Jacques Kallis’ unbeaten run continued as he steered his team to yet another victory. RCB reached the target of 152 with 7 wickets to spare and took the No.1 spot away from the Mumbai Indians. Playing at home, Sachin Tendulkar’s Mumbai Indians had got off to a good start with 57 for 2 by the seventh over. But just when they were looking to take control of the innings, they lost Saurabh Tiwary to a googly by the wily Anil Kumble.
With Sachin Tendulkar still at the crease, MI were looking to build the innings and have a go at the end with a good pack of hitters to come. That was not to be as Vinay Kumar, the most under-rated RCB bowler, struck a triple blow. Getting rid of Ambati Rayudu, Sachin Tendulkar and Dwayne Bravo in a matter of five balls, he put MI on the back-foot at 76 for 6. MI never really recovered from there as they lost wickets regularly. Thanks to a last over blitz by Zaheer Khan, they managed a competitive 151 for 9.
The Challengers, on the other hand, have got used to a good solid start by Jacques Kallis and Manish Pandey. The two have formed the ultimate opening pair in IPL 2010 with an average of over 59 batting together with three fifty-run partnerships. Pandey played a quick hand scoring 40 off 27 pulling Zaheer for a couple of boundaries. Although Kallis was earlier dropped by Rayudu, who missed a sitter and hurt himself falling on his elbow, he stayed unbeaten to see his team through.
After the opening partnership of 85 off 9 overs, RCB had all but won it. They were always in control with Kallis standing tall at the other end. The match was pitted as the clash of the two heavyweights of IPL 2010. On paper as well as on the points table, MI and RCB are by far the leaders of IPL 2010. It is a pity that Mumbai Indians eventually gave up their No.1 position to earlier second ranked Royal Challengers Bangalore rather easily.
Mumbai Indians will look at this game as a wake-up call in terms of their middle order’s resourcefulness. RCB too has been winning matches thanks to consistent performances at the top, by Kallis who has scored over 200 runs without getting out, Pandey and Uthappa.
This result sets up the next few games very well as the Mumbai Indians take on fifth placed Kolkata Knight Riders and the Royal Challengers Bangalore play against third ranked Chennai at home.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Al last Rajasthan opened their points tally
Rajasthan Royals opened their account in IPL 2010 with a clinical team performance that saw them defeat Kolkata Knight Riders by 34 runs.
Kolkata Knight Riders never appeared to be in the chase while going after target of 169. The wily campaigner that Shane Warne is, he understood the nature of the pitch and had Yusuf Pathan open the bowling for the Royals.
The KKR openers found Pathan’s slow off-spin difficult to hit out against and were bogged down from the very beginning. The wicket was the slowest of IPL 2010 and the Kolkata side could never get ahead of the curve. Pathan may have failed with the ball, but took the two vital wickets of KKR openers Brad Hodge (36) and Manoj Tiwary (11). Knight Riders’ supporters would have been hoping for a match-winning show from Sourav Ganguly, but the KKR skipper could only contribute a slow 33 runs from 27 balls.
In the ultimate analysis, it was good, disciplined bowling by the Rajasthan Royals that won them the match.
Earlier in the day, the Kolkata Knight Riders started well getting the wicket of Rajasthan Royals opener Michael Lumb off the first ball of the innings. But after that it was a tale of batsmen from the Royals’ stable settling in and then getting out.
On a slow track, proper cricketing shots are the order of the day. And Rajasthan Royals’ innings was about cricketers who played classical shots getting in and helping the team reach a decent total. Rajasthan’s total was largely due to the efforts of their in-form batsman Abhishek Jhunjhunwala and debutant Faiz Fazal.
Fazal, who plays for the Railways side in the domestic competition, went after the KKR bowling right from the start. Fazal was particularly severe on Dinda milking him for 18 runs. But Fazal (31) got out to Shane Bond just when he was looking good for a big score. Jhunjhunwala has had a good run in IPL 2010 till now and his 45 along with Australian Adam Voges’ 37 runs were instrumental in getting the Royals to 168 in their allotted 20 overs. Yusuf once again fell to a bouncer. Dinda got rid of the blaster with a short one that had him holing out to deep square leg. The slowness of the wicket can be gauged from the fact that only two sixes were hit in the Royals’ innings.
With this win, Rajasthan Royals opened their account in IPL 2010 with two points.
Kolkata Knight Riders never appeared to be in the chase while going after target of 169. The wily campaigner that Shane Warne is, he understood the nature of the pitch and had Yusuf Pathan open the bowling for the Royals.
The KKR openers found Pathan’s slow off-spin difficult to hit out against and were bogged down from the very beginning. The wicket was the slowest of IPL 2010 and the Kolkata side could never get ahead of the curve. Pathan may have failed with the ball, but took the two vital wickets of KKR openers Brad Hodge (36) and Manoj Tiwary (11). Knight Riders’ supporters would have been hoping for a match-winning show from Sourav Ganguly, but the KKR skipper could only contribute a slow 33 runs from 27 balls.
In the ultimate analysis, it was good, disciplined bowling by the Rajasthan Royals that won them the match.
Earlier in the day, the Kolkata Knight Riders started well getting the wicket of Rajasthan Royals opener Michael Lumb off the first ball of the innings. But after that it was a tale of batsmen from the Royals’ stable settling in and then getting out.
On a slow track, proper cricketing shots are the order of the day. And Rajasthan Royals’ innings was about cricketers who played classical shots getting in and helping the team reach a decent total. Rajasthan’s total was largely due to the efforts of their in-form batsman Abhishek Jhunjhunwala and debutant Faiz Fazal.
Fazal, who plays for the Railways side in the domestic competition, went after the KKR bowling right from the start. Fazal was particularly severe on Dinda milking him for 18 runs. But Fazal (31) got out to Shane Bond just when he was looking good for a big score. Jhunjhunwala has had a good run in IPL 2010 till now and his 45 along with Australian Adam Voges’ 37 runs were instrumental in getting the Royals to 168 in their allotted 20 overs. Yusuf once again fell to a bouncer. Dinda got rid of the blaster with a short one that had him holing out to deep square leg. The slowness of the wicket can be gauged from the fact that only two sixes were hit in the Royals’ innings.
With this win, Rajasthan Royals opened their account in IPL 2010 with two points.
Friday, March 19, 2010
Deccan escapes to victory
Irfan Pathan produced a scorcher of an innings to almost take Kings XI Punjab to an improbable win over Deccan who had scored 170 for 7 off their allotted overs. But like his older brother Yusuf against Mumbai earlier in the series, ended up on the losing side.
Jaskaran Singh was given the opportunity to bowl the last over for Deccan with 19 needed and three KXIP wickets in hand. The youngster stepped up and justified Gilchrist’s faith taking Pathan Jr’s wicket off the first ball ending the Kings XI Punjab resistance. Deccan Chargers defeated Kings XI Punjab by six runs.
KXIP and everybody watching the match had written off the Punjab team with the score reading 104 for 7 in the 17th over. But Irfan had other plans for the night.
Irfan seemed to have taken a page out of Yusuf Pathan’s diary and set about demolishing the Deccan attack. Like a man on a mission, Irfan massacred the opposition to score 60 (3x4, 5x6) from 29 balls at an incredible average of 206.89. The junior Pathan hit some huge sixes including one off R P Singh in the 17th over that went over 105 metres.
Sadly for Kings XI Punjab, Irfan couldn’t complete his task and fell at the final hurdle.
Opener Ravi Bopara with 38 runs and Mahela Jayawardene with 14 runs were the only two other Kings XI Punjab batsmen to get into double figures. Kumar Sangakkara and Yuvraj Singh again failed to get going and the task was too much for the others to handle. West Indian debutant Adrian Barath couldn’t adjust to the new playing conditions and perished quickly.
Chaminda Vaas was his usual efficient self taking two wickets for 27 runs. Symonds’ good day at the office continued with the all-rounder taking one wicket and also contributing in the field with a couple of catches. He deservedly was named the Man-of-the-Match.
The Chargers would consider themselves lucky to lose the toss and be put in to bat. On a wicket which neither of the teams was familiar with, Adam Gilchrist came out like a man possessed. The DC skipper hit a whirlwind 33 (12b, 4x4, 2x6), before giving Shalabh Srivastava the biggest wicket of his life. Gilchrist, who has been the mainstay of the Chargers this season, was so dominant that the Chargers were 43 in the third over when his wicket fell.
The Kings XI Punjab team appeared to be in the game for a brief while when their lynchpin Yuvraj Singh turned his arm over and claimed the two vital wickets of Herschelle Gibbs and Andrew Symonds. The Chargers had crossed the 100 mark in the 10th over, before they were pegged back by the Punjab spinners. But the Punjab team was leaking runs from the other side. Sreesanth was the main culprit, giving away 51 runs from his four overs.
The unfortunate incident of VVS Laxman retiring hurt after being hit on the wrist by the return throw saw Andrew Symonds’ arrival at the crease. Symonds hit three huge sixes in his half-century, including one off Sreesanth that went way over long on.
Herschelle Gibbs, T Suman and Vaas also played cameo innings that helped Deccan Chargers put up a defendable score of 170.
With this win, Deccan Chargers have four points in the tournament and will go over the Delhi Daredevils and Kolkata Knight Riders in the points table. Kings XI Punjab are still giving company to Rajasthan Royals at the bottom of the table having failed to open their account in this edition of IPL.
Jaskaran Singh was given the opportunity to bowl the last over for Deccan with 19 needed and three KXIP wickets in hand. The youngster stepped up and justified Gilchrist’s faith taking Pathan Jr’s wicket off the first ball ending the Kings XI Punjab resistance. Deccan Chargers defeated Kings XI Punjab by six runs.
KXIP and everybody watching the match had written off the Punjab team with the score reading 104 for 7 in the 17th over. But Irfan had other plans for the night.
Irfan seemed to have taken a page out of Yusuf Pathan’s diary and set about demolishing the Deccan attack. Like a man on a mission, Irfan massacred the opposition to score 60 (3x4, 5x6) from 29 balls at an incredible average of 206.89. The junior Pathan hit some huge sixes including one off R P Singh in the 17th over that went over 105 metres.
Sadly for Kings XI Punjab, Irfan couldn’t complete his task and fell at the final hurdle.
Opener Ravi Bopara with 38 runs and Mahela Jayawardene with 14 runs were the only two other Kings XI Punjab batsmen to get into double figures. Kumar Sangakkara and Yuvraj Singh again failed to get going and the task was too much for the others to handle. West Indian debutant Adrian Barath couldn’t adjust to the new playing conditions and perished quickly.
Chaminda Vaas was his usual efficient self taking two wickets for 27 runs. Symonds’ good day at the office continued with the all-rounder taking one wicket and also contributing in the field with a couple of catches. He deservedly was named the Man-of-the-Match.
The Chargers would consider themselves lucky to lose the toss and be put in to bat. On a wicket which neither of the teams was familiar with, Adam Gilchrist came out like a man possessed. The DC skipper hit a whirlwind 33 (12b, 4x4, 2x6), before giving Shalabh Srivastava the biggest wicket of his life. Gilchrist, who has been the mainstay of the Chargers this season, was so dominant that the Chargers were 43 in the third over when his wicket fell.
The Kings XI Punjab team appeared to be in the game for a brief while when their lynchpin Yuvraj Singh turned his arm over and claimed the two vital wickets of Herschelle Gibbs and Andrew Symonds. The Chargers had crossed the 100 mark in the 10th over, before they were pegged back by the Punjab spinners. But the Punjab team was leaking runs from the other side. Sreesanth was the main culprit, giving away 51 runs from his four overs.
The unfortunate incident of VVS Laxman retiring hurt after being hit on the wrist by the return throw saw Andrew Symonds’ arrival at the crease. Symonds hit three huge sixes in his half-century, including one off Sreesanth that went way over long on.
Herschelle Gibbs, T Suman and Vaas also played cameo innings that helped Deccan Chargers put up a defendable score of 170.
With this win, Deccan Chargers have four points in the tournament and will go over the Delhi Daredevils and Kolkata Knight Riders in the points table. Kings XI Punjab are still giving company to Rajasthan Royals at the bottom of the table having failed to open their account in this edition of IPL.
Raina wins clash of debutants skippers as Super Kings defeats Daredevils
Suresh Raina won the clash of the debutant captains as Dinesh Karthik’s Daredevils failed to defend a total of 185. The Super Kings eventually came out on top in a tense encounter as skipper Raina and Murali Vijay saw out the game with 5 balls to spare. Raina’s composed knock of 49* was enough for the Super Kings to win the match by 5 wickets. The platform for the successful chase was set up by opener Matthew Hayden who scored 93 off just 43 balls. The crowd at the Feroz Shah Kotla got more than a glimpse of the Aussie’s Mongoose bat. Hayden’s knock was embellished with seven sixes and nine boundaries to knock the stuffing out of the Daredevils’ bowling attack.
CSK Team CelebratingHayden was particularly severe on Daredevils spinners, who were slammed over the boundary with utmost ease. The belligerent Aussie scored 19 before switching bats and ended up getting 74 more with the newest innovation in cricket bat technology. Dirk Nannes clawed back some pride for the Daredevils, but it wasn’t enough as the Super Kings proved to be too good for the home side.
Earlier, after winning the toss, Dinesh Karthik opted to bat, and it looked like the move paid off as David Warner and Virender Sehwag started well. Sehwag was in a typically belligerent mood as he punished any ball slightly off length. But Warner couldn’t quite match his partner’s dominance, as he perished after making just seven. That brought Tillakaratne Dilshan to the crease and along with that began the Daredevils’ most fruitful partnership of the day.
The duo put up an impressive 67-run stand that gave the home side some momentum. The Indo-Lankan pair was in fine form, with Sehwag turning out to be a real thorn in CSK’s side. The Daredevils looked like running away with the game, and that prompted captain Suresh Raina to bring on his ace bowler Muttiah Muralidaran. The wily spinner responded aptly for his captain by dismissing both Sehwag and Dilshan in the 12th over with the score at 103. The wheels fell off the Daredevils’ batting from then on, as some tight bowling and good catching from Raina saw the Daredevils stumble. Backed by the perseverance of Mithun Manhas (32*) and some lusty blows from Rajat Bhatia (21), the Daredevils reached a competitive total of 185/6.
With this win, Chennai move up to the third spot in the points table as the Daredevils go down a rung to occupy fifth position.
Praveen's Hattrick floors Rajasthan
The first hat-trick of IPL 2010, the lowest score of the edition and it was clear only one team had showed up for the RCB vs RR match today: the Royal Challengers Bangalore.
The hosts’ bowling attack completely took charge of the proceedings right from the start and the visiting team never even appeared to be in the game. Add to the mix, the first hat-trick of IPL 2010 and the Rajasthan Royals were completely outplayed on the night. Pacer Praveen Kumar took the first hat-trick of IPL 2010, and the seventh overall in the competition’s history. The medium-pacer mixed it up well to get the wickets of IPL debutants Damien Martyn, Sumit Narwal and Paras Dogra.
The Rajasthan innings was already in disarray when Praveen started his third over and the 17th over of the innings. They were tottering at 81 for 4 when Martyn hit Praveen’s first ball for a four on the on-side. He came back with a yorker that uprooted Martyn’s (19) middle stump. In came Narwal, Kumar bowled a short-pitch delivery and the debutant top-edged it and was gulped down by Manish Pandey down at fine leg. Paras Dogra (3), who has been a revelation till now, became part of IPL history losing his middle stump and becoming the UP lad’s hat-trick victim. He finished his spell with figures of 4-18-0-3.
Rajasthan’s abject surrender on a pitch that saw two scores of over 200 runs just a couple of days ago was a testimony to the RCB’s disciplined bowling. Kumar was not the only hero of the day, with his skipper Anil Kumble also taking three wickets and having exceptional figures of having given away a mere nine runs from his 3.5 overs with three scalps to boot, including RR opener Michael Lumb and his counterpart Shane Warne.
Yusuf Pathan, after that thundering century against Mumbai Indians, has failed to rescue his team on two occasions. This time around, he scored 26 off 24 balls with two towering sixes that had the crowds hoping that he would repeat his record-breaking knock. The task was monumental and ultimately, impossible.
The Bangalore batsmen came out to complete the last rites of the night getting the required 93 runs without any discomfort. The Bangalore openers reached the target in the 11th over.
Manish Pandey and Jacques Kallis had no hiccups along the way. Kallis, who is leading the race to the Orange Cap, consolidated his position on top with a cool 44* (34b, 7x4). Manish came good, remaining unbeaten at 42 runs off 30 balls.
This was the biggest win of IPL 2010 and will see RCB go to the top of the points table. Rajasthan Royals are now languishing at the bottom of the table.
The hosts’ bowling attack completely took charge of the proceedings right from the start and the visiting team never even appeared to be in the game. Add to the mix, the first hat-trick of IPL 2010 and the Rajasthan Royals were completely outplayed on the night. Pacer Praveen Kumar took the first hat-trick of IPL 2010, and the seventh overall in the competition’s history. The medium-pacer mixed it up well to get the wickets of IPL debutants Damien Martyn, Sumit Narwal and Paras Dogra.
The Rajasthan innings was already in disarray when Praveen started his third over and the 17th over of the innings. They were tottering at 81 for 4 when Martyn hit Praveen’s first ball for a four on the on-side. He came back with a yorker that uprooted Martyn’s (19) middle stump. In came Narwal, Kumar bowled a short-pitch delivery and the debutant top-edged it and was gulped down by Manish Pandey down at fine leg. Paras Dogra (3), who has been a revelation till now, became part of IPL history losing his middle stump and becoming the UP lad’s hat-trick victim. He finished his spell with figures of 4-18-0-3.
Rajasthan’s abject surrender on a pitch that saw two scores of over 200 runs just a couple of days ago was a testimony to the RCB’s disciplined bowling. Kumar was not the only hero of the day, with his skipper Anil Kumble also taking three wickets and having exceptional figures of having given away a mere nine runs from his 3.5 overs with three scalps to boot, including RR opener Michael Lumb and his counterpart Shane Warne.
Yusuf Pathan, after that thundering century against Mumbai Indians, has failed to rescue his team on two occasions. This time around, he scored 26 off 24 balls with two towering sixes that had the crowds hoping that he would repeat his record-breaking knock. The task was monumental and ultimately, impossible.
The Bangalore batsmen came out to complete the last rites of the night getting the required 93 runs without any discomfort. The Bangalore openers reached the target in the 11th over.
Manish Pandey and Jacques Kallis had no hiccups along the way. Kallis, who is leading the race to the Orange Cap, consolidated his position on top with a cool 44* (34b, 7x4). Manish came good, remaining unbeaten at 42 runs off 30 balls.
This was the biggest win of IPL 2010 and will see RCB go to the top of the points table. Rajasthan Royals are now languishing at the bottom of the table.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Mumbai outbatted Delhi
Mumbai Indians announced their championship credentials with a commanding 98-run win over the Delhi Daredevils. With only victory on their minds, the Mumbai franchise easily managed to outplay a side sans Gautam Gambhir.
Gambhir did start the match but his stint in the park barely lasted 10 minutes as a recurrent hamstring injury forced the Delhi captain to retire hurt after an over was bowled. Already down a batsman, Virender Sehwag and Tillakaratne Dilshan began the innings with the immense pressure of scoring at almost 11 an over. Dilshan announced his intentions with a smashing off-drive off Zaheer Khan’s opening delivery.
But very soon the spectre of gloom surrounded the Feroz Shah Kotla. Dilshan was cleaned up by Lasith Malinga in his opening spell, and after Virender Sehwag was dismissed by Dwayne Bravo for 26, there was no chance Delhi could fight back to claw an unlikely win under Gambhir’s absence.
Everything else was academic after that as de Villiers, Maharoof and Karthik perished trying to keep up with the alarming asking rate. Sanath Jayasuriya was the pick of the bowlers claiming two wickets, giving away just 17 runs in his four overs.
Earlier, after being put in to bat by Gautam Gambhir, the Mumbai Indians started like a house on fire. Sachin Tendulkar led the charge, mixing finesse with bludgeoning power like only the Little Master can do. Be it deft touches to the third man boundary, or caressed flicks to the mid wicket fence - Tendulkar did it all and more.
Even Yogesh Nagar’s acrobatic catch to dismiss Sanath Jayasuriya didn’t stop the Mumbai Indians captain from dominating the Daredevils’ bowlers. Aditya Tare’s customary cameo gave a glimpse of the youngster’s talent. Sachin was eventually dismissed after scoring 62 off 32 balls by Amit Mishra.
Saurabh Tiwary and Ambati Rayudu continued from where Tendulkar left off - the left handed Tiwary was particularly severe on the ineffective Daredevils bowling. The duo put up a solid partnership of 71 runs before Farveez Maharoof got rid of the eager-to-impress Rayudu.
Tiwary followed suit trying to take a quick single. That allowed the West Indian pair of Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard to provide the finishing touch as the Mumbai Indians ended up posting 218/7.
This dominating display helped Mumbai Indians leapfrog the Daredevils to the top of the IPL Points Table with two wins out of two. Sachin Tendulkar’s side look like a team eager to make up for lost time.
Gambhir did start the match but his stint in the park barely lasted 10 minutes as a recurrent hamstring injury forced the Delhi captain to retire hurt after an over was bowled. Already down a batsman, Virender Sehwag and Tillakaratne Dilshan began the innings with the immense pressure of scoring at almost 11 an over. Dilshan announced his intentions with a smashing off-drive off Zaheer Khan’s opening delivery.
But very soon the spectre of gloom surrounded the Feroz Shah Kotla. Dilshan was cleaned up by Lasith Malinga in his opening spell, and after Virender Sehwag was dismissed by Dwayne Bravo for 26, there was no chance Delhi could fight back to claw an unlikely win under Gambhir’s absence.
Everything else was academic after that as de Villiers, Maharoof and Karthik perished trying to keep up with the alarming asking rate. Sanath Jayasuriya was the pick of the bowlers claiming two wickets, giving away just 17 runs in his four overs.
Earlier, after being put in to bat by Gautam Gambhir, the Mumbai Indians started like a house on fire. Sachin Tendulkar led the charge, mixing finesse with bludgeoning power like only the Little Master can do. Be it deft touches to the third man boundary, or caressed flicks to the mid wicket fence - Tendulkar did it all and more.
Even Yogesh Nagar’s acrobatic catch to dismiss Sanath Jayasuriya didn’t stop the Mumbai Indians captain from dominating the Daredevils’ bowlers. Aditya Tare’s customary cameo gave a glimpse of the youngster’s talent. Sachin was eventually dismissed after scoring 62 off 32 balls by Amit Mishra.
Saurabh Tiwary and Ambati Rayudu continued from where Tendulkar left off - the left handed Tiwary was particularly severe on the ineffective Daredevils bowling. The duo put up a solid partnership of 71 runs before Farveez Maharoof got rid of the eager-to-impress Rayudu.
Tiwary followed suit trying to take a quick single. That allowed the West Indian pair of Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard to provide the finishing touch as the Mumbai Indians ended up posting 218/7.
This dominating display helped Mumbai Indians leapfrog the Daredevils to the top of the IPL Points Table with two wins out of two. Sachin Tendulkar’s side look like a team eager to make up for lost time.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Superkings halt KKR's momentum
Kolkata Knight Riders could not make it three wins in a row as they failed to cross the obstacle put up by Chennai Super Kings at the Eden gardens on Tuesday night. The Knight Riders fell miserably chasing 165 for a victory, falling short by 55 runs.
As MS Dhoni, captain of the Chennai Super Kings had mentioned at the toss, his team’s strength lies in their batting and hence it was important to make first use of the pitch. Chennai seemed to have made the wrong decision as they found it difficult to keep the run-rate above six till the thirteenth over.
Losing the toss and bowling first, KKR opened their attack with Shane Bond who made his IPL debut. Bond bowled a fiery opening spell going past CSK opener Matthew Hayden’s bat several times. Hayden eventually got out to a blinder of a delivery by Ishant Sharma, who was seen bowling one of his fastest spells. Suresh Raina and Murali Vijay steadied the ship for a while before falling one after the other leaving the team struggling at 55 for 3 off 9.1 overs.
Captain MS Dhoni then joined S Badrinath as the two repaired the innings with some immaculate running between the wickets. Dhoni played a whirlwind of a knock scoring 66 of 33 balls getting good support from Badri who got 43 in a stand of 109 off 65. The turning point of the match were the last four overs where Dhoni took the attack to the opposition, scoring 61 runs off the likes of Ishant, Laxmi Shukla and Bond.
Dhoni and Badri seemed to have caught some momentum taking 16 runs off a Shukla over and never looked back, ending with a commanding 164 for 3.
Set an achievable 165 to win, the Knight Riders started disastrously, losing Brad Hodge off the second ball of the match to Morkel. This wicket maiden was the sign of things to come as Kolkata lost another wicket in the second over- Manoj Tiwary, the hero of the previous match, got bowled after hitting Manpreet Gony for two consecutive boundaries.
The Chennai team sniffed a big victory here as wickets kept tumbling from one end. Wriddhiman Saha and Ganguly seemed to put a fight but did not last too long as Saha fell when the scoreboard read 34 and Dada left with the team stuttering at 55 for five.
Every bowler got amongst the wickets, except Raina, as the KKR finally folded up for 109 in 19.1 overs, handing a comfortable victory to the Chennai Super Kings. Justin Kemp led the bowling taking three wickets off his three overs giving away just 12 runs.
As MS Dhoni, captain of the Chennai Super Kings had mentioned at the toss, his team’s strength lies in their batting and hence it was important to make first use of the pitch. Chennai seemed to have made the wrong decision as they found it difficult to keep the run-rate above six till the thirteenth over.
Losing the toss and bowling first, KKR opened their attack with Shane Bond who made his IPL debut. Bond bowled a fiery opening spell going past CSK opener Matthew Hayden’s bat several times. Hayden eventually got out to a blinder of a delivery by Ishant Sharma, who was seen bowling one of his fastest spells. Suresh Raina and Murali Vijay steadied the ship for a while before falling one after the other leaving the team struggling at 55 for 3 off 9.1 overs.
Captain MS Dhoni then joined S Badrinath as the two repaired the innings with some immaculate running between the wickets. Dhoni played a whirlwind of a knock scoring 66 of 33 balls getting good support from Badri who got 43 in a stand of 109 off 65. The turning point of the match were the last four overs where Dhoni took the attack to the opposition, scoring 61 runs off the likes of Ishant, Laxmi Shukla and Bond.
Dhoni and Badri seemed to have caught some momentum taking 16 runs off a Shukla over and never looked back, ending with a commanding 164 for 3.
Set an achievable 165 to win, the Knight Riders started disastrously, losing Brad Hodge off the second ball of the match to Morkel. This wicket maiden was the sign of things to come as Kolkata lost another wicket in the second over- Manoj Tiwary, the hero of the previous match, got bowled after hitting Manpreet Gony for two consecutive boundaries.
The Chennai team sniffed a big victory here as wickets kept tumbling from one end. Wriddhiman Saha and Ganguly seemed to put a fight but did not last too long as Saha fell when the scoreboard read 34 and Dada left with the team stuttering at 55 for five.
Every bowler got amongst the wickets, except Raina, as the KKR finally folded up for 109 in 19.1 overs, handing a comfortable victory to the Chennai Super Kings. Justin Kemp led the bowling taking three wickets off his three overs giving away just 12 runs.
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