Champions League in September with $5 Million Prize Money

The Champions League involving four countries--Australia, England, South Africa and India will be played in September. The top 2 teams from each country's domestic T20 tournament will qualify for this tournament with the winner walking away with $5 Million.

Already, Rajasthan Royals lead by Shane Warne and Chennai Super Kings XI lead by Mahedra Singh Dhoni have qualified from IPL.

The complete detail is yet to be confirmed, but Cricket Australia are currently drawing up the regulations which will deal with the issues of Indian Cricket League players and potential conflicts for players involved with more than one team.

The event will conduct 15 matches in 10 days. The prize money will be distributed to the first four positions.

The teams qualified are:

Western Australia from Australia
Victoria from Australia

Dolphis from South Africa
Titans from South Africa

Rajasthan Royals from IPL, India
Chennai Super Kings from IPL, India

England's domestic T20 will begin next week and the two teams will be finalized soon.

This event throws up a number of potential conflicts, not least involving an players linked to the unofficial ICL. Chris Read, Vikram Solanki, Stuart Law, Niall O'Brien and Paul Nixon all appeared in the ICL, and if their counties qualify their inclusion will be a major conflict with the Indian board.

The other issue that will occur is involving players who are contracted to more than one of the teams involved, for example Mike Hussey who played for Chennai in the IPL and is also from Western Australia. The clash could also happen with overseas players in county cricket, for example David Hussey, who plays for Nottinghamshire and Victoria.

We have to wait and see what decisions are taken for the issues relating to ICL.

Match 59: Final: Rajasthan Roayls Win the First IPL!

Rajasthan Royals win the last ball thriller and clinched the first IPL trophy by 3 wickets! The last over required 8 runs and the last ball required 1 run which Sohail Tanvir scored by puling it between mid wicket and mid on.

Click here to read the Ball-by-Ball Commentary

Match 59 - Final

Venue: Mumbai

Date: June 1, 2008

Teams: Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals

Captains: Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Shane Warne

Toss: Rajasthan Royals and decided to field

Result: Rajasthan Royals won by 3 wickets with 0 balls remaining

Man of the Match: Yousuf Pathan off Rajasthan Royals (India)

Score:

Chennai Super Kings 163 for 5 in 20 overs (PA Patel 38, S Vidyut 16, SK Raina 43, JA Morkel 16, MS Dhoni 29 not out, CK Kapugedera 8, S Badrinath 6 not out, Extras-7 (b 1, leg bye 2, wide 3, no ball 1), Sohail Tanvir 4-0-40-1, SR Watson 4-0-29-1, MM Patel 2-0-14-0, YK Pathan 4-0-22-3, SK Trivedi 2-0-21-0, SK Warne 4-0-34-0) lost to Rajasthan Royals 164 for 7 in 20 overs (NK Patel 2, SA Asnodkar 28, Kamran Akmal 6, SR Watson 28, YK Pathan 56, M Kaif 12, RA Jadeda 0, SK Warne 9 not out, Sohail Tanvir 9 not out, Extras-14 (b 1, leg bye 6, wide 5, no ball 2), M Ntini 4-1-21-0, M Gony 4-0-30-1, JA Morkel 4-0-25-2, L Balaji 4-0-42-0, M Muralitharan 4-0-39-2)

IPL Final: LIVE COMMENTARY AND SCORES: RAJASTHAN WIN THE IPL IN LAST BALL!

Well, it was a perfect start for the final, yes, the closing ceremony was brilliant. Already a wonderful performance!

The news from the center is that, Rajasthan Royals have won the toss and asked Chennai Super Kings to bat first.

There is no change in the Chennai side and for Rajasthan Royals, Kamran Akmal comes in place of injured Greame Smith.

Squad:
Chennai Super Kings: PA Patel (Wicket Keeper), S Vidyut, SK Raina, MS Dhoni (captain), CK Kapugedera, S Badrinath, JA Morkel, M Gony, L Balaji, M Muralitharan, M Ntini

Rajasthan Royals: Kamran Akmal (Wicket Keeper), SA Asnodkar, YK Pathan, M Kaif, SR Watson, NK Patel, RA Jadeja, SK Warne (Captain), SK Trivedi, MM Patel, Sohail Tanvir

Commentary:

Over 1 :

0.1 Tanvir to Patel: No run - Big shout for LBW, pitched outside the line of off stump and swung away ; good decision by Bily;
0.2 Tanvir to Patel: wide: down the leg side; first run to Chennai Super Kings
0.2 Tanvir to Patel: No run: pitched outside the off stump and swung away; left to keeper
0.3 Tanvir to Patel: No run: pitched outside the off stump and swung away; left to keeper
0.4 Tanvir to Patel: No run: pitched up on the off stump, driven to point; couldn't place it in the gap
0.5 Tanvir to Patel: FOUR: pitched on the leg stump, flicked to fine leg boundary
0.6 Tanvir to Patel: One Run: pitched on the leg stump, flicked to fine leg, single
End of Over 1: 6 runs
Score: 6 for 0 (Patel 5 off 6 balls (1 x 4, 0 x 6), Vidyut 0 off 0 balls (0 x 4, 0 x 6)
------
Over 2:
1.1 Watson to Patel: No run: Pitched up, played uppish, straight to fielder at mid off
1.2 Watson to Patel: 1 run: Pitched on the leg, played to fine leg for a single
1.3 Watson to Vidyut: No run: Pitched on the, tapped it to cover; tries for a single, but Patel sends him back
1.4 Watson to Viyut: 1 run: short ball on the leg stump, pulls it in the air, bounces well before the fine leg fielder, goes for an easy single
1.5 Watson to Patel: No run: short ball on the leg stump, Patel ducks, straight to keeper
1.6 Watson to Patel: FOUR: pitched on the off, Patel goes over fielders head at covers for a boundary
End of Over 2: 6 runs
Score: 12 for 0 (Patel 10 off 10 balls (2 x 4, 0 x 6), Vidyut 1 off 2 balls (0 x 4, 0 x 6)
---
Over 3:
2.1 Patel to Vidyut: No run; plyaed to point
2.2 Patel to Vidut: 1 run: straight drive, single taken;
2.3 Patel to Patel: 1 run: played to point, single taken.
2.4 Patel to Vidyut: 1 run: came down the track and hit it to mid off, well fielde, saved boundary,
2.5 Patel to Patel: 1 run: played to third man for a single
2.6 Patel to Vidyut: No run: came down the pitch, tried to pull, went straight to bowler
End of Over 3: 4 runs
Score: 16 for 0 (Patel 12 off 12 balls (2 x 4, 0 x 6), Vidyut 3 off 6 balls (0 x 4, 0 x 6)
---
Over 4:
3.1 Watson to Patel: 1 leg bye: pitched on the leg stump, shout for leg before, batsman go for a single
3.2 Watson to Vidyut: No run: bouncer, tried to hook, misses it
3.3 Watson to Vidyut: FOUR: gives room and hits the short ball pitched on the off over cover boundary
3.4 Watson to Vidyut: No run: tries to cut the ball, takes inside edge, Kamal does a good stop
3.5 Watson to Vidyut: 2 runs: comes down the track, hits it over fielders head, but this time fielder is placed in the boundary; they for 1
3.6 Watson to Vidyut: SIX: gives room for himself, short ball pitched on the off stump, slashes it; takes the proper edge as it was played intentionally to third man and it clears the boundary by inches for the first six!
End of Over 4: 13 runs
Score: 29 for 0 (Patel 12 off 13 balls (2 x 4, 0 x 6), Vidyut 15 off 11 balls (1 x 4, 1 x 6)
--
Over 5:
4.1 Patel to Patel: 1 run: played to third man
4.2 Patel to Vidyut: 1 run: played to third man
4.3 Patel to Patel: FOUR: gives room, slashes it over third man boundary
4.4 Patel to Patel: No run: pitched up and plyaed with soft hand, tries for a single, Vidyut rightly says no
4.5 Patel to Patel: 2 runs: bowled on the leg stump, glanced it to fine leg, goes for quick 2
4.6 Patel to Patel: 2 runs: comes down the track, hits it over fielders head in mid on;
End of Over 5: 10 runs
Score: 39 for 0 (Patel 21 off 18 balls (3 x 4, 0 x 6), Vidyut 16 off 12 balls (1 x 4, 1 x 6)
---
Over 6:
5. 1 Pathan to Vidyut: No run: played to point
5. 2 Pathan to Vidyut: OUT: comes down the track, hits it in the air, Jadeja at mid wicket comes running forward and takes a good catch;
Vidyut (c) Jadeja (b) Pathan - 16 off 12 balls, 1 x 4, 1 x 6
5.3 Pathan to Patel: No run: Big shout of leg before, looks close, but umpire not convinced
5.4 Pathan to Patel: 1 run: short ball on leg stump, played it to mid wicket
5.5 Pathan to Raina: 1 run: off the mark, played to mid wicket
5.6 Pathan to Patel: 1 run: played with soft hand to mid wicket, runs the first faster, but decided to stay with one.
End of Over 6: 3 runs
Score: 42 for 1 (Patel 23 off 21 balls (3 x 4, 0 x 6), Raina 1 off 1 ball
---
Over 7:
6.1 Trivedi to Patel: 2 runs
6.2 Trivedi to Patel: FOUR: Comes down the track, hits it over mid on
6.3 Trivedi to Patel: 1 run: played it to square leg
6.4 Trivedi to Raina: 1 run: upper cut to third man
6.5 Trivedi to Patel: down the track, hit it hard to mid off, well fielded, Patel goes for a run but looking at the fielding by Pathan, comes back, almost chance for a run out, but he is back on time 6.6 Trivedi to Patel: 1 run: slashed to mid off
End of Over 7: 9 runs
Score: 51 for 1 (Patel 31 off 26 balls (4 x 4, 0 x 6), Raina 2 off 2 balls)
---
Over 8:
7.1 Warne to Patel: 1 run: swept to mid wicket
7.2 Warne to Raina: 1 run: played to long on
7.3 Warne to Patel: leg bye: tried to sweep, takes the edge and goes to third man
7.4 Warne to Raina: 1 run: short ball, did not utilize it well, played it to deep midwicket
7.5 Warne to Patel: 1 run: flighted delivery on the off, plays it across to deep mid wicket
7.6 Warne to Raina: 1 run: played it to long
End of Over 8: 6 runs
Score: 57 for 1 (Patel 33 off 29 balls (4 x 4, 0 x 6), Raina 5 off 5 balls)
---
Over 9:
8.1 Pathan to Raina: 1 run: played it to square leg
8.2 Pathan to Patel: No run: gives room, slashes it back to bowler
8.3 Pathan to Patel: 1 run: playes in the air to long off
8.4 Pathan to Raina: 1 run: tapped to square leg
8.5 Pathan to Patel: FOUR: Played it across and hits it between mid wicket and long on
8.6 Pathan to Patel: OUT: comes down but it takes the edge, Akmal takes it on second attempt, but Patel is coming back to crease seeing the fumble, appeal for caught behind and Patel walks by himself
Patel (c) Akmal (b) Pathan 38 off 33 balls (5 x 4)
End of Over 9: 7 runs
Score: 64 for 2 (Raina 7 off 7 balls)
---
Over 10:
9.1 Warne to Raina: No run
9.2 Warne to Raina:2 runs
9.4 Warne to Raina: SIX: hit it over mid wicket
9.5 Warne to Raina: 2 runs: short ball on the leg, pulls it to deep midwicket
9.6 Warne to Raina: 1 run: played to mid wicket
End of Over 10: 11 runs
Score: 75 for 2 (Raina 18 off 13 balls (1 x 6), Morkel 0 off 0 balls)
---
Over 11:
11.1 Pathan to Raina: 1 run
11.2 Pathan to Morkel: No run
11.3 Pathan to Morkel: No run
11.4 Pathan to Morkel: No run
11.5 Pathan to Morkel: No run
11.6 Pathan to Morkel: 1 run
End of Over 11: 2 runs
Score: 77 for 2 (Raina 19 off 14 balls (1 x 6), Morkel 1 off 5 balls)
----
Over 12:
11.1 Warne to Morkel: No run
11.2 Warne to Morkel: 1 run
11.3 Warne to Raina: 1 run
11.4 Warne to Morkel: SIX: Huge six over mid wicket
11.5 Warne to Morkel: No run, on the leg stump, not called a wide
11.6 Warne to Morkel: wide: on the leg stump, but this time it is called a wide
11.6 Warne to Morkel: 1 run: played to long off
End of Over 12: 10 runs
Score: 87 for 2 (Raina 20 off 15 balls (1 x 6), Morkel 9 off 10 balls (1 x 6))
---
Over 13:
12.1 Pathan to Morkel: 1 run
12.2 Pathan to Raina: 1 run
12.3 Pathan to Morkel: SIX: hit it over mid wicket, Watson tries to catch it, it is over his head, he tries with his one hand, it slips from his hand and goes over boundary
12.4 Pathan to Morkel: OUT: tries to pull, but takes the edge, goes in the air behind wicket keeper, Akmal, short third man and short fine leg come for the catch, Akmal takes it but rolls over the short third man fielder. Looks like somebody is injured; Pathan takes his third wicket.
Morkel (c) Akmal (b) Pathan 16 off 16 balls (2 x 6)
12.5 Pathan to Dhoni: 1 run: driven to long on, off the mark
12.6 Pathan to Raina: 1 run: played to mid off
End of Over 13: 10 runs
Score: 97 for 3 (Raina 22 off 17 balls (1 x 6), Dhoni 1 off 1 balls)
---
Over 14:
13.1 Trivedi to Raina: 2 run: played in the air over cover, Watson does a good job in cutting the boundary
13.2 Trivedi to Raina: 1 run: 100 for Chennai Super Kings
13.3 Trivedi to Dhoni: 1 run: played to mid off
13.4 Trivedi to Raina: SIX: short ball, he pulls it, went high in the air, thought someone would catch it, but it just goes over fielders head
13.5 Trivedi to Raina: No run: expects a bouncher, but it was a slower short ball, Raina ducks and realizes later that it was slower ball
13.6 Trivedi to Raina: Warne talks to Trivedi: 2 runs, chipped to long; Dhoni is quick and wanted to 2 and they take it easily.
End of Over 14: 12 runs
Score: 109 for 3 (Raina 31 off 21 balls (2 x 6), Dhoni 3 off 2 balls)
---
Over 15:
14.1 Warne to Dhoni: No run
14.2 Warne to Dhoni: No run
14.3 Warne to Dhoni: SIX: hits it over long on, good battle
14.4 Warne to Dhoni: 1 run: short ball, pulls it to mid wicket, straight to fielder
14.5 Warne to Raina: No run: played to extra cover
14.6 Warne to Raina: 1 run: played to long on, Dhoni wants 2, but Raina says no, good call.
End of Over 15: 8 runs
Score: 117 for 3 (Raina 32 off 23 balls (2 x 6), Dhoni 10 off 6 balls (1 x 6))
---
Over 16:
15.1 Tanvir to Raina: No run: slower ball
15.2 Tanvir to Raina: 2 runs: played straight to long off, Dhoni is quick and comes back on time
15.3 Tanvir to Raina: 2 runs: played to deep square leg
15.4 Tanvir to Raina: FOUR: straight driver, bisecting the long off and long on. Great short.
15.5 Tanvir to Raina: 1 run: played to extra cover
15.6 Tanvir to Dhoni: 1 run: short ball, pulled to deep mid wicket
End of Over 16: 10 runs
Score: 127 for 3 (Raina 43 off 27 balls (1 x 4, 2 x 6), Dhoni 10 off 7 balls (1 x 6))
---
Over 17:
16.1 Watson to Dhoni: 1 run: pulled to mid wicket
16.2 Watson to Raina: we need some big overs here. OUT: He tries to clear long off boundary, but couldn't clear it, straight to fielder
Raina (c) Jadeja (b) Watson 43 off 30 balls (1 x 4, 2 x 6)
16.3 Watson to Dhoni: 1 run
16.4 Watson to Kapugedera: No run: tries to cut to point, but is beaten, straight to keeper
16.5 Watson to Kapugedera: No run: played to cover
16.6 Watson to Kapugedera: 1 run
End of Over 17: 3 runs
Score: 130 for 3 Dhoni 12 off 9 balls (1 x 6)), Kapugedera 1 off 3 balls
---
Over 18:
17.1 Tanvir to Kapugedera: 1 run: slower ball, played across to mid wicket
17.2 Tanvir to Dhoni: 1 run
17.3 Tanvir to Kapugedera: 1 run; Warne should be happy with singles going and not boundaries
17.4 Tanvir to Dhoni: 1 run: full toos on the hip height, definite no ball, but not called
17.5 Tanvir to Kapugedera: 1 run: short ball, slower, played to long on
17.6 Tanvir to Dhoni: FOUR: full toss, again it was not called no ball, but Dhoni puts it between mid wicket and long on
End of Over 18: 9 runs
Score: 139 for 3 Dhoni 18 off 12 balls (1 x 4, 1 x 6)), Kapugedera 4 off 6 balls
---
Over 19:
18.1 Watson to Kapugedera: No run: good bouncher
18.2 Watson to Kapugedera: wide; tough call
18.2 Watson to Kapugedera: no ball: 2nd bouncer and hence called no ball
18.2 Watson to Kapugedera: 1 run: played to extra cover, yorker length
18.3 Watson to Dhoni: 1 bye: slower ball, Dhoni misses; bad bounce, fumble, they go for a single
18.4 Watson to Kapugedera: 2 runs: short ball, hits it over bowler, good fielding by Jadeja with one hand, just an inch before boundary
18.5 Watson to Kapugedera: 1 run: yorker lenght, tries to hit it, but takes the bottom of the bat and stays in the crease and they go for a single
18.6 Watson to Dhoni: 2 runs over cover
End of Over 19: 9 runs
Score: 148 for 4 (Dhoni 20 off 14 balls (1 x 4, 1 x 6)), Badrinath 8 off 11 balls
---
Over 20:
19.1 Tanvir to Kapugedera: OUT: Tries to hit it over long on, but was caught
Kapugedera: (c) Jadeja (b) Tanvir 8 off 12 balls
19.2 Tanvir to Dhoni: 2 runs: yorker length, Dhoni comes back for 2
19.3 Tanvir to Dhoni: SIX: slower ball, pickes it well and hits it over long on, huge six
19.4 Tanvir to Dhoni: 1 run: tries to slog, but goes straight to mid wicket
19.5 Tanvir to Badrinath: FOUR: straight drive, bisecting the diving long on and long off fielders, great short
19.6 Tanvir to Badrinath: 2 runs: full toss, plays across and tries to hit it over mid wicket, but it goes high in the air and lands safely and they run 2
End of Over 20: 15 runs
Score: 163 for 5 (Dhoni 29 off 17 balls (1 x 4, 2 x 6)), Badrinath 6 off 2 balls (1 x 4))
---
Chennai Super Kings Score Board:
Parthiv Patel: (c) Akmal (b) Y Pathan 38 off 33 balls - 5 x 4
Vidyut: (c) Jadeja (b) Y Pathan 16 off 14 balls - 1 x 4, 1 x 6
Raina: (c) Jadeja (b) Watson 43 off 30 balls - 1 x 4, 2 x 6
Morkel: (c) Akmal (b) Y Pathan 16 off 16 balls - 2 x 6
Dhoni: 29 not out off 17 balls (1 x 4, 2 x 6)
CK Kapugedera: (c) Jadeja (b) Tanvir 8 off 12 balls
S Badrinath 6 not out off 2 balls (1 x 4)
Extras: (bye: 1, leg bye: 2, wide: 3, no ball: 1) 6
Total: 163 for 5 in 20 overs

Fall of Wickets:
1 - 39 (Vidyut - 5.2 oves); 2 - 64 (Patel - 8.6); 3 - 95 (Morkel - 12.4) 4 - 128 (Raina - 16.2); 5 - 148 (Badrinath - 19.1)

Score at the end of overs:
1 - 6 for no loss; 2 - 12 for no loss; 3 - 16 for no loss; 4 - 29 for no loss; 5 - 39 for no loss; 6 - 42 for 1; 7 - 51 for 1; 8 - 57 for 1; 9 - 64 for 2; 10 - 75 for 2; 11 - 77 for 2; 12 - 87 for 2; 13 - 97 for 3; 14 - 109 for 3; 15 - 117 for 3; 16 - 127 for 3; 17 - 130 for 4; 18 - 139 for 4; 19 - 148 for 4; 20 - 163 for 5

Bowling Figures:
Sohail Tanvir = 4 - 0 - 40 - 1
SR Watson = 4 - 0 - 30 - 1
MM Patel = 2 - 0 - 14 - 0
Y Pathan = 4 - 0 - 22 - 3
Trivedi = 2 - 0 - 21 - 0
Warne = 4 - 0 - 34 - 0
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
COMMENTARY:

Over 1:
0.1 Ntini to N Patel: No run: bouncer, well directed
0.2 Ntini to N Patel: No run: played to point
0.3 Ntini to N Patel: No run: played to cover, Dhoni fielding it well
0.4 Ntini to N Patel: 1 run: played to third man
0.5 Ntini to Asnodkar: 1 run: played to square leg
0.6 Ntini to N Patel: No run: played to cover
End of Over 3: 2 runs
Score: 2 for 0 (N Patel 1 off 5 balls, Asnodkar 1 off 1 balls)
---
Over 2:
1.1 Gony to Asnodkar: No run: edge, straight to fielder in 2nd slip
1.2 Gony to Asnodkar: 2 runs: plays it across, tries to slog
1.3 Gony to Asnodkar: FOUR: short ball on the off stump, he cuts it over point in the air, just few inches away from point fielder Raina, lucky Asnodkar
1.4 Gony to Asnodkar: 1 run: played to Raina again, he dives to avoid the single, it goes from his hand they go for a single
1.5 Gony to N Patel: 1 run: tries to pull, but hits glove and roles within the crease and they go for quick single
1.6 Gony to Asnodkar: FOUR: played it to point, beats the diving Vidyut in the boundary
End of Over 2: 12 runs
Score: 14 for 0 (N Patel 2 off 6 balls, Asnodkar 12 off 6 balls)
-----
Over 3:
2.1 Ntini to N Patel: No run: tried to pull the short ball, but it was quick, hits him in somepart of the body
2.2 Ntini to N Patel: No run: he moves towards leg stump, but Ntini bowls on the off stump and it swings away, thought Billy would give it wide, but he didn't
2.3 Ntinit to N Patel: No run: against tries to pull, but hits him in some part of the body
2.4 Ntini to N Patel: 1 bye: he tries to slog, but it swings a lot, Parthiv misses inspite of a dive
2.5 Ntini to Asnodkar: FOUR leg bye:
2.6 Ntini to Asnokar: No run
End of Over 3: 5 runs
Score: 19 for 0 (N Patel 2 off 10 balls, Asnodkar 12 off 8 balls)
---
Over 4:
3.1 Gony to N Patel: OUT: tries to pull, but takes the inside edge and drags to stump
N Patel (b) Gony 2 off 11 balls
3.2 Gony to Akmal: 1 runs
3.3 Gony to Asnodkar: 2 runs
3.4 Gony to Asnodkar: FOUR: short ball, pulled to long on, over fielders head
3.5 Gony to Asnokdar: 1 run to third man
3.6 Gony to Akmal: No run
End of Over 4: 8 runs
Score: 27 for 1 (Asnodkar 19 off 11 balls - 3 x 4, Akmal 2 off 2 balls)
---
Over 5
4.1 Ntini to Asnodkar: No run
4.2 Ntini to Asnodkar: FOUR: pitched up, tries to hit it over long on, but it goes over cover
4.3 Ntini to Asnodkar: 1 run, over point to third man
4.4 Ntini to Akmal: No run:
4.5 Ntini to Akmal: FOUR: tries to hit it over long on, but it takes edge and beats the fine leg who is near the circle
4.6 Ntini to Akmal: No run
End of Over 5: 9 runs
Score: 36 for 1 (Asnodkar 24 off 14 balls - 4 x 4, Akmal 5 off 5 balls - 1 x 4s)
-----
Over 6:
5.1 Gony to Asnodkar: 2 runs: played to third man, poor fielding by Vidyut
5.2 Gony to Asnodkar: 1 run: played to deep cover, a fielder is placed
5.3 Gony to Akmal: 1 run: played straight, Gony couldn't stop in the follow up, one run
5.4 Gony to Asnodkar: No run, played to point, Raina throws at non-strikers end, not necessary
5.5 Gony to Asnodkar: No run, played to mid off, Akmal goes for the run, but Asnodkar says no, chance for a run out, Muralitharan misses a direct hit, which would have put Akmal in trouble
5.6 Gony to Asnodkar: 1 run: played to third man
End of Over 6: 5 runs
Score: 41 for 1 (Asnodkar 28 off 19 balls - 4 x 4, Akmal 6 off 6 balls - 1 x 4)
---
Over 7:
6.1 Morkel to Asnodkar: OUT: drives to point, but Raina takes hip level catch, danger man goes
Asnodkar (c) Raina (b) Morkel 28 off 20 balls - 4 x 4
6.2 Morkel to Watson: No run: bouncer
6.3 Morkel to Watson: 1 run: quick singl
6.4 Morkel to Akmal: OUT: hits to mid on and goes for a quick single, not required at this moment, a very risky single, Ntini hits direct at the stumps and no need to to third umpire, Billy raises the finger
Akmal run out (Ntini) 6 off 7 balls - 1 x 4
6.5 Morkel to Watson: 1 run
6.6 Morkel to Pathan: 1 run: plays to cover, tries for single, but Watson says no, Dhoni tries for run out and hits at the stump, but no proper backing, 1 over throw
End of Over 7: 3 runs
Score: 44 for 3 (Watson 2 off 3 balls, Pathan 1 off 1 ball)
---
Over 8:
7.1 Balaji to Pathan: No run: beaten
7.2 Balaji to Pathan: No run
7.3 Balaji to Pathan: 1 run: pulled to mid wicket
7.4 Balaji to Watson: No run, played to bowler
7.5 Balaji to Watson: 2 runs: pulled to mid wicket, short ball, Vidyut is very slow in the wicket
7.6 Balaji to Watson: FOUR: pulled to mid off, almost kind of a striaight drive
End of Over 8: 7 runs
Score: 51 for 3 (Watson 8 off 6 balls, Pathan 2 off 4 balls)
---
Over 9:
8.1 Morkel to Pathan: No run: bouncer
8.2 Morkel to Pathan: wide: bouncer
8.2 Morkel to Pathan: 1 leg bye; another short ball; chaos on the field, Pathan goes for pull, hits the helmet, pops up in the air, caught by Parthiv, umpire Billy did not signal leg by, which means it is off the bat and should be given out.
8.3 Morkel to Watson: wide, down the leg stum
8.3 Morkel to Watson: FOUR: played little wide of mid won
8.4 Morkel to Watson: 1 run: late cut to third man
8.5 Morkel to Pathan: 2 runs: tries to hit over long on, goes high in the air, no fielder is there, safely lands
8.6 Morkel to Pathan: No run
End of Over 9: 10 runs
Score: 61 for 3 (Watson 13 off 8 balls (2 x 4), Pathan 4 off 8 balls)
---
Over 10:
9.1 Balaji to Watson: 1 run: late cut to third man
9.2 Balaji to Pathan: FOUR: comes down the track, lofts over mid wicket for a boundary
9.3 Balaji to Pathan: No run: low full toss, hits back to bowler, well fielded
9.4 Balaji to Pathan: FOUR: short ball, pulled very well, went like a bullet to mid wicket
9.5 Balaji to Pathan: 1 run: driver to mid off
9.6 Balaji to Watson: FOUR: no third man, a late cut to third man, good shot
End of Over 10: 14 runs
Score: 75 for 3 (Watson 18 off 10 balls (3 x 4), Pathan 13 off 12 balls (2 x 4))
---
Over 11:
Muralitharan to Pathan: No run: tries to sweep, doosra, appeal for leg before, Billy says not out
Muralitharan to Pathan: No run: played to mid wicket
Muralitharan to Pathan: 2 runs: DROPPED: lofts it over mid on, goes high in the air, Raina caught it but couldn't hold on to it. Could be the turning point
Muralitharan to Pathan: No run: on the pads
Muralitharan to Pathan: 1 run: played to long on
Muralitharan to Watson: 2 runs: played wide of long on
End of Over 11: 5 runs
Score: 80 for 3 (Watson 20 off 11 balls (3 x 4), Pathan 16 off 17 balls (2 x 4))
---
Over 12:
11.1 Morkel to Pathan: 1 run
11.2 Morkel to Watson: 1 run
11.3 Morkel to Pathan: No ball: 2 runs: Chipped to third man in the air, fielder dives, but the ball comes out of the hand and they run 2
11.3 Morkel to Pathan: FREE HIT: tries to slog, misses
11.4 Morkel to Pathan: 1 run
11.5 Morkel to Watson: 1 run
Celeberities watching the game: Mr. and Mrs. Tendulkar, Amir Khan
11.6 Morkel to Pathan: No run
End of Over 12: 7 runs
Score: 87 for 3 (Watson 21 off 12 balls (3 x 4), Pathan 20 off 21 balls (2 x 4))
---
Over 13:
12.1 Muralitharan to Watson: 1 run
12.2 Muralitharan to Pathan: No run, beaten
12.3 Muralitharan to Pathan: 1 run: comes down the track, ball hits bat, pad, and they go for the run
12.4 Muralitharan to Watson: 1 run, played to mid wicket
12.5 Muralitharan to Pathan: SIX: Comes down the track, lofts over long on, huge six, fifty parternship
12.6 Muralitharan to Pathan: SIX: Another huge six over long on, bigger than the previous one
End of Over 13: 15 runs
Score: 102 for 3 (Watson 23 off 14 balls (3 x 4), Pathan 33 off 25 balls (2 x 4, 2 x 6))
---
Over 14:
13.1 Gony to Watson: 3 runs
13.2 Gony to Pathan: No run, DROPPED: caught and bowled chance, towards the left of Gony, hits the hand, but couldn't hold on to it; 2nd life; first on 13 and the second on 33
13.3 Gony to Pathan: No run: slower ball
13.4 Gony to Pathan: 1 run: gives room, drives to mid off
13.5 Gony to Watson: No run: tries to steer to third man, but misses it
13.6 Gony to Watson: 1 run: yorker length
End of Over 14: 5 runs
Score: 107 for 3 (Watson 28 off 18 balls (3 x 4), Pathan 34 off 28 balls (2 x 4, 2 x 6))
---
Over 15:
14.1 Muralitharan to Watson:OUT: bowled
Watson (b) Muralitharan 28 off 19 balls - 3 x 4
14.2 Muralitharan to Kaif: 1 run
14.3 Muralitharan to Pathan: 1 run
14.4 Muralitharan to Kaif: 2 runs: played to wide of long off
14.5 Muralitharan to Kaif: No run
14.6 Muralitharan to Kaif: 1 run
End of Over 15: 5 runs
Score: 112 for 4 (Pathan 35 off 29 balls (2 x 4, 2 x 6), Kaif 4 off 4 balls)
---
5 overs 52 runs
Over 16:
15.1 Balaji to Kaif: 1 run: to third man
15.2 Balaji to Pathan: FOUR: full toss, hit back to bowler, Ntini dives to save it, tries to push it inside the boundary, the ball rolls over to boundary
15.3 Balaji to Pathan: No run
15.4 Balaji to Pathan: SIX: Full toss, lofted over long off, great short, his 3rd six
15.5 Balaji to Pathan: 2 runs: waist height full toss, not called no ball, hits high in the air, no one is there in mid wicket
15.6 Balaji to Pathan: No run: short ball, Pathan tries to pull it, but misses it, goes to keeper
End of Over 16: 13 runs
Score: 125 for 4 (Pathan 47 off 34 balls (3 x 4, 3 x 6), Kaif 5 off 5 balls)
---
Over 17:
16.1 Muralitharan to Kaif: SIX
16.2 Muralitharan to Kaif: No run
16.3 Muralitharan to Kaif: 1 run
16.4 Muralitharan to Pathan: SIX, full toss, over long, reaches his 50 in 35 balls with 3 fours and 4 sixes
16.5 Muralitharan to Pathan: 1 run
16.6 Muralitharan to Kaif: OUT: Comes down the track, doosra, lobs it to cover to Dhoni
Kaif (c) Dhoni (b) Muralitharan 12 off 9 balls (1 x 6)
End of Over 17: 14 runs
Score: 139 for 4 (Pathan 55 off 38 balls (3 x 4, 4 x 6), Kaif 5 off 5 balls)
---
Ove4 18:
17.1 Morkel to Jadeja: OUT: tries to pull short ball, didn't time it well, goes in the air, caught by Badrinath
Jadeja (c) Kapugedera (b) Morkel 0 off 1 ball
17.2 Morkel to Watson: No ball, 1 run:
17.2 Morkel to Warne: FREE HIT: 1 run:
17.3 Morkel to Pathan: 1 run: chance for run out, missed, takes edge and goes to fine leg, Muralitharan picks the ball, Pathan comes back for 2, Warne says no, he is half way through the pitch, Patel does a bad throw
17.4 Morkel to Warne: OUT: pushes to point, Pathan calls for the run, Warne goes for it, a direct hit by Raina sends Pathan to pavilion, third umpire not referred, crucial break through
Pathan run out (Raina) 56 off 39 balls - 3 x 4, 4 x 6
17.5 Morkel to Tanvir: Wide
17.5 Morkel to Tanvir: 1 run
17.6 Morkel to Warne: 1 leg bye, appeal for leg before, turned down
End of Over 18: 7 runs
Score: 146 for 7 (Warne 1 off 3 balls, Tanvir 1 off 1 ball)
---
Over 19: (18 runs required of 12 balls)
18.1 Ntni to Warne: 1 run
18.2 Ntini to Tanvir: 1 run (16 off 10 balls)
18.3 Ntini to Warne: 1 run
18.4 Ntini to Tanvir: 2 runs, played wide of long on, well fielded by Badrinath
18.5 Ntini to Tanvir: 1 run: full toss, hit it to long on, did not connect it right, Badrinath did not come on time to catch it, takes it in one bounce
18.6 Ntini to Warne: FOUR: gives room and places it in the gap between cover and long off
End of Over 19: 10 runs
Score: 156 for 7 (Warne 7 off 6 balls (1 x 4), Tanvir 5 off 4 balls)
---
Over 20:
19.1 Balaji to Tanvir: 1 run, low full toss, played to long on
19.2 Balaji to Warne: No run: Yorker length, Warne misses, Parthiv collects it and comes running to the stumps
19.3 Balaji to Warne: 1 run, low full toss, comes down the track, bowled little wide of the batsman, played straight to covers to Dhoni
19.4 Balaji to Tanvir: WIDE and Bye: two runs, easy take was missed by Parthiv
19.4 Balaji to Warne: 1 run: to point
19.5 Balaji to Tanvir: 2 runs: well fielded at deep midwicket, but bad throw, Parthiv did not collect it well, but no over throw, backed well
19.6 Balaji to Tanvir (1 ball, 1 run): 1 run: short ball, pulled to mid wicket
End of Over 20: 11 runs
Score: 164 for 7 in 20 overs (Warne 9 off 9 balls (1 x 4), Tanvir 9 off 7 balls)
---
Rajasthan Royals Scoreboard (164 to win in 20 overs)
N Patel: (b) Gony 2 off 11 balls
Asnodkar: (c) Raina (b) Morkel 28 off 20 balls - 4 x 4
Akmal: run out (Ntini) 6 off 7 balls - 1 x 4
Watson (b) Muralitharan 28 off 19 balls - 3 x 4
Pathan run out (Raina) 56 off 39 balls - 3 x 4, 4 x 6
Kaif (c) Dhoni (b) Muralitharan 12 off 9 balls (1 x 6)
Jadeja (c) Kapugedera (b) Morkel 0 off 1 ball
Warne: 9 not out off 9 balls - 1 x 4
Tanvir: 9 not out off 7 balls
Extras (bye 1; leg bye 6; wide 5; no ball 2) - 14
Total 164 for 7 in 20 overs

Fall of Wickets:
1 - 19 (Patel - 3.1 overs); 2 - 41 (Asnodkar - 6.1); 3 - 42 (Akmal - 6.4 overs); 4 - 107 (Watson - 14.1 overs); 5 - 139 (Kaif -16.6); 6 - 139 (Jadeda - 17.1); 7 - 143 (Pathan - 17.4 overs)

Scores at the end of over:
1 - 6 for no loss; 2 - 14 for no loss; 3 - 19 for no loss; 4 - 27 for 1; 5 - 36 for 1; 6 - 41 for 1; 7 - 44 for 3; 8 - 51 for 3; 9 - 61 for 3; 10 - 75 for 3; 11 - 80 for 3; 12 - 87 for 3; 13 - 102 for 3; 14 - 107 for 3; 15 - 112 for 4; 16 - 125 for 4; 17 - 139 for 5; 18 - 146 for 7; 19 - 156 for 7; 20 - 164 for 7

Bowling Figures:
Ntini = 4 - 1 - 21 - 0
Gony = 4 - 0 - 30 - 1
Morkel = 4 - 0 - 25 - 2
Balaji = 4 - 0 - 42 - 0
Muralitharan = 4 - 0 - 39 - 2

Match 58, Semi Final 2: Chennai Storms into Finals! To meet Rajasthan!

Chennai Super Kings beat Kings XI Punjab for the third consecutive time in the IPL and entered the grand finale. The cool man admitted that he was under pressure but couldn't show it outside. He wanted his bowlers to see a confident man in the field.

Winning the toss and deciding to bat first, Kings XI Punjab failed to capitalize on the crucial toss. The much expected fight in a neutral venue did not go well as expected.

Chennai Super Kings had an easy target in hand to enter the finals and they did it withe ease. Chasing 113 in 16 overs is an easy task unless the batsmen make mistakes or the bowlers are too good in their line and length. Dhoni's team ensured that they did not make the mistakes they committed against Bangalore Royal Challengers while chasing an easy target of 127.

Vidyut got out in the 3rd over for 6 with a four. That was the only wicket to fall and we couldn't see the aggressive Yuvaraj after that. Both Patel and Raina played well to ensure that their team moved to the final stage of the game.

Both of them scored 50 in this short run chase which ended in the 15th over. Patel was the first to cross fifty in 47 balls with 8 fours and followed by Raina in 32 balls with 3 fours and 4 sixes.

Raina took little risk every now and then. He hit his first six of VRV Singh over long on. The short ball pitched on the off stump was sent over long for a six. He game room for himself and that helped him to clear the boundary.

It was strange that Sreesanth bowled just one over. I think the he was not utilized properly in this game. One of the top five most wicket takers in this IPL, it was surprising that Yuvi did used him for just one over.

His second six went out of the ground. That was really huge. The short ball from Hopes was hit over mid wicket. Pathan's short ball was his third six over mid wicket. His fourth six came off Piyush Chawla's flight deilvery which was swept over mid wicket. The next ball was a four and that was his fifty. He chipped the 5th ball of the 15th over to make the winning boundary. He was awarded the DLF Maximum Sixes Award.

They both added 102 runs for the unbeaten second wicket in 75 balls.

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Read: Semi Final 1: Rajasthan Royals v. Delhi Daredevils

Earlier, Kings XI did not start well. They lost wickets at regular intervals. Interesting, Dhoni opened his bowling attack with Muralitharan. He bowled just one over and conceded 7 runs. The first ball was a full toss and Marsh smashed hit through cover. Marsh scored 23 in 17 balls with 3 sixes and a six, couldn't continue his form. The pull of a short ball from Ntini, got the inside edge and dragged the ball to the stumps. Hopes was caught behind of Ntini in the second over. Sangakkar walked on his own though umpire did not give him out. He was caught behind of Gony in the 3rd over and Punjab was struggling at 11 for 2.

Most runs in the power play came in the 4th over bowled by Nitni where Marsh hit a six of an edge, which went over the keeper's head. Another edge went to fine leg boundary.

Gony and Muralitharan sent Yuvaraj back to the pavilion. It was a short ball and Yuvaraj pulled it with full power towards mid wicket. Muralitharan intercepted it near the ring and took a brilliant catch. In the next over Marsh was bowled.

At the end of power play, Kings XI were 35 for 4. Pathan and Jayawardane steadied the innings for the next overs, but the poor calling had Pathan run out. Jayawardane played the ball towards cover point boundary where Ntini brilliantly stopped the ball but couldn't control crossing the boundary. He intelligently rolled the ball inside the playing area and came back to pick it up. Pathan who looked for the third was first acknowledged by Jayawardane, but later sent him back, but by that time it was too late. Ntini sent a good one bounce throw to bowler Gony and he did the rest. Pathan was in the middle of the pitch and couldn't do much.

In the next over, Jayawardane tried to steer the ball to third man, edged the ball to Parthiv Patel off Morkel.

At the end of 10 overs, Kings XI were 45 for 6 almost ruined their chances to final. Chawla was bowled by Muralitharan's flight delivery. Powar though tried to hit the ball many times couldn't connect most of the deliveries. But, he hit a six of Morkel in the 19th over and then 3 consecutive fours of Balaji in the 20th over. The last 2 overs added 28 to the total and helped Kings XI to cross the 100 mark.

Mota was the 8th wicket to fall. In the last ball of the 19th over, Mota tried to loft the ball over long on, but it ballooned in the air. Raina came running from long and took a stunning diving catch.

Kings XI ended their innings with 112 for 8, Ramesh Power top scoring with 28 not out off 21 balls with 4 fours and a six.

Ntini was given the man of the match award, his second in IPL, for his good bowling performance and also for the good intelligent fielding and thorw which ran out Irfan Pathan.

Match 58 - Semi Final 2
Venue: Mumbai
Date: May 31, 2008
Teams: Chennai Super Kings and Kings XI Punjab
Captains: Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Yuvaraj Singh
Toss: Kings XI Punjab and decided to bat
Result: Chennai Super Kings won by 9 wickets with 31 balls remaining
Man of the Match: M Ntini off Chennai Super Kings (South Africa)
Score:

Kings XI Punjab 112 for 8 in 20 overs (SE Marsh 23, JR Hopes 2, KC Sangakkara 3, Yuvraj Singh 4, DPMD Jayawardene 8, IK Pathan 3, WA Mota 25, PP Chawla 12, RR Powar 28 not out, S Sreesanth 0 not out, Extras-4 (b 2, wide 2), M Muralitharan 4-0-19-1, M Ntini 4-0-23-2, M Gony 4-1-14-2, JA Morkel 4-0-27-2, L Balaji 4-0-27-0) lost to Chennai Super Kings 116 for 1 in 14.5 overs (PA Patel 51 not out, S Vidyut 6, SK Raina 55 not out, Extras-4 (wide 4), IK Pathan 4-0-24-0, S Sreesanth 1-0-7-0, RR Powar 3-0-28-0, VRV Singh 2-0-14-0, JR Hopes 2-0-20-0, PP Chawla 2.5-0-23-0)

Read: Semi Final 1: Rajasthan Royals v. Delhi Daredevils

Read: Man of the Match List

Read: Points Table

Read: IPL Scores Table!

Fleming Not Available for Remaining Maches for Chennai!

Stephen Fleming has gone back to New Zealand to see his new born baby. The Chennai Super Kings opener who got his chance to play for Chennai after Hayden returned to Australia for the West Indies tour, scored 196 runs in 10 matches. Though he did not score in many matches, his experience definitely added value to Chennai team.

Chenni has entered the semi-finals by beating Hyderabad Deccan Chargers in the do or die match. Fleming will be missing an important match and crucial game for Chennai. If they beat once again Kings XI, he will also be missing the final game against Rajasthan Royals.

As per team management, there is no time to get a foreign replacement. So, it has decided to provide opportunity to the existing players.

Congratulations Mr. Stephen Fleming!

Match 57, Semi Final 1: Rajasthan Enters Final!

In the first knock-out stage, Rajasthan beat Delhi and entered the finals of the first IPL season. They have beaten comfortably and will wait for a day to see who their opponent will be.

Put into bat, Royals started their innings with the openers crossing 50 for the first wicket. In the crucial game, both Smith and Asnodkar played sensibly and added 65 for the first wicket before Maharoof provided the break through by dismissing Smith caught by Dhawan for 25. In the same over, Asnodkar got out caught by Tiwari for 39 off 21 balls with 6 fours and a six. Though McGrath gave good start for Delhi by just giving 1 run in the first over, he was not able to sustain it. He went for 7 runs including a four in his second over and then for 3 continuous fours by smith.

Asnodkar was dropped on 23 by Maharoof in the fine leg when he tried to pull Mahesh. In the same over he hit a six and a four as Rajasthan reached 58 for no loss in 6 overs.

Sohail Tanvir was sent as number 3 for maintaining the tempo, but he fell chepaly for 5 for Maharoof. Watson and Kaif added 52 runs for the 4th wicket in 29 balls. Dangerous batsman Watson once again proved that he is there for scoring runs as quick as possible. He scored 52 off 29 balls with 4 fours and 3 sixes.

Watson went over Mahesh with 2 sixes and a four to score 21 runs in an over. Kaif was bowled by Mishra for 12, once again did not scorre for his team.

Yousuf Pathan continued with ihs form scoring 45 off 21 balls with 3 fours and 4 sixes. His innings along with Watson proved vital for Rajasthan and Delhi should accpet that they both took the game away from Delhi Daredevils.

Rajasthan ended their innings with 192 on the board. Maharoof finished with 3 for 34 in his 4 overs.

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Delhi started with their star openers Sehwag and Gambhir. The start was not as good as Delhi would have expected. Sehwag was caught by Kohli off Watson for 3. Gambhir followed him soon in the last ball of the 4th over leaving Delhi struggle at 23 for 2.

Dhawan and Tiwari were not able to withstand the pressure and the huge run chase. They fell for 5 and duck respectively. Dilshan scored 33 and provided some resistence. Karthik, who scored 50 and took Delhi to semi-finals added 10 this time.

All batsman except Gambhir, Dilshan and Kathik, got out for single digit score and that did not do any good for Delhi.

They were bowled out for 87 in 16.1 overs and denied themselves a chance to enter finals.

SR Watson was declared man of the match for his 52 and 3 wickets.

Match 57 - Semi Final 1
Venue: Mumbai
Date: May 31, 2008
Teams: Rajasthan Royals and Delhi Daredevils
Captains: Shane Warne and Virendra Sehwag
Toss: Delhi Daredevils and decided to field
Result: Rajasthan Royals won by 105 runs
Man of the Match: SR Watson off Rajasthan Royals (Australia)
Score:

Rajasthan Royals 192 for 9 in 20 overs (GC Smith 25, SA Asnodkar 39, Sohail Tanvir 5, SR Watson 52, M Kaif 12, YK Pathan 45, RA Jadeja 7, SK Warne 0, M Rawat 2, MM Patel 0 not out, SK Trivedi 1 not out, Extras-4 (lb 1, wide 3), GD McGrath 4-0-38-0, Mohammad Asif 4-0-32-1, VY Mahesh 4-0-50-2, MH Maharoof 4-0-34-3, A Mishra 4-0-37-2) beat Delhi Daredevils 87 all out in 16.1 overs (G Gambhir 11, V Sehwag 3, S Dhawan 5, MK Tiwary 0, TM Dilshan 33, KD Karthik 10, MF Maharoof 6, A Mishra 2, VY Mahesh 3, Mohammad Asif 3, GD McGrath 4 not out, Extras-7 (lb 3, wide 4), Sohail Tanvir 2-0-16-0, SR Watson 3-0-10-3, MM Patel 4-0-17-3, SK Trivedi 3-0-20-1, SK Warne 4-0-21-2, RA Jadeja 0.1-0-0-0, Yuvaraj Singh 1-0-20-0)

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The second semi final is between Kings XI Punjab and Chennai Super Kings in the same ground.

Semi Finals Matches!

The first of the semi final match will be held on May 30 and the second semi final on May 31.

1st Semi Final: Rajasthan Royals v. Delhi Daredevils at Mumbai
2nd Semi Final: Kings XI Punjab v. Chennai Super Kings

Match 54: Chennai Enter Semi finals! Mumbai Out!

In the crucial do or die situation, Chennai Super Kings today beat Deccan Chargers and stormed into the semi finals. With this victory, Chennai has went to third place behind Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI. The last position is occupied by Delhi Daredevils.

Mumbai has one more match to be played against Bangalore Royal Challengers, which is insignificant to both the teams in terms of qualifying for the semi-finals.

Deciding to bat first, Deccan Chargers started their innings slowly. They lost Gibbs in the 3rd over, trying to cut it over point, he was caught at third man for the second time.

Gilchrist trying to slog was also caught at third man in the next over. End of 10 overs, Deccan were 57 for 2.

Styris was bowled by Muralitharan for 20 in the 11th over. Venugopal Rao played his usual agressive innings. He started little slow because of the fall of 3 wickets in 11 overs for 57 with just 57 on board.

The 14th over bowled by Balaji gave momentum to Deccan Chargers. Venugopal hit him for a six over extra cover. Teja hit a four of the last ball to score 14 runs in that over and take the score to 85 for 3 at the end of 14 overs.

The 15th and 16th over added 8 and 11 runs respectively. End of 16 overs, Deccan Chargers were 104 for 3.

The 18th over by Balaji added 15 to Deccan's total including a six and four by Teja.

Chennai is known for hat-trick now. It recorded a team hat-trick with Teja getting out in the 3rd ball off Morkel caught by Mukund. The next ball was a run out of Venugopal Rao. Going for the second run, he was short by a milli-metre. Yadav was bowled in the next ball, losing his leg stump. Three balls, three wickets.

But, RP Singh hit a six of the last ball in the 19th over which took the score to 140 for 6. The last over by Balaji added 7 to the total with 2 wickets to his credit. Deccan Charges finished their 20 overs with 147 for 8.

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Chennai started well with a 26-run first wicket partnership. Fleming trying to square cut the ball, was caught behind of a thick outside edge of Vijaykumar.

At the end of power play, Chennai were cruising well with 44 for 1. Patel and Raina added 34 for the 2nd wicket in 31 balls.

Patel was caught at extra covers off Sarvesh Kumar by Shahid Afridi for 20. Dhoni promoted himself up the order one more time and he played sensibly. Dhoni was dropped the first ball he faced by Sarvesh Kumar on his own bowling and it went for a four. The next ball took outside edge and went for another four, Dhoni 8 off 2 balls.

When the score was on 115 in 15.1 overs, Dhoni tried to attack Ojha and went over long on, but was caught by Gibbs. He scored 37 off 25 balls with 4 fours and a six. Though the intention was right, but it put pressure on Morkel and Raina in the next few overs.

Last 4 overs required 31 runs. Styris bowled a very good over and Chennai scored just 3 runs.

28 required of 18 balls. Ohja's over added 11 to the total including a boundary over mid wicket. Equation reduced to 17 of 12 balls.

The caught and bowled chance was missed by RP Singh of the first ball. It bounced from his hand and went to mid on and the fielder had enough time to hit the stumps and he missed it. Two chances in one ball to send Raina to pavilion missed.

Three runs were scored in the next ball. The boundary was saved in the point. The fourth ball took the inside edge of Morkel and went to fine leg boundary.

Last over required 7 runs and Vijaykumar had the ball. The first ball was a single by Morkel and the next ball was a huge six over long on by Raina to give victory and semi-final birth to Chennai. It means, Mumbai has no more chance of entering semi-finals. With that winning six, Raina reached his 50 in 43 balls with 5 fours and 2 sixes. He was rightly declared man of the match.

Match 54
Venue: Hyderabad
Date: May 27, 2008
Teams: Hyderabad Deccan Chargers and Chennai Super Kings
Captains: Adam Gilchrist and Mahendra Singh Dhoni
Toss: Hyderabad Deccan Chargers and decided to bat
Result: Chennai Super Kings won by 7 wickets with 4 balls remaining
Man of the Match: Suresh Raina off Chennai Super Kings (India)
Points: Chennai Super Kings-2; Hyderabad Deccan Chargers-0
Score:

Hyderabad Deccan Chargers 147 for 8 in 20 overs (AC Gilchrist 5, HH Gibbs 8, SB Styris 20, Y Venugopal Rao 46, DB Ravi Teja 40, Shahid Afridi 1, AS Yadav 0, RP Singh 10, PP Ojha 1 not out, Extras-16 (b 1, lb 8, wide 7), M Ntini 4-0-24-1, M Gony 4-0-21-1, JA Morkel 4-0-37-2, M Muralitharan 4-0-22-1, L Balaji 4-0-34-2) lost to Chennai Super Kings 148 for 3 in 19.2 overs (PA Patel 20, SP Fleming 14, SK Raina 54 not out, MS Dhoni 37, JA Morkel 12 not out, NK Patel 40 not out, Extras-11 (lb 3, wide 8), RP Singh 4-0-32-0, DP Vijaykumar 3.2-0-32-1, Shahid Afridi 3-0-19-0, PM Sarvesh Kumar 2-0-18-1, PP Ojha 4-0-28-1, SB Styris 3-0-16-0)

Read: Man of the Match List

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Chennai in Do-or-Die Match!

In the crucial encounter today in the IPL league match, it is almost like a quarter final for Chennai. They have to win their game against Hyderabad Deccan Chargers, who has nothing to lose regardless of the result.

The last ball defeat for Mumbai Indians has pushed Delhi Daredevils into Semi-Finals.

Read: Points Table

Delhi has 15 points from their 14 games. But Chennai and Mumbai Indians have one game left. Chenni has 14 points and Mumbai has 12 points. If Chennai win their game against Deccan Chargers, they will qualify to Semi-Finals with 16 points regardless of a win to Mumbai, which would end ther 14 games with 14 points.

If Chennai loses and if Mumbai wins, then net run rate comes into play. If Mumbai lose thier last match against Bangalore Royal Challengers, Chennai qualifies as they are already leading in points.

Let us see whether Chennai Super Kings lead by Indian Skipper Dhoni can withstand the pressure and enter the last four. Please remember that in the last encounter in Chennai between these two teams, Deccan beat Chennai by 7 wickets with 12 balls to spare.

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Match 49: Rajasthan Royals Continue Winning! Chennai miss the thriller!

In the crucial match, Chennai Super Kings has lost an opportunity one more time to confirm their birth to the semi-finals. They lost the easy target of 128 against Bangalore Royal Challengers and they lost this match by 10 runs against Rajasthan Royals.

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One more match for Chennai with last over requiring 15 runs. They won one of the three such matches. They won against Delhi when M Gony hit Shoaib Malik for 15 runs. They scored only 4 runs including one waist height no ball and lost two wickets.

JA Morkel top scored for Chennai with 71 off 40 balls with 6 fours and 4 sixes. Parthiv Patel scored 54 off 40 balls with 5 fours and 2 sixes. SK Raina added 45 off 24 balls with 6 fours and 2 sixes. Sohail Tanvir picked 3 wickets for 33 runs.

For Rajasthan, after deciding to bat, Smith scored a brilliant 91 off 51 balls with 9 fours and 4 sixes. The first wicket added 127 in 11.1 overs and Asnodkar scored 41 of those in 27 balls with 5 fours and 2 sixes. Kamran Akmal fired a quick fire 53 off 28 balls with 4 fours and 3 sixes.

JA Morkel picked 2 for 35 in 4 overs and has been declared man of the match.

Now, Chennai has only two options to enter semi-finals:

Delhi Daredevils has to lose their match against Mumbai Indians or Chennai has to win their last match against Deccan Chargers!

Match 48
Venue: Chennai
Date: May 24, 2008
Teams: Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals
Captains: Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Shane Warne
Toss: Rajasthan Royals and decided to bat
Result: Rajasthan Royals won by 10 runs
Man of the Match: JA Morkel off Chennai Super Kings (South Africa)
Points: Rajasthan Royals-2; Chennai Super Kings-0
Score:

Hyderabad Deccan Chargers 175 for 4 in 20 overs (GC Smith 91, SA Asnodkar 41, Kamran Akmal 53 not out, YK Pathan 6, M Kaif 10, T Kohli 3, Extras-7 (lb 5, wide 1, nb 1), M Ntini 4-0-43-0, M Gony 3-0-32-0, JA Morkel 4-0-35-2, M Muralitharan 4-0-31-0, L Balaji 3-0-45-0, SK Raina 2-0-20-1) beat Chennai Super Kings 201 for 7 in 20 overs (PA Patel 54, SP Fleming 7, SK Raina 45, JA Morkel 71, MS Dhoni 12, S Badrinath 1, M Gony 2 not out, A Mukund 0, Extras-9 (b 1, lb 2, wide 3, nb 3), Sohail Tanvir 4-0-33-3, YK Pathan 3-0-31-0, MM Patel 4-0-55-1, Pankan Singh 4-0-30-0, SK Warne 4-0-35-2, D Salunkhe 1-0-14-0)

Read: Man of the Match List

Read: Points Table

Read: IPL Scores Table!

Match 24: Rajasthan Royals on Top; Thrashes Chennai Super Kings!

Rajasthan Royals thrashed Chennai Super Kings by 8 wickets to lead the table with 1 points, winning 5 of their 6 matches.

Winning the toss and deciding to bat first, I was surprised by Dhoni's decision. With the good batting line up, they could chase any target. Not sure why he decided to bat first. In the pressure to add runs and set a huge target, if they lose wickets as they did with Delhi and also in this match, they would be out of this tournament very soon.

Chennai lost the first four wickets before the power play. Sohail Tanvir, who bowled the best figures in the T20 today against Chennai, picked 6 wickets. His record figures were 4-0-14-6. In his first three overs, he gave away just 3 runs, but taking 3 wickets.

Patel and Fleming trapped leg before in the first over itself for duck. That really put Chennai on the back foot. Vidyut was caught by Warne for 5. Badrinath trying to improve the score, pulled the ball, but didn't time it well and ended up giving an easy caught and bowl to Watson for 15.

Dhoni was well deceived by Warne. The ball pitched on the middle and made Dhoni play the drive. The ball turning well took the edge and flew to slip where Smith took a good catch to send skipper Dhoni to pavilion for 1.

At the end of 8th over Chennai were 46 for 5. Morkel and Raina stayed in the crease for few more overs. Realizing that runs are important, Morkel took chances against Warne and hit him 17 runs that included 2 fours and a six.

In the 15th over, Raina's sent the ball in the air and Tanvir took a good judging catch of Patel. He scored 27 off 27 balls with 2 fours. In the same over, Joginder played irresponsible shot to get himself out for a duck, caught by Tanvir again.

At the end of 15 overs, Chennai were 91 for 7, not sure whether they would touch the three figure mark.

Morkel was the lone fighter on the field. He scored 42 and got out in the 17th over first ball, bowled by Sohail Tanvir, giving him his 4th wicket. Muralitharan was bowled in the next two deliveries.

End of over 17, Chennai were 97 for 8 with Nitni and Gony at the crease. Two fours by Nitni of Tanvir took the score past 100. In the same over, Nitni was bowled by Tanvir taking his 6th wicket--a record.

Chasing 110 in 20 overs is not a difficult task. Any team would do that 99 times out of 100. It is not different for Rajasthan Royals who reached this score at the last of 2 wickets.

Nitni started off with the maiden. Though Smith was dropped by at mid on by Joginder of Nitni when he was on 6, no one was able to stop them from reaching the target.

At the end of 10 overs, they were 78 for no loss, requiring 32 in 10 overs. Vidyut took the first wicket to send Asnodkar caught by Nitni for 32 off 30 balls with 5 fours. Yousuf Pathan was sent as usual, but this time to finish the game faste. He hit a six of Vidyut over mid wicket.

He was out off Muralitharan caught by Raina at short fine leg. At the end of 12th over, Rajasthan needed 18 in 8 overs.

Watson hit a six and four of Vidyut in the 13th over and six required off 7 overs and those were scored in the next two overs.

Undoubtedly, Sohail Tanvir was declared man of the match for his wonderful bowling performance of 4-0-14-6 and taking two catches.

With this victory, Rajasthan leading the table with 10 points, with most wins--5, than any other team out of the 6 games played.

Match 24
Venue: Jaipur
Date: May 4, 2008
Teams: Rajsthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings
Captains: Shane Warne and Mahendra Singh Dhoni
Toss: Chennai Super Kings and decided to bat
Result: Rajsthan Royals won by 8 wickets with 34 balls remaining
Man of the Match: Sohail Tanvir off Rajsthan Royals (South Africa)
Points: Rajsthan Royals-2; Chennai Super Kings-0
Score:
Chennai Super Kings 162 for 8 in 20 overs (PA Patel 0, SP Fleming 0, S Vidyut 5, SK Raina 27, S Badrinath 15, MS Dhoni 1, JA Morkel 42, Joginder Sharma 0, M Gony 1 not out, M Muralitharan 0, M Ntini 11, Extras—7 (b 4, lb 1, wide 2), Sohail Tanvir 4-0-14-6, SR Watson 4-0-19-1, MM Patel 4-0-16-2, SK Trivedi 2-0-17-0, SK Warne 3-0-29-1, YK Pathan 2-0-9-0) lost to Rajsthan Royals 110 for 2 in 14.2 overs (GC Smith 35 not out, SA Asnodkar 32, YK Pathan 8, SR Watson 14 not out, Extras-21 (lb 6, wide 14, nb 1), M Ntini 3-1-17-0, M Gony 3-0-25-0, JA Morkel 1-0-10-0, M Muralitharan 4-0-20-1, SK Raina 1.2-0-10-0, S Vidyut 2-0-22-1)

Match 20: Chennai Super Kings Loses! Shewag Proves Delhi is the Boss!

The perfect openers for Delhi is a big advantage. They are able to score with proper cricketing shots and also slogging when needed.

Chepauk once again proved lucky for Delhi skipper Shewag. Chasing a moderate target of 170, the Delhi opener hit 3 sixes in the first two overs--first over 4th ball over third man, the remaining two in the bowling of Goni--first ball over long off and third ball over point. End of two overs, they were 25 for no loss. The initial domination by Shewag really put pressure to Chennai and they were looking for break through. Shewag hit two fours of Gony in his 2nd over.

Gambhir, the man in form scored two fours of Nitni. The runs were coming thick and fast for Delhi. At the end of power play, Delhi were 64 for no loss. The entire crowd including my watching it live really enjoyed the game of Shewag and thought that Delhi would win without losing a wicket.

Shewag reach his 50 in 24 balls with 4 fours and 4 sixes. He cracked Joginder Sharma's first over for 19 runs with a six and two fours. Though he was out caught at deep cover, it was a free hit.

At the end of 10 overs, Delhi were 106 for no wicket with Shewag on 64, scoring most the runs.

Though Muraitharan bowled tight at one end, Delhi were scoring in the other end. Finally, Joginder gave the break through when Shewag tried upper cut, was caught at third man by Muralitharan. He was out for 71 off 41 balls with 7 fours and 4 sixes.

deVillers was struggling at one end and Chennai was utilizing it. Gambhir reached his 50 in 35 balls with 5 fours and a six. He was soon out bowled by Gony for 50 in 37 balls. At the end of 15 overs, Delhi were 142 for 2, requiring 28 from 30 balls.

With the last three overs requiring 16, Gony gave just 2 runs in the crucial 18th over. With 12 balls and 14 required, Dhoni went in favor Morkel, who gave all the runs in that over. He started with a wide and then gave a two, one, and four in the first 3 balls. With 9 balls more, 6 runs required, he conceded two continuous twos and the target was 2 runs of 7 balls. The last ball was a full toss hit over mid wicket for 4 by Dhawan to giv Delhi the winning points.

I am disapointed with the result of the match. Though Chennai Super Kings had all the chances of winning, I though poor captaincy by Dhoni lead to this failure. He should have decided to bowl considering the batting strength of Delhi, poor field setting, where the batsman were running twos very easily placing the ball in the gap and also to the fielder, who were running from the boundary.

Earlier, winning the toss and deciding to bat, McGrath was at his best as usual. He dominated the opening attack. Stephen Fleming, playing his first match not able to do much against him. He was bowled by first ball of Mahesh which was a no ball. He hit the next ball, the free hit to a bounday, which again was a no ball. The next free hit was a four again. But he was out in the next proper ball, bowled through inner edge.

Parthiv Patel and Vidyut took the responsbility of building the innings for Chennai. Both of them struggled though they scored few boundaries. At the end of the power play, Chennai were 47 for 1.

Patel fell in the first ball of Shewag, caught at short third man for 21 off 20 balls with 3 fours.

At the end of 10 overs, Chennai Super Kings were 82 for 2 with Dhoni on 7 and Vidyut on 35. The 11th over of the innings was the costly over, bowled by Shewag where he gave two sixes--one by Vidyut and the other by Dhoni. They should have built the momentum from there, but the opporunity was missed.

Vidyut reached 50 in his first match itself off 31 balls. Should really appreciate Shewag for the way he rotated the bowlers. McGrath provided the break through by taking Vidyut's wicket caught by Mahesh at covers. McGrath finished his spell with 1 for 21 in four overs. End of 15 overs, Chennai were 126 for 3.

16th over bowled by Mahesh was the good over for Delhi. He gave just one run, that was very costly for Chennai. The last four overs also did not go well for Chennai as they scored just 42 runs where much more than was expected. Dhoni was out in the 18th over trying to hit a six over long off. He was caught by Shoaib Malik off Mohammad Asif for 32 off 27 balls with 2 fours and a six. Raina was run out in the next over. The ball was near the stumps when he called for a single from non-strikers end, but Sangwan was quick to hit the stumps. In the same over, Morkel hit two sixes to take the score to 158 for 5.

In the last over bowled by Bhatia, Chennai lost Morkel caught by Shewag at short third man. The last ball was a six by Badrinath, the only ball he faced.

Chennai ended their innings with 169 for 6, not a big total for Chepauk wicket. Shewag was rightly chosen for the man of the match--the destructor.

Match 20
Venue: Chennai
Date: May 2, 2008
Teams: Chennai Super Kings and Delhi Daredevils
Captains: Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Virendra Shewag
Toss: Kings XI Punjab and decided to field
Result: Delhi Daredevils won by 8 wickets with 6 balls to spare
Man of the Match: Virendra Shewag off Delhi Daredevils (India)
Points: Delhi Daredevils-2; Chennai Super Kings-0
Score:
Chennai Super Kings 169 for 6 in 20 overs (PA Patel 21, SP Fleming 13, S Vidyut 54, MS Dhoni 32, JA Morkel 28, SK Raina 3, S Badrinath 11 not out, Joginder Sharma 0 not out, Extras—7 (wide 5, nb 2), GD McGrath 4-0-21-1, Mohammad Asif 4-0-34-1, VY Mahesh 4-0-31-1, P Sangwan 4-0-40-0, Shoaib Malik 1-0-11-0, V Sehwag 2-0-21-1, R Bhatia 1-0-11-1) lost to Delhi Daredevils 172 for 2 in 19 overs (G Gambhir 50, V Sehwag 71, AB de Villiers 26 not out, S Dhawan 19 not out, Extras—6 (b 1, lb 1, wide 2, nb 2), M Ntini 4-0-29-0, M Gony 4-0-39-1, JA Morkel 4-0-40-0, Joginder Sharma 3-0-35-1, M Muralitharan 4-0-27-0)

Dhoni Proves His Worth!

Dhoni, the highest paid cricketer in the IPL with 6 crorers, proved in the Chennai Super King's victory why he is costly. He did not say this openly in an interview or press conference, but through his batting and leadership skills.

In the recent match against Bangalore Royal Challengers played in Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore, he saved Super Kings the victory through his quick fire 50 and wonderful captaincy.

When Chennai was struggling with estimated score of 150 to 160 at 10 runs per over in the last 5 overs. In fact, at the end of 10 overs, Chennai were 65 for 2. They scored 37 runs in the next 5 overs to take the score 102 for 3 in 15 overs.

Dhoni entered the pitch in the 13th over and did not score any runs in the first four balls he faced. Dhoni launched his first attack in the 15th over, where he hit Steyn 2 continuous fours. His first six was of the bowling of Kallis. He hit it over long off and went to the second tier.

The fire work started in the 19th over bowled by Steyn. End of 18 overs, Chennai were 140 for 3 with Dhoni ready to face Steyn. His normal luck of bowling a wide and then taking a wicket did not work against Dhoni. He hit the first ball to a four over Steyn's head; the second ball was a full toss, which took the outside edge and flew to third-man boundary--very lucky; third ball was a six over mid wicket; fourth ball was a four beating fielder in deep mid wicket; fifth ball was another four at long off, the misfield helps Dhoni to get another four and last ball was a single;

The 19th over added 24 runs to the score board and took Chennai to 164 for 3. The 20th over was bowled by Zaheer Khan.

First ball was a slower ball and no run was scored;
Second ball was a four hit like a bullet through square leg;
Third ball was a six over mid wicket; slower ball was picked well by Dhoni;
Fourth ball was a four through longon;
He was out in the next ball trying to slog, but it went high in the air and was caught at extra cover. Last ball was another wicket, when Hussey tried to slog, he was caught at mid wicket.

Chennai ended up with 178 for 5 in 20 overs. Scoring 76 runs in the last 5 overs, especially 38 runs in the last 2 overs. What an innings by Dhoni? Didn't he prove that he is worth for that money?

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)

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?

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.

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 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)