Chennai Super Kings crowned 2010 IPL Champions

The Super Kings from Chennai beat Mumbai Indians by 22 runs and won the IPL 2010 trophy at the end of a scintillating final.

The team from Chennai put up a spirited performance in the field, unlike the one by Mumbai Indians who dropped Suresh Raina twice to hand the match to CSK.

It was clearly Suresh Raina’s day - the southpaw scored 57* off 35 balls, took a brilliant catch and claimed the wicket of Harbhajan Singh with his off-spin helping the Chennai emerge winners for the first time on the grandest stage.

It was a difficult wicket to bat on and the slowness of the pitch was reflected in the sluggishness of the Mumbai Indians’ chase. Abhishek Nayar, who joined Sachin Tendulkar after the fall of Dhawan, initially looked out of touch.

But the all-rounder finally seemed to have found his groove. But then Nayar got himself run-out in the 12th over. Tendulkar’s angry reaction to Nayar’s run-out showed how desperate he was to win the trophy.

It was then that Mumbai seemed to lose the plot. Harbhajan Singh was sent ahead of Kieron Pollard. Harbhajan, though, failed in his pinch-hitting role. And when Tendulkar fell in the 15th over, the match seemed all over.

Pollard, though, had other ideas. The tall Trinidadian then decided to show what a big mistake sending him late was by letting his bat do the talking. He hit the unplayable Bollinger for 22 runs in the 18th over (the scorecard: 4, 6, 2, 4, 0, 6) to raise hopes of an improbable win. But when the all-rounder got out in the 19th over, it was actually all over.

Earlier in the night, Chennai Super Kings began on a cautious note with Matthew Hayden looking to settle down and find his form. The Super Kings’ strategy seemed to be one of not losing early wickets and then exploding at the end. They were hitting the occasional boundary and six, but nothing spectacular.

Murali Vijay was outscoring Hayden, but then the stylish CSK opener failed to read a slower one from Dilhara Fernando and holed out to Saurabh Tiwary. Haydos couldn’t deliver on the big night either, with another slower delivery getting a wicket. This time, Kieron Pollard was the bowler.

CSK skipper MS Dhoni and his deputy joined forces to rescue the innings. Raina and Dhoni set about making it a real contest.

Raina was his usual effervescent self finding the boundary at regular intervals. He would be grateful to the MI fielders, having first been dropped by Zaheer Khan on 28 and later being given another life – a moment that proved to be the funniest moment of the match. Fernando and Abhishek Nayar went after a Raina skier but ended up looking facing each other blankly having missed the catch altogether.

Dhoni departed after a quick-fire 22 that included one audacious six off Pollard.

Raina’s two lifelines proved costly for MI with the southpaw hitting Pollard for 18 runs in the 16th over. CSK ended the innings at 168, the highest target by a team in an IPL final.

Bangalore's consolation entry to CLT20

In what was the most lopsided contest of IPL 2010, the Royal Challengers Bangalore team defeated Deccan Chargers by 37 runs here tonight to make it to the Champions League T20 tournament.

DC scored a feeble 82, IPL 2010’s lowest total, which illustrated the lack of competition that Royals faced. Chasing such a small target is hardly enough to raise a sweat and the Bangalore boys managed to achieve their target with 37 balls to spare.

Jacques Kallis and Rahul Dravid set about chasing the target with cool confidence. But Kallis departed without having seen the side through. Kevin Pietersen and Dravid finished the job without any more hiccups.

The slow track was helpful for bowlers, but that wasn’t the reason for the Deccan team’s abysmal performance - it was the indiscipline in DC’s batting that helped RCB win. Anil Kumble with his four-for led from the front for RCB. Though Kumble was the star with the ball, his brothers-in-arms - Praveen Kumar, Jacques Kallis and Dale Steyn – who were equally responsible in bundling out DC with their impressive line and length.

Earlier, Adam Gilchrist was forced to make four crucial changes to the squad with injury ruling out T Suman, Herschelle Gibbs, RP Singh and B Sumanth. And the changes left the team too weak to even put up a decent fight.

Before you could list out the names of the Deccan Chargers’ squad, the Chargers had lost four wickets. First to go was the woefully out-of-form DC skipper Adam Gilchrist. He hit a full toss off his counterpart Anil Kumble down the throat of deep square leg.

Then next to depart was Monish Mishra - LBW to a fullish delivery from Praveen Kumar. Rohit Sharma tried to hit his way out of trouble but only found Kevin Pietersen, who took an easy catch to dismiss the dangerous batsman.

And then came the killer blow. In the seventh over Andrew Symonds, dropped off the previous delivery, wasted his chance to hand Dale Steyn his wicket.

DC’s two new recruits for this game - Anirudh Singh and Venugopal Rao – came together to try and make a fight of the game. The duo combined to score 43 runs with Singh hitting some lusty blows. But as was the case throughout the innings, Singh played one shot too many and got out. The complete domination of the RCB bowling is apparent from the fact that only Singh and Rao were the batsmen to reach double figures.

Royal Challengers Bangalore’s superb bowling display allowed them to restrict Deccan Chargers to 82 - the lowest total of IPL 2010.

With this comprehensive victory, RCB join IPL 2010 finalists Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings in the Champions League Twenty20 tournament set to take place in September.

Deccan lose charge vs CSK

Focus, conviction and clinical precision saw the Chennai Super Kings defend a paltry total and defeat Deccan Chargers here tonight by 38 runs.

Doug Bollinger bowled with the kind of fervour that is required to defend a small total. His four-for was the foundation on which the Super Kings built their victory tower. He was ably supported by the CSK spinners Shadab Jakati and R Ashwin.

Not even their staunchest supporters would have believed CSK had a chance to get back into the game after scoring 142, but an inspired bowling display, some desperation in the field and some brilliant field placements saw the Chennai squad make it into the IPL final.

Adam Gilchrist seemed to be rediscovering his touch but a fine catch by Anirudha Srikkanth off the bowling of Doug Bollinger sent the DC captain back to the dug-out. Bollinger struck again to send back the Chargers’ in-form batsman T Suman and have DC floundering at 23 for 2 after the Powerplay.

Rohit Sharma had to try and up the run-rate and Albie Morkel got his wicket making him mis-time a lofted shot. Herschelle Gibbs and Monish Mishra soon followed Sharma and the Chargers’ charge looked to have fizzled out even before it began.

With half the side gone with just 54 on the board, it was up to Andrew Symonds to rescue his team and take them into the final. But once Ashwin claimed his wicket as he was trying to clear the field, it was game over for the Deccan Chargers.

Earlier, MS Dhoni’s decision to bat first on a green and bouncy track backfired with the Chennai side unable to counter the dual threats of seam movement and bounce.

The Gods seemed to be smiling on Matthew Hayden and giving him not one but two lifelines. First RP Singh dropped a simple chance off the CSK opener and then B Sumanth at gully gave Hayden another chance. But Hayden didn’t seem interested in staying out there and gave an easy catch to Andrew Symonds off the bowling of Ryan Harris.

Harris was in the thick of things and claimed the second CSK wicket of Murali Vijay. Suresh Raina soon joined the CSK openers in the dug-out.

S Badrinath and MS Dhoni tried their hardest to rescue the sinking CSK ship and their 52-run partnership went some way in saving Chennai the embarrassment of scoring the lowest total in an IPL semi-final.

But first Dhoni (30) and then Badrinath (37) departed without really setting the stadium on fire - the Super Kings were tottering at the precipice of a dismal total at the stage. But a late charge by Anirudha Srikkanth saw Chennai to a respectable total of 142 for seven.

The Deccan bowlers stuck to a good line and length, extracted bounce and generally managed to rein in the Super Kings with Ryan Harris and Andrew Symonds being the only real performers.

Caribbean Calypso Pollard turn it for MI

KP came to the party to take his team to the final of IPL 2010. Lucky for Mumbai Indians’ fans, it was Kieron Pollard and not Kevin Pietersen.

The West Indian’s all-round show helped Mumbai Indians beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by 35 runs and make it to the final of IPL 2010.

The match, which began with the promise of being an exciting contest, ended on an anti-climactic note with the boys in red being no match for the marauding boys in blue.

KP was the RCB’s nemesis tonight - his late blitzkrieg with the bat left the Bangalore boys stunned. He then returned to haunt the Royal Challengers’ batsmen, claiming the key wickets of Robin Uthappa, Virat Kohli and Manish Pandey. He seemed to be everywhere tonight, even being involved in the run-out of Rahul Dravid.

None of the RCB batsmen looked settled and the pressure of chasing a big total in a big game told on the side with the players looking to hit their way out of trouble. Harbhajan Singh and Lasith Malinga, with two wickets apiece, were Pollard’s brothers-in-arm in destroying RCB.

Earlier, the Mumbai Indians’ decision to bat first looked on a sticky wicket with the team losing wickets at regular intervals. It was only a late charge by Saurabh Tiwary and Kieron Pollard that saw MI put up a decent total.

Sachin Tendulkar looked as if the pressure of being MI’s talisman got to him and he departed for his first single-digit score of IPL 2010. Tendulkar had hit Dale Steyn for two boundaries earlier in the over, but the occasion forced the MI skipper to a play an uncharacteristic shot to lose his wicket.

The Mumbai Indians then lost quick wickets with even Kevin Pietersen getting into the act. The Mumbai side were tottering at 77 for four when Saurabh Tiwary and Ambati Rayudu did their by now familiar rescue act. The duo played sensibly to resurrect the innings, with Tiwary hitting the occasional six.

The match which looked to be going RCB’s way changed course suddenly in the 16th over with Tiwary going ballistic. Then came the 17-run over Anil Kumble would like to forget - the leggie was taken part by Tiwary (52).

But the partnership was stopped short by Steyn in the next over when Rayudu fell misjudging the RCB bowler’s slower ball thus setting the stage for Kieron Pollard.

The tall Trinidadian has been in good nick recently and he came to the middle with murderous intent. Pollard didn’t need time to get his eye in as he hit Vinay Kumar out of the park in the 18th over with two massive sixes. The all-rounder (33 runs off 13 balls) wasn’t finished yet and in the last over of the innings scored 16 runs off Steyn. RCB would rue their death over bowling - they conceded 77 runs, including six sixes in the last five overs.

Knight Riders bow out in Style

The Knight Riders ensured they bowed out of IPL 2010 on a high after defeating a clearly distracted and under-strength Mumbai Indians side by nine wickets.

Sans Sachin, the Mumbai Indians were slow off the mark while the Knight Riders were sharp and hungry for a win. Chasing a meagre 134, Sourav Ganguly made his intentions clear smashing Ali Murtaza for a six off the very first over. Ganguly and Brendon McCullum were particularly aggressive initially as they hammered anything off target.

The Mumbai Indians bowlers couldn’t stem the run flow or make any inroads. But they did taste some success with the ball after Bravo just about managed to snap up a skier from Ganguly’s bat.

Fellow opener McCullum was busy throughout his unbeaten innings of 57 and made up for lost time by guiding KKR to a well deserved nine wicket win.

Earlier, Dwayne Bravo won the toss and elected to bat as the Mumbai Indians think tank decided to make five major changes to their line-up. Openers Aditya Tare and Shikhar Dhawan came and went in a hurry, Shane Bond accounting for both their dismissals.

The away side were looking out of sorts playing a virtual dead rubber, even Mr. Consistent Jean Paul Duminy looked patchy and was put out of his misery by Jaidev Unadkat. But Mumbai had a saviour in the form of Saurabh Tiwary - the youngster has been a revelation this season and he gave a glimpse of his prodigious talent once again.

His masterful 46 off 37 balls gave the Mumbai Indians a necessary run boost. R Sathish and Dwayne Bravo also failed with the bat, giving Tiwary no choice but to go for it himself.

In his bid to increase the run flow Tiwary fell to the guile of Murali Kartik. Ambati Rayudu provided a bit of excitement at the end of the MI innings but it all went one way – that of Kolkata. Mumbai Indians tottered their way to a miserly 133/8 by the end of their allotted overs.

The two sides played with different motivations - the Knight Riders were in it to prove a point or two, while the Mumbai Indians were taking a breather before the bigger battles ahead. In the end, the side with the winning intent and squad to match emerged victors.

Deccan Chargers on a roll

Comeback kings Deccan Chargers once again turned in a tremendous effort to beat the Delhi Daredevils by 11 runs and book their place in the semis.

Lead by the frugal Pragyan Ojha (2-16), the Chargers ensured they got the job done despite some tense moments in the final overs. The Daredevils required 17 off the last over, but the experienced Chaminda Vaas held his own.

It was down to Paul Collingwood (51*) in the end but the Englishman couldn’t quite make it happen for the home side. The Daredevils chase began on a sour note with Rohit Sharma snapping up two marvelous catches to see the back of David Warner and Virender Sehwag.

Tillakaratne Dilshan (11), Gautam Gambhir (4) and Mithun Manhas (23) failed to rise to the occasion as the middle order simply capitulated. Delhi struggled through the middle overs and they paid for it in the end as they were restricted to a paltry 134/7.

The Deccan Chargers’ innings looked doomed from the beginning as skipper Adam Gilchrist continued is awful form with the bat sending an Ashish Nehra delivery to mid-off. Their predicament worsened once Umesh Yadav broke through the defense of in-form Charger T Suman.

Yadav appeared to be Deccan’s nemesis as he went on to dismiss Rohit Sharma (11) in the sixth over. But someone had to stand up and be counted for the away side and it was Andrew Symonds once again who steadied the ship. His attacking game in the circumstances bore rich dividends - he shocked the Dardevils into submission.

But Amit Mishra struck just at the right time to stem the run flow. Andrew Symonds didn’t quite middle it as it went straight into the hands of Mithun Manhas at long-off. With the top batsmen back in the dug-out, the Daredevils tightened the screws while the Chargers moved up to 145/7.

It’s five on five for the Chargers who will look to continue their good form in the semis where they face the Mumbai Indians. Delhi Daredevils have bowed out of the competition coming close to the finishing line thanks to Collingwood’s brave campaign right at the end.

Supreme Super kings sailed to semi finals

The mists cleared over the Himalayas to reveal MS Dhoni's Chennai Super Kings as the winners of the night by six-wickets here.

The visitors rode on the back of their captain’s class innings to end Kings XI Punjab’s IPL with a loss sealing a semi-final spot. Chennai’s win with their backs against the wall again showcased the warrior qualities of Dhoni.

Dhoni’s never-say-die attitude was on display tonight with the Chennai Super Kings skipper playing a captain’s knock. It was Dhoni’s knock that took the game away from the Punjab team which had been dominating the match till the 16th over. The skipper showed his class and stamped his authority on the hosts with beautiful wristy shots all over the park. The match was going Punjab’s way till the 17th over when the downfall began with the hosts giving away 46 runs in the last three overs.

MSD bludgeoned the bowling and won it for his team with a couple of humongous sixes, including one that disappeared from the stadium.

An asking rate of around 10 an over is never easy, but S Badrinath and MS Dhoni seemed to have the necessary answers. The duo strung along a 59-run partnership with Badri doing the bulk of scoring. But then the pressure of upping the run-rate told and Badri fell trying to slog sweep Piyush Chawla in the 17th over.

Ramesh Powar bowled beautifully today befuddling the batsmen with his flight and was justly rewarded with the wickets of Matthew Hayden and Murali Vijay early in the innings.

Suresh Raina (46), who was looking like a man on a mission, played a brilliant cameo to bring the visitors back in the game. But Juan Theron struck to dismiss the southpaw and brought the game back to an even keel.

Earlier, it seemed the Dalai Lama’s presence couldn’t calm the murderous intent of the Kings XI Punjab batsmen.

It started with Mahela Jayawardene hitting Sudeep Tyagi for a couple of sixes in the very first over. It needed some magic from the Chennai side to stop the Sri Lankan opener. And the third over saw Sudeep Tyagi at mid-off leap and come up with a magical catch to dismiss Jayawardene.

This dismissal signalled the arrival of Kumar Sangakkara who looked as if he was carrying on from the last match hitting boundaries at will. But again, the KXIP skipper couldn’t build on a great start and CSK’s main strike bowler R Ashwin struck a telling blow getting the wicket of Sangakkara. Yuvraj followed his skipper back to the dug-out in the next over.

The stage was now set for Shaun Marsh to recreate one of his exquisite knocks from the first IPL season and the Australian didn’t disappoint. Marsh, who was dropped on 10 by Tyagi, used his lifeline to good use.

His thank you note to the Super Kings was a masterful knock of 88*, with a peppering of sixes to the leg-side region, including one off Albie Morkel in the 17th over that actually sailed out of the stadium.

Irfan Pathan (44*), at the other end, wasn’t going to be outdone and tried to match Marsh in stroke-making - his hits and even mis-hits went for boundaries. The duo added 61 runs off the last five overs to set CSK a formidable target of 193.

Dada delivers big time...

With a full house at an under-construction Eden Gardens, Shah Rukh Khan and the entire Bollywood clan in full attendance, the stage was set for something special.

Sourav Ganguly provided just that as he played a captain’s innings to lead Kolkata Knight Riders to a famous win over Rajasthan Royals.

Ganguly teamed up with Cheteshwar Pujara to help set-up an eight-wicket win over Rajasthan Royals who have now been eliminated from the tournament’s third season. This was the biggest win for Kolkata Knight Riders in terms of balls and wickets to spare.

Kolkata Knight Riders chased down Rajasthan Royals’ modest target of 132 in the 17th over. Ganguly (75: 50b, 11x4, 2 x6) and Pujara (45: 38b, 5x4, 1x6) added 111 runs for the third wicket.

After Brendon McCullum (promoted to open) and Chris Gayle fell in the same over to Kamran Khan, the task seemed onerous for the hosts.

But Ganguly and Pujara played in a measured way as the crowds kept cheering them on. In the end the home team won on a canter, with one eye on the crowded points table which keeps opening up every night.

But that’s not what Shane Warne had hoped for when he opted to bat first. Rajasthan Royals failed to capitalise on a brisk opening stand between new opener Shane Watson and Naman Ojha.

The partnership was worth 59, with Watson batting as if in a hurry (44: 26b, 7x4, 1x6). But after Watson fell, the middle-order did not offer much resistance.

The middle-order fell trying to increase the scoring rate as Ganguly applied the brakes with smart bowling changes.

Young left-arm paceman Jaidev Unadkat was the best on view with a spell of 3- 26. Ashoke Dinda (2-24), Shane Bond (1-20) bowled tight spells to stifle the Royals innings.

The Knight Rider’ fielding, or rather the catching, was probably the difference between the two sides.

Ganguly again led the way with a Karbonn Kamaal catch - Unadkat, Gayle backed him up. That was enough to cheer up Shah Rukh Khan and the entire celebrity enclosure.

For Warne and Co. the match was the end of the IPL 2010 dream. The side which looked to turn things around at key moments bowed out of the tournament and their captain was a disappointed man at the end of the capitulation to the Knight Riders.

But for the home team, there’s still a chance of making it to the semis and going by today’s performance, dada is very much in the hunt.

Mumbai showed what to expect in semi final

The Mumbai Indians juggernaut rolled on for one more game continuing their reign over the points table of IPL 2010.

In a return match at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium here against hosts Royal Challengers Bangalore, Mumbai Indians turned in a solid all-round team effort.

The Mumbai Indians added two more points to their tally with a confidence-boosting win in preparation for the semi-finals. For the hosts, the loss by 57 runs meant that they needed to watch the results of the other fixtures with a lot of interest.

Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper Anil Kumble seemed to have got it right with his call to field first. His strike bowler Dale Steyn bowled a mean spell, but the other bowlers did not back up the fast bowler.

Set to chase Mumbai Indians’ target of 191-4, the Royal Challengers Bangalore innings never took off.

Kieron Pollard’s spell of 3-28, complemented by Dilhara Fernando (2-24) and Harbhajan Singh (2-29) helped Mumbai Indians win by a massive margin.

For the home team, the fall of Jacques Kallis early on put pressure on the line-up. The middle-order crumbled as the asking rate mounted and the big-hitters like Robin Uthappa just could not turn it on.

Earlier, the Mumbai Indians innings was built around a team effort as the batsmen contributed massively to the total.

Ambati Rayudu weighed in with 46 off 27 balls with three fours and four sixes. Rayudu and Sachin Tendulkar’s newest opening partner, Ryan McLaren, shared a crucial 69-run second wicket stand.

This alliance propelled Mumbai Indians to a strong base from where the strikers could use the long handle to good effect.

That’s exactly what happened as Kieron Pollard walked in and slammed sixes at will. Pollard scored a dramatic 20 off 7 balls with three successive sixes (6, 6, 6) off a Pankaj Singh over.

Then it was up to Jean Paul Duminy to provide the late flourish. The South African left-hander dictated terms to the Royal Challengers during his crucial stay at the crease. Duminy made 42 off 19 balls with three fours and three sixes.

The Duminy charge right at the end of the innings added meat to the Mumbai Indians innings and pushed the score just beyond the Royal Challengers’ reach.

In the end it was Tendulkar who walked away with the Orange Cap, leaving Kallis to chase him in the semi-finals if his team make it there.

Kings XI continues their losing streak

Rohit Sharma stormed Kings XI Punjab’s hilly bastion to power Deccan Chargers to a five-wicket victory over the hosts here tonight.

There was a danger of the rains ruining the night with a forecast predicting showers, thankfully it didn't rain. But the idyllic location did see a downpour - that of sixes from the bat of Sharma. The explosive middle-order bat seemed to have learnt from his experience against Rajasthan Royals and played intelligently to see his team through.

Sharma’s innings (68) was made up of precision timing, judicious power hitting and also running those precious singles and twos. He never seemed to be worried and despite losing partners at the other end, Sharma didn’t panic or play any rash shots.

The Maharashtra lad’s six in the 19th over that just eluded a fully stretched Piyush Chawla decided the game. And then B Sumanth completed the formalities by hitting a boundary in the last over.

The Deccan Chargers had earlier lost their skipper early again. His partner Mohnish Mishra soon joined him after a brief little cameo. This brought together T Suman and Sharma and the duo set off like an express train with each trying to outdo the other’s big hitting. Unfortunately, Suman (43) nicked a Piyush Chawla delivery for Adam Gilchrist to pouch it.

Earlier, the in-form Ryan Harris struck early getting rid of Shaun Marsh in the very first over for a golden duck. The early departure of the KXIP opener though denied cricket lovers the opportunity to see an interesting contest: Shaun facing his younger brother Mitchell’s bowling.

Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara didn’t let the early wicket affect them attacking the Chargers with aplomb. But the bowlers, who were getting appreciable bounce and swing from the helpful pitch, would feel unlucky at not having got a nick despite making the two batsmen play and miss regularly.

The Sri Lankan duo rode their luck, with Jayawardene being dropped when he was on 21 and then again in the 16th over the culprit both times being Rahul Sharma. Sangakkara (52) scored a quick-fire half-century. But he couldn’t quite kick on, getting out to an overambitious reverse sweep against leggie Rahul Sharma.

Jayawardene, on the other hand, took full advantage of his lifeline scoring freely with boundaries galore and a couple of sixes. His unbeaten 93 being the chief contribution towards the team total of 174.

Delhi inch closer to semifinal berth

In a match where the ball did all the talking, it was Gautam Gambhir’s batting that helped Delhi Daredevils defeat Chennai Super Kings by six wickets at Chepauk here tonight.

The pitch helped the bowlers, be it the pacers to start with or the spinners after that, but Delhi managed to overhaul the modest target thanks to a fighting innings from a tired-looking Gambhir.

The Delhi Daredevils’ innings started in an even more dramatic fashion with the visitors losing three wickets before one could even realise the chase had begun.

The first to fall was David Warner off the bowling of R Ashwin. Then Doug Bollinger struck twice to get rid of Virender Sehwag and then Tillakaratne Dilshan. The scoreboard read 6 for three after 1.4 overs and Delhi were in danger of repeating their spectacular debacle against Kings XI Punjab. Especially after Dinesh Karthik fell in the 7th over, it looked as if Chennai had scripted an amazing recovery.

But Gambhir (57*) played a captain’s knock to rescue the drowning Delhi Daredevils and actually resuscitate his team’s chances of making the semis. Gambhir didn’t play his best knock, but most certainly one of the most important one in his IPL career.

Scoring a half-century on a pitch assisting the bowlers and where the second highest score in the entire match was fighting 30 speaks volumes about the DD skipper’s resolve after his team’s embarrassing loss to KXIP.

Mithun Manhas (25*) provided able support to his captain to see the team through till the end.

The bowlers swung the game in the Daredevils’ favour with some well-directed short-pitched deliveries and spin.

Delhi would have had the perfect start had skipper Gautam Gambhir latched on a chance from Matthew Hayden in the first over itself. But Hayden couldn’t capitalise on the opportunity – he was dismissed thanks to an easy catch taken by Paul Collingwood off Nehra’s bowling.

MS Dhoni came in early, but left as early, unable to control an Ashish Nehra bouncer. Nehra struck again with his bouncer to get rid of the dangerous Murali Vijay in the fourth over.

With the scorecard reading 23 for three, what Chennai needed was a partnership. But Michael Hussey and Suresh Raina failed to convert their starts into anything substantial. The duo got out in successive overs. Dilshan, back in the squad, got Raina to play a lofted shot for the deep cover fielder to take the catch. Hussey then was unable to keep the ball down and left with the Chennai innings in disarray.

The Delhi spinners were in complete control throughout the game gobbling up CSK wickets at regular intervals. It was S Badrinath’s (30) innings that helped Chennai Super Kings reach 112. But he couldn’t stay till the end either resulting in a meagre – and ultimately losing - total for the hosts.

Battle Royal won by Bangalore

The battle of the royals ended with the Royals from Bangalore scoring a comprehensive win over Rajasthan Royals by five wickets at Sawai Mansingh stadium here tonight.

The Rajasthan team seemed to have taken the field feeling blue and never looked as if they had recovered from their loss to the Mumbai Indians. The RCB bowlers dominated the initial proceeding and then Kevin Pietersen took over from where they left, giving fans another chance to witness his flair.

Royal Challengers Bangalore started the chase aware that a smallish target could be tricky and despite losing Jacques Kallis early never looked in trouble.

Kevin Pietersen, in the playing XI in place of the hard-hitting Cameron White, justified his inclusion with a sublime and chanceless half-century. His innings was an exhibition of timing so exquisite that the fielders could just stand still and look on in anguish as the boundaries were scored around them. His straight six off Shane Warne in the 11th over was a perfect example of his complete domination over the Rajasthan bowling.

Robin Uthappa (26) hit the ball crisply during his stay at the crease and seemed as if he, along with Pietersen, would finish off the game. But he got out early playing an overambitious reverse sweep against the wily Shane Warne.

As long as Pietersen was there in the middle, the pitch looked good and the RCB plan on course. Pietersen (62) ultimately did get out in the only way he could tonight - a run-out thanks to a silly mix-up with Virat Kohli that earned KP’s ire.

But Ross Taylor saw the team through hitting a six to finish off the game.

Earlier, Shane Warne’s decision to bat first went horribly wrong with the hosts losing three wickets inside the first three overs.

First Michael Lumb was run out after an awful mix-up with his opening partner Naman Ojha. Amit Paunikar, described by Warne as an Arvinda De Silva sort of player, didn’t get much of a chance with Kumble’s man Friday Vinay Kumar getting the debutant out for a golden duck. Ojha didn’t have time to make up for his mistake with Lumb – RCB’s debutant pacer Pankaj Singh snared the dangerous batsman.
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The visitors’ disciplined bowling attack never allowed the Rajasthan team to get any kind of momentum and kept getting wickets at regular intervals. Shane Watson was just starting to time the ball when Kevin Pietersen took a splendid catch to stub Rajasthan chance of a good total.

And when Dale Steyn disturbed Yusuf Pathan’s timber, it looked as if Rajasthan were in danger of repeating their March 18 performance against Royal Challengers when they were all out for 92.

But an unbeaten 58-run partnership between Adam Voges (28) and Abhishek Raut (30) saw the hosts put up 130 for the visitors to chase.

CSK wins against Kolkatta convincingly

Suresh Raina hammered a 24-ball fifty and Ravichandran Ashwin ran through Kolkata Knight Riders’ top-order to hand over an easy win to Chennai Super Kings at the M A Chidambaram stadium here.

Raina (78 off 39 deliveries) and Murali Vijay (50 off 40 balls) remained unbeaten as MS Dhoni’s men chased down a modest total of 139 with nine wickets in hand in 13.3 overs.

Raina was in his element as he dominated the Kolkata bowlers from the word go. He smashed 11 fours and three hits over the ropes as the opposition looked helpless in the face of his brutal attack.

Chris Gayle gave Ganguly early hope by dismissing Matthew Hayden for naught but unfortunately for KKR, that was the only wicket to fall in the run chase.

Earlier, Ravichandran Ashwin devastated Kolkata Knight Riders’ top order getting all the big guns - Chris Gayle (7), Brendon McCullum (0) and David Hussey (0) - as the visitors failed to seize the initiative after winning the toss and electing to bat first.

Kolkata lost four wickets at a score of 19 within the fifth over with Ashwin (3/16) coming up with a dream spell.

Angelo Mathews survived Ashwin’s hat-trick ball to score an important innings of 48 to help the Kolkata Knight Riders recover after being reduced to 19-4.

Chris Gayle was the first player dismissed as the game got off to an unbelievable start. Having just hit spinner Ashwin for a six Gayle (7) came down the wicket only to miss the delivery and was stumped by MS Dhoni.

Having survived a plumb LBW shout, Brendon McCullum (0) was the next to go after he was caught by Muttiah Muralidaran.

SRK’s boys were dealt a crucial blow when in-form skipper Sourav Ganguly was adjudged LBW in the second over of Bollinger.

It was not over for Ashwin who returned to claim the wicket of David Hussey (0) stumped by Dhoni to claim his third wicket of the innings and set up a hat trick ball.

The delivery to Mathews was perfect and the batsman could only glove the ball through to short leg but unbelievably it was given not out by umpire Simon Taufel.

Mathews stitched an important partnership of 73 runs with Manoj Tiwary (27) to give the Knight Riders some hope before Suresh Raina struck to remove Tiwary.

Wriddhiman Saha lasted only two balls before he was brilliantly stumped by Dhoni as the Kinght Roders slumped to 98-6 in the space of 8 balls.

Laxmi Shukla enjoyed a cameo of 17 before Mathews’ innings came to an end in the 19th over as the Knight Riders reached 139-8.

Pollard led Mumbai defeats Delhi

Kieron Pollard’s late display of pyrotechnics set up a 39-run win for the Mumbai Indians over Delhi Daredevils at Brabourne here tonight.

The Daredevils began well with both David Warner and Virender Sehwag going after the bowling. But after a few lusty blows, Dilhara Fernando's slower one did the trick, getting rid of the Australian Warner. Sehwag seemed to have caught the Daredevils’ run-out bug and lost his wicket to a splendid piece of fielding by Pollard.

Gautam Gambhir had the responsibility of seeing Delhi to a victory, but was tricked by Harbhajan Singh to give an easy return catch.

After that, none of the Daredevils could counter Mumbai’s bowlers capitulating meekly, scoring 144 for seven in their allotted 20 overs.

Earlier, the Mumbai Indians got off to a steady start. There were no early fireworks as Sachin Tendulkar and his new opening partner Chandan Madan milked the Daredevils for the occasional boundary.

The Daredevils were disciplined in their bowling, keeping a tight line and length to deny the Mumbai batsmen any opportunities to really get going. Madan, playing his first match in IPL, tried to up the pace, but fell like so many Indian batsmen to a bouncer. Tendulkar was also getting frustrated at the other end and this led to him trying to clear the in-field in the 10th over only to find a fielder.

Mumbai’s middle-order mainstays - Ambati Rayudu and Saurabh Tiwary - did add a touch of excitement managing to score at a run-rate of nine an over before Tiwary was bowled by a beautiful slower delivery from Pradeep Sangwan.

Pollard hasn’t set the IPL on fire till date, but he took it upon him today to set the record straight. The tall Trinidadian brought an unseasonal shower – that of sixes – at the Brabourne with his lusty hitting. From 133 for four, when he walked in to join JP Duminy he attacked the Daredevils with five huge sixes to take the score to 183. Pollard’s pyrotechnics included a ‘Dilscoop’ off Ashish Nehra.

The last three overs saw MI score fifty runs, including 25 from the last over with Pollard going berserk and hitting Andrew McDonald for three massive on-side sixes.

Deccan Chargers win from nowhere

Harmeet Singh’s slower ones turned lethal for Royal Challengers Bangalore as they faltered chasing a modest total of 151 and fell short by 13 runs in the crucial tie at the VCA stadium in Nagpur on Monday night.

Anil Kumble’s men made heavy weather of the target and were dismissed for 138 runs in the last over.

Harmeet turned the match on its head when he clean bowled Robin Uthappa with Bangalore requiring 18 runs off 12 balls.

The Royal Challengers Bangalore run chase started off on a dismal note as Ryan Harris delivered the perfect first ball which Manish Pandey worked straight to Adam Gilchrist.

Jacques Kallis was joined at the crease by Rahul Dravid and the pair saw off the remaining 5 balls of Harris’ over before they started the recovery.

Dravid played an uncharacteristic innings of 49 from just 35 balls as the Royal Challengers Bangalore looked to make it an easy affair. The partnership of 74 was ended by Andrew Symonds who picked up the key wicket of Dravid, but with but 8 wickets in hand, the Royal Challengers were still in control of the game needing another 78 runs from 58 balls.

After the loss of Dravid, Anil Kumble’s men were happy to score at a run a ball as the game drifted through a quite period until Jacques Kallis (27), Ross Taylor (1) and Virat Kohli (3) were dismissed.

RP Singh became the first bowler in the Indian Premier League to claim 50 wickets when he dismissed Cameron White on 1. The left-armer registered figures of 4-0-21-2.

Pragyan Ojha got the wickets of Kallis and Kohli to finish with outstanding figures of 4-0-22-2.

Uthappa smashed Harris for two huge sixes in the 17th over to keep Bangalore on track. With two overs to go, the Royals Challengers needed just 18 more runs to all but guarantee their place in the knock-out stages. But the Chargers struck back with Harmeet Singh who picked up two wickets in the space of two balls to remove Uthappa (34) and Dale Steyn (0), setting up the victory for the defending champs.

Earlier, Dale Steyn wreaked havoc on Deccan Chargers' top-order, dismissing Adam Gilchrist off the fourth ball of the innings. The South Arican recruit then sent the in-form T Suman back to the pavilion off the very first ball he faced, a short pitched one.

The pacer bowled one into the body of Suman, who lobbed an easy catch to Ross Taylor at backward short-leg.

Vinay Kumar, at the other end, snared Herschelle Gibbs, but Taylor dropped a relatively easy chance. Steyn cleaned up Gibbs with a peach of a delivery to reduce Chargers to 14 for three.

It was left to the youngsters – Rohit Sharma (51) and Mohnish Mishra (41) - to put on 82 crucial runs to revive the innings. The duo played sensible cricket, mixing caution and aggression to step up the run-rate.

In the 11th over, when Rohit smashed Jacques Kallis for a hat-trick of boundaries, RCB looked in full control. Monish ran himself out just when the going was good, giving the visiting team a lucky breakthrough.

Rohit posted a half century and was well-supported by Andrew Symonds before the latter was brilliantly stumped by Uthappa off Kumble.

Ryan Harris used the long handle to propel Deccan Chargers to 151 for six wickets in 20 overs.

Finally Rajasthan Royals defeated at home

Sachin Tendulkar was the artist and the muse, inspiring the Mumbai Indians to invade the impregnable fortress of the Rajasthan Royals and hand the hosts their second home defeat by 37 runs at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium here on Sunday.

This win makes Mumbai Indians the first team to make it to the semi-finals.

Inspired by the Tendulkar innings, the Mumbai Indians put up a spirited performance on the field. Zaheer Khan bowled with passion and the Rajasthan Royals seemed to collapse under the pressure of the chasing a big total.

The Royals’ innings was in disarray right from the start with the hosts losing three quick wickets by the third over. Rajasthan only had themselves to blame losing two of the first five wickets to run-outs.

The loss of Shane Watson, one of the mainstays of the Royals, due to a run-out after being called for a non-existent single spelled doom. And when Yusuf Pathan departed immediately after hitting a six, chase was over for all practical purposes. Aditya Dole and Abhishek Raut were the only Rajasthan players to offer resistance, but to no avail.

Earlier, a fog of insect repellent delayed the match by around 10 minutes. But then it lifted to announce the arrival of the ‘God of cricket’ to the crease. And Tendulkar was in sublime touch. He had to initially play a subdued innings to steady the Mumbai ship, which was rocked by some early blows by Shane Watson. But once in his stride, nothing could stop the Master Blaster from stroking the ball to all parts of the park. He would be thankful for the life he got when Aditya Dole dropped him on 45.

Watson bowled a predominately short pitched length to good effect and claimed three wickets. Sanath Jayasuriya, opening with Tendulkar, was the first victim. The medium-pacer then bowled a bouncer to Ambati Rayudu who nicked it to the keeper in the very same over.

JP Duminy, who joined Tendulkar after Saurabh Tiwary’s wicket, then contributed to a 63-run partnership. But the South African who was looking good for more too fell in trying to accelerate. Pollard then joined Tendulkar and the duo upped the run-rate, their 50-run partnership coming off just 5.3 overs. Pollard’s dismissal was a signal to Tendulkar, the captain, to change gears.

Tendulkar seemed to have been inspired by his face-off against old nemesis Shane Warne. The little genius [89*] lit up the night with his varied shot selection. The last over saw a new Tendulkar, one who hit two humungous sixes and a boundary to earn back the Orange Cap from Jacques Kallis and take Mumbai to a solid total of 174. Warne would be upset that his bowlers gave away 68 runs off the last five overs.

Ultimately, in the battle of the Masters, Shane Warne lost the plot while Sachin Tendulkar played the lead role in a memorable win.

In a low scoring game Kings XI came truimphant

Kings XI Punjab managed to overhaul Delhi’s meagre total of 111 in the 19th over defeating the hosts by seven wickets at Feroz Shah Kotla stadium here on Sunday.

Chasing a small target on a difficult wicket can be tricky, but the rejuvenated Punjab side made it without too many hiccups.

With only 112 to chase, the visitors experimented with their line-up sending Irfan Pathan as an opener along with the in-form Mahela Jayawardene. But Pathan, whose three wickets were crucial in restricting the Daredevils, couldn’t duplicate his performance with the bat and left after getting KXIP off to a steady start.

Jayawardene was his usual classy self and continued from where he had left off against Mumbai Indians scoring another delightful 38 runs off 35 balls. He departed looking to finish the game early by top-edging a Paul Collingwood delivery for Nehra to take a catch at short fine leg.

The fall of the wicket brought Kumar Sangakkara and Yuvraj Singh together at the crease. And the southpaw duo played some lovely pulls and drives to take Kings XI to the brink of victory. Sangakkara, though, couldn’t see the match through falling with just two runs needed to win. Yuvraj was his usual dominating self, pulling bowlers with disdain during his unbeaten knock of 21.

Earlier, Gautam Gambhir won the toss and rightly decided to bat on a dry Kotla wicket. David Warner got things started in particularly positive fashion. But it all went downhill from then on for the Daredevils as they got into self-destruct mode.

Virender Sehwag continued his patchy form with a golden duck, falling to an Irfan Pathan in-swinger. Skipper Gautam Gambhir did provide some action for the home fans, but was run-out after a horrible mix-up. Warner was the guilty party as his captain left the field in utter disgust.

And as if one ridiculous run-out wasn’t enough, Warner committed hara-kiri by getting himself run-out off the very next ball. With the Daredevils reeling, Kings XI Punjab skipper Kumar Sangakkara brought Piyush Chawla into the attack.

And the prodigious leggie answered his captain’s call. Paul Collingwood was left dumb-founded by a Chawla googly. And then it was the turn of Kiwi Daniel Vettori to see his off stump getting knocked back by one that went the other way.

Chawla was having a field day in Delhi - wickets, dot balls, you name it, he got it. The Daredevils gave themselves no chance of getting a decent total as the rest of their batting collapsed for a meagre 111.

Punjab’s late form is not only a good sign for cricket lovers, but also responsible for unsettling the points table. If they continue their current good run, then they could play a role in deciding the semi-finalists on account of their performances

Dravid,Uthappa mocks KKR

Rahul Dravid finally got a chance to make a mark in IPL 2010.

Till now Dravid (52: 35b, 5x4, 2x6) had been restricted to picking Karbonn Kamaal catches. But on Saturday night, Dravid came up with a measured half-century to push Royal Challengers Bangalore to the second spot.

Complementing Dravid's composure was a late flourish by Robin Uthappa (52: 22b, 2x4, 5x6) which delivered the knockout punch to Kolkata Knight Riders.

Two contrasting approaches by Dravid and Uthappa ensured that Royal Challengers Bangalore overhauled the modest Kolkata Knight Riders target of 161 with seven wickets in hand.

It was the perfect day for Royal Challengers Bangalore after their skipper Anil Kumble opted to field first.

On a helpful M Chinnaswamy Stadium pitch, the home bowlers made up for a poor start.

Another steady Chris Gayle-Sourav Ganguly start was followed by a collapse.

Knight Riders lost three wickets for four runs in 2.1 overs. This collapse pegged back any hopes of a massive target.

Royal Challengers Bangalore were well served by a miserly Kumble, impressive Vinay Kumar and aided well by a pacy Dale Steyn.

The target was never going to challenge Royal Challengers. New recruit and old India hand Sridharan Sriram was nursed by Dravid through a tough phase in a partnership worth 72 runs.

Sriram did well at the top of the order after Jacques Kallis departed early. Dravid joined forces and then set up the stage for an Uthappa flourish.

Uthappa and Ross Taylor combined to calm any frayed nerves in an alliance worth 62 runs for the fourth wicket. It was the Uthappa show all the way as Knight Riders wilted under the onslaught.

The fielding and bowling of Knight Riders crumbled on Saturday night. Crucial misses on the field, coupled with unimaginative bowling, ensured that the pressure never got to the hosts.

The loss means that Knight Riders go back to the drawing board having to fight still to make it to the semis.

The points table is full of possibilities and the fight for the top four slots will be a photo finish

Deccan Scripts victory over CSK

Tirumalasetti Suman slammed a second successive half-century to lead Deccan Chargers to some cheer at home in IPL 2010.

Suman's calm approach guided again by the experience of Andrew Symonds led the home team to their second win on the trot after five straight losses.

Suman's knock ensured that Deccan Chargers did not falter at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium here. Symonds did a good job of mentoring the young batsman and then kept his calm himself as Deccan romped home in style by seven wickets.

The Deccan Chargers’ win opened up the points table in IPL 2010, with four teams tied at the same spot.

Set to chase Chennai Super Kings' score of 138-8, Deccan Chargers began shakily. Deccan Chargers had slipped to 35-2 and then 61-3, but Suman (55: 44b, 4x4, 2x6) held his nerve and controlled the chase.

Chennai Super Kings off-spinner R Ashwin seemed to have set-up his side for an unlikely win with a spell of 2-13. But Suman held firm as he was joined by Symonds at a crucial stage of the chase.

Suman's half-century overshadowed Chennai Super Kings' Suresh Raina who held the innings earlier in the day. Raina (52: 44b, 4x4, 2x6) was the only bright spot in the batting effort for Chennai Super Kings after they chose to bat first.

Deccan Chargers were well served by Ryan Harris' spell of 3-18, which dented the top and middle-order of Chennai Super Kings. All the other bowlers from Deccan Chargers backed up Harris’ effort with the ball.

On the slower surface at Nagpur, the Chennai Super Kings batsmen struggled to come to terms with the 22 yards. Chennai Super Kings lost wickets at regular intervals and the only spark was provided by Raina. The left-handed Raina had no support from the rest of the line-up.

Thankfully for the Chargers, the fall of wickets in their chase was countered by the experience of an unbeaten Symonds. Symonds (27: 22b, 1x4, 2x6) ensured that the chase of 139 was as tame as the target itself.

The win brought more cheer to the Deccan Chargers camp and kept their hopes of a semi-final place alive

Kings XI defeats table toppers

The Kings XI Punjab finally gave their home fans something to cheer about with a 6-wicket win over table toppers Mumbai Indians at Mohali. Kumar Sangakkara’s calm and composed knock of 56 made certain a victory the Kings richly deserved after dominating right from the start of the game

A solid start from the Kings, thanks to newbie, Adrian Barath (33) and Sri Lankan veteran Mahela Jayawardene (31), got the home side off on the right foot. Jayawardene was the first to go, with Saurabh Tiwary holding on to the ball long enough to get Malinga his first wicket of the night. And despite losing Barath in the 11th over, the Kings managed to finish off the game with four balls to spare.

Earlier Sachin Tendulkar won the toss and elected to bat first, but the start wasn’t what the MI skipper was hoping for. Irfan Pathan got Shikhar Dhawan bowled off his very first delivery. With the batting collapse against CSK at the back of his mind, Tendulkar looked more circumspect than his usual flamboyant self. Ambati Rayudu’s cameo (33) gave Mumbai some much needed impetus.

But even he didn’t last long as Piyush Chawla got the better of the talented right-hander. Chawla was slowly coming into his own and the highlight of his evening came when he got Tendulkar out, cleaning up the master’s off stump. The Mumbai skipper cut a forlorn figure, knowing a timid middle order could spell disaster for his side. His worries were well justified after Saurabh Tiwary failed with the bat once again.

But a ray of hope arose in the form of JP Duminy. Playing his first game this season, he brought in what the Mumbai Indians were missing - some steel.

The South African put up a fine, gritty display, scoring 35 runs. Along with R Sathish (20), he put the table toppers in a position of relative security. West Indian import Kieron Pollard (18) once again flattered to deceive, as Mumbai were left lacking a power finish which limited them to a modest score of 154/9.

Progress is impossible without change and the Kings XI Punjab used this adage to their advantage by changing almost half their side, reaping rich dividends.