Tendulkar creates record in Catching!!

Tendulkar by taking 4 catches in the IPL match against the Kolkata Knight Riders entered the records book for having most catches in the T20 Tournament.

The first catch was in slips to dismiss Salman Butt off Pollock.

The second catch was to dismiss Saha, againt caught at slips. Bravo was the wicket taker.

Third catch was to send Agarkar back off Bravo again. He placed himself in the 2nd slip and Agarkar sterred it to third man, but Tendulkar was standing in the way to grab it easily.

The last catch was to send Shoabit Akhtar who did not read the slower ball from Raje. The ball scooped to the mid wicket where Tendulkar easily caught it.

Kolkata were dismissed for 67, the lowest total in the IPL. Mumbai Indians chased the score in 5.3 overs with 8 wickets remaining.

Man of the Match List

Points Table

Record Low Score by Kolkata Knight Riders

Kolakata Knight Riders v. Mumbai Indians

Match 21: Bangalore Royal Challengers Wins the Thriller by 3 Runs!

Put into bat, Bangalore Royal Challengers though seemed to struggle in the home ground, finally won by 3 runs. The last 5 overs required 45 runs with Laxman and Rohit Sharma in the crease.

Steyn bowled a tight 16th over where he gave just 3 runs. Sharma scored 2 runs of the fours balls he faced and Laxman scored 1 off the 2 balls.

With 42 from 24 balls, Rohit hit a six, and a four of the first two balls of Kallis to reduce the target to 32 from 22 balls. The next two balls were single and Rohit was out in the fifth ball. He was caught at long on by Jaffer for a well made 57, his third fifty of IPL, in 42 balls with 5 fours and 3 sixes.

With 3 overs and 29 required, Praveen dismissed Afridi in the first ball. He hit it over long on, where Steyn covered huge ground running from long on to almost mid-on to take a superb forward diving catch, a crucial one.

The next four balls were singles, but Laxman fell of the last ball. He played across on the ball that almost pitched on the leg and Laxman tried to play it on the onside got trappd in front. He was out for a well made 52 off 44 balls with 7 fours.

25 runs required from 12 balls, Zaheer Khan got Styris leg before for 2. The sweep by Styris of the slower ball did not materialize as he was found plumb in front of the wicket. 11 ball, 25 runs. All the five balls were singles and Zaheer produced a beautiful 19th over under pressure.

Last over was bowled by Indian test skipper Anil Kumble. The first two balls were singles scored. The third ball gave hope to Deccan Chargers were Bangar hit a six over extra cover. Came down the track and hit a flat six.

The fourth ball was also a six. The full toss was sent over mid wicket for another 6 bringing down the target to 6 runs of two balls.

Kumble, the experienced campaigner, just gave a run in the next delivery. Boucher misses the hit at the stumps, when the inside side onto his pads.

Last ball, 5 runs, Yadav, the yorker length delivery went to deep midwicket for a single and Bangalore Royal Challengers win by 3 runs. Earlier, Gilchrist fell cheaply for 10 caught at deep square leg, just inches inside the rope. Though the momentum took him few steps behind, he ensure that he is still inside the rope to take a wonderful catch to get rid off the dangerous batsman Gilchrist.

Gibbs did not make use of this match as well. He hit a four and then got out in the next over for 5. He tried to pull the short ball from Praveen Kumar's first ball, but it came late and the ball lobbed to mid off for a simple catch to Kumble.

Rohit, owner of two fifties in this IPL, joined his skipper. End of power play, 6th over, Deccan Chargers were 33 for 2. It was Sharma who started giving momentum by hitting a six of Kumble's first over and then two fours of Praveen. After that, they were playing singles to reach 63 in 10 overs.

Laxman hit three fours of Kumble in the 12th over. This opened the chance for Deccan Chargers to eye for the victory. Sharma hit a six of Praveen's over, but that over added just 7 runs. With 60 runs from 42 balls and 8 wickets in hand, every chance was with Deccan Chargers. The next two overs added 15 runs to the total to reduce the target to 45 from 30 balls and finally they lost by 3 runs.

Both Laxman and Rohit crossed half-century for Deccan Chargers.

Earlier, Jaffer and Chipli opened the innings with Chipli hitting 2 continuous fours in the 2nd over bowled by RP Singh and was bowled in the next ball. Jaffer and Kohli built the innings with a 72 run partnership of 54 balls.

Jaffer hit few good fours and Kohli also joined the party. He was caught at extra cover by Gibss off Ojha for 44 off 37 balls with 6 fours.

Kallis started off with a flick to fine leg for a boundary was bowled by Ojha. The flighted delivery pitched leg and middle deceived Kallis and he missed the line and was bowled for 6.

Kohli's irresponsible shot sent him to pavilion in the next over leaving Bangalore struggle at 104 for 4 in the 14th over.

Mibah-ul-Haq was trapped leg before off Afridi. The umpire was convinced but not the TV replays. Boucher and skipper Dravid had to carry on and put on a good score.

At the end of 15 overs, Bangalore Royal Challengers were 114 for 5. Afridi bowled a very tight line not giving any room for the batsman. The 17th over by Styris costed only 4 runs and the 18th over by Afridi added another 4. With 130 on the board and 2 overs to go, skipper Dravid had to open his shoulders for big shots.

Boucher hit a four and got out. Praveen Kumar, the new batsman hit two fours of the last two balls of RP Singh to take the score to 143 for 6.

Dravid hit a six of Styris and scored a single in the next ball. Praveen was run out in the next ball. He was looking at his shot and the ball when he played a scoop over short leg. It was Dravid's call and he rightly came to batting crease where Praveen was watching the fielder. He started late and didn't reach the crease on time.

Dravid hit a six of the penultimate ball and got out in the last ball for a well made 26 in 19 balls with 1 four and 2 sixes.

Praveen Kumar was declared man of the match for picking 3 wickets in his four overs giving away 23 runs.

Match 21
Venue: Bangalore
Date: May 3, 2008
Teams: Bangalore Royal Challengers and Hyderabad Deccan Chargers
Captains: Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman
Toss: Hyderabad Deccan Chargers and decided to field
Result: Bangalore Royal Challengers won by 3 runs
Man of the Match: Praveen Kumar off Bangalore Royal Challengers (India)
Points: Bangalore Royal Challengers-2; Hyderabad Deccan Chargers-0
Score:
Bangalore Royal Challengers 156 for 8 in 20 overs (B Chipli 10, W Jaffer 44, V Kohli 38, JH Kallis 6, Misbah-ul-Haq 3, R Dravid 26, MV Boucher 16, P Kumar 8, Z Khan 0 not out, Extras—5 (lb 3, wide 2), DP Vijaykumar 3-0-18-0, RP Singh 4-0-41-3, SB Styris 4-0-29-1, Shahid Afridi 4-0-23-1, PP Ojha 4-0-28-2, SB Bangar 1-0-14-0) beat Hyderabad Deccan Chargers 153 for 6 in 20 overs (AC Gilchrist 10, VVS Laxman 52, HH Gibbs 5, RG Sharma 57, Shahid Afridi 1, SB Styris 2, AS Yadav 3 not out, SB Bangar 17 not out, Extras—6 (b 1, lb 3, wide 2), DW Steyn 4-0-20-0, Z Khan 4-0-24-2, P Kumar 4-0-23-3, A Kumble 4-0-47-0, JH Kallis 4-0-35-1)

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)