A Yusuf Pathan slaughter at SuperSport Park

Yusuf Pathan's massive self-belief couple with Graeme Smith's firmness took Rajasthan Royals to a dramatic five-wicket victory over Delhi Daredevils in a low-scoring in the Indian Premier League on Tuesday. Yusuf Pathan's clean hitting and Smith's steady innings ensured a win Rajasthan Royals which rose to the fourth place with five points.

Walking in to bat at 64-5 in the 11 over - and with 80 runs wanted for the victory - Yusuf hit six sixes and three fours in making an unbeaten 62 off 30 deliveries to take the side home and dry with as many as nine deliveries left. Smith was left unbeaten on 44 off 46 balls (five fours), enjoying Yusuf Pathan's aggression from some 20 yards away during the 83-run stand.

"It was my day. I was able to hit the ball well," Pathan said after getting his man of the match award that nobody could ever complaint. "But you have to give credit to Graeme Smith for his innings, too."

Of course, Smith held the innings jointly even as Delhi Daredevils bowlers, led by Amit Mishra clawed their way back into the game after the team had made just 143 for seven in 20 overs. Mishra took three wickets in his first three overs and was involved in running out Swapnil Asnodkar with a direct hit to dowel Rajasthan Royals back.

Pathan strike Daniel Vettori for three sixes and 27 balls off the eight deliveries he faced from the experienced left-arm spinner and when Mishra came back for his fourth over, the lanky batsman responded with a six and a four to turn the match on its head. Pathan's clinical strikes first left rival Skipper Virender Sehwag chewing his fingernails and then smiling in fear.

Earlier, despite a half-century by AB de Villiers Delhi Daredevils never really recovered from the early departures of Gautam Gambhir - who failed yet again and now has just 39 runs this IPL 2009 season - and Sehwag. Both were prised out by Dmitri Mascarenhas and Tillakaratne Dilshan's rare failure harm the side when Rajasthan Royals bowled with passion and much purpose.

Chennai Super Kings can't stop the Deccan Charge

Deccan Skipper Adam Gilchrist won the toss and put in Chennai on a fresh pitch that looked likely to help the bowlers in the early hours, before easing out. Fidel Edwards got his an obligatory wicket in the first over, when he had Parthiv caught behind off the second ball of the match.

However, Hayden was in a brutal mood, and he treated purple cap holder RP Singh with scant admiration. The fall of Raina after a good cameo, didn't deter Hayden. But as he's done whenever for Hyderabad, Pragyan Ojha put a stopper in Chennai's plans, with two big wickets in one over - those of Dhoni and Hayden, both not getting clutch of the ball and getting caught. In what is becoming a worrying state of affairs for Chennai, Albie Morkel came, hit one, and went. Chennai Super Kings need him to perform better than he has done so far in the tournament, because the Albie that has turned out for Chennai is a far cry from the one who terrorised the Australians a few short months ago.

For today though, Jacob Oram was the man for Chennai, and it was due to his lusty hitting at the end, that Chennai reached a total oIf you'd looked at the schedule before the IPL, and been told that of the two teams facing each other for the first match of April 27th, one had won 3 games on the trot while the other had only 1 win off four games, you'd have assumed Chennai had won 3, while Hyderabad had won 1. But such is the nature of T20, the headlines were the same, but with the teams reversed. Chennai needed to win this match to keep its title hopes alive, while Hyderabad didn't want to break its winning momentum.

For today though, all rounder Jacob Oram was the man for Chennai, and it was owing to his lusty hitting at the end, that Chennai reached a total of 165 for 6.

It seemed to be spirited during the mid-innings break.

Someone forgot to advise that to Herschelle Gibbs & Adam Gilchrist though. In a display of batsmanship not yet seen in the IPL so far, they raced to 60 off just 24 balls, reaching the fastest 50 of the IPL in the process. Dhoni was compulsory to bring on Murali inside the power play, and he bowled the first rational over of the innings when he conceded 'just' 6 runs.

In desperation, Dhoni turned to part-timer Raina for the last over of the powerplay, but the gamble worked, when he got Adam Gilchrist to cut one straight into gully's hands. Gilchrist departed for 44 off just 19 balls. With his wicket, the scoring rate slowed down from a manic 15 runs per over to saner scopes, and Raina struck again when he had Laxman caught in a similar manner to Adam Gilchrist.

Rohit Sharma & Herschelle Gibbs then set aside Hyderabad on course with a useful partnership of 39, but just when Hyderabad looked to be in control, Rohit fell, but with 42 needed off 38 balls, it was still very much Hyderabad's game. Chennai pulled things back though, especially through Murali's last over, where he gave just 2 runs and got the wicket of Dwayne Smith, until it came down to 8 needed off the final over. Gibbs then settled the issue with a six off the first ball that Balaji bowled, and with a single and a four off the next two, Hyderabad were home, sitting resolutely at the top of the charts with 4 wins out of 4 matches.

Man of the Match: Hercshelle Gibbs

Rajasthan Royals script a Super Over victory over Kolkata Knight Riders

The Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Brendon McCullum won the toss and he elected to bowl first. The Newlands pitch had offered help to the seamers and spinners in an equal proportion during the earlier games. Kolkata made four changes in their line-up. Sanjay Bangar, Ajanda Mendis, Ajit Agarkar and Anureet Singh were the ones included in the final eleven. Rajasthan also had three changes in their team. They brought in Rob Quiney in place of Tyron Henderson while Swapnil Asnodkar made way for Abhishek Raut. The 25 year old Paul Valthaty was also included in the team.


After a heady contest in Durban where Delhi won by nine runs from Chennai, it needed a battle like this to keep the adrenalin flowing in the DLF Indian Premier League. The teams tied scores at 150 each in 20 overs and it was the platform on which a rookie paceman Kamran Khan was launched into limelight.

The teenager Kamran Khan from Azamgarh in Uttar Pradesh first took three for 18 in his four overs to help Rajasthan Royals bowl out Kolkata Knight Riders for 150 despite a gallant 46 by Sourav Ganguly. He then bowled a 16-run over and dismissed Chris Gayle to set the stage for Yusuf Pathan to steal the boom.

Sourav Ganguly hit the first six of a free hit in the IPL 2009 after Munaf Patel bowled a no-ball.

The Rajasthan – Kolkata Knight Riders match was the first ever tied match in the IPL.

'Super Over' was employed for the first time ever in the IPL after the Rajasthan Royals – Kolkata Knight Riders match ended in a tie.

AB De Villiers masterclass ensures Delhi Daredevils win

On a pitch that look like a belter, Virender Sehwag won the toss and had no faltering in batting first.

Chennai Super Kings had an unchanged side, while Delhi made one change, but not the likely one. Ashish Nehra came in for Yo Mahesh, while there was still no sign of Glenn McGrath - who had the 4th best economy rate in last year's IPL.
Lakshmipathy Balaji gave Chennai a dream start by take away the dangerous Gautam Gambhir off the first ball of the match, when he slowly shouldered arms to a ball that caught a feather touch on the way to Dhoni. The next over, the second half of the dream opening pair also gone, when Sehwag top edged a pull to Albie Morkel at mid-on, and suddenly Delhi's middle order was exposed.

However, Delhi fans needn't have fright. In Dilshan and AB De Villiers, the Delhi Daredevils found men who were upto the challenge. Dilshan was leading initially, free stroking his way to 50 off 24 balls, but he chop immediately after. De Villiers however, picked up from where Dilshan left off, and then moved into a region of his own. He got some hold from Dinesh Karthik, and then in a dramatic partnership with Manoj Tiwary, he made 65 off the 74 runs they scored. His masterclass ensured that Delhi ended up at an impressive 189 for 5 - the highest total of IPL 2009 so far.

However, when you have a batting lineup that has Hayden, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni, Andrew Flintoff, Albie Morkel and Badrinath, no total can be measured safe, and Chennai came out intending to prove just that. Matthew Hayden - who the Australian selectors must badly be thinking of calling out of retirement - blazed away to 50 off 22 balls - thereby equaling his own record set in his previous match for the fastest 50 of the tournament. At the halfway stage Chennai were very well placed at a 106 for 2 wickets, with Suresh Raina and Dhoni at the crease. Even though Dhoni fell soon after, Chennai looked on course and when they wanted 51 off 35 balls with Albie Morkel and Andrew Flintoff at the crease, they looked like favorites to win.

But some excellent bowling at the death by Ashish Nehra, Avishkar Salvi and the ever reliable Daniel Vettori, ensured that Chennai's runs were strangled, which led to suicidal run-outs and manufactured shots that ended up in the hands of fielders.

Eventually Chennai fell 9 runs short, close enough to sound a warning to other teams that no total is past their reach, but far enough to give Delhi the psychological edge and possibly suppose the mantle of the front-runner for the tournament.
Man of the Match : AB De Villiers

Adam Gilchrist, Rohit Sharma blast through Bangalore

On a day when the cricket fans around the world were praying for the rain gods to keep away, the Deccans skipper Adam Gilchrist won the toss and decided to bat first. In the pitch report, Simon Doull and Greg Blewett cited that the pitch, unlike the past ones, had lots of runs on offer.

Adam Gilchrist took the Deccans to a blistering start. While Praveen Kumar was in use for three consecutive boundaries off his first over, his bowling partner Dale Steyn was not spared either. Steyn was taken for two fours and a six off his over.

The first break-through for the Bangalore team came in the form of Herschelle Gibbs when he was intent LBW by Praveen Kumar. The former Hyderabad captain VVS Laxman did not last long time. He was dismissed by the Kiwi’s Jesse Ryder when he was caught by Dale Steyn at long-off attempting a loft drive.

Gilchrist, on the other end, kept the scorers hard with his action-packed strokes. Soon, Gilchrist reached his fifty by blasting Ryder for a six over square-leg. At the end of 10 overs, the Deccans scored 91 runs for the loss of two wickets.

Post 'Strategy break' Gilchrist was at his violent best, belting the Bangalore bowlers all round the park. Rohit Sharma joined the action and some hearty blows were seen of his bat. Eventually, a leaping catch by Virat Kohli saw the back of Gilchrist, dismissed by Pietersen. However, Gilchrist had done enough damage, scoring 71 runs of just 45 balls. His knock included 6 fours and 5 sixers.

An over later, the new man at the crease Scott Styris endured a chance when a mistimed shot to deep mid-wicket off the bowling of Praveen Kumar was put down by Karan Sharma. However, he could not take advantage. Styris offered another chance to wide long-on only to find an angry Praveen Kumar latch onto the ball. Pietersen claimed his second wicket.

Rohit Sharma kept himself hard at the other end taking Hyderabad to a formidable score. He went on to score his fifty utilized just 28 balls. However, one attempt too many brought about Sharma's downfall. Kevin Pietersen held on to a skier giving Steyn his first wicket. An attempted fast run of the very next ball resulted in the run-out of Venugapal Rao. Maintaining a consistent run-rate through out the innings, Deccans finished off their innings at 184/6. This also happened to be the highest IPL score of the second season.

The Bangalore innings started off on an incorrect note. Fidel Edwards knocked the stumps off, as Jesse Ryder yet again failed to make an feeling in the IPL. Kallis, once again privileged to deceive. An attempted drive through covers found the safe hands of Rohit Sharma as RP Singh picked up his first wicket.

Uthappa used up 19 deliveries to score 12 runs before he detained out to a brilliant catch by Ravi Teja off Scott Styris' bowling. Rahul Dravid walked in and looked at his easeful best. Along with Pietersen, Dravid speed up the scoring and took Bangalore to a score of 57 runs at the end of 10 overs.

The other side of the smash saw one more wicket fall for Bangalore. The Bangalore skipper could not defy a flighted delivery by Ohja. Coming down the track, he missed the ball and Gilchrist completed the stumping. Rahul Dravid as usual, was at his reliable best with boundaries flowing from him bat. Kohli provided him with a helping hand and together they collected runs at a fast rate.

An attempt to go over the the long-off boundary bring about the dismissal of Dravid bringing the 53 run partnership with Kohli to an end. Dravid go back to the dugout 2 short of his fifty. His quick fire 48 off 27 deliveries included 5 fours and 2 sixers. The next man in, Rajesh Bishnoi was run-out after trying to pinch a single.

Requiring 53 runs of 18 balls, a futile heave by Karan Sharma saw him heading back. Styris picked up his 3rd wicket. Virat Kohli on the other hand, stood firm and tried firm to fight back. He brought up a heroic fifty in the final over of the match before giving RP Singh his 2nd wicket. The Bangalore team ended the innings 24 runs short of their target.

Aggressive batting by Gilshrist and Sharma with quick wickets at the start of Bangalore's innings brought up the second victory for the Deccan Chargers in the IPL 2009. Despite Rahul Dravid winning the 'Orange Cap' and Kohli bringing up his fifty, the Royal Challengers lost their second match in a line. Meanwhile, RP Singh won the 'Purple Cap' for the highest wicket-taker's list.

Kings XI Punjab blown away by Kolkata Gayle

Chris Gayle strike an explosive 44 not out to power Kolkata Knight Riders to an 11-run win over Kings XI Punjab in a rain-hit IPL match on Tuesday.

The West Indies captain smashed four sixes in his 26-ball knock as Kolkata Knight Riders raced to 79-1 off 9.2 overs in reply to their opponents' 20-over total of 158-6 when the game was called off owing to rain.

Kolkata Knight Rider, who were 11 runs ahead on the Duckworth-Lewis method, posted their 1st win in two games. Kings XI Punjab have lost both of their matches.


Gayle put his team on way for victory when he put on 57 off just 33 balls for the first wicket with New Zealander Brendon McCullum, who cracked two sixes in his 16-ball 21.

Punjab remunerated dearly for letting off Gayle early in the innings, with Karan Goel dropping an easy catch at mid-wicket off South African left-arm seamer Yusuf Abdulla.

Yuvraj Singh and Kumar Sangakkara (26) helped Punjab post a reputable total with a 56-run stand for the fourth wicket after a double-strike from Kolkata seamer Sourav Ganguly.



Captain Yuvraj Singh, who smashed six sixes in an over at this venue against England in the Twenty20 World Championships in 2007, top scorer with a 28-ball 38 with the help of two sixes.

Former India skipper Sourav Ganguly ended Punjab's early thrive with two wickets in his opening over, having pinch-hitter Irfan Pathan(32) caught at deep mid-wicket and removing Ravi Bopara(15) caught behind.

Yuvraj Singh and Sangakkara then steadied the innings before Mahela Jayawardene cracked a 19-ball 31 not out to help his team cross the 150-mark.

Hayden, Murali sparkle for Chennai Super Kings

Cricket "golden oldies" Matthew Hayden & Muralitharan powered Chennai Super Kings to a 92-run win over Bangalore Royal Challengers in the Indian Premier League.

Australian Matthew Hayden, who deceased the international scene recently at the age of 37, struck a blistering 65 at Saint George's Park in this southern coastal city before being run out by Dravid.

The exodus of Hayden just one ball after fellow opener Parthiv Patel was out for 30 did slow a Chennai charge that saw them rush to 106-0 after 10 overs, but they completed on 179-5 to set Royals a challenging target.

Enter Sri Lanka wizard Muralitharan to source chaos and snap up three wickets, with the prized one of former England skipper Kevin Pietersen for a duck, and all the spoil was inflicted at the expense of just 11 runs.

Bangalore were trouble from the start, losing opener Praveen Kumar in the third ball of the innings and rapidly fell behind the nine-run-an-over victory target.

South African Jacques Kallis take a quick 24 before becoming the next Chennai victim and by the 'strategy break' the Challengers wanted a miracle as they languished at 56-5 with 10 overs completed.

There was no amazing turnaround, only more Chennai wickets on the same track that shaped a bucketful of runs when South Africa trumped Australia in an ODI clash last week.

Kallis finished as top scorer and opener Robin Uthappa and Dravid added 20 runs each as Bangalore slipped from top spot after the opening round to fifth while 2008 runners-up Chennai scrambled two places to third.

Daniel Vettori best spinner at present - Sehwag

Delhi Daredevils captain Virender Sehwag has locate Daniel Vettori in the same league as famous spinners Shane Warne & Anil Kumble and said the New Zealand captain is the best tweaker in the world at present.

Sehwag lavished praise on his Delhi Daredevils team-mate Vettori for his magical spell last night in the match against Punjab which the Delhi team won comprehensively by 10 wickets in Duckworth Lewis method.

"At the moment Vettori is the best spinner in the world," Sehwag said.

Vettori was adjudged man-of-the match for his figures of 3 wickets for 15 runs and it was this spell that shifted the momentum in the Delhi Daredevils favour.

"The Punjab were going great guns when I asked Danny (Vettori) to bowl and thanks to him we were successful in getting the critical wickets," Sehwag said, adding the left-arm spinner has the aptitude to bowl well on any all sort of wickets.

Clinical Deccans sweep through Kolkata Knight Riders

Drizzly conditions prevailed during out the day at Newlands. After a rain shortened first match which saw forceful victory for Delhi against Punjab, the Deccan vs. Knight Riders match had a delayed start after the floodlights at the stadium went defective.

The Buchanan appointed Kolkata skipper Brendon McCullum won the toss and surprisingly opted to bat first.

The first ball of RP Singh's over resulted in the dismissal of the Kolkata skipper. McCullum tried a glance down to fine leg only to glove the ball to Gilchrist. Chris Gayle, after scoring a four and six in a row off RP Singh, went for one shot too many, asset out to Harmeet Singh at long off.

A struggling Sourav Ganguly was soon to follow. He was out in his classic fashion, attempting a flashing drive and edging a Harmeet Singh delivery to VVS Laxman in the slips. Kolkata were shambling at 16/3.

A tiny partnership was taking place between Chopra and Brad Hodge before Chopra was out, stumped to a well-crafted ball by Ojha. The crafty left arm spinner struck again by attracting Shukla out of the crease only to find the bails removed by Gilchrist.

Running out of partners, Hodge conceded on with his innings scoring 31 runs until he became the next man to go. After scoring two boundaries off Scott Styris, he was out to a sharp reflex catch by Gibbs. In the same over, Scott Styris sent Henriques back to the pavilion thanks to an impressive catch by Rohit Sharma at short-covers.

The dismissal brought Agarkar to the crease. However, he did not stay long. After hitting a massive six, Agarkar was run-out to a brilliant fielding effort by Rohit Sharma again. RP Singh finished off the Kolkata tail by picking up Ishant Sharma and Ashok Dinda. Kolkata could only manage 101 runs.

The Deccans openers went about the chase in the manner as expected from them. Boundaries surged freely from both the openers' bats. However, the commentator's curse struck Gilchrist when he skied an inopportune pull and was brilliantly held by Henriques.

Laxman started off well scoring at a fast rate. However, confusion with Gibbs resulted in his run-out.

Rohit Sharma tied Gibbs and mutually the put on a prosperous partnership. Agarkar was introduced prior to the strategy break and was taken for 17 runs in his over.

The pair of Gibbs and Rohit Sharma carried on after the break scoring at a quick run rate. Together they took the Deccans to victory after scoring the requisite runs in just 13.1 overs. Gibbs remained unbeaten on 43 while Rohit Sharma was not out on 36.

Man of the Match : RP Singh