: Glen McGrath off Delhi Daredevils

Match 18: Rajasthan Royals v. Kolkata Knight Riders, May 1, 2008 at Jaipur, Rajasthan Royals won by 45 runs: SA Asnodkar off Rajasthan Royals

Match 19: Hyderabad Deccan Chargers v. Kings XI Punjab, May 1, 2008 at Hyderabad, Kings XI Punjab won by 7 wickets with 7 balls remaining: SE Marsh off Kings XI Punjab

Match 20: Chennai Super Kings v. Delhi Daredevils, May 2, 2008 at Chennai, Delhi Daredevils won by 8 wickets with 6 balls remaining: Virendra Shewag off Delhi Daredevils

Match 21: Bangalore Royal Challengers v. Hyderabad Deccan Chargers, May 3, 2008 at Bangalore, Bangalore Royal Challengers won by 3 runs: Praveen Kumar off Bangalore Royal Challengers

Match 22: Kings XI Punjab v. Kolkata Knight Riders, May 3, 2008 at Mohali, Kings XI Punjab won by 9 runs: Irfan Pathan off Kings XI Punjab

Match 23: Mumbai Indians v. Delhi Daredevils, May 4, 2008 at Mumbai, Mumbai Indians won by 29 runs: Shaun Pollock off Mumbai Indians

Match 24: Rajasthan Royals v. Chennai Super Kings, May 4, 2008 at Jaipur, Rajasthan Royals won by 8 wickets with 34 balls remaining: Sohail Tanvir off Rajasthan Royals

Match 25: Bangalore Royal Challengers v. Kings XI Punjab, May 5, 2008 at Bangalore, Kings XI Punjab won by 6 wickets with 10 balls remaining: S Sreesanth off Kings XI Punjab

Match 26: Chennai Super Kings v. Hyderabad Deccan Chargers, May 6, 2008 at Chennai, Hyderabad Deccan Chargers won by 7 wickets with 12 balls remaining: AC Gilchrist off Hyderabad Deccan Chargers

Match 27: Mumbai Indians v. Rajasthan Royals, May 7, 2008 at Mumbai, Mumbai Indians won by 7 wickets with 29 balls remaining: A Nehra off Mumbai Indians

Match 28: Delhi Daredevils v. Chennai Super Kings, May 8, 2008 at Delhi, Chennai Super Kings won by 4 wickets with 0 balls remaining: MS Dhoni off Chennai Super Kings

Match 29: Kolkata Knight Riders v. Bangalore Royal Challengers, May 8, 2008 at Kolkata, Kolkata Knight Riders won by 5 runs: Sourav Ganguly off Kolkata Knight Ridres

Match 30: Rajasthan Royals v. Hyderabad Deccan Chargers, May 9, 2008 at Jaipur, Rajasthan Royals won by 8 wickets with 24 balls remaining: Yousuf Pathan of Rajasthan Royals

Match 31: Chennai Super Kings v. Kings XI Punjab, May 10, 2008 at Chennai, Chennai Super Kings won by 18 runs: Mahendra Singh Dhoni of Chennai Super Kings

Match 32: Hyderabad Deccan Chargers v. Kolkata Knight Riders, May 11, 2008 at Hyderabad, Kolkata Knight Riders won by 23 runs: Sourav Ganguly of Kolkata Knight Riders

Match 33: Rajasthan Royals v. Delhi Daredevils, May 11, 2008 at Jaipur, Rajasthan Royals won by 3 wickets with 5 balls remaining: Shane Watson of Rajsthan Royals

Match 34: Kings XI Punjab v. Bangalore Royal Challengers, May 12, 2008 at Mohali, Kings XI Punjba won by 9 wickets with 26 balls remaining: SE Marsh of Kings XI Punjab

Match 35: Kolkata Knight Riders v. Delhi Daredevils, May 13, 2008 at Kolkata, Kolkata Knight Riders won by 23 runs: Shoaib Akhtar of Kolkata Knight Riders

Match 36: Mumbai Indians v. Chennai Super Kings, May 14, 2008 at Mumbai, Mumbai Indians won by 9 wickes with 37 balls remaining: Sanath Jayasuriya of Mumbai Indians

Match 37: Delhi Daredevils v. Deccan Chargers, May 15, 2008 at Delhi, Delhi Daredevils won by 12 runs: Amit Mishra of Delhi Daredevils

Match 38: Mumbai Indians v Kolkata Knight Riders, May 16, 2008 at Mumbai, Mumbai Indians won by 8 wickets with 87 balls remaining: SM Pollock of Mumbai Indians

Match 39: Rajasthan Royals v Bangalore Royal Challengers, May 17, 2008 at Jaipur, Rajasthan Royals won by 65 runs: GS Smith of Rajasthan Royals

Match 40: Delhi Daredevils v Kings XI Punjab, May 17, 2008 at Delhi, Kings XI Punjab won by 6 runs in D/L Method: DPMD Jayawardane of Kings XI Punjab

Match 41st match: Kolkata Knight Riders v Chennai Super Kings, May 18, 2008 at Kolkata, Chennai Super Kings won by 3 runs in D/L Method: M Ntini of Chennai Super Kings

Match 42nd match: Deccan Chargers v Mumbai Indians, May 18, 2008 at Hyderabad, Mumbai Indians won by 25 runs: DJ Bravo of Mumbai Indians

Match 43rd match: Bangalore Royal Challengers v Delhi Daredevils, May 19, 2008 at Bangalore, Delhi Daredevils won by 5 wickets with 10 balls remaining: SP Goswami of Bangalore Royal Challengers

Match 44: Kolkata Knight Riders v Rajasthan Royals, May 20, 2008 at Kolkata, Rajasthan Royals won by 6 wickets with 21 balls remaining: Yousuf Pathan of Rajasthan Royals

Match 45: Mumbai Indians v Kings XI Punjab, May 21, 2008 at Mumbai, Kings XI Punjab won by 1 run: SE Marsh off Kings XI Punjab

Match 46: Chennai Super Kings v Bangalore Royal Challengers, May 21, 2008 at Chennai, Bangalore Royal Challengers won by 14 runs: Anil Kumble of Bangalore Royal Challengers

Match 47: Delhi Daredevils v Kolkata Knight Riders, May 22, 2008 at Delhi, Match Abandoned Due to Rain: No Man of the Match

Match 48: Kings XI Punjab v Deccan Chargers, May 23, 2008 at Mohali, Kings XI Punjab won by 6 wickets with 3 balls remaining: SE Marsh of Kings XI Punjab

Match 49: Chennai Super Kings v Rajasthan Royals, May 24, 2008 at Chennai, Rajasthan Royals won by 10 runs: JA Morkel of Chennai Super Kings

Match 50: Delhi Daredevils v Mumbai Indians, May 24, 2008 at Delhi, Delhi Daredevils won by 5 wickets with 1 ball remaining: KD Karthik of Delhi Daredevils

Match 51st match: Deccan Chargers v Bangalore Royal Challengers, May 25, 2008 at Hyderabad, Bangalore Royal Challengers won by 5 wickets with 6 balls remaining: R Vinay Kumar of Bangalore Royal Challengers

Match 52nd match: Kolkata Knight Riders v Kings XI Punjab, May 25, 2008 at Kolkata, Kolkata Knight Riders won by 3 wickets with 2 balls remaining: Umar Gul of Kolkata Knight Riders

Match 53rd match: Rajasthan Royals v Mumbai Indians, May 26, 2008 at Jaipur, Rajasthan Royals won by 5 wickets with 0 balls remaining: Sohail Tanvir of Rajasthan Royals

Match 54: Deccan Chargers v Chennai Super Kings, May 27, 2008 at Hyderabad, Chennai Super Kings won by 7 wickets with 4 balls remaining: Suresh Raina of Chennai Super Kings

Match 55: Bangalore Royal Challengers v Mumbai Indians, May 28, 2008 at Bangalore, Mumbai Indians won by 9 wickets with 12 balls remaining: CRD Fernando of Mumbai Indians

Match 56: Kings XI Punjab v Rajasthan Royals, May 28, 2008 at Mohali, Kings XI Punjab won by 41 runs: SE Marsh of Kings XI Punjab

Match 57, Semi Final 1: Rajasthan Royals v. Delhi Daredevils, May 30, 2008 at Mumbai, Rajasthan Royals won by 105 runs: SR Watson of Rajasthan Royals

Match 58, Semi Final 2: Chennai Super Kings v. Kings XI Punjab, May 31, 2008 at Mumbai, Chennai Super Kings won by 9 wickets with 31 balls remaining: M Ntini of Chennai Super Kings

Match 7: Shewag and Delhi Bowling Demolish Deccan Chargers!

For the second time, the Deccan Chargers have failed to prove their credibility in the 20-20 and IPL. The team lead by Laxman once again failed to win their match and has faced two consecutive defeats.

Winning the toss, but taking a bad decision to bat first, Laxman did not had anything go in favor of him except the last few overs of his teams batting. Including his form, everything has been questioned on the teams performance. He has scored just 2 runs in two games with the a duck in the first game.

The swing the pitch offered in addition to the natural ability of McGrath put Hyderabad Deccan Chargers in the back foot. No one was able to make big hits as they were not timing the ball. At the end of the 10th over, Deccan Chargers were 45 for 4 with all the leading batsman back in the pavilion--Gilchrist (8), Venugopal Rao (14), Laxman (2) and Andrew Symonds (12).

It was the young Rohit Sharma who took charge of the innings, but at the later part of the overs. He was playing singles to ensure that they score at least run a ball so that they can cross 100.

The over from Maharoof proved to be vital and provided a hope for Deccan Chargers. Rohit hit 26 runs of Maharoof's final over and the 18th over of the innings. That took the score from 90 for 7 in 17 overs to 116 for 6 in 18. Rohit was out in the next over, but the remaining batsman were slogging and scored 26 runs in the last two overs to give Deccan a decent total of 142 for 8. Rohit scored 66 off 36 balls with 6 fours and 4 sixes.

Delhi, looking for their 2nd win, reached home with another 2 points comfortably in just 13.1 overs. Skipper Virendra Shewag smashed Deccan bowling all over the ground. Though he was lucky not to be given out in the 1st over, he scored a firing 94 not out off 41 balls with 10 fours and 6 sixes. He dominated the complete innings with huge hits over the ground.

The 12th over of the innings bowled by Symonds had seen highest run conceding over in the game. Shewag scored 30 runs in that over with alternates of forus and sixes--four, six, four, six, four, six.

Shewag as declared man of the match, the first Indian to get the award in the tournament.

In the 4th ball of the 12th over, the ball hit the helmet and Deccan Chargers were penalized for that. It was a bonus of 5 runs to Delhi.

Match 7
Venue: Hyderabad
Date: April 22, 2008
Teams: Hyderabad Deccan Chargers v. Delhi Daredevils
Captains: VVS Laxman and Virendra Shewag
Toss: Hyderabad Deccan Chargers and decided to bat
Result: Delhi Daredevils won by 9 wickets with 42 balls remaining
Man of the Match: Virendra Shewag of Delhi Daredevils (India)
Points: Delhi Daredevils-2; Hyderabad Deccan Chargers-0
Score:
Hyderabad Deccan Chargers 142 for 8 in 20 overs (AC Gilchrist 8, Y Venugopal Rao 14, VVS Laxman 2, A Symonds 12, RG Sharma 66, Shahid Afridi 2, SB Bangar 8, AS Yadav 12, WPUJC Vaas 12 not out, RP Singh 1 not out, Extras 5--lb 3, wide 1, nb 1, GD McGrath 4-1-22-0, Mohammad Asif 4-0-19-2, MF Maharoof 4-0-36-2, VY Mahesh 4-0-35-1, R Bhatia 4-0-27-2) lost to Delhi Daredevils 143 for 1 in 13 overs (G Gambhir 12, V Sehwag 94 not out, S Dhawan 25 not out, Extras 12--wide 7, penalty 5, WPUJC Vaas 3-0-22-0, RP Singh 3-0-27-1, SB Bangar 2-0-30-0, Shahid Afridi 2-0-17-0, A Symonds 2-0-35-0, PP Ojha 1-0-7-0)

Match 6: Watson helps Rajasthan Royals to register first win!

Splendid innings by Shane Watson helped Rajasthan Royals to register their first win of the IPL tournament. At one stage, what looked like the second defeat for Rajasthan Royals, was turned completely by Shane Watson and RA Jadeja.

Chasing a target of 167, Rajasthan lead by Shane Warne lost the first three wickets of Kaif, Yousuf Pathan and Kamran Akmal for 48 runs in the first 5 overs. With the run rate not picking up, and requiring 102 in the last 12 overs, Watson and Lehman scored 34 runs in 3 overs which actually helped the Rajasthan to start the momentum.

But, in the 12th over, Lehman was trapped leg before off Irfan Pathan. With 4 wickets lost, and requiring 68 in 52 balls, Jadeja joined Watson and they helped Rajsthan to have the last laugh. Jadeja hit quick fire 36 of 25 balls with 5 fours and 1 six. Watson scored 72 off 48 balls with 4 fours and 5 sixes. It was an elctrifying knock from both Jadeja and Watson.

What said to be a team with no big stars like Smith of South Africa, and Pakisani players, Shane Warne has won the game for Rajasthan Royals.

Earlier, winning the toss and deciding to bat first, Kings XI Punjab had a good start. The fielding lapses by the Rajasthan gave a good chance to Punjab to put a fighting total in the board. It was Lehman's drop catch for Yuvaraj proved costly for Rajasthan.

Skipper Yuvaraj was the top scorer for Punjab with 57 of 34 balls with 6 fours and 3 sixes. It was the 5th wicket partnership of 63 runs in 47 balls between Yuvaraj and Irfan Pathan helped Kings XI to put a decent total. Shane Warne picked 3 wickets giving away 19 runs in his quota of 4 overs.

Match 6
Venue: Jaipur
Date: April 21, 2008
Teams: Kings XI Punjab v. Rajasthan Royals
Captains: Yuvaraj Singh and Shane Warne
Toss: Kings XI Punjab and decided to bat
Result: Rajasthan Royals won by 6 wickets with 11 balls remaining
Man of the Match: Shane Watson of Rajasthan Royals (Australia)
Points: Rajasthan Royals-2; Kings XI Punjab-0
Score:
Kings XI Punjab 166 for 8 in 20 overs (K Goel, 26, JR Hopes, 16, KC Sangakkara, 20, DPMD Jayawardene, 2, Yuvraj Singh, 57, IK Pathan, 12, S Sohal, 4, B Lee, 0, PP Chawla, 24 not out, WA Mota, 1 not out, Extras 4--lb 1, wide 2, nb 1, MM Patel 4-0-36-1, SR Watson 4-0-39-0, SK Trivedi 4-0-25-2, SK Warne 4-0-19-3, D Salunkhe 2-0-21-1, Pankaj Singh 1-0-12-0, YK Pathan 1-0-13-0) lost to Rajasthan Royals 168 for 4 in 18.1 overs (M Kaif, 5, Kamran Akmal, 15, YK Pathan, 7, SR Watson, 76 not out, DS Lehmann, 17, RA Jadeja, 36 not out, Extras 12--lb 12, wide 6, nb 4, B Lee 4-0-35-1, S Sreesanth 3.1-0-38-1, JR Hopes 4-0-33-1, IK Pathan 4-0-21-1, PP Chawla 2-0-27-0, WA Mota 1-0-12-0)

Match 5: Bangalore Royal Challengers Wins the Thriller!

Winning the toss and deciding to bat first, Mumbai Indians playing without the experienced master batsman Sachin Tendulkar, posted a good fighting total on the board. The inexperienced captain Harbhajan Singh, did not hesitate to bat first.

Jayasuriya provided a firing start hitting Praveen Kumar and Kallis all over the ground. His knock off 29 off just 16 balls with 5 fours and a six came to an end by an excellent direct hit at the non-strickers end by Zaheer Khan on his own bowling.

He was hitting the ball well and it was a blow for the Mumbai Indians because it really slowed the tempo.

Earlier, Ronchi was caught brilliantly by Kohli--could be the catch of the tournament so far. He flew i the air at point to grab the fantastic catch and povide the break through to Bangalore. Thornley was hit by Zaheer Khan's bouncer on the right forehead near the eyebrow.

Then Uthappa joined Shah and they both added 51 for the 4th wicket in 47 balls. Uthappa was timing and placing the ball well and his 48 runs came in 38 balls with 5 fours and a six. Shah scored 19 off 23 balls with 2 fours. It was AM Nayar who added few runs to the score with his 20 off 14 balls.

It was Pollock, who really gave the Mumbai Indians a chance to fight back at the end of the innings. His quick fire 28 off 12 balls with 3 fours and 2 sixes helped Mumbai to go past 150. He was the last batsman to get out in the last ball of the innings--bowled by Zaheer Khan.

Chasing the target of 166, Dravid and Chandrapaul opened the innings for Bangalore Royal Challengers. Dravid struggled against Pollock and he gave away only 1 run in his first over. Chandrapaul was hitting the ball well and was improving the run rate of Bangalore. His 16 off 11 balls came to an end when he tried to hit the ball over mid wicket, he was caught. He should have retired when he got hurt through an inside edge that hit his right inside knee. Dravid and Chandrapaul added 37 for the first wicket in 5 overs.

Taylor joined Dravid and they both added 31 for 2nd wicket in 3.5 overs. Dravid was out by a beautiful flighted doosra by Harbhajan. He gave a simple return catch to Bhajji. He was out for 32 off 33 balls with 4 fours.

At the end of the 10th over, Taylor was out off Jayasuriya for 23, scored in 12 balls with 1 four and 2 sixes.

It was left to the experienced Kallis and Indian Under-19 captain Kohli to restore the pride for Bangalore. Kohli played few good shots that and both lead a good fight back. Kohli hit 23 off 14 balls with 3 fours and a six. Kohili was dismissed when the score for 106 in 13.3 overs.

Requiring 60 in 39 balls, Kallis and Boucher brought the target down to 48 in 5 overs. Pollock's over cost 8 runs and the target was 40 in 4 overs.

Jayasuriya bowled the 17th over which cost 10 runs. A huge six off the first ball by Boucher and the singles in the remaining balls gave a chance to Banglore.

With 30 runs in 18 balls, Kallis hit the first ball of Nehra for a straight six of a full toss, in the last two balls of the same over, Boucher hit a four over mid wicket and huge six which hit the roof of the stadium. With 19 runs conceeded in the 18th over, Bangalore required 11 runs of 12 balls.

Harbhajan bowled the 19th over. First ball was a single by Kallis, then a four at point by Boucher, then a single. With 5 runs required, Harbhajan took the wicket of Kallis. It was a good forward diving catch at deep midwicket by Nayar.

Akhil scored two in the next ball and no run was scored in the last ball of the 19th over.

With 3 runs to win in the last over, Kulkarni's first ball was a single. The second ball was a wide. No run was scored in the 2nd and 3rd ball. With scores are equal one run to win, Akhil's drive to mid-on where the fielder missed to hold the ball as it bounced and rolled away from the hands of the fielder. By that time, Boucher and Akhil had completed the winning run.

It was Nehra's over which turned the match towards Banglore Royal Challengers towards the end. This win would give confidence to the entire team as their previous defeat was devastating as they lost by 140 runs.

Boucher was declared Man of the Match. So far, in all the five matches played, no Indian have won a Man of the Match.

Match 5
Venue: Mumbai
Date: April 20, 2008
Teams: Mumbai Indias v. Bangalore Royal Challengers
Captains: Harbhajan Singh and Rahul Dravid
Toss: Mumbai Indians and decided to bat
Result: Bangalore Royal Challengers won by 5 wickets with 2 balls remaining
Man of the Match: Mark Boucher of Bangalore Royal Challengers (South Africa)
Points: Bangalore Royal Challengers-2; Mumbai Indians-0
Score:
Mumbai Indias 165 for 6 in 20 overs (L Ronchi 8, ST Jayasuriya 29, DJ Thornely 0, RV Uthappa 48, P Shah 19, AM Nayar 20, SM Pollock 28, Harbhajan Singh 2 not out, Extras 11--b 2, lb 6, wide 3, P Kumar 4-0-29-1, Z Khan 4-0-17-2, JH Kallis 3-0-43-0, R Vinay Kumar 4-0-41-0, B Akhil 3-0-17-2, SB Joshi 2-0-10-0) lost to Bangalore Royal Challengers 166 for 5 in 19.4 overs (S Chanderpaul 16, R Dravid 32, LRPL Taylor 23, JH Kallis 25, V Kohli 23, MV Boucher 39 not out, B Akhil 3 not out, Extras 5--wide 5, A Nehra 4-0-45-1, SM Pollock 4-0-17-0, DS Kulkarni 2.4-0-19-1, ST Jayasuriya 4-0-39-1, Harbhajan Singh 4-0-36-2, AM Nayar 1-0-10-0)

Match 4: David Hussey Helps Kolkata Register 2nd Win!

David Hussey's 38 off 43 balls helped Kolkata Knight Riders continue their winning habit. What thought to be an easy target, the pitch helped the bowlers. The ball didn't come to the bat as expected. The win has set the entire almost house full crowd of Kolkata into fire. Their first victory was in Bangalore and the second win was in front of the home crowd.

Chasing the target of 111, the centurian and record holder for highest individual run getter in an innings, McCullum was out for 5, caught at point off RP Singh. He played the ball on the midwicket, but it took the edge and flew to point. Ponting was out for a first ball duck, leg before to Vaas. Saha, the other opener, gave an easy catch to midoff trying to drive the ball, but it went in the air. With three wickets lost for 21 in the 5th over, Hussey and skipper Ganguly played sensibly and built the innings. They both added 47 for the 4th wicket before Ganguly was bowled by Ojha at the end of the 13th over. He tried to slog the ball over mid-wicket, but he missed the ball completely in the flight and it it the leg stump.

With 7 overs remaining and needed 43, Mohammad Hafeez joined Hussey. His run a ball innings of 13 ended when he tried to reverse sweep, which took the edge and popped up in the air. Symonds in mid-wicket took an easy running catch, leaving Kolkata at 88 for 5 in 16.3 overs.

With 23 requiring of 21 balls, Shulka started off with a single. When Kolkata needed 22 of 20 balls, the lights of Eden Garden went off and the play was stopped for a while. The play resumed after 30 odd minutes and the referee decided not to reduce the over.

Hussey hit Styris for a 6 and a four in the same over and that turned the match in favor of Kolkata and they finished the game with one over to spare.

David Hussey declared Man of the Match and so far in all the four matches, only the foregin players have grabbed the awards.

Earlier, winning the toss and deciding to bat first, nothing went in favor of Hyderabad Deccan Chargers. They were cheaply dismissed for 110 and they did not play their full quota of 20 overs. They were all out in 18.4 overs.

Andrew Symonds was the top scorer with 32 off 39 balls, followed by Gilchrist 23 off 22 balls. Skipper Laxman was out for a duck. The Deccan Chargers had four batsman not scoring--Laxman, RG Sharma, Vaas, and Ohja.

Murali Karthik was the pick of the bowlers with 3 wickets.

Match 4
Venue: Kolkata
Date: April 20, 2008
Teams: Kolkata Knight Riders v. Deccan Chargers
Captains: Ganguly and VVS Laxman
Toss: Deccan Chargers and decided to bat
Result: Kolkata Knight Riders won by 5 wickets with 6 balls remaining
Man of the Match: DJ Hussey of Kolkata Knight Riders (Australia)
Points: Kolkata Knight Riders-2; Deccan Chargers-0
Score:
Deccan Chargers 110 all out in 18.4 overs (AC Gilchrist 23, Y Venugopal Rao 14, VVS Laxman 0, A Symonds 32, RG Sharma 0, SB Styris 6, AS Yadav 10, SB Bangar 14, WPUJC Vaas 0, RP Singh 1 not out, PP Ojha 0, Extras 10--lb 4, wide 4, nb 2, AB Dinda 3-0-18-1, I Sharma 3-1-9-1, AB Agarkar 2-0-19-2, M Kartik 3.4-0-17-3, Mohammad Hafeez 4-0-8-1, DJ Hussey 3-0-35-1) lost to Kolkata Knight Riders 112 for 5 in 19 overs (WP Saha 10, BB McCullum 5, RT Ponting 0, SC Ganguly 14, DJ Hussey 38 not out, Mohammad Hafeez 13, LR Shukla 4 not out, Extras 28--b 4, lb 8, wide 15, nb 1, WPUJC Vaas 3-0-9-2, RP Singh 3-0-15-1, SB Styris 4-0-19-0, SB Bangar 3-0-19-0, A Symonds 2-0-20-0, PP Ojha 4-0-18-2)

Tendulkar not playing! Harbhajan to lead!

In the firt match for Mumbai Indians against the Bangalore Royal Challengers, the skipper and the master batsman Sachin Tendulkar decided not to play. He is suffering from groin injury for the last few weeks. He did not play the 2nd and 3rd test against South Africa in Ahmadabad and Kanpur.

Though everyone expected that he would be playing the first match for Mumbai, he is still not fuly fit and is expected to play the next match.

The vice-captain Harbhajan Singh will be leading the Mumbai Indians. During the pre-match interview to the private televsion commentary group that it is an honor to lead Mumbai Indians and will enjoy the game. He said the crowd support is enormous and is an advantage.

Light's Back! 22 needed in 20 balls!

The lights are back in Eden Gardens and Kolkata Knight Riders needed 22 off 20 balls. The first time match referee Fareooq Engineer was convincing the players about resuming the play and the temporary halt.

The match referee Farooq Engineer--his first match as referee, decided that the play would resume with no reduction in the number of overs.

We have to wait and see what the teams do as the chances are 50-50 now.

Lights Gone! Play Stopped in Kolkata!

Play stopped when Kolkatta Knight Riders needed 22 off 20 balls. Not sure what happened with the light, but they went off and the play was stopped for more than 30 minutes.

We have to wait until the lights are back and have to see the decision to be taken by the match referre Farooq Engineer.

If the match had been called off at that time, it would have been a tie and the teams should have bowled at the stumps.

Match 3: Delhi Daredevils Registers Win!

Delhi Daredevils lead by Virendra Shewag registered a 9 wicket win over Rajasthan Royals lead by Shane Warne. It was an easy target for Delhi Daredevils and they did not fail in meeting the target.

Except for winning the toss, nothing went right for coach and skipper of Rajasthan Royals Shane Warne. Wickets fell at regular intervals and the team was not able to bounce back. Struggling at 47 for 4 in the 8th over, they were never able to come back, though one or two good overs would have helped them. Jadeja was the highest scorer with 29 off 23 balls with 2 fours and 2 sixes. Salunkhe scored a quick fire 26 off 20 balls, which helped Rajasthan to put a decent total.

McGrath, who opened the bowling for Delhi, was as usual at his best. Maharoof was the pick of the bowlers with 2 for 11 in 4 overs. Bhatia also bowled well and finished with 2 for 17 in his quota of four overs.

Though bowling was good, it was poor running and calling between the wickets that put Rajasthan really on the back foot. Yousuf Pathan and Shane Watson were both run out for 10 and 21 respectively.

Chasing an easy target, Delhi lost skipper Shewag for 12, bowled by Watson. His 12 had 3 fours in 3 balls and he was out on the 4th ball. He was out on the 4th ball of the 2nd over and by then, Delhi reached 20.

Gambhir and Dhawan played well and hitting in the air and driving for few fours. They both reached 50 and lead Delhi to gain 2 points. Gambhir reached his 50 in 37 balls with 7 fours and a six. Dhawan reached his 50 in 41 balls with 8 fours.

Maharoof of Delhi Daredevils was adjudged man of the match for his wonderful bowling.

Match 3
Venue: Delhi
Date: April 19, 2008
Teams: Delhi Daredevils v. Rajasthan Royals
Captains: Virendra Shewag and Shane Warne
Toss: Rajasthan Royals and decided to bat
Result: Delhi Daredevils won by 9 wickets with 29 balls remaining
Man of the Match: MF Maharoof of Delhi Daredevils (Sri Lanka)
Points: Delhi Daredevils-2; Rajasthan Royals-0
Score:
Rajasthan Royals 129 for 8 in 20 overs (Kohli 7, YK Pathan 10, SR Watson 21, M Kaif 9, DS Lehmann 1, RA Jadeja 29, M Rawat 2, D Salunkhe 26 not out, SK Warne 14, SK Trivedi 3 not out, Extras 7--b 1, lb 3, wide 3, GD McGrath 4-1-21-1, B Geeves 4-0-41-0, MF Maharoof 4-0-11-2, R Bhatia 4-0-17-2, DL Vettori 4-0-35-1) lost to Delhi Daredevils 132 for 1 in 15.1 overs (Gambhir 58 not out, Shewag 12, S Dhawan 52 not out, Extras 10--wide 10, JMM Patel 3-0-25-0, SR Watson 4-0-31-1, SK Trivedi 3-0-32-0, SK Warne 2-0-16-0, YK Pathan 2.1-0-17-0, D Salunkhe 1-0-11-0)

Match 2: Mike Hussey's Hundred Helps Chennai Super Kings Victory!

Mike Hussey scored a brilliant hundred, the fastest hundred of this tournament and built a strong foundation to Chennai Super Kings innings. The good toss was won by Dhoni and he decided to bat first. The two openres--Parthiv Patel and Hayden gave a good start. Patel was the first to go before he hit 3 consecutive fours of Sreesanth. It was a short of length, raising well and a speedy delivery from Lee, which took the outside edge and flew to keeper. Hayden looking good was bowled by inner edge off Irfan Pathan.

Dhoni, the highest paid player of IPL did not prove his worth in this match. He was judged leg before for 1, though the replay showed inner edge.

Raina played sensibly along with Hussey, who crossed his 50 off 31 balls with 4 fours and 3 sixes. Raina fired a quick 32 off 13 balls with 2 fours and 3 sixes that helped Chennai to add more runs to the board. They were maintaining a run rate of 10 per over throughout the game. Oram was out for 13 off 10 balls paving way to Badrinath.

Badrinath and Hussey added 73 runs for the 6th wicket in 27 balls. Badrinath hit 17 runs in the last over bowled by Praveen Kumar and Hussey hit 8 runs. Hussye crossed his 100 in 50 balls with 8 fours and 7 sixes. He finished his innings at 116 not out off 54 balls with 8 fours and 9 sixes. Badrinath was not out on 31 off 14 balls with 3 fours and 2 sixes.

Piyush Chawla conceeded 19 runs in his 1 over, Hopes gave 53 runs in his 4 overs with a wicket.

The chase of 241 is almost impossible to get, but the fighting innings by Hopes, once again did not help his team to taste the victory. The last time he played a similar fighting innings was against Indian in the second Commonwealth Bank Series final, which India won. Similary, his valiant innings for Pubjab Kings XI did not help them as they lost by 33 runs. His reached his 50 in just 24 balls with 8 fours and 2 sixes. Sangakkara also scored a good fifty in 29 balls.

Though Pubjab reached the 100 in 9.2 overs, it was not enough to reach 240 in 20 overs. Requiring 91 runs in 38 balls was almost impossible and Pubjab Kings XI lead by Yuvaraj Singh surrendered to Chennai lead by Dhoni.

Muralitharan was the economical bowler for Chennai. He gave away 33 runs in 4 overs with the wicket of his Sri Lanka team mate Sangakkara.

Man of the Match was given to Hussey for his wonderful hundred.

Match 2
Venue: Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali, Chandigarh
Date: April 19, 2008
Teams: Kings XI Punjab v. Chennai Super Kings
Captains: Yuvaraj Singh and Mahendra Singh Dhoni
Toss: Chennai Super Kings and decided to bat
Result: Chennai Super Kings won by 33 runs
Man of the Match: MEK Hussey of Chennai Super Kings (Australia)
Points: Chennai Super Kings-2; Kings XI Punjab-0
Score:
Chennai Super Kings 240 for 5 in 20 overs (PA Patel 15, Hayden 25, MEK Hussey 116 Not Out, Dhoni 2, SK Raina 32, Jacob Oram 13, S Badrinath 31 Not Out, Extras 6--lb 2, wide 3, no ball 1, Brett Lee 4-0-35-1, S Sreesanth 3-0-35-0, Hopes 4-0-53-1, Irfan Pathan 4-0-47-2, K Goel 2-0-25-0, Piyush Chawla 1-0-19-0, WA Mota 2-0-24-1) beat Kings XI Punjab 207 for 4 in 20 overs (K Goel 24, Hopes 71, Sangakkara 54, Yuvaraj Singh 23, SM Katich 21 not out, Irfan Pathan 3 not out, Extras 11--b 2, lb 4, wide 5, Jacob Oram 4-0-37-0, M Gony 4-0-42-1, Muralitharan 4-0-33-1, P Amarnath 4-0-42-1, Joginder Sharma 4-0-47-1)

Match 1: Kolkata Knight Riders Wins first IPL match! McCullum Creates World Record!

The first match of the India Premier League (IPL) was won by Kolkata Knight Riders owned by Bollywod Star Sharukh Khan. There were lot of records broken during the first match itself.

The star of the match was McCullum! He smashed the Banglore Royal Challengers bowlers all over the ground. He is the first batsman to score a century in the IPL tournament.

He took 7 balls to score his firt run. He stated off with a boundary over mid-wicket of Zaheer Khan. He hit two fours and a six in the same over and that provided the momentum for him and Kolkata.

He reached his fifty--the first of the tournament in 32 balls with 5 fours and 3 sixes.

Ganguly was the first wicket to fall in the tournament, caught at slip by Kallis of Zaheer. He scored 10. Ponting playing in somebody's captaincy after a long time, was a not a threat to Bangalore. He was cheaply dismissed for 20 off 20 balls with a four and a six.

McCullum then played his demolishing innings. He hit White for two sixes and a four. He reached his 100 in 53 balls--the 2nd fifty just in 21 balls which consisted of 8 fours and 7 sixes. He didn't stop there, he became the first batsman to score a 150 in 20-20. He reached the milestone in 70 balls. He was not out on 158 in just 73 balls to take Kolkata to a dream score of 222 for 3.

He became the highest run scorer in an innings in the 20-20 game. But, records are meant to be broken.

Bangalore, chasing a big total of 223 in 20 overs, did not do well. They were bundled out for 82 in 15.1 overs. The only batsman to score double digit was Praveen Kumar, 18 not out. Ishanth Sharma was a threat to batsman and he finished with 1 for 7 in 3 overs. Dinda finished with 2 for 9 in 3 overs. Agarkar picked 3 wickets and Ganguly 2.

The Match Details:

Match 1
Venue: M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore
Date: April 18, 2008
Teams: Kolkata Knight Riders and Bangalore Royal Challengers
Captains: Ganguly and Dravid
Toss: Bangalore Royal Challengers and decided to field
Result: Kolkata Knight Riders won by 140 runs
Man of the Match: McCullum of Kolkata Knight Riders (New Zealand)
Points: Kolkata Knight Riders-2; Bangalore Royal Challengers-0
Score:
Kolkata Knight Riders 222 for 3 in 20 overs (Ganguly 10, McCullum 158 Not Out, Ponting 20, DJ Hussey 12, Mohammad Hafeez 5 not out, Extras 17--b 4, lb 4, wide 9, Praveen Kumar 4-0-38-0, Zaheer Khan 4-0-38-1, AA Noffke 4-0-40-1, Kallis 4-0-48-1, SB Joshi 3-0-26-0, CL White 1-0-24-0) beat Bangalore Royal Challengers 82 all out in 15.1 overs (Dravid 2, Jaffer 6, Kohli 1, Kallis 8, CL White 6, Boucher 7, Akhil 0, Noffke 9, Praveen Kumar 18 not out, Zaheer Khan 3, SB Joshi 3, Extras 19--lb 8, wide 11, AB Dinda 3-0-9-2, Ishanth Sharma 3-0-7-1, Agarkar 4-0-25-3, Ganguly 4-0-21-2, Shukla 1.1-0-12-1)