Match 25: Kings XI Punjab Demolishes Bangalore Royal Challengers! Cry Baby declared Man of the Match!

Good toss to win and the right decision by Yuvaraj. Though he is currently lacking the leadership skills according to me, he made the right decision based on wicket and the strength of the team. Remind you that Dhoni said, regardless of the pitch, he will go for batting because batting was the strength.

Sreesanth demolished the hopes of Bangalore in the first over by taking two wickets with just one wide run on the board. The first wicket of Jaffer was a typical fast bowler delivery, pitched on the off and swung away taking the edge of the ba, straight to keeper, in the fourth ball.

He pitched the next ball in the off and middle and the bowl swung well. Even before White realized that there is a big gap between bat and pad, the ball went through the gap to him the middle stump. Two wickets in the first over of the game is really not a good start for any team, especially if the team is struggling to win. Kallis avoided the hatrick to Sreesanth.

The poor calling by Kohli ran out Kallis, one more failure. Kohli played it point and called for a run which was responded well by Kalli. But, looking the fielder approaching the ball faster than anticipated, said no, but by that time, Kallis was almost in batting crease, couldn't go back. Marsh threw the ball easily to the bowler who did the rest.

At the end of the 6 overs, Bangalore were strggling at 26 for 3, the lowest by any team in the power play.

It was left to Dravid, the skipper and Kohli to build the partnership and save Bangalore. They did not take risk till the end of 10th over--51 for 3.

Sreesanth was brought back to bowl his last over, the 11th over of of the innings, and he almost provied it. Though he was hit beautifully for a four in the first ball through covers, the last ball was a catch that was dropped because of poor judgment by Hopes. He ended his figures with 4-0-16-2, which earned him the man of the match award.

Kohli got out in the 1st ball of 13th over bowled by Pathan. The change in bowling worked through a slower ball pitched away on the off stump, which Kohli trying to clear the fence. He actually did not time it well and lost his wicket. He scored useful 36 of 36 balls with 5 fours. The 54 run partnership came off 52 balls.

Misah-ul-Haq was not able to carry on his T20 World Cup form. He was declared leg before off Chawla for 8. Two balls later, Praveen Kumar didn't expect the bounce, tried to cut the ball, but it took edge and was well caught by keeper Kaul. Two wickets in an over one more time.

At the end of 16 overs, Bangalore were 102 for 6, lost all crucial wickets, with only skipper Dravid in the crease.

Though Patil was run out in the first ball of the 17th over, Dravid hit 3 fours in that over, which provided some confidence to Bangalore. Patil's in experience showed in his calling and running. It was a call of Dravid when he driven the ball to mid-on which he said clearly no, but Patil ran all the way to make himself out.

Zaheer Khan was bowled by Chawla in the 18th over; Bangalore had only 117 at the end of 18 overs with 2 wickets in hand. Dravid hit a six of VRV Singh and got out in the next ball, caught by Jayawardane. He couldn't do much as wickets were falling at the other end and overs are coming to and end. He was out for 66 of 51 balls with 9 fours and a six. He reached his 50 in 44 balls with 7 fours.

In the last over, Kumble was run out tring to run a yorker that went to keeper and found short of his crease.

The innings came to an end at 19.2 overs with 126 on the board, giving an easy target to Kings XI.

It was the first two wickets in the first over of Sreesanth, was the turning point of the match.

Though Zaheer Khan provided the break through in the 2nd over by having Hopes caught at cover by White, Bangalore did not utilize the situation properly. In fact it would be difficult because they did not have more runs in the score board to take risk.

Sarwan joined Marsh, the inform batsman for the 2nd wicket. Sarwan's six of short ball through a edge and then couple of fours released some pressure for Kings XI. Marsh hit a six of Praveen at the end of 5th over.

Praveen Kumar took the wicket of Sarawan by pitching a short ball, whch he tried to pull only to find that it took the top edge and was caught by keeper Patil. He scored 31 off 29 balls with 4 fours and a six.

Though Kumble gave only 3 runs in his first over, Marsh hit for 3 fours in his second to take the score to 81 for 2 in 10 overs.

Kings XI Punjab needed 46 from 60 balls to register their 5th continuous win.

The match got a surprise turn for a moment when Praveen had Yuvaraj caught behind for 1. It was a wicket madien leaving the target 46 to be scored in 54 balls.

Jayawardane and Marsh hit few fours before Marsh was bowled by Zaheer Khan, uprooting his middle stump. He tried to play across and missed the line. He was out for 39 off 34 balls with 4 fours and a six to his credit.

End of over 15, Bangalore were 109 for 4, requiring 18 from 30 balls, easy target.

Steyn bowled a tight 16th over and gave just one run. 17 from 24 balls. The next two overs added 10 runs--7 from Zaheer with a four by Pathan and then 3 runs from Kallis.

Kings XI Punjab needed 7 from 2 overs. Pathan hit a six of Kumble's 2nd ball taking the score to equal position. The next ball was a wide and gave victory to Kings XI Punjab and another defeat, the 5th, to Banaglore Royal Challengers.

With 5 victories and 10 points out of the 7 matches, Kings XI Punjab is in the 2nd position. Rajasthan Royals is still leading the table with 5 wins and 10 points in their 6 matches. Rajasthan is bettering in net run rate though the points are equal betwen them and Kings XI.

Bangalore Royal Challengers is in 7th position, last but one, with 4 points out of 7 matches and Hyderabad Deccan Chargers is in the last position with 2 points out of their 6 matches.

Match 25
Venue: Bangalore
Date: May 5, 2008
Teams: Bangalore Royal Challengers and Kings XI Punjab
Captains: Rahul Dravid and Yuvaraj Singh
Toss: Kings XI Punjab and decided to field
Result: Kings XI Punjab won by 6 wickets with 10 balls remaining
Man of the Match: S Sreesanth off Kings XI Punjab (India)
Points: Kings XI Punjab-2; Bangalore Royal Challengers-0
Score:
Bangalore Royal Challengers 126 all out in 19.2 overs (W Jaffer 0, V Kohli 34, CL White 0, JH Kallis 7, R Dravid 66, Misbah-ul-Haq 8, P Kumar 0, DT Patil 4, Z Khan 0, A Kumble 3, DW Steyn 1 not out, Extras—10 (lb 1, wide 9), S Sreesanth 4-0-16-2, IK Pathan 3.2-0-13-1, Gangandeep Singh 3-0-28-0, VRV Singh 4-0-33-0, PP Chawla 4-0-25-3, JR Hopes 1-0-10-0) lost to Kings XI Punjab 127 for 4 in 18.2 overs (SE Marsh 39, JR Hopes 5, RR Sarwan 31, Yuvaraj Singh 1, DPMD Jayawardane 17 not out, IK Pathan 17 not out, Extras-17 (lb 10, wide 7), D Steyn 4-0-16-0, Z Khan 4-0-29-2, P Kumar 4-1-22-2, JH Kallis 3-0-14-0, A Kumble 3.2-0-36-0)

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 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)