One man's misfortune is the other's opportunity. Mahela Jayawardene made the most of this dictum on Sunday to lead Kings XI Punjab to just their second win in IPL 2010.
Jayawardene (110: 59b, 14x4, 3x6) was not supposed to play the Sunday fixture. He eventually played only because Shaun Marsh injured himself minutes before the game against Kolkata Knight Riders.
Jayawardene notched up his first IPL hundred, the second for Kings XI Punjab, and the 12th of the tournament to star in a famous win.
This hundred by Jayawardene overshadowed a gigantic Chris Gayle (88: 42b, 6x4, 8x6) effort which had the set the stage for a massive chase.
Jayawardene's effort ensured that Kings XI Punjab chased down Kolkata Knight Riders' stiff target of 200 for three in the 19th over.
Jayawardene and his second-wicket partnership with skipper Kumar Sangakkara of 98 runs set the tone for an evening of smiles for the visitors at the Eden Gardens.
Earlier, Sourav Ganguly’s decision to bat first was vindicated after the Knight Riders were off to a rollicking start.
Ganguly was swiftly snapped up by Ravi Bopara after making 36. But his skipper’s absence only seemed to increase Gayle’s resolve. And the momentum swung dramatically from the 13th over onwards when Gayle came into his own.
Ravi Bopara didn’t know what hit him as the powerful West Indian took a fancy to the Englishman’s medium pace. Four sixes from Gayle unsettled Bopara who conceded a further five wides to end up giving away 33 runs in one over – a dubious IPL record.
The Kings simply caved from then on, giving Gayle and Manoj Tiwary complete control. Gayle’s fury finally ended when none other than Bopara hung onto a skier. Manoj Tiwary departed soon after, but David Hussey and Angelo Matthews made sure the Knight Riders set the Kings a daunting target of 201.
In the end, all of Gayle's heroics were not enough as Jayawardene saw Kings XI Punjab home in fine style.
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Mumbai too good for Deccan
Chasing down 179 proved too hard for the Deccan Chargers on a slow Brabourne track and Mumbai Indians easily secured their fifth straight win by 63 runs.
The chief architects of the Chargers' loss were Ambati Rayudu with his brilliant half-century and Zaheer Khan with his devastating spell of fast bowling.
The visitors always had an uphill task ahead of them to get to the fighting total and losing two top-order wickets in the space of three balls didn’t help matters.
The Chargers stumbled from 30 for no loss to 40 for three by the seventh over. Zaheer Khan started the collapse by first claiming the wicket of Herschelle Gibbs and he then bowled a beauty of a yorker to DC captain Adam Gilchrist, whose stumps went cart-wheeling.
From then on it was just a matter of time and Andrew Symonds’ dismissal in the 12th over convinced even the most die-hard of DC supporters that theirs was a lost cause.
Earlier, the Mumbai Indians middle-order once again rescued its team from a collapse after the Deccan Chargers spinners Pragyan Ojha and Rahul Sharma had dealt the hosts a triple blow immediately after the Powerplay.
MI, who were 53 after six over, looked like they would emulate Chennai Super Kings and set a huge target for Deccan to chase.
But Ojha’s flight and guile helped him get the scalps of opener Shikhar Dhawan and Dwayne Bravo while leggie Rahul Sharma got the all-important wicket of Sachin Tendulkar (35).
But then Surabh Tiwary and Ambati Rayudu came together and strung a 65-run partnership in 7.4 overs. Tiwary should thank the Chargers’ fielders having been let off twice in the 14th over. The southpaw took full advantage, peppering the on-side with three sixes.
Rayudu, meanwhile, continued on his merry way hitting all the bowlers with impunity and bringing up his 50 from 28 balls. His 55* is his highest score of his short IPL career.
Mumbai Indians were 127 for 4 in the 17th over, but like in previous games, Deccan again leaked runs in the death overs giving away 51 runs from the last 20 balls. Pollard played a good cameo role scoring 21 runs of 10 balls to take Mumbai to a good total of 178.
The chief architects of the Chargers' loss were Ambati Rayudu with his brilliant half-century and Zaheer Khan with his devastating spell of fast bowling.
The visitors always had an uphill task ahead of them to get to the fighting total and losing two top-order wickets in the space of three balls didn’t help matters.
The Chargers stumbled from 30 for no loss to 40 for three by the seventh over. Zaheer Khan started the collapse by first claiming the wicket of Herschelle Gibbs and he then bowled a beauty of a yorker to DC captain Adam Gilchrist, whose stumps went cart-wheeling.
From then on it was just a matter of time and Andrew Symonds’ dismissal in the 12th over convinced even the most die-hard of DC supporters that theirs was a lost cause.
Earlier, the Mumbai Indians middle-order once again rescued its team from a collapse after the Deccan Chargers spinners Pragyan Ojha and Rahul Sharma had dealt the hosts a triple blow immediately after the Powerplay.
MI, who were 53 after six over, looked like they would emulate Chennai Super Kings and set a huge target for Deccan to chase.
But Ojha’s flight and guile helped him get the scalps of opener Shikhar Dhawan and Dwayne Bravo while leggie Rahul Sharma got the all-important wicket of Sachin Tendulkar (35).
But then Surabh Tiwary and Ambati Rayudu came together and strung a 65-run partnership in 7.4 overs. Tiwary should thank the Chargers’ fielders having been let off twice in the 14th over. The southpaw took full advantage, peppering the on-side with three sixes.
Rayudu, meanwhile, continued on his merry way hitting all the bowlers with impunity and bringing up his 50 from 28 balls. His 55* is his highest score of his short IPL career.
Mumbai Indians were 127 for 4 in the 17th over, but like in previous games, Deccan again leaked runs in the death overs giving away 51 runs from the last 20 balls. Pollard played a good cameo role scoring 21 runs of 10 balls to take Mumbai to a good total of 178.
Super Kings in super power
The Super Kings’ bowlers just about made sure that Murali Vijay’s electric innings didn’t go waste, as Chennai defeated the Rajasthan Royals by 23 runs. Despite spirited efforts from Naman Ojha (94*) and Shane Watson (60), it proved too much of an ask for the Royals.
Watson, along with Ojha, gave the Royals a glimmer of hope of surmounting 246. Even the Royals’ star man, Yusuf Pathan was dismissed after a truly sublime catch from Doug Bollinger at long-on. Watson perished going for the spectacular, but Ojha pushed the Super Kings all the way till the end.
But it wasn’t to be as Bollinger and co. finished the job that Murali Vijay started early in the evening. The sun was scorching at Chepauk, and Murali Vijay’s blazing innings of 127 certainly didn’t help cool things off under Shane Warne’s collar.
Chennai Super Kings found their talisman in the form of Vijay who unleashed a range of dazzling shots that left the home crowd – and fans across the world - spellbound. Opening with Matthew Hayden, Vijay gave the Super Kings a rocking start, but soon after the dismissals of Hayden (34) and Suresh Raina (13), Vijay truly came into his own.
Along with Albie Morkel (62), the 26-year-old set the stadium alight with a truly maverick innings of 127 off just 56 balls. Sixes were simply flowing from the bat of Vijay as he massacred a hapless Royals bowling attack for 11 sixes in total. Morkel didn’t let up on the other end either as he bludgeoned five hits over the boundary himself.
Shane Warne, Yusuf Pathan, Shaun Tait or Shane Watson - no matter who came on to bowl, CSK’s fiery duo just dispatched the ball to the boundary with alarming regularity. Vijay finally got out in the last over of the Chennai innings, mistiming one to long-on.
But by then he had single-handedly managed to guide the Super Kings to the 246 – IPL’s highest ever total.
Watson, along with Ojha, gave the Royals a glimmer of hope of surmounting 246. Even the Royals’ star man, Yusuf Pathan was dismissed after a truly sublime catch from Doug Bollinger at long-on. Watson perished going for the spectacular, but Ojha pushed the Super Kings all the way till the end.
But it wasn’t to be as Bollinger and co. finished the job that Murali Vijay started early in the evening. The sun was scorching at Chepauk, and Murali Vijay’s blazing innings of 127 certainly didn’t help cool things off under Shane Warne’s collar.
Chennai Super Kings found their talisman in the form of Vijay who unleashed a range of dazzling shots that left the home crowd – and fans across the world - spellbound. Opening with Matthew Hayden, Vijay gave the Super Kings a rocking start, but soon after the dismissals of Hayden (34) and Suresh Raina (13), Vijay truly came into his own.
Along with Albie Morkel (62), the 26-year-old set the stadium alight with a truly maverick innings of 127 off just 56 balls. Sixes were simply flowing from the bat of Vijay as he massacred a hapless Royals bowling attack for 11 sixes in total. Morkel didn’t let up on the other end either as he bludgeoned five hits over the boundary himself.
Shane Warne, Yusuf Pathan, Shaun Tait or Shane Watson - no matter who came on to bowl, CSK’s fiery duo just dispatched the ball to the boundary with alarming regularity. Vijay finally got out in the last over of the Chennai innings, mistiming one to long-on.
But by then he had single-handedly managed to guide the Super Kings to the 246 – IPL’s highest ever total.
Friday, April 2, 2010
Kings XI on the backburner
The Kings XI Punjab literally dropped their chance at finding a way back into the tournament while the Royal Challengers Bangalore rode their luck to claim a six wicket win in Mohali.
The Kings were in the game till the 16th over, but a disastrous 25-run 17th over by Brett Lee tilted the scales in favour of the Bangalore boys.
RCB started their chase on a somber note, Brett Lee and Sreesanth doing well to keep a check on the dangerous opening pair of Jacques Kallis and Manish Pandey. Kings XI finally got their first breakthrough in the fifth over with Shalabh Srivastava getting rid of Kallis.
Pandey didn’t last much longer, getting run-out unluckily after making 29. But some resilient play from Kevin Pietersen 66* (44) and Virat Kohli 42 (26) guided the away side home with five balls to spare.
Earlier, Kumar Sangakkara’s decision to bat first seemed to have backfired, when an uncomfortable looking Shaun Marsh was dismissed by Vinay Kumar in the second over.
Fellow opener Manvinder Bisla was playing a rather uncharacteristically stoic innings. And in a bid to break the shackles, Bisla lost his head and his wicket with Kumble hitting his off stump.
The Kings needed their middle order to fire if they wanted to set a competitive total. And fortunately for the home side, it did. Kumar Sangakkara’s 45 (27) was studded with eight boundaries and it did more than just add runs on the scoreboard.
Taking a cue from their captain, both Ravi Bopara 42 (33) and Yuvraj Singh 36 (20) found some much needed form. Yuvraj decided to put the foot on the accelerator in the 14th over, smashing Kallis over the long-on boundary.
Another big hit followed, this time off Kumble, as Yuvraj came into his own. But sadly for the home fans, Yuvraj departed soon with Kallis getting his revenge.
Irfan Pathan and Bopara provided that final push as they plundered 18 runs in the final over off Praveen Kumar to set the Royal Challengers a target of 182.
The Kings were in the game till the 16th over, but a disastrous 25-run 17th over by Brett Lee tilted the scales in favour of the Bangalore boys.
RCB started their chase on a somber note, Brett Lee and Sreesanth doing well to keep a check on the dangerous opening pair of Jacques Kallis and Manish Pandey. Kings XI finally got their first breakthrough in the fifth over with Shalabh Srivastava getting rid of Kallis.
Pandey didn’t last much longer, getting run-out unluckily after making 29. But some resilient play from Kevin Pietersen 66* (44) and Virat Kohli 42 (26) guided the away side home with five balls to spare.
Earlier, Kumar Sangakkara’s decision to bat first seemed to have backfired, when an uncomfortable looking Shaun Marsh was dismissed by Vinay Kumar in the second over.
Fellow opener Manvinder Bisla was playing a rather uncharacteristically stoic innings. And in a bid to break the shackles, Bisla lost his head and his wicket with Kumble hitting his off stump.
The Kings needed their middle order to fire if they wanted to set a competitive total. And fortunately for the home side, it did. Kumar Sangakkara’s 45 (27) was studded with eight boundaries and it did more than just add runs on the scoreboard.
Taking a cue from their captain, both Ravi Bopara 42 (33) and Yuvraj Singh 36 (20) found some much needed form. Yuvraj decided to put the foot on the accelerator in the 14th over, smashing Kallis over the long-on boundary.
Another big hit followed, this time off Kumble, as Yuvraj came into his own. But sadly for the home fans, Yuvraj departed soon with Kallis getting his revenge.
Irfan Pathan and Bopara provided that final push as they plundered 18 runs in the final over off Praveen Kumar to set the Royal Challengers a target of 182.
Bengal Tiger is back
Deccan Chargers continued their downward spiral, losing their third successive game on the bounce even as Kolkata Knight Riders got back to their winning ways with a vital 24-run win. The Chargers fell short of reaching 182 despite having Andrew Symonds on the crease for most part of the end overs.
The Aussie couldn’t come up with the required big hits as Shane Bond bowled four dot balls in the 19th over to virtually seal the game in favour of Deccan. The Chargers ended up requiring 34 runs off the final over – a task that proved to be impossible. Knight Riders notched their fourth win against the Chargers in India.
Requiring more than nine an over, the Chargers began like a house on fire, with Herschelle Gibbs (50) and Adam Gilchrist, knocking the ball around with consummate ease. After smashing two of Ajit Agarkar’s deliveries to the boundary, the Deccan skipper got one wrong and holed out at square-leg.
The Chargers innings never really went into second gear from then on as they surrendered meekly in the end.
After winning the toss, Ganguly opted to bat and dada made it a point that the Knight Riders were off to a good start. Kemar Roach knew his fate after his very first ball raced off to the square-leg boundary off Ganguly’s bat.
But the initial fireworks dimmed after Symonds dismissed Chris Gayle early on. Cheteshwar Pujara and Manoj Tiwary came and went without making any impact.
But Sourav Ganguly’s presence was more than enough to keep the Eden Gardens crowd alive. And he didn’t disappoint them, playing the spinners with typical disdain - Pragyan Ojha was the worst hit by Ganguly’s onslaught.
The youngster, however, got his own back to a certain extent, when Ganguly mistimed one after scoring an awe-inspiring 88. David Hussey provided the final over fireworks for the Knight Riders as they set the Chargers a challenging target of 182
The Aussie couldn’t come up with the required big hits as Shane Bond bowled four dot balls in the 19th over to virtually seal the game in favour of Deccan. The Chargers ended up requiring 34 runs off the final over – a task that proved to be impossible. Knight Riders notched their fourth win against the Chargers in India.
Requiring more than nine an over, the Chargers began like a house on fire, with Herschelle Gibbs (50) and Adam Gilchrist, knocking the ball around with consummate ease. After smashing two of Ajit Agarkar’s deliveries to the boundary, the Deccan skipper got one wrong and holed out at square-leg.
The Chargers innings never really went into second gear from then on as they surrendered meekly in the end.
After winning the toss, Ganguly opted to bat and dada made it a point that the Knight Riders were off to a good start. Kemar Roach knew his fate after his very first ball raced off to the square-leg boundary off Ganguly’s bat.
But the initial fireworks dimmed after Symonds dismissed Chris Gayle early on. Cheteshwar Pujara and Manoj Tiwary came and went without making any impact.
But Sourav Ganguly’s presence was more than enough to keep the Eden Gardens crowd alive. And he didn’t disappoint them, playing the spinners with typical disdain - Pragyan Ojha was the worst hit by Ganguly’s onslaught.
The youngster, however, got his own back to a certain extent, when Ganguly mistimed one after scoring an awe-inspiring 88. David Hussey provided the final over fireworks for the Knight Riders as they set the Chargers a challenging target of 182
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Delhi ridicules Rajasthan
Some power-hitting from Dinesh Karthik and suicidal top-order batting from Rajasthan Royals ensured that the Delhi Daredevils notched their 3rd successive win in a row in IPL 2010. Set a target of 189, the Royals’ reply never really got going and they ended up losing by 67 runs. Farveez Maharoof bagged the wickets of Michael Lumb and Faiz Fazal in the very first over.
Naman Ojha’s 27 gave the away side some much needed momentum, but once Ojha fell trying to up the ante further, it was all doom and gloom in the Royals camp.
If there were a man who could dig the Royals out of this deep ditch, it was Yusuf Pathan. He began in typically thundering fashion, smashing Sarabjeet Ladda for two sixes in the 7th over.
Royals’ almost extinguished flames of hope suddenly started flickering again, thanks to Pathan’s terrific start. But all that optimism died down the moment David Warner latched onto his 3rd of 4 catches in the match to dismiss Pathan off Amit Mishra.
It was all over right then and there less than 10 overs into the chase as the Royals went through the motions from then on.
Gautam Gambhir’s decision to bat first seemed to have clicked when Virender Sehwag came out all guns blazing. Yusuf Pathan was greeted with a 6 and a 4 in the very first over. And it all looked rosy until Royals pacer Sumit Narwal struck gold in the 4th over.
Both openers David Warner and Virender Sehwag fell to Narwal’s accuracy, which reduced the Daredevils to 25/5.
The Daredevils showed some semblance of recovery with Paul Collingwood and Gautam Gambhir going steady, but a horrific mix up between the pair saw Collingwood being run-out.
The introduction of Dinesh Karthik gave the Daredevils some much needed impetus, and along with Gambhir, Delhi looked like getting back on track.
Narwal struck again to dismiss Delhi skipper Gautam Gambhir for 43. But that only intensified Karthik’s effort – he hit Shaun Tait for three consecutive fours in the 18th over.
The Daredevils vice-captain was in scintillating form, and the Royals bowlers had no answer for his ingenuity. The Royals finally got their man off the last ball of the innings, but Karthik’s 69 off 38 balls was enough for the Daredevils to set a testing target of 189.
Naman Ojha’s 27 gave the away side some much needed momentum, but once Ojha fell trying to up the ante further, it was all doom and gloom in the Royals camp.
If there were a man who could dig the Royals out of this deep ditch, it was Yusuf Pathan. He began in typically thundering fashion, smashing Sarabjeet Ladda for two sixes in the 7th over.
Royals’ almost extinguished flames of hope suddenly started flickering again, thanks to Pathan’s terrific start. But all that optimism died down the moment David Warner latched onto his 3rd of 4 catches in the match to dismiss Pathan off Amit Mishra.
It was all over right then and there less than 10 overs into the chase as the Royals went through the motions from then on.
Gautam Gambhir’s decision to bat first seemed to have clicked when Virender Sehwag came out all guns blazing. Yusuf Pathan was greeted with a 6 and a 4 in the very first over. And it all looked rosy until Royals pacer Sumit Narwal struck gold in the 4th over.
Both openers David Warner and Virender Sehwag fell to Narwal’s accuracy, which reduced the Daredevils to 25/5.
The Daredevils showed some semblance of recovery with Paul Collingwood and Gautam Gambhir going steady, but a horrific mix up between the pair saw Collingwood being run-out.
The introduction of Dinesh Karthik gave the Daredevils some much needed impetus, and along with Gambhir, Delhi looked like getting back on track.
Narwal struck again to dismiss Delhi skipper Gautam Gambhir for 43. But that only intensified Karthik’s effort – he hit Shaun Tait for three consecutive fours in the 18th over.
The Daredevils vice-captain was in scintillating form, and the Royals bowlers had no answer for his ingenuity. The Royals finally got their man off the last ball of the innings, but Karthik’s 69 off 38 balls was enough for the Daredevils to set a testing target of 189.
Chennai Super Kings back on track
The Chennai Super Kings snapped out of their four-match losing streak after defeating the much fancied Royal Challengers Bangalore by five wickets.
Riding high on an uncharacteristically aggressive knock of 78 off 39 balls from opener Murali Vijay which included six massive sixes, the Super Kings successfully chased down RCB’s total with an over to spare. Vijay and Matthew Hayden gave Chennai an explosive start, mostly due to Vijay’s brilliance.
Hayden looked out of sorts and was stumped off Kumble’s bowling in the 7th over. Kevin Pietersen bore the brunt of Vijay’s new-found belligerent streak as he smashed the Englishman for two consecutive sixes. But Pietersen got his revenge after Vijay tried one too shots and holed out at long-on.
Vijay’s departure didn’t stop CSK from claiming a morale boosting victory, with Suresh Raina’s 45* seeing the home team through.
Opting to bat first, the Royal Challengers Bangalore got off to a decent start. After Manish Pandey departed after scoring just five, fellow opener Jacques Kallis made sure he reclaimed his Orange Cap with a gritty innings of 52.
Robin Uthappa (21,13b) came and quickly made his presence felt, but he too fell too early to make any significant impact. The Super Kings were successfully stifling the RCB middle order batsmen, with Shadab Jakati (2/17) and Muttiah Muralidaran (0/21) keeping things quiet.
Kallis could have provided a late flourish to the RCB innings but a mix up with Kevin Pietersen got the South African run-out.
The freshly arrived Pietersen did somewhat make amends scoring a breezy 23* off 14 balls, to add to Cameron White’s confident knock of 21*(13).
161 for the loss of 4 wickets is what the Challengers managed to score, which eventually turned out to be too diminutive a target to defend against a resurgent Super Kings Side.
Riding high on an uncharacteristically aggressive knock of 78 off 39 balls from opener Murali Vijay which included six massive sixes, the Super Kings successfully chased down RCB’s total with an over to spare. Vijay and Matthew Hayden gave Chennai an explosive start, mostly due to Vijay’s brilliance.
Hayden looked out of sorts and was stumped off Kumble’s bowling in the 7th over. Kevin Pietersen bore the brunt of Vijay’s new-found belligerent streak as he smashed the Englishman for two consecutive sixes. But Pietersen got his revenge after Vijay tried one too shots and holed out at long-on.
Vijay’s departure didn’t stop CSK from claiming a morale boosting victory, with Suresh Raina’s 45* seeing the home team through.
Opting to bat first, the Royal Challengers Bangalore got off to a decent start. After Manish Pandey departed after scoring just five, fellow opener Jacques Kallis made sure he reclaimed his Orange Cap with a gritty innings of 52.
Robin Uthappa (21,13b) came and quickly made his presence felt, but he too fell too early to make any significant impact. The Super Kings were successfully stifling the RCB middle order batsmen, with Shadab Jakati (2/17) and Muttiah Muralidaran (0/21) keeping things quiet.
Kallis could have provided a late flourish to the RCB innings but a mix up with Kevin Pietersen got the South African run-out.
The freshly arrived Pietersen did somewhat make amends scoring a breezy 23* off 14 balls, to add to Cameron White’s confident knock of 21*(13).
161 for the loss of 4 wickets is what the Challengers managed to score, which eventually turned out to be too diminutive a target to defend against a resurgent Super Kings Side.
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